SATURDAY 08 NOVEMBER 2025

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m002lpq0)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:30 Intimate Histories by Hallie Rubenhold (m002lpnm)
5. London Lives

The historian and bestselling author of The Five and Story of a Murder, Hallie Rubenhold examines what the subject of ‘history’ is and makes the case for keeping it personal.

Her previous books have also included The Covent Garden Ladies which told the stories of the legion of ordinary women whose lives in the sex trade history has chosen to ignore.

History, she argues, is so much more than the brave deeds of ‘Great Men’ as Thomas Carlyle would have us believe. It is instead made up of the ordinary and the often unchronicled lives of people who lived in the houses we live in, who travelled the same streets, maybe planted the same fields and gardens.

Over five essays, Hallie makes a powerful case for the intimacy of history. Careful research can reveal the crucial hinterland to domestic objects which may be hundreds, even thousands, of years old, but this also means that the objects belonging to us or inherited from our parents and grandparents have stories to tell and a role in revealing the social history of our own and recent times.

Hallie Rubenhold was born and grew up in California, her father is English and her mother was American. She studied history in the US and at Leeds University and has lived in the UK for most of her life. Her accent reflects a rich and complex heritage, as nuanced as her work which seeks to give voice to a whole range of hidden narratives often from the marginalized or female side of history.

Written and read by Hallie Rubenhold
Produced by Jill Waters
The Waters Company for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002lpq2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002lpq4)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:30 News Summary (m002lpq6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002lpq8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002lpqb)
The Highest Form of Devotion

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Granthi (Sqn Ldr) Mandeep Kaur MBE Sikh Chaplain to the Armed Forces

Good morning.

As we approach a time of remembrance, we pause to honour those who gave their lives in service - those who stood for justice, peace, and freedom.

Being the first and the only Sikh Chaplain in the UK Armed Forces, I have the privilege and responsibility to keep the legacy alive….. Remembering my history and ancestors filled with Sikh warriors is key.

In the Sikh faith, remembrance is not only for a day. It is more than a reflection; it’s active gratitude: we reflect it in all that we do.

We remember the past not with sorrow alone, but with resolve to live courageously and compassionately today.

Sikhs have a long history of sacrifice in the cause of truth. From the Gurus who gave their lives for freedom of faith, to the thousands of Sikh soldiers who served in both World Wars — their courage reminds us that selfless service, or “seva”, is the highest form of devotion.

Guru Nanak taught us how to be a true warrior & live as a saint-soldier — grounded in peace, yet ready to stand for what is right. Every day we conclude our prayers with the words…’seeking peace & well for entire humanity’.

When we remember those who fell, we also remember the light they carried — a light that asks each of us:
How will I serve?
How will I bring peace where there is pain?
What one step can I take today to make things right around me?

May we never forget the truth echoed in the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib:
“Those who die in service to humanity — their names live forever.”
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.


SAT 05:45 In the Loop (m001np4k)
2. Traffic Roundabout

…a circle has no beginning and no end. It represents rebirth and regeneration, continuity and infinity. From wedding rings to stone circles, in poetry, music and the trajectories of the planets themselves, circles and loops are embedded in our imaginations.

Poet Paul Farley goes walking in circles in five very different ‘loopy’ locations. He visits a stone circle, a rollercoaster and a particle accelerator to ask why human beings find rings and circles so symbolic, significant and satisfying.

The earliest civilisations were drawn to the idea of closing a circle and creating a loop; in human relationships we’d all rather be within the circle of trust; and in arts and music our eyes, ears and minds are inexorably drawn towards – and rebel against - the ‘strange loops’ of Bach, Gödel and Escher.

As he puts himself in the loop – sometimes at the centre and sometimes on the circumference – Paul has circular conversations with mathematicians and physicists, composers and poets. Each one propels him into a new loop of enquiry. And that’s because a circle has no beginning and no end…

Paul begins the second episode in orbit around one of the largest traffic roundabouts in Europe – the Coryton Interchange near Cardiff. He explores its interior with ecologist Elen Hall and roundabout enthusiast Kevin Beresford and discovers an island of the unexpected. Engineer John Parkin shares the secret of a good roundabout. And poet Paul Muldoon recalls a childhood memory of a special day out to visit the first one in Northern Ireland.

Producer: Jeremy Grange


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m002lzk1)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m002lpk7)
Whispering Rocks with Anjana Khatwa

Clare joins Earth Scientist and author Anjana Khatwa for a cliffside walk in Dorset exploring the landscapes that shaped her life, and her book The Whispers of Rock – Stories from the Earth.

Starting at Spyway Barn near Langton Matravers, the route takes in clifftops, caves, and the fossil-rich coastline, revealing stories of geology and belonging. Anjana shares her journey from growing up in Slough in a traditional Indian family to becoming a leading voice in earth science.

From Spyway Barn, at the National Trust car park, they walked down to Dancing Ledge, along the coast path past Winspit Caves, and up to the village of Worth Matravers before heading back to the car park.

Grid Reference for Spyway Barn: SY 998 776
Map: OS Explorer 116 – Lyme Regis & Bridport

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer for BBC Studios: Karen Gregor


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m002lzk3)
08/11/25 Farming Today This Week: Bird flu, low farmer confidence, Millennium Seed Bank, food security

Poultry Farmers are warned this winter is on course to be among the worst for avian flu. This week all poultry in England and Northern Ireland was ordered inside after a number of new cases. The Pirbright Institute's head of avian virology explains why the H5N1 strain of bird flu has become more able to spread, describing it as 'almost a super strain'.

A household name in food processing says it's worried about future supplies of raw materials, because farmers confidence is so poor.

Behind the scenes with plant experts as Kew's Millennium Seed Bank marks 25 years.

MPs say by 2050 almost a quarter of current UK farmland might not be farmed.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


SAT 06:57 Weather (m002lzk5)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m002lzk7)
Today (Saturday)


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m002lzk9)
Oliver Jeffers, Fatherhood, The House of Thatchers, and Peter and Dan Snow's shared Inheritance Tracks

The acclaimed illustrator and children’s author Oliver Jeffers discuses the power of fatherhood in both his life and work, from his father's visionary education beliefs during The Troubles, to how his own role as a father feeds into his work - his new book is "I'm Very Busy".

Eleanor Thatcher, is a fifth generation cider maker, and the first woman in the family to join the senior leadership of Thatchers, she reveals the wise words that have been passed down the family tree.

Lesley Pearse is a prolific storyteller who has written multiple Sunday Times Bestsellers, but her own story is just as gripping as any told in her many well-loved novels.

We’ll also be talking to George and Joshua Kohler, the father and son duo setting records by cycling around the world together.

Also, another father and son team come together to share their Inheritance Tracks, Peter and Dan Snow.

Presenter: Adrian Chiles
Producer: Lowri Morgan
Assistant Producer: Josie Hardy
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Ben Mitchell


SAT 10:00 Curious Cases (m002lzkc)
Series 24

Beam Me Up, Scotty!

Whether you’re stuck in traffic, waiting at the airport whilst delay after delay is announced or just really missing someone far away, a lot of us have probably wished we could teleport. But is this superpower the stuff of science fiction? Or could it, one day, become a reality?

Listener Faith wants to know whether Star Trek’s Transporter could ever deconstruct and reconstruct humans in the real world, and it turns out quantum physics holds some tantalising potential for this seemingly impossible task. To search for answers Hannah and Dara dive down the quantum rabbit hole, exploring entanglement, superposition, and trying on some very special socks.

Contributors
Ivette Fuentes - Professor of Quantum Physics at University of Southampton
Winfried Hensinger - Professor of Quantum Technologies at the University of Sussex
Helen Beebee - Professor of the Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds

Producer: Emily Bird
Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem
A BBC Studios Production


SAT 10:30 Legend (m002lzkf)
The Bruce Springsteen Story

5. The Land of Hope and Dreams

How did Bruce become The Boss, and what did it cost him to get there? Laura Barton explores the extraordinary life story of Bruce Springsteen, taking a front-row seat at five important gigs to reveal the life behind the legend.

In our final chapter, we trace Bruce’s journey to his latest tour - The Land of Hope and Dreams - where he speaks out on stage against the President of the United States. How did Bruce become the kind of artist who wears his politics so openly? And what impact has this had on his fan base?

Laura travels to Milan in the heat of July for the last stop on the tour at San Siro Stadium, where she meets fans who’ve journeyed from around the world to witness this moment.

~~~

“I'm here tonight to provide proof of life to that ever elusive, never completely believable, particularly these days, us. That's my magic trick.”

In Legend: The Bruce Springsteen Story, we uncover the magic trick to discover how a scrawny, long-haired introvert from small-town New Jersey became the iconic, muscular, and oft-misunderstood rock star of the 1980s, to the eloquent elder statesmen he is now. What can his story tell us about America today?

In each episode, Laura takes us to the front row of a live performance that reveals a different side of The Boss, and hears him across the decades in his own words from the archive. We'll also hear from fellow worshippers in the Church of Springsteen and disciples from the E Street Band, including drummer Max Weinberg, tributes from those influenced by Bruce, such as Bryce Dessner from The National, as well as Freehold town historian Kevin Coyne and music critics and biographers such as Richard Williams, Eric Alterman, Steven Hyden, Warren Zanes and Diane H. Winston.

The Bruce Springsteen Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning Joni Mitchell Story, and the podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).

Producer: Eliza Lomas
Sound Design and Original Music: Hannis Brown
Mix engineer: Ilse Lademann
Series Development: Mair Bosworth
Production Coordinator: Stuart Laws
Research: Sarah Goodman
Series Editor: Emma Harding
Commissioning Editors: Daniel Clarke and Matthew Dodd
Assistant Commissioner Podcasts: Will Drysdale


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m002lzkh)
Sunday Times political editor Caroline Wheeler reports on the latest developments at Westminster.

Following a political row about mistaken prisoner releases, Caroline speaks to former Conservative Justice Secretary, Sir Robert Buckland, and Labour MP Chris Murray, a member of the Home Affairs Committee.

The chair of the Lords economic affairs committee, Stewart Wood, and Reform MP, Danny Kruger, discuss the Chancellor's speech in which she appeared to lay the ground for the government to break its manifesto tax promises.

Why do parties have manifestos? And what are the implications of ditching them? Dr Cath Haddon of the Institute for Government explains.

And does Zohran Mamdani's victory in the New York mayoral election hold any lessons for left-wing politicians in Britain? Green Party Leader, Zack Polanski, and Observer political editor, Rachel Sylvester, debate the significance of Mamdani's win.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002lzkk)
Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Party fightback

Kate Adie presents stories from the USA, Jamaica, Uganda, Kazakhstan and Germany.

Zohran Mamdani won New York City's race for mayor in a contest that rallied young voters and sparked debate about the future direction of the US Democratic Party. BBC North America editor Sarah Smith considers the political choices and challenges ahead.

The world watched last week as Hurricane Melissa slowly crashed into Jamaica, causing extensive damage across the island – and killing at least 75 people across the region. Nada Tawfik witnessed the damage caused on Jamaica’s West coast.

The glaciers in Uganda's Rwenzori mountains sustain unique ecosystems, but are rapidly reaching the point of no return as they continue to shrink. Hugh Kinsella Cunningham joined local community groups trying to mitigate the effects of climate changes in the region's foothills.

Kazakhstan's economy is very much on the up, as it forges closer ties with China. Tim Hartley recently returned to the country after a hiatus of some two decades – as he followed the Wales football team, which was playing there - and saw up-close how the country has changed.

The Berlin Wall became a concrete manifestation of the Cold War division between East and West – but it was by no means the only barrier built during this era. John Kampfner travelled to a small village in south Germany that was once divided by a wall of its own, which radically changed the lives of locals living there.

Producer: Serena Tarling
Production coordinators: Katie Morrison and Sophie Hill
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m002lzkm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m002lzkp)
Suspended child benefit and the cost of school trips

MPs on the Treasury Select Committee are seeking answers from HMRC after thousands of parents have had their child benefit stopped because they took a holiday abroad. The mistakes happened during a fraud crackdown on people emigrating from the UK but still claiming the benefit for their children.

Now, among all the financial pressures of recent years the costs faced by parents for school trips has continued to go up. And it's not just a cause for concern for parents, but also for school governors. The body which represents them in England, the National Governance Association, has told Money Box that schools should try to help parents with these costs to ease the growing financial pressures many feel.

Plus, a big change is underway aimed at helping victims of domestic violence in financial trouble. And we continue to look at Budget issues raised by listeners. This week it’s potential changes to council tax. Speculation suggests that the two highest bands, and the way bands are decided, could be subject to change later this month.

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Eimear Devlin
Editor: James Graham
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson


SAT 12:30 The Naked Week (m002lppb)
Series 3

2. Trains, Tice, and Taylor Swift

This week, The Naked Week shoehorns an agenda, gets out of jail free, and in a genuine Radio 4 first - Taylor Swift pays a visit to the studio!

From host Andrew Hunter Murray and The Skewer's Jon Holmes, Radio 4’s newest Friday night comedy The Naked Week returns with a blend of the silly and serious. From satirical stunts to studio set pieces via guest correspondents and investigative journalism, it's a bold, audacious take not only on the week’s news, but also the way it’s packaged and presented.

Host: Andrew Hunter Murray
Guests: Paul Dunphy, Taylor Swift (no, really!)

Investigations Team: Cat Neilan, Cormac Kehoe, Freya Shaw

Written by:
Jon Holmes
Katie Sayer
Gareth Ceredig
Jason Hazeley
James Kettle

Additional Material:
Karl Minns
Ali Panting
Helen Brooks
Molly Punshon
Kevin Smith
David Riffkin

Live Sound: Jerry Peal
Post Production: Tony Churnside
Clip Assistant: David Riffkin
Production Assistant: Molly Punshon

Assistant Producer: Katie Sayer
Producer and Director: Jon Holmes

Executive Producer: Phil Abrams.

An unusual production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 12:57 Weather (m002lzkr)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News (m002lzkt)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m002lppk)
Andrew Bowie MP, Lesley Riddoch, Michael Shanks MP, Pete Wishart MP

Alex Forsyth presents political debate from the Dundee Bairns warehouse in Dundee in Scotland with the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland Andrew Bowie MP, the journalist and broadcaster Lesley Riddoch, the Energy Minister Michael Shanks MP and the SNP's Deputy Leader in Westminster Pete Wishart MP.

Producer: Robin Markwell
Lead Broadcast Engineer: Andy Hay


SAT 14:05 Any Answers? (m002lzkw)
Listeners respond to the issues raised in the preceding edition of Any Questions?

Producer: Catherine Powell
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Ben Mitchell


SAT 14:45 The Archers (m002lppd)
Unsettled Esme answers a call from Susan, who apologises for the disturbance at yesterday’s funeral. Esme accepts the apology, but cuts Susan off when Ruth and David arrive. Seeing the state she’s in Ruth pulls Esme into a hug. Esme blames herself for letting her dad down, despite David and Ruth’s reassurances. Esme then announces she’s decided to take the farm on, as her dad would have wanted. She doesn’t mean permanently, but she’ll keep it a going concern before selling the herd and business on to the next tenant. David and Ruth pledge their support, while Esme offers to use what money she has to make it work. Between themselves David and Ruth aren’t sure how realistic this is, agreeing they’ll keep an eye on Esme.

Susan tells Neil that Brian, Lilian and Mick, plus some of the volunteers, have complained about George working in the shop. The shop committee have summoned Susan to an emergency meeting, though Susan is defiant about keeping George on. Neil thinks she might have to back down or risk losing everything she’s fought for to keep the shop going. Later, Neil finds Susan taking out her frustrations on some bread dough. She’s been told she can’t let George volunteer in the shop. And now Susan’s dreading having to tell him, after making such a huge effort to repair their relationship. While Neil is more pragmatic Susan determines to give the committee her own ultimatum: unless they reconsider for George’s sake, she’s handing in her notice. Is Neil with her on this?


SAT 15:00 Secrets and Lies (m002lq95)
The Keys to the Kingdom

The Keys to the Kingdom is a new play by Nick Dear in the Radio 4 series Secrets and Lies. It stars Roger Allam as Tanner, a once extremely powerful film director, and his reliable and loyal assistant Pippin, played by Penny Downie.

Over the course of a day and night we witness Tanner’s power unravel - piece by piece his protective armour is ripped from him as he realises that his past is about to catch up with him.

Visited by a young life writer interested in creating his autobiography, and by an old friend and colleague from his theatre days who is also interested in telling his story, we see the tables turn and the power dynamics shift. Pippin is a loyal assistant who protects Tanner, and he pays her a lot of money, which she likes. But there’s more to it than that and with the arrival of these two characters, one of whom comes brandishing serious allegations threatening to unearth something from the past that could seriously damage Tanner’s reputation, what will Pippin come up with this time and who will write his life story?

Roger Allam…………………..Tanner
Penny Downie……………….Pippin
Julian Rhind-Tutt……………Mick Michaels
Preeya Kalidas……………….Ria Devereux

Directed by Celia de Wolff
Sound Design by David Thomas
Production Co Coordinators: Eleanor Mein and Nina Semple

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m002lzky)
Margaret Atwood memoir, Cat Burns, Choking Porn Law, Dame Elaine Paige

In Margaret Atwood’s 64-year career she has published world-renowned, prescient novels like The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye, Alias Grace and Blind Assassin, and now a memoir. Margaret joins Nuala McGovern to discuss Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts and reflect on her life, her work and the power of knowing her own mind.

Pornography featuring strangulation or suffocation - often called choking - is due to be criminalised across the UK as part of government plans to tackle violence against women and girls. It follows an independent review which found depictions of choking were "rife" on mainstream porn sites and had helped normalise the act among young people. Gemma Kelly, policy consultant on the review, and Professor Clare McGlynn, leading expert on VAWG and gender equality, discuss.

The Mercury Prize-nominated singer-songwriter Cat Burns has also just released her new album, How to Be Human. She joins Nuala to discuss her new album and taking part in Celebrity Traitors.

Writer and producer Nova Reid joins Anita Rani to talk about the late Dame Jocelyn Barrow, the race relations campaigner and the first black female governor of the BBC whose story Nova tells in her new podcast, Hidden Histories with Nova Reid. The interview includes a clip of Jocelyn from 2017 sharing her thoughts with The University of Law on what she considered to be the greatest improvements in diversity.

Is having a boyfriend now embarrassing? Writer Chanté Joseph recently explored this idea in an article for Vogue and on social media, observing a noticeable shift in how people - particularly heterosexual women - present their relationships online. Instead of posting clear photos of their romantic partners, many are choosing subtler signals: a hand on a steering wheel, clinking glasses, or even blurring out faces in wedding pictures. But why the change? Anita hears more from Chante.

A grande dame of musical theatre, Elaine Paige made her West End debut in the 1960s and shot to fame in 1978 playing Eva Perón in Evita, going on to star in Cats, Chess, Sunset Boulevard and many more. Elaine talks to Anita about her damehood, fostering the next generation of talent and having stage fright.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Dianne McGregor


SAT 17:00 PM (m002lzl0)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m002lzl2)
'I like it when people underestimate me': Lib Dem leader Ed Davey

Ed Davey warns Starmer against handing Reform UK 'the keys into 10 Downing Street'

Producer: Daniel Kraemer
Research: Chloe Desave
Sound: Ged Sudlow and Andrew Mills
Editor: Giles Edwards


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002lzl4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m002lzl6)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002lzl8)
Immigration, Danish-style

The Home Secretary is set to announce a major shake-up of the immigration and asylum system later this month, reportedly inspired by Denmark's approach. It comes as Home Office figures show almost 650 migrants crossed the English Channel yesterday. Also:Top Gear's Quentin Willson -- famous for his direct approach to car reviews -- has died at the age of 68.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m002lzlb)
John Cleese, Sue Perkins, Clive Anderson, Judi Love, Tom Smith, Hugh Dennis, Natalie Duncan Trio

Clive Anderson is joined by a giggle of comics or should that be a brace of jokers in the Loose Ends studio this week. Fawlty Towers creator John Cleese recalls being told his nascent sitcom - 50 years old this year - would fail if they didn't "get it out of the hotel more". Sue Perkins describes the urge to get out on a stand up tour again after a decade presenting shows from Great British Bake Off to Just a Minute, her show is called The Eternal Shame of Sue Perkins - what could be so embarrassing? Judi Love is on our screens practically daily - on ITV's Loose Women or shows from Taskmaster to The Wheel but she too is drawn to the stage - what gives? Meanwhile Hugh Dennis is not on tour, but he's on stage, as Rev Chasuble in the National Theatre's production of The Importance of Being Earnest - he may not be planning to go all churchy but he does feel right at home in clerical garb.
With music from Editors front man Tom Smith with a track from his forthcoming album There Is Nothing In The Dark That Isn't There In The Light and from Natalie Duncan Trio with her new single Breakaway before her London Jazz Festival gig.

Produced by Olive Clancy


SAT 19:00 Profile (m002lzld)
Afua Kyei

Afua Kyei, Chief Financial Officer at the Bank of England, has been named Britain's most influential black person.

She grew up in South London, reading copious numbers of Enid Blyton books and listening to Boyzone, got 6 A levels and went to university a year early. She studied chemistry at Oxford and Princeton, but then had a change of heart . She became a chartered accountant and - in 2019 at the age of just 36 - she was appointed Chief Financial Officer at the Bank of England, the Bank's youngest and first ever black executive officer in its 325 year history.

Mark Coles looks back at the life of this year’s most influential Black Briton talking to Afua's friends, family and colleagues to discover how she combines parenting four children under the age of nine with balancing the books at the Bank of England.

Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Adele Armstrong and Mhairi MacKenzie
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele
Editor: Justine Lang
Sound Engineer: Gareth Jones

Photo credit: Nick Moorhead


SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m002lpjq)
Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence's breakthrough role in the 2010 drama Winter’s Bone secured her first Academy Award nomination when she was just 20, and she won the Best Actress category two years later for Silver Linings Playbook. Since then, she has become one of the most prolific, critically acclaimed and highest paid actors in Hollywood as the star of The Hunger Games series and three X-Men movies. Other leading roles include American Hustle, Joy and, most recently, the psychological drama Die My Love.

Jennifer talks to John Wilson about her childhood on her parents' farm in Kentucky. After being scouted by a modelling agency, she left school as a teenager and moved to New York to start working as a model and actor. She recalls how the film Taxi Driver, starring a young Jodie Foster, made a big impression on her as an aspiring actress and how Jodie Foster later became a role model when she directed Jennifer on the set of The Beaver. She also counts Gena Rowlands' performance in A Woman Under The Influence, written and directed by John Cassavetes, as an important inspiration, as well as working with directors David O Russell and Lynne Ramsay. 

Producer: Edwina Pitman

Archive and film clips used:

Uncle Buck, John Hughes, 1989
No Hard Feelings, Gene Stupnitsky, 2023
Taxi Driver, Martin Scorsese, 1976
Winter's Bone, Debra Granik, 2010
The Hunger Games, Gary Ross, 2012
American Hustle, David O Russell, 2013
Veep, Armando Iannucci, 2012
A Woman Under The Influence, John Cassavetes, 1974
Die My Love, Lynne Ramsay, 2025


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m002lzlg)
Jodrell Bank at 80

The sound of people partying in a field, of exploding stars and birdsong, of a clanking chunk of metal, mechanically manoeuvering it’s gaze across the heavens. They’re all part of the rich sonic landscape of a British icon, of Jodrell Bank Observatory which turns 80 in December and some of the sounds which could inspire composer Hannah Peel to create a piece of music that marks that big birthday.

An Ivor Novello winning artist and Radio 3 presenter Hannah Peel is fascinated by space. It’s inspired her work in the past, particularly her album Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopoeia which she performed at the Blue Dot festival at Jodrell Bank in 2017. This Archive on 4 sees her come back to the site in Cheshire to learn about its founder Professor Sir Bernard Lovell and his iconic invention the Lovell telescope, which gave the UK a front row seat for the space race as Russia and the US vied to get the moon. She hears about the secret history of Jodrell Bank, where shadowy figures from GCHQ would use the telescope to assess Russian military capabilities during the Cold War in a relationship that lasted until the 1990s. And she learns about Sir Bernard and his love of music, how as a church organist, it tied to him a belief in something beyond science.

The stories and sounds she gathers on her journey form the elements of a new composition called Pulsar recorded by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Salford .Hannah Peel brings her unique creative experimental vision that draws on her background as a classical and electronic artist to the celebration of this British scientific and cultural icon.

'Pulsar' by Hannah Peel & BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Gemma New
Mixed and Co-Orchestrated by Michael Keeney
Mastering by James Trevascus
Management by Steve Malins and Random Music Mgmt

Additional music:
Archid Orange Dwarf from the album Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia by Hannah Peel
CP1919 by Stephen Morris
Sonifications by Prof Tim O'Brien
Dr Who clip is from Logopolis part 4, Season 18.

Presenter: Hannah Peel
Producer: Catherine Murray
Programme Co-ordinator; Nancy Bennie
Studio Manager for 'Pulsar': John Cole
Studio Manager for documentary: Michael Smith
Exec Producer: Richard McIlroy
Editor : Gill Farrington


SAT 21:00 Illuminated (m002krcf)
Returned to Sender

Clint Buffington spends his time where land meets sea, searching for a very specific treasure - messages in bottles that have drifted across oceans. Over the past 20 years he has recovered more than 140 of them, each carrying a clue - sometimes decades old - waiting to be discovered.

Finding a bottle is only the beginning. The real mystery unfolds when Clint carefully extracts the fragile paper in his Utah home lab. He first teases out the faint, salt-blurred words, deciphering a message damaged by years at sea. Only then does Clint begin tracking down the person who sent it, often many years after they let it go. Each investigation is part detective work, part conversation across time.

The messages reveal remarkable journeys - a German sailor who cast a note into the Bermuda Triangle on his birthday in 1979, three French women who paddled across the Atlantic to set a world record, Puerto Rican students at a crossroads, even a pair of tiny dolls wrapped in a spell.

Join Clint on his search and the unexpected revelations it sparks - a reminder that across vast distances and years at sea, the quest for human connection is timeless.

A Sound & Bones production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 21:30 Artworks (m002ln3m)
Painting with Scissors

Forget nursery school, round ended scissors and glue sticks – collage is sophisticated, political, complicated and underrated.

So much modern music, audio and film making involves taking bits from everywhere, splicing them up, reassembling and layering them to create new meaning.  Art historian, critic and writer Ruth Millington uncovers the history of collage. Where did it begin and why did it become the essential creative medium for outsiders and revolutionaries?

Ever since Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque began to stick bits of found materials into their painting, collage has allowed artists to access bold new ideas. Dada artists used collage and photomontage to criticise German culture after the First World War. The surrealists used collage to access their inner minds. The pop artists, like Peter Blake, used the juxtaposition of images, from commercials to literature, to challenge ideas on the avant-garde.

From The Beatles and Rolling Stones album covers to radical feminist artists like Linder and Chila Singh Burman, collage has been used to make new ideas recognisable and to play with meaning and context. John Stezaker has used collage to find a third space, a way of reclaiming the image in a world which is saturated by visual displays.

Today, digital artists like Cold War Steve create collages on social media that reflect the work of the early Dada artists Hannah Höch and John Heartfield. We see collages on our social feeds, hear sound montages and samples in hip-hop and pop and watch videos which cut together art, film, photos and text. Collage is now everywhere we look, but it still has disruptive powers. Ruth takes her scissors, scalpel and glue to find out why collage matters.

Presented by Ruth Millington
Produced by Melvin Rickarby and Helen Lennard
A True Thought production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:00 News (m002lzlj)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m002lpnk)
The Breakfast Club Challenge

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day - but what happens when thousands of children arrive at school too hungry to learn? In this programme, Jaega Wise looks into how the Government’s new free breakfast club scheme is being rolled out across England, seven months into a trial involving 750 primary schools. While the policy which aims to tackle hunger and improve attendance is welcomed by all, schools and campaigners raise questions about it's future funding and the exclusion of secondary schools and some special school pupils.

At Holy Trinity Church of England School in Tottenham, Jaega visits a breakfast club being run in partnership with Chefs in Schools, where hot food is cooked fresh each morning in the same kitchen that serves lunch. In Weston-super-Mare, headteacher Marie Berry explains why her school’s breakfast club is a lifeline for families - and why she’s keen to be included in the new scheme. Campaigners at Sustain argue breakfast clubs could be a powerful tool to support local food producers and promote sustainable sourcing - and urge the Government to back that vision.

We also hear from the charity Magic Breakfast, which provides food to 300,000 children at breakfast clubs every day, and from Olivia Bailey MP at the Department for Education. Food writer Michael Zee of @SymmetryBreakfast discusses Britain's breakfast culture, and why we so often eat the same thing every day.

Presented by Jaega Wise
Produced by Natalie Donovan for BBC Audio in Bristol.


SAT 23:00 Mark Steel's in Town (m002ln3w)
Series 14

5. Lerwick (Shetland part 1)

For the fifth stop of the series, Mark travels to Lerwick, the capital of Shetland, perched at the far edge of Britain, where everyone’s on first-name terms with the fog.

It’s a place where Viking heritage meets oil rigs and knitting patterns, where the winter fire festival Up Helly Aa lights up the darkness, and where the locals are masters of making their own fun.

This is the first of Mark’s two shows from Shetland, recorded in front of an audience in Lerwick. Later in the series he’ll also be visiting Unst, the UK’s most northerly inhabited island.

This is the 14th series of Mark's award winning show where he travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for a local audience.

As well as Shetland, in this series, Mark be will also be popping to Oakham in Rutland, Wrexham, Lewisham and Cambridge.

There will also be extended versions of each episode available on BBC Sounds.

Written and performed by Mark Steel

Additional material by Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinators Caroline Barlow and Katie Baum
Sound Manager Jerry Peal
Producer Carl Cooper

A BBC Studios production for Radio 4


SAT 23:30 Punt & Dennis: Route Masters (m0023pvr)
Series 1: From Beer to Eternity

2 - From Chaos Theory to Anne Boleyn

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are on a mission from Chaos Theory to Anne Boleyn with the assistance of Marcus Brigstocke, in a warm and witty podcast that celebrates new and half-remembered trivia as they try to find entertaining links between random places, people and things.

Could you make your way from The Starship Enterprise to the Air Fryer, armed only with A Level Economics and a Geography degree? Hugh Dennis is going to have to. While Steve Punt will have to pick his way across Africa, to find what links Machiavelli and Madagascar. Across the series, they’ll be joined by guests including Ken Cheng, Kiri Pritchard McLean, Isy Suttie and Marcus Brigstocke, on a scenic route which takes in Shampoo, The Gruffalo, Watford Gap Services and Yoghurt.

Written and hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis
With Marcus Brigstocke
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
Recorded at Maple St Creative
Mixed by Jonathan Last

A Listen production for BBC Radio 4

SUNDAY 09 NOVEMBER 2025

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m002lzll)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 00:15 Bookclub (m002lqc6)
Hallie Rubenhold

Presented by James Naughtie, the writer and historian Hallie Rubenhold takes questions from a Bookclub audience on her prize-winning book The Five: The Untold Lives Of The Women Killed by Jack The Ripper. The book shines a light on Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Kate Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly who were all murdered in Whitechapel, London, in 1888. The Five won the Ballie-Gifford Prize for non-fiction in 2019.

This episode was recorded at The Queen's Reading Room Festival at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan

This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002lzln)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002lzlq)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:30 News Summary (m002lzls)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002lzlv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m002lzlx)
Worcester Cathedral

Bells on Sunday comes from Worcester Cathedral. The Cathedral was founded in 680, the earliest surviving fabric dates from 1084. Much of the church is medieval with the large central tower completed in 1374. The Cathedral’s ring of twelve bells were cast at Taylor's of Loughborough in 1928 as a Great War memorial. There are also four semi-tone bells. We hear them ringing Stedman Caters on the harmonic minor ten which includes two of the semi-bells and a tenor bell weighing nearly thirty five hundredweight in the note of C sharp. The bells are being rung half-muffled to mark Remembrance Sunday


SUN 05:45 In Touch (m002ln44)
A Dog for the Blind

We at In Touch have increasingly been hearing from people who say that if you're totally or near totally blind, you are harder to pair with a suitable guide dog and are being given lesser priority over people with more vision. These impressions have been circulating for a while and so we address them with Guide Dogs' Deputy Chief Executive Officer Peter Osborne.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Kim Agostino
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 of 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.


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m002lzz7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Heart and Soul (w3ct6vp8)
Digitally preserving Armenia’s Christian heritage

In the ancient Yererouk Basilica in Armenia, near the border with Turkey, young engineers are filming. Using 3D digital technology, they’re scanning every part of the building. When the material is put together, it will recreate the church on a screen, in full-colour and in three dimensions.

This is the digital preservation initiative, created by TUMO, the Center for Creative Technologies, based in Armenia’s capital Yerevan. It’s training young people to use new technology, but also connecting Armenian teenagers with their 2000-year-old Christian heritage.

Armenia was the first kingdom to adopt Christianity as its state religion. But in 2023, the country lost control of numerous important religious sites, when the province of Nagorno-Karabakh was taken over by neighbouring Muslim Azerbaijan. The mountainous enclave, known as Artsakh to Armenians, has long been a disputed territory between the two countries. Despite the new peace agreement signed recently, the province is still closed to Armenians. International observers using satellite technology say dozens of important Christian sites have been damaged or destroyed.

For Heart and Soul, Julia Paul travels to Armenia to find out how drones and lasers are helping young Armenians to connect to and preserve their ancient Christian heritage, at a time when many sites are being silently erased from the map.

[Credit: Julia Paul. Photo Description: The team of engineers from digital preservation initiative at the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, at Yererouk basilica in Armenia’s Shirak province.]

Producer/Presenter: Julia Paul
Executive Producer: Rajeev Gupta
Editor: Chloe Walker
Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m002lzz9)
BBC Food and Farming Awards Finalist: The Free Company

The judges for this year's BBC Food & Farming Awards head to their second finalists for the Farming for the Future category. Presenter Charlotte Smith and Natasha from The Archers actress Mali Harries meet The Free Company, a regenerative farm and restaurant in the Pentland Hills outside Edinburgh.

Brothers Charlie and Angus Buchanan-Smith raise native breeds of cattle, sheep, and pigs, and grow fruit and vegetables in their no-dig market garden - all of which go towards their veg boxes and farm to table restaurant.

Produced by Caitlin Hobbs.

Photo taken by Christian and Amelia Masters.


SUN 06:57 Weather (m002lzzc)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m002lzzf)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m002lzzh)
Remembrance Sunday; Metropolitan Hilarion; Sudan

It is Remembrance Sunday, and one of the First World War stories we often refer back to at this time of year is the Christmas truce between British and German soldiers. A story has now emerged of a World War Two truce during one of the bloodiest episodes of the conflict between the United States and Japan. Edward Stourton speaks to Professor Nick Megoran from Newcastle University who researched what happened.

Metropolitan Hilarion was once one of the most powerful figures in the Russian Orthodox Church — effectively its foreign minister, as well as a theologian and composer. But in 2022 he was removed from office and sent to serve as the head of the Orthodox church in Hungary - there was widespread speculation he was being punished because he wouldn't endorse the invasion of Ukraine. Then last year he lost that job too, following allegations of spying, sexual misconduct, and financial abuse. He's now talked about all this in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Budapest, Nick Thorpe.

Despite a recent announcement by the RSF agreeing to a three-month humanitarian truce proposed by the Quad Mechanism (US, UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia), fighting continues, with explosions and drone attacks reported near Khartoum and Atbara. Sudan's military-led government said it would be wary of agreeing to a truce as the RSF group did not "respect" ceasefires. The Sunday programme hears the latest from BBC Correspondent Richard Kagoe, as well as the Archbishop of Sudan, Ezekiel Kondo, who has been in the UK this weekend.

Presenter: Edward Stourton
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Jay Behrouzi
Editor: Dan Tierney


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m002lzzk)
InterAct Stroke Support

Gyles Brandreth makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of InterAct Stroke Support.

The Radio 4 Appeal features a new charity every week.
Each appeal then runs on Radio 4 from Sunday 0754 for 7 days.

To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal. (That’s the whole address. Please do not write anything else on the front of the envelope). Mark the back of the envelope ‘InterAct Stroke Support’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘InterAct Stroke Support’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
- Please ensure you are donating to the correct charity by checking the name of the charity on the donate page.

Registered Charity Number: 1080046. If you’d like to find out more about the charity’s work visit *https://www.interactstrokesupport.org
*The BBC is not responsible for content on external websites

Producer: Katy Takatsuki


SUN 07:57 Weather (m002lzzm)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m002lzzp)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m002lzzr)
A Service of Remembrance from Wellington College

"As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end, they remain"

The closing words of Laurence Binyon's poem "For the Fallen" open this Service of Remembrance in a new setting by composer Lucy Walker. The text, written in 1914, resonates through the decades as different generations remember those lost and injured through conflict.

Sir Chris Tickell gives the address in the service from the chapel at Wellington College which is led by pupils at the school.

MUSIC

For the fallen (Lucy Walker)
Dear Lord and Father of mankind (Repton)
Libera me (Fauré)
Nunc dimittis (Dyson)
My soul, there is a country (Parry)
I vow to thee my country (Thaxted)
Elegy (Thalben-Ball)

Director of Music: Jack Thompson
Organist: Sean Farrell
Soloist: Tom Humphreys

Producer: Katharine Longworth


SUN 08:48 Witness History (w3ct744b)
Omar Sharif stars in Lawrence of Arabia

In 1962, Egyptian actor Omar Sharif made his Hollywood debut in Lawrence of Arabia, a sweeping epic that would become one of cinema’s most popular films.

Using archive recordings, Gill Kearsley tells the story of the movie legend’s transformation into the enigmatic Sherif Ali and brings to life the moment he stepped into the desert and onto the world stage.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: Sherif Ali, played by Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia. Credit: Columbia Pictures via Getty Images)


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m002lzzt)
Polly Atkin on the Tawny Owl

The home of poet and non-fiction writer Polly Atkin is surrounded by tawny owls. They are the most common owl in Britain, ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 breeding pairs, though we don't know exactly how many. Polly describes hearing the first melancholy call of a tawny owl in autumn, echoing around the lake at Grasmere. Kept awake by chronic illness, the owls' nighttime calls remind Polly that we are not alone, the sound means company, community and home.

Polly Atkin is the author of The Company of Owls (Elliott & Thompson).

Presented by Polly Atkin and produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.


SUN 09:00 News and Papers (m002lzzw)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.


SUN 09:15 The Archers Omnibus (m002lzzy)
Writer: Shaun McKenna
Director: Pip Swallow and David Payne
Editor: Jeremy Howe

David Archer…. Timothy Bentinck
Helen Archer…. Louiza Patikas
Henry Archer…. Blayke Darby
Jolene Archer…. Buffy Davis
Ruth Archer…. Felicity Finch
Tom Archer…. William Troughton
Alice Carter…. Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter…. Wilf Scolding
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Mick Fadmoor…. Martin Barrass
Alan Franks…. John Telfer
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Esme Mulligan…. Ellie Pawsey
Carly…. Louise Brealey
Driver…. Django Bevan


SUN 10:30 Ceremony of Remembrance from the Cenotaph (m002lynk)
Paddy O’Connell sets the scene in London's Whitehall for the solemn ceremony when the nation remembers the sacrifice made by so many in the two world wars and in other more recent conflicts.

The traditional music of remembrance is played by the massed bands. After the Two Minutes Silence and Last Post, wreaths are laid at the foot of the Cenotaph by members of the Royal Family, political leaders and representatives of Commonwealth countries, before a short Service of Remembrance.

Producer: Alexa Good


SUN 11:45 Soul Music (m001n8c6)
I Say a Little Prayer for You

When Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David wrote I Say A Little Prayer For You in 1967 the war in Vietnam was raging. The song was intended as message of support for the soldiers there. It was originally recorded by Dionne Warwick and the following year by Aretha Franklin.
Doug Bradley was drafted and served in Vietnam as a war correspondent. He says the music the troops all listened to on AFVN (Armed Forces Vietnam Network) sustained him and others while they were in country. His book We Gotta Get Out of This Place (The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War) documents the vital role music played for the soldiers. Aretha Franklin was a symbol of hope and civil rights for many African American troops and I Say A Little Prayer a soothing and calming message of love.
The singer-songwriter Rumer adored the song and all of Aretha's music as an unhapy teenager in England. She went on to write the hit song Aretha about a young girl whose mother has a mental illness confiding all her worries to the Queen of Soul. Her husband Rob Shirakbari was recruited by both Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach as keyboard player and musical arranger. To him the song with its mixture of time signatures and different interpretations symbolises many happy years playing with two of the musical greats.
Jazz singer Nnenna Freelon has recorded two versions of because it is one she has loved throughout the years but only after the death of her husband Phil in 2019 did it become a song about the expression of grief. Her latest version interprets the song as a plea and a prayer for her late husband as well as for herself. Her podcast Great Grief is a meditation on grief and loss combined with music.
In 1968 Aretha Franklin played in Stockholm. 15 year old Hasse Huss and his friend hung around her hotel hoping to meet her. Not only did they meet her but at her invitation they spent the next day with her as she rehearsed for her show. I Say A Little Prayer fills him with happiness and nostalgia for this happy day in the late sixties and he plans to incorporate the song lyrics into a speech for his son's wedding.
And Professor Daphne Brooks grew up with older siblings and musical parents who introduced her to the song. It has been with her throughout her life representing for her the 'fullness of black womanhood'. The song very recently helped her deal with her beloved mother's passing at the age of 96.

Producer: Maggie Ayre


SUN 12:15 Profile (m002lzld)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 12:30 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (m002lpfp)
Series 4

Desert Island Quiz

Paul Sinha tests his audience in Sunderland on their knowledge of light bulbs, desert islands, and twin cities, and in return gets tested on his knowledge of city mottos, Vikings and what you cannot do with a giraffe in certain places in America.

Written and performed by Paul Sinha
Additional material: Oliver Levy
Additional questions: The Audience

Original music: Tim Sutton

Recording engineers: Sean Kerwin & Hamish Campbell
Mixed by Rich Evans
Producer: Ed Morrish

A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 12:57 Weather (m002m000)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m002m002)
How will Scotland vote next year?

Six months ahead of the Scottish parliamentary elections, James Naughtie asks why the governing SNP is leading in the polls, despite public dissatisfaction with public services. We hear from a range of political voices including the leader of Scottish Labour, and the First Minister John Swinney.


SUN 13:30 Currently (m002m315)
Immigration: The Danish Way

Could the solution to Britain’s immigration problems lie in the Danish model? A model based on harsh restrictions on who can enter the country and strict rules for immigrants requiring not just integration but assimilation – and all promoted by a centre-left government.

In this documentary BBC Political Correspondent Iain Watson explains why some prominent Labour MPs now think it’s the answer they’re searching for, and why the Government might soon follow suit.

Travelling to Denmark he discovers what happened when the country introduced its radical new system, what the appeal is for British Labour MPs, and whether their system could work here. He reveals why the Danish model is attracting such interest to manage immigration and for its potential to solve Labour’s political problems. But can this Labour government navigate the extremely hazardous path of adopting policies associated with the populist right whilst retaining their own support on the left? Iain Watson reveals how all this may now play out.

Presenter: Iain Watson
Producer: Patrick Cowling
Executive Producer: Jonathan Brunert


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002lpp0)
Postbag Edition: Bicton Park Botanical Gardens

What’s the optimal size for a new greenhouse? How do I get cedar of Lebanon seeds to germinate? How do I revive a dried out compost heap?

Kathy Clugston and a panel of passionate horticulturalists are outside Exeter to soak up the sights, scents and history of Bicton Park Botanical Gardens while digging into the GQT postbag, to solve your trickiest gardening conundrums.

Joining Kathy under the big top are houseplant specialist Anne Swithinbank, award-winning garden designer Chris Beardshaw, and horticulturalist Frances Tophill - ready with expert advice, clever solutions, and a few laughs along the way. They're also joined by head manager of Bicton House, Edward Lister, to tour the 60 acres of land.

Senior Producer: Dominic Tyerman
Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m002m004)
Northanger Abbey - Episode Two

Jane Austen’s novel, Northanger Abbey, was the first full book she wrote. She was in her early 20s at the time and it was accepted by a publisher but the novel wasn’t published in her lifetime. In this second episode John Yorke looks at the story behind the genesis of Northanger Abbey - how a young woman with only three years of formal education came to write such an accomplished work, what prompted her to write a satire of Gothic fiction, and why the book is also a hymn of praise to the novel form itself.

Jane may not have spent much time in school but her voracious love of reading, her prodigious memory and understanding of other writers’ techniques meant that she was entertaining the family with her own stories and plays from an early age. After leaving school at 11, her real education began - self-education. With the encouragement of her father, the availability of subscription libraries which made reading possible for all purses, and a lot of writing practice, she would develop into one of Britain’s finest writers.

Sadly, her story is also one of disappointment and neglect. Despite the publisher’s promise, Jane’s novel, finished when she was 24, would have to languish for nearly 20 years before it finally saw the light of day, six months after her death.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience 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. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4.

Contributors: Emma Clery, Literary Critic and Cultural Historian, Professor of English Literature at the Uppsala University, Sweden, and author of Jane Austen: The Banker’s Sister.

Rebecca Romney, author of Jane Austen’s Bookshelf.

Reader: Esme Scarborough
Production Hub Coordinators: Nina Semple, Dawn Williams
Researcher: Henry Tydeman
Sound: Iain Hunter
Producer: Kate McAll
Executive Producer: Sara Davies

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m002m006)
Northanger Abbey

Part 2

by Jane Austen
dramatised by Clara Glynn

Austen's early novel is a coming-of-age narrative and a satire on the 1790s vogue for sensationalist Gothic fiction.
Broadcast to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen.

Part Two
Having spent some weeks in Bath, Catherine has received an invitation from the Tilneys to stay at their home, Northanger Abbey.
In the halls and corridors of this ancient building and fuelled by her love of the Gothic novel, Catherine's imagination runs riot.

Catherine Morland ..... Madeleine Gray
Henry TIlney ..... Will Howard
Eleanor Tilney ..... Scarlett Courtney
General Tilney ..... John Heffernan
Isabella Thorpe ..... Cecilia Appiah
Mrs Morland ..... Jasmine Hyde
James Morland/Captain Tilney ..... Django Bevan

Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane

Sound by Keith Graham and Sam Dickinson
Production Coordinator - Bethany Woodhead


SUN 16:00 Take Four Books (m002m008)
Katherine Rundell

Award-winning author Katherine Rundell discusses The Poisoned King, the second instalment in her acclaimed children’s fantasy series, Impossible Creatures.

In this latest adventure, protagonist Christopher journeys back to the magical archipelago - a realm where dragons, unicorns, griffons, mermaids, and much more, all roam free. But this time, he’s faced with an urgent and mysterious threat.

Rundell shares the three literary inspirations behind her new novel: William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1600), C.S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian (1951), and Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea (1968).

Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.


SUN 16:30 Punt & Dennis: Route Masters (m0023ydg)
Series 1: From Beer to Eternity

3 - From West Ham United to Madagascar

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are on a mission from West Ham United to Madagascar with the help of Isy Suttie, in a warm and witty podcast that celebrates new and half-remembered trivia as they try to find entertaining links between random places, people and things.

Could you make your way from The Starship Enterprise to the Air Fryer, armed only with A Level Economics and a Geography degree? Hugh Dennis is going to have to. While Steve Punt will have to pick his way across Africa, to find what links Machiavelli and Madagascar. Across the series, they’ll be joined by guests including Ken Cheng, Kiri Pritchard McLean, Isy Suttie and Marcus Brigstocke, on a scenic route which takes in Shampoo, The Gruffalo, Watford Gap Services and Yoghurt.

Written and hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis
With Isy Suttie
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
Recorded at Maple St Creative
Mixed by Jonathan Last

A Listen Production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct74q6)
Cleveland Balloonfest '86

In 1986, a world record attempt was launched by the city of Cleveland, in the US.

One and a half million balloons were blown up by volunteers ready to be released into the sky, with thousands of people watching.

It was meant to be a dazzling publicity stunt, but due to strong winds and a cold front, the balloons didn't float away as expected.

Colm Flynn speaks to Tom Holowatch, who was the project manager of BalloonFest '86, about how this became one of the most memorable days in the history of Cleveland, for all the right, and wrong reasons.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: BalloonFest. Credit: Getty Images)


SUN 17:10 The Verb (m002m00c)
Train Poetry with Don Paterson, Bella Hardy, Carmen Marcus, Patrick McGuinness

Ian McMillan enjoys the language of the iconic 'Night Mail' poem by W.H. Auden, invites us into signal boxes, imagines train station bars, and evokes the empty platforms that inspire songs - as he celebrates 200 years of railway inspired poetry with his guests Don Paterson, Carmen Marcus, Bella Hardy and Patrick McGuinness.

Don Paterson is a poet and musician. He's the editor of an anthology of train poems called 'Train Songs' (with Sean O'Brien) and described the chapters of his memoir 'Toy Fights' as 'train windows'. The Verb has commissioned Don to write a poem about a station that seems to him particularly unpoetic..

Carmen Marcus is a graduate of the 'Verb New Voices' writing scheme. She is a novelist and poet, and for the anniversary of the passenger railway she has been talking to passengers on the Stockton & Darlington line and writing train inspired poems. Carmen brings railway trolls and brand new words for the excitement of train travel to the Verb studio.

Patrick McGuinness is British-Belgian writer and poet. He teaches French and Comparative Literature at Oxford. His latest book is a series of essays called 'Ghost Stations' - he explains why the idea of the 'ghost station' has been such a powerful 'engine' for his writing.

Bella Hardy is a lover of ballads, a BBC Folk Singer of the Year, and a songwriter. The Verb has asked her to respond to one of the greatest train platform inspired songs of all time - Paul Simon's 'Homeward Bound' . Bella performs a brand new song that celebrates the way waiting for a train can lead artists to come up with some of their best work.

You'll also hear the acoustics of a real signal box - part of a soundscape produced by Sheffield folk and electronics duo Polyhymns.

Produced by Faith Lawrence

​


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002m00f)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m002m00h)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002m00k)
BBC Director General Tim Davie resigns

The BBC's director general, Tim Davie and the CEO of BBC News Deborah Turness have resigned, after a leaked memo raised concerns about bias at the broadcaster. Also: King Charles leads Remembrance Sunday commemorations in London. UK military personnel and equipment are being sent to Belgium after suspected Russian drone incursions and Super Typhoon Fung-wong makes landfall in the Philippines.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m002m00m)
Tessa Dunlop

This week, we hear from Grace Taylor in Poole, a 101-year-old World War Two veteran, as we journey through her life via the medium of radio. We touch on forgiveness, fear and the footballing hero who’s just been knighted. We’ll also be hearing Grace’s link to the late Prunella Scales, with some reflections from the actress's son Samuel on Last Word, as well as some classic 1940s hits to accompany us in our travels to the "golden age" of the wireless.

Presenter: Dr Tessa Dunlop
Producer: Anthony McKee
Production Coordinators: Caoilfhinn McFadden and Caroline Peddle

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m002lzwb)
Having helped Pip prepare the cows’ winter housing at Brookfield tired Leonard nearly falls over, before going inside to make a phone call. Pip tells Ruth she’s worried Leonard might be overdoing it, helping out while the others are busy at Meadow Farm. It’s so easy to forget how old he is. Ruth agrees and says she’ll have a quiet word with Leonard. But when Ruth catches the end of Leonard’s phone call, then teases about hearing him mention a “little secret”, he gets prickly, agreeing tersely that he’ll be sure not to do too much from now on. Later, Ruth mentions being intrigued by Leonard’s “little secret” to Pip, who tells her bluntly not to be so nosey.
Susan compliments Alan on the Remembrance Day service, but he punctures her mood by passing on a complaint from a shop customer, before telling Susan he’s starting to lose patience himself. Jakob, likewise, grudgingly passes on a customer query before Susan tells Alan the shop isn’t really her concern now. She’s handed in her resignation, due to the shop committee refusing to allow George to volunteer there. When Alan suggests some villagers are still coming to terms with what George did, Susan insists he just needs someone to give him a chance. Susan accepts that her resignation will make it difficult for people, especially replacing her at the Post Office, but she won’t change her mind unless George is allowed to volunteer. Alan then confides in Jakob that the shop will have to stop operating at the church.


SUN 19:15 Illuminated (m002lzwr)
The Little Box Which Contains the World

Emily Berry leads us on an exploration of agoraphobia: a poetic journey through the lives of people who don't like going on journeys.

Agoraphobia is elusive and elastic – and it's very probably not what you think it is.

Poet Emily Berry was diagnosed with agoraphobia over ten years ago, a condition which limits her ability to travel. And so she's setting off in a different way: on a journey into the life of the mind, guided by a chorus of fellow agoraphobics. What does it mean to come up against the boundaries of the self and how might those limits be breached through the power of the imagination – in the words of poet Vasko Popa, "the little box which contains the world."

Featuring Graham Caveney, Charlotte Levin and Peter Ruppert.

Includes extracts from a BBC interview with Dr Claire Weekes.

Graham Caveney's memoir is called On Agoraphobia (Picador)
Charlotte Levin's most recent novel is If I Let You Go (Mantle)
Peter Ruppert's on-line community is anxietyfitness.com


SUN 19:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m000zd9q)
Eat Chocolate

Could eating two squares of dark chocolate a day really help you reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease - and enhance blood flow to your brain? In this episode, Michael Mosley champions the wonders of chocolate. With the help of Professor Aedín Cassidy at Queen's University Belfast, he reveals the secret ingredients behind the benefits and why we should start to embrace the bitter taste of high cocoa chocolate.


SUN 20:00 Feedback (m002lpkc)
Today and the Chancellor Statement. Listeners on Jonathan Pie, and a Radical VoxBox

In last week's episode of Feedback, we spoke to BBC Radio 4 Comedy and Entertainment commissioner Julia McKenzie about Call Jonathan Pie in the 6.30pm comedy slot. In this week's entirely listener-led programme, we'll hear your comments and reaction to last week's interview.

And two listeners, Abi and Clare, discuss Radical with Amol Rajan in our Vox Box. The relatively new podcast has Amol sitting down with some of the leading lights in tech, politics and more, for big conversations designed to help you, as the programme descriptions suggests, to 'win the future'. But is it as radical as its title?

And some listeners are asking why the Today programme left the Chancellor of the Exchequer's live pre budget statement from Downing Street early.

Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Pauline Moore
Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie
Executive Producer: David Prest

A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m002lpp4)
Dick Cheney, Yvonne Brewster, Mary McGee, Peter Watkins

Matthew Bannister on

Dick Cheney, the Republican politician who was Vice President under George W Bush and played key roles in both Gulf Wars.

Yvonne Brewster, the Jamaican-born director and actor who founded the Black British Theatre Company Talawa.

Mary ‘May’ McGee, the Irish woman who brought s successful legal challenge against the country’s ban on contraception.

Peter Watkins, the film maker whose powerful depiction of a nuclear attack on the UK was banned by the BBC

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley

Archive used:
Dick Cheney interview, Oral Histories, C-Span, 19/12/2007; Dick Cheney, PBS, 04/11/2025; Dick Cheney, Operation Desert Storm press Conference, 17/01/1991; George W Bush names Vice President candidate and running mate, CNN, 25/07/2000; Yvonne, Brewster interview, Fighting Talk, BBC Two, 22/02/1991; Mary McGee interview, No Country For Women documentary series, directed by Anne Roper, RTE ONE, 19/06/2020; May McGee interview, Misneach, May & Séamus McGee, TG4 YouTube Channel, uploaded 20/09/2023; The World This Weekend, BBC Radio 4, 23/05/1971; Yvonne Brewster, Desert Island Discs, Radio 4, 01/04/2005; Peter Watkins interview, The Lively Arts, BBC Radio 3, 22/05/1966; The War Game, BBC, 1966, Dir: Peter Watkins; Culloden, 1964 trailer , director: Peter Watkins;


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m002lzkp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m002lzzk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002lzkk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:30 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m002m00p)
Crisis at the BBC and Budget build-up

Ben Wright is joined by the Labour MP and former Foreign Office minister Catherine West, Shadow Leader of the Commons Jesse Norman, and the pollster and political strategist Scarlett Maguire. They discuss the unfolding crisis at the BBC over allegations of bias and the resignations of two senior leaders. Kevin Schofield - political editor of Huffpost UK - brings additional insight and analysis. Ben also interviews former Chancellor George Osborne about his experience of presenting Budgets and the choices facing Rachel Reeves over tax and spending.


SUN 23:00 In Our Time (b08kscgb)
Pauli's Exclusion Principle

After 27 years, Melvyn Bragg has decided to step down from the In Our Time presenter’s chair. With over a thousand episodes to choose from, he has selected just six that capture the huge range and depth of the subjects he and his experts have tackled. In this fifth of his choices, we hear Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss a key figure from quantum mechanics.

Their topic is the life and ideas of Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958), whose Exclusion Principle is one of the key ideas in quantum mechanics. A brilliant physicist, at 21 Pauli wrote a review of Einstein's theory of general relativity and that review is still a standard work of reference today. The Pauli Exclusion Principle proposes that no two electrons in an atom can be at the same time in the same state or configuration, and it helps explain a wide range of phenomena such as the electron shell structure of atoms. Pauli went on to postulate the existence of the neutrino, which was confirmed in his lifetime. Following further development of his exclusion principle, Pauli was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1945 for his 'decisive contribution through his discovery of a new law of Nature'. He also had a long correspondence with Jung, and a reputation for accidentally breaking experimental equipment which was dubbed The Pauli Effect.

With

Frank Close
Fellow Emeritus at Exeter College, University of Oxford

Michela Massimi
Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Edinburgh

and

Graham Farmelo
Bye-Fellow of Churchill College, University of Cambridge

Producer: Simon Tillotson

Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Melvyn Bragg and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world


SUN 23:45 Short Works (m002lpp2)
Homing by Marie-Louise McGuinness

An original short story specially commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from the writer Marie-Louise McGuinness. Read by Charlotte McCurry (BBC One's Leonard and Hungry Paul.)

The Author
Marie-Louise McGuinness writes from Omagh, Northern Ireland. She has work published in numerous literary magazines including Banshee, The Forge and Fictive Dream. She has been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, longlisted in the Bath Short Story Award and her very short story "When She Falls", first published in Milk Candy Review, was selected as a winner for Best Microfictions 2025. She writes from a sensory perspective.

Writer: Marie-Louise McGuinness
Reader: Charlotte McCurry
Producer: Michael Shannon

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.

MONDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2025

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m002m00r)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 00:15 Soul Music (m0024vn6)
Benedictus

Sir Karl Jenkins' Benedictus is the penultimate movement from his anti-war mass, The Armed Man. Written twenty-five years ago this year and performed over three thousand times, Sir Karl dedicated it to the victims of the 1998-1999 Kosovo war. It was originally commissioned by The Royal Armouries Museum and premiered for the millennium.

The Armed Man as a whole reflects the descent into war, but the movement of Benedictus' emerges as a message of hope and peace in the aftermath. Benedictus is recognised for its haunting cello theme, in a register unusually high for this resonant instrument. The cello solo gradually expands into a full choir and orchestra.

Benedictus has given solace to listeners through some of the most difficult moments of their lives. We hear some of their stories. Featuring:

British Armed Forces Veteran Michael Young, who served in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan;
Reverand Charles Thody, Priest in Lincolnshire and chaplain for the NHS;
Dane Coetzee, cellist in Cape Town, South Africa;
And the composer of Benedictus himself, Sir Karl Jenkins and his wife, Lady Carol Jenkins.

Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol
Sound Engineer: Ilse Lademann
Editor: Emma Harding


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m002lzlx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002m00t)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002m00w)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.


MON 05:00 News Summary (m002m00y)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:04 Last Word (m002lpp4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Sunday]


MON 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002m010)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002m012)
The Child in Our Midst

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Great Ormond Street Lead Chaplain - Rev Dorothy Moore Brooks

Good Morning.

Right in the heart of Great Ormond Street Hospital is St Christopher’s Chapel, where, as lead chaplain I’ve spent much time. One of the stained-glass windows always catches my eye. It depicts Jesus, surrounded by disciples, but with a little child right in front of him. His hands hover over the child, as if in tender affirmation and blessing. Below these words from the Gospel of Matthew: “Jesus called a little child unto him and set him in the midst.”

Many of the children we are privileged to work with come to us in great crises but leave with health and hope restored. However, sadly that isn’t true for everyone. Every year some of our children die, each one leaving a grief that is simply beyond words.

In this season of Remembrance, those children of Great Ormond Street are right in the midst of our community’s collective memory.

We remember them when we visit a ward and see the bed they once occupied or hear a lullaby that made them smile.

We remember them each morning as we turn the page in our Book of Remembrance, in which their names are lovingly inscribed.

We remember them when we celebrate major festivals, aware of their friends and families whose celebrations are forever changed.

We remember them at our annual Time to Remember gathering, when their names are read aloud and a candle lit in their honour.

We remember them because, however short, every day of their life mattered, and always will.

And in remembering them we ensure that they are always, in those words of Jesus, “in the midst” and all that we are, and all that do.

I pray today for all who mourn, that they might be comforted.

Amen.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m002m014)
Many farming families are uncertain about their future in the industry, but are we on the cusp of major change with consequences for the fabric of the countryside? Professor Matt Lobley, from Exeter University, has researched the dynamics and economics of family farms for many years and he tells us that this moment feels 'different', citing the phase out of the Basic Payment System in England, rising costs, price volatility, and the hiatus in England's Sustainable Farming Incentive. He says that a period of restructuring is on the way, which will result in fewer farms. Professor Lobley believes family farms bring intangible benefits to rural communities which need to be appreciated.

We look at an 'Agflation' index of farm costs which shows some increased significantly over the last year. Fertiliser costs went up 11%, for example. Others, like livestock feed, have decreased on the back of declining arable commodity prices.

And, we begin a week looking at Mushroom production with a trip to a farm in County Armagh.

Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Sarah Swadling


MON 05:57 Weather (m002m016)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for farmers


MON 06:00 Today (m002lzv3)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m002lzv7)
Saving Tigers, Green Crime and Cli-fi

Threats to the natural world are the focus of today’s conversation. Adam Rutherford talks to wildlife biologist Jonathan Slaght, novelist Juhea Kim and criminal psychologist Julia Shaw.

Jonathan Slaght discusses Tigers Between Empires, his account of the international effort to save the Siberian tiger from extinction in the wake of the Cold War.

Juhea Kim’s short story collection A Love Story from the End of the World imagines lives lived in precarious balance with nature, from biodomes in Seoul to landfill islands in the Pacific.

Dr Julia Shaw’s Green Crime investigates the psychology behind environmental destruction, profiling the perpetrators of ecological harm and the people fighting to stop them.

Producer: Katy Hickman
Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez


MON 09:45 Café Hope (m002lzvb)
Rides for remembrance

Mike Hughes, founder of volunteer initiative Poppy Cabs, tells Rachel Burden how they provide taxis for veterans who need to travel to Remembrance Day events in the UK and abroad.

Café Hope is our virtual Radio 4 coffee shop, where guests pop in for a brew and a chat to tell us what they’re doing to make things better in big and small ways. Think of us as sitting in your local café, cooking up plans, hearing the gossip, and celebrating the people making the world a better place.

We’re all about trying to make change. It might be a transformational project that helps an entire community, or it might be about trying to make one life a little bit easier. And the key here is in the trying. This is real life. Not everything works, and there are struggles along the way. But it’s always worth a go.

You can contact us on cafehope@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rachel Burden
Series Producer: Uma Doraiswamy
Sound Design: Nicky Edwards
Researcher: Maeve Schaffer
Editor: Clare Fordham


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002lzvg)
Christine Flack, New Ofsted school grading, Emma Barnett

Caroline Flack was a Bafta-winning TV presenter, host of shows including Love Island and The X Factor. In February of 2020, she took her own life ahead of a court case in which she was charged with the assault of her then boyfriend, after weeks of press scrutiny. Her mother Christine Flack tells Clare McDonnell about spending the past five years uncovering documents from the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service to try to find out more about the events around Caroline’s death and she also questions the role of the press. That journey is documented in a two-part documentary out on Disney+ called Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth.

A new schools inspection system begins in England today. Overall judgements, such as 'good' or 'requires improvement,' have been scrapped and schools will now be given one of five grades in several different categories. The changes were prompted by the death of the head teacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life in January 2023 whilst waiting for the publication of an Ofsted report she knew would grade her school as "inadequate." Clare speaks to the BBC Education Reporter Vanessa Clarke and Tom Middlehurst, Deputy Director of Policy at the Association of School and College Leaders.

Louise Penny is the multi award-winning Canadian crime novelist. Her books have sold over 18 million copies worldwide and this year marks the 20th anniversary of her hugely popular Inspector Gamache series. Her latest novel is called The Black Wolf and follows on from her previous one The Grey Wolf. Gamache has foiled a plot to poison Montreal’s drinking water, but has discovered that this is simply phase one of a dark master plan and he needs to take on not only an organised crime syndicate, but also delve into the murky depths of government and power to discover who the black wolf is.

There is a brand new podcast out from a familiar voice - Emma Barnett: Ready to Talk, in which Emma invites listeners into her world for bold, honest, and deeply human conversations about the experiences in life that shape and connect us. In the first episode Emma talks to her friend, the journalist and presenter Kate Thornton, about something she’s never spoken about publicly before: perimenopause. In the UK, 13 million women are currently experiencing the perimenopause, or menopause, but information about what it is and what can help can be hard to find. Emma tells Clare about her own experience.

Presenter: Clare McDonnell
Producer: Andrea Kidd


MON 11:00 Air Ambulance (m0026900)
Welcome aboard Helimed 21, the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, run by Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex.

Summer is the busiest time of year for KSS, and today is no exception.

Join Dr Kevin Fong with his fellow medics and pilots as they race to serious incidents across their nearly 3000 square mile patch. With unique access and using a suite of carefully tailored microphones, hear first-hand how medics and pilots at the cutting edge of their professions deal with the worst days of their patients' lives. Real events, real decisions, in real time.

After being trapped in his car for over an hour following a collision, patient Will is in a bad way. A South East Coast Ambulance paramedic who used to work for HEMS is first on scene. As Will’s condition deteriorates despite her expert efforts, she calls her for the help of KSS. They rush to the scene and she passes the baton in the chain of survival. But Will is still going downhill - it’s clear he’s been critically injured. Even flying the emergency room service to him, as KSS does thousands of times each year, may not be enough to save his life.

When a case is this serious, every decision is a balance of benefits and risks, all with high stakes. From careful diagnosis of multiple serious injuries to delivering a blood transfusion, we hear how the KSS medical team weigh up the available choices in their attempt to save Will.

If you’ve ever seen an air ambulance whirring overhead and wondered where they’re going - this is a story for you.

With thanks to Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex, South East Coast Ambulance and Royal Sussex County Hospital.
Presenter: Dr Kevin Fong
Producer: Jen Whyntie
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
A TellTale Industries production for BBC Radio 4


MON 11:45 The Everest Obsession (m001y1y3)
1. Reaching the Summit

Is a global obsession with Everest creating unnecessary risk for the people who work there? On 18 April 2014, an avalanche killed 16 sherpas on the mountain. They were picking their way through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall carrying heavy equipment for climbing companies. The tragedy shone a spotlight on the commercial side of the mountain, where hundreds attempt the summit each year, supported by sherpas.
Rebecca Stephens became the first British woman to reach the summit of Everest in 1993.
In this episode, she shares her summit story and hears the experiences of Sir Chris Bonington, Lakpa Rita Sherpa and Margaret Watroba.
This was first broadcast in April 2024.

Presenter: Rebecca Stephens MBE
Producer: Laura Jones
Production Assistance in Kathmandu: Pradeep Bashyal
Editor: Clare Fordham
Production Coordinators: Gemma Ashman and Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke


MON 12:00 News Summary (m002lzvs)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m002lzvx)
Car Finance Claims, Mini Menus, ADHD Prescriptions

Its estimated that up to 14 million people could be owed compensation in the mis-sold car finance scandal according to the FCA. Claims Management Companies and law firms have been advertising heavily to get people to sign up with them to pursue these claims on their behalf. We've been investigating complaints about a company called Complex Law after people found they had been signed up to a contract with the firm without realising.

We explore the rise of weight-loss menus as some restaurants reduce portion sizes to meet the needs of those on weight loss jabs. We hear from someone who's been on them about how they impacted their experience of dining out plus new research from specialist hospitality insight company KAM Insight which found that 65% of people taking weight loss drugs now eat different types of food when dining out including smaller meals.

Dozens of people with ADHD have told You and Yours they are facing covering the costs for their ADHD medication, totaling hundreds of pounds a month in some cases. Previously the costs were covered by something called Shared Care, which allows GPs to issue prescriptions for medication for a condition that was diagnosed by a private clinic. However several sources tell us that some GPs are deciding to end shared care agreements leaving patients liable for costs. We hear from someone impacted and facing a bill of £500 a month for a private prescription plus the British Medical Association.

PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: CATHERINE EARLAM


MON 12:57 Weather (m002lzw1)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m002lzw5)
Chairman admits BBC 'mistakes' but denies bias claims

Samir Shah apologises for Panorama's editing of a Donald Trump speech but insists any bias in the corporation's reporting isn't systemic. Plus, what will the COP30 climate talks achieve?


MON 13:45 Darren Harriott: Father Figuring (m002lzw7)
Episode 1 - I'm Older Than My Dad

Darren Harriott is a 37-year-old comedian from the Black Country in the West Midlands. And in reaching this age, he has lived longer than his dad, who took his own life while in prison in the year 2000 – he was 35 and Darren was 11.

Overtaking him in age has brought Darren to a strange point in life, rethinking and reevaluating everything – not least about becoming a dad himself.

Darren doesn’t have kids yet but he has begun to question what fatherhood really means. After not really having any kind of relationship with his own, would he be a good dad? What even makes a good dad? Can you learn how to be a good dad? And is he at risk of making the same mistakes that his dad made and continuing the Bad Dad cycle?

Through interviews and stand-up comedy, Darren is going to look at the role of dads, both in the family and in society. He’s going look into his dad’s background – something he’s never done before and knows very little about. And, with the help of family, friends, social scientists and psychologists, Darren will interrogate his feelings about all of this, find out what it means to be a dad, and perhaps even work out whether he actually wants to be a dad himself.

In Episode 1, Darren looks at the fathers and parents in his own family to try and understand what he learned – or didn’t learn - from them.

Presenter: Darren Harriott
Producer: Laura Grimshaw
Researcher: Hannah Ratcliffe
Live Sound: Jerry Peal
Post-Production Sound: Tony Churnside
Executive Producers: Jon Holmes and Carrie Rose

An unusual production for BBC Radio 4


MON 14:00 The Archers (m002lzwb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Disordered (p0gtz3t3)
Series 1

Episode 3 - Haddock and Charlette with an E

A comedy drama, written by Magnus Mackintosh, and starring Jamie Sives as Hector, an optimistic but struggling 42-year-old single father, with long-term mental health issues, who lives in Edinburgh with his unusually bright 10-year-old son William. He is aided by kindly friend and neighbour Susan and hindered by acerbic ex-partner Amanda.

In episode three, Haddock and Charlette with an E, Hector is stung into action when Susan finds an online admirer who seems so perfect she thinks he might be ”the one”. With no little prompting from William, Hector also goes on a date with Charlette, with an E. Could Hector and Susan both find love at the same time? Meanwhile Amanda is concerned that Finlay is always busy with work.

The writer, Magnus Mackintosh, has personally struggled with mental health issues over 27 years. He openly discusses his own mental health issues on social media in the hope he can help others and raise awareness.

Created and Written by Magnus Mackintosh

Cast
Hector- Jamie Sives
Susan- Rosalind Sydney
Amanda- Gail Watson
William- Raffi Phillips
Haddrick- Jimmy Chisholm
Charlette- Victoria Balnaves

Studio Engineer and Editor- Lee McPhail
Production Manager- Tayler Norris
Title Music- Just Breathe by Police Dog Hogan
Produced and Directed by Moray Hunter and Gordon Kennedy

Recorded at Castlesound Studios, Pencaitland, East Lothian

An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4


MON 14:45 Scenes from a Childhood by Jon Fosse (m001vmd1)
Episode Three: Scenes from a Childhood (Part Three)

A selection of connected short stories by the celebrated Norwegian author Jon Fosse, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature - “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable”. Minimalist and compelling, these pared-back vignettes take us from infancy to awkward adolescence, skirting the line between fiction and autobiography. Episodes one to three draw stories from the titular story sequence 'Scenes from a Childhood'; episodes four and five are taken from the story 'Little Sister'.

'the Beckett of the twenty-first century' - Le Monde

‘Fosse has been compared to Ibsen and to Beckett, and it is easy to see his work as Ibsen stripped down to its emotional essentials. But it is much more. For one thing, it has a fierce poetic simplicity.’ - New York Times

Translated from the Norwegian by Damion Searls
Read by John Mackay
Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery and Mair Bosworth
Mixed by Ilse Lademann


MON 15:00 A Good Read (m002lzwd)
Julia Shaw and Hayaatun Sillem

FUNDAMENTALLY by Nussaibah Younis, chosen by Julia Shaw
YOUR LIFE IS MANUFACTURED by Tim Minshall, chosen by Hayaatun Sillem
ROSARITA by Anita Desai, chosen by Harriett Gilbert

Criminal psychologist Julia Shaw joins engineer Hayaatun Sillem to discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Julia's choice, Fundamentally, is a bold debut novel by Nussaibah Younis which sparks a bit of debate. Younis writes a comedy story about an academic who takes a UN job in Iraq to lead a deradicalisation program for ISIS women. Hayaatun puts forward a very different book, a non-fiction by Tim Minshall, Professor of Innovation at the University of Cambridge. His book Your Life is Manufactured reveals the seismic impact that manufacturing has both on our lives and on the natural world. Finally, Harriett's choice is a haunting novella called Rosarita by Anita Desai, an unsettling riddle that follows a young Indian woman's quest through Mexico to find out more about her mother.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley


MON 15:30 Curious Cases (m002lzkc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]


MON 16:00 Currently (m002lpff)
From Anglesey with Love

In the summer of 2020, Radio 4 producer Polly Weston found herself at Nathan Gill’s house. She’d been sent by a random postcode generator, for an episode of The Patch. What followed was a wide-ranging interview about his life and career, how he became involved in UKIP, his involvement in campaigning for Brexit, and his subsequent responsibilities in the Brexit party after they stormed to victory in the 2019 European elections. But the interview also happens to cover the period he was taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia. One year after this interview, Counter Terrorism detectives entered this same house, and they found evidence which contributed to his recent conviction for eight counts of bribery.

“Officers found evidence on his devices that showed how Gill was in contact another individual in Ukraine and that Gill had agreed that, in exchange for money, he would make certain statements that were supportive of pro-Russia media being present in Ukraine. Detectives identified eight such instances between January 2018 and February 2020.”

Gill pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery in September, and faces sentencing on the 21st November – he is expected to receive a prison sentence.

This is his story, up to the time of the events which led to his conviction, as told by the man himself.

Produced and Presented in Bristol by Polly Weston
Editor Chris Ledgard


MON 16:30 Legend (m002lzkf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


MON 17:00 PM (m002lzwg)
President Trump threatens $1bn legal action against BBC

BBC Chair apologises for 'error of judgement' over edit of a Donald Trump speech. We ask if a national public service broadcaster still has a place in today's more polarised society. Plus, in the first of our 'Not the Budget' series - Kirstie Allsopp provides an alternative vision for property taxes. Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa visits the White House. And your AI questions answered by the BBC's Technology Editor Zoe Kleinman.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002lzwj)
BBC Chairman apologises for the way Panorama edited a Donald Trump speech

The chairman of the BBC, Samir Shah, has apologised for what he called an "error of judgement" over the way a speech by President Trump on the day of the US Capitol attack in 2021 was edited for an episode of Panorama. Also: The Chancellor Rachel Reeves again refuses to rule out tax rises in the budget later this month, but hints at changes to the two child benefit cap. And the United Nations climate summit COP30 has opened in Brazil.


MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m002lzwl)
Series 84

1. Catchphrase

The godfather of all panel shows pays a visit to the Mayflower in Southampton. On the panel are Adrian Edmondson, Rachel Parris, Miles Jupp and Marcus Brigstocke, with Jack Dee in the umpire’s chair. Regular listeners will know to expect inspired nonsense, pointless revelry and Colin Sell at the piano.

Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random production for BBC Radio 4


MON 19:00 The Archers (m002lzwp)
Kate drags Jakob out shopping for esoteric items to help Phoebe in the final stages of her pregnancy, then defends Jakob’s slow driving to impatient Lilian on the way home. Moving on to how stressful the situation at Home Farm is for Brian, Kate gets irritated with Jakob for suggesting Spiritual Home could go down the pan as well. Both Lilian and Brian have bought expensive, bulky presents for the new baby to take up to Scotland, but Kate insists they’ll all be travelling together in the people carriers, even if space is tight.
George mithers to Will about not having enough to do, apart from cooking and housework, before Amber arrives, clearly unimpressed he’s not made any progress getting a job. George admits to Will he’s worried that he’s not living up to Amber’s expectations. Amber thinks George should be braving things at the Village Shop, showing people he’s not ashamed. George wants paid work though, outside Ambridge, so he can make a fresh start and provide for her. Will can see how flat George really is, when he’s not putting on a brave face for Amber. George admits he’s finding life even harder than expected, with no money, car or job, plus having to sponge off Amber. If things don’t change George reckons she’ll leave him. Will tries reassuring George and offers to lend him five hundred pounds, to be repaid when George gets a job. George is touched, vowing to use the money to show Amber how much he loves her.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m002mgsy)
All the authors shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2025

The six authors shortlisted for this year's Booker Prize discuss their novels ahead of tonight's ceremony, which is broadcast live on Radio 4 at 9.30pm in a special extra edition of Front Row.

Andrew Miller on The Land in Winter
Kiran Desai on The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
David Szalay on Flesh
Katie Kitamura on Audition
Susan Choi on Flashlight
Ben Markovits on The Rest of Our Lives

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Timothy Prosser


MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m002lpkf)
What's happening in Venezuela?

Something is going in the southern Caribbean. The world’s largest aircraft carrier - the American USS Gerald R Ford- is on its way to the region. Small boats said to belong to Venezuelan drug smugglers are being blown up by the US military. Old US bases are being de-mothballed. And there’s media talk of Trump-induced regime change in Caracas, with Venezuela’s authoritarian, leftist president Nicolas Maduro in the crosshairs. In this week's Briefing Room, David Aaronovitch and guests ask what this military show of strength is really about and what it mean for the region?

Guests:

Will Grant, BBC Mexico, Central America and Cuba Correspondent.
Jeremy McDermott, co-founder and co-director of InSight Crime, a Colombia-based think tank that studies organised crime in the Americas.
Dr Christopher Sabatini, Senior Fellow for Latin America at Chatham House
Dr Annette Idler, Associate Professor in Global Security at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford.

Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight and Cordelia Hemming
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound Engineer: Gareth Jones
Editor: Richard Vadon


MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (w3ct8txj)
Is Dark Energy Getting Weaker?

Astronomers have new evidence, which could change what we understand about the expansion of the universe. Carlos Frenk, Ogden Professor of Fundamental Physics at Durham University gives us his take on whether the dark energy pushing our universe apart is getting weaker.

With the Turing Prize, the Nobel Prize and now this week the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering under his belt, Geoffrey Hinton is known for his pioneering work on AI. And, since leaving a job at Google in 2023, for his warnings that AI could bring about the end of humanity. Tom Whipple speaks to Geoffrey about the science of super intelligence.

And Senior physics reporter at Nature Lizzie Gibney brings us her take on the new science that matters this week.

To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.

Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Clare Salisbury
Content Producer: Ella Hubber
Assistant Producers: Jonathan Blackwell & Tim Dodd
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth


MON 21:00 Illuminated (m002lzwr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:15 on Sunday]


MON 21:30 Front Row (m002lzwt)
Winner of the 2025 Booker Prize announced live from the ceremony

Samira Ahmed presents live from Old Billingsgate in London, where the announcement of the winner of the 2025 Booker Prize is taking place.

The novels on the shortlist: Flesh by David Szalay, The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller, The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits, Audition by Katie Kitamura, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, and Flashlight by Susan Choi.

As well as speaking to the winner, Samira talks to some of the judges including actor Sarah Jessica Parker and Chair of judges novelist Roddy Doyle. Plus Penelope Lively, the only writer to have won both the Booker Prize and the Carnegie Medal for children’s books, talks about the transformative power of literature for children.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Claire Bartleet


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m002lzww)
Trump threatens to sue BBC for $1bn

US President Donald Trump has threatened the BBC with a $1bn lawsuit over edits the Panorama programme made to a speech he gave before the January 6 Capitol riots. We assess the significance of the lawsuit and the resignations of the Director General and the CEO of BBC News.

Also on the programme: why Democrats aren’t happy about a deal aimed at ending the longest government shutdown in US history; and on a rare trip back home, a UK-based Russian writer finds out how people are dealing with the war in Ukraine.


MON 22:45 The Accident Report Book by Joe Dunthorne (m002lzwy)
Episode 1

When video game designer Marian Welby is tasked with reporting a bizarre workplace accident, she finds that she rather enjoys the act of writing it up.

Original fiction for BBC Radio 4 by Joe Dunthorne (Submarine, Children of Radium, podcast Half-Life). Read by Ell Potter and Clive Hayward.

Production Co-ordinator, Alison Crawford
Sound Editing, Suzy Robins
Producer Emma Harding, BBC Audio Bristol


MON 23:00 Start the Week (m002lzv7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 23:45 Today in Parliament (m002lzx1)
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster as peers demand answers over the accidental release of two men from Wandsworth Prison last month.