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 27 DECEMBER 2008

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b00g3xbh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 00:15 Q & A by Vikas Swarup (b007tyv7)
5,000 Rupees

By Ayeesha Menon, from the novel by Vikas Swarup.

Street kid Ram Mohammad Thomas is a contestant on the hit Indian TV show Who Will Win a Billion. As he ponders over the first question, his thoughts drift back to his childhood in Delhi. A baby abandoned on the steps of a church, Thomas was brought up by a well-meaning priest, until he was abandoned yet again.

Thomas ...... Anand Tiwari
Prem Kumar ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Father Francis ...... Henry Goodman
Young Thomas ...... Caran Arora
Father John ...... Rajit Kapur

Other parts played by Kenneth Desai, Ashley Cook and Vikrant Chaturvedi.

Directed by John Dryden


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b00g2565)
My Judy Garland Life

Get Happy

Tamsin Grieg reads from Susie Boyt's tribute to her screen idol Judy Garland.

After an unexpected duet with Mickey Rooney over breakfast, Susie gingerly accepts an invitation to perform at a 'Judy Night' in Brooklyn. Before she knows it, she is draped over the lid of a baby grand piano in her best satin dress, singing her heart out.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00g3xbk)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00g3xbm)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00g3xbp)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b00g3xbr)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00g3xbt)
Daily prayer and reflection with Lynn Gallagher.


SAT 05:45 A Voyage to Lundy (b008tzzn)
Episode 5

Writer and poet Gwyneth Lewis explores the allure of Lundy Island and considers the satisfaction of adventure close to home.

Producer: Penny Arnold

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2008.


SAT 06:00 News and Weather (b00g3xbw)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b00g3xby)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (b00g3xc0)
Reporting from the tiny Channel island of Sark, which has thrown off the last vestiges of feudal rule and has voted for the first time for its own government.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today This Week (b00g3xfg)
News and issues in rural Britain with Charlotte Smith.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b00g3xfj)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b00g3xfl)
Presented by James Naughtie and Evan Davis.

A nurse who has been missing for more than a week has been found alive in the boot of her own car. Colin Blane reports.

Dominic Nutt, of Save the Children's Emergency Response team in Zimbabwe, discusses if he thinks the humanitarian crisis in the country is purely man made.

Wendy Urquhart visits a London branch of Woolworths as it opens for its last day of trading.

Barbara Plett meets some of the people who were there on the day Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated.

Hugh Pym looks at the economic crisis through the eyes of newspaper cartoonists.

Mark Dummett explains what the first parliamentary elections in seven years means to the people of Bangladesh.

Richard Galpin reports on the inclusion of former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in a poll to find the greatest Russian ever to have lived?

Thought for the day with the novelist and columnist Anne Atkins.

British Ambassador to Afghanistan Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles says everything is being done to make sure elections in Afghanistan take place.

Stephen Robertson, director general of the British Retail Consortium, and David Smith, chairman of the Shadow Monetary Policy Committee, discuss the prospects for retailers in 2009.

Etiquette expert Jean Broke-Smith discusses a study in the US which claims that writing thank you letters has psychological benefits.

Ed Stourton is to leave Today late next year when Justin Webb joins the programme. He thanks listeners for all their kind support and hopes that he can get back to reporting the news, rather than being on it.

Father Reginald Foster, who has translated texts into Latin for various Popes, looks back on his most unusual career at the Vatican.

Former editor of the Sunday Times Sir Harold Evans, Patience Wheatcroft, former editor of the Sunday Telegraph, and historian David Kynaston, discuss the big political and financial stories of the year.

Matthew Oates, a nature conservation adviser at the National Trust says disaster is never far away for British wildlife.

Actor Michael Gambon pays tribute to playwright Harold Pinter.

Paul Wood says newspapers are reporting that Israel is planning a military assault in Gaza.

Georg Holm, of the band Sigur Ros - one of Iceland's most successful exports, reflects on the turbulent economic times the country has gone through.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b00g3xq4)
Real life stories in which listeners talk about the issues that matter to them. Presenter Richard Coles is joined by author, actress and comedienne Stella Duffy, Sybil and Blance Le Fleur, sisters who were reunited after 65 years, and Jude Redmond, who failed in a suicide attempt at Christmas but is now glad to be alive. Plus poetry from Clare Fox and Brian Eno selects his Inheritance Tracks.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b00g3xq6)
Postcards

POSTCARDS
For over 100 years picture postcards have been the traditional way for holiday-makers and travellers to let their family and friends at home know what a wonderful time they were having. The Royal Horticultural Halls in Victoria, London were the venue for this year’s Picture Postcard Show.

At the collectors' fair Sandi Toksvig is joined by photographer Martin Parr, a keen collector, particularly of postcards many of which he has published in his picture books with titles like “Postcards” and “Boring Postcards”. He is also well known for his photographs of tourists and the seaside. He and Sandi take a look at the world of postcards. What does the choice and style of the views and the messages sent reveal about Britain's changing social history? They explore what postcards reveal about the way we see places and why they are a must for tourists.


SAT 10:30 Salman Rushdie and The Wizard of Oz (b00g3xq8)
Salman Rushdie celebrates the seventieth anniversary of the classic film The Wizard of Oz and examines its enduring appeal. Featuring contributions from John Lahr, theatre critic for The New Yorker and the son of Burt Lahr who played the Cowardly Lion, and historian David Powell, who remembers seeing the film when it was released during WWII.


SAT 11:00 Beyond Westminster (b00g6spf)
Series 2

Episode 1

Series looking at politics beyond and outside the Westminster parliament.

Fighting child poverty has been a major political crusade for the Labour Party. Andrew Rawnsley asks if much has changed in the last ten years, and whether the government can achieve the lofty ambition to eradicate it by 2020, even as we are in the grip of the worst recession for decades.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b00g3xqd)
BBC foreign correspondents with the stories behind the world's headlines. Introduced by Kate Adie.


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b00g3xqg)
Paul Lewis with the latest news from the world of personal finance.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b00g3tmp)
Series 25

Episode 5

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


SAT 12:57 Weather (b00g3xqj)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b00g3xql)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 News Review of the Year (b00g3xqn)
2008

Edward Stourton looks back at the stories that hit the headlines in 2008.


SAT 14:00 Scraps of Bacon (b00dp4km)
Novelist James Maw paints an unofficial portrait of Francis Bacon by speaking to his Soho drinking companions and trying to track down the paintings he gave away.

Bacon's characteristically austere paintings are at odds with the man himself, who was known as a bon viveur, gambler and inveterate drinker who attracted a diverse social circle. Maw investigates the rumours of the works that Bacon gave away to friends or to settle bills, and in the process paints his own portrait of the great artist.


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b00g3ycd)
Michael Hastings - Tom and Viv

Benedict Cumberbatch stars in the heart-breaking story of TS Eliot's marriage to Viv Haigh-Wood.

Michael Hastings' best known play charts the turbulent, doomed marriage of the young TS Eliot and the charismatic Vivienne Haigh-Wood. This moving, highly-charged study has been described as 'one of the most important plays of the 20th century'.

Stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Tom, Lia Williams as Viv, David Haig as Maurice and Judy Parfitt as Rose.

Adapted and directed by Peter Kavanagh.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.

Tom ............... Benedict Cumberbatch
Viv.................. Lia Williams
Maurice..............David Haig
Rose............... Judy Parfitt
Charles............ John Rowe
Louise..................Emily Randall
Janes............... Chris Pavlo
Dr Todd............ Gunnar Cauthery
Barrister............. Jonathan Tafler

Adapted and directed by......Peter Kavanagh.


SAT 16:00 Weekend Woman's Hour (b00g3yq2)
Highlights of the year's Woman's Hour programmes, presented by Jane Garvey. Including Cherie Blair on moving into the spotlight of power with young children, Emma Thompson on refusing the star system and Randy Crawford on her 1979 hit Street Life. Michele Roberts discusses the relevance of Simone de Beauvoir is in the centenary year of her birth, the joys of being an Abbaholic and advice on getting children up and out of the house in the morning. Plus music from Duffy, who reveals why she dropped the rest of her name.


SAT 17:00 PM (b00g3yq4)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Carolyn Quinn, plus the sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 iPM (b00g3yq6)
The weekly interactive current affairs magazine featuring online conversation and debate.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00g3yq8)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b00g3yqb)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00g3yqd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b00g3yqg)
Clive Anderson presents an eclectic mix of the year's best conversation, comedy and music. Among his guests are Mavis Staples, Glen Campbell, Sergio Mendes, Clare and the Reasons, Rolf Harris and Emmanuel Jal, plus Mercury Prize winners Elbow.


SAT 19:00 Profile (b00g3yqj)
Vaclav Klaus

Series of profiles of people who are currently making headlines. Chris Bowlby spotlights one of the most combative European politicians - Czech leader Vaclav Klaus.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b00g3yql)
The Best of 2008

Guests: David Benedict – theatre critic
Louise Doughty – novelist
Matthew Sweet – writer and broadcaster

Tom and his guests pick their highlights of the cultural year.
The recommendations of the panel included:

BOOKS:

Fiction
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant
Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold
A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale

Non Fiction
The Blackest Streets: The Life and Death of a Victorian Slum by Sarah Wise
The Phoenix by Leo Hollis

FILM:

Feature Films
Hunger directed by Steve McQueen
I Have Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t'aime) written and directed by Philippe Claudel
No Country For Old Men written and directed by the Cohen Brothers
In Bruges written and directed by Martin McDonagh
WallE directed by Andrew Stanton

Documentaries
Man on Wire, directed by James Marsh

THEATRE:
Now or Later by Christopher Shinn at The Royal Court, now ended
The Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn at The Old Vic, now ended
Douglas Hodge’s performance in the musical Cage aux Folles by Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein at The Playhouse Theatre, Graham Norton takes over this role on January 19
August: Osage County by Tracy Letts is at The National Theatre until January 21
Shoot/Get Treasure /Repeat by Mark Ravenhill various venues
The Chalk Garden by Enid Bagnold at The Donmar
War Horse (revised production) by Nick Stafford from the novel by Michael Morpurgo will start a new run at the New London Theatre on March 31 2009

EXHIBITIONS:
Renaissance Faces at The National Gallery until 18 January 2009
Francis Bacon at Tate until 4 January 2009
Vilhelm Hammershøi: The Poetry of Silence at The Royal Academy, now ended
Hadrian: Empire and Conflict at The British Museum, now ended
Miró, Calder, Giacometti, Braque: Aimé Maeght and His Artists at The Royal Academy until Jan 2 2009

TELEVISION:

Documentaries
Chosen directed by Brian Wood on BBC4
The Fallen directed by Morgan Matthews for BBC2

Comedy Series
Outnumbered written and directed by Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton on BBC1

Drama Series
The Wire, an American Series created by David Simon, available in the UK on DVD or the digital channel Channel FX
Little Dorrit adapted by Andrew Davies
Ten Days To War by Ronan Bennett

Drama
A Number by Caryl Churchill on BBC2

Drama Documentary
The Long Walk To Finchley by Tony Saint on BB4


SAT 20:00 The Archive Hour (b0077041)
Rediscovering Your Inner Durrell

Gerald Durrell's best-seller My Family and Other Animals was published 50 years ago. Naturalist Bridget Nicholls, who was inspired to choose her line of work by Durrell's books, reflects on the extraordinary life of this pioneering conservationist as she walks and talks with his widow Lee around the world-famous zoo he founded in Jersey.


SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b00g215l)
Jamila Gavin - Coram Boy

Angel Child

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.

While Toby dreams of one day finding his parents, his benefactor Gaddarn has other plans for his future and Aaron is determined to save him.

Alexander Ashbrook ...... Jonathan Slinger
Thomas Ledbury ...... Tom Riley
Gaddarn ...... Marc Warren
Meshak ...... Paul Ready
Meshaks Mother ...... Rachel Atkins
Aaron ...... Oscar North
Toby ...... Oriel Agranoff
Mrs Lynch ...... Deborah Findlay
Lady Ashbrook ...... Jenny Funnell
Lord Ashbrook ...... Pip Torrens
Mrs Milcote ...... Serena Evans
Melissa ...... Abby Ford
Isobel ...... Julie Cox
Mr Burney ...... David Collings
Handel ...... David Holt
Mrs Hendry ...... Mel Hudson

Other parts played by Ian Masters, Roger May, Zooey Gleaves, Catherine Hindmarsh, Beatrice Born, Rebecca Hindmarsh.

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

Directed by Celia de Wolff.


SAT 22:00 Weather (b00g3yqq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Pick of the Year (b00g3h5b)
Sandi Toksvig chooses her favourite moments from the best of BBC radio in 2008.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b00g2z1h)
Robert Robinson chairs the first semi final of the perennial general knowledge contest.


SAT 23:30 Ezra Caged (b00g2283)
Jeremy Harding reads and explores the Pisan Cantos, the poems written by the American Modernist poet Ezra Pound during his time in prison in Italy at the end of WWII.

He had been arrested towards the end of the war after making pro-Mussolini radio broadcasts, and for a time was held in a wire cage at a detention camp near Pisa. It was in these conditions that he drafted what have gone on to be regarded as the finest section of his long Cantos sequence.



SUNDAY 28 DECEMBER 2008

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b00g42kv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SUN 00:12 Weather (b00g42kx)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 00:15 Q & A by Vikas Swarup (b007v235)
10,000 Rupees

By Ayeesha Menon, from the novel by Vikas Swarup.

Now 16, Thomas lives in a decrepit slum in Mumbai with his best friend Salim. When Shantaram, an alcoholic scientist down on his luck, moves in next door with his wife and daughter, Thomas has to protect them from his violent outbursts, with tragic consequences.

Thomas ...... Anand Tiwari
Prem Kumar ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Shantaram ...... Kenneth Desai
Mrs Shantaram ...... Ayeesha Menon
Gudiya ...... Pooja Ruparel

Other parts played by Rajit Kapur and Nadir Khan.

Directed by John Dryden.


SUN 00:30 Songs Everlasting (b00g31pp)
Series 2

Deck the Halls

Bryn Terfel explores classic Christmas songs and tries to find out what it is that makes some of them them so popular.

Bryn speaks to composers and scholars about the carol Deck the Halls: how it evolved from an ancient Welsh dance tune, the origination of the words, its association with New Year and why it has become a favourite for recording artists of all persuasions.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00g42kz)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00g42l1)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00g42l3)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b00g42l5)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b00g42l7)
The sound of bells from All Saints Church, Allesley in Coventry.


SUN 05:45 Profile (b00g3yqj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b00g42l9)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b00g42lc)
At the End of the Year

At the End of the Year: Mark Tully draws on the ancient prayer tradition of the Examen, a night-time reflection on the events of the day in order to achieve understanding, forgiveness and to express gratitude. He looks back on the old year and looks forward to the new, guided by the wisdom of the Examen.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b00g42lf)
Topical farming magazine. Visiting the family that are keeping Alderney's farming tradition alive.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b00g42lh)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b00g42lk)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b00g42lm)
Jane Little presents a special edition of Sunday on the subject of children. How do different faith traditions regard children and why are young people losing interest in religion?


SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b00g42lp)
MM National Gulf Veterans and Families Benevolent Association

Dave McGough appeals on behalf of the MM National Gulf Veterans and Families Benevolent Association.


SUN 07:58 Weather (b00g42lr)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b00g42lt)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b00g42lw)
Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy collaborated with composer Sasha Johnson Manning to produce what the Independent described as 'the most remarkable suite of new carols to be published in decades', first broadcast on Radio 4 in 2009. Narrated by James Quinn, with the Manchester Carollers and choirs from Manchester schools, and the Northern Chamber Orchestra, led by Nicholas Ward. Director of Music: Richard Tanner.


SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b00g3tmr)
Jesus

Whatever you believe in when it comes to the birth of Christ, even if you believe in nothing at all, no one can doubt the personal force of Jesus says Clive James, as he reflects on life beyond the grave, Shakespeare’s beliefs and the man and spirit of Jesus Christ.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b00g42ly)
News and conversation about the big stories of the week with Paddy O'Connell.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b00g42m0)
The week's events in Ambridge.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b00g42m2)
Baroness Haleh Afshar

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Baroness Haleh Afshar. An expert in Middle Eastern Affairs, she's a professor of politics and women's studies and Islamic law as well as being a cross-bench peer. She grew up in Iran and France living a life of huge privilege but, inspired by reading Jane Eyre, she decided she needed to learn to stand on her own two feet. She came to Britain as a boarding school pupil when she was 14 and has made her home here.

She has been an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime and, coming from a long line of independent-minded women, that's little surprise. Her mother campaigned for women to have the vote while her grandmother refused to wear the veil. Though in her grandmother's case, that was because she thought she was too pretty to be covered up.

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

Record: Prelude to Bach's Cello Suite No.1
Book: Collected poems by Hafiz
Alternate to Bible: Koran
Luxury: A rose bush.


SUN 12:00 Genius (b00g2zrr)
Genius Christmas Special

A Christmas edition of the show in which Dave Gorman and guest Lee Mack chew over ridiculous and unworkable inventions and ideas which nonetheless display an element of genius in their creator.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b00g42tv)
A Meal with Chef Angela Hartnett

Earlier this year the chef Angela Hartnett stepped out of her restaurant kitchen and into an altogether different role as this year’s chair of judges of the Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards. It took her on a journey with Sheila Dillon across Wales, Yorkshire and Herefordshire visiting three very different farmers and food producers.

In this week’s Food Programme Angela took on one last challenge. Her task was to source ingredients from some of this year’s finalists and produce a three course meal. Sheila went to watch Angela at work in her kitchen in East London.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b00g42tx)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b00g42tz)
A look at events around the world.


SUN 13:30 The Trouble with Scousers (b00dgjg2)
Winifred Robinson examines the stereotypical image of the Liverpudlian. She returns to her home city to talk to fellow Scousers including Willy Russell, Paul Farley and Bel Mooney.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00g44sg)
Eric Robson chairs the popular horticultural forum.

Bob Flowerdew and Pippa Greenwood are guests of Hassocks Horticultural Society, West Sussex.

Including the Gardeners' Question Time gardening weather forecast.


SUN 14:45 A Box of Wittgensteins (b00g44sj)
The One-Handed Pianist

The great-niece of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, Margaret Stonborough, talks to 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.

Margaret uncovers details of the life of her great uncle Paul Wittgenstein who, after the First World War, was determined to continue his career as a concert pianist, despite the loss of his right arm.

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


SUN 15:00 Anthony Trollope - Orley Farm (b01102gl)
1. Suspicions

Mr Dockwrath, attorney by profession and a tenant of Orley Farm, is convinced there are suspicious circumstances regarding the inheritance of the estate, and he's determined to prove it.

Starring Tim Pigott-Smith, Samantha Bond and Ronald Pickup.

First published in 1861, Anthony Trollope’s compelling, emotional tale is a treasure trove of splendidly disreputable lawyers, young lovers, the beautiful Lady Mason and the honourable Sir Peregrine Orme.

Dramatised in three parts by Martyn Wade

Anthony Trollope ...... Tim Pigott-Smith
Lady Mason ...... Samantha Bond
Sir Peregrine ...... Ronald Pickup
Peregrine Orme ...... Dan Stevens
Mrs Edith Orme ...... Amanda Root
Lucius Mason ...... Jonathan Christie
Sophia Furnival ...... Lydia Leonard
Mr Furnival ...... Robert Maskell
Mrs Furnival ...... Joanna Monro
Mr Dockwrath ...... Sam Dale
Miriam Dockwrath ...... Janice Acquah
Joseph Mason ...... Jonathan Tafler
Mr Moulder ...... Stephen Critchlow
Mr Kantwise ...... Pual Rider
Felix Graham ...... Gunnar Cauthery
Augustus Staveley ...... Robert Lonsdale
Matthew Round ...... Dan Starkey
Richard Round ...... Malcolm Tierney
Miss Biggs ...... Jill Cardo

Director: Tracey Neale.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2008.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (b00g45zp)
Novelists and their Families

Mariella Frostrup presents the books magazine. She and her guests consider novelists' relationships with their families and how writers include their relatives in their work.


SUN 16:30 Walker of the Downs (b00g45zr)
Martin Sorrell walks the Sussex Downs which, in the 1960s, provided nature poet Ted Walker with inspiration for some of his best work. He is joined by Mike Russell from the Sussex Wildlife Trust, who helps to evoke the essence of the land that Walker loved. Plus Patrick Romer reads a selection of Walker's poems.


SUN 17:00 Great White Hopes (b00fzw11)
Henry Bonsu investigates current debates about class and poverty in education policy, in the light of calls by Trevor Phillips, head of the Commission for Equalities and Human Rights, for Britain's white working class children to receive special educational funding, alongside other underachieving minorities.


SUN 17:40 Profile (b00g3yqj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00g46m2)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b00g46m4)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00g46m6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b00g46m8)
Liz Barclay introduces her selection of highlights from the past week on BBC radio.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b00g46mb)
Lynda and Robert practice their cow dance. They talk about what a failure the dress rehearsal was - Mike improvising his lines and the beanstalk getting stuck! Robert assures Lynda that Alistair has the beanstalk sorted.

Clarrie pops her head round Joe's bedroom door. He seems so miserable since his visit to see Alf. They had nothing to say to each other. He wishes Alf had married someone like Clarrie. Clarrie hopes that William and Ed will eventually get on, unlike their father and uncle. Joe tells her he thinks Will's still in love with Emma.

Backstage at the panto, Brenda and Fallon try to make light of the problems of the rehearsal, hoping a bad dress rehearsal means a good first night.

The Dame and Jack keep the audience well entertained. Meanwhile, Lynda catches her hair caught in the cow costume. Brenda finds some scissors and Lynda cuts her hair, leaving one side almost bald, as the audience starts to applaud - the beanstalk's growing. The audience shout 'chop it down' and Clarrie can hardly watch! There's a drum roll as the beanstalk falls dramatically. Robert tells Lynda it's a triumph. Ambridge has never seen the like.

Episode written by Caroline Harrington.


SUN 19:15 Go4it (b00g46md)
Children's magazine. Kirsten O'Brien looks back at the year on Go4it and finds lots of famous authors, quite a few animals, silliness, science, and heaps of history.


SUN 19:45 The Railway Children (b00g46sr)
Episode 3

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.

The children witness an accident on the line and courageously step in to save the day, and Bobbie makes a terrible discovery.


SUN 20:00 Jack: 200 Years up a Beanstalk (b008khxp)
Michael Rosen explores one of Britain's classic folk tales. Now a popular betime story and pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk first appeared in a pamphlet in 1807.


SUN 20:30 More or Less (b00g3t1h)
Celebrity Quiz - Divorce at Christmas

Tim Harford is joined by two guests who share his love of numbers, former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq and comedian Dave Gorman. He gives his celebrity guests a second chance at numerical success with the More or Less Christmas numbers quiz.

Divorce at Christmas
Do more couples really divorce during the Christmas period? The prediction that up to 3.6 million people will consult a solicitor about divorce in the New Year has become a staple of the Christmas news stories. But there are fewer than 12 million married couples in the UK, so can this figure be correct? Chris Bowlby investigates.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b00g3xqg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b00g42lp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 In Business (b00g46st)
All that Jazz

John Kao, one of the world's leading experts on corporate change, shows Peter Day how jazz improvision can help companies learn how to innovate.


SUN 21:58 Weather (b00g46sw)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 22:00 News Briefing (b00g6w21)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 22:10 News Review of the Year (b00g3xqn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:10 on Saturday]


SUN 23:00 Secret Lives (b00g46xf)
Episode 2

Gyles Brandreth persuades politicians to talk about their true selves: where they come from, what inspired them, their ups and downs, private fears and private lives.


SUN 23:15 Songs Everlasting (b00g31ps)
Series 2

Ave Maria

Bryn Terfel explores classic Christmas songs and tries to find out what it is that makes some of them them so popular.

Bryn explores various settings of the Ave Maria with the help of musicians and theologians, including the composer John Rutter and director of music at Kings College, Cambridge, Stephen Cleobury.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b00g42lc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 29 DECEMBER 2008

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b00g47ch)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


MON 00:15 Q & A by Vikas Swarup (b007v2pg)
50,000 Rupees

By Ayeesha Menon, from the novel by Vikas Swarup.

Thomas has to delve back into his childhood in search of the answer to the next question. Adopted from an orphanage by evil gangster Babu, Thomas and his friend Salim are taken to Mumbai where they are to be maimed and put on the streets to beg.

Thomas ...... Anand Tiwari
Prem Kumar ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Young Thomas ...... Caran Arora
Young Salim ...... Armaan Malik
Babu ...... Vikrant Chaturvedi

Other parts played by Satchit Puranik, Kenneth Desai, Jaimini Pathak and Rohit Malkani.

Directed by John Dryden.


MON 00:30 Songs Everlasting (b00g48vw)
Series 2

Fantasia on Christmas Carols

Bryn Terfel explores classic Christmas songs and tries to find out what it is that makes some of them them so popular.

Bryn marks the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Ralph Vaughan Williams by examining the composer's 1912 work Fantasia on Christmas Carols.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b00g42l7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00g47f3)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00g47jq)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00g47l7)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b00g47nw)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00g47p8)
Daily prayer and reflection with Lynn Gallagher.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b00g47rj)
News and issues in rural Britain with Fran Barnes.


MON 05:57 Weather (b00g4frb)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b00g48pv)
Presented by Evan Davis and James Naughtie.

Neuroscientist Professor VS Ramachandran discusses why it is that human beings like art.

Writer Alain de Botton explains why a School of Life is needed.

Israel has begun a third day of bombing of Gaza. Hospital workers Dr Khamis El Essi and Leah Malul discuss the conditions for casualties.

Novelist Jonathan Franzen and short story writer George Saunders discuss the life of American writer David Foster Wallace.

Historian Marc Almond discusses a poll to find the greatest Russian to have ever lived.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat discusses the ongoing conflict in the Gaza strip.

Writer Geoff Dyer discusses time-keeping and punctuality.

Thought for the day with the writer and broadcaster Rhidian Brook.

Is there still an avant-garde in British fiction? Authors Stewart Home, Tom McCarthy and Hari Kunzru discuss.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Deputy Israeli Ambassador in London Talya Lador-Fresher, discuss the origins of this current upsurge in fighting in the Middle East.

Comedian Russell Kane considers the heritage of the class struggle in comedy.

Guest editor Zadie Smith visits Liberia, often described as a "failed-state", to consider what the term means.

Writer Zadie Smith reflects on the choices she made as guest editor of the Today programme.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b00g4frd)
Andrew Marr takes a look at what he calls the ‘anti-news’; those trends and big ideas that will shape our lives long after the headline stories have faded. He explores how the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience make us question what it is to be human and he hears from some of the most thought-provoking thinkers from Start the Week this year, including Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Susan Greenfield, Daniel Dennett, Raymond Tallis and Richard Holmes.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b00g48px)
How to Get Things Really Flat

Episode 1

By Andrew Martin. Working from home every day, novelist Andrew Martin decides to tackle the myths and practicalities of carrying out domestic chores.

Andrew wonders how long Toilet Duck has been on the market. Read by Shaun Dooley.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00g49f8)
Beth Chatto

Beth Chatto is one of the most influential gardeners in Britain. Best known for her pioneering, ecological approach to gardening she explains how she came up with the concept. Her philosophy was developed in the 1960s but seems even more relevant to gardeners today given regular hose pipe bans and climate change.

In a special edition of Woman’s Hour Martha Kearney visits Beth Chatto at her gardens in Elmstead Market, Essex to hear how she created one of Britain’s best-loved gardens from a patch of wasteland at the back of her husband’s fruit farm. She reflects on how her passion for plants and garden design has turned her into such an inspirational figure in the gardening world.


MON 11:00 Together against the Odds (b00g4frg)
Series 2

Episode 2

Janet Reibstein presents a series on relationships which have survived in the face of serious challenges.

Now in their 50s, Lynne and Steff lived together for 30 years as husband and wife before Steff underwent a sex change. They discuss the loss of a sexual relationship between and them and breaking the news to their two sons and the rest of their family, and how they reacted. However, they also talk about the positive aspects of their relationship which have kept them together and why their difficulties have ultimately been worthwhile.


MON 11:30 Says on the Tin (b00g4fv7)
Toothpaste

Disgraced American ad man Eliott Thurber is forced to transfer to the new London branch of Parabola Media.

CAST:

Eliott Thurber .... Michael Brandon
Esther Finn .... Samantha Bond
Hannah Walker .... Pippa Haywood
Zadie .... Joannah Tincey
Ted Bruckner .... Malcolm Tierney
Toothrot …. Chris Pavlo
Customs Officer …. Stephen Critchlow
Woman ….Janice Acquah
Child …. Manjeet Mann
Stewardess …. Donnla Hughes
Plaque Inam Mirza

Written by Christopher Hill.

Producer: Liz Webb.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2008.


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b00g4b5g)
Presented by Julian Worricker.

How many other big names will disappear from our High Street in 2009? We speak to Tim Danaher, Editor of Retail Week.

A ruling by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg has closed what many saw as a loophole allowing airlines to avoid paying compensation if delays were due to ‘technical problems’.

Unable to sell their homes, more and more people are becoming "reluctant landlords" opting to rent them out instead. But be warned - it's not as easy as you think. With Clare Barratt, Investors Chronicle.

Many of Britain’s estimated 10,000 curry houses are struggling to survive. Journalist Sathnam Sanghera thinks the industry itself needs to shoulder some of the blame for its failure to innovate.

A report published today shows that half of England and Wales now suffer from ‘water stress’. We speak to Trevor Bishop, Head of Water Resource Policy.

This year Radio 4 presenter Hardeep Singh Kohli spent Christmas day alone and we asked him to record his thoughts.

Ten years ago he was asked to lead the Government’s Urban Task Force to assess how we could turn around out failing towns and cities. What doe he think about the standard of design a decade on?


MON 12:57 Weather (b00g4b6q)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b00g4b71)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.


MON 13:30 Brain of Britain (b00g4g4p)
Robert Robinson chairs the second semi final of the perennial general knowledge contest.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b00g46mb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b00g4g4r)
Road Trip

Comedy by Aisha Khan.

Nasser takes his daughter Hana and her children on a surprise holiday. Could this be the trip that saves a marriage and reunites a family?

Nasser ...... Vincent Ebrahim
Hana ...... Yasmin Wilde
Zak ...... Parvez Qadir
Ani ...... Afshan Azad
Bil ...... Adem Kanso.


MON 15:00 Money Box Live (b00g4g4t)
Paul Lewis and guests answer calls on financial issues.


MON 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00g4bmv)
Big Charlie

Episode 1

Colonel "Elephant Bill" Williams' amazing story of how, in the summer of 1957, the largest elephant in captivity - Big Charlie - was moved from Butlin's Holiday Camp in Ayr, Scotland, to Butlin's, Filey, Yorkshire.

In May 1957, an advertisement in The Times caught Elephant Bill's eye. Butlin's Ltd was offering £1,000 in cash for the immediate safe transport of the largest elephant in captivity from its camp in Ayr to its camp in Filey - a distance by road of 350 miles.

Colonel JH Williams had earned his sobriquet "Elephant Bill" as a result of his experiences working with elephants in the jungles of Burma and, intrigued by the advertisement, he volunteered his services. As did 3,500 other people, for the problem of moving Big Charlie, a 5 and a half ton male elephant, and one of the finest tuskers in captivity, had captured the popular imagination.

Some of the suggestions for moving the elephant were eccentric in the extreme, but not long after the advertisement appeared, Elephant Bill found himself engaged as elephant consultant - with very ill-defined duties - to help Mr Willie Wilson of Glasgow transport Big Charlie.

Although Big Charlie was accompanied at all times on the journey by his gentle and devoted mahout, Shaik Ibrahim, the job was made much more hazardous by the fact that Big Charlie was on "musth" - or in season - and that Billy Butlin's demands for constant publicity posed tricky problems for all concerned.

The story of this incredible journey begins today.

Written by J.H.Williams. Abridged and read by Tony Lidington.

Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 15:45 Pilots That Never Flew (b00g633l)
Comedy Performers

Series in which Director of the National Youth Theatre Paul Roseby examines the laborious process of creating successful pilot programmes.

Paul talks to comedy performers Alistair McGowan, Bea Holland and Samantha Sanns about unsuccessful pilots they have made.


MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b00g42tv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b00g4g4w)
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 (b00g4c2s)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00g4c55)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


MON 18:15 Alistair Cooke's Seasonal Letters from America (b00grz9v)
Episode 4

The BBC's North America editor Justin Webb introduces eight of Alistair Cooke's seasonal Letters from America, broadcast in December and January over the five decades of his career and covering topics ranging from Christmas in Vermont to presidential inaugurations.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b00g4g4y)
Series 54

Episode 1

Nicholas Parsons chairs the devious word game with panellists Paul Merton, Charles Collingwood, Graham Norton and Shappi Khorsandi.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b00g4b88)
Tom calls in on Jazzer at Home Farm. Jazzer asks him how the pantomime was. Tom says he fell asleep and missed it. He's finding it difficult having Mike staying. Hannah arrives, raving about the panto. Tom tells them to watch the pigs' weights. If they're overweight, feed costs are too high and Brian's unhappy.

Later, Hannah tells Jazzer she thinks the way they weigh pigs is inefficient. She's seen a different system on the internet. They could have a central weighing area, rather than carrying the weigher to each group of pigs. Jazzer's impressed. Why don't they give it a try?

Lynda receives a visit from Graham Ryder. He congratulates her on the pantomime, which he attended yesterday. However, he has concerns about the beanstalk. He's heard that it was the first time it didn't fall onto the audience. It could block fire exits. Lynda protests, but unless effective measures are taken to prevent an accident, Graham will report her to the authorities.

The village hall's filling up for the panto. Tom and Usha share the woes of having 'in-laws' visiting. Lynda asks Usha for her legal expertise after Graham's visit. Lynda says he'll be back tomorrow, and may stop the show.

Episode written by Caroline Harrington.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b00g4c5h)
Presented by Mark Lawson.

In a special programme, Mark meets the actors, writers and producers who have created some of our longest-running and most successful television dramas.

EastEnders' June Brown, Waking The Dead's Trevor Eve, The Bill's Bruce Byron, Taggart's Blythe Duff and New Tricks' Alun Armstrong discuss how they keep their characters fresh over the years and address the tricky question of when to leave a show.

The writers and producers behind long-running series tell Mark how they generate fresh ideas and maintain audience interest over years or even decades.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00g4c6q)
Seventy Odd

Episode 1

Rachel Joyce's story of a group of five seventy-something friends who take an annual holiday together to a far-flung destination.

The friends set off for an art-lovers holiday in Damascus, but will they even make it out of the airport?

Frank ...... Trevor Peacock
Violet ...... Thelma Barlow
Bill ...... Geoffrey Beever
Reginald ...... Trevor Martin
Lois ...... Margaret Robertson.


MON 20:00 Ali Abbas: In His Own Words (b00g4g9j)
Hugh Sykes talks to Ali Abbas, the Iraqi boy who came to prominence in the British media in 2003 after suffering severe burns, the loss of his arms and 16 members of his family following a US army rocket attack. He tells Hugh about the terrible night of the attack, his stay in a Kuwaiti hospital and his life now, split between Britain and Iraq.


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b00g471k)
Cuba

Linda Pressly investigates the housing crisis in Cuba. Even before the recent hurricanes that damaged over half a million homes, perhaps the most common cause of complaint on the island was accommodation. The black market in property and building materials is thought to be huge. Linda finds out about some of the unique ways that Cubans have been finding to get around regulations to secure a new home, in a nation where it is illegal to buy and sell property.


MON 21:00 Science Friction (b00g4gd5)
Series 2

Limited Resources

Sue Nelson presents a series of debates looking at controversies within science. How should limited resources be used in funding science?


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b00g4frd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b00g4cbd)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b00g4cbx)
With Carolyn Quinn, including reports on Israeli strikes in Gaza. Plus the future of space travel and the difference between fiction and a memoir.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00g4flf)
The Dark Flower

Episode 1

Toby Stephens reads John Galsworthy's tale of obsessive love and thwarted passion, set in the late-19th century and charting 30 years in the life and loves of a young man, Mark Lennan.

Anna has fallen for one of her husband's students, and cannot resist when her husband suggest they take the boy on holiday.


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b00g3788)
Michael Rosen takes another journey into the world of words, language and the way we speak.


MON 23:30 1968 The Sixty-Eighters at Sixty (b00cxkrm)
Episode 2

David Aaronovitch assesses the legacy of 1968, talking to the self-styled revolutionaries of 40 years ago.

Visiting Berlin, he talks to former rebel Thomas Schmid, now a senior editor with Springer newspapers. Educationalist Katharina Rutschky explains how a movement which produced the brutality of the notorious Baader-Meinhof gang also paved the way for a revolution in childcare. Other contributors include novelist Peter Schneider and Green MP Marie-Luise Beck.



TUESDAY 30 DECEMBER 2008

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b00g479y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


TUE 00:15 Q & A by Vikas Swarup (b007v3q4)
100,000 Rupees

By Ayeesha Menon, from the novel by Vikas Swarup.

The next question takes Thomas to his teenage years. Working as the houseboy of Australian defence attache Colonel Taylor, he becomes embroiled in a spy scandal.

Thomas ...... Anand Tiwari
Prem Kumar ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Colonel Taylor ...... Henry Goodman
Jai ...... Jaimini Pathak

Other parts played by Ashley Cook, Sarah Sproull and Nadir Khan.

Directed by John Dryden.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b00g48px)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00g47ck)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00g47f5)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00g47js)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b00g47l9)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00g47ny)
Daily prayer and reflection with Lynn Gallagher.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b00g4gq4)
News and issues in rural Britain with Chris Impey.


TUE 06:00 Today (b00g4882)
Presented by Evan Davis and Edward Stourton.

With guest editor Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.

Francis Campbell considers if his position as the Ambassador to the Holy See - a post that has existed since 1479 - is still justified.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor visits noted Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli with religious affairs correspondent Robert Piggott to get a few cooking tips.

Aleem Maqbool reports on the continuing air strikes in Gaza City.

Jane Dreaper reports on the project by the King's Fund to try to get nurses and other staff to focus on being compassionate.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor wants to shed a little light on what goes on in the Vatican when the leaders of the Catholic Church gather to elect a new pope. He shows Ed Stourton around the Sistine Chapel.

Government adviser John Lewis discusses if the government overestimates the importance of speed in causing accidents.

How much responsibility do elected mayors have as a focus and human face for a town or city? Jonny Dymond compares two similar sized towns in France and England.

Thought for the day with Father Jerome Murphy O'Connor, professor of the New Testament at the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor talks to the PM Gordon Brown about the morality of politics.

Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen and Richard Haass, president of think tank the Council on Foreign Relations, discuss if calls from the international community for a ceasefire will be listened to.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor considers some of the biggest changes in the Roman Catholic Church since the Reformation.

Phil Hope, minister of state for care services at the Department of Health, and Professor Sheila Hollins, professor of psychiatry of learning disability at St George's, University of London, discuss how doctors and nurses can be more compassionate.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor discusses the properties of a great piece of music with concert pianist Stephen Hough.

Academic Peter Hennessy discusses the vulnerability of the Uk to attack in the 1970s.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor discusses the best - and worst - things about being editor of the Today programme.


TUE 09:00 Taking a Stand (b00g4gq6)
Lenny Harper

Fergal Keane talks to people who have taken risks and made sacrifices to stand up for what they believe in. The allegations were horrific: not only abuse but also torture - and possibly murder - in the cellars of a former children's home, Haut de la Garenne, in Jersey. But now police on the island have announced that they have no evidence that anyone was killed there. And Lenny Harper, the police officer originally in charge of the investigation, has been accused of misleading the public. He tells Fergal Keane about the pressures upon him and why it was his desire to bring justice for those claiming abuse that led him to manage the investigation in the way he did.


TUE 09:30 The Fortune Hunters (b00g4gq8)
Episode 3

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

Did you know that borrowing a book from your local library means that the author should receive 5.9p?

Max finds out about the millions of pounds of royalties owed to authors and musicians which lie unclaimed, often simply because of a lack of knowledge of the registration system, and discovers if and how these funds are reunited with their rightful owners.

A Tinderbox Broadcast production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b00g48pz)
How to Get Things Really Flat

Episode 2

By Andrew Martin. Working from home every day, novelist Andrew Martin examines the myths and practicalities of carrying out domestic chores.

He tackles the subject of ironing. Read by Shaun Dooley.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00g4b2t)
Eleanor McEvoy; Family sabbaticals

Irish singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy on her career. Plus the practicalities of taking a family sabbatical, and the role of women in Cuba's revolution.


TUE 11:00 UK Confidential (b00g4gqb)
1978

It's the loneliest decision of all, they say, when to go for a general election. Turn the clock back thirty years and it was the big question facing the then Prime Minister Jim Callaghan. With industrial strife gripping the country, a slew of manufacturers on their knees asking Government for help, and a dangerous situation brewing in Rhodesia, it was a testing time for Labour.

The secret government files from 1978 have been transferred to the National Archives in Kew, West London and opened to the public. UK CONFIDENTIAL is granted advance access and the team have been sifting through the files, full of phone transcripts, secret minutes and hand written notes.

Joining Martha Kearney is Roy Hattersley (the then Labour secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection), David Owen (the then Foreign Secretary), Tom McNally who was Senior Adviser to Jim Callaghan, Leon Brittan (the then Conservative front-bencher) and Matthew Parris who was working in Margaret Thatcher's Research Unit.

A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4, in association with Takeaway Media.
Producer: Emily Williams.


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b00g4b4r)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.


TUE 12:57 Weather (b00g4b5j)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b00g4b6s)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.


TUE 13:30 Music Feature (b00g4vv1)
Playing Castro's Tune

Playing Castro's Tune

Stephen Evans travels to Cuba to look for the links between the country's music, its revolution and the impact that socio-political and social changes have had on the music and musicians' lives. He also meets Cuban exiles in Miami to find out how a common musical heritage which was split after the 1959 revolution has developed differently.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b00g4b88)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b00g6g7q)
Rony Robinson - 43 Letters

By Rony Robinson

Julia and David work together in the family archives. One day a mysterious envelope arrives for David, with letters from 43 women, all answering a lonely hearts advert he didn't place.

Cast List
David...............David Calder
Julia.................Barbara Marten
Miranda..........Helen Flanagan
Ruskin............Sacha Dhawan

Directed by Pauline Harris.


TUE 15:00 Making History (b00g6t44)
Vanessa Collingridge presents the series exploring ordinary people's links with the past.


TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00g4bmx)
Big Charlie

Episode 2

The true story of the transportation of an elephant between two Butlins camps in the 1950s.

Colonel "Elephant Bill" Williams arrives in Ayr and meets Big Charlie and his mahout, Shaik Ibrahim, for the first time.

Written by JH Williams. Abridged and read by Tony Lidington.

Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:45 Pilots That Never Flew (b00g633n)
Writers

Series in which director of the National Youth Theatre Paul Roseby examines the laborious process of creating successful pilot programmes.

Paul talks to writers whose ideas were eventually turned into pilots: Geoff Atkinson, Paul Dornan and the creators of Ed Reardon's Week, Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas.

A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b00g6gdf)
Michael Rosen takes another journey into the world of words, language and the way we speak.


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b00g378b)
Series 17

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Series of biographical discussions with Matthew Parris.

Actor David Soul champions the life of the German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was involved in the German resistance movement in WWII.


TUE 17:00 PM (b00g4c0v)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00g4c2v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


TUE 18:15 Alistair Cooke's Seasonal Letters from America (b00grz9j)
Episode 5

The BBC's North America editor Justin Webb introduces eight of Alistair Cooke's seasonal Letters from America, broadcast in December and January over the five decades of his career and covering topics ranging from Christmas in Vermont to presidential inaugurations.


TUE 18:30 Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking (b00bz9zn)
Series 1

Episode 1

Meet a reluctant beekeeper, two feuding librarians and a man determined to strike a deal with Santa.

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

With Ben Moor, Katherine Parkinson and Ben Willbond.

Written by Laura Solon. With additional material by the cast, Carl Cooper, Tony Roche and Andy Marlatt.

Producer: Colin Anderson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2007.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b00g4b7y)
Lilian's trying to talk to Matt, but he's preoccupied and getting sick of Stephen Chalkman ringing. Later, Lilian overhears the end of Matt's angry phone call to Chalkman. Matt explains it's not an easy time to be a developer. It'll all be fine, but he doesn't want to go to the New Year ball at Lower Loxley - Chalky will be there.

Will phones Nic and asks if she's doing anything for New Year. She tells him she's staying in with the kids. Will asks if he can join them and Nic's delighted.

The panto's about to start and Graham Ryder appears. Lynda tells him she's passed his concerns to the technical director, and Alistair introduces himself. He tells Graham effective measures are now in place.

After the panto, Graham comes backstage. He congratulates Alistair, but how did he do it? Alistair says surely he noticed the new pulley system? Graham says yes, he thinks he did. He's pleased Alistair's taken his concerns seriously.

Graham goes, and Lynda praises Alistair's performance. Clarrie's confused - you mean there weren't any pulleys? Lynda explains Alistair has convinced Graham he'd seen something he hadn't, just like the in the Emperor's New Clothes.

Episode written by Caroline Harrington.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b00g4c57)
Presented by Mark Lawson.

Comedy Special - How far can you go?

This was a year in which comedians tested the boundaries both of what they could say and the jobs they can do. Mark talks about how far you can go - both in content and career - with comics including David Walliams, Dara O'Briain, Lenny Henry, Alexei Sayle, Chris Rock, Natalie Haynes, Brendon Burns, Chris Addison, Omid Djalili and Frank Skinner.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00g823v)
Seventy Odd

Episode 2

Rachel Joyce's story of a group of five seventy-something friends who take an annual holiday together to a far-flung destination.

Bill takes his friends on a guided tour of Damascus, but why does he keep disappearing?

Frank ...... Trevor Peacock
Violet ...... Thelma Barlow
Bill ...... Geoffrey Beever
Reginald ...... Trevor Martin
Lois ...... Margaret Robertson.


TUE 20:00 Brand Cuba (b00g4ywr)
With Cuba about to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its revolution, Allan Little analyses some of the factors that have given the country such a prominent image on the world stage over such a long period. He considers the enduring images of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, Cuba's unique approach to diplomacy through medical aid, its military exploits and its five decade stand-off with the United States.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b00g4ywt)
Peter White with news and information for the blind and partially sighted.


TUE 21:00 Case Notes (b00g4yww)
Taste

Dr Mark Porter explores health issues of the day. He investigates the relationship between smell and taste, with tips on how to avoid children becoming fussy eaters.


TUE 21:30 Taking a Stand (b00g4gq6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b00g4c8q)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b00g4cbg)
News and analysis with Carolyn Quinn. The latest on the crisis in the Middle East; how falling commodity prices could affect Africa; and Caroline Kennedy's disastrous interview.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00g7hwz)
The Dark Flower

Episode 2

Toby Stephens reads John Galsworthy's tale of obsessive love and thwarted passion, set in the late-19th century and charting 30 years in the life and loves of a young man, Mark Lennan.

Anna and Mark cannot help revealing their feelings for each other.


TUE 23:00 Wil Hodgson: Straight Outta Chippenham (b00g4ywy)
Comic storyteller Wil Hodgson recounts a life lived as an outsider in his home town of Chippenham. When you're an ex-communist former wrestler with a shocking pink Mohican who collects My Little Ponies, you are going to get some looks in a small town.


TUE 23:30 Meter Mad (b00cwxlr)
Jenny Eclair narrates a eulogy mourning the imminent death of the parking meter, compiled by Josie Barnard. Fifty years after the first parking meter was installed in London in 1958, new methods of paying parking charges by text threaten to make these potent articles of street furniture extinct.



WEDNESDAY 31 DECEMBER 2008

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b00g47b0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


WED 00:15 Q & A by Vikas Swarup (b007v40b)
500,000 Rupees

By Ayeesha Menon, from the novel by Vikas Swarup.

Thomas's next question is from the world of cricket. Fortunately, a chance encounter with his best friend Salim, who tells of how he got his revenge on the notorious Babu, provides Thomas with the answer.

Thomas ...... Anand Tiwari
Prem Kumar ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Salim ...... Nadir Khan
Ahmad Bhai ...... Jayant Kripalani

Other parts played by Ayeesha Menon, Rohit Malkani, Kenneth Desai and Jaimini Pathak.

Directed by John Dryden.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b00g48pz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00g47cm)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00g47f7)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00g47jv)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b00g47lc)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00g47p0)
Daily prayer and reflection with Lynn Gallagher.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b00g4yyl)
News and issues in rural Britain with Mark Holdstock.


WED 06:00 Today (b00g4884)
Presented by Evan Davis and Edward Stourton.

With guest editor Jarvis Cocker.

Is drinking an art form? At the Frieze Art Fair in London, guest editor Jarvis Cocker came across a reconstructed bar from Reykjavik. Members of the Icelandic art collective Kling og Bang explain.
Jarvis Cocker wanted to commission an alternative thought for the day. The man he wanted to deliver it however - the philosopher and interpreter of Zen Buddhism Alan Watts - is dead. Not to be deterred, he found a recording of one of Alan Watts' speeches.
Money (That's What I Want) by the Flying Lizards could be used as an anthem for 2008's economic turmoil. Jarvis Cocker asks the band's singer Deborah Evans-Strickland to read the weather forecast for Greenland. She obliges with the help of her husky.
Mechia Fendel, who lives in the Israeli town of Sderot, and Professor Shai Feldman, discuss how people live in areas at risk of bombing.

Collette Hume peruses the 966 names on the New Year Honours list.

Norman Smith reports on the economist John Maynard Keynes, the economic genius with a decidedly colourful private life.

Roland Furber, chief executive of the British Paramedic Association, explains the guidance for crews on whether to resuscitate or not.

Karen Hill says it is unlikely that David and Fiona Fulton sent emails criticising the Gambian government.

Brian Eno, "the father of ambient music", explains what he is hoping for the year ahead.

Thought for the day with Brian Draper, associate lecturer at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity.

Jarvis Cocker makes the trip to the Arctic to discover why a "meltdown" could occur both environmentally and economically.

Christian Fraser, Iyad Nasr, spokesman for the Red Cross in Gaza, and Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander, discuss calls for an immediate ceasefire on the Gaza Strip.

Rugby star Jonny Wilkinson and Jarvis Cocker discuss how quantum physics combines with sport.

Bill Drummond, co-founder of the band The KLF and the K Foundation for Arts, calls on listeners to join his imaginary choir.

Victor Bulmer-Thomas and Ken Livingstone discuss the differences between Hugo Chavez and Che Guevara.

Author Terry Pratchett discusses the award of a knighthood for his services to literature in the New Year Honours list.

Music group Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip say they would like to see a more honest media in 2009.

Lord Stern discusses whether the way governments are trying to deal with our current financial crisis offers lessons for dealing with climate change.

Evan Davis - in a bid to "retain originality" - interviews a mystery guest.

Guardian columnist Marina Hyde gives her wishes for 2009.

Guest editor Jarvis Cocker explains some of the thinking behind today's programme.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b00g4zgr)
Lively and diverse conversation with Libby Purves and guests.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b00g48q1)
How to Get Things Really Flat

Episode 3

By Andrew Martin. Working from home every day, novelist Andrew Martin decides to tackle the myths and practicalities of carrying out domestic chores.

He does the vacuuming. Read by Shaun Dooley.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00g4b2w)
Literary Highlights of 2008

A special programme on some of the literary highlights of 2008 including Doris Lessing, PD James, AL Kennedy, Rose Tremain, Elizabeth Jane Howard and Wendy Cope.


WED 11:00 Snow in Libya (b00g4zgv)
Episode 1

Broadcaster Peter Snow returns to scenes of his post-war childhood in Libya for the first time in 50 years to discover more about how the modern Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya has changed from the place he remembers from his youth.


WED 11:30 A Charles Paris Mystery (b00wnmbt)
Dead Side of the Mic

Episode 4

Can the actor-sleuth solve the deadly mystery haunting the BBC, or will he end up in chains? Stars Bill Nighy and Nicky Henson.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b00g4b4t)
Presented by Julian Worricker.

Winifred Robinson takes a look at how the number of repossessions grew throughout the year.

2008, the year social care became a hot topic. You and Yours launched its Care in the UK season last January across Radio 4 and other parts of the BBC. Carolyn Atkinson looks back at the impact of that season.

Simon Calder examines why 2008 has been a tough year for travellers and holiday makers.

Steve Punt on the new consumer year.

Shari Vahl reports on the behaviour of online ticket sellers.

Peter White was in Beijing for the Paralympics and shares the highlights with Julian Worricker.


WED 12:57 Weather (b00g4b5l)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b00g4b6v)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.


WED 13:30 The Media Show (b00g4zgz)
Steve Hewlett presents a topical programme about the fast-changing media world.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b00g4b7y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b00g4zh1)
Mr Luby's Fear of Heaven

Mr. Luby's Fear of Heaven
By John Mortimer

When Lewis Luby comes to late at night in an Italian hospital he finds himself lying under the monstrous big toe of God. Surely some mistake: Luby, who has never for one moment believed in the immortality of the soul, cannot possibly be in heaven !

Lewis Luby................... Jeremy Irons
Tommy Fletcher.............Stephen Critchlow
Sophie Luby..................Marsha Fitzalan
Doctor..........................Chris Pavlo
Miss Waterlow................Donnla Hughes
English Guide................Dan Starkey
Italian Guide/Nun............Flaminia Cinque
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer

This production was first broadcast on the 31st December 2008.

John Mortimer had the idea for Mr Luby's Fear of Heaven when he first visited the Santa Maria della Scala hospital in Siena and saw patients lying in beds under ceilings decorated with 15th century frescoes depicting Heaven and Hell.

Mr Luby's Fear of Heaven was first produced for BBC Radio 3 in 1976, with John Gielgud in the title role. Later that year it was presented on stage as part of a double bill 'Heaven and Hell', with Denholm Elliot as Luby.

John Mortimer wrote for BBC Radio for more than 50 years. His first radio play, The Dock Brief, was broadcast on the Third Programme in May 1957. His best known stage play 'A Voyage Round My Father' was originally written for radio. He is the creator of Horace Rumpole, and his most recent radio Rumpole 'The Anti-social behaviour of Horace Rumpole' was broadcast on Radio 4 in May 2008. John Mortimer died in January 2009.

Jeremy Irons and John Mortimer first worked together on the Granada Television adaptation of Brideshead Revisited (1981) in which Jeremy Irons played Charles Ryder.


WED 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00g44sg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Sunday]


WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00g4bmz)
Big Charlie

Episode 3

Colonel Williams' amazing story of how in the summer of 1957 the largest elephant in captivity, Big Charlie, was moved from Butlin's in Scotland to Butlin's, Yorkshire.

The Colonel faces an obstacle as the 5-and-a-half ton elephant is reluctant to enter his crate.

Abridged and read by Tony Lidington.

Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 15:45 Pilots That Never Flew (b00g633q)
Actors and Presenters

Series in which Director of the National Youth Theatre Paul Roseby examines the laborious process of creating successful pilot programmes.

Paul considers those who are tasked with bringing a show to life: the actors and performers. He talks to Megan Dodds, Lucy Briers, Neil McCaul, Annabel Giles and Beverley Turner.


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b00g4zk7)
Gang Culture

GANG CULTURE
Stories of gang conflict often hit the headlines. Commentators hark back to a golden age in which British streets were safe. But did such an age ever exist? Andrew Davies is the author of a new book which describes the gangs who waged turf war in Victorian Manchester. The Scuttlers emerged from the squalid slums of the Industrial Revolution, fighting for fun, with belts and knives. In response, some called for the Lash and others for lads clubs.

Laurie Taylor is joined by Andrew Davies, Senior Lecturer in history and author of The Gangs of Manchester, Geoffrey Pearson, Professor of Criminology and Tara Young, a Senior Research Fellow who is currently carrying out research into the nature of gang membership. They explore the historical hoodie and discuss what the past can reveal about the causes and cures for gang violence?


WED 16:30 Case Notes (b00g4yww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 17:00 PM (b00g4c0x)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00g4c2x)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


WED 18:15 Alistair Cooke's Seasonal Letters from America (b00grz9l)
Episode 6

The BBC's North America editor Justin Webb introduces eight of Alistair Cooke's seasonal Letters from America, broadcast in December and January over the five decades of his career and covering topics ranging from Christmas in Vermont to presidential inaugurations.


WED 18:30 Will Smith's Midlife Crisis Management (b00g502t)
Episode 3

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 American rap star 10 Shot to help Will with his confidence and Will joins a self defence class to stop him being bullied by teenage girls. With Roger Allam, Jimmy Akingbola, Jill Cardo.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b00g4b80)
David visits Shula at the Stables. He'll be at the tower later for ringing in the New Year, as Josh wants to take part. The simulator has made bell ringing cool! Later, Shula meets Neil at the church. It sounds like there'll be quite a crowd there tonight.

Will arrives at Nic's with a bottle of champagne. She's surprised he asked to come. He seemed so distant before Christmas, like he wanted to be just friends. He tells her he's realised he's over Emma. He hasn't stopped thinking about Nic. She says she's never stopped loving him.

Alan and Usha are at the vicarage. They feel guilty that Mabel will be alone for New Year's Eve, as they're off to the tower. But at least they'll get some time together, if not time alone. They arrive at the church. Usha tells Alan that 2008 has been the best year of her life.

The ringers ring out the old year, and Neil tolls midnight. They all cheer. Usha tells Neil she'd like a go with the simulator. Shula thinks this means she'll be redundant. Alan says this is nonsense. Bell-ringing's like rock and roll. New bands may come and go but the Rolling Stones go on forever.

Episode written by Caroline Harrington.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b00g4c59)
Now that performing rock and pop music can be a job for life, how do musicians sustain a long career? A lucrative reunion tour or constant re-invention?

John talks to leading musicians, including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Damon Albarn, Paul Weller, Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers from The Police, and Chris Martin and Will Champion from Coldplay about working in the shadow of past success, and the pressure of expectations.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00g826s)
Seventy Odd

Episode 3

Rachel Joyce's story of a group of five seventy-something friends who take an annual holiday together to a far-flung destination.

The men take a bath, Arab style, and Lois gets to the bottom of things.

Frank ...... Trevor Peacock
Violet ...... Thelma Barlow
Bill ...... Geoffrey Beever
Reginald ...... Trevor Martin
Lois ...... Margaret Robertson.


WED 20:00 Irreplaceable (b00g502w)
Andrea Catherwood hosts a debate at the Earthwatch Institute at the Royal Geographical Society in London in which five scientists argue the case for the species or organism which they believe is truly irreplaceable.


WED 20:45 Secret Lives (b00g46xf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Sunday]


WED 21:00 Stage to Screen (b00f713d)
Series 3

On the Town

Paul Gambaccini explores how stage works have been adapted for the cinema.

Paul looks at MGM's film of Leonard Bernstein's first musical comedy in the company of Betty Garrett, who played opposite Frank Sinatra in the screen version, film historian Dana Polan and Jude Kelly, who directed the successful English National Opera production.


WED 21:30 Midweek (b00g4zgr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b00g4c8s)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b00g4cbj)
National and international news and analysis with Carolyn Quinn.

Israel rejects calls for a truce in Gaza. As we enter 2009, is the era of US supremacy over? Plus, would drinkers consider popping English fizz rather than champagne to celebrate the New Year?


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00g7hx1)
The Dark Flower

Episode 3

Toby Stephens reads John Galsworthy's tale of obsessive love and thwarted passion, set in the late-19th century and charting 30 years in the life and loves of a young man, Mark Lennan.

Summoned home, Mark encounters his childhood sweetheart Sylvia.


WED 23:00 1968: Day by Day (b00g502y)
Another chance to hear the highlights of Radio 4's 1968 Day by Day series, presented by Sir John Tusa.

Retracing the major political, cultural and social events of 1968 as they happened, including the Paris riots, the Prague Spring, Enoch Powell's 'rivers of blood' speech and the shootings of Martin Luther King and Robert F Kennedy. Plus the everyday stories that made the headlines or raised a smile, from rock and roll to red rain.



THURSDAY 01 JANUARY 2009

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b00g46cv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


THU 00:15 Q & A by Vikas Swarup (b007vhwm)
1,000,000 Rupees

By Ayeesha Menon, from the novel by Vikas Swarup.

With two years of his salary strapped to his belt, Thomas boards a train back to Mumbai, only to be woken up in the middle of the night by bandits. The experience helps him answer a vital question.

Thomas ...... Anand Tiwari
Prem Kumar ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Meenakshi ...... Ratnabali Bhattacharjee
Akshay ...... Trikash Karkera
Dacoit ...... Rajit Kapur

Other parts played by Jayant Kripalani, Devika Shahani-Punjabi and Pushan Kripalani.

Directed by John Dryden.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b00g48q1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00g46nk)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00g46nm)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00g46np)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b00g46nr)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00g46nt)
Daily prayer and reflection with Lynn Gallagher.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b00g46nw)
News and issues in rural Britain with Mark Holdstock.


THU 06:00 Today (b00g46ny)
Presented by Evan Davis and Edward Stourton.

With guest editor Sir Win Bischoff, chairman of Citigroup.

Sir Win Bischoff visits a Career Academy scheme at Sir George Monoux College in Walthamstow, East London.

Anshu Jain, head of global markets at Deutsche Bank, discusses if Britain's role as a business service centre is sustainable.

Karen AbuZayd, commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and Captain Benjamin Rutland, of the Israeli Defence Force, discuss the current situation in Gaza.

Sir Win Bischoff talks to Chinese tycoon CH Tung about how events in 2008 have affected China.

Tim Montgomerie of unofficial Tory website ConservativeHome, discusses s survey on David Cameron’s leadership.

Are schools doing enough to teach financial literacy? We speak to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls.

Adam Shaw visits the Manchester velodrome to meet Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy.

Thought for the day with the Reverend Dr Giles Fraser, Vicar of Putney.

Hamas government spokesman Taher al-Nono discusses if Hamas will stop firing rockets and Dr Hassan Khalaf, director of the Al Shifa hospital in Gaza, describes the situation the PM described as a "humanitarian crisis".

Sir Win Bischoff, chairman of Citigroup, discusses if anyone could have predicting the current situation in the economy.

Jeremy Bowen, and Martin Indyk, former US ambassador to Israel, discuss George Bush's public calls for Hamas to stop firing rockets into Israel.

Control of Baghdad's fortified green zone is to transfer from the United States to the Iraqi security forces. Caroline Wyatt considers the Iraqi move to take greater control of its own security.

Professor Tony Badger, of Cambridge University, discusses what can be learned from President Roosevelt's strategy for tackling the Great Depression.

Can any useful parallels be drawn between conducting an orchestra and running a company? Sir Win Bischoff visits the English National Opera to speak to musical director Ed Gardner.

Ruth Lee, economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, and Mark Leonard, executive director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, discuss if the UK will be joining the euro any time soon.

Sir Win Bischoff discusses the choices he made and the experience of editing the Today programme.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b00g46p0)
The Consolations of Philosophy

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the consolation of Philosophy. In the 6th century AD, a successful and intelligent Roman politician called Boethius found himself unjustly accused of treason. Trapped in his prison cell, awaiting a brutal execution, he found solace in philosophical ideas - about the true nature of reality, about injustice and evil and the meaning of living a moral life. His thoughts did not save him from death, but his ideas lived on because he wrote them into a book. He called it The Consolation of Philosophy. The Consolation of Philosophy was read widely and a sense of consolation is woven into many philosophical ideas, but what for Boethius were the consolations of philosophy, what are they more generally and should philosophy lead us to consolation or lead us from it?With AC Grayling, Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London; Melissa Lane, Senior University Lecturer in History at the University of Cambridge and Roger Scruton, Research Professor at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b00g46w8)
How to Get Things Really Flat

Episode 4

By Andrew Martin. Working from home every day, novelist Andrew Martin decides to tackle the myths and practicalities of carrying out domestic chores.

He considers the pitfalls of supermarket shopping. Read by Shaun Dooley.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b008prpk)
Simone de Beauvoir

Feminists Michele Roberts and Kate Smurthwaite discuss the legacy of Simone de Beauvoir. They are joined by close friend Claudine Monteil and French journalist Agnes Poirier.


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b00g829r)
Seventy Odd

Episode 4

Rachel Joyce's story of a group of five seventy-something friends who take an annual holiday together to a far-flung destination.

Bill reveals the truth and Reg becomes a gooseberry. But what has Bill been doing with his life savings?

Frank ...... Trevor Peacock
Violet ...... Thelma Barlow
Bill ...... Geoffrey Beever
Reginald ...... Trevor Martin
Lois ...... Margaret Robertson.


THU 11:00 Frost Fair (b00g6t3m)
Francine Stock and guests assemble in Somerset House, overlooking the River Thames, to re-evoke the extraordinary frost fairs held on the frozen river between the early-17th and early-19th centuries.

Joining her to learn about the fairs and to offer their own reflections on ice and the British imagination are guests including Seamus Heaney, Carol Ann Duffy, Michael Morpurgo, Norwegian 'ice musician' Terje Isungset and culinary historian Ivan Day, who provides traditional gin and gingerbread.


THU 12:30 Crossing Continents (b00g471k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Monday]


THU 12:57 Weather (b00g4735)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b008khxq)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.


THU 13:30 Talk to the Hand: The History of Puppets on TV (b00g471m)
Phill Jupitus examines the enduring popularity of the TV puppet and reminisces about some old favourites. He receives a puppeteering lesson from Nigel Haskett, who worked with Jim Henson on The Muppets, and talks to the voice of Zippy from Rainbow Ronnie le Drew, CBeebies producers Tony Reed and Clare Bradley and puppeteer Neil Sterenberg.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b00g4b80)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b00g50lh)
Hong Kong by Night

by In-Sook Chappell.

Locked out of her apartment, Poppy can either wait for dawn in the lobby, or accept Arthur's invitation to explore Hong Kong by night... A love story about loneliness and belonging from an award-winning young writer.

Arthur ..... Oliver Williams
Poppy ..... Liz Sutherland
Alice/Waitress ..... Nina Kwok

Director: Abigail le Fleming.


THU 15:00 Open Country (b00g3xc0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:07 on Saturday]


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b00g42lp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00g4793)
Big Charlie

Episode 4

The true story of the transportation of an elephant between two Butlins camps in the 1950s.

Billy Butlin wants Charlie photographed for publicity purposes en route, but Elephant Bill has other ideas.

Written by JH Williams. Abridged and read by Tony Lidington.

Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 15:45 Pilots That Never Flew (b00g633s)
Producers and Commissioning Editors

Series in which Director of the National Youth Theatre Paul Roseby examines the labourious process of creating successful pilot programmes.

Paul Roseby talks to the comedy producer John Lloyd about his experience of making pilot programmes and to Radio 4's commissioning editor for comedy Caroline Raphael about the role pilots play in making successful radio and TV programmes.


THU 16:00 Open Book (b00g45zp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:30 Material World (b00g47f9)
Climate and Culture in Disko Bay

Quentin Cooper joins scientists, artists and musicians on a research cruise to Disko Bay in Greenland to investigate the cultural response to climate change in the Arctic.

By sailing into the heart of the climate debate, the expedition was intended to draw people's attention to this climatic tipping point. Quentin witnesses some of the scientific research at the front line of climate change, including a visit to the front of the Jakobshavn Glacier, one of Greenland's largest glaciers, which is moving at a faster rate than ever before and losing 20 million tons of ice every day.


THU 17:00 PM (b00g47fc)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00g47ff)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


THU 18:15 Alistair Cooke's Seasonal Letters from America (b00grz9n)
Episode 7

The BBC's North America editor Justin Webb introduces eight of Alistair Cooke's seasonal Letters from America, broadcast in December and January over the five decades of his career and covering topics ranging from Christmas in Vermont to presidential inaugurations.


THU 18:30 Act Your Age (b00g47nm)
Series 1

Episode 6

Simon Mayo discovers which generation is the funniest. With Jon Richardson, Lucy Porter and Roy Walker. From January 2009.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b00g46d7)
Will wakes up at Nic's house. Her kids are desperate to see him before going to their dad's. Will and Nic agree to go to Ambridge to see George.

At the Lodge, Peggy tells Lilian they've had a bad night. Jack couldn't cope with the bells and fireworks. Peggy asks about the Lower Loxley ball. Lilian says they didn't go. Matt didn't want to see Chalkman. Peggy asks if the business is in trouble. Lilian thinks things are worse than Matt's letting on.

Shula pops in to wish Peggy and Jack a happy wedding anniversary. Shula apologises for the noise of the bells. She tells Peggy she doesn't feel she belongs at St Stephen's. She asks Peggy about Alan marrying Usha. Peggy says as long they respect each other's beliefs, that's what matters. Lilian tells Peggy Jack's told her how happy he is he married Peggy.

Neil's surprised when Will and Nic arrive at Ambridge View. George is pleased to see Nic, and asks about Jake. Neil asks if Emma knows about Will and Nic.

Later, Nic says she'd like to visit Will in Gloucester, to see where he lives. Nic, Will and George then go to the Bull for lunch, hand in hand.

Episode written by Caroline Harrington.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b00dhh39)
John le Carré

Presented by Mark Lawson.

In a special interview Mark talks to writer David Cornwell, pen name John Le Carre, whose latest novel A Most Wanted Man examines Hamburg's role in the War on Terror.

David Cornwell talks about the new novel and how it fits into a career spanning his days working as a young official in the British Consul, to when he crossed over from being a spy to become a writer of books about espionage - including A Perfect Spy, his most autobiographical work revealing how the experience of having a con-man father prepared him for life in the secret service.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00g829r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 The Quest for Virgin Birth (b00g47r0)
Geneticist Aarathi Prasad explores the natural phenomenon known as parthenogenesis, or virgin birth.

Thanks to a breakthrough in DNA profiling, scientists have found that some species, including sharks, turkeys and komodo dragons, practice parthenogenesis if their survival is threatened. Aarathi explores the ethical and biological implications should new embryonic stem cell technologies be employed to also make it an option for humans.


THU 20:30 In Business (b00g46st)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:30 on Sunday]


THU 21:00 Based on a True Story (b00g63pz)
The first production of Howard Brenton's play Never So Good brought to life on stage the experiences of Harold Macmillan. In this programme, which reflects on real life events set against their fictional portrayal, Peter Curran discusses the production with Brenton, Jeremy Irons, who played Macmillan, and Lord Alexander Stockton, the grandson of Macmillan and his close companion in later life.Producer Kevin DawsonA Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b00g46p0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:58 Weather (b00g47t0)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b00g47t2)
National and international news and analysis with Carolyn Quinn.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00g7hx3)
The Dark Flower

Episode 4

Toby Stephens reads John Galsworthy's tale of obsessive love and thwarted passion, set in the late-19th century and charting 30 years in the life and loves of a young man, Mark Lennan.

Anna's love for Mark meets an obstacle.


THU 23:00 The Penny Dreadfuls (b00gpbcz)
More Brothers Faversham

Perceus and Lucius Faversham

The comedy trio's swashbuckling tale of Victorian Britain's great twin industrialists, Perceus and Lucius. From October 2008.


THU 23:30 Telly Savalas and the Quota Quickies (b00b08q6)
Laurie Taylor recalls a series of 1970s B-Movies, created by the late Harold Baim, in which Hollywood star Telly Savalas waxes lyrical about the charms of certain British cities, including Birmingham, Portsmouth and Aberdeen, not generally recognised as tourist attractions.



FRIDAY 02 JANUARY 2009

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b008kl6y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


FRI 00:15 Q & A by Vikas Swarup (b007vjkg)
10,000,000 Rupees

By Ayeesha Menon, from the novel by Vikas Swarup.

Thomas must answer a difficult question about famous Bollywood star Neelima Kumari. Fortunately, he was once her houseboy, witnessing how the tragedies she played out on screen become a part of her real life.

Thomas ...... Anand Tiwari
Prem Kumar ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Young Thomas ...... Caran Arora
Neelima Kumari ...... Radhika Mital

Other parts played by Armaan Malik, Rajit Kapur and Nadir Khan.

Directed by John Dryden.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b00g46w8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00g43yv)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00g43yx)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00g43yz)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b00g43z1)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00g43z3)
Daily prayer and reflection with Lynn Gallagher.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b00g43z5)
News and issues in rural Britain with Anna Hill.


FRI 06:00 Today (b00g441l)
Presented by Edward Stourton and Sarah Montague.

With Architect Zaha Hadid as guest editor.

Tom Feilden visits Lincoln Cathedral and Zaha Hadid's own offices to investigate a new, technology-inspired burst of architectural creativity.

Caroline Wyatt visits Baghdad University to see what the building reveals about the city's history.

Anthony Smith of Passenger Focus and Michael Roberts of the Association of Train Operating Companies discuss rail fare rises.

Deyan Sudjic profiles one of guest editor Zaha Hadid's projects, the Phaeno Science Centre in Germany.

Humphrey Hawksley speaks to Baghdad residents who remember its "glory years" and Professor Sami Zubaida discusses the cultural scene in Baghdad since the 1950s.

What will Israel's next step be in the Gaza Strip? Edward Stourton discusses the latest developments in the conflict. Israeli Public Service Minister Avi Dichter says Israel was prepared for Hamas to fight back.

Tim Franks reports on the cities where guest editor Zaha Hadid believes the next globally symbolic buildings are being built.

Thought for the day with Canon Dr Alan Billings, an Anglican Priest.

Lord Goldsmith discusses the role European countries should play in assisting with the closure of Guantanamo Bay military prison.

Health Minister Ben Bradshaw and Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, discuss ways of tackling obesity.

Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld discusses his life in fashion.

Former EU diplomat Alistair Crooke discusses the situation in Gaza.

Avant Garde architects Sir Peter Cook and Charles Jencks discuss the Architectural Association.

Zaha Hadid explains the choices she made when commissioning items for the programme and what inspires her to create the sort of buildings she designs.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b00g42m2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b00g441n)
How to Get Things Really Flat

Episode 5

By Andrew Martin. Working from home every day, novelist Andrew Martin decides to tackle the myths and practicalities of carrying out domestic chores.

He considers the benefits of doing the washing-up. Read by Shaun Dooley.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00g4b2y)
Poet Maura Dooley; Marrying for money

Poet Maura Dooley on the sources of her inspiration. Plus, 98-year-old Margaret Miller on a lifetime of serving the community, and marrying for money.


FRI 11:00 Anglomania (b00g447z)
John F Jungclaussen, Die Zeit's UK correspondent, sets out to discover why so many of his fellow countrymen are in thrall to all things British.

Among his travels around Germany he experiences British Day in Hamburg, with its very own Last Night of the Proms, an evening in a Bayreuth pub where the locals only speak English and, in the Ruhr valley, a German rock band called Claymore, who perform in full Highland dress.


FRI 11:30 The Castle (b00g4481)
Series 2

Houston We Have an Problemme

Hie ye to "The Castle", a rollicking sitcom set way back then, starring James Fleet ("The Vicar Of Dibley", "Four Weddings & A Funeral") and Neil Dudgeon ("Life Of Riley")

In this episode Master Henry hits puberty, Lady Anne & Charlotte hit the bar, De Warrenne hits a Planning Official and Sam Tree goes off like a rocket...

Cast:
Sir John Woodstock ..... James Fleet
Sir William De Warenne ..... Neil Dudgeon
Lady Anne Woodstock ..... Montserrat Lombard
Cardinal Duncan..... Jonathan Kydd
Lady Charlotte ..... Ingrid Oliver
Master Henry Woodstock ..... Steven Kynman
Merlin ..... Lewis Macleod

Written by Kim Fuller with additional material by Paul Alexander
Music by Guy Jackson

Now prithee pay heed to the rest of our cast of high and low lives - as we explain exactly Who's Who in The Castle -

Sir John Woodstock (James Fleet) - the Lord of the Castle and basically in charge of keeping order in the ramshackle medieval village. Although he hates all that torturing and usually lets the peasants off with a bit of community service. He lives in his huge but slightly falling down castle (but then it was built by the French so what can one expect) with his daughter Anne (Montserrat Lombard) and very teenage son Henry (Steven Kynman). Anne's best friend Charlotte (Ingrid Oliver) nearly always joins Anne on her constant quest to find fit men in the village. In fact, they think they've found a decent one in the shape of Merlin, the new handyman and wayward wizard (Lewis Macleod). And Anne certainly isn't interested in Sir William De Warenne ("Knight errant, scourge of the Levant") (Neil Dudgeon) who lives across the way.

Unfortunately he can't take a hint and is besotted with Lady Anne and Sir John thinks it a good match. Ah! what is a Lady to do! Cardinal Duncan (Jonathan Kydd) (a man of the cloth - in particular crushed silk which he loves), has to endure De Warenne's incessant plans to woo Lady Anne and has little time to peruse sweethearts of his own. Which oddly enough, he doesn't seem to mind...

Producer/Director: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:00 Face the Facts (b00g6g0d)
John Waite presents the investigative consumer series. He meets Loay Mohammed, an Iraqi interpreter whose life was threatened by insurgents because he worked for the British forces. Loay has finally been granted asylum in UK, and he shares his hopes with John from his new home in Bolton.

John also visits Stephen Doman in Gloucestershire, an innocent man who lost his job because he refused to reveal his mother's maiden name to his employers.

Plus the latest news on Gilbert Deya, the preacher who has helped deliver 'miracle babies' to many parents. Deya has recently lost his appeal against extradition to Kenya where he faces charges of child abduction.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b00g4489)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b00g448m)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.


FRI 13:30 More or Less (b00g4490)
Forecasting the Future - More Credit Crunch Maths- Lake Wobegon Effect - Average Wage

Forecasting the Future
2008 contained so many surprises that any self-respecting forecaster might want to take care before venturing a confident prognostication. So are expert forecasts ever any good?

Tim speaks to Philip Tetlock, a professor of psychology in the University of California, Berkeley. Professional forecasters, according to Professor Tetlock, are only marginally better than monkeys at predicting the future.

More Credit Crunch Maths
Financial mathematics guru Paul Wilmott continues with his series explaining how mathematical blunders contributed to the credit crunch. Financial traders are taught that the way to maximise profit and minimise risk is to diversify.

So why did so many end up doing the same trades? The answer, according to Paul, might lie in the maths of the bonus system.

The Lake Wobegon Effect
Why do most parents think their child is in the top 20% for academic ability? Perhaps it is the same reason that most drivers think they are in the top 20% for safety.

Ruth Alexander investigates the power of the "above average effect", our tendency to overestimate our relative performance when it comes to desirable qualities and skills.

It is also known as the Lake Wobegon effect after the fictional community "where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average".

What is an Average Wage?
Listener Bill MacDonald has heard the average wage in the UK described as around £24,000.

He thought that seemed a bit high and asked us to find out how it is calculated and whether it fairly reflects typical earnings.

Our reporter Oliver Hawkins explains the importance of selecting the most appropriate measure of the average.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b00g46d7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b00g449n)
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Eyes of Horus

Series of four new tales of mystery and murder by Bert Coules, inspired by the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The police are baffled when a priceless antique disappears, but Holmes solves the mystery with the aid of a pawnbroker, a landlady and two stout rubber bands.

Sherlock Holmes ...... Clive Merrison
Dr John Watson ...... Andrew Sachs
Lady Mallory ...... Colette O'Neil
Lestrade ...... Stephen Thorne
Lofting ...... Stephen Critchlow
Wilson ...... Jonathan Tafler
Mrs Hartnell ...... Janice Acquah
Sergeant ...... Malcolm Tierney
Constable ...... Paul Rider

Directed by Patrick Rayner.


FRI 15:00 Ramblings (b008dsfg)
Series 9

West Country - Wraxall

Clare Balding walks in the West Country with Beryl Griffiths, founder of Granny Treks. Beryl has raised huge sums for her local children's hospice through sponsored walks. She takes Clare on the route that is has become the annual Granny Trek around Charlton Farm in Wraxall, Somerset.


FRI 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00g4bn1)
Big Charlie

Episode 5

Colonel Williams' amazing story of how, in the summer of 1957, the largest elephant in captivity was moved from Butlin's in Scotland to Butlin's, Yorkshire.

The journey over, Big Charlie makes his triumphal entry to Filey.

Written by JH Williams. Abridged and read by Tony Lidington.

Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:45 Pilots That Never Flew (b00g633v)
Agents and Audiences

Series in which Director of the National Youth Theatre Paul Roseby examines the laborious process of creating successful pilot programmes.

Paul examines two groups at the sharp end of the process - the agents who have to break bad news about unsuccessful pilots to their clients and the audiences whose response can make the difference between success and failure. Featuring an interview with John Grant of the Conway van Gelder Grant agency.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b00g44gh)
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 (b00g44gk)
In an extended edition of a programme that was broadcast first in April, Francine Stock presents a behind the scenes look at Happy-Go-Lucky, Mike Leigh's award-winning comedy.


FRI 17:00 PM (b00g44gm)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00g44gp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.


FRI 18:15 Alistair Cooke's Seasonal Letters from America (b00grz9q)
Episode 8

The BBC's North America editor Justin Webb introduces eight of Alistair Cooke's seasonal Letters from America, broadcast in December and January over the five decades of his career and covering topics ranging from Christmas in Vermont to presidential inaugurations.


FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b00g44gr)
Series 25

Episode 6

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


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b00g44gt)
Usha's at Brookfield. She tells Ruth she's sad that Mabel doesn't like that she's Hindu. It feels like she doesn't like her full stop. David appears. He says he's not stopping - it's the NFU meeting this morning, and he's the new deputy chair.

Mabel finds Shula in the churchyard. Mabel asks about her resignation as a churchwarden. She asks if it's because of Usha and Alan. Shula says she feels alienated from the church. She asks Mabel how she's come to terms with it all. Mabel tells her Alan and Amy are family - it's her duty to support Alan. Mabel believes it's possible Usha will convert to Christianity. Mabel tells Shula she needs to forgive Usha for whatever's happened between them. This might help her through her spiritual dilemma.

The NFU meeting goes well, though David realises what a huge responsibility he has, with everyone's problems to solve! He's worried he'll disappoint people but Ruth says she's very proud.

Mabel's taxi arrives, and Alan and Usha wish her well. As soon as she leaves, they breathe a sigh of relief. Usha's sorry she's found the visit so hard, but Mabel can't mask how she really feels. Alan tells her Mabel will come round in the end.

Episode written by Caroline Harrington.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b00g44hx)
Presented by Kirsty Lang.

Screenwriters Special.

Kirsty talks to leading writers of film and TV including Linda La Plante, Andrew Davies and Oscar nominees Ronald Harwood and Christopher Hampton.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00g82dd)
Seventy Odd

Episode 5

Rachel Joyce's story of a group of five seventy-something friends who take an annual holiday together to a far-flung destination.

It is their last day in Damascus and Bill's friends must use all of their ingenuity before it is too late.

Frank ...... Trevor Peacock
Violet ...... Thelma Barlow
Bill ...... Geoffrey Beever
Reginald ...... Trevor Martin
Lois ...... Margaret Robertson.


FRI 20:00 Correspondents' Look Ahead (b00gq1dm)
What impact will an Obama Presidency have on America and the wider world in 2009? Will he and a powerful Russian President, Vladimir Putin, get along? And how will he and other leaders deal with the continuing fall out from the financial and economic crisis?

Stephen Sackur is joined by some of the BBC’s top correspondents as they give their predictions about what will shape our world next year.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b00g45y2)
New Year Prediction

Clive James makes a prediction for the New Year – that from now on, the era of silly-money is over and getting rich quick will no longer be something to admire. Getting rich for its own sake, says Clive, will look as stupid as bodybuilding does at that point when the neck gets thicker than the head and the thighs and biceps look like four plastic kit-bags full of tofu.


FRI 21:00 Friday Drama (b00h0smf)
Landscape

Two plays by Harold Pinter.

1/2. Landscape

A man and a woman sit deep in recollection. While the man's thoughts are of his day in the park and a quarrel in the pub, the woman's are of an idyllic day spent many years ago on a beach with the man she loved.

Duff ...... Harold Pinter
Beth ...... Penelope Wilton

2/2. The Examination

A chilling yet playful monologue in which a man about to be questioned summons up every mental resource to empower himself over his interrogator.

With Michael Gambon.

Directed by Peter Kavanagh.


FRI 21:45 Westminster Follies (b00d0sjq)
Michael White tells the story of a forgotten architectural disaster - the original construction of the Palace of Westminster. The project was many times over budget, took decades longer than it should have done, was hated by the architectural cognoscenti and was racked by strikes and furious rows.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b00g45y6)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b00g4644)
National and international news and analysis.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00g7hx5)
The Dark Flower

Episode 5

Toby Stephens reads John Galsworthy's tale of obsessive love and thwarted passion, set in the late 19th century and charting 30 years in the life and loves of a young man, Mark Lennan.

Now grown to manhood, Mark pursues the unhappily married Olive.


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b00g378b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (b0076mff)
From the debris of a night in Accident and Emergency to the early worshippers amongst the aisles of a supermarket church service and a Sunday morning wrestling club, Sara Parker traces the sometimes unsteady path in pursuit of pleasure that is the British Saturday night, and the bright new Sunday morning that unerringly follows.




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 (b00g4c6q)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 TUE (b00g823v)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 WED (b00g826s)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 THU (b00g829r)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 THU (b00g829r)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 FRI (b00g82dd)

1968 The Sixty-Eighters at Sixty 23:30 MON (b00cxkrm)

1968: Day by Day 23:00 WED (b00g502y)

A Box of Wittgensteins 14:45 SUN (b00g44sj)

A Charles Paris Mystery 11:30 WED (b00wnmbt)

A Point of View 08:50 SUN (b00g3tmr)

A Point of View 20:50 FRI (b00g45y2)

A Voyage to Lundy 05:45 SAT (b008tzzn)

Act Your Age 18:30 THU (b00g47nm)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 MON (b00g4bmv)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 TUE (b00g4bmx)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 WED (b00g4bmz)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 THU (b00g4793)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 FRI (b00g4bn1)

Ali Abbas: In His Own Words 20:00 MON (b00g4g9j)

Alistair Cooke's Seasonal Letters from America 18:15 MON (b00grz9v)

Alistair Cooke's Seasonal Letters from America 18:15 TUE (b00grz9j)

Alistair Cooke's Seasonal Letters from America 18:15 WED (b00grz9l)

Alistair Cooke's Seasonal Letters from America 18:15 THU (b00grz9n)

Alistair Cooke's Seasonal Letters from America 18:15 FRI (b00grz9q)

Anglomania 11:00 FRI (b00g447z)

Anthony Trollope - Orley Farm 15:00 SUN (b01102gl)

Based on a True Story 21:00 THU (b00g63pz)

Bells on Sunday 05:43 SUN (b00g42l7)

Bells on Sunday 00:45 MON (b00g42l7)

Beyond Belief 16:30 MON (b00g4g4w)

Beyond Westminster 11:00 SAT (b00g6spf)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 MON (b00g4flf)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 TUE (b00g7hwz)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 WED (b00g7hx1)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 THU (b00g7hx3)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 FRI (b00g7hx5)

Book of the Week 00:30 SAT (b00g2565)

Book of the Week 09:45 MON (b00g48px)

Book of the Week 00:30 TUE (b00g48px)

Book of the Week 09:45 TUE (b00g48pz)

Book of the Week 00:30 WED (b00g48pz)

Book of the Week 09:45 WED (b00g48q1)

Book of the Week 00:30 THU (b00g48q1)

Book of the Week 09:45 THU (b00g46w8)

Book of the Week 00:30 FRI (b00g46w8)

Book of the Week 09:45 FRI (b00g441n)

Brain of Britain 23:00 SAT (b00g2z1h)

Brain of Britain 13:30 MON (b00g4g4p)

Brand Cuba 20:00 TUE (b00g4ywr)

Broadcasting House 09:00 SUN (b00g42ly)

Case Notes 21:00 TUE (b00g4yww)

Case Notes 16:30 WED (b00g4yww)

Classic Serial 21:00 SAT (b00g215l)

Correspondents' Look Ahead 20:00 FRI (b00gq1dm)

Crossing Continents 20:30 MON (b00g471k)

Crossing Continents 12:30 THU (b00g471k)

Desert Island Discs 11:15 SUN (b00g42m2)

Desert Island Discs 09:00 FRI (b00g42m2)

Drama 14:15 MON (b00g4g4r)

Drama 14:15 TUE (b00g6g7q)

Drama 14:15 WED (b00g4zh1)

Drama 14:15 THU (b00g50lh)

Drama 14:15 FRI (b00g449n)

Excess Baggage 10:00 SAT (b00g3xq6)

Ezra Caged 23:30 SAT (b00g2283)

Face the Facts 12:00 FRI (b00g6g0d)

Farming Today This Week 06:30 SAT (b00g3xfg)

Farming Today 05:45 MON (b00g47rj)

Farming Today 05:45 TUE (b00g4gq4)

Farming Today 05:45 WED (b00g4yyl)

Farming Today 05:45 THU (b00g46nw)

Farming Today 05:45 FRI (b00g43z5)

Friday Drama 21:00 FRI (b00h0smf)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:30 SAT (b00g3xqd)

Front Row 19:15 MON (b00g4c5h)

Front Row 19:15 TUE (b00g4c57)

Front Row 19:15 WED (b00g4c59)

Front Row 19:15 THU (b00dhh39)

Front Row 19:15 FRI (b00g44hx)

Frost Fair 11:00 THU (b00g6t3m)

Gardeners' Question Time 14:00 SUN (b00g44sg)

Gardeners' Question Time 15:00 WED (b00g44sg)

Genius 12:00 SUN (b00g2zrr)

Go4it 19:15 SUN (b00g46md)

Great Lives 16:30 TUE (b00g378b)

Great Lives 23:00 FRI (b00g378b)

Great White Hopes 17:00 SUN (b00fzw11)

In Business 21:30 SUN (b00g46st)

In Business 20:30 THU (b00g46st)

In Our Time 09:00 THU (b00g46p0)

In Our Time 21:30 THU (b00g46p0)

In Touch 20:40 TUE (b00g4ywt)

Irreplaceable 20:00 WED (b00g502w)

Jack: 200 Years up a Beanstalk 20:00 SUN (b008khxp)

Just a Minute 18:30 MON (b00g4g4y)

Last Word 16:00 FRI (b00g44gh)

Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking 18:30 TUE (b00bz9zn)

Loose Ends 18:15 SAT (b00g3yqg)

Making History 15:00 TUE (b00g6t44)

Material World 16:30 THU (b00g47f9)

Meter Mad 23:30 TUE (b00cwxlr)

Midnight News 00:00 SAT (b00g3xbh)

Midnight News 00:00 SUN (b00g42kv)

Midnight News 00:00 MON (b00g47ch)

Midnight News 00:00 TUE (b00g479y)

Midnight News 00:00 WED (b00g47b0)

Midnight News 00:00 THU (b00g46cv)

Midnight News 00:00 FRI (b008kl6y)

Midweek 09:00 WED (b00g4zgr)

Midweek 21:30 WED (b00g4zgr)

Money Box Live 15:00 MON (b00g4g4t)

Money Box 12:00 SAT (b00g3xqg)

Money Box 21:00 SUN (b00g3xqg)

More or Less 20:30 SUN (b00g3t1h)

More or Less 13:30 FRI (b00g4490)

Music Feature 13:30 TUE (b00g4vv1)

News Briefing 05:30 SAT (b00g3xbr)

News Briefing 05:30 SUN (b00g42l5)

News Briefing 22:00 SUN (b00g6w21)

News Briefing 05:30 MON (b00g47nw)

News Briefing 05:30 TUE (b00g47l9)

News Briefing 05:30 WED (b00g47lc)

News Briefing 05:30 THU (b00g46nr)

News Briefing 05:30 FRI (b00g43z1)

News Headlines 06:00 SUN (b00g42l9)

News Review of the Year 13:10 SAT (b00g3xqn)

News Review of the Year 22:10 SUN (b00g3xqn)

News and Papers 07:00 SUN (b00g42lk)

News and Papers 08:00 SUN (b00g42lt)

News and Weather 06:00 SAT (b00g3xbw)

News 13:00 SAT (b00g3xql)

On Your Farm 06:35 SUN (b00g42lf)

Open Book 16:00 SUN (b00g45zp)

Open Book 16:00 THU (b00g45zp)

Open Country 06:07 SAT (b00g3xc0)

Open Country 15:00 THU (b00g3xc0)

PM 17:00 SAT (b00g3yq4)

PM 17:00 MON (b00g4c2s)

PM 17:00 TUE (b00g4c0v)

PM 17:00 WED (b00g4c0x)

PM 17:00 THU (b00g47fc)

PM 17:00 FRI (b00g44gm)

Pick of the Week 18:15 SUN (b00g46m8)

Pick of the Year 22:15 SAT (b00g3h5b)

Pilots That Never Flew 15:45 MON (b00g633l)

Pilots That Never Flew 15:45 TUE (b00g633n)

Pilots That Never Flew 15:45 WED (b00g633q)

Pilots That Never Flew 15:45 THU (b00g633s)

Pilots That Never Flew 15:45 FRI (b00g633v)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 SAT (b00g3xbt)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 MON (b00g47p8)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 TUE (b00g47ny)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 WED (b00g47p0)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 THU (b00g46nt)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 FRI (b00g43z3)

Profile 19:00 SAT (b00g3yqj)

Profile 05:45 SUN (b00g3yqj)

Profile 17:40 SUN (b00g3yqj)

Q & A by Vikas Swarup 00:15 SAT (b007tyv7)

Q & A by Vikas Swarup 00:15 SUN (b007v235)

Q & A by Vikas Swarup 00:15 MON (b007v2pg)

Q & A by Vikas Swarup 00:15 TUE (b007v3q4)

Q & A by Vikas Swarup 00:15 WED (b007v40b)

Q & A by Vikas Swarup 00:15 THU (b007vhwm)

Q & A by Vikas Swarup 00:15 FRI (b007vjkg)

Radio 4 Appeal 07:55 SUN (b00g42lp)

Radio 4 Appeal 21:26 SUN (b00g42lp)

Radio 4 Appeal 15:27 THU (b00g42lp)

Ramblings 15:00 FRI (b008dsfg)

Salman Rushdie and The Wizard of Oz 10:30 SAT (b00g3xq8)

Saturday Drama 14:30 SAT (b00g3ycd)

Saturday Live 09:00 SAT (b00g3xq4)

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning 23:30 FRI (b0076mff)

Saturday Review 19:15 SAT (b00g3yql)

Says on the Tin 11:30 MON (b00g4fv7)

Science Friction 21:00 MON (b00g4gd5)

Scraps of Bacon 14:00 SAT (b00dp4km)

Secret Lives 23:00 SUN (b00g46xf)

Secret Lives 20:45 WED (b00g46xf)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SAT (b00g3xbm)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SUN (b00g42l1)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 MON (b00g47jq)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 TUE (b00g47f5)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 WED (b00g47f7)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 THU (b00g46nm)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 FRI (b00g43yx)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SAT (b00g3xbk)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SAT (b00g3xbp)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SAT (b00g3yq8)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SUN (b00g42kz)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SUN (b00g42l3)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SUN (b00g46m2)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 MON (b00g47f3)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 MON (b00g47l7)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 TUE (b00g47ck)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 TUE (b00g47js)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 WED (b00g47cm)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 WED (b00g47jv)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 THU (b00g46nk)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 THU (b00g46np)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 FRI (b00g43yv)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 FRI (b00g43yz)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SAT (b00g3yqd)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SUN (b00g46m6)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 MON (b00g4c55)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 TUE (b00g4c2v)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 WED (b00g4c2x)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 THU (b00g47ff)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 FRI (b00g44gp)

Snow in Libya 11:00 WED (b00g4zgv)

Something Understood 06:05 SUN (b00g42lc)

Something Understood 23:30 SUN (b00g42lc)

Songs Everlasting 00:30 SUN (b00g31pp)

Songs Everlasting 23:15 SUN (b00g31ps)

Songs Everlasting 00:30 MON (b00g48vw)

Stage to Screen 21:00 WED (b00f713d)

Start the Week 09:00 MON (b00g4frd)

Start the Week 21:30 MON (b00g4frd)

Sunday Worship 08:10 SUN (b00g42lw)

Sunday 07:10 SUN (b00g42lm)

Taking a Stand 09:00 TUE (b00g4gq6)

Taking a Stand 21:30 TUE (b00g4gq6)

Talk to the Hand: The History of Puppets on TV 13:30 THU (b00g471m)

Telly Savalas and the Quota Quickies 23:30 THU (b00b08q6)

The Archers Omnibus 10:00 SUN (b00g42m0)

The Archers 19:00 SUN (b00g46mb)

The Archers 14:00 MON (b00g46mb)

The Archers 19:00 MON (b00g4b88)

The Archers 14:00 TUE (b00g4b88)

The Archers 19:00 TUE (b00g4b7y)

The Archers 14:00 WED (b00g4b7y)

The Archers 19:00 WED (b00g4b80)

The Archers 14:00 THU (b00g4b80)

The Archers 19:00 THU (b00g46d7)

The Archers 14:00 FRI (b00g46d7)

The Archers 19:00 FRI (b00g44gt)

The Archive Hour 20:00 SAT (b0077041)

The Castle 11:30 FRI (b00g4481)

The Film Programme 16:30 FRI (b00g44gk)

The Food Programme 12:32 SUN (b00g42tv)

The Food Programme 16:00 MON (b00g42tv)

The Fortune Hunters 09:30 TUE (b00g4gq8)

The Media Show 13:30 WED (b00g4zgz)

The Now Show 12:30 SAT (b00g3tmp)

The Now Show 18:30 FRI (b00g44gr)

The Penny Dreadfuls 23:00 THU (b00gpbcz)

The Quest for Virgin Birth 20:00 THU (b00g47r0)

The Railway Children 19:45 SUN (b00g46sr)

The Trouble with Scousers 13:30 SUN (b00dgjg2)

The World This Weekend 13:00 SUN (b00g42tz)

The World Tonight 22:00 MON (b00g4cbx)

The World Tonight 22:00 TUE (b00g4cbg)

The World Tonight 22:00 WED (b00g4cbj)

The World Tonight 22:00 THU (b00g47t2)

The World Tonight 22:00 FRI (b00g4644)

Thinking Allowed 16:00 WED (b00g4zk7)

Today 07:00 SAT (b00g3xfl)

Today 06:00 MON (b00g48pv)

Today 06:00 TUE (b00g4882)

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Today 06:00 THU (b00g46ny)

Today 06:00 FRI (b00g441l)

Together against the Odds 11:00 MON (b00g4frg)

UK Confidential 11:00 TUE (b00g4gqb)

Walker of the Downs 16:30 SUN (b00g45zr)

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Weekend Woman's Hour 16:00 SAT (b00g3yq2)

Westminster Follies 21:45 FRI (b00d0sjq)

Wil Hodgson: Straight Outta Chippenham 23:00 TUE (b00g4ywy)

Will Smith's Midlife Crisis Management 18:30 WED (b00g502t)

Woman's Hour 10:00 MON (b00g49f8)

Woman's Hour 10:00 TUE (b00g4b2t)

Woman's Hour 10:00 WED (b00g4b2w)

Woman's Hour 10:00 THU (b008prpk)

Woman's Hour 10:00 FRI (b00g4b2y)

Word of Mouth 23:00 MON (b00g3788)

Word of Mouth 16:00 TUE (b00g6gdf)

World at One 13:00 MON (b00g4b71)

World at One 13:00 TUE (b00g4b6s)

World at One 13:00 WED (b00g4b6v)

World at One 13:00 THU (b008khxq)

World at One 13:00 FRI (b00g448m)

You and Yours 12:00 MON (b00g4b5g)

You and Yours 12:00 TUE (b00g4b4r)

You and Yours 12:00 WED (b00g4b4t)

iPM 17:30 SAT (b00g3yq6)