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 12 DECEMBER 2009

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b00p6w7k)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b00p5ysz)
The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi

Episode 5

Kenneth Cranham reads from Andrew McConnell Stott's account of the life of one of the world's most famous clowns, Joseph Grimaldi, who became a superstar of Georgian pantomime.

His body crippled by the years of on-stage clowning, Grimaldi is forced finally to pass the baton to his son, JS. But the young pretender finds the constant comparisons with his famous father hard to bear, and seeks solace in the hard-drinking, hard-living circle of the great actor Edmund Kean. Meanwhile, his father is determined to fill the family's pockets with a final farewell performance; so, on 28th June 1828, barely able to stand on his crippled legs, Grimaldi staggers on to the stage of a packed Drury Lane Theatre.

Abridged by Viv Beeby.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p6w7m)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p6w7p)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p6w7r)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b00p6w7t)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00p6w7w)
Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra.


SAT 05:45 Running Away (b00fdf7k)
Nitin Sawhney

Musician and composer Nitin Sawhney escapes the dark confines of his studio to the hustle and bustle of the Science Museum and one of his favourite pastimes.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b00p6w7y)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b00p6w80)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (b00nrvrh)
Ripples of the Ballinderry River

Helen Mark visits Northern Ireland to find out about an exciting new community project taking place along the banks of the Ballinderry River. Along the way Helen meets people who have grown up with the Ballinderry and who are taking part in a very special project, protecting the environment and the wildlife around it and reconnecting people with the river.

Helen begins by going on a hunt for the endangered white-clawed crayfish, once a common sight in rivers and lakes and now on an ever-increasing list of globally threatened species. She also meets local people involved with RIPPLE, a project designed to encourage people to get more involved in planning the future of their river, and takes to the water with canoeing enthusiasts.

Further along the river, Helen meets local sound artist Paul Moore to hears the river sing, before finishing her journey on the shores of Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles and the winter home for a huge number and variety of birds. But are there as still as many arriving as the 90,000 that wintered here in the late 1980s?


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b00p7g80)
Farming Today This Week

PGIs, PDOs, TSGs might not mean much to most people, but they do matter to some food producers who spend years striving to achieve protected food name status. This means Melton Mowbray pork pies, Cumberland sausages and Stilton cheese among others can only be made to certain specifications - both culinary and geographical.

Charlotte Smith meets some of the farmers and producers who've fought hard to gain this status, and asks Secretary of State, Hilary Benn, why it matters so much.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b00p7g82)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b00p7g84)
With Justin Webb and James Naughtie. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b00p7g86)
Real life stories in which listeners talk about the issues that matter to them.

Fi Glover is joined by the grand dame of Fleet Street and author of An Education, Lynn Barber.

With poetry from Elvis McGonagall.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b00p7g88)
Sandi Toksvig with the adventures, frustrations and joys of travel.

Lady Mary Fretwell found out about the difficulties of travelling across international borders with dogs during her life as a diplomat's wife and resolved to tackle Britain's strict quarantine laws. She tells Sandi how her organisation 'Passports for Pets' helped achieve this and how the current rules work. And Belinda Harley fell in love with an unwanted dog in Greece and relates the problems she experienced bringing him back to Britain.

Travel writer Rob Crossan has just returned from the Vietnamese capital Hanoi where, despite the single-party socialist regime, capitalism flourishes. Among experiences to be had are unlikely visits to the impressive Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and restaurants that specialise in serving up...dog.


SAT 10:30 Shelved (b00p7g8b)
Shaun Ley recounts how the political circumstances of the late 1970s resulted in three of the most popular TV series' of the time - Dr Who, Secret Army and The Professionals - each having at least one episode scrapped after filming. Interviewees include the then Dr Who, Tom Baker.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b00p7g8d)
Steve Richards of the Independent looks behind the scenes at Westminster.

The pre-Budget report is largely seen as the opening gambit of the 2010 general election campaign. In 1992, Lord Heseltine fought a Conservative general election campaign against a background of economic uncertainty, and his party won. In the 1997 general election Geoffrey Robinson campaigned then for Labour when the economy had taken a turn for the better, and his party reaped the benefit. They discuss the part the economy plays in these battles.

The bankers are currently so unpopular with voters, that the Chancellor this week was forced to reflect the public mood by slapping a hefty tax on their bonuses. In the past trade unions have been the focus for public anger, so how far is the anger justified and is it fair? MPs Kim Howells, former Labour minister and member of the miners' union during the 1980s, and Andrew Tyrie, once adviser to Nigel Lawson, give their judgments.

Why is climate change becoming a left/right issue? Will Straw of the website site Left Foot Forward and Tim Montgomerie of ConservativeHome website explain why this is.

And do political novels reflect the real world of politics? Steven Fielding of Nottingham Uinversity explores this rich seam in literature.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b00p7g8g)
Kate Adie presents stories from China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Vanuatu and Singapore.


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b00p7g8j)
Paul Lewis with the latest news from the world of personal finance.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b00p6vlj)
Series 29

Episode 3

Tonight Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis explore the taxing complexities of class; Mitch Benn waxes lyrical about the twinning of Swindon with Disneyland and Jon Holmes is up in arms about Christmas decorations.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b00p7gmr)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b00p7g8l)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b00p6vll)
Eddie Mair chairs the topical debate from Bracknell, Berkshire. The panellists are Northern Ireland secretary Shaun Woodward, shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May, David Laws, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on children, schools and families, and Dr Ben Goldacre, author of Bad Science.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b00p7g8n)
Eddie Mair takes listeners' calls and emails in response to this week's edition of Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b00p7g8q)
Amelia Bullmore - The Middle

by Amelia Bullmore

Clare is the golden middle sister in a family headed by a formidable matriarch, Luca. Clare meets and quickly marries Martin, who falls just as much in love with her fun, sparky family. But Martin makes a mistake and sets in train a series of events which brings the family to its knees.

Clare ..... Emma Cunniffe
Martin ..... Ben Miles
Nicky ..... Anna Madeley
Justine ..... Eve Matheson
Luca ..... Paola Dionisotti
Karl ..... Nigel Pilkington
Owen ..... Baxter Willis
Mick ..... John Biggins
Ed ..... Piers Wehner
Donna ..... Melissa Advani

Directed by Mary Peate.


SAT 15:30 Tales from the Stave (b00p61zj)
Series 5

Tippett: A Child of Our Time

Frances Fyfield tracks down the stories behind the scores of well-known pieces of music.

Using the pencil-written score and private notebooks and letters, Frances unpacks the creative story behind Sir Michael Tippett's oratorio, A Child of Our Time. With its Spiritual Choruses mixed with the stark modernity of its forbidding message, it stands now as one of the most powerful statements about man's potential for inhumanity to man.

As the letters and notes reveal, the inspiration for the peace was the shooting in 1938 of a German diplomat in Paris by an enraged 17-year-old Jewish boy, powerless to stop the Nazi atrocities against his family in Germany. His actions, twisted by Nazi propaganda, provoked Kristalnacht - a rising against Jewish people and property which resulted in the burning of synagogues and Jewish shops and houses.

Already a passionate political thinker, Tippett tried to express his feelings through a three-part oratorio that described the way a man, the child of the title, can be coralled into an act of self-destruction. And set against this dark journey are the spirituals, one of which - 'Steal away to Jesue' - he had heard and been inspired by on a radio broadcast. Like Bach's chorales, they remain a way into the piece for many listeners, commenting on the moods and reflecting on the anger, despair and resignation of the child's journey.

As well as revealing Tippett's workings and worryings over the music, the British Library's archive also throws light on the way the libretto developed, being sent for improvement to poet TS Eliot, who promptly sent it back advising the composer that he was managing quite well on his own.

Joing Frances are Sarah Walker, who sang the vital mezzo soprano role in a recording made in 1991 with the composer himself conducting; music scholar and writer Paul Banks and graphologist Ruth Rostron.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b00p7g8s)
Weekend Woman's Hour

With Jane Garvey. Tamzin Outhwaite discusses her stage and screen success. Also: fashion and the return of the tracksuit bottom; present buying for men; asking if Sally Bercow was right to speak out about her past; stillbirth and help for parents of babies who die; and, twenty years on, the impact of the murders of fourteen women by a man who said he hated feminists.


SAT 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p7g8v)
12th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

US secretary of state James Baker meets East Germany's de facto leader Hans Modrow.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 17:00 PM (b00p7g8x)
Saturday PM

Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Ritula Shah, plus the sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 iPM (b00p7g8z)
The weekly interactive current affairs magazine featuring online conversation and debate.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00p7g91)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b00p7g93)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p7g95)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b00p7h3r)
Clive Anderson and guests with an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.

Clive is joined by the actor Rupert Penry-Jones, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue's Barry Cryer and Sir Christopher Meyer, former Chair of the Press Complaints Commission.

Jo Bunting talks to the comedian and sex therapist Wolfgang Weinberger.

A fitting tribute to Eric Morecame with comedy from the stage show Morecame.

With music from Sheffield folk-rock duo Slow Club and southern Californian singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop.


SAT 19:00 From Fact to Fiction (b00p7h3t)
Series 7

What is the Custom of Your Grief?

This week witnessed the death of the 100th British soldier to be killed in Afghanistan this year, the 237th since 2002. In What is the Custom of Your Grief? playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker imagines the correspondence between two young girls bereaved by the conflict.

Performed by Betsabeh Emran and Emerald O'Hanrahan.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b00p7h3w)
Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are and a review of Red by John Logan

John Wilson is joined by novelists Louise Doughty and Michael Arditti, and writer James Runcie to discuss the cultural highlights of the week - featuring a tortured artist, wild things and the re-emergence of silent films.

The play Red by John Logan, directed by Michael Grandage, features the contemporary artist Mark Rothko. Set in his New York studio in 1958, under the watchful gaze of his young assistant and the threatening presence of a new generation of artists, Rothko takes on his greatest challenge yet: to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting.

Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak's classic children's story, has been made into a film with a screenplay by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers. It tells the story of Max, a disobedient little boy sent to bed without his supper, who creates his own world - a forest inhabited by ferocious wild creatures that crown Max as their ruler. Has the story made a successful transition from page to screen?

The pantomime season is upon us and our reviewers have been to see some of the latest productions including Aladdin and Jack and the Beanstalk. Are they still popular among children and adults?

With reviews of some of the best of the winter's young teenage fiction, including The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera, and The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness. All are novels with dark stories; is this a trend?

Sky 1 television is sending filmmakers back to basics. They have brought together established writers, actors and directors in a series of silent short films to be broadcast this festive season on consecutive nights as Ten Minutes Tales.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b00plt1n)
The My Lai Tapes

Robert Hodierne reveals the truth about the infamous My Lai massacre of 16 March 1968, based on the transcript of a Pentagon enquiry conducted by Lt General William Peers. The findings of the investigation were so uncomfortable for the US Military that they were suppressed. Some 400 hours of tape show that US soldiers raped and murdered hundreds of civilians in not just one but three villages in an orgy of killing that proved to be a turning point in the Vietnam War.


SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b00p3sy6)
Book 1: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Part 2

Dramatisation by Shaun McKenna of John le Carre's classic novel.

George Smiley, called back from retirement, tries to piece together the events of the past to find the mole he believes is tearing apart the British Secret Intelligence Service.

George Smiley ...... Simon Russell Beale
Ann Smiley ...... Anna Chancellor
Control ...... John Rowe
Peter Guillam ...... Ewan Bailey
Percy Alleline ...... Bill Paterson
Ricki Tarr ...... Jamie Foreman
Toby Esterhase ...... Sam Dale
Bill Haydon ...... Michael Feast
Roy Bland...... David Hargreaves
Sam Collins ...... Nicholas Boulton

This episode is available until 3.00pm on Sunday 2nd May as part of the Series Catch-up Trial.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b00p7h40)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (b00p681y)
It's that time of year again when the forces of greed and conspicuous consumption do battle with guilt and pious sentiment. So how do you have a merry and a moral Christmas? Michael Buerk and the panel settle down around the festive table to try to find out.

Witnesses:

Ruth Rosselson, writer, Ethical Consumer Magazine

Julian Baggini, philosopher and author

Jonathan Bartley, director of Ekklesia, a web-based think-tank promoting theological ideas in the public sphere.

Susie Boyt, author and journalist.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b00p5xc4)
Russell Davies chairs the ninth heat of the perennial general knowledge contest, with contestants from the south of England.


SAT 23:30 Adventures in Poetry (b00p3v2l)
Series 10

My Last Duchess

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

The height of English Gothic, a poem in which an aristocrat tacitly admits to having done away with his young wife - a Medici no less. Peggy Reynolds teases out the many layers of Robert Browning's chilling but groundbreaking poem.



SUNDAY 13 DECEMBER 2009

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b00p7hdm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Afternoon Reading (b009fpl3)
Pier Shorts

Ghost Train

Stories by new writers, inspired by Brighton's Palace Pier.

By Ambreen Hameed, read by Nina Wadia.

A young Muslim girl has a devastating experience on a school trip to Brighton. Haunted by the past, she finds herself mysteriously drawn back to the pier 20 years later.

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p7hdp)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p7hdr)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p7hdt)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b00p7hdw)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b00p7hdy)
The sound of bells from St Michael's Church, Kingsteignton in Devon.


SUN 05:45 Political Roots (b00p71ys)
Labour

Richard Reeves delves into the Labour Party and explores the background and philosophy of senior cabinet member Liam Byrne, Chief Secretary to the Treasury.


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b00p7hf0)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b00p7hf2)
The Blizzard's Dance

Mark Tully explores the lure - for some - of bitter cold and deep snow. What is this primal yearning for what is described by one writer as 'the thrill of the north coming to visit and staying for a while'?

The readers are Janice Acquah, Nicholas Boulton and Frank Stirling.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b00p7hf4)
Adam Henson visits Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire to learn how Iron Age Britons grew and produced food.

What can we learn about food and farming from ancient times that could help us in the 21st century, as food security becomes an increasing concern? The farm also keeps some of the ancient breeds of animal that our ancestors would have farmed including boar and soay sheep.

Adam hears how the animals fed small settlements of people who stored the meat underground, where it would keep for months, and watches David Freeman, an archeologist and expert in food, grinding a type of grain used 2,000 years ago to make bread.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b00p7hf6)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b00p7hf8)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b00p7hfb)
Roger Bolton discusses the religious and ethical news of the week. Moral arguments and perspectives on stories, both familiar and unfamiliar.


SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b00p7hfd)
Help the Hospices

Dr Ros Taylor appeals on behalf of Help the Hospices.

Donations to Help the Hospices should be sent to FREEPOST BBC Radio 4 Appeal, please mark the back of your envelope Help the Hospices. Credit cards: Freephone 0800 404 8144. If you are a UK tax payer, please provide Help the Hospices with your full name and address so they can claim the Gift Aid on your donation. The online and phone donation facilities are not currently available to listeners without a UK postcode.

Registered Charity Number 1014851.


SUN 07:58 Weather (b00p7hfg)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b00p7hfj)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b00p7hfl)
The People that walked in darkness (Isaiah 9:2-7)

A service for Advent from St Arvans Parish Church near Chepstow, led by Father Michael Gollop.

With the Polyphonic Choir, directed by Neil Ferris.

Organist: David Geoffrey Thomas.


SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b00p6vln)
Hermie's Ghost

A weekly reflection on a topical issue. Clive James reflects on the media coverage of man-made global warming and the need for minds to be open.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b00p7hfn)
In the week that saw the grim landmark of the hundredth soldier in Afghanistan to be killed this year, we look at the power of listing fallen soldiers' names.

Hugh Sykes joins us from Haifa in Israel, a town where it really is the holiday season: he's been to a festival celebrating Christmas, Eid and Hanukkah.

Nigel Wrench hears from the new generation of female playwrights, and at the Wimbledon Park Golf Club, golf lovers give us their views on the ongoing travails of Tiger Woods.

The papers are reviewed by weather god Michael Fish, inventor Trevor Baylis and Sunday Express columnist Julia Hartley-Brewer.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b00p7hfq)
The week's events in Ambridge.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b00p7hfs)
Lord Coe

Kirsty Young's castaway is Sebastian Coe.

It is more than a quarter of a century since his rivalry with fellow middle-distance runner Steve Ovett enraptured the nation.

After retiring from the racetrack, he enjoyed a career in politics. Now, though, his focus is on the Olympics once again - not on individual medals this time, but ensuring the 2012 games in London are a success.

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

Record: The Closest Thing to Crazy, Katie Melua
Book: Such Sweet Thunder: Benny Green on Jazz
Luxury: A piano and guide to playing it.


SUN 12:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b00p604t)
Series 52

Episode 4

The perennial antidote to panel games pays a visit to the Festival Theatre in Chichester, with Jack Dee taking the chairman's role.

Regulars Barry Cryer, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden are joined by David Mitchell.

With Colin Sell at the piano.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b00p7hfv)
Food and Art

Since cavemen first daubed images of bison on cave walls, food has proved a source of inspiration for artists. Caravaggio, Breugel, Cezanne and others all brought us the sensual delight, and symbolism, of food.

Sheila Dillon finds out what contemporary artists are making of this staple of the repetoire, visiting two exhibitions: A Net of Eels, created by artist Jake Tilson and photographer Kyoichi Tsuzuki, and Pot Luck: Food and Art, co-curated on the principles of a pot luck dinner by Cynthia Morrison-Bell, including works by Antony Gormley, Damien Hirst, Mona Hatoum and Gayle Chong Kwan.

Sheila is joined by art historian and critic Frank Whitford and Jake Tilson who give their views.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b00p7hfx)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b00p7hfz)
In an exclusive interview for this programme, America's Commander in the Middle East General David Petraeus defends setting a date to start the handover in Afghanistan.

And from the optimism of the Orange Revolution to a crisis appeal for emergency cash. As Ukraine prepares to elect a new President, we go there to find out what went wrong.


SUN 13:30 Music from Beyond the Veil (b00ljyn0)
Prof Paul Robertson examines the claims and counter-claims for musical mediumship and asks whether musical inspiration comes from within ourselves or if it could come from somewhere beyond.

He recounts the story of how, 40 years ago, a Balham housewife and medium with little musical training created a sensation when she claimed to have received new works from beyond the grave from Liszt, Brahms, Beethoven, Rachmaninov and other great composers. Rosemary Brown's abilities divided the musical world, with her supporters convinced that the works were genuine while her critics dismissed them as pastiche.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00p6vlb)
Eric Robson chairs the popular horticultural forum.

Bunny Guinness, Bob Flowerdew and Matthew Biggs answer questions from gardeners in Wallasey, Merseyside.

The team investigate the restoration of Liverpool's famous Stanley Park, and Matthew Wilson thumbs through some all-time classic garden literature.


SUN 14:45 Joan Armatrading's Favourite Choirs (b00bbxp5)
WorldSong

Joan Armatrading visits choral assemblies across the country.

She attends a rehearsal of WorldSong, a mixed voice choir in Coventry which specialises in singing unaccompanied songs from across the globe and whose founding principle is that anyone can sing. Joan also talks to the scientist who believes that singing really is beneficial to our health.


SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b00p7kyd)
Book 1: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Part 3

Dramatisation by Shaun McKenna of John le Carre's classic novel.

George Smiley, called back from retirement, is reaching the end of his hunt to find the mole he believes is tearing the British Secret Intelligence Service apart.

George Smiley ...... Simon Russell Beale
Ann Smiley ...... Anna Chancellor
Control ...... John Rowe
Peter Guillam ...... Ewan Bailey
Jim Prideaux ...... Anthony Calf
Mendel ...... Kenneth Cranham
Magyar ...... Peter Majer
Ricki Tarr ...... Jamie Foreman
Toby Esterhase ...... Sam Dale
Bill Haydon ...... Michael Feast
Karla ...... Philip Fox
Polyakov ...... Stephen Greif
Steve Mackelvore ...... Piers Wehner
Mrs McCraig ...... Kate Layden
Bill Roach ...... Ryan Watson

This episode is available until 3.00pm on Sunday 2nd May as part of the Series Catch-up Trial.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (b00p7m9g)
Colum McCann Interview and The Future of Bookshops

Mariella Frostrup talks to Colum McCann about his new novel Let The Great World Spin, which won the 2009 prestigious National Book Award in America. With Philippe Petit's breathless 1974 tightrope walk between the then unfinished World Trade Center Towers at its axis, it focuses on the lives of a disparate group of New York characters, including the viewpoint of Petit himself, whose own story was the subject of the award winning documentary Man on Wire. The novel celebrates the richness and diversity of New York through a range of rich and varied characters.

After Borders bookshop chain announced it was going into administration, the CEO of Hachette UK, Tim Hely Hutchinson; editor of The Bookseller, Neill Denny; and independent bookseller Patrick Neale discuss the future of the bookshop on the high street. Author Patrick Gale provides the writers' perspective.

There are over 1500 independent bookshops and 300 Waterstones, but the threat from online selling, the supermarket and the arrival of the e-book have all had an impact on where books are sold, and we consider the serious threat to the bookshop.

Producer Hilary Dunn.


SUN 16:30 Adventures in Poetry (b00p7m9j)
Series 10

On First Looking into Chapman's Homer

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

'Much have I travelled in the realms of gold...' Keats' sonnet - his first great poem - begins. Keats couldn't read Greek and the poem records him touching the ancient world through translation and his already fecund imagination. Peggy explores the stories behind its creation and its enduring appeal.


SUN 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p7mcj)
13th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

President FW de Klerk meets with Nelson Mandela.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (b00p66f4)
Cost-cutting in Forensic Science

The government's forensic science service is crucial to taclking crime, but is shedding hundreds of jobs and closing half its laboratory facilities in a drive to make the organisation more commercial. Fran Abrams investigates whether or not the aggressive cost-cutting in beginning to hit the way the service operates and consequently undermine justice.


SUN 17:40 From Fact to Fiction (b00p7h3t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b00p7mdr)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b00p7mhb)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p7mhd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b00p7mhg)
Ernie Rea introduces his selection of highlights from the past week on BBC radio.

The Choice - Radio 4
In Living Memory - Radio 4
World on 3 - Radio 3
Book of the Week: The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi - Radio 4
Andy Zaltzman's History of the Third Millennium - Radio 4
Mind Your Slanguage - Radio 4
Stuart Hall Night - Radio 5live
Going to Pieces in the Box - Radio 4
Winter Storm - Radio 4
Lead Belly: A Secret History of Rock and Roll - Radio 2
Between the Ears: The Great Bell - Radio 3
The Ladies of Pleasure - Radio Scotland
Tales From the Stave - Radio 4
Outlook - World Service.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b00p7mjw)
Jennifer takes Peggy to the antiques fair at Lower Loxley. Elizabeth is anxious to know if everything is set up for the publicity shoots. Nigel reassures her that Brenda will have everything in hand.

Later, Nigel finds Elizabeth on her laptop checking the long-range weather forecasts. To alleviate her concerns, Nigel gently reminds Elizabeth there are both indoor and outdoor activities.

Helen attempts to cheer Annette up with invitations to the antiques fair and to supper with Leon. Annette declines, saying she's got plans. Helen puts it down to Christmas being a family time, plus the news that Annette's going to lose her job at the shop.

To escape the flat, Annette makes an unplanned visit to Home Farm and is disappointed to hear that Alice will be out until late. Annette returns later to wait for Alice; Jennifer rather reluctantly offers Annette supper.

At 10 o'clock and with no sign of Alice, Jennifer firmly offers Annette a lift home. Annette insists on walking, saying the fresh air will do her good. Once alone Annette, dials Sonja's number and asks - and then begs and pleads - to be allowed to stay with her for Christmas.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.


SUN 19:15 Americana (b00p7mjy)
What do an American lumberjack, an ocean fisherwoman, a Republican senator and an evangelical Christian all have in common? They each have an opinion on climate change. Host Matt Frei is joined by Jon Meacham, the editor of Newsweek, to discuss American views on climate change and the week's other top news.

Matt Frei leads a roundtable discussion with American moms about the responsibilities they shoulder in times of economic crisis and in times of holiday cheer.

Hanukah begins this week and according to writer and performer Josh Lefkowitz, 'tis the season for Christmas envy.


SUN 19:45 Afternoon Reading (b0080dyw)
Sputnik

Gleeking

A selection of stories celebrating the Russian satellite which started the space race in 1957.

By Benjamin Markovits, read by Ryan McCluskey.

All-American Sam is less than thrilled with his new Yugoslavian stepbrother, known to his classmates as Sputnik.


SUN 20:00 More or Less (b00p6v3t)
Tim Harford and the More or Less team ask if claims made about energy efficient lightbulbs are true and if economies can grow forever. And they meet one of their greatest heroes: Sesame Street's Count von Count.

An Open University co production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b00p6vld)
Marking the lives of Irish folk singer Liam Clancy, ex-director of Radio Free Europe Jim Brown, campaigner for ordination of women Barbara Cawthorne and writer Geoffrey Moorhouse.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b00p7g8j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b00p7hfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 In Business (b00p6t28)
Sugaring the Pill

Brazil has been pioneering the use of ethanol for its vehicles for over three decades. Ethanol emits 90 per cent less emissions than gasoline. As world leaders debate climate change in Copenhagen, can Brazil convince the rest of the globe that sugar really is good for you?


SUN 21:58 Weather (b00p7mmn)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b00p7mmq)
Reports from behind the scenes at Westminster. Including The Watchdog and the Feral Beast.


SUN 23:00 1989: Day by Day Omnibus (b00p7mn9)
Week ending 12th December 1989

A look back at the events making the news 20 years ago, with Sir John Tusa.

Mrs Thatcher faces her first leadership challenge, East Germany elects a new leader and the president of Czechoslovakia swears in the country's first non-communist majority government in 41 years.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b00p7hf2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 14 DECEMBER 2009

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b00p7n3c)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b00p67tq)
Solo Living - Response to Wall Street

The number of people living in single person households has doubled since 1971. Why are more people living alone and what are the consequences for the environment and the economy? How do ideas in the popular press of the single lifestlye really match reality? Laurie Taylor talks to Lynn Jamieson, Professor of Sociology at the University of Edinburgh, and to Jan MacVarish from the University of Kent about one of the biggest demographic shifts since World War Two.

Also in the programme, Laurie discusses anthropological research into the culture of Wall Street. How much is the global economy influenced by the culture of bankers; are wider, brutal economic forces the more powerful player? Laurie talks to Professor of Sociology Robin Blackburn, from the University of Essex.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b00p7hdy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p7n4q)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p7n94)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p7n6n)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b00p7nc7)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00p7nhw)
Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b00p7njb)
What will you be serving this Christmas lunch? Charlotte Smith hears that goose sales are on the rise as an alternative to turkey and about plans for all Olympians to go to work on a free range egg. We also catch up with Geoff and Sue Nicholls who started farming their smallholding in January to see how they have fared this year.


MON 05:57 Weather (b00p87qt)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b00p7qlq)
With James Naughtie and Justin Webb. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b00p87qw)
Tom Sutcliffe explores the pitfalls of the web, with Evgeny Morozov arguing that it's exploited by dictators, and Andrew Dalby gives his views on Wikipedia. Amanda Goodall decries the prevalence of the professional manager, and the art historian David Boyd Haycock talks about the 'crisis of brilliance' of the Young British Artists of the early 1900s.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b00pcdpk)
Dear Granny Smith

Episode 1

A letter from your postman written by Roy Mayall and delivered by Philip Jackson; a heartfelt musing on the past, present and future role of one of the oldest British institutions, the Postie.

Why postmen used to have the best job in the world, and why it's heading towards becoming the worst.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00p84dy)
Sigourney Weaver on Avatar; Payments for egg donation

Actor Sigourney Weaver on Avatar. Plus, would you leave an eight year old home alone? And, should the amount paid for human egg donations be increased?


MON 11:00 Policing Britain (b00p87qy)
Policing for the 21st Century

Andy Hayman, former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, examines the challenges facing policing in Britain today.

When Andy Hayman left the Metropolitan Police in 2008 he was assistant commissioner, Special Operations, in overall charge of counter-terrorism. He had to deal with the suicide bomb attacks on London and the tragedy of the de Menezes shooting. Andy's 30-year career started straight out of school with the police in Essex and took him to the position of chief constable of Norfolk. In this series he takes a critical look at the challenges facing the police service in Britain today. He goes back on the beat and talks to former colleagues and those who work with the police at every level to ask the question, 'Do we have the policing we need in Britain today?'

A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 11:30 Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off (b00p87r0)
Series 4

Greece

He's back! But this time, he's got a computer! Budleigh Salterton's most famous citizen has been grounded by both the Home Office and his father, so he's set up GWH Travvel ("2 Ms, 2 Gs, 2 Vs - bit of a mix up at the printers").

Run from his bedroom in Budleigh Salterton, with the help of his long-suffering former Primary School teacher Mr Timmis and the hindrance of his sister Charlotte, it's a one-stop Travel/Advice/Events Management/Website service, where each week his schemes range far and wide - whether it's roaming the country lecturing would-be overlanders on how to pack a rucksack ("If in doubt, put it in. And double it"), or finding someone a zebra for a corporate promotion ("I'll look in the Phone Book - how hard can it be? Now, "A to D"...), GWH Travvel stays true to its motto - "We do it all, so you won't want to".

In this episode we see the struggle between the Apollonian and Dionysian principles as Giles travels to Greece on a desperate rescue mission and eats far too much halloumi.

Starring Marcus Brigstocke as Giles.

Cast:
Giles Wemmbley Hogg ..... Marcus Brigstocke
Professor Bakoyannis ..... Jack Klaff
Mr Timmis ..... Adrian Scarborough
Charlotte Wemmbley Hogg ..... Catherine Shepherd
Jeremy ..... James Bachman
Luke ..... Mark Evans
Aphrodite ..... Nina Millns
Colonel Yiannis ..... Chris Pavlo

Written by Marcus Brigstocke & Jeremy Salsby.

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


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b00p84qk)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.


MON 12:57 Weather (b00p84v9)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b00p84y5)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


MON 13:30 Brain of Britain (b00p87r2)
Russell Davies chairs the tenth, heat of the perennial general knowledge contest, with four contestants from Wales.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b00p7mjw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b00p8hk4)
The Tobacco Merchant's Lawyer

Glasgow 1780. Lawyer Enoch Dalmellington represents the ambiguities of Scottish society since the Union. He detests the corruption of Glasgow's merchants, but can't resist being bought off by them; he dreams of Scottish independence, but is too canny to mention it. And there's a wake-up call to a city whose history has always been more rich, varied and morally ambiguous than the dominant narrative of victimhood allows.

Dalmellington ..... Ian McDiarmid
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer

Iain Heggie was born in Glasgow in 1953. 'A Wholly Healthy Glasgow' , and his John Whiting award-winning play, American Bagpipes, both premiered at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, and were later seen at The Royal Court in London. Recent plays include' Love Freaks' (a new take of Double Inconstancy) and 'Sauciehall Street'.


MON 15:00 Archive on 4 (b00p03hw)
Lord Clark - Seeing Through The Tweed

Kenneth Clark is remembered as a tweedy patrician who lectured on the arts from a position of immense privilege. But Richard Weight argues that Clark was in fact a toff with a democratic mission, and that the BBC's Civilisation, first broadcast in 1969, was the culmination of a career that reveals much about 20th-century Britain.


MON 15:45 My Mile of the River (b00hhfcj)
Episode 1

Chris Tally Evans evokes the sights and sounds of the River Wye as it flows yards from his garden in Rhayader in Mid Wales.

Chris investigates a fungus which offers nature's vegetarian alternative to chicken, strolls through ancient woodland on the banks of the Wye, hunts for a yaffle and listens to the dusk chorus. He finds you don't have to be in the middle of nowhere to get away from it all.


MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b00p7hfv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b00p87r6)
Series 1

Quantum Physics

Physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince take a witty, irreverent and unashamedly rational look at the world according to science.

Physicist turned comedian Ben Miller joins Brian and Robin to discuss quantum physics, and if astrology really shares its roots with more scientific pursuits. They also discuss the largest scientific experiment ever undertaken, currently storming ahead in a large underground tunnel just outside Geneva.


MON 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p85qn)
14th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

Chile elects a civilian president to replace Augusto Pinochet.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 17:00 PM (b00p85sv)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p85v0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b00p885p)
Series 52

Episode 5

The perennial antidote to panel games pays a visit to the Futurist Theatre in Scarborough, with Jack Dee taking the chairman's role.

Regulars Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined by Jo Brand and Jeremy Hardy.

With Colin Sell at the piano.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b00p8501)
Nigel's impressed with Hayley's activity packs for the children, and asks her to show one to Elizabeth, who is still worrying about the Deck the Hall event. Nigel's delighted to hear that Brenda's arranged for the local TV news crew to come.

Hayley encourages Caz to attend the event and Helen has promised Nic she'll go with her and the children but, after her babysitting experience, doubts that she'll have a good time.

Caz confides to Clarrie that she's upset Lynda. She's exhausted and is missing Justin. Helen tells Clarrie she's not sure if she will see Leon at Christmas.

As Will prepares for the shoot, Brian urges him to give the guns a good day to ensure repeat business next year from the new corporate clients. But when Will spots a grey partridge coming down, he curses the stupidity of the man firing.

Later, Brian demands an explanation of Will's behaviour. The new client claimed that Will had been rude and offensive. Brian's appalled when Will admits he gave the man a good rollicking and reminds Will in no uncertain terms that he should keep a civil tongue in his head, always giving the client the benefit of the doubt.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b00p86bw)
James Cameron's Avatar has been 14 years in the making and is being touted as a breakthrough film in terms of the technology used to produce it, with specially-designed cameras and cutting-edge 3D graphics. The film is set on a planet called Pandora and charts the epic conflict between humans and the native species, known as the Na'vi, over the planet's resources.

Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr have teamed up with director Guy Ritchie in the latest film adaptation of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. The actors discuss their own interpretations of the famous roles of Holmes and Watson, and reveal if there really is a homoerotic subtext to their on-screen relationship.

Writer Andrew Davies joins Joanna Briscoe to discuss his adaptation of her love triangle novel Sleep With Me as a two-hour television drama starring Adrian Lester and Jodhi May.

A major new exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York features film director Tim Burton's drawings, sketches and writings going back to his childhood. Joanna Coles, editor in chief of Marie Claire magazine and star of reality TV show Running in Heels, reviews.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00p86by)
Mike Walker - Scumdog Millionaires

Episode 1

Financial thriller by Mike Walker.

When disgraced City trader Tim Ng is offered immunity from prosecution by the FSA, he is alarmed to discover what it is they want in return.

Tim Ng ...... David Tse Ka-Shing
Angela Chapman ...... Lizzie McInnerny
Kathy ...... Michelle Tate
Mother ...... Pik-sen Lim

Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.


MON 20:00 Things We Forgot to Remember (b00p8998)
Series 5

Chamberlain and 'Peace for our Time' 1938

Michael Portillo presents a series revisiting the great moments of history to discover that they often conceal other events of equal but forgotten importance.

Michael examines one of the most notorious events in Britain's 20th century history, Neville Chamberlain's declaration of 'peace for our time' to jubilant crowds on 30th September 1938.


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b00p6b3m)
Nablus

Six years ago, the second Palestinian Intifada - or uprising - was raging in the West Bank town of Nablus. This was an era when Palestinian militants regularly battled the Israeli Defence Force in the streets. The BBC's Alan Johnston reported from Nablus in those dark, dangerous days. Now, on his first assignment back in the Middle East since he was kidnapped in Gaza, he returns to the town to find out how life has changed.

He finds a community transformed: Israeli checkpoints have been dismantled, Palestinian troops patrol their own streets, and the economy is on the up; Nablus is breathing once more. But in the absence of a more lasting Middle East peace settlement, the mood is far from optimistic, and the outlook is complicated by disturbing allegations of human rights abuses within the occupied territories emanating from the Fatah/Hamas split in Palestinian politics.


MON 21:00 Frontiers (b00p89f4)
DNA Analysis of Asylum Seekers

The Border Agency is part way through its Human Provenance Pilot Project, trialling suggestions that DNA and isotope data can test asylum seekers' credentials. But scientific experts in these techniques say the science cannot deliver. Gerry Northam investigates.


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b00p87qw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b00p86h0)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b00p86ml)
National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah.

British Airways threatened with strike action over Christmas and New Year.

Greece faces austerity budget cutting.

Romania's hijacked revolution: 20 years on.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00p86mn)
The Ingoldsby Legends

The Lady Rohesia

Nicholas Murchie and Lucy Robinson read from a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poetry supposedly written by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, but actually penned by the Rev Richard Barham, first published in book form in 1840.

A distraught husband sits at the foot of his dying wife's bed, and considers who he might marry next.

Abridged by Robin Brooks.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b00p62jn)
Michael Rosen meets the consultants who will teach you how to speak more clearly, write more grammatically and even become a published author - at a price.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00p86qk)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Sean Curran.



TUESDAY 15 DECEMBER 2009

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b00p7n1t)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b00pcdpk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p7n3f)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p7n6q)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p7n4s)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b00p7n96)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00p7nc9)
Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b00p7nhy)
Anna Hill meets a farmer and his team working flat out to gather in the parsnip crop for the Christmas table, Charlotte Smith visits an aerobic digester that turns food waste into rich fertiliser, and do you know where your sausage has come from? Hopefully you soon will. A new code of conduct is being drawn up to deliver clear labelling for pork to state where the product has originated.


TUE 06:00 Today (b00p7qhk)
With Evan Davis and Sarah Montague. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 Defining The Decade (b00p89jk)
A Googling We Go

Edward Stourton tries to make sense of a decade in which history has been put on fast forward. There has been a revolution in the way we communicate, widespread alarm about the planet's very survival and a challenge to the world order. What does it mean for the way we live as we head into 2010?

The impact of the internet - dreamt up by visionaries, embraced by commerce and full of (not always welcome) surprises.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b00pgm8l)
Dear Granny Smith

Episode 2

A letter from your postman written by Roy Mayall and delivered by Philip Jackson; a heartfelt musing on the past, present and future role of one of the oldest British institutions, the Postie.

The special relationship between the postman and his clients, and what it's like to be up at the crack of dawn.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00pcht4)
Diplomat Alice Walpole; Human Trafficking Unit closure

HM Consul-General in Basra and mother of six Alice Walpole on motherhood and her role. Plus, the closure of the Human Trafficking Unit; and dealing with grief.


TUE 11:00 Sable Island: A Dune Adrift (b00p8c15)
One hundred miles east of Nova Scotia lies a 30-mile-long sand dune, Sable Island. It has a population of just two, who work in the weather and research station, and is also home to 300 wild horses. Sean Street reveals how this remote place is providing information vital to us all, and how it has gained a powerful presence in the imagination.

In the middle of the world's worst weather systems, held tentatively in place by ocean currents, Sable Island is the perfect place to monitor climate change, and air and sea pollution. More than 500 ships have been wrecked here. There have been several attempts at colonisation, by the Portuguese, the French (Sable is the French word for Sand) and even a group of prominent Bostonians, and all have failed. The story is cultural as well. Thomas Raddell, Nova Scotia's finest writer, was a radio operator on Sable for a year, and this inspired his novel The Nymph and the Lamp. The poet Elizabeth Bishop visited and wrote about the island.

Sean examines wreckage from some of more than 500 ships that have come to grief on the island. There is poignant baby's crib made from wreck wood, there being no trees. At the Natural History Museum in Halifax, he witnesses the unpacking of the latest consignment of bones and specimens - extraordinary ancient walrus skulls - collected as they are exposed in storms by Zoe Lucas, who has been on the island for decades. Sean meets artist Roger Savage, who had to tie his easel down, clamp his paper and battle with the scouring sand as he captured the landscape of the place in his paintings. And he meets a man who dedicated years to studying the rare Ipswich Sparrow, which nests only on Sable Island.

What emerges is that Sable Island is for the Canadians what the Galapagos are for the people of Ecuador, or Easter Island for Chileans. It is important scientifically and historically, but more than this it is important culturally, as part of their identity, even though hardly any of the Canadian population will ever go there.

Indeed, because of concern about climate change and damage to a unique and fragile ecosystem, people are now anxious not to go there. Which is just as well, because getting to, and from, Sable is difficult, with there being no harbour or regular air service. The wind blows almost constantly, and there is often thick fog. Access is restricted by the Canadian government as well as by nature.


TUE 11:30 Harry Worth: The Man in the Window (b00p8c17)
Glenn Mitchell pays tribute to the master of comic confusion, Harry Worth, one of the most popular - and subsequently most neglected - comedians of the 1960s. Mitchell interviewed Worth in 1987 and his recording forms the backbone of this tribute, in the 20th anniversary year of the comedian's death.

Harry Worth's television and radio shows drew comparisons with Tony Hancock, and the famous opening gag of his TV series, that of Harry posing beside a shop window so that his reflection suggests a man spreadeagled in mid-air, is still fondly remembered - and imitated - by public and professionals alike.

The programme tells his story through interviews with Harry and his friends and colleagues and, perhaps for the first time, explains why his career lost direction for over a decade before getting back on track shortly before his death. Including contributions from producers John Ammonds and William G Stewart and actor Jonathan Cecil.


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b00p84j9)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.


TUE 12:57 Weather (b00p84qm)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b00p84vc)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


TUE 13:30 Tales from the Stave (b00p8c19)
Series 5

Holst: The Planets

Frances Fyfield tracks down the stories behind the scores of well-known pieces of music.

Holst apparently hated the popularity of The Planets. He sat down to compose it in 1914 and it had its first performance in 1918. Given that English audiences were used to Elgar, this massive 'modern' orchestral work came as a huge surprise to concert goers, and they loved it. From the opening 5/4 tempo of the first movement of Mars, this could be considered one of the first great pieces of 20th-century English music.

Holst had recently heard the revolutionary compositions of Schoenberg and Stravinsky and in The Planets, he mixes harmonies and rhythms in the most dramatic way. Not all of the score is in his own hand, as he suffered from neuritis, so he sometimes used copyists to help with his composition.

Frances' guests select their favourite movements from the score, which is held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and they are joined by the curator Martin Holmes, who looks after the precious manuscripts there.

The seven movements don't include Pluto; that was only discovered in 1930, four years before his death. The success of The Planets overshadowed Holst's other compositions, which are quite different in style from his astrological depictions. While the piece is still popular in concert halls around the UK, its also familiar to film fans as it is frequently used in movies. What would Holst have made of its enduring popularity, 75 years after his death, and what would he have made of its use in computer games?


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b00p8501)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b00p8c1c)
HighLites: Pilot

by Steve Chambers and Phil Nodding

A small-town farce set in and around mean-minded Bev's hairdressing salon, High-Lites, where a little lie spreads through the village like wildfire.

Beverley ..... Lorraine Ashbourne
Shirley ..... Rosie Cavaliero
Matthew ..... Rhys Jennings
Alice ..... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Enid ..... Kate Layden
Nigel ..... John Biggins
Lois ..... Joannah Tincey
Butt ..... Ewan Hooper
Paramedic ..... Joseph Cohen-Cole

Director: Jessica Dromgoole

This afternoon play is the pilot for the comedy series that kicks off in the Woman's Hour next week.


TUE 15:00 Home Planet (b00p8c1f)
It's a biology based programme as we tackle your questions on insects and sea life. What, for example, killed the large number of bumblebees whose corpses were found beneath a tree last summer? Why are moths placid and easy to handle while their fluttery cousins, butterflies, are skittish and difficult to trap? And why do butterflies flit rather than simply flying in a straight line to their destination?

Then there's the challenge of taxonomy. Identifying closely related species is difficult, but getting it wrong can have dire implications for their conservation. Also, a question about evolution in action. Is anything evolving to eat the mountain of plastic pollution sloshing around in the oceans?

On the panel are marine biologist Dr Helen Scales; entomologist Richard Jones and environmental scientist from the University of London, Professor Philip Stott.


TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00p8cph)
Alice Munro - Too Much Happiness

Free Radicals

Series of short stories from the new collection by Canadian author Alice Munro.

A newly widowed woman, who is herself dying, is alone in the home she and her husband made their own after she had played the role of 'home wrecker' and replaced his first wife. But it is the first wife that she must look to when a stranger threatens at her own kitchen table.

Read by Barbara Barnes.

Abridged by Sally Marmion.


TUE 15:45 My Mile of the River (b00hmpzh)
Episode 2

Chris Tally Evans evokes the sights and sounds of the River Wye as it flows yards from his garden in Rhayader in Mid Wales.

It is summer on the River Wye, and Chris reports on the two-person wheelbarrow championship as it races through a ford, listens to the Wye Valley Axemen and witnesses the coronation of the Carnival Queen.


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b00p8dk8)
George Orwell left us a set of rules for writing about politics and public affairs - do they still apply? Michael Rosen and a panel of critics offer an Orwellian perspective on just one day in the discourse of the nation.


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b00p8dkb)
Series 20

Tennessee Williams

Matthew Parris presents the biographical series in which his guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.

American stand-up comedian Rich Hall discusses the life of playwright Tennessee Williams, whose work he first remembers seeing at a Kentucky drive-in cinema, rather than the theatre. With their vivid portrayal of the American south, poetic language and dark themes, works such as Cat on A Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire were snapped up by Hollywood as well as changing the direction of American theatre.

Rich Hall is joined by Williams' friend and biographer Dotson Rader to talk about the man himself: the early unhappiness that shaped his creative life, the prejudice he encountered due to his homosexuality, and his later unpopularity and decline into drink and prescription drugs. They discover a writer with a strong sense of humour, a devotion to his family and a desire to experiment with writing throughout his career. Was Williams' life a wasted one?


TUE 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p85qd)
15th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

Soviet human rights campaigner Andrei Sakharov dies.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 17:00 PM (b00p85rm)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p85sx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Sneakiepeeks (b00p8dkd)
Storm Warning

Beagle Team are tasked with the surveillance of a Russian billionaire. The nation's security and gas supply are at stake.

Comedy by Harry Venning and Neil Brand about a team of inept, backstabbing surveillance operatives.

Bill ...... Richard Lumsden
Sharla ...... Nina Conti
Mark ...... Daniel Kaluuya
Captain Le Clerc ...... Kevin Eldon
Bolkonski ...... Shaban Arifi
Boris ...... John Biggins
Russian Girls ...... Alex Tregear/Kate Layden
Russian Crew ...... Nigel Hastings/Ewan Hooper.

Producer: Katie Tyrrell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b00p84y7)
David tells Ruth that Pip and Jonathan will babysit while he takes Ruth for an anniversary meal. Ruth wonders why Pip won't be out celebrating the end of term but David suspects she's had enough after looking after her drunken friend recently.

Peggy's given the go-ahead for the community shop. Brian's frustrated that Peggy has shelved the plan to convert the shop to a flat. Brian tells David about the incident at the shoot. While admiring Will's conviction, Brian thinks that Will needs to learn to play the game. David appreciates Brian's opinion on the leaflets for the meat boxes, and they toast each other's future success.

The Lies have a gig at The Tramshed. Jazzer acts as the band's roadie and Fallon's bouncer, and is very attentive, showing excessive concern for Fallon's well-being. Fallon thanks him for everything he's done and is shocked to find that Jazzer had failed to notice a hot blonde at the bar. Jazzer confirms Fallon's suspicion that there's a special someone else Jazzer has his eye on. She advises him to buy flowers and be romantic to prove that he's serious; Fallon promises it'll make the girl melt. Flowers do it every time.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b00p85v4)
Daniel Day-Lewis heads an all-star cast in the new film Nine, directed by Rob Marshall, whose 2002 film Chicago won six Oscars. Adam Mars-Jones reviews the film, which focuses on an arrogant film director whose personal life begins to crumble as he turns to his wife, his lover and his mother for inspiration.

As Sir Terry Wogan prepares to step down from his Radio 2 morning show Wake Up To Wogan, he looks back over his long and successful career and his move to a new weekend primetime slot.

It's the time of year when the airwaves are flooded with Christmas songs, new and old. For Front Row's Christmas Juke Box Jury, David Hepworth and Natalie Haynes cast an ear over this Christmas's offerings and vote whether they should end up in the box marked 'Cracker' or 'Turkey'.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00pbqv9)
Mike Walker - Scumdog Millionaires

Episode 2

Financial thriller by Mike Walker.

Though disgraced City trader Tim Ng has been offered immunity from prosecution, his ransacked apartment suggests he is not quite out of the woods.

Tim Ng ...... David Tse Ka-Shing
Kathy ...... Michelle Tate
Grant Brunner ...... Nigel Hastings

Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.


TUE 20:00 The New Art of Diplomacy (b00p8dz6)
Episode 1

James Naughtie asks if British diplomacy is still fit for purpose.

A century ago, much of the map of the world was coloured with the pink of the British Empire. Britain's diplomats reigned supreme, with the reassurance of a gunboat to support them. Much has changed since that time, and continues to change. As Britain faces new threats and new priorities across the globe, how are the foreign office and its diplomats changing?


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b00p8fv8)
The Intel Reader is a new high-tech device to help visually-impaired people access printed material. It is a portable machine, about the size of a paperback book, weighing roughly a pound. A small camera takes an image of the item to be read and electronically turns this into digital form. The text is then displayed on a small television-like monitor or read to the user by way of synthetic speech.

Lee Kumutat travels to Coventry to meet Karina Gregory, the third job-seeker who volunteered to share their experiences with the In Touch audience. Karina has just landed a job and talked to Lee about the difficulties she faced beforehand. The main problem was that, as a blind person, she was unable to get work experience to put her on the first rung of the employment ladder. Lee says that in Australia they have a scheme which is similar to work experience and allows disabled people to do paid work in order to give them experience of work before they apply to a job.

Mani Djazmi also updates us on three key stories: the Action for Blind People Centre in Carlisle, the RNC new principal Geoff Draper agrees to appear on the programme in the new year, and, since it trialled being a 'silent' station, Birmingham New Street has reintroduced announcements for departing trains.


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b00p8fvb)
Anxious Children - Remembering Stories - West Park Psychiatric Hospital

Claudia Hammond interviews Dr Sam Cartwright-Hatton about her latest research with anxious children. After a 10-week course teaching parents how to manage their children's behaviour, over 60 per cent of the children were free from their main anxiety.

Have you ever found yourself telling someone the same story? A new study from Toronto shows that we all have a tendancy to do this. The reason is how we store information in the brain. While our memories are good at recording who told us a story they are weaker when it comes to remembering who we have told something to. Claudia interviews Canadian reseacher Dr Nigel Gopie.

The closing of the asylums began in the 1960s, and since then many have been demolished or converted into flats. But their history holds a fascination for achivists like Julian Pooley from the Surrey History Centre and artist Rachel Gadsden, whose work is inspired by derelict asylums. Claudia accompanies them to West Park, a psychiatric hospital which was closed in 2005. Together with Janet Searle, who has worked at the hospital for nearly 30 years, they discuss the legacy of the asylums.


TUE 21:30 Defining The Decade (b00p89jk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b00p86fs)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b00p86h2)
National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah.

The defence secretary announces spending cuts.

Is Al Qaeda establishing a stronghold in Yemen?

Progress at the Copenhagen talks?

Preparing for Christmas in cash-strapped Rotherham.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00pbv8p)
The Ingoldsby Legends

The Leech of Folkestone, Part 1

Nicholas Murchie and Lucy Robinson read from a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poetry supposedly written by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, but actually penned by the Rev Richard Barham, first published in book form in 1840.

In the depths of Romney Marsh, an avaricious woman, bored with her tedious husband, plots with her doctor to get rid of her spouse. But it seems that more than normal medication is to be employed.

Abridged by Robin Brooks.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:00 Vent (b01flqm7)
Series 3

Victoria

Ben begins to resent being pushed around, and imagines a different life back in Victorian times when he might have got things his own way a bit more often - until he gets into an argument with Benjamin Disraeli...

Dark sitcom about a man in a coma, travelling through the distinctly odd landscape of his own unconscious mind.

Written by Nigel Smith.

Ben ...... Neil Pearson
Mary ...... Fiona Allen
Mum ...... Josie Lawrence
Blitz ...... Leslie Ash
Nurse ...... Jo Martin
Derek ...... Stephen Frost
Marley ...... Spencer Brown
Disraeli ...... Matthew Kelly
Bea ...... Scarlett Milburn-Smith
Grocer ...... Nigel Hastings

Director: Nigel Smith

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00p86qc)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Susan Hulme.



WEDNESDAY 16 DECEMBER 2009

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b00p7n1w)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b00pgm8l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p7n3h)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p7n6s)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p7n4v)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b00p7n98)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00p7ncc)
Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b00p7nj0)
Anna Hill assesses the state of the UK fishing industry with the help of Nikki Hale of the Eastern England Fisheries Association. Meetings are taking place to decide future fishing quotas.

The programme also follows the Christmas rush for farmers who provide us with the foods we enjoy over the festive season.


WED 06:00 Today (b00p7qhm)
With Justin Webb and Sarah Montague. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day, Yesterday in Parliament.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b00p8hjs)
Marawa Ibrahim is a virtuoso of the hula hoop, dazzling audiences across the world with her unique brand of circus and cabaret. After a nomadic childhood, she graduated with a BA from the Melbourne National Institute for Circus Arts. She is currently spinning up to 60 hoops at a time, performing with La Clique at Camden's Roundhouse.

In the early 1970s, Vratislav Brabenec joined an underground rock band called The Plastic People of the Universe. Members of the band were routinely arrested and interrogated by the police and in 1976, an arrest for 'disturbing the peace' led to a year in prison for Vratislav and others. It was this event which triggered the formation of Charter 77 and, ultimately, changed the political scene in Czechoslovakia.

Actor Tim Pigott-Smith has worked extensively in theatre, television and film, most recently in the hit play Enron, which is about to transfer to the West End. He is still probably best known for playing the sinister Ronald Merrick in ITV's Jewel in the Crown. Enron is at the Noel Coward Theatre.

Val Doonican played clubs, dance halls and theatres all over Ireland, Britain and Germany for 17 years, but it took just one major TV appearance, from the London Palladium in 1964, to turn him into a star overnight. His television show on the BBC ran for 25 years, with his trademark rocking chair and colourful sweaters. His complete autobiography, My Story, My Life is published by JR Books.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b00pgm7m)
Dear Granny Smith

Episode 3

A letter from your postman written by Roy Mayall and delivered by Philip Jackson; a heartfelt musing on the past, present and future role of one of the oldest British institutions, the Postie.

Delivering letters is just the tip of the iceberg - how does the right letter end up in the right letterbox?

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00pchsm)
Women in the noughties: what's been achieved?

A special edition of the programme, looking at the first decade of the 21st century. What have, or haven't, the noughties done for women?


WED 11:00 In Living Memory (b00p8hjw)
Series 11

The Afghan Crisis

Contemporary history series.

Jolyon Jenkins talks to the pilots, passengers and policemen involved in the UK's longest plane hijack, in February 2000, when an airliner on a routine internal flight in Afghanistan was forced at gunpoint to fly to Britain.


WED 11:30 Ballylenon (b00p8hjy)
Series 7

Episode 4

Monsignor McFadden has declared that Miss Maconchy's alleged 'vision' at Lourdes needs careful investigation - jeopardising Phonsie Doherty's plans for a festival of light.

Series set in the sleepy town of Ballylenon, Co Donegal in 1959.

Written by Christopher Fitz-Simon.

Muriel Maconchy ...... Margaret D'Arcy
Vera Maconchy ...... Stella McCusker
Phonsie Doherty ...... Gerard Murphy
Vivienne Hawthorne ...... Annie McCartney
Stumpy Bonner ...... Gerard McSorley
Rev Samuel Hawthorne ...... Miche Doherty
Aubrey Frawley ...... Matthew Addis
Daniel O’Searcaigh ...... James Greene

Pianist: Michael Harrison

Director: Eoin O'Callaghan

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b00p84jc)
Consumer news and issues with Julian Worricker.


WED 12:57 Weather (b00p84qp)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b00p84vf)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


WED 13:30 The Media Show (b00p8hk2)
After X Factor, what of Simon Cowell's plans for a Political X Factor? He has told the BBC he'd be interested in running a political referendum TV programme. Is he serious and could it succeed? Kelvin Mackenzie has tried something similar before, called Vote for Me, and debates the idea with Michael White of the Guardian.

Does the public know as much as it should about the level of crime? We hear claims that stories are being withheld just to reduce fear of crime.

The Christmas edition of the Radio Times is bigger than ever, but its circulation is a fraction of what it was at its peak in the 1980s. The magazine's new editor, Ben Preston, gives his view on its future.

And there's been a judgement in Europe that supports journalists' rights to protect their sources - are European courts more supportive of investigate journalism than those in the UK?


WED 14:00 The Archers (b00p84y7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b00p87r4)
Guilty Until Proved Innocent

By Deborah Davis. When Dina and Jake rush their baby daughter to hospital, little do they realise that it is the beginning of a Kafkaesque nightmare from which it seems there is no escape.

Dina ...... Maxine Peake
Jake ...... Dan Stevens

With Kate Layden, David Hargreaves, Melissa Advani, Joseph Cohen-Cole, Tessa Nicholson, Rhys Jennings, Piers Wehner and Nigel Pilkington.

Directed by Tracey Neale.


WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b00p8hk6)
Paul Lewis and a panel of guests answer calls on credit cards, loans and repairing your credit report.

Guests:

James Jones, consumer education manager, Experian
Peter Harrison, cards channel manager, Moneysupermarket
David Black, banking specialist, Defaqto

Producer: Diane Richardson.


WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00p8d9s)
Alice Munro - Too Much Happiness

Some Women

Series of short stories from the new collection by Canadian author Alice Munro.

Set in a time when 'the streets were sprinkled with water to lay the dust in the summer' and 'people with leukemia went to bed, and after some weeks' or months' decline in a tragic atmosphere, they died.'

At the Crozier house a man lies dying. When his wife is at work, his stepmother lays on a form of distraction and the young girl brought in to help care for him begins to understand the complexities of adult life.

Read by Barbara Barnes.

Abridged by Sally Marmion.


WED 15:45 My Mile of the River (b00hs8xl)
Episode 3

Chris Tally Evans evokes the sights and sounds of the River Wye as it flows yards from his garden in Rhayader in Mid Wales.

Chris walks the banks of the Wye and discovers how important the river has been to the economy of the town of Rhayader - legally and not so legally. Stories of tanneries, mills, flannel works, electricity and poaching.


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b00p912j)
Prison Clothing - Lewes Arms Boycott

Laurie Taylor explores the history of clothing behind bars.

From broad arrows on prisoners suits in the 19th century to the orange jumpsuits worn by inmates of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, the uniform prisoners wear reflects the regime they are being punished by. Laurie is joined by Juliet Ash from the Royal Collge of Art and Elizabeth Wilson from the London College of Fashion to undress the history of prison clothing and discuss what it reveals about the social cultural and political context of the time.

Also in the programme, Paul Sparks from Sussex University discusses the importance of the local pub and the power of the boycott.


WED 16:30 All in the Mind (b00p8fvb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p85qg)
16th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

East Germany discusses what do to after dismantling the Stasi.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 17:00 PM (b00p85rp)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p85sz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking (b00p912l)
Series 3

Episode 5

Naive office worker Adrian is offered a job as the new Robson and Jerome, the United Planetary Super Council is invaded by a space-fiend and a strange German woman takes over the Shipping Forecast.

Perrier Award-winning comedian Laura Solon with more sketches, monologues and one-liners.

With:

Ben Moor
Rosie Cavaliero
Ben Willbond

Producer: Colin Anderson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b00p84y9)
Jazzer asks Fallon where she will be at 6.30 that evening, and who else will be around at that time. Fallon thinks he's acting a bit weird.

Later, Fallon can't help laughing at Jazzer's romantic efforts - a bunch of carnations. When Jazzer moans that the mystery girl is way out of his league, Fallon recommends that Jazzer should go to town on making her feel like a real princess.

As Caz waits for Clarrie to come home, she and Nic share stories about the traumas of being a mum. Nic invites Caz to join her and Helen on a Lower Loxley walk.

Elizabeth is anxiously checking on the Deck the Hall event arrangements for tonight's dummy run. Nigel reassures her it'll be ok, and wants her to take things easier. Vicky's told Nigel that Eddie will be selling the kissing boughs at the Christmas Eve market.

Nigel is pleased at everyone's reactions to the fairy grotto but has another surprise in store.
As people walk on the path towards the lake, he blasts out the music from 'Jaws' instead of the expected 'White Christmas'. Elizabeth's laughter pleases Nigel; he knew he could get a smile out of her somehow.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b00p85v6)
A new stage version of Theodore Seuss Geisel's The Cat in The Hat, directed by Katie Mitchell for the Cottesloe Stage at the National Theatre in London, is aimed at three- to six-year-olds. Mark Ecclestone, armed with the opinions of several children, reviews.

London's Wigmore Hall recently launched a series of concerts devoted to the countertenor voice, a register which has confused audiences over the years, and at times been accused of sounding unnatural. Three countertenors at different stages of their careers talk to Mark Lawson about perfecting the upper realms of the male voice.

Rupert Everett, David Tennant, Sarah Harding and Celia Imrie star in St Trininan's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, the follow-up to the 2007 film. Kate Saunders reviews.

Front Row's selection of crime books for Christmas is made by critic Jeff Parks.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00pbqv1)
Mike Walker - Scumdog Millionaires

Episode 3

Financial thriller by Mike Walker.

After Tim's visit to Grant Brunner, someone ran him off the road and tried to kill him. He decides to pay Brunner another visit to find out why.

Tim Ng ...... David Tse Ka-Shing
Angela Chapman ...... Lizzie McInnerny
Kathy ...... Michelle Tate
Mother ...... Pik-sen Lim
Grant Brunner ...... Nigel Hastings
Spook ...... Rhys Jennings

Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.


WED 20:00 Unreliable Evidence (b00p91qf)
European Law: After Lisbon

Clive Anderson presents the series analysing the legal issues of the day.

European law has been described as an incoming tide which cannot be held back. Will the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty generate a legal tsunami which will overwhelm British sovereignty? Are we governed by our own laws or the law of Europe?


WED 20:45 The Watchdog and the Feral Beast (b00p2z8p)
Episode 1

Sir Christopher Meyer, press watchdog until this year as chairman of the Press Complaints Commission and former press secretary at Number 10, discusses the role of the press today. Is the press today freedom's guardian or is it a 'feral beast', as Tony Blair described the media at the end of his premiership?

Sir Christopher draws on his personal experience as press watchdog and government spokesman. In his six years chairing the PCC, where he dealt with complaints against newspapers and magazines, he championed a free press and self-regulation, but had to contend with controversies that sometimes strained people's trust in the press.

His health check on the press comes at a time when opinion is polarised. Is the press out of control, or is it more constrained than ever before by the law? Is the press destroying trust in our democracy, or are politicians giving the press undue importance by courting editors and journalists? Is the press too powerful, or is it vulnerable because of competition from the internet, much of it free and unregulated?

And now that the printed word and audio-visual content appear together on the same website, what is the future for self-regulation by the press?


WED 21:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b00p87r6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Monday]


WED 21:30 Midweek (b00p8hjs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b00p86fv)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b00p86h4)
National and international news and analysis.

Chaos, confusion and crisis in Copenhagen.

The latest on the planned BA strike.

Scientists crack cancer's gene code.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00pbv8r)
The Ingoldsby Legends

The Leech of Folkestone, Part 2

Nicholas Murchie and Lucy Robinson read from a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poetry supposedly written by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, but actually penned by the Rev Richard Barham, first published in book form in 1840.

In the depths of Romney Marsh, an avaricious woman, bored with her tedious husband, plots with her doctor to rid herself of her spouse. But it seems that more than normal medication is to be employed.

Abridged by Robin Brooks.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:00 Bespoken Word (b00lh2dp)
Mr Gee presents the performance poetry series. Scroobius Pip gives his update on a classic theme with his poem Mr Otis Regrets. Also appearing are Dockers MC and Matthew Duffy.


WED 23:15 All Bar Luke (b00dkgrz)
Series 3

The Cruise

Poignant comedy drama series by Tim Key.

Luke gets stranded on his way home from Calais with a people-carrier full of wedding booze and a comatose groom-to-be.

An Angel Eye Media production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00p86qf)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with David Wilby.



THURSDAY 17 DECEMBER 2009

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b00p7n1y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b00pgm7m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p7n3k)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p7n6v)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p7n4x)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b00p7n9b)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00p7ncf)
Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b00p7nj2)
Charlotte Smith hears from one farmer how the Defra fund available for flooded farmers is not enough and the programme visits a Brussels sprout farmer in Lincolnshire as he gathers in the Christmas crop. And in light of the recent scathing report on the Rural Payments Agency, one farmer tells of his experiences with the agency.


THU 06:00 Today (b00p7qhp)
With Justin Webb and Sarah Montague. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.


THU 09:00 1989: Simpson Returns (b00p91x6)
Episode 3

The BBC's World Affairs Editor John Simpson tells the story of 20 years of post-communist life. Through personal stories, he traces the different roads that East Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania have taken since 1989.

John witnessed at first hand the bloody overthrow of the Ceausescu regime. The brutal dictator and his wife were executed on Christmas Day 1989, with the dramatic scenes played out on TV. John returns to Bucharest 20 years later to assess what has happened since.


THU 09:30 Avoiding the Question (b00nfqzn)
Jon Sopel explores the techniques used by different politicians to avoid questions in interviews and how it affects their public image.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b00pgm7p)
Dear Granny Smith

Episode 4

A letter from your postman written by Roy Mayall and delivered by Philip Jackson; a heartfelt musing on the past, present and future role of one of the oldest British institutions, the Postie.

The end of the team talk and the beginning of new-fangled machinery.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00pchsp)
Theatre for older children; Hair loss and wig styles

What can fill the gap once children outgrow panto? Plus, finding the right wig, and the return of the women's tailored suit.


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b00p91x8)
Rio Law

Brazil is booming economically and growing in confidence on the world stage, but in the city of Rio de Janeiro law and order have been turned upside down. Gangs run the prisons and ruthless militias - often made up of former police officers - control many shanty towns, killing with impunity. Lucy Ash asks if the authorities can end the rule of gangs, guns and greed.


THU 11:30 Protected by Faith (b00p928z)
John Waite investigates the restoration and conservation work undertaken by the Vatican Secret Archives laboratory, one of the world's most technologically advanced conservation labs.

John visits the lab and asks how cutting-edge science and religion sit side by side, why the Vatican undertakes this task, what types of documents are hidden away in the Archive and who has access to them.

Away from the Vatican, he discovers how the work of the Secret Archives compares to other conservation and preservation teams.


THU 12:00 You and Yours (b00p84jf)
Consumer news and issues with Winifred Robinson.


THU 12:57 Weather (b00p84qr)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b00p84vh)
National and international news with Martha Kearney.


THU 13:30 Off the Page (b00p93sw)
How's My Driving?

Having a driving licence used to be proof you'd grown up and could move about on your own; now it is almost a guilty pleasure.

Dominic Arkwright borrowed a car to get to the studio to meet entrepreneur Alison Larkman (who walked), broadcaster Chris Serle (on his motor scooter) and actor Patrick Field (bike, train and bike) to consider the point of driving in the 21st century.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b00p84y9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b007w0j2)
Rumpole and the Reign of Terror

Truth Makes All Things Plain

Another case for John Mortimer's foxy barrister.

If one man can be counted on to fight injustice and insist on a fair and decent trial for everyone, whatever their circumstances, Horace Rumpole is he. So when beautiful Tiffany Khan learns that her husband has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism, she calls on him right away.

Horace Rumpole ...... Timothy West
Hilda Rumpole ...... Prunella Scales
Judge Bullingham ...... Christopher Benjamin
Tiffany Khan ...... Lily Bevan
'Soapy Sam' Ballard ...... Michael Cochrane
Bonny Bernard ...... Bruce Alexander
Dr Mahmood Khan ...... Shiv Grewal
Barrington Whiteside ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Will Timson ...... Ben Crowe
Peter Plaistow ...... Christopher Scott
Mrs Justice Templett ...... Joanna David
Fred Sugden ...... Kim Durham
Ian Antrim ...... Nigel Anthony

Directed by Marilyn Imrie

A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 15:00 Open Country (b00nrvrh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:07 on Saturday]


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b00p7hfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b00p8d9v)
Alice Munro - Too Much Happiness

Wood

Series of short stories from the new collection by Canadian author Alice Munro.

The story of a marriage and a moment in time when what was lost is regained, and the mixed emotions that engenders. A late afternoon in a snowy wood and a casual, careless slip are all it takes

Read by Barbara Barnes.

Abridged by Sally Marmion.


THU 15:45 My Mile of the River (b00hy5yr)
Episode 4

Chris Tally Evans evokes the sights and sounds of the River Wye as it flows yards from his garden in Rhayader in Mid Wales.

On a freezing autumn morning, Chris watches at dawn for otters. And on a freezing morning, he invokes the sights and sounds of his patch as the town wakes up.


THU 16:00 Open Book (b00p7m9g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:30 Material World (b00p337y)
In the long term, if carbon emissions are not controlled, global warming may be even greater than current predictions, according to new research. Quentin Cooper hears how a study of climate three million years ago - the last time carbon dioxide levels were high - suggests that long-term changes to vegetation and ice caps will lead to an even warmer world.

Also in the programme, how burning coal in China may change cancer rates as well as the climate. A new British telescope, VISTA, to reveal the heat of creation and a breakthrough in understanding cancer as the genome of lung and skin cancers are mapped for the first time.


THU 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p85qj)
17th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

Labour select Peter Mandelson to stand as an MP.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 17:00 PM (b00p85rr)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p85t1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 Andy Zaltzman's History of the Third Millennium, Series 1 of 100 (b00p940t)
The Global Economy

Political comedian Andy Zaltzman presents a decade-by-decade comic analysis of the third millennium, covering the 2000-2009 period of what is already shaping up to be a troubled thousand years.

Andy applies his twisted logic to subjects including banking, corporate fraud and the credit crunch. Where did it all go wrong?

With Rory Bremner, Bridget Christie, Lucy Montgomery and Kim Wall.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b00p84yc)
Lynda won't tell Robert why she's feeling a bit low. He takes her shopping in Felpersham as a treat. She eventually confides in Robert that she feels a failure as Caz's visit hasn't gone as anticipated. Robert sets her mind at rest. Once Caz recovers from feeling tired, she will realise how important Lynda is to Caz and Oscar.

Back home, Lynda is delighted at Caz's friendly and positive response to the sweater that Lynda has bought for Justin.

While out shopping in Borchester, Fallon jokes with Kirsty about Jazzer's bunch of carnations. They spot Leon taking a girl - not Helen - into a pizzeria and decide to watch him. Kirsty confronts Leon but accepts his explanation that the girl, Jolanta, is Polish and has just started working at Whispers. He is giving her a guided tour in return for her advice to him on buying Helen's Christmas present. He offers to show Kirsty and Fallon what he has bought, but they say it's not necessary.

When he's gone they agree how nice it was of him to think things through to that extent. He's a great guy and that Helen's so lucky to have him.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b00p85vb)
Catherine Tate talks about reinventing A Christmas Carol with her foul-mouthed Nan as Scrooge and David Tennant as The Ghost of Christmas Present.

The notorious 1924 murder of a 14-year-old boy by two wealthy 18-year-olds inspired Patrick Hamilton's 1929 play Rope, Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 film, the 1990s film Swoon and John Logan's play Never The Sinner. Adrian Wootton examines the plays and films inspired the Leopold and Loeb murder case.

Conrad Shawcross on the inspiration he gets from the Science Museum in London, where he is Artist in Residence for a year.

Christina Hardyment reccommends audio books, from an Apache helicopter pilot on ops in Afghanistan to Ralph Fiennes reading TS Eliot's Four Quartets.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00pbqv3)
Mike Walker - Scumdog Millionaires

Episode 4

Financial thriller by Mike Walker.

Disgraced City trader Tim Ng has been offered immunity from persecution by the FSA, but it soon becomes clear that the real subject of their investigations is Tim's father, a billionaire banker living in Hong Kong.

Tim Ng ...... David Tse Ka-Shing
Kathy ...... Michelle Tate
Mother ...... Pik-sen Lim
Father ...... Lobo Chan
Politician ...... Nigel Hastings
Spook ...... Rhys Jennings
Restaurateur ...... Kate Layden

Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.


THU 20:00 The Report (b00p944h)
Ambulance Response Times

On the eve of what 999 ambulance crews have dubbed Black Friday -traditionally their busiest day of the year - Gill Dummigan investigates how they are meeting tough new government targets for response times. Critics say it's resulting in some areas getting inadequate cover with critically ill patients enduring long waits for medical help.


THU 20:30 In Business (b00p944k)
Let Me Entertain You

What can business leaders learn from rock musicians and improvisational comedians? Peter Day finds out.


THU 21:00 What Scientists Believe (b00p945q)
Episode 2

Philosopher Stephen Webster investigates the links between scientists' personal beliefs and their scientific work. He wants to know how an individual scientist's personal, psychological and intellectual qualities map onto their chosen area of science. How much of a scientist's personality is reflected in their work? Should subjective private beliefs be a part of objective scientific outcomes? What happens if tensions develop between a scientist's beliefs and the formal demands of science? If tensions arise, how can they be resolved?

Stephen meets Clare Lloyd, Professor of Respiratory Immunology, who runs a busy medical research lab at Imperial College, London. Her lab investigates asthma and how allergens can inflame nasal airways, especially in small babies. Clare talks to Stephen about the pressures of running a research lab, and how she goes about providing her team with a productive working environment. As a Principal Investigator, Clare has to encourage and inspire her researchers. She also has to secure finance for her research projects and make sure the lab runs smoothly and effectively, because ultimately, Clare's success as a scientist will be judged by her academic results.


THU 21:30 1989: Simpson Returns (b00p91x6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:58 Weather (b00p86fx)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b00p86h6)
National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah.

Robin Lustig reports from Copenhagen on the latest news from the climate change summit.

Examining union tactics in the BA dispute.

A report on the Irish school system.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00pbv8t)
The Ingoldsby Legends

Bloudie Jacke

Nicholas Murchie and Lucy Robinson read from a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poetry supposedly written by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, but actually penned by the Rev Richard Barham, first published in book form in 1840.

A grisly and comic poetic tale concerning a local Bluebeard, intent on causing havoc wherever he roams.

Abridged by Robin Brooks.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:00 Chain Reaction (b0092j13)
Series 4

Richard Wilson Interviews Arabella Weir

TV's famous grumpy ensioner passes the baton to the Fast Show gal in the relay chat show.

Chain Reaction is the tag talk show with a twist where the guest becomes the interviewer in the next show.

Based on the original 1991 BBC Radio 5 programme of the same name, Chain Reaction is a simple idea of big name stars from the world of entertainment interviewing others whose work they appreciate and admire.

Recorded with an audience, the interviews focus on the life, career and the passions of the interviewee but often prove to be as revealing about the interviewer.

Producer: Tilusha Ghelani.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2008


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b00p86qh)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Mark D'Arcy.



FRIDAY 18 DECEMBER 2009

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b00p7n20)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b00pgm7p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b00p7n3m)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b00p7n6x)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b00p7n4z)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b00p7n9d)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b00p7nch)
Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b00p7nj4)
The animal disease Q Fever has hit Dutch agriculture but UK farmers are told not to panic, and Anna Hill meets a bee keeper whose colony has collapsed. Sarah Swadling meets clotted cream producers as they gear up for the busy Christmas period.


FRI 06:00 Today (b00p7qhs)
With John Humphrys and Evan Davis. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b00p7hfs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b00pgm7r)
Dear Granny Smith

Episode 5

A letter from your postman written by Roy Mayall and delivered by Philip Jackson; a heartfelt musing on the past, present and future role of one of the oldest British institutions, the Postie.

The tale of Tom and Jerry and the big grey boxes.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b00pchsr)
James May on manliness; Carol Ann Duffy interviewed

Top Gear presenter James May on how the true concept of manliness is being undermined. Plus, poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy interviewed.


FRI 11:00 Sam's Diabetes: The Search for a Cure (b00l30sb)
Justin Webb finds out what the future holds for his son, Sam, who has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and the millions of other children like him.

He explores why rates of type 1 are rising in the UK, in younger children and more aggressively. Through his own experience with Sam, he discovers the complexities involved in keeping a diabetic child healthy.

Justin talks to some of the world's leading figures working at the frontier of biomedicine who think they may have unlocked the key to curing the disease and those who are trying to find a way of preventing it. And he finds out what uphill struggles they face when trying to beat a disease for which the causes remain unclear.

As a parent struggling to understand the impact that diabetes will have on his son's life, both immediately and in the long term, Justin explores what options are available to his child, and the thousands of children like him.

An All Out production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 11:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00p94fm)
Series 5

Beer Cruise

Arthur's off on a day trip to France with his friends – and he's brushed up his French. Stars Steve Delaney. From December 2009.


FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b00p84jh)
Consumer news and issues with Peter White.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b00p84qt)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b00p84vk)
National and international news with Shaun Ley.


FRI 13:30 More or Less (b00p94fp)
Tim Harford and the More or Less team find out who really pays most tax and why Christmas shopping is, to one economist, an orgy of 'value destruction'.

An Open University co production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b00p84yc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b007wh3p)
Rumpole and the Reign of Terror

The Past Catches up with us All

Abother case for John Mortimer's foxy barrister.

As he struggles to win justice for his client, Rumpole also becomes embroiled in the mysterious ways of She Who Must Be Obeyed. His marriage, rather like his waistcoat, suddenly appears to be straining at the seams.

Horace Rumpole ...... Timothy West
Hilda Rumpole ...... Prunella Scales
Claude Erskine-Brown ...... Nigel Anthony
Fred Sugden ...... Kim Durham
Dr Mahmood Khan ...... Shiv Grewal
Will Timson ...... Ben Crowe
Judge Bullingham ...... Christopher Benjamin
Bonny Bernard ...... Bruce Alexander
Barrington Whiteside ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Peter Plaistow ...... Christopher Scott

Directed by Marilyn Imrie

A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b00p959x)
Peter Gibbs chairs the popular horticultural forum.

Anne Swithinbank, Chris Beardshaw and John Cushnie answer questions from gardeners in Cuffley, Hertfordshire.

Authors Beth Chatto and Christine Walkden join Matthew Wilson to discuss contemporary garden literature.

Including gardening weather forecast.


FRI 15:45 My Mile of the River (b00j2j2d)
Episode 5

Chris Tally Evans evokes the sights and sounds of the River Wye as it flows yards from his garden in Rhayader in Mid Wales.

Chris enjoys the extremes of weather as winter grips the Wye.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b00p99n1)
Matthew Bannister 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.

Marking the lives of Paul Samuelson, Yegor Gaidar, Bobby Jaye, Sir John Quicke and Ken Wlaschin.


FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b00p99n3)
With Francine Stock.

Daniel Day-Lewis discusses Nine, the film of the musical of the film Eight And A Half by Federico Fellini.

Director James Cameron gives us the low-down on the most expensive film ever made, the ground-breaking Avatar.

Artist Sam Taylor-Wood reveals the challenges of making her debut feature, Nowhere Boy, about John Lennon's formative years.


FRI 16:56 1989: Day by Day (b00p85ql)
18th December 1989

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

Troops have fired on protestors in Romania.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 17:00 PM (b00p85rt)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b00p85t3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b00p99n5)
Series 29

Episode 4

Tonight Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis explore pointless protests and Great British sentimentality; Mitch Benn sings an ode to Simon Cowell; Marcus Brigstocke sees Copenhagen through the eyes of Dr Seuss and Jon Holmes tries to wriggle past bank security.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b00p84yf)
Vicky and Joe set the cruck barn up for 'Deck the Hall'. She's unsure what he means when he says he doesn't want to spoil the surprise for the customers, but spots that Joe has hidden some cider punch in a box.

Elizabeth is delighted at Vicky's and Joe's hard work and is just wondering what's in the box when Bert distracts her with a request from Nigel to go to the office. Elizabeth discovers that Father Christmas is double-booked. She asks Bert if he would be Lower Loxley's Father Christmas. When he realises he'll be paid, he's more than willing to give up his Charles Dickens role!

Helen persuades Annette to go out, but then springs the surprise that she's invited Leon to join them. When Helen asks Leon what he's doing for Christmas, he tells her that he's meeting up with some mates.

As soon as Helen's busy at the bar, Leon tells Annette how pretty she is and that they can have as much fun again as they'd had the other night, if Annette is up for it. Annette tells him to get stuffed. She wouldn't touch him again if her life depended on it.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b00p85vd)
Keira Knightley makes her stage debut opposite Damian Lewis in The Misanthrope. Thea Sharrock directs Martin Crimp's contemporary update of Moliere's satire.

John Hurt talks about revisiting his role as Quentin Crisp in An Englishman in New York, which picks up where the 1975 BAFTA award-ining television classic, The Naked Civil Servant, left off.

Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, who write Peep Show, and Ben Richards and Richard McBrien, who write Spooks, reveal the secrets of keeping a long-running series fresh.

As a new collection of his work is published, the 82-year-old American poet John Ashbery discusses experimentation and difficulty in poetry and French influences on his writing.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b00pbqv5)
Mike Walker - Scumdog Millionaires

Episode 5

Financial thriller by Mike Walker.

Tim's father appeals to stop the investigations into his alleged unlimited derivatives, but it appears that Tim may already know too much for his own safety.

Tim Ng ...... David Tse Ka-Shing
Kathy ...... Michelle Tate
Father ...... Lobo Chan
Gerry ...... Nigel Hastings
Selma Giddings ...... Kate Leyden
York ...... Rhys Jennings

Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b00p99n7)
Martha Kearney chairs the topical debate from Masham, North Yorkshire. The panellists are Labour peer Roy Hattersley, science writer and broadcaster Dr Gabrielle Walker, Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate and former diplomat Rory Stewart, and Nick Clegg's chief of staff, Danny Alexander.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b00p99nb)
Clive James: Option Swamp

Clive James vents his frustration at automated customer systems and finds them a poor substitute for dealing with real people.


FRI 21:00 Friday Drama (b00p99nd)
The Dependent

By Angela Clarke. When Sonia, full-time carer to her disabled son Jack, injures herself and is forced to call on support services, Jack gets a taste of what he's been missing.

Sonia ...... Julia Ford
Jack ...... Paul Henshall
Les ...... Paul Wyett
Lil ...... Angela Clarke
Stephanie ...... Annabelle Dowler

Directed by Nadia Molinari.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b00p86fz)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b00p86h8)
National and international news and analysis with Robin Lustig and Paul Moss.

Will the Copenhagen 'Accord' match the challenge of climate change?

The influence of the Christian Right on African anti-gay legislation.

Serbians gain access to the EU.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b00pbv8w)
The Ingoldsby Legends

Jerry Jarvis' Wig

Nicholas Murchie and Lucy Robinson read from a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poetry supposedly written by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, but actually penned by the Rev Richard Barham, first published in book form in 1840.

Is it possible for a wig to be possessed? And can it, in turn, possess a person foolish enough to wear it?

Abridged by Robin Brooks.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b00p8dkb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 O Lucky Man! (b00djtj2)
John Harris presents a documentary investigating the life and work of the film director Lindsay Anderson. The programme focuses on If..., O Lucky Man! and Britannia Hospital, the trilogy of films Anderson made with Malcolm McDowell featuring the character Mick Travis.

With contributions from McDowell himself, Stephen Frears, Helen Mirren and writer David Sherwin, Harris examines Anderson's vision of Britain and his contradictory character.

A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.




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 (b00p86by)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 TUE (b00pbqv9)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 WED (b00pbqv1)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 THU (b00pbqv3)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 FRI (b00pbqv5)

1989: Day by Day Omnibus 23:00 SUN (b00p7mn9)

1989: Day by Day 16:56 SAT (b00p7g8v)

1989: Day by Day 16:56 SUN (b00p7mcj)

1989: Day by Day 16:56 MON (b00p85qn)

1989: Day by Day 16:56 TUE (b00p85qd)

1989: Day by Day 16:56 WED (b00p85qg)

1989: Day by Day 16:56 THU (b00p85qj)

1989: Day by Day 16:56 FRI (b00p85ql)

1989: Simpson Returns 09:00 THU (b00p91x6)

1989: Simpson Returns 21:30 THU (b00p91x6)

A Point of View 08:50 SUN (b00p6vln)

A Point of View 20:50 FRI (b00p99nb)

Adventures in Poetry 23:30 SAT (b00p3v2l)

Adventures in Poetry 16:30 SUN (b00p7m9j)

Afternoon Reading 00:30 SUN (b009fpl3)

Afternoon Reading 19:45 SUN (b0080dyw)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 TUE (b00p8cph)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 WED (b00p8d9s)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 THU (b00p8d9v)

All Bar Luke 23:15 WED (b00dkgrz)

All in the Mind 21:00 TUE (b00p8fvb)

All in the Mind 16:30 WED (b00p8fvb)

Americana 19:15 SUN (b00p7mjy)

Andy Zaltzman's History of the Third Millennium, Series 1 of 100 18:30 THU (b00p940t)

Any Answers? 14:00 SAT (b00p7g8n)

Any Questions? 13:10 SAT (b00p6vll)

Any Questions? 20:00 FRI (b00p99n7)

Archive on 4 20:00 SAT (b00plt1n)

Archive on 4 15:00 MON (b00p03hw)

Avoiding the Question 09:30 THU (b00nfqzn)

Ballylenon 11:30 WED (b00p8hjy)

Bells on Sunday 05:43 SUN (b00p7hdy)

Bells on Sunday 00:45 MON (b00p7hdy)

Bespoken Word 23:00 WED (b00lh2dp)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 MON (b00p86mn)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 TUE (b00pbv8p)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 WED (b00pbv8r)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 THU (b00pbv8t)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 FRI (b00pbv8w)

Book of the Week 00:30 SAT (b00p5ysz)

Book of the Week 09:45 MON (b00pcdpk)

Book of the Week 00:30 TUE (b00pcdpk)

Book of the Week 09:45 TUE (b00pgm8l)

Book of the Week 00:30 WED (b00pgm8l)

Book of the Week 09:45 WED (b00pgm7m)

Book of the Week 00:30 THU (b00pgm7m)

Book of the Week 09:45 THU (b00pgm7p)

Book of the Week 00:30 FRI (b00pgm7p)

Book of the Week 09:45 FRI (b00pgm7r)

Brain of Britain 23:00 SAT (b00p5xc4)

Brain of Britain 13:30 MON (b00p87r2)

Broadcasting House 09:00 SUN (b00p7hfn)

Chain Reaction 23:00 THU (b0092j13)

Classic Serial 21:00 SAT (b00p3sy6)

Classic Serial 15:00 SUN (b00p7kyd)

Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! 11:30 FRI (b00p94fm)

Crossing Continents 20:30 MON (b00p6b3m)

Crossing Continents 11:00 THU (b00p91x8)

Defining The Decade 09:00 TUE (b00p89jk)

Defining The Decade 21:30 TUE (b00p89jk)

Desert Island Discs 11:15 SUN (b00p7hfs)

Desert Island Discs 09:00 FRI (b00p7hfs)

Drama 14:15 MON (b00p8hk4)

Drama 14:15 TUE (b00p8c1c)

Drama 14:15 WED (b00p87r4)

Drama 14:15 THU (b007w0j2)

Drama 14:15 FRI (b007wh3p)

Excess Baggage 10:00 SAT (b00p7g88)

Farming Today 06:30 SAT (b00p7g80)

Farming Today 05:45 MON (b00p7njb)

Farming Today 05:45 TUE (b00p7nhy)

Farming Today 05:45 WED (b00p7nj0)

Farming Today 05:45 THU (b00p7nj2)

Farming Today 05:45 FRI (b00p7nj4)

File on 4 17:00 SUN (b00p66f4)

Friday Drama 21:00 FRI (b00p99nd)

From Fact to Fiction 19:00 SAT (b00p7h3t)

From Fact to Fiction 17:40 SUN (b00p7h3t)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:30 SAT (b00p7g8g)

Front Row 19:15 MON (b00p86bw)

Front Row 19:15 TUE (b00p85v4)

Front Row 19:15 WED (b00p85v6)

Front Row 19:15 THU (b00p85vb)

Front Row 19:15 FRI (b00p85vd)

Frontiers 21:00 MON (b00p89f4)

Gardeners' Question Time 14:00 SUN (b00p6vlb)

Gardeners' Question Time 15:00 FRI (b00p959x)

Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off 11:30 MON (b00p87r0)

Great Lives 16:30 TUE (b00p8dkb)

Great Lives 23:00 FRI (b00p8dkb)

Harry Worth: The Man in the Window 11:30 TUE (b00p8c17)

Home Planet 15:00 TUE (b00p8c1f)

I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue 12:00 SUN (b00p604t)

I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue 18:30 MON (b00p885p)

In Business 21:30 SUN (b00p6t28)

In Business 20:30 THU (b00p944k)

In Living Memory 11:00 WED (b00p8hjw)

In Touch 20:40 TUE (b00p8fv8)

Joan Armatrading's Favourite Choirs 14:45 SUN (b00bbxp5)

Last Word 20:30 SUN (b00p6vld)

Last Word 16:00 FRI (b00p99n1)

Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking 18:30 WED (b00p912l)

Loose Ends 18:15 SAT (b00p7h3r)

Material World 16:30 THU (b00p337y)

Midnight News 00:00 SAT (b00p6w7k)

Midnight News 00:00 SUN (b00p7hdm)

Midnight News 00:00 MON (b00p7n3c)

Midnight News 00:00 TUE (b00p7n1t)

Midnight News 00:00 WED (b00p7n1w)

Midnight News 00:00 THU (b00p7n1y)

Midnight News 00:00 FRI (b00p7n20)

Midweek 09:00 WED (b00p8hjs)

Midweek 21:30 WED (b00p8hjs)

Money Box Live 15:00 WED (b00p8hk6)

Money Box 12:00 SAT (b00p7g8j)

Money Box 21:00 SUN (b00p7g8j)

Moral Maze 22:15 SAT (b00p681y)

More or Less 20:00 SUN (b00p6v3t)

More or Less 13:30 FRI (b00p94fp)

Music from Beyond the Veil 13:30 SUN (b00ljyn0)

My Mile of the River 15:45 MON (b00hhfcj)

My Mile of the River 15:45 TUE (b00hmpzh)

My Mile of the River 15:45 WED (b00hs8xl)

My Mile of the River 15:45 THU (b00hy5yr)

My Mile of the River 15:45 FRI (b00j2j2d)

News Briefing 05:30 SAT (b00p6w7t)

News Briefing 05:30 SUN (b00p7hdw)

News Briefing 05:30 MON (b00p7nc7)

News Briefing 05:30 TUE (b00p7n96)

News Briefing 05:30 WED (b00p7n98)

News Briefing 05:30 THU (b00p7n9b)

News Briefing 05:30 FRI (b00p7n9d)

News Headlines 06:00 SUN (b00p7hf0)

News and Papers 06:00 SAT (b00p6w7y)

News and Papers 07:00 SUN (b00p7hf8)

News and Papers 08:00 SUN (b00p7hfj)

News and Weather 22:00 SAT (b00p7h40)

News 13:00 SAT (b00p7g8l)

O Lucky Man! 23:30 FRI (b00djtj2)

Off the Page 13:30 THU (b00p93sw)

On Your Farm 06:35 SUN (b00p7hf4)

Open Book 16:00 SUN (b00p7m9g)

Open Book 16:00 THU (b00p7m9g)

Open Country 06:07 SAT (b00nrvrh)

Open Country 15:00 THU (b00nrvrh)

PM 17:00 SAT (b00p7g8x)

PM 17:00 MON (b00p85sv)

PM 17:00 TUE (b00p85rm)

PM 17:00 WED (b00p85rp)

PM 17:00 THU (b00p85rr)

PM 17:00 FRI (b00p85rt)

Pick of the Week 18:15 SUN (b00p7mhg)

Policing Britain 11:00 MON (b00p87qy)

Political Roots 05:45 SUN (b00p71ys)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 SAT (b00p6w7w)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 MON (b00p7nhw)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 TUE (b00p7nc9)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 WED (b00p7ncc)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 THU (b00p7ncf)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 FRI (b00p7nch)

Protected by Faith 11:30 THU (b00p928z)

Radio 4 Appeal 07:55 SUN (b00p7hfd)

Radio 4 Appeal 21:26 SUN (b00p7hfd)

Radio 4 Appeal 15:27 THU (b00p7hfd)

Running Away 05:45 SAT (b00fdf7k)

Sable Island: A Dune Adrift 11:00 TUE (b00p8c15)

Sam's Diabetes: The Search for a Cure 11:00 FRI (b00l30sb)

Saturday Drama 14:30 SAT (b00p7g8q)

Saturday Live 09:00 SAT (b00p7g86)

Saturday Review 19:15 SAT (b00p7h3w)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SAT (b00p6w7p)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SUN (b00p7hdr)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 MON (b00p7n94)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 TUE (b00p7n6q)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 WED (b00p7n6s)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 THU (b00p7n6v)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 FRI (b00p7n6x)

Shelved 10:30 SAT (b00p7g8b)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SAT (b00p6w7m)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SAT (b00p6w7r)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SAT (b00p7g91)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SUN (b00p7hdp)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SUN (b00p7hdt)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SUN (b00p7mdr)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 MON (b00p7n4q)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 MON (b00p7n6n)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 TUE (b00p7n3f)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 TUE (b00p7n4s)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 WED (b00p7n3h)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 WED (b00p7n4v)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 THU (b00p7n3k)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 THU (b00p7n4x)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 FRI (b00p7n3m)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 FRI (b00p7n4z)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SAT (b00p7g95)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SUN (b00p7mhd)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 MON (b00p85v0)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 TUE (b00p85sx)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 WED (b00p85sz)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 THU (b00p85t1)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 FRI (b00p85t3)

Sneakiepeeks 18:30 TUE (b00p8dkd)

Something Understood 06:05 SUN (b00p7hf2)

Something Understood 23:30 SUN (b00p7hf2)

Start the Week 09:00 MON (b00p87qw)

Start the Week 21:30 MON (b00p87qw)

Sunday Worship 08:10 SUN (b00p7hfl)

Sunday 07:10 SUN (b00p7hfb)

Tales from the Stave 15:30 SAT (b00p61zj)

Tales from the Stave 13:30 TUE (b00p8c19)

The Archers Omnibus 10:00 SUN (b00p7hfq)

The Archers 19:00 SUN (b00p7mjw)

The Archers 14:00 MON (b00p7mjw)

The Archers 19:00 MON (b00p8501)

The Archers 14:00 TUE (b00p8501)

The Archers 19:00 TUE (b00p84y7)

The Archers 14:00 WED (b00p84y7)

The Archers 19:00 WED (b00p84y9)

The Archers 14:00 THU (b00p84y9)

The Archers 19:00 THU (b00p84yc)

The Archers 14:00 FRI (b00p84yc)

The Archers 19:00 FRI (b00p84yf)

The Film Programme 16:30 FRI (b00p99n3)

The Food Programme 12:32 SUN (b00p7hfv)

The Food Programme 16:00 MON (b00p7hfv)

The Infinite Monkey Cage 16:30 MON (b00p87r6)

The Infinite Monkey Cage 21:00 WED (b00p87r6)

The Media Show 13:30 WED (b00p8hk2)

The New Art of Diplomacy 20:00 TUE (b00p8dz6)

The Now Show 12:30 SAT (b00p6vlj)

The Now Show 18:30 FRI (b00p99n5)

The Report 20:00 THU (b00p944h)

The Watchdog and the Feral Beast 20:45 WED (b00p2z8p)

The Week in Westminster 11:00 SAT (b00p7g8d)

The World This Weekend 13:00 SUN (b00p7hfz)

The World Tonight 22:00 MON (b00p86ml)

The World Tonight 22:00 TUE (b00p86h2)

The World Tonight 22:00 WED (b00p86h4)

The World Tonight 22:00 THU (b00p86h6)

The World Tonight 22:00 FRI (b00p86h8)

Things We Forgot to Remember 20:00 MON (b00p8998)

Thinking Allowed 00:15 MON (b00p67tq)

Thinking Allowed 16:00 WED (b00p912j)

Today in Parliament 23:30 MON (b00p86qk)

Today in Parliament 23:30 TUE (b00p86qc)

Today in Parliament 23:30 WED (b00p86qf)

Today in Parliament 23:30 THU (b00p86qh)

Today 07:00 SAT (b00p7g84)

Today 06:00 MON (b00p7qlq)

Today 06:00 TUE (b00p7qhk)

Today 06:00 WED (b00p7qhm)

Today 06:00 THU (b00p7qhp)

Today 06:00 FRI (b00p7qhs)

Unreliable Evidence 20:00 WED (b00p91qf)

Vent 23:00 TUE (b01flqm7)

Weather 06:04 SAT (b00p6w80)

Weather 06:57 SAT (b00p7g82)

Weather 12:57 SAT (b00p7gmr)

Weather 17:57 SAT (b00p7g93)

Weather 06:57 SUN (b00p7hf6)

Weather 07:58 SUN (b00p7hfg)

Weather 12:57 SUN (b00p7hfx)

Weather 17:57 SUN (b00p7mhb)

Weather 21:58 SUN (b00p7mmn)

Weather 05:57 MON (b00p87qt)

Weather 12:57 MON (b00p84v9)

Weather 21:58 MON (b00p86h0)

Weather 12:57 TUE (b00p84qm)

Weather 21:58 TUE (b00p86fs)

Weather 12:57 WED (b00p84qp)

Weather 21:58 WED (b00p86fv)

Weather 12:57 THU (b00p84qr)

Weather 21:58 THU (b00p86fx)

Weather 12:57 FRI (b00p84qt)

Weather 21:58 FRI (b00p86fz)

Westminster Hour 22:00 SUN (b00p7mmq)

What Scientists Believe 21:00 THU (b00p945q)

Woman's Hour 16:00 SAT (b00p7g8s)

Woman's Hour 10:00 MON (b00p84dy)

Woman's Hour 10:00 TUE (b00pcht4)

Woman's Hour 10:00 WED (b00pchsm)

Woman's Hour 10:00 THU (b00pchsp)

Woman's Hour 10:00 FRI (b00pchsr)

Word of Mouth 23:00 MON (b00p62jn)

Word of Mouth 16:00 TUE (b00p8dk8)

World at One 13:00 MON (b00p84y5)

World at One 13:00 TUE (b00p84vc)

World at One 13:00 WED (b00p84vf)

World at One 13:00 THU (b00p84vh)

World at One 13:00 FRI (b00p84vk)

You and Yours 12:00 MON (b00p84qk)

You and Yours 12:00 TUE (b00p84j9)

You and Yours 12:00 WED (b00p84jc)

You and Yours 12:00 THU (b00p84jf)

You and Yours 12:00 FRI (b00p84jh)

iPM 17:30 SAT (b00p7g8z)