The BBC has announced that it has a sustainable plan for the future of the BBC Singers, in association with The VOCES8 Foundation.
The threat to reduce the staff of the three English orchestras by 20% has not been lifted, but it is being reconsidered.
See the BBC press release here.

Radio-Lists Home Now on R4 Contact

RADIO-LISTS: BBC RADIO 4
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC Radio 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/



SATURDAY 13 DECEMBER 2008

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b00ftd2n)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b00fwfwr)
Coda

Episode 5

Toby Stephens reads from the playwright and diarist Simon Gray's candid and darkly comic account of coming to terms with terminal cancer. Gray experiences the joy of a christening.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00ftd2q)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00ftd2s)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00ftd2v)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b00ftd2x)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00ftd2z)
Daily prayer and reflection with the Venerable Dr John Holdsworth.


SAT 05:45 A Voyage to Lundy (b008tzzl)
Episode 3

Writer and poet Gwyneth Lewis explores Lundy Island's paradoxical qualities. Can they help to change her life's direction?

Producer: Penny Arnold

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2008.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b00ftd31)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b00ftnfb)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (b00ftlm2)
Countryside magazine. Helen Mark chats with owners of small woodlands and the creator of the nation's newest and largest forest, Felix Dennis, who is creating the forest of Dennis.


SAT 06:35 Farming Today This Week (b00ftlm4)
News and issues in rural Britain with Charlotte Smith.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b00ftltm)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b00ftltp)
Presented by John Humphrys and Evan Davis.

Danny Shaw reports on the verdict in the Jean Charles de Menezes inquest.

Martin Patience reports on attacks that killed four British Royal Marines in Afghanistan.

Roger Harrabin discusses the package to fight global warming which has been agreed by EU leaders.

Yesterday in Parliament with Mark D'Arcy.

Stephen Heppell, a consultant in the education field, says 'the world has gone learning mad' in preparing legislation within the education sector.

Sanchia Berg reports that Churchill's 'secret army', the Special Operations Executive, was not disbanded at the end of WWII, as is often thought.

Justin Webb considers how long it will take for the US to return to previous levels of growth.

Thought for the day with the Rev Bob Marshall.

Labour MP and chairman of the Commons Public Administration Committee Dr Tony Wright and Jill Leyland of the Royal Statistical Society discuss why Downing Street released data on knife crime despite objections from statisticians.

Gareth Pierce, part of the legal team who represented the de Menezes family, discusses if the operation was 'total chaos'. Ken Livingstone says the officer in charge has the potential to become Met Police Commissioner.

Matthew D'Ancona and Lance Price discuss why religion and politics rarely go together in the current political climate.

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband discusses the new EU global warming package.

Matthew Price reports on the crisis within the US car industry.

Jendayi Frazer discusses if Robert Mugabe will ever step down.

Former Labour MP Tony Benn and his granddaughter Emily, who is a prospective Labour Party candidate, discuss if there is still inequality between genders in politics.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b00ftp08)
Real life stories in which listeners talk about the issues that matter to them. Clare Balding is joined by the award-winning author Rose Tremain and Chris and Doug Young, a couple who withstood the shock of adultery to go on to help others in the same situation. With poetry from Susan Richardson.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b00ftp0b)
Maps - Arctic

MAPS
Sandi Toksvig meets Guy Browning whose autobiography is entitled The Maps of my Life. Weaned on maps, educated by maps and ever so slightly in love with maps they discuss how this obsession charted his unsteady progress from toddler to young man via the furthest corners of the Alps, Niagara Falls, the Mediterranean, Central America and darkest Chipping Norton.

ARCTIC
Ann Daniels is one of Britain’s best known female polar explorers and is currently training for a new trip to measure the thickness of Arctic ice cap. In an expedition called the Catlin Arctic Survey, Ann will be responsible for the navigation and the food during the trip which has taken some very logistical planning. She talks about the reality of surviving in temperatures of -50C and also about her previous encounters with polar bears.


SAT 10:30 The EMI Story (b00ftp0d)
Damian Reece, Head of Business at the Daily Telegraph, examines the takeover of the EMI music label by Terra Firma, a private equity firm, in 2007. In a rare interview, its chief executive Guy Hands talks about the bold move and his controversial cost-cutting measures, which have seen job losses and some of the label's highest-profile stars move on.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b00ftp8y)
A look behind the scenes at Westminster with Peter Oborne.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b00ftp90)
BBC foreign correspondents with the stories behind the world's headlines. Introduced by Kate Adie.


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b00ftp92)
Paul Lewis with the latest news from the world of personal finance. Including the new deals being offered by credit card companies to struggling customers, the financial implications of the fall in the value of sterling, what is being done about the mounting shortfalls in the Pension Protection Fund and the rise of fuel poverty.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b00ftd03)
Series 25

Episode 3

Comedy sketches and satirical comments from Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and the team including Mitch Benn, Marcus Brigstocke, Laura Shavin and Jon Holmes.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b00ftp94)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News Briefing (b00ftp96)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b00ftd05)
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical debate in Hagley in the West Midlands. The panel are immigration minister Phil Woolas, shadow security minister Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones Liberal Democrat spokesman David Laws and political editor of The Spectator, Fraser Nelson.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b00ftp98)
Jonathan Dimbleby takes listeners' calls and emails in response to this week's edition of Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b00fxzt0)
Blithe Spirit

Bert Coules' adaptation of the Noel Coward comedy.

When writer Charles Condomine invites a medium to hold a seance at his country house, he receives a ghostly visitation from his dead first wife, to the chagrin of his very much alive second one.

Charles ...... Roger Allam
Madame Arcati ...... Maggie Steed
Elvira ...... Zoe Waites
Ruth ...... Hermione Gulliford
Dr Bradman ...... David Killick
Mrs Bradman ...... Tilly Tremayne
Edith ...... Natalie Cassidy

Directed by Philip Franks.


SAT 16:00 Weekend Woman's Hour (b00fxzxb)
Highlights of this week's Woman's Hour programmes with Jane Garvey. Including an interview with Carly Fiorina, businesswoman and John McCain campaign adviser; reviewing the achievements of the female Olympians; supporting teenagers in abusive relationships; gender equality in 2008; growing mistletoe and Sharia law in the UK.


SAT 17:00 PM (b00fxzxd)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Carolyn Quinn, plus the sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 iPM (b00fxzxg)
The weekly interactive current affairs magazine featuring online conversation and debate.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00fy0v0)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b00fy0v2)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fy0v4)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b00fy0v6)
Clive Anderson presents an eclectic mix of conversation, comedy and music. He is joined by Frank Skinner, Stephen Bayley and Ruth Watson, and Emma Freud discusses alternative careers with Peter White. Plus music from Seun Kuti and Fela's Egypt 80 and comedy from Sarah Millican.


SAT 19:00 Profile (b00fy0v8)
Simon Cowell

With his sights set on a fourth consecutive Christmas number one single, X-Factor supremo Simon Cowell remains one of the most powerful figures in the British music business. Colin Patterson talks to Pete Waterman, former X-Factor winner Steve Brookstein and Cowell's own family to find out how he has come to dominate the music industry and our television schedules.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b00fy0xx)
The Day the Earth Stood Still, Derek Jacobi in Twelfth Night and the Christmas Lights

Joining Tom this week:

Novelist Lawrence Norfolk
Actor Kerry Shale
Broadcaster and critic Bidisha

Twelfth Night
Derek Jacobi has played Francis Bacon, Guy Burgess, the title role in I, Claudius and a host of Shakespeare characters. Now, in the latest production in the Donmar Warehouse’s residency in the West End, he pulls on the yellow stockings of one of Shakespeare’s grouchiest creations, Malvolio, in a production by feted director Michael Grandage. But will West End audiences warm to this production of Shakespeare’s Christmas play?

Twelfth Night is at the Wyndham’s Theatre in central London until 7 March 2009.

The Day the Earth Stood Still
In 1951, at the height of the Cold War, a movie called The Day the Earth Stood Still had an alien land on Earth and warn that humankind would pay dearly for its nuclear aggression. 57 years later, the alien is back - looking a lot like Keanu Reeves - and this time he wants to wipe us out to save the Earth’s ecosystem. But are ‘alien invasion’ stories as good at tapping into our fears, now that we no longer live under the shadow of imminent atomic war?

The Day the Earth Stood Still is on release from Friday 12 December, certificate 12A.

Land of Marvels
Historical novelist Barry Unsworth, joint winner of the Booker Prize for Sacred Hunger in 1992, has found pre-echoes of the present in a wide range of times and places. Now he excavates pre-First World War Iraq to uncover a narrative about Imperial ambition in the Middle East, centred on an archaeological dig.

Land of Marvels by Barry Unsworth is published by Hutchinson in the New Year.

The Magnificence of the Tsars
If the diplomatic relationship between the UK and Russia is rather frosty at the moment, the cultural links between Moscow and London seem to be thriving this winter. In the wake of an exhibition of 18th and 19th century British fashion in the Russian capital, the V&A now plays host to an exhibition of the clothes the Tsars wore to get crowned, hold court, attend funerals and lead armies. What do they reveal about the deep tensions in the heart of Russian power, pulling the country now towards the West, now towards the heartlands?

The Magnificence of the Tsars is at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London until 29 March.

Christmas Lights
The lights over London’s Regent Street strike a rather different note to those of previous years. In place of the colourful displays of the past, Portuguese design company Castros have created a series of white stars. They’ve also decorated two other central London streets – Bond Street and Jermyn Street. So do their creations make Tom, Kerry, Lawrence and Bidisha’s eyes light up?


SAT 20:00 The Archive Hour (b007rw1b)
Men in Bow Ties

Lars Tharp explores the changing relationship between the antiques trade and the British public with their insatiable appetite for old things. He also considers the way in which television has transformed the image of the antiques business, from Arthur Negus and Lovejoy to Bargain Hunt and David Dickinson.


SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b00frpx4)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Episode 2

Adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic tale set in 15th-century Paris, dramatised in a collaboration between the BBC and Graeae, the disabled-led theatre company. Starring deaf actor David Bower, artistic director of Signdance Collective.

Quasimodo ...... David Bower
Esmeralda ...... Candis Nergaard
Frollo ...... Kevin Doyle
Madame Poutine ...... Susan Twist
Madame La Fayette ...... Rita May
Phoebus ...... Joseph Kloska
Mikael Leduc ...... Roger Morlidge
George ...... Garry Robson
Guillaume ...... Terence Mann

Writer, Jack Thorne
Producer, Susan Roberts


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b00fy1b7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (b00ft5km)
Michael Buerk chairs a debate with Clifford Longley, Kenan Malik, Melanie Phillips and Claire Fox about legalising assisted dying. Has the public's opinion on the subject shifted or is the right to life being undermined and euthanasia being introduced by the back door?


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b00fsylg)
The penultimate heat of the perennial general knowledge contest, chaired by Robert Robinson at the BBC's Maida Vale studio.


SAT 23:30 Adventures in Poetry (b00frqfn)
Series 9

I Am

Peggy Reynolds explores the background, effect and lasting appeal of some well-loved poems.

Peggy examines the poem's expression of feelings of dispossession engendered by the land grab of the agricultural enclosures of the early-19th century, and Clare's residency in a lunatic asylum at the time of writing it.



SUNDAY 14 DECEMBER 2008

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b00fy211)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SUN 00:30 The Late Story (b007njhs)
Back Chat

Blue Thought

Series of specially commissioned stories exploring the traumatic and occasionally comical subject of back pain.

A prone man seeks solace by talking to his bones. By AL Kennedy, read by Dermot Crowley.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00fy213)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00fy215)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00fy217)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b00fy219)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b00fy21c)
The sound of bells from Christ Church, Radyr in Cardiff.


SUN 05:45 Profile (b00fy0v8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b00fy2dp)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b00fy2dr)
Remembering Merton

The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams talks to Mike Wooldridge about the influential Trappist monk and activist Thomas Merton, who died 40 years ago. He discusses his fascination with this complex and passionate man, who combined a lifelong devotion to the Catholic Church with an increasing openness to the needs of the modern world and to the wisdom of the East.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b00fy2dt)
Walna Scar Shepherds

Topical farming magazine. Caz Graham meets the shepherds and shepherdesses of Walna Scar in Cumbria.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b00fy2dw)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b00fy2dy)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b00fy2f0)
Roger Bolton with the religious and ethical news of the week. Moral arguments and perspectives on stories, both familiar and unfamiliar.


SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b00fy2f2)
Muscular Dystrophy Campaign

Jane Field appeals on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.


SUN 07:58 Weather (b00fy2f4)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b00fy2f6)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b00fy2f8)
Good Tidings to Zion

From the Chapel of Unity, Methodist College, Belfast, led by Rev David Neilands. Preacher: Rev Dr David Lapsley. With the Chapel Choir.


SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b00ftd07)
National Identity

Forget proud traditions and cultural exports - a nation's identity is bolstered if Americans know about it. Just ask the Canadians, says Clive James, as he explores the question of national identity and why it really is preferable to see Santa and his elves in Lapland rather than in the New Forest.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b00fy2fb)
News and conversation about the big stories of the week with Paddy O'Connell.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b00fy2fd)
The week's events in Ambridge.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b00fy2fg)
Michael Deeley

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the Oscar-winning film producer Michael Deeley. Over the past 40 years he's been involved in some of the most highly acclaimed movies we've seen, including Don't Look Now, The Deer Hunter and The Italian Job. Yet his job is one that's barely understood. Neither the artistic visionary nor the star player the producer, he says, is the person who is the ramrod-figure who causes a film to be made - buying the rights to stories, hiring actors, finding locations and overseeing the production. He fell into it - he'd always thought he'd be a diplomat or a lawyer - but a casual job ended up being a career of many decades standing. He says rather modestly, "I just found I had the knack".

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) by Meat Loaf
Book: Decent translation of the Koran
Luxury: Two hundred cases of vintage wine.


SUN 12:00 Another Case of Milton Jones (b00ft1cd)
Series 3

Health Guru

Milton Jones bestrides the globe as an expert in his field, with no ability whatsoever.

Milton is a health and diet guru who plans to take over the world by means of a walnut shell and nettle face scrub.

With Tom Goodman-Hill, Ingrid Oliver, Ben Willbond.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b00fy2kr)
Food Books

Sheila Dillon and guests discuss the year's crop of food books.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b00fy2kt)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b00fy2kw)
A look at events around the world with Brian Hanrahan.


SUN 13:30 Where Scotland Meets England (b00dh8cb)
Episode 1

Hardeep Singh Kholi traces the history of the border country between England and Scotland.

Scottish devolution and the promise of a referendum on independence has brought renewed attention to the borderline. Beginning at its most easterly point just north of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Hardeep meets those who live and work on both sides of the border, including politicians, walkers, cooks and football supporters to explore the area's history and countryside.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00fy2ky)
Eric Robson chairs the popular horticultural forum.

John Cushnie, Bunny Guinness and Pippa Greenwood are guests of the Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond, North Yorkshire.

Peter Seabrook, the Sun's Gardening Editor, Tim Rumball, editor of Amateur Gardening magazine, and Juliet Roberts, editor of Gardens Illustrated, ask whether growing your own really is cheaper than buying fruit and vegetables at the supermarket.

Including the Gardeners' Question Time gardening weather forecast.


SUN 14:45 A Box of Wittgensteins (b00fy2xf)
The Palais Wittgenstein

The great-niece of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, Margaret Stonborough, talks to the artist and historian Michael Huey as she delves into six boxes of newly-inherited family archives. As she digs deeper into the talented but tortured lives of the Wittgensteins she finds her cramped London house becoming ever more crowded with her larger-than-life forbears.

The first object out of the box takes Margaret back to a soiree in Vienna in 1895 at the palatial house of an Austrian steel magnate, Karl Wittgenstein. He was the father of eight children including Ludwig the philosopher, Paul the left-handed pianist and Margaret's own grandmother, who was painted by Gustav Klimt. As the family gathered for the evening, records show that the composer Johannes Brahms arrived at the Palais Wittgenstein.

The readers are Sarah Finch, Nicholas Rowe and Dan Starkey.


SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b00fy3l1)
Jamila Gavin - Coram Boy

The Coram Man

Jamila Gavin's dramatisation of her own novel, which tells the story of two orphans at the Coram Hospital for Deserted Children in mid-18th century England.

Young aristocrat Alexander Ashbrook and his best friend Thomas, a carpenter's son, are separated when Alexander runs away from the hospital.

Alexander as narrator ...... Jonathan Slinger
Otis Gardner ...... Marc Warren
Meshak ...... Paul Ready
Meshak's Mother ...... Rachel Atkins
Young Alexander ...... Finlay Glen
Young Thomas ...... Tom Hope
Mrs Lynch ...... Deborah Findlay
Lady Ashbrook ...... Jenny Funnell
Lord Ashbrook ...... Pip Torrens
Mrs Milcote ...... Serena Evans
Melissa ...... Abby Ford
Isobel ...... Julie Cox
Alice ...... Alice Hoskyns-Hill
Edward ...... Sebastian Davies
Matron ...... Joanna Wake

Other parts played by Ian Masters, Roger May, Richard Owens, David Holt, Sara Markland, Thomas Deedigan, Zooey Gleaves, Sam Shiels, Abigail Sitton, Sam Hoiles and Tom Glenister.

Music arranged by Margaret Vincent and performed by The Dulwich 'Coram Boy' Choir and Musicians.

Directed by Celia de Wolff.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (b00fy402)
Sean O'Brien, Children's Books of the Year, and Norman Maclean

Sean O'Brien
Mariella Frostrup talks to the poet Sean O'Brien, last year's winner of the Forward and T S Eliot Prizes. He explains why he finds the silence of libraries fascinating and sinister, and why he chose one as the setting for his first work of fiction.

Children's Books of the Year
Mariella is joined by the children's writers Philip Ardagh and Emily Gravett, as well as Caroline Horn, children's books editor of the Bookseller. They choose their favourite children's titles of 2008, from pre-school picture books to the best in teen fiction.

Norman Maclean
In 1976 the American academic Norman Maclean published his first book at the age of 74. Now seen as the poet laureate of fly-fishing, Maclean was made famous by the 1993 film adaptation of A River Runs Through It. As a new collection of his work is published, Mariella talks to a fan, Professor Margaret Soltan, to find out


SUN 16:30 Adventures in Poetry (b00fy446)
Series 9

Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love

Peggy Reynolds explores the background, effect and lasting appeal of some well-loved poems.

Peggy hears from those to whom the exuberant lyrics of Cole Porter's song speak volumes, including agony aunt Bel Mooney and pianist Simon Townley.


SUN 17:00 Digging Deep (b00ft470)
Reporter Richard Phinney travels to Guinea to find out about the work being undertaken there by Global Alumnia, a mining company that says it is focusing on aid as much as profits as it builds one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest industrial projects.

This start-up company, with no tangible assets, shocked the mining industry when it closed a deal to develop one of the world's richest mineral deposits. It pledged to hire teams of aid workers to consult villagers, provide health and water services, develop state-of-the-art environmental protection plans and resettle displaced families in decent living conditions.

Richard discovers whether or not the company has been delivering on these promises.


SUN 17:40 Profile (b00fy0v8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00fy5v1)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b00fy5v3)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fy5v5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b00fy5v7)
Peter Curran introduces his selection of highlights from the past week on BBC radio.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b00fy5v9)
David is still in bed ill. Desperate for him to get well, Lynda drops in with various pills and potions on her way to the rehearsals. David is concerned that there is too much work for Ruth, but she has Bert and Eddie helping out with extra shifts.

Fallon is struggling to remember her lines. Lynda ropes Kathy into helping her find time with the cast for extra rehearsals. Later Fallon and Brenda seem to be doing well - until Lynda asks them not to use their scripts! Kathy needs an extra hand doing front of house and Fallon suggests Hannah, Tom's new pig girl.

Kenton arrives to check on David - and to show that he really was ill and now David has it. David worries that they won't have time to practise their slapstick routine but Kenton reassures him - they've been practising for it all their lives.

Later Ruth brings David chicken and sweet corn soup, as they won't get to celebrate their china wedding anniversary at the Golden Dragon tomorrow evening. David worries about being ill when so much is going on, but Ruth tells him he just needs to concentrate on getting healthy.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.


SUN 19:15 Go4it (b00fy5vc)
Children's magazine. Kirsten O'Brien meets David Walliams to talk about his book 'The Boy in the Dress' and being the odd one out. Meg Cabot tells Natalie Barrass about the 10th and final Princess Diaries story and shares a few fashion tips.


SUN 19:45 The Railway Children (b00fy5vf)
Episode 1

Joanna Tope reads from E Nesbit's classic 1906 children's novel which tells the story of the trials and adventures of a middle-class Edwardian family.

Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis live a happy life in a comfortable suburban house with their parents. But that life is about to change.


SUN 20:00 More or Less (b00ftcgg)
Poisonous Pork? - Retail Sales - Street Numbers - LIBOR

Poisonous Pork?
Supermarkets withdrew Irish pork from their shelves this week following the discovery that meat from some farms had up to 200 times more dioxins than the recognised safe limit.

Vast quantities of food have had to be destroyed, up to 100,000 Irish pigs are to be culled and jobs in the Irish food industry have already been lost. Are these costs worth paying when weighed against the risks of eating what the tabloids have labelled "poisonous pork" contaminated with "cancer causing chemicals"?

Chris Elliott, Professor of Food Safety at Queen's University Belfast and Simon Wessely, a professor of psychiatry and specialist in communication of risk help presenter Tim Harford weigh up whether or not he should tuck into a potentially contaminated Irish sausage sandwich.

Retail Sales
There has been yet more bad news about the economy. The British Retail Consortium announced that "like for like sales" were down 2.6% on this time last year. BBC Business Correspondent Nils Blythe explains why things are not as bad for the retailers as they look.

Street Numbers
Our reporter Chris Bowlby unravels the mysteries of the UK's house numbering systems. He discovers why some streets are numbered odds on one side and even on the other; why some local authorities have banned the use of the number 13; and he visits Bewdley in Worcestershire, home to the most confusingly numbered street in Britain.

LIBOR
The London Interbank Offered Rate - LIBOR - has been dubbed the financial world's most important number. Published each day in the UK, it is the rate at which the banks lend to each other and it influences over $150 trillion (£100 trillion) of funds worldwide.

Tim Harford takes a behind-the-scenes look at how LIBOR is set. The Libor number is compiled by putting together the estimates of the cost of borrowing from at least eight banks, discarding the highest and lowest of the sample to leave an average rate which then becomes the daily 'Libor Fix'.

But the figure's validity is being questioned, with critics dubbing it "the rate at which banks won't lend". Presenter Tim Harford is granted exclusive access to the operations centre where the daily rate is compiled.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b00ftczz)
John Wilson presents the obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died. The programme reflects on people of distinction and interest from many walks of life, some famous and some less well known.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b00ftp92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b00fy2f2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 Analysis (b00ftbgh)
My DNA

Ben Hammersley investigates the predictive genetics industry, which advocates claim could extend a person's lifespan by 20 years. Online companies can claim to tell people their chances of contracting a whole host of diseases and, with costs falling, such information is becoming much more accessible. Ben examines the concerns of sceptics and asks whether this is information we really want to have and what the consequences might be for the medical world.


SUN 21:58 Weather (b00fy5wq)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b00fy5ws)
Reports from behind the scenes at Westminster. Including The Draftsman's Contract.


SUN 23:00 Mind Changers (b00bg335)
Case Study: Little Hans

Claudia Hammond presents a series on case studies that have made a significant contribution to psychological research.

A phobia of horses developed by a small boy living in Vienna in 1904 seemed unlikely evidence for the Oedipus complex. But for Sigmund Freud, this was the proof he had been waiting for. His study of Little Hans was the first recorded case of child psychoanalysis, and, with its detailed recording of a how a child makes sense of the world, continues to provide rich pickings for all who are interested in child development.

Claudia investigates the legacy of the study, and visits one of the centres run by Childhood First, which deals with some of the most disturbed and damaged children using a model informed by psychoanalysis.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b00fy2dr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 15 DECEMBER 2008

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b00fyj3h)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b00ft5kk)
Cocaine Girls in the West End - Orgasm

Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works.

Was the Imperial era the result of repressed sexuality? A new book claims that forbidden desires lie behind the West's great cultural output. Laurie talks to Robert Muchembled, author of Orgasm and the West, and historian Joanna Bourke.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b00fy21c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00fyj51)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00fyj5y)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00fyj6z)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b00fyj7h)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00fyjs5)
Daily prayer and reflection with the Venerable Dr John Holdsworth.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b00fyjs7)
News and issues in rural Britain with Mark Holdstock.


MON 05:57 Weather (b00fz0cx)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b00fyk4n)
Presented by Evan Davis and James Naughtie.

Chief exec of Network Rail Ian Coucher discusses the West Coast rail improvements.

Jeremy Bowen analyses whether Gordon Brown can help Israeli-Palestinian relations.

Mark Wright of the WWF explains why the discoveries of new species in Asia could not be collated earlier.

Mike Thomson reports from the Central African Republic, where thousands of families are still camped in the bush after their villages were ransacked by government forces nearly two years ago.

Aleem Maqbool reports on his journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem with a donkey.

Thought for the day with John Bell.

Dr Humayra Abedin has returned to Britain after she was granted an injunction by the UK's High Court under the Forced Marriages Act. Anne-Marie Hutchinson, Abedin's solicitor, and 'Sophia', a victim of forced marriage, discuss the case.

Robert Peston analyses the dilemma being faced by the government over the future of the postal service.

John Cridland and Mark Serwotka debate whether the current pension system is fair.

Rebecca Jones speaks to director Stephen Daldry and writer Sir David Hare about their collaboration on The Reader.

Jane Corbin reports from one of Pakistan's most inhospitable tribal areas.

Pakistani journalist and author Ahmed Rashid says that Gordon Brown's comments on Pakistan have been helpful.

The withdrawal of all benefits from failed asylum seekers is inhumane and inefficient, according to former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith.

Jon Leyne explains the power of the Iranian blogosphere from an internet café in Tehran.

Fraser Nelson, political editor of the Spectator, and John Rentoul, columnist with the Independent on Sunday, debate whether politicians exploit economic crises.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b00fz0w8)
The Burj Tower in Dubai will be finished next year and at more than 700 metres high it will become the tallest building in the world. In contrast, the construction of skyscrapers in London planned in the recent period of growth now looks under threat as recession looms. DEYAN SUDJIC, Director of the Design Museum, predicts the future for British architecture and examines how it is a seismograph for economic change. Deyan will be chairing the debate Design Cities: Where Next? at the Design Museum, London at 7.15pm on 15 December.

What makes a perfect house? A feeling of contentment, well-proportioned rooms and a sense of grandeur? Television producer and director TIM KIRBY asserts that these notions of what makes a good home can be traced back 500 years to the Italian architect Andrea Palladio. The Perfect House: The Life and Work of Andrea Palladio is on BBC Four on 17 December at 9.00pm.

The grandeur of space has enthralled poets for centuries, but as we journey further into its depths, does it lose its mysticism? Astrophysicist DAME JOCELYN BELL BURNELL has co-edited an anthology which rekindled poets’ curiosity in space by twinning them with astrophysicists to inspire them with the latest advancements in astronomy. Dark Matter: Poems of Space, edited by Maurice Riordan and Jocelyn Bell Burnell, is published by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

DR ANDY MIAH, from the University of the West of Scotland, believes that in this critical time of financial turmoil and concern about climate change there needs to be collaboration between the arts and the sciences. He argues that we no longer need specialist knowledge but ‘transdisciplinary’ creative solutions. Human Futures: Art in an Age of Uncertainty is edited by Andy Miah and published by Liverpool University Press.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b00fyk6j)
Nella Last's Peace

Episode 1

Imelda Staunton reads from the postwar diaries of 'Housewife, 49', Nella Last, which give a frank account of the difficulties of adapting to life in Britain after the end of the Second World War.

Nella reflects on people's hopes for the future following the announcement of the Japanese surrender.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00fylrd)
Emma Watson; State benefits

Actor Emma Watson on her career to date and plans for the future. Plus the pros and cons of living with extended family, and is cutting benefits the only way to change behaviour?


MON 11:00 Young Governors Take Control (b00fz0wb)
Episode 2

Clare English discovers what happened to the trainee prison governors featured in Radio 4's The Young Governors, three years on. Clare considers the impact of Westminster politics on the daily work of those who manage the juvenile, mentally ill or drug-addicted offenders who make up a large percentage of the prison population.


MON 11:30 Spending My Inheritance (b00fz0wd)
Saga Louts

Sitcom by Clive Coleman, starring Kris Marshall as cash-strapped forty-something Harry, who has to watch from the sidelines as his newly retired parents start spending their hard-earned cash on themselves.

Harry's parents offer to take him and his family on holiday.

Harry ...... Kris Marshall
Jo ...... Raquel Cassidy
Brian ...... Kenneth Cranham
Liz ...... Judy Parfitt
Jess ...... Antonia Thomas
Ron ...... Stephen Critchlow
Linda ...... Janice Acquah
Aristos ...... Chris Pavlo

Directed by Sam Hoyle.


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b00fyp5l)
Presented by Julian Worricker.

The government is coming under pressure from energy companies to speed up the introduction of smart meters in people's homes. Petter Allison is the Director of Smart Metering at Centrica.

Several of Britain's car leasing companies are warning customers against using a particular type of Biofuel. We speak to Robert Balding, who speaks for Motorconsult, and Giles Clark, the editor of Biofuel Review.

General Manager Kevin Ackerman discusses the bold steps he took to boost crowds at Towcester Race course.

We are joined by Harvey Goldsmith, co-organiser of Live Aid

Writer and broadcaster Michael Bywater discusses the etiquette of money lending.

Since the beginning of the year the people of Fife have been encouraged to try and eat only local produce. Mark Holdstock went to look at the so-called 'Fife Diet' and how some of the dieters are shaping up for Christmas.

Andrew McClelland of the Internet Marketing Retail Group discusses whether email discount vouchers offer real value for money.

Brian Taylor, the BBC's political editor in Scotland, discusses whether the Barnett Formula (used to allocate taxpayers' money between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) is fair system.


MON 12:57 Weather (b00fyp8h)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b00fyp9x)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


MON 13:30 Brain of Britain (b00fz12j)
Robert Robinson chairs the final heat of the perennial general knowledge contest, with four contestants from Scotland and the north of England.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b00fy5v9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b00fz12l)
Tony Staveacre - Wodehouse in Hollywood

In 1930 MGM shipped PG Wodehouse out West and thrust $104,000 into his hand - in return for zilch. The stories and novels that Wodehouse created out of his Hollywood experience were his satiric riposte to those that had made a dishonest man out of him. Comedy combining Wodehouse's own writing with dramatised fictional scenes by Tony Staveacre.

PG Wodehouse......Tim McInnerny
Ethel Wodehouse.....Fenella Woolgar
Sam Marx......Rowe David McClelland
Dorothy......Fiona Clarke
Clarence......Declan Wilson
Thalberg/Bobby......Paul Ryder

Directed by Stefan Escreet.


MON 15:00 Money Box Live (b00fz85z)
Paul Lewis and guests answer questions on redundancy and leaving your job. Ther panel of experts are Sarah Veale, head of equality and employment rights at the TUC, Angela O'Brien, rights officer with Devon Citizens Advice and Clive Howard, a partner in the employment department of Russell Jones and Walker solicitors.


MON 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00fypht)
Tapertime

Victoria Hislop

'TAPERTIME'

The above is an old Edwardian word meaning dusk, and this series of commissioned stories takes place as the light fades. What happens to the visual world as dusk emerges? What happens to make people behave differently, often strangely, as the world starts to blur? Five leading writers explore the possibilities.

1.One Cretan Evening by Victoria Hislop

The well-heeled gent arrives at the village as sun sets. He has a key and is on a family mission...

Reader Barbara Flynn
Producer Duncan Minshull.


MON 15:45 Blind Man Seeks Work (b00fyqnf)
Vet

Peter White looks at some of the jobs he was told he could not do because he was blind.

Peter is joined by TV vet Emma Milne and together they explore how much of her job could be done without sight. Emma is surprised by how many of the other senses vets use: touch, smell and in some cases even taste.


MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b00fy2kr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b00fz861)
Ernie Rea explores the place of faith in today's world, teasing out the hidden and often contradictory truths behind the experiences, values and traditions of our lives.


MON 17:00 PM (b00fyxp9)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fyxrf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b00fz863)
Christmas Special

David Mitchell hosts a special Christmas edition of the game show in which panellists are encouraged to tell lies and compete to see how many items of truth they are able to smuggle past their opponents. The panel are Graeme Garden, Jack Dee, Armando Iannucci and Sean Lock.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b00fypbk)
The Grundys are preparing the turkeys and Will has come pitch in. As Will goes to hang the finished turkeys in the container, Ed arrives and offers to help. Joe thinks it's nice to see the boys working together.

Clarrie worries that Ed and Will might fight again but Joe hopes they are getting along. However Will snaps at Ed as he tries to make conversation about George. He then refuses Eddie's offer of a pint and decides to leave.

Back at home, Eddie agrees to cover some of Ed's shifts at Grange Farm so he can go Christmas shopping with Emma. Joe insists on going along to the milking to offer his 'expertise'. When Ed leaves, Joe asks if they know what Ed and Will discussed in the container. Clarrie is sure Will left because of Ed arriving but Eddie tells her not to worry. At least they talked to each other. It's a start.

Nic is surprised to see Will at her door. He's upset and jealous that Ed gets to spend so much time with George. Nic reassures him he's a good man, Before he goes, she gives him a Christmas present for George.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b00fyxs2)
Presented by Mark Lawson.

The new film Twilight, adapted from the first in the best-selling series of teen novels by Stephanie Meyer, tells the story of a girl who moves town only to fall in love with a vampire. Kate Saunders reviews the teenage love story with a twist.

In new book The Triumph of Music, Tim Blanning, Professor of Modern European History, casts an eye over the last 500 years to document the rise of the power and prestige of music and musicians. He reflects on the increasing influence, fame, wealth and authority of individuals from Monteverdi, Bach, Beethoven, Paganini and Haydn to David Bowie, Bono, and Brian May playing God Save the Queen on the roof of Buckingham Palace in 2002. Tim discusses his theories and his reluctance to express his own taste.

Front Row's crime specialist Jeff Park makes his selection of his favourite crime novels of the year.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00fyxvh)
A Small Town Murder

Episode 1

Crime mystery by Scott Cherry, featuring police family liaison officer Jacqui Hartwell.

It soon becomes apparent to that the death of Professor Leonard Hines was no accident.

Jacqui ...... Meera Syal
Ellen ...... Barbara Flynn
DI Long ...... Maureen Beattie
Neil ...... David Horovitch
Heather ...... Kellie Shirley
Max ...... Jo Kloska.


MON 20:00 Things We Forgot to Remember (b00fz8fb)
Series 4

The League of Nations

Michael Portillo re-examines the reputation of the League of Nations. Born out of the carnage of World War One it has been damned for failing to avoid a second conflict. But is that a fair judgement?

As an institution set up in the aftermath of a terrible conflict and amidst hopes that such horrors would never be repeated, it seems only right that the League of Nations should be deemed one of history's great failures. But in exploring the origins and works of the League Michael Portillo finds a number of things that have been forgotten in the over-whelming desire to lump the failings of the interwar years on a single identifiable scapegoat.

With the help of a former UN Ambassador and historians who have analysed the finer details of what happened at League meetings and conferences, he establishes a rounder picture of the League, both in its failings and successes. It did, after all resolve a number of border conflicts, very similar to the ones that had sparked the First World War. It also rescued the ailing Austrian economy and brought together the greatest Economists of the world who were given the opportunity to formulate global financial plans that formed the basis of the post Second World War economic system.

Of course, in pushing for the setting up of the United Nations it was expedient to establish clear water between a system that appeared to have failed and a new one which might be able to learn the harsh lessons of the interwar years.

Producer: Tom Alban

(repeat).


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b00ft64c)
Australia's Northern Territory

Lorena Allam investigates the Australian government's intervention in the remote Aboriginal areas after claims of rampant alcoholism and child abuse. Last year, army, police, doctors, nurses and bureaucrats were sent there in a billion-dollar state-run bid to curb violence and improve the wellbeing of Aboriginal families. But Lorena finds that their work has had mixed results, and in some cases has led to poorer diets, premature babies and even an increase in teenage suicides.


MON 21:00 Science Friction (b00fz8pc)
Series 2

GM Crops

Sue Nelson presents a series of debates looking at controversies within science. Are genetically modified crops the answer to feeding a hungry world or will farming practices rule out the need for GM?


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b00fz0w8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b00fyybp)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b00fyyc4)
National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah. Including reports on Thailand's third prime minister in the last three months, why regulators failed to spot the Bernard Madoff scam and whether the Chinese save the world economy by spending and not saving.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00fyzx5)
A Christmas Carol

Episode 1

David Jason reads from Dickens's festive classic. Dickens introduces the mean-spirited banker and broker Ebeneezer Scrooge and his unfortunate clerk, Bob Cratchit.


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b00ft3jq)
Michael Rosen takes another journey into the world of words, language and the way we speak.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00fz06m)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Sean Curran.



TUESDAY 16 DECEMBER 2008

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b00fyhkl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b00fyk6j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00fyj3k)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00fyj53)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00fyj60)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b00fyj71)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00fyjk8)
Daily prayer and reflection with the Venerable Dr John Holdsworth.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b00fyjm4)
News and issues in rural Britain with Anna Hill.


TUE 06:00 Today (b00fyk4b)
Presented by James Naughtie and Evan Davis.

Kevin Connolly reports on the scandal involving US hedge fund owner Bernard Madoff after he carried out an alleged fraud which lost $50bn.

Jeremy Bowen reports on UN attempts to improve Israeli-Palestinian relations.

Richard Vautrey and David Hickson discuss some GPs' practice of using revenue-generating telephone numbers.

Mike Thompson reports on attempts to control the unrest in the Central African Republic.

Thought for the day with The Right Rev James Jones.

Steve Rosenberg examines the case of a singer accused of entertaining the Nazis at Dachau concentration camp.

Head teacher Sue Bailey discusses the consequences of the Sats fiasco for schools.

The government estimates that around 5% of public sector pensioners have been overpaid. Vincent Cable explains what happens to the overpaid pensions.

Investment experts Steven Belland Jon Moulton consider the regulatory implications and the consequences for hedge funds following the Bernard Madoff case.

Winifred Robinson reports on the efforts being made to curtail underage drinking.

Justin Webb reports on the possible impeachment of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, who has been accused of trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat.

Tom Feilden explores developments in stem cell research.

Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, discusses if the way pupils' papers are marked is systemically flawed.

Mark Mardell reports on Nicolas Sarkozy's speech to the European Parliament to mark his presidency of the Council of the European Union.

John Bowen compares modern and 19th century financial scandals.

Don Shenker, chief exec of Alcohol Concern, discusses the risks posed by young people drinking.


TUE 09:00 The Long View (b00fzbbn)
Celebrity Chefs

Jonathan Freedland presents the series that looks for the past behind the present.

He examines the parallels between today's celebrity chefs with social agendas and the 19th century chef Alexis Soyer, who became a household name and captured the British public imagination with his revolutionary approach to cooking and eating.

Image: An engraving by Laing of Soyer's Modern Housewife's Kitchen Apparatus, circa 1850. The invention of French chef Alexis Soyer, it boasts an open roasting fire, a hot water boiler, a baking oven, a broiling stone and a hot plate.


TUE 09:30 The Fortune Hunters (b00fzbbq)
Episode 1

Series in which Max Flint investigates the 15 billion pounds in unclaimed assets in the UK and asks how, if it's possible, these funds are distributed to their rightful owners.

Max explores what happens when people die without leaving a will and their estate passes to the crown. He talks to Wendy Pentelow, who learned from probate investigator Cat Whiteaway that her father, who she had not seen for over 20 years, had died just a few miles away from where she lives and that she was first in line to inherit his estate.

A Tinderbox Broadcast production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b00g2dlp)
Nella Last's Peace

Episode 2

Imelda Staunton reads from the postwar diaries of 'Housewife, 49', Nella Last, which give a frank account of the difficulties of adapting to life in Britain after the end of the Second World War.

Nella looks forward to having her two adult sons, Cliff and Arthur, home for Christmas, but worries about their future prospects.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00g25ly)
Imelda Staunton; Hair length

Actor Imelda Staunton on being a tough cookie. Plus, Somali MP Asha Hagi Elmi on her campaign to improve womens' lives, and what does the length of your hair say about you?


TUE 11:00 World On The Move: Great Animal Migrations (b00fzblx)
Philippa Forrester and Brett Westwood present the series following the movement and migration of animals across the planet, from the European eel to the African white-eared kob antelope. A team of wildlife specialists are joined by zoologists and conservationists around the world to present regular reports.


TUE 11:30 I Was... (b00fzblz)
Series 1

Douglas Adams' Flatmate

Andrew McGibbon presents a series of interviews analysing great artists from the perspective of someone who knew them.

Jon Canter shared a flat with his friend Douglas Adams while the latter struggled for success and then coped with the fame he found following the success of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Jon reveals the business of sharing a flat with his fiercely loyal, manically obsessive, loveable giant of a friend, who is still greatly missed after his sudden death ten years ago. Featuring contributions from other flatmates and Douglas' friend Professor Richard Dawkins.

A Curtains for Radio production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b00fyp45)
Call You and Yours

Presented by Julian Worricker.

Should Scotland be given more fiscal autonomy?

For the last thirty years the Barnett Formula has been used to allocate taxpayers' money between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but now it's coming under review. On the 17th December a select committee is meeting for the first time in the House of Lords to look at the issue, and it may recommend changes. So is there a better way, and might this be the moment for Scotland - seen by some as a beneficiary of the Barnett formula - to be given more fiscal autonomy?


TUE 12:57 Weather (b00fyp5n)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b00fyp8k)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


TUE 13:30 Music Feature (b00fzc2y)
Puccini: Touched by the Little Finger of the Almighty

James Naughtie re-evaluates the reputation of composer Giacomo Puccini, who was born 150 years ago.

Despite the enduring popularity of operas such as Tosca, Madama Butterfly and La boheme, Puccini's value to the history of music has been questioned by some academics and opera aficionados, who have criticised the populism of his work. In response to these criticisms, Naughtie hears the opinions of respected Puccini experts including music director of Royal Opera Antonio Pappano, opera director Graham Vick and academics Alexandra Wilson and Emanuele Senici of the University of Rome.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b00fypbk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b00fztbw)
How To Be An Internee With No Previous Experience

Drama by Colin Shindler based on the 1944 interviews between PG Wodehouse and a young Malcolm Muggeridge, working as a wartime interrogator for MI5, following Wodehouse's radio broadcasts to the United States from a Nazi internment camp.

Wodehouse ...... Tim McInnerny
Muggeridge ...... Alex Jennings
Cussen ...... Anton Lesser
Connor ...... Stephen Critchlow
Flannery ...... Gunnar Cauthery

Directed by Peter Leslie Wild.


TUE 15:00 Making History (b00fzw0v)
Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly
Listener Ronald Land’s great, grand uncle was Superintendent John Sadleir who was one of the policeman who arrested the Australian outlaw Ned Kelly in June 1880. Ronald is interested to find out how it is that Kelly has gone down in Australian folk-legend – yet his relative is forgotten.

Making History consulted Professor Graham Seal Director of the Centre for Advanced Studies in Australia, Asia and the Pacific at Curtin University of Technology. Professor Seal explained that Kelly was one of the last bush-rangers, descended from convicts who had escaped into the Outback and who held a grudge against the colonial authorities, not least because of the way that land was distributed among the first settlers.


TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00fyqdb)
Tapertime

Justin Cartwright

'Tapertime'

The above is an old Edwardian word meaning dusk, and this week's commissioned stories take place as the light fades. What happens to the visual world as dusk emerges? What happens to make people behave differently, often strangely, as the world starts to blur? Five leading writers explore the possibilities.

2. A Question of Light by Justin Cartwright

As a young lad the narrator had to leave Sweden for the sunshine of Australia. But certain people and
deep-rooted rituals pull him back to the land of the dark...

Reader Tim Pigott Smith
Producer Duncan Minshull.


TUE 15:45 Blind Man Seeks Work (b00fyx0x)
Cricketer

Peter White looks at some of the jobs he was told he could not do because he was blind.

Former England cricket captain David Gower gives Peter a batting masterclass to improve his technique. Peter then gets one over on his mentor, when he introduces him to blind cricket.


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b00fzw0x)
Another journey into the world of words, language and the way we speak. Michael Rosen hears how singing might make it easier to learn a second language.


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b00fzw0z)
Series 17

Billy Marsh

Series of biographical discussions with Matthew Parris.

Michael Grade and William G Stewart champion the life of the theatrical agent Billy Marsh, the man who helped to turn Morecambe and Wise, Norman Wisdom and Bruce Forsyth into household names.


TUE 17:00 PM (b00fyxmf)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fyxpc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


TUE 18:30 Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking (b00bg3gf)
Series 2

Episode 1

Laura reveals 1001 uses for peas, missies a meeting and shuns a caravan owner.

Award-winning comedian Laura Solon's sketch and character comedy series

With Rosie Cavaliero, Ben Moor and Ben Willbond.

Written by Laura Solon. With additional material by Holly Walsh and Jon Hunter.

Producer: Colin Anderson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2008.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b00fyp9z)
Alice is home and tells Lilian how great university is, apart from being away from Chris. At her drinks party Jennifer encourages Alice to speak to Sebastian ('Bastie' Streatfield. Adam sees that Bastie has taken a shine to Alice, but she makes it clear she only has eyes for Chris.

Lilian is looking for Matt, who keeps disappearing. She finds him on his mobile and demands to know what's going on. Matt snaps at her. It's a bad time to be in property development when nobody's developing property. Later Lilian discusses it with Jennifer. There's more to Matt's moods then he's letting on.

Brian tells Tom he wants to cut costs with Tom Archer sausages but Tom thinks it will compromise the quality and could ruin the brand. When Tom relays this to Adam he understands, but insists that Tom needs to stick to his guns. If he does that he'll be fine.

Alice tells Jennifer she's leaving the party to go with Chris to The Feathers. Lilian realises that Jennifer had hoped to pair Alice off with Sebastian. She tells Jennifer she's going to have to try a lot harder then that to tear Alice away from Chris.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b00fyxrh)
The British actress Kate Winslet had her place in Hollywood's A-list confirmed last week when she received two Golden Globe nominations for her performances in two new films due out in the UK in January. In The Reader and Revolutionary Road - the latter directed by her husband Sam Mendes - Winslet plays highly-charged and demanding roles which she discusses with Mark Lawson, as well as the issue of wanting to be home to put her young kids to bed.

Hugo Young was one of the UK's leading liberal journalists for over 20 years and regularly met with the key political figures of the 80s and 90s. Arthur Schlesinger was an American historian and social critic who served as special assistant and 'court historian' to President John F Kennedy from 1961 to 1963. Both men have recently had their diaries posthumously published, bringing various 'off the record' conversations with political sources into the public domain. Mark Lawson is joined by Ion Trewin, editor of The Hugo Young Papers, and former Tory MP Edwina Currie to discuss the implications of political journals where the private and 'off the record' comes under the public gaze.

A new British film comedy A Bunch of Amateurs opens this week, with Burt Reynolds playing a washed-up Hollywood action star who finds himself playing the title role in a production of King Lear with an am-dram group in a Suffolk village. It’s the latest in a long line of movies about actors putting on a Shakespeare play. Daniel Rosenthal, author of the BFI Screen Guide to 100 Shakespeare Films, trawls the archives consider a genre with enduring global appeal.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00g298y)
A Small Town Murder

Episode 2

Crime mystery by Scott Cherry, featuring police family liaison officer Jacqui Hartwell.

Jacqui becomes convinced that Professor Hines's family know more about his murder than they are prepared to admit.

Jacqui ...... Meera Syal
Ellen ...... Barbara Flynn
DI Long ...... Maureen Beattie
Neil ...... David Horovitch
Heather ...... Kellie Shirley
Max ...... Jo Kloska.


TUE 20:00 Reckless beyond Reason (b00g311m)
Winifred Robinson investigates the extent and effects of teenage drinking in Britain.

The programme charts efforts to turn around problem drinkers, including a 12-year-old boy who has been hospitalised twice following heavy drinking sessions near his home.

Winifred follows the progress of some of the youngsters arrested by Scottish police in an underage drinking crackdown as professionals try to help them. She finds out what does and does not work and how successful initiatives like this can be.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b00fzw13)
Peter White with news and information for the blind and partially sighted.


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b00fzw15)
Magnetic Seizure Therapy - Debt and Mental Health - A Good Cry?

MAGNETIC SEIZURE THERAPY
A brand new type of treatment for major depressive disorders which, it's hoped, could in time replace electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), is being trialled. Magnetic Seizure Therapy, or MST, uses strong magnetic fields instead of electricity to produce seizures.

The first trials of MST suggest that patients recover from the treatment much more quickly than from ECT. Claudia Hammond visited the Whitchurch Hospital in Cardiff, one of the centres at forefront of global research into MST, where Consultant Psychiatrist Dr George Kirov showed her the Magnetic Seizure Therapy machine.

DEBT AND MENTAL HEALTH
People in debt have two to three times the rate of depression, three times the rate of psychosis and double the rate of alcohol dependence, compared with other members of the general public. It’s well-established that debt can make a pre-existing mental health problem worse, but new research suggests that the link between debt and mental disorder is so powerful that debt might actually be causing mental illness.

Professor Rachel Jenkins, Director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre and Professor of Epidemiology and International Mental Health at the Institute of Psychiatry in London tells Claudia about the findings of this research. And Chris Fitch, a Research Fellow from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, tells Claudia about moves to encourage one hundred thousand health and social care professionals to remember to take into account the financial circumstances of their patients.

A GOOD CRY?
Having a good cry usually does make most people feel better, but new research from Holland has found that for people with depression, crying doesn’t seem to bring the same benefits. In the world rankings for tears – American women and men top the charts, while Bulgarian men and Icelandic and Romanian women claim to barely shed a tear. Jon Rottenberg from the University of South Florida, who conducted the research, tells Claudia whether having a good cry really is good for you.


TUE 21:30 The Long View (b00fzbbn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b00fyy41)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b00fyybr)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig. Including reports on another possible interest rate cut in America, whether family courts should be open to the media and an Australian wine that promises to unblock arteries.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00fzyv5)
A Christmas Carol

Episode 2

David Jason reads from Dickens's festive classic. Scrooge has an unexpected encounter with the unhappy ghost of his late business partner, Jacob Marley.


TUE 23:00 Sarah Millican: Keep Your Chins Up (b00g1ftx)
Comedy written by and starring Sarah Millican, Best Newcomer in the if.comedy awards at the Edinburgh Festival. Relationship counsellor Jean prepares to have her annual appraisal.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00fz067)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Susan Hulme.



WEDNESDAY 17 DECEMBER 2008

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b00fyhks)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b00g2dlp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00fyj3m)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00fyj55)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00fyj62)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b00fyj73)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00fyjkb)
Daily prayer and reflection with the Venerable Dr John Holdsworth.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b00fyjm6)
News and issues in rural Britain with Anna Hill.


WED 06:00 Today (b00fyk4d)
Presented by James Naughtie and Sarah Montague.

Gary O'Donoghue reports on the Met Police's review into the arrest of Damian Green.

Adam Brimelow examines whether the obesity epidemic has become a national crisis.

Former ambassador to Iran Sir Richard Dalton discusses why he thinks the time is right to negotiate with the country.

James Rodgers reports on Russia's suffering oil industry.

Barry Sheerman, chairman of the Children, Schools and Families Committee, says the system for inspecting children's services must change.

Karen Allen is in Zimbabwe to assess the cholera crisis.

Sir Victor Blank, chairman of Lloyds TSB, has spoken out about the takeover of HBOS.

Thought for the day with Prof Mona Siddiqui.

Adam Crozier, chief exec of Royal Mail, says a small private stake is good news for the company and customers.

Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich and business editor Robert Peston discuss the US Federal Reserve's drastic cut in interest rates.

Gordon Brown has confirmed that British troops will leave Iraq 'in the first half of next year'. Paul Adams reports.

Assistant Chief Constable Patricia Gallan, of Merseyside Police, Merseyside poet Roger McGough and Winifred Robinson, a Radio 4 presenter who grew up in the Norris Green area of Liverpool, discuss how the killing of Rhys Jones has changed the area.

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson discusses measures to tackle childhood obesity.

Mike Thompson reports on why the average life expectancy in the Central African Republic has fallen to 42.

Wayne Coyne, co-director of the film Christmas On Mars, discusses how he got the idea for the film.

Caroline Wyatt and James Arbuthnot discuss the announcement that UK troops will leave Iraq by the end of July next year.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b00fzw3h)
Lively and diverse conversation with Libby Purves and guests.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b00g2dlh)
Nella Last's Peace

Episode 3

Imelda Staunton reads from the postwar diaries of 'Housewife, 49', Nella Last, which give a frank account of the difficulties of adapting to life in Britain after the end of WWII.

The first New Year of peacetime looks set to bring more changes and uncertainty, and the breakdown of a friend's marriage gives Nella cause to consider the state of her own.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00g25m0)
Sir Michael Parkinson; Childcare

Sir Michael Parkinson on his childhood, career and the women who influenced him. Plus, are we putting economic needs before our children's welfare by relying on formal childcare?


WED 11:00 In Living Memory (b00fzw3k)
Series 9

Episode 4

Contemporary history series.

Jolyon Jenkins examines the short-lived and much maligned Sinclair C5 three-wheeler and asks if it was really as laughable as its critics claimed, or whether it was simply ahead of its time.


WED 11:30 A Charles Paris Mystery (b00wmr2t)
Dead Side of the Mic

Episode 2

The plot thickens for the actor-sleuth as he delves into a death at the BBC. Stars Bill Nighy and Suzanne Burden.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b00fyp47)
Presented by Winifred Robinson.

Geoff Adams-Spink has been finding out about toys that have been specially adapted for children with disabilities.

Steve Punt looks into the merits of online tips for saving money.

One small energy company is fitting smart meters as standard for every one of its customers. We speak to Mark Daeche, Chief Executive of the company first:utility.

Rick Ferguson from Trend Micro, a company that develops computer security software, discusses the security problems with Microsoft Internet Explorer, the world's most popular internet browser.

The market for recyclable materials has collapsed and some councils, including Somerset and Hertfordshire, have had to withdraw some recycling services. Are the two connected? We speak to Paul Bettison from the Local Government Association.

The world's biggest solar tower plant has been built near Seville by the company Abengoa. It is expected to provide enough power for eleven thousand homes when it is switched on in January 2009. We speak to John Loughhead, Executive Director of the UK Energy Research Centre.

The Environment Agency has changed its mind about selling off lock keepers' houses along the River Thames. Julia Simpson from the Environment Agency explains.


WED 12:57 Weather (b00fyp5q)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b00fyp8m)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


WED 13:30 The Media Show (b00fzw4x)
Steve Hewlett presents a topical programme about the fast-changing media world.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b00fyp9z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Pilgrim by Sebastian Baczkiewicz (b00g0532)
Series 1

'Gainst All Disaster

By Sebastian Baczkiewicz

Pilgrim's toughest adventure. Joseph of Arimethea, guardian of the sleeping Knights who will wake only in Britain's hour of greatest need, is being held captive by Malachai Styler - a very malevolent angel. Styler is bent on the destruction of the Greyfolk, the Knights and the balance between the worlds. If Pilgrim is to save Joseph, it will be at the most terrible cost to himself.

Pilgrim ..... Paul Hilton
Styler ..... Paul Rider
Joseph ..... David Calder
Sylvie ..... Anna Wing
Doris ..... Susan Engel
Freya ..... Alex Tregear
Arianhad ..... Helen Schlesinger
Guard ..... Gunnar Cauthery
Girl ..... Agnes Bateman

Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.


WED 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00fy2ky)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Sunday]


WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00fyqdd)
Tapertime

The Concert

'Tapertime'

The above is an old Edwardian word meaning dusk, and this series of commissioned stories take place as the light fades. What happens to the visual world as dusk emerges? What happens to make people behave differently, often strangely, as the world starts to blur? Five leading writers explore the possibilities

3.The Concert by Romesh Gunesekera

The man of war doesn't have the support of the locals, so some entertainment in the evening warmth is called for...

Reader Jim Norton
Producer Duncan Minshull.


WED 15:45 Blind Man Seeks Work (b00fyx0z)
Rock Star

Peter White looks at some of the jobs he was told he could not do because he was blind.

Peter enlists ex-Manfred Mann singer Paul Jones to help improve his rock star image. Paul suggests ways in which he and his old all-blind school band could have created a unique image, focusing on their blindness.


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b00g0534)
Chinese Capitalism - Concepts in Education

CHINESE CAPITALISM
On June1989 the tanks moved into Tiananmen Square, there was widespread shooting by Chinese soldiers and as the people lay dying on the streets of Beijing the student pro-democracy demonstration was brought to an end. In his new book Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics, the economist Yasheng Huang examines China’s change from a rural orientated liberalising entrepreneurial economy to a state led, urban based economy dedicated to the manufacture of foreign goods. Laurie Taylor is joined by Yasheng Huang and Will Hutton, Chief Executive of the Work Foundation and author of The Writing On The Wall: China in the 21st Century, to discuss the impact for China of its economic reforms as the world heads into recession.

CONCEPTS IN EDUCATION
“Think of the tools in a toolbox: there is a hammer, pliers, a saw, a screwdriver, a rule, a glue-pot, glue, nails and screws. The functions of words are as diverse as the functions of these objects.” A quotation from the introduction to a new book entitled Key Concepts in Education. Fred Inglis co-author with Lesley Aers outlines what this alphabetical guide has to offer and explores how familiar educational terms have been variously used by people with different material and philosophical interests.


WED 16:30 All in the Mind (b00fzw15)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 17:00 PM (b00fyxmh)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fyxpf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


WED 18:30 Will Smith's Midlife Crisis Management (b00g0536)
Episode 1

Comedy series in which comedian Will Smith seeks help and advice - primarily from his godfather Peter - on coping with the onset of middle age. Peter invites Tory MP George to help Will speak his mind.

With Roger Allam, Geoffrey Whitehead, Jill Cardo, Gunnar Cauthery, Roger Drew, Donnla Hughes, Robert Lonsdale, Dan Starkey, Malcolm Tierney.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b00fypb1)
After their Gamblers Anonymous meeting, Ryan admits to Alistair that he has lost his job and that he never stopped gambling. He has been lying at the meetings. Ryan is worried that when his wife finds out she will leave him. He asks Alistair to lend him 50 pounds, but Alistair refuses. Ryan would just take it straight to the bookies.

At the Village Hall, Mike tells Shula that the builders have stopped work over Christmas but they have left a half built wall in the middle of the house. Lynda is worrying, as many of the cast haven't arrived for rehearsals and David is still not well.

Shula approaches Lynda for her thoughts on the costumes, but Lynda is too preoccupied with the rehearsal and dismisses her. When Shula arrives home she notices that Alistair seems withdrawn but Alistair just tells her he's had a long day.

Meanwhile Mike struggles to remember his lines on stage. Lorna tries to help him sort out his costume's lopsided bosom but they descend into giggles. When Mike decides he can't carry on without using his script Lynda is frustrated. If they don't make progress soon the pantomime will be nothing but a farce.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b00fyxrk)
Presented by Mark Lawson.

A new film, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr Hunter S. Thompson, charts the life, work and legacy of the controversial American writer who shot himself dead at his home in Colorado in 2005. Writer Iain Sinclair reflects on the film direcoted by Alex Gibney, whose other directing credits include the documentaries Enron and Taxi to the Dark Side.

John Lloyd and John Mitchinson are the creators of the popular BBC 2 series QI, discuss the difficulties of fact-checking, the pleasure of trivia, and the '6,000 quotations you might actually find amusing and useful'.

Writer and consultant editor of BBC Music magazine Helen Wallace and conductor Jeremy Summerly join Mark to share their classical CD picks of 2008.

As Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson seeks a retraction from the Cosmopolitan magazine over an article printed about her, Front Row talks to former Now magazine editor Jane Ennis about the do's and don'ts of celebrity interview publishing.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00g29d3)
A Small Town Murder

Episode 3

Crime mystery by Scott Cherry, featuring police family liaison officer Jacqui Hartwell.

Jacqui disagrees with her boss, DI Long, about the identity of the killer.

Jacqui ...... Meera Syal
Ellen ...... Barbara Flynn
DI Long ...... Maureen Beattie
Neil ...... David Horovitch
Heather ...... Kellie Shirley
Max ...... Jo Kloska.


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b00g053l)
Michael Buerk chairs a debate on the moral questions behind the week's news. Clifford Longley, Kenan Malik, Michael Portillo and Claire Fox cross-examine witnesses as the programme asks, can there be too much democracy?

Have the expectations of the TV phone-in vote generation gone too far? Is representative democracy undermined by continued government consultation exercises? Or are more votes needed on contentious issues, to encourage people to engage with the political process?


WED 20:45 The Draftsman's Contract (b00g053n)
Episode 2

Shaun Ley examines the work of the people who actually write our country's legislation - the Parliamentary Draftsmen - and whether laws should be gender-neutral, simpler and fewer.


WED 21:00 World On The Move: Great Animal Migrations (b00fzblx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 Midweek (b00fzw3h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b00fyy43)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b00fyybt)
National and international news and analysis with Carolyn Quinn. Including reports on how the increase in unemployment compares with other recessions and the views of a former top US financial regulator on the Madoff scandal.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00fzyts)
A Christmas Carol

Episode 3

David Jason reads from Dickens' festive classic. Scrooge is visited by the first of the three spirits, the Ghost of Christmas Past.


WED 23:00 The Cornwell Estate (b00g053q)
Series 1

Dave Kafka

The ups and downs of life on a fictional housing estate, told from the perspective of characters played by the comedian Phil Cornwell.

After being released from prison, Dave has moved in with his grandfather, Syd a big London gangster in the 1960s. But as Dave swaggers around the estate, he receives an unwelcome visit from a benefits officer.


WED 23:15 The Ladies (b00g0nmp)
Series 1

Episode 1

Series of comedy sketches by Emily Watson Howes set in a ladies' public toilet, featuring various female characters as they come and go.

Pippa tries to work out why her date with a manic depressive is going so badly, in the company of the other women in the Ladies.

With Emily Watson Howes, Kate Donmall, Fran Moulds, Suzanne Hislop.

A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00fz069)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with David Wilby.



THURSDAY 18 DECEMBER 2008

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b00fyhkx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b00g2dlh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00fyj3p)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00fyj57)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00fyj64)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b00fyj75)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00fyjkd)
Daily prayer and reflection with the Venerable Dr John Holdsworth.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b00fyjm8)
News and issues in rural Britain with Charlotte Smith.


THU 06:00 Today (b00fyk4g)
Presented by John Humphrys and Sarah Montague.

Rory Maclean reports on why plans to make the police more accountable have been dropped.

Ben Stewart, a Greenpeace member who protested at Kingsnorth power station, and Ann Widdecombe, MP for a constituency near Kingsnorth, discuss if 'lawful excuse' should be a defence.

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley says there has been a fundamental mistake in the way NHS dentistry is organised.

General Patrick Cordingley discusses the legacy that will be left in Basra.

Tom Feilden investigates the pros and cons of animal testing.

Prof Bennett Zon, head of Music at Durham University, says the Christmas carol O Come All Ye Faithful is actually a birth ode to Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Thought for the day with The Right Rev Lord Harries of Pentregarth.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson and dentist Dr Anthony Halperin discuss how NHS dentists should operate.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has issued his Christmas message in which he gives his view on the economy, Iraq and the possibility of the disestablishment of the Church of England.

Nicola Stanbridge visits a heavy metal club to discover if the advice for headbangers to wear a neck brace will catch on.

Mike Thompson visits a village in the Central African Republic where bandits massacred nearly every man and boy.

Caroline Wyatt reports on the arrest of 23 Iraqi officials accused of being members of the banned Baathist party Al Awda.

Dr Simon Festing, of the Research Defence Society, says testing on animals is a small but vital part of medical research. Michelle Thew, of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, says it is a disgrace.

General Sir Mike Jackson and journalist Patrick Cockburn discuss the war in Iraq.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b00g0nmw)
The Physics of Time

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the physics of time. When writing the Principia Mathematica, Isaac Newton declared his hand on most of the big questions in physics. He outlined the nature of space, explained the motions of the planets and conceived the operation of gravity. He also laid down the law on time declaring: “Absolute, true, and mathematical time, of itself and from its own nature, flows equably without relation to anything external.” For Newton time was absolute and set apart from the universe, but with the theories of Albert Einstein time became more complicated; it could be squeezed and distorted and was different in different places.Time is integral to our experience of things but we find it very difficult to think about. It may not even exist and yet seems written into the existence of absolutely everything. With Jim Al-Khalili, Professor of Theoretical Physics and Chair in the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Surrey; Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at the Open University and Ian Stewart, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b00g2dlk)
Nella Last's Peace

Episode 4

Imelda Staunton reads from the postwar diaries of 'Housewife, 49', Nella Last, which give a frank account of the difficulties of adapting to life in Britain after the end of WWII.

Nella bemoans her sons' apparent unwillingness to have children. She then has to face the prospect of Cliff emigrating to Australia.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00g25v5)
Actor Victoria Hamilton; Childhood obesity; Office parties

Award-winning actor Victoria Hamilton talks about her career. Plus, what can be done to help combat childhood obesity, and partying with your boss and partner.


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b00g0nnl)
Islam and Canada

Bill Law investigates the extent of Islamist extremism in Canada, after the foiling of a plot by a gang of young Islamists, born and raised in Canada, to blow up the country's parliament. In a country which prides itself on equality and fairness and where many Muslims have prospered while maintaining their cultural and religious identity, how deep are the twin threats of Islamist extremism and of official over-reaction?


THU 11:30 Oscar Marzaroli: The Man Who Captured Scotland (b00g0nnn)
Scottish singer-songwriter Ricky Ross examines the life and work of photographer and film-maker Oscar Marzaroli.

Born in Italy in 1933, Marzaroli moved to Glasgow at the age of two. Photographing in black and white, he produced a remarkable record of post-Second World War Scotland, and became famed for his iconic images of the Gorbals in the 1960s.

His photographs and films have become synonymous with Scotland, at that time a disaffected nation in the throes of regeneration. Marzaroli's images captured ordinary people struggling against poverty and social deprivation, yet who retained a strong sense of local pride and community spirit. During a time of controversial rebuilding, alongside a rising tide of Scottish nationalism, his photographic record has become a historical documentation of a lost society.

Ricky Ross discusses Marzaroli's life, career and legacy with the photographer's family, colleagues and contemporaries, including author William McIlvanney and Oscar's wife, Anne.


THU 12:00 You and Yours (b00fyp49)
Consumer news and issues with Winifred Robinson.


THU 12:57 Weather (b00fyp5s)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b00fyp8p)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


THU 13:30 Open Country (b00ftlm2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:07 on Saturday]


THU 14:00 The Archers (b00fypb1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b00g0nnq)
Miracle Worker

Hannah Bradley's only 17, but she's a spiritual healer. It doesn't seem strange to her; it's what she was brought up to be. She's healed many people; but maybe there's one person she really needs to heal.

Hannah....................................Beth Palmer
Maxine......................................Sue Jenkins
Sam..........................................Lucy-Jo Hudson
Lucy..........................................Kate Crossley
Paul...........................................Daniel Pape
Robbie........................................Luke Broughton

Producer/Director Gary Brown.


THU 15:00 Pilot (b008m5xh)
Libby Purves explores the world of the ship's pilot, whose job involves guiding the world's biggest ships into port and out to sea again in the best and the worst of weathers.

Aboard a pilot cutter on the River Tees in heavy seas, Libby meets Geoff Taylor of the International Maritime Pilots Association and his colleagues to talk about the life of the men - and one woman - who guide our ships safely to shore.


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b00fy2f2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00fyqdg)
Tapertime

Kirsty Gunn

'Tapertime'

The above is an old Edwardian word meaning dusk, and this series of commissioned stories take place as the light fades. What happens to the visual world as dusk emerges? What happens to make people behave differently, often strangely, as the world starts to blur?
Foxes by Kirsty Gunn

At the onset of evening she runs home to arrange the picnic, but animals cross her path,
and a change of plan is made...

Reader Liz Sutherland
Producer Duncan Minshull.


THU 15:45 Blind Man Seeks Work (b00fyx11)
Pilot

Peter White looks at some of the jobs he was told he could not do because he was blind.

Peter improves his piloting skills in a flight simulator and asks James May of Top Gear if he can take a turn in his plane.


THU 16:00 Open Book (b00fy402)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:30 Material World (b00g0nns)
Potato Science - Fermi Problems

Potato Science
The humble potato is a staple on many a dinner plate and snack bar. From mashed potato to crisps it can take a multitude of forms, and with it comes complex chemistry and even psychology.

Peter Styring from Sheffield University has studied just what happens when you mash a potato. Cook it too much or mash it with a blender and you break down the cells and end up with something like wallpaper paste. Cook or mash too little and it’s lumpy.

So why not follow Delia’s advice and use frozen mash? Not such a good idea, says Styring: it results in 700% more carbon emissions, contains too much salt and takes just as long to prepare. So we continue the quest for the perfect mashed potato.

There’s nothing worse than a stale, soggy crisp, but Charles Spence of Oxford University has just won an Ig Nobel prize for improbable research for showing that the sound you hear when you crunch a crisp influences your enjoyment of its freshness. So there’s a psychological side to spuds too.

Fermi Problems
How much tea is in China? How much energy is given off by an atomic bomb? They sound like the maths problems from hell, but early 20th century physicist Enrico Fermi tackled them head on - and without the help of a calculator.

He believed that with a few simple sums and a scrap of paper he could work out a rough answer. And with that the back-of-the-envelope calculation was born.

To discuss the relevance of pen and paper in science today, Quentin Cooper is joined by John Barrow from Cambridge University and Jocelyn Bell-Burnell, the President of the Institute of Physics.

They show how sensible estimations are helping us unravel the magnificent and the mundane - be it the amount of matter in the universe to the probability of having the same bank PIN code as your next door neighbour.


THU 17:00 PM (b00fyxmk)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fyxph)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


THU 18:30 Act Your Age (b00g0nnv)
Series 1

Episode 4

Simon Mayo discovers which generation is the funniest. With Jon Richardson, Lucy Porter and Roy Walker. From December 2008.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b00fypb3)
Ed has popped in to see Clarrie. She convinces him to stay for a while on Christmas day when he and Emma collect George from Will. Joe is reflective as he ponders having the whole family together on Christmas day. He decides he wants to visit his other son Alf. Eddie insists that Alf is no good, but Joe is adamant.

When milking at Grange Farm Eddie and Joe argue about playing country music to the cows and Eddie's CD player ends up smashed. Ed isn't happy to find them arguing - their shouting won't help the cows keep calm.

Alice and Chris are hoping to take advantage of an empty Home Farm when Jennifer unexpectedly comes home. Alice decides to go over to Chris's house where they can be alone.

Later Alice receives a phone call from Sebastian Streatfield asking her out. Jennifer gave him her number. Chris is incensed and confesses that he thinks he'll never be good enough for her, but Alice is quick to put him straight - she loves him.

Back at Home Farm, Alice berates Jennifer for giving Bastie her phone number. She and Chris are together and that's the way it's going to stay.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b00fyxrm)
The nation's favourite inventor and his dog return to the small screen on Christmas Day with their new half-hour film. This is Aardman Animation's first film since parting company with the American Dreamworks studio, with whom they made Chicken Run, Flushed Away and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park reaches into his bag to give us a guided tour of the little plasticine models.

It's 11 years since the death of Nigerian Afrobeat star Fela Kuti, but the man and his music continue to be a potent symbol of opposition to authority in Africa. Last week he was given the Legend Award at the first ever MTV Africa Music awards. Two of his sons, Femi and Seun Kuti, both international music stars in their own right, were in the UK recently with new CDs and talked to Front Row about carrying on the role of their father.

When the Cornish theatre company Kneehigh Theatre first began in 1980, it performed in village halls, on cliff tops and in car parks. Since then, it's presented Cymbeline at the RSC, a version of Powell and Pressburger's war-time film A Matter of Life and Death at the National Theatre, and a version of Noel Coward's film Brief Encounter at the Haymarket cinema in London. Kneehigh's artistic director Emma Rice talks to Kirsty about returning to the RSC with their latest production Don John, a characteristically imaginative retelling of the story of the famous lothario set in England during 1978's winter of discontent.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00g29dt)
A Small Town Murder

Episode 4

Crime mystery by Scott Cherry, featuring police family liaison officer Jacqui Hartwell.

Jacqui is convinced that she has caught the killer and makes an arrest.

Jacqui ...... Meera Syal
Ellen ...... Barbara Flynn
DI Long ...... Maureen Beattie
Neil ...... David Horovitch
Heather ...... Kellie Shirley
Max ...... Jo Kloska.


THU 20:00 A Social Selection (b00g0nnx)
Episode 2

Reporter Andrew Bomford examines the grammar school selection system in parts of England.

Andrew assesses the social effects of the selection process on schools in Buckinghamshire and asks whether current testing methods adequately measure the ability of pupils from different backgrounds.


THU 20:30 In Business (b00g0npc)
How to Go Bust

Peter Day asks if there is a right or wrong way to tackle intractable business problems and seeks hints about surviving the current hard economic times.


THU 21:00 Leading Edge (b00g0npf)
Face Recognition in Chimps

Face Recognition in Chimps
How many people can you recognise by face? It’s one of the things we humans are good at - and it’s a talent we share with chimpanzees. But what’s going on in their brains? More specifically, do we and they both use the same brain processes during face recognition? Some experiments carried out by Dr Lisa Parr and reported this week in the journal Current Biology have now answered the question.

Pedigree genetics
The BBC decision not to televise Crufts follows public discussion of an issue that’s long troubled some vets and breeders: that certain pedigree dogs suffer chronic problems of ill health. Leading Edge looks at the science that underpins dog-breeding with Dr David Sargon of the Cambridge Veterinary School, and Professor Matthew Binns of the Royal Veterinary College in London.

Hobby-Eberley Telescope
Dr Chris Lintott reports on the Hobby-Eberley Telescope in Texas.

Dinosaur Extinction
The commonly held theory on the mass extinction of the dinosaurs is that it was caused by an asteroid hitting earth 65 million years ago. Princeton palaeontologist Gerta Keller has contested the asteroid claim for more than 20 years. She argues instead that the extinction resulted from the eruption of many huge volcanoes. The controversy flared up again at a recent San Francisco meeting of the American Geophysical Union, shedding light not only on the contending theories, but also on the way that scientific ideas compete for attention. Molly Bentley reports.


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b00g0nmw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:58 Weather (b00fyy45)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b00fyybw)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00fzytv)
A Christmas Carol

Episode 4

David Jason reads from Dickens's festive classic. The Ghost of Christmas Past reveals a truth concerning Scrooge's younger self.


THU 23:00 The Penny Dreadfuls (b00gpbcv)
More Brothers Faversham

Maximillian Faversham

The story of Victorian Britain's greatest horror writer.

The comedy trio's swashbuckling family romp.

Written by and starring Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck.

With Miles Jupp and Ingrid Oliver.

Script edited by Richard Turner.

Producer: Julia McKenzie

Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in 2008.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00fz06c)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Sean Curran.



FRIDAY 19 DECEMBER 2008

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b00fyhl0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b00g2dlk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00fyj3r)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00fyj59)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00fyj66)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b00fyj77)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00fyjkg)
Daily prayer and reflection with the Venerable Dr John Holdsworth.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b00fyjmb)
News and issues in rural Britain with Charlotte Smith.


FRI 06:00 Today (b00fyk4j)
Presented by John Humphrys and Sarah Montague.

Gavin Lee discusses his interview with the son of a man who was jailed for raping his two daughters.

Robert Walker examines the size of the supply chain that relies on cars being made.

Sir Andrew Wood says it is very important economically for Britain to work with Russia.

Iraqi businessman Raad Rassak and Michael Wareing, Britain's economic ambassador to southern Iraq, discuss how the situation in the country has changed.

Aleem Maqbool reports on his walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem, retracing the steps of Joseph and Mary.

Thought for the day with Sir Jonathan Sacks.

Derek Simpson, of the union Unite, and Richard Lambert, of the Confederation of British Industry, discuss if the government should assist the motor industry.

William Clegg, barrister for Colin Stagg, and Peter Neyroud, CEO of the National Policing Improvement Agency, discuss lessons learned after Rachel Nickell's death.

The widow of Hunter S. Thompson and his friend Ralph Steadman discuss how the writer blurred the lines between truth and fiction.

Mike Thomson talks to rebel soldiers in the Central African Republic.

The FBI official who became known as Deep Throat in the Watergate scandal has died. Catherine Meyer explains how Watergate changed the political landscape for ever.

Music journalist Stephen Plaistow discusses what makes pianist Alfred Brendel extra special.

Tim Harford, the 'undercover economist' for the Financial Times, discusses if it really matters whether we know our contagion from our credit derivatives.

Jeff Edwards, former chief crime correspondent of The Mirror, and Clarence Mitchell, official spokesman for Kate and Gerry McCann, discuss if the media acts responsibly enough in high profile cases.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b00fy2fg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b00g2dlm)
Nella Last's Peace

Episode 5

Imelda Staunton reads from the postwar diaries of 'Housewife, 49', Nella Last, which give a frank account of the difficulties of adapting to life in Britain after the end of WWII.

Nella reflects on her experience of two world wars and compares the peacetime optimism of 1918 with the mood of the late 1940s. What, she wonders, does the future hold for the next generation?


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00g25v7)
Children in care; Singer Alice Russell

How do we help children in care to cope? Plus making the best of the long-distance visit, and singer Alice Russell performs live.


FRI 11:00 Wah! Wah! Wah! Waaaaah! The Comedy Scores (b00g0npk)
Huw Williams appraises classic comedy music written for film, television and radio.


FRI 11:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b00g0nq2)
Series 2

Confectionary McEnroe

Comedy set in a Scottish corner shop. Tensions run high as Ramesh gears up for the Shopkeeper of the Year award.

Written by and starring Sanjeev Kohli and Donald McLeary.

Ramesh ... Sanjeev Kohli
Dave ... Donald McLeary
Alok ... Susheel Kumar
Sanjay ... Omar Raza
Father Henderson ... Gerard Kelly
Mrs Armstrong ... Maureen Carr
Ted ... Gavin Mitchell
Mr Finegan ... Tom Urie
Elton ... Manjot Sumal
Keenan's mum ... Michele Gallagher

Director: Iain Davidson
Producer: Gus Beattie

A Comedy Unit Production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b00fyp4c)
Presented by Peter White.

Newquay Airport has been closed since December 1st 2008 because when Cornwall County Council took over the airfield from the RAF it failed to comply with Civil Aviation Authority regulations.

Coldplay fans have missed out as the tickets they bought via a website have not arrived. Shari Vahl finds out more.

Henrietta Harrison reports on what the music industry can do to persuade people to stop downloading music for free and pay for it instead.

Peter talks to the new chief executive of Remploy, Tim Matthews, about what he sees as the future of the organisation.

There are 200,000 oil paintings owned by the public gracing the walls of hospitals, council buildings and fire stations. The Public Catalogue Foundation has begun to catalogue them so ordinary members of the public can ask to see them.

Phil Hudson, chief horticultural advisor of the National Farmers' Union, discusses the changes to the Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme.

What would be your perfect weekend? Chairman of Lloyd's of London Lord Levene tells us his ideas.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b00fyp5v)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b00fyp8r)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.


FRI 13:30 More or Less (b00g0nq4)
Strictly Voting Fiasco - Imperial Measures - Childhood Obesity - Knife-Crime Statistics

Strictly Voting Fiasco
Saturday's edition of Strictly Come Dancing was thrown into chaos. The TV show's producers realised that it was mathematically impossible for a public telephone vote to influence the contest.

This came after the marks the studio judges awarded put two of the contestants in joint first place. The BBC executive in charge of the programme put the problem down to "exceptional circumstances".

More or Less listener Dirk Nachbar disagrees. From his hospital bed, he ran a computer simulation, based on past scores, and concluded that the chance of such a problem was 1 in 8.

Our reporter, former computer programmer Oliver Hawkins, has run his own simulation and come up with a similar result. Watch him explain it.

More Credit Crunch Maths
Financial mathematics guru Paul Wilmott continues with his More or Less series explaining how mathematical blunders contributed to the credit crunch.

This week, he talks us through the maths error that might have contributed to the mispricing of financial derivatives and thus to the travails of the banks, the credit crunch, and the recession.

Imperial Measures
Tim Harford talks pounds and kilos with Derek Pollard. Pints, miles, pounds and inches. They are fiendishly complicated and politicians have tried to ban their use, but for some reason imperial measures have proved impossible to kill off.

This week, the European Parliament voted to allow UK consumers to use both metric and imperial measures. It marks the end of a long campaign to make Britain fully metric.

Warwick Cairns, author of About the Size of It explains the appeal of imperial whilst Derek Pollard, Secretary of the Metric Association vows to carry on the fight for a "single rational system".

Childhood Obesity
The Chief Medical Officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, this week reiterated his appeal for urgent action on childhood obesity, claiming in an online article for BBC News that "the obesity epidemic" is a national crisis and that to do nothing was not an option.

According to the Health Survey for England, a quarter of 5 year olds are obese or overweight. Simon Cox, presenter of our sister programme The Investigation explains why the figures exaggerate the extent of the problem.

Knife-Crime Statistics
"Fewer teenagers are being wounded by knives" claimed a Home Office press release issued last week. How accurate are the latest government figures on knife crime?

Figures in the document purported to show that the government's Tackling Knives Action Plan had been a great success. The head of the UK Statistics Authority, Sir Michael Scholar, disagreed.

On Friday he condemned the government for releasing "unchecked" and "selective" numbers against the advice of professional statisticians. So why might an apparent fall crime be not all it seems? It could be something to do with a concept called "regression to the mean".


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b00fypb3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b00g0xs1)
The Switch

By Ali Smith, partly inspired by the romantic film musicals of Jacques Demy and told in a sequence of songs.

Accompanied by his French bride, young English electrician George heads for the Scottish Highlands in the optimistic 1960s to set up in business. Forty years later, their daughter Genevieve remembers her parents and her childhood as she journeys by train from London back to Scotland.

George ...... Nick Farr
Sidonie ...... Lucy Paterson
Genevieve ...... Gabriel Quigley

With James Bryce, Richard Conlon, Monica Gibb, Dougal Lee, Joanna Tope and Anita Vettesse as the Chorus of Townspeople.

Directed by David Jackson Young.


FRI 15:00 Ramblings (b00g0zkt)
Series 11

Forvie Dunes

Clare Balding walks along the River Ythan in Aberdeenshire to the Forvie dunes in the company of local naturalists.


FRI 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00fyqdj)
Tapertime

Adam Thorpe

'Tapertime'

The above is an old Edwardian word meaning dusk, and this series of commissioned stories take place as the light fades. What happens to the visual world as dusk emerges? What happens to make people behave differently, often strangely, as the world starts to blur?
The Very Last Leave by Adam Thorpe

In remote Lincolnshire she always paints the gloaming, but something aside from darkened tones is revealed in her pictures...

Reader David Horovitch
Producer Duncan Minshull.


FRI 15:45 Blind Man Seeks Work (b00fyx13)
Spy

Peter White looks at some of the jobs he was told he could not do because he was blind.

Peter investigates his chances of becoming a spy and is given training and his first undercover assignment by crime writer Frederick Forsyth.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b00g0zkw)
John Wilson presents the obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died. The programme reflects on people of distinction and interest from many walks of life, some famous and some less well known.


FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b00g0zky)
The latest movie news and reviews. Francine Stock talks to Baz Luhrmann, the director of Moulin Rouge and Strictly Ballroom about his latest film, Australia.


FRI 17:00 PM (b00fyxmm)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00fyxpk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b00g0zl0)
Series 25

Episode 4

Comedy sketches and satirical comments from Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and the team including Mitch Benn, Laura Shavin, Jon Holmes and special guest Holly Walsh.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b00fypb5)
As David is still unwell, Jill is helping Ruth weigh out the beef and pack it up. They discuss how successful Pip's school appeal was for The Elms homeless shelter - they won't be short of food this Christmas!

Back home, David is thinking about becoming deputy chair for the NFU, but says it's up to Ruth. She would have to cover his work if he took on this extra responsibility. Later Ruth tells him that she's happy for him to do it. They all need to do their bit.

At rehearsals, Lynda is getting increasingly stressed about the pantomime. When Mike and Fallon still need their scripts, and part of the set comes crashing down, it's all too much for her. Jill finds Lynda sobbing in the toilets. They'll never be ready and she may have to cancel the pantomime! Fallon finds Jill with upset Lynda. Together they convince her that if they all pull together they can turn it around.

Later Lynda is bowled over when she's told that the cast have agreed to an all-day rehearsal on Sunday. Mike claims it will be the best pantomime that Ambridge has even seen.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b00fyxrp)
Presented by Kirsty Lang.

Ian McKellen has had a long acting career that spans soap operas, Hollywood movies and the greatest Shakespeare roles on stage. He discusses what it's like to look back on his performances from years ago and why he has only got ten more years left on stage.

Maria Delgado, Professor of Theatre and Screen Arts at Queen Mary, University of London, reviews the film Che: Part 1, Steven Soderbergh's biopic of Che Guevara.

Andy Silke reports on the problems surrounding the opening of an ambitious interactive arts centre, The Public, in West Bromwich. Gallery project manager David Clarke tells us their plan for the future.

With the re-release on the big screen of the 1948 Oscar-winning Italian film Bicycle Thieves, Adam Smith reflects on those unforgettable bicycle moments on film and what David Cameron has to do with it.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00g29hb)
A Small Town Murder

Episode 5

Crime mystery by Scott Cherry, featuring police family liaison officer Jacqui Hartwell.

Agonising family secrets come to the surface as Jacqui finally catches Professor Hines's killer.

Jacqui ...... Meera Syal
Ellen ...... Barbara Flynn
DI Long ...... Maureen Beattie
Neil ...... David Horovitch
Heather ...... Kellie Shirley
Max ...... Jo Kloska.


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b00g0zl2)
Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the topical debate in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. The panel includes director of Liberty Shami Chakrabarti, businessman Sir Gulam Noon, columnist and author Peter Oborne, and broadcaster Dame Joan Bakewell.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b00g0zl4)
It’s a Wrap

The hardest part of Christmas is not socialising with family, nor hauling coal or peeling potatoes - it's wrapping the presents, says Clive James, as he anticipates with some dread the seasonal tasks awaiting him as he uncovers the deeper meaning of gift wrapping.


FRI 21:00 Friday Drama (b00g0zl6)
When The Bough Breaks

Julia Hollander's play, inspired by her own experience, about the dilemma she faced over whether to put her badly brain-damaged child up for adoption in order to keep the rest of her family together.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b00fyy47)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b00fyyby)
National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00fzytx)
A Christmas Carol

Episode 5

David Jason reads from Dickens's festive classic. Scrooge has barely recovered from his last visitation when he discovers a very jolly fellow in the dining room.


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b00fzw0z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00fz06f)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Mark D'Arcy.




LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 MON (b00fyxvh)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 TUE (b00g298y)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 WED (b00g29d3)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 THU (b00g29dt)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 FRI (b00g29hb)

A Box of Wittgensteins 14:45 SUN (b00fy2xf)

A Charles Paris Mystery 11:30 WED (b00wmr2t)

A Point of View 08:50 SUN (b00ftd07)

A Point of View 20:50 FRI (b00g0zl4)

A Social Selection 20:00 THU (b00g0nnx)

A Voyage to Lundy 05:45 SAT (b008tzzl)

Act Your Age 18:30 THU (b00g0nnv)

Adventures in Poetry 23:30 SAT (b00frqfn)

Adventures in Poetry 16:30 SUN (b00fy446)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 MON (b00fypht)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 TUE (b00fyqdb)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 WED (b00fyqdd)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 THU (b00fyqdg)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 FRI (b00fyqdj)

All in the Mind 21:00 TUE (b00fzw15)

All in the Mind 16:30 WED (b00fzw15)

Analysis 21:30 SUN (b00ftbgh)

Another Case of Milton Jones 12:00 SUN (b00ft1cd)

Any Answers? 14:00 SAT (b00ftp98)

Any Questions? 13:10 SAT (b00ftd05)

Any Questions? 20:00 FRI (b00g0zl2)

Bells on Sunday 05:43 SUN (b00fy21c)

Bells on Sunday 00:45 MON (b00fy21c)

Beyond Belief 16:30 MON (b00fz861)

Blind Man Seeks Work 15:45 MON (b00fyqnf)

Blind Man Seeks Work 15:45 TUE (b00fyx0x)

Blind Man Seeks Work 15:45 WED (b00fyx0z)

Blind Man Seeks Work 15:45 THU (b00fyx11)

Blind Man Seeks Work 15:45 FRI (b00fyx13)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 MON (b00fyzx5)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 TUE (b00fzyv5)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 WED (b00fzyts)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 THU (b00fzytv)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 FRI (b00fzytx)

Book of the Week 00:30 SAT (b00fwfwr)

Book of the Week 09:45 MON (b00fyk6j)

Book of the Week 00:30 TUE (b00fyk6j)

Book of the Week 09:45 TUE (b00g2dlp)

Book of the Week 00:30 WED (b00g2dlp)

Book of the Week 09:45 WED (b00g2dlh)

Book of the Week 00:30 THU (b00g2dlh)

Book of the Week 09:45 THU (b00g2dlk)

Book of the Week 00:30 FRI (b00g2dlk)

Book of the Week 09:45 FRI (b00g2dlm)

Brain of Britain 23:00 SAT (b00fsylg)

Brain of Britain 13:30 MON (b00fz12j)

Broadcasting House 09:00 SUN (b00fy2fb)

Classic Serial 21:00 SAT (b00frpx4)

Classic Serial 15:00 SUN (b00fy3l1)

Crossing Continents 20:30 MON (b00ft64c)

Crossing Continents 11:00 THU (b00g0nnl)

Desert Island Discs 11:15 SUN (b00fy2fg)

Desert Island Discs 09:00 FRI (b00fy2fg)

Digging Deep 17:00 SUN (b00ft470)

Drama 14:15 MON (b00fz12l)

Drama 14:15 TUE (b00fztbw)

Drama 14:15 THU (b00g0nnq)

Drama 14:15 FRI (b00g0xs1)

Excess Baggage 10:00 SAT (b00ftp0b)

Fags, Mags and Bags 11:30 FRI (b00g0nq2)

Farming Today This Week 06:35 SAT (b00ftlm4)

Farming Today 05:45 MON (b00fyjs7)

Farming Today 05:45 TUE (b00fyjm4)

Farming Today 05:45 WED (b00fyjm6)

Farming Today 05:45 THU (b00fyjm8)

Farming Today 05:45 FRI (b00fyjmb)

Friday Drama 21:00 FRI (b00g0zl6)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:30 SAT (b00ftp90)

Front Row 19:15 MON (b00fyxs2)

Front Row 19:15 TUE (b00fyxrh)

Front Row 19:15 WED (b00fyxrk)

Front Row 19:15 THU (b00fyxrm)

Front Row 19:15 FRI (b00fyxrp)

Gardeners' Question Time 14:00 SUN (b00fy2ky)

Gardeners' Question Time 15:00 WED (b00fy2ky)

Go4it 19:15 SUN (b00fy5vc)

Great Lives 16:30 TUE (b00fzw0z)

Great Lives 23:00 FRI (b00fzw0z)

I Was... 11:30 TUE (b00fzblz)

In Business 20:30 THU (b00g0npc)

In Living Memory 11:00 WED (b00fzw3k)

In Our Time 09:00 THU (b00g0nmw)

In Our Time 21:30 THU (b00g0nmw)

In Touch 20:40 TUE (b00fzw13)

Last Word 20:30 SUN (b00ftczz)

Last Word 16:00 FRI (b00g0zkw)

Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking 18:30 TUE (b00bg3gf)

Leading Edge 21:00 THU (b00g0npf)

Loose Ends 18:15 SAT (b00fy0v6)

Making History 15:00 TUE (b00fzw0v)

Material World 16:30 THU (b00g0nns)

Midnight News 00:00 SAT (b00ftd2n)

Midnight News 00:00 SUN (b00fy211)

Midnight News 00:00 MON (b00fyj3h)

Midnight News 00:00 TUE (b00fyhkl)

Midnight News 00:00 WED (b00fyhks)

Midnight News 00:00 THU (b00fyhkx)

Midnight News 00:00 FRI (b00fyhl0)

Midweek 09:00 WED (b00fzw3h)

Midweek 21:30 WED (b00fzw3h)

Mind Changers 23:00 SUN (b00bg335)

Money Box Live 15:00 MON (b00fz85z)

Money Box 12:00 SAT (b00ftp92)

Money Box 21:00 SUN (b00ftp92)

Moral Maze 22:15 SAT (b00ft5km)

Moral Maze 20:00 WED (b00g053l)

More or Less 20:00 SUN (b00ftcgg)

More or Less 13:30 FRI (b00g0nq4)

Music Feature 13:30 TUE (b00fzc2y)

News Briefing 05:30 SAT (b00ftd2x)

News Briefing 13:00 SAT (b00ftp96)

News Briefing 05:30 SUN (b00fy219)

News Briefing 05:30 MON (b00fyj7h)

News Briefing 05:30 TUE (b00fyj71)

News Briefing 05:30 WED (b00fyj73)

News Briefing 05:30 THU (b00fyj75)

News Briefing 05:30 FRI (b00fyj77)

News Headlines 06:00 SUN (b00fy2dp)

News and Papers 06:00 SAT (b00ftd31)

News and Papers 07:00 SUN (b00fy2dy)

News and Papers 08:00 SUN (b00fy2f6)

News and Weather 22:00 SAT (b00fy1b7)

On Your Farm 06:35 SUN (b00fy2dt)

Open Book 16:00 SUN (b00fy402)

Open Book 16:00 THU (b00fy402)

Open Country 06:07 SAT (b00ftlm2)

Open Country 13:30 THU (b00ftlm2)

Oscar Marzaroli: The Man Who Captured Scotland 11:30 THU (b00g0nnn)

PM 17:00 SAT (b00fxzxd)

PM 17:00 MON (b00fyxp9)

PM 17:00 TUE (b00fyxmf)

PM 17:00 WED (b00fyxmh)

PM 17:00 THU (b00fyxmk)

PM 17:00 FRI (b00fyxmm)

Pick of the Week 18:15 SUN (b00fy5v7)

Pilgrim by Sebastian Baczkiewicz 14:15 WED (b00g0532)

Pilot 15:00 THU (b008m5xh)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 SAT (b00ftd2z)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 MON (b00fyjs5)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 TUE (b00fyjk8)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 WED (b00fyjkb)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 THU (b00fyjkd)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 FRI (b00fyjkg)

Profile 19:00 SAT (b00fy0v8)

Profile 05:45 SUN (b00fy0v8)

Profile 17:40 SUN (b00fy0v8)

Radio 4 Appeal 07:55 SUN (b00fy2f2)

Radio 4 Appeal 21:26 SUN (b00fy2f2)

Radio 4 Appeal 15:27 THU (b00fy2f2)

Ramblings 15:00 FRI (b00g0zkt)

Reckless beyond Reason 20:00 TUE (b00g311m)

Sarah Millican: Keep Your Chins Up 23:00 TUE (b00g1ftx)

Saturday Drama 14:30 SAT (b00fxzt0)

Saturday Live 09:00 SAT (b00ftp08)

Saturday Review 19:15 SAT (b00fy0xx)

Science Friction 21:00 MON (b00fz8pc)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SAT (b00ftd2s)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SUN (b00fy215)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 MON (b00fyj5y)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 TUE (b00fyj53)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 WED (b00fyj55)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 THU (b00fyj57)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 FRI (b00fyj59)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SAT (b00ftd2q)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SAT (b00ftd2v)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SAT (b00fy0v0)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SUN (b00fy213)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SUN (b00fy217)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SUN (b00fy5v1)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 MON (b00fyj51)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 MON (b00fyj6z)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 TUE (b00fyj3k)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 TUE (b00fyj60)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 WED (b00fyj3m)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 WED (b00fyj62)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 THU (b00fyj3p)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 THU (b00fyj64)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 FRI (b00fyj3r)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 FRI (b00fyj66)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SAT (b00fy0v4)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SUN (b00fy5v5)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 MON (b00fyxrf)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 TUE (b00fyxpc)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 WED (b00fyxpf)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 THU (b00fyxph)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 FRI (b00fyxpk)

Something Understood 06:05 SUN (b00fy2dr)

Something Understood 23:30 SUN (b00fy2dr)

Spending My Inheritance 11:30 MON (b00fz0wd)

Start the Week 09:00 MON (b00fz0w8)

Start the Week 21:30 MON (b00fz0w8)

Sunday Worship 08:10 SUN (b00fy2f8)

Sunday 07:10 SUN (b00fy2f0)

The Archers Omnibus 10:00 SUN (b00fy2fd)

The Archers 19:00 SUN (b00fy5v9)

The Archers 14:00 MON (b00fy5v9)

The Archers 19:00 MON (b00fypbk)

The Archers 14:00 TUE (b00fypbk)

The Archers 19:00 TUE (b00fyp9z)

The Archers 14:00 WED (b00fyp9z)

The Archers 19:00 WED (b00fypb1)

The Archers 14:00 THU (b00fypb1)

The Archers 19:00 THU (b00fypb3)

The Archers 14:00 FRI (b00fypb3)

The Archers 19:00 FRI (b00fypb5)

The Archive Hour 20:00 SAT (b007rw1b)

The Cornwell Estate 23:00 WED (b00g053q)

The Draftsman's Contract 20:45 WED (b00g053n)

The EMI Story 10:30 SAT (b00ftp0d)

The Film Programme 16:30 FRI (b00g0zky)

The Food Programme 12:32 SUN (b00fy2kr)

The Food Programme 16:00 MON (b00fy2kr)

The Fortune Hunters 09:30 TUE (b00fzbbq)

The Ladies 23:15 WED (b00g0nmp)

The Late Story 00:30 SUN (b007njhs)

The Long View 09:00 TUE (b00fzbbn)

The Long View 21:30 TUE (b00fzbbn)

The Media Show 13:30 WED (b00fzw4x)

The Now Show 12:30 SAT (b00ftd03)

The Now Show 18:30 FRI (b00g0zl0)

The Penny Dreadfuls 23:00 THU (b00gpbcv)

The Railway Children 19:45 SUN (b00fy5vf)

The Unbelievable Truth 18:30 MON (b00fz863)

The Week in Westminster 11:00 SAT (b00ftp8y)

The World This Weekend 13:00 SUN (b00fy2kw)

The World Tonight 22:00 MON (b00fyyc4)

The World Tonight 22:00 TUE (b00fyybr)

The World Tonight 22:00 WED (b00fyybt)

The World Tonight 22:00 THU (b00fyybw)

The World Tonight 22:00 FRI (b00fyyby)

Things We Forgot to Remember 20:00 MON (b00fz8fb)

Thinking Allowed 00:15 MON (b00ft5kk)

Thinking Allowed 16:00 WED (b00g0534)

Today in Parliament 23:30 MON (b00fz06m)

Today in Parliament 23:30 TUE (b00fz067)

Today in Parliament 23:30 WED (b00fz069)

Today in Parliament 23:30 THU (b00fz06c)

Today in Parliament 23:30 FRI (b00fz06f)

Today 07:00 SAT (b00ftltp)

Today 06:00 MON (b00fyk4n)

Today 06:00 TUE (b00fyk4b)

Today 06:00 WED (b00fyk4d)

Today 06:00 THU (b00fyk4g)

Today 06:00 FRI (b00fyk4j)

Wah! Wah! Wah! Waaaaah! The Comedy Scores 11:00 FRI (b00g0npk)

Weather 06:04 SAT (b00ftnfb)

Weather 06:57 SAT (b00ftltm)

Weather 12:57 SAT (b00ftp94)

Weather 17:57 SAT (b00fy0v2)

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Where Scotland Meets England 13:30 SUN (b00dh8cb)

Will Smith's Midlife Crisis Management 18:30 WED (b00g0536)

Woman's Hour 10:00 MON (b00fylrd)

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World On The Move: Great Animal Migrations 11:00 TUE (b00fzblx)

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World at One 13:00 MON (b00fyp9x)

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Young Governors Take Control 11:00 MON (b00fz0wb)

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