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 09 APRIL 2011

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b0100jmd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b0100x2x)
Ken Campbell: The Great Caper

Episode 5

Michael Coveney's biography tells the story of Campbell, the great adventurer of British theatre.

In his later work, Campbell focuses on improvisation; taking the safety-net of the script away from his performers.

Ken Campbell, who died in September 2008, was one of the great mavericks of British theatre.
Ill-suited to a role in conventional theatre, he created a risk-taking confrontational style of performance, which often explored unlikely subject matter.

He became, in director Mike Leigh's words, "The outsider's outsider"

Bob Hoskins, Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent are amongst the performers whose formative years were spent working with Campbell. What did the director and producer bring to performance that made him such a mesmeric figure?

Writer Michael Coveney is a long-standing theatre critic, who has worked for The Financial Times, The Observer and The Daily Mail. Actor Toby Jones played Truman Capote in 'Infamous' and Swifty Lazar in 'Frost/Nixon' and recently reprised the role of Dobby in the film 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'. Toby has also appeared in a production of 'The Warp' by Neil Oram, the 22-hour epic created by Ken Campbell.

Read by Toby Jones
Abridged by Pete Nichols

Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0100jmg)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0100jmj)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0100jml)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b0100jmn)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0100jmq)
with the Rev Dr Bert Tosh.


SAT 05:45 iPM (b0100jms)
We all hoard. But what happens when hoarding becomes a health hazard? Michael invites us into his cottage, or "pigsty", as he calls it, to show us the accumulated clutter of utensils, papers and bags that have become his home. Also, one retired teacher's experience of ingrained immobility, from a constituency not so very far from Nick Clegg's home town. And, a tale of a great woman and her flying machine; the first female to build and fly her own aeroplane, told to us by iPM listener, her great-niece. Plus Clare Balding canters through your news from Aintree, while on Grand National reporting duty.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b0100jmv)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b0100jmx)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (b0103z1x)
Sherwood Forest

For this week's Open Country, Richard Uridge is in the Birklands area of Sherwood Forest finding out about its ancient past when he visits Thynghowe, an ancient open-air meeting place where hundreds of Vikings gathered to make important decisions.

Presenter: Richard Uridge
Producer: Helen Chetwynd.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b0103z1z)
Farming Today This Week

Like all industries, farming has to meet the government's climate change target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% on 1990 levels. Charlotte Smith visits a Northamptonshire beef farmer, James Fanshawe, who has stopped using fertiliser and is slaughtering his animals younger. Both things help the farm's finances, and can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Presenter: Charlotte Smith. Producer: Sarah Swadling.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b0100jmz)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b0103z3s)
Morning news and current affair with James Naughtie and Evan Davis:
08:13 Is the political process delivering on the aim of uniting communities in Northern Ireland?
08:21How long will the stalemate in Libya continue?
08:30 Media commentator Steve Hewlett and Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger discuss if News International can draw a line under the phone-hacking scandal.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b0103z5m)
The Reverend Richard Coles with best-selling author Joanna Trollope, poet Kate Fox, one man who discovered a crock of gold and another who lived through the upheaval in the Congo as it became independent in 1960; an I Was There feature about the 1997 Grand National which postponed by an IRA bomb scare, and Benjamin Zephaniah shares his Inheritance Tracks.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b0103z5p)
Walking in Ireland and Spain - Philippines

John McCarthy hears from a bestselling thriller writer about his travels around The Philippines, finds out about a series of new walks in Ireland and talks to someone seeking inspiration from a pilgrimage across Spain.
Producer: Chris Wilson.


SAT 10:30 For One Night Only (b0103z8j)
Series 6

Keith Jarrett: The Cologne Concert

Paul Gambaccini presents the award-winning series that re-visits the occasions on which a classic live album was recorded. He hears from those who were there, on-stage, backstage and in the audience, to re-create the event for all of us who, each time we play the album, think: 'If only I could have been there'.

Keith Jarrett had made his name as a jazz pianist working with Art Blakey, Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. But in the 1970s he began to give solo performances, frequently improvised. On 24 January 1975, at the Opera House in Cologne, Germany, he played an entirely improvised concert to a packed house. Lasting over an hour, it was released on ECM, the new jazz label founded by Manfred Eicher. Keith Jarrett: The Cologne Concert was to become not only the best-selling solo album in jazz history, but also the best-selling piano recording ever.

The concert promoter was an amateur jazz enthusiast: Vera Brandes, who was only 17 at the time. For this programme she returns to the Cologne Opera House, sharing her memories of an extraordinary evening with others who were there, including sound engineers Martin Wieland and Eva Bauer-Oppelland, and members of the audience. She recalls how she begged and borrowed to set up the concert, revealing the drama of her discovery that the wrong grand piano had been placed on the stage and her futile efforts to find a replacement. It turns out that for this record-breaking album, Jarrett improvised on an out-of-tune piano with a smattering of mute keys!

Recapturing the magical intensity of Jarrett's epic performance, Paul Gambaccini hears those who were there recall a night of emotion and euphoria which they've never forgotten, and conveys through Jarrett's masterly performance a sense of history being made.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b0103z8l)
Peter Oborne of The Daily Telegraph looks behind the scenes at Westminster.

Andrew Lansley has promised to listen to suggestions for improving his hotly-disputed reform of the NHS. Labour said the Health secretary's statement to MPs on Monday - announcing a "pause" in proceedings - was humiliating. Here, Ann Soubry, a Tory MP and parliamentary aide in the Health department, sticks up for the reforms in conversation with Labour's Ben Bradshaw.

After Greece and Ireland, now Portugal appeals for a bail-out. How fragile is the Eurozone? The economist and Eurosceptic, Professor Tim Congdon, looks into the future.

The public understands "first past the post". But what about the alternative vote? Here, the Lib Dem Stephen Williams and the Tory Kwasi Kwarteng agree to differ on its merits as a referendum on the voting system looms.

Finally, how far does a foul-mouthed outburst from Wayne Rooney epitomise the excesses and faults of football? The Tory Damian Collins and Labour's Paul Farrelly are taking part in a parliamentary enquiry into the way the sport is run.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b0103z8n)
Today our correspondent takes a drive through the country which was once one of Africa's success stories -- today the journey reveals Ivory Coast, after months of conflict, is a devastated, fearful place. There's an initiative underway in Afghanistan to improve the lot of women about to give birth. At the moment many are dying in childbirth and many children perish within the first weeks of life. Our reporter's at a clinic near Kabul hearing what they plan to do. And we hear about efforts to help the mighty, but threatened, sturgeon in the River Danube. There are some fishy tales to tell ...


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b0103z8z)
On Money Box with Paul Lewis:

How ending a payment to the AA may be more complicated than you think
Plus: the winners and losers in the State Pension shake up
And a further increase - on the quiet - to prescription charges in England.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b0100j9g)
Series 33

A listening exercise with Alun Cochrane

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis host the last episode in the series as they examine the pros and cons of AV and who's really listening to the NHS. Guest stand-up Alun Cochrane ponders parental patronage and Oliver Letwin's aversion to flying Northerners; Jon Holmes exposes himself to the latest innovation in airport security; and spring is in the air for Joe Stilgoe, who's crazy about Kate Humble.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b0100jn1)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b0100jn3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b0100j9n)
Eddie Mair chairs the topical debate from Nova Hreod School in Swindon with the deputy editor of the Daily Telegraph, Benedict Brogan, the broadcaster John Sergeant, the chief executive of Relate and Liberal Democrat peer, Claire Tyler and the Green Party leader and MP Caroline Lucas.

Producer: Victoria Wakely.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b0103zjt)
Any Answers? Listeners respond to the issues raised in Any Questions?

This week's questions:

Do the panel believe that saying sorry with a cheque book will limit damage to the News of the World?

Could the Health Service Reform Bill be this government’s poll tax?

What are the secrets of a happy marriage?

How did you get your first job? Did someone pull strings for you?

Is the current vilification of Nick Clegg justified?

I need to find a new dentist as mine has recently retired. Do the panel still have all their own teeth? And what criteria would they use in selecting a dentist?

If you have a comment or question on this week's programme or would like to take part in the Any Answers? phone-in you can contact us by telephone or email. Tel: 03700 100 444 Email: any.answers@bbc.co.uk.


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b0103zjw)
One Chord Wonders

Blitzkrieg Bop

One Chord Wonders: Blitzkrieg Bop
2/5
Frank Cottrell Boyce's series of plays about the punk generation 30 years on. In 1977 self-styled Mo Motormouth was writing a punk fanzine. Now she's doing the travel news for a radio station. An attempt to re-launch her ailing career brings unwelcome attention from some of her 'livelier' listeners.

Mo ... Pauline Quirke
Benny ... Adam Kotz
Shammi ... Manjinder Virk
Steve Reeves .... Ivan Kaye
George ... Ben Crowe
Arthur ... Harry Myers
Jack ... Sanjay Shelat
Teacher/Barney ... Stephen Critchlow
Benny's Daughter ... Amy Enticknap

Producer/Director ... Toby Swift

*******************
ONE CHORD WONDERS is a series of 5 plays by top British screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce. The series looks at the 'punk generation' three decades on, with each play telling a different, but connected, story. Featured actors include Pauline Quirke, Doon Mackichan, Sian Reeves, Richard Ridings, Danny Webb, Manjinder Virk and Fenella Woolgar.

Frank Cottrell Boyce is probably best known for films like '24 Hour Party People', 'A Cock & Bull Story', 'Hilary & Jackie', 'Welcome to Sarajevo' and 'Butterfly Kiss'. He won the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2004 for 'Millions', his first novel, which was subsequently filmed by British director Danny Boyle.

The series is based on the fictional premise that in March 1977 punk band the Adverts performed a gig in Camberley to an audience of 27 people. Over 30 years later, someone is trying to bring those 27 people back together again for a reunion.

In 'Blitzkrieg Bop' a struggling commercial radio presenter has been invited to the reunion. In fact, as the self-styled Mo Motormouth, she was the co-promoter of the original gig. Encouraged by her ambitious - or should that be desperate - producer Shammi, her career receives a belated boost when she gives her on-air persona an opinionated, in-yer-face punk makeover. Will her new-found success survive the attention of a dubious element amongst her audience...not least former co-promoter Benny Bondage who seems convinced there's a nasty skeleton rattling in Mo's cupboard?

The next 2 plays in the series - 'Damned, Damned, Damned' and 'This is the Modern World' - catch up with other, now middle-aged, members of that audience back in 1977.

The final play, 'Television's Over', takes us back 34 years to where it all begin; the day punk heroes the Adverts arrived at the Police Club in Camberley.


SAT 15:30 Loud Organs His Glory (b0103wyx)
Anyone who has watched a BBC Prom or visited St Paul's or Salisbury or Hereford or Truro Cathedral will have seen a "Father Willis" organ.

Discover the story of the man who through a blend of engineering ability, musical ambition and massive self-confidence became the dominant organ builder of the Victorian era. It was an era in which huge organs were suddenly required in both cathedrals and the new town halls appearing all over the country.

Simon Townley tells the story of 'Father' Henry Willis from his relatively humble beginnings as the son of a London builder to the heights of Victorian society. By winning a competition at the Great Exhibition in 1851, Willis set himself on a road which was to lead to the building of over a thousand organs. Many are still working today, even if they've been altered over the years. What makes the Willis organs special, and makes organists today acknowledge their greatness in hushed tones, is the subject of this programme.

Simon visits the current Willis factory in Liverpool where new organs are still built and old Willis machines are revitalised.

He plays the organ in Winchester Cathedral, the organ that won the Great Exhibition competition and was squeezed into the cathedral by the then organist SS Wesley, and he finds out more about the man whose love of yachting was matched only by his belief that anything was possible when it came to the building of organs. If that meant splitting an organ in two, putting the two parts on either side of a cathedral transept and linking the whole lot through a system of subterranean pipes then that's what he would do... and he did, in the case of St Paul's Cathedral.

But essentially the Father Willis story is about the details that earned his reputation. The reed technology that no one at the time could match, the use of new steam-generated wind and the design of organ consoles that gave organists like Willis himself a control that they'd never enjoyed before.

It's a story of the king of instruments built at a time of supreme national self-confidence by a man who embodied the spirit of the age and gave it voice.

Producer: Tom Alban

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b0103zph)
Weekend Woman's Hour

Jane Garvey presents: Highlights from the Woman's Hour week. We hear from Fawzia Koofi, the Afghan politician planning to run for President. The actor Sophie Grobel talks about her role in the hit TV show "The Killing" and Woman's Hour launches a new series called "Cook the Perfect" with advice from the cake maker Mary Berry about how to make a successful Simnel Cake. How to treat the "Manopause" when men suffer reduced testosterone and why do some women love horses? And Mary Byrne, the X-Factor singer talks about her new found success in later life.


SAT 17:00 PM (b0103zpk)
A fresh perspective on the day's news with sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 iPM (b0100jms)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:45 today]


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b0100jn5)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b0100jn7)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0100jn9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b0103zpm)
Peter Curran and guests with an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.

Peter is joined by French actress and dancer Leslie Caron. Famous for her roles in Gigi, An American in Paris and Chocolat. She reveals all in her memoir 'Thank Heaven' including her childhood in occupied France, being discovered by Gene Kelly, her marriage to Peter hall and love affair with Warren Beatty.

Ex-Young One and Bottom star Adrian Edmondson takes timeout from his folk punk covers band The Bad Shepherds. In his 12 part ITV series 'The Dales', he meets those living and working in the idyllic Yorkshire Dales.

Chief Curator of the Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley gives us an intimate history of the home, looking at the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living room through the ages. Why, for centuries, did people fear fruit and why did medieval people sleep sitting up? Just a couple of questions answered in Lucy's BBC Four Series 'If Walls Could Talk' based on her book of the same name.

Arthur Smith finds out how Miles Jupp fared as an unprepared and unqualified cricket journalist on an England Cricket tour of India, the subject of Miles current stand up tour 'Fibber in the Heat'.

Asa gives us her fusion of West African sounds with contemporary pop as she performs 'Be My Man' her latest single from her album Beautiful Perfection.

And Indie-pop from Chicago trio Smith Westerns who make a flying visit to the Loose Ends studio to perform 'Weekend' from their new album Dye It Blonde'.

Producer: Cathie Mahoney.


SAT 19:00 Profile (b0103zpp)
Ai Weiwei

In the week that artist Ai Weiwei was detained by the Chinese authorities, Mary Ann Sieghart profiles the outspoken designer of the 'Bird's Nest' Olympics stadium.

Reporter - Mary Ann Sieghart
Producer - Ben Crighton
(The programme includes material from Alison Klayman's documentary: Ai Weiwei - Never Sorry).


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b0103zpr)
Tom Sutcliffe and guests novelist Deborah Moggach, actor Kerry Shale and academic and critic John Mullan review the week's cultural highlights.

Award winning documentary Armadillo by Danish film maker Janus Metz follows a group of Danish soldiers from their arrival in 2009 at a joint Danish and British base in Helmand called Armadillo. The film prompted an official army enquiry into alleged misbehaviour by some of the soldiers following a Taleban ambush and it was announced in November 2010 the base was to be dismantled.

Television writer and humorist Steve Hely's How I Became A Famous Novelist chronicles its protagonist's successful attempt to write a best seller and what he learns about life along the way. Described as an "evisceration" of celebrity culture and literary fame.

Linda Basset stars in acclaimed playwright Simon Stephens's new play "Wastwater" at the Royal Court directed by Katie Mitchell and set in an unlikely theatrical location, the periphery of Heathrow as it explores the lives of those who live there.

And Treasures from the Royal Capital of Macedon opens at the Ashmoleon Museum in Oxford. Until 30 years ago Macedon's capital city Aegae remained relatively unknown. Excavations uncovered then revealed treasures from the tombs of its most famous heroes, King Philip II and his son Alexander the Great.

And a new drama on Channel 5, The Walking Dead, adapted from Robert Kirkman's graphic novels by Frank Darabont, who describes it as a human story about zombies.

Producer: Torquil Macleod.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b0103zpt)
How to Archive Yourself

In October 1998 Gordon Bell went paperless. This is Gordon Bell, of Microsoft, who has been described as "the Frank Lloyd Wright of computers". He has archived everything he has written and now records the minutiae of his life digitally as part of a project called MyLifeBits, an experiment designed to assist and maybe even supersede memory. But now that we can record so much of our lives are we missing out on the living of them?

The wealth, range and affordability of devices to record your own life - from the 'basic' camera phone, hand-held internet connection, and even biological and genetic sequencing, has expanded exponentially over recent years.
Take a look at the next event you are enjoying - viewing the Mona Lisa, watching David Byrne at the Royal Festival Hall, enjoying a friend's birthday cake candles being blown out - and count how many people are watching and how many are recording the moment.
But what is all this for? Why are we doing it? And is an archive an archive if it is not structured, indexed, given meaning? Talking to passionate archivist Robert Fripp, from King Crimson, dispassionate archivist Geoff Dyer, and Sue Aldworth, an artists whose whole house is her archive, presenter and self-archivist Toby Amies argues that the virtual moment has now become a vital part of the moment, not a dilution of it and that by being part of this new explosion of archiving we are playing our part in a shift of consciousness. He believes that the virtual is becoming as important, or as real, as the real and that this is part of the slow move into a future where technology and humans intersect in a different way.
He examines the explosion in the archiving of human existence, wondering whether we are in the age of the super diary or at a launching point for the transference of our consciousness into the digital universe, for good.

Producer: Sara Jane Hall.


SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b00zzpl5)
Patrick O'Brian - The Mauritius Command

Episode 1

Patrick O'Brian's naval epic set in 1809, dramatised in three parts by Roger Danes. Starring David Robb as Captain Jack Aubrey and Richard Dillane as Doctor Stephen Maturin.

Following his adventures in HMS Surprise, Jack Aubrey has been kicking his heels at home when his old friend, Stephen Maturin, comes knocking at his door with welcome news. Jack is promoted to Commodore, and is to lead a squadron of English ships, charged with taking the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius and RĂ©union from the French.

In the course of the novel Jack must succeed against superior odds at sea and on land. Yet, in his new role as Commodore, Jack will need subtlety and subterfuge to win over the crews and subordinate captains of his own fleet.

Based on a naval campaign in 1809-10 when Britain and France were bitterly engaged in protecting their trade routes around the southern tip of Africa.

The Mauritius Command is the fourth novel in Patrick O'Brian's Nelsonic epic series, and the sequel to HMS Surprise which was dramatised for Radio 4 in 2008.

Captain Jack Aubrey ................... DAVID ROBB
Doctor Stephen Maturin .......... ...RICHARD DILLANE
Governor Farquhar ..................... DAVID RINTOUL
Lt-Col Keating ............ .......THOMAS ARNOLD
Lord Clonfert................................ SAM DALE
Captain Corbett................. ....CHRISTIAN RODSKA
Lt Seymour ....................... ...MAX DOWLER
Midshipman George Johnson ....... NYASHA HATENDI
Dr McAdam/Admiral Bertie.......... .SEAN BAKER
Captain Pym............................... BRIAN BOWLES
Mrs. Williams ............................ JOANNA MONRO
Sophie....................................... SALLY ORROCK
Producer/director: Bruce Young

Producer Bruce Young.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b0100jnc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Unreliable Evidence (b0100grd)
Tax

Clive Anderson and guests analyse the legal issues of the day.


SAT 23:00 Counterpoint (b00zzy2d)
Series 25

Episode 1

(1/13)

Can you name the composer of the theme music to the classic Charlie Chaplin film 'Modern Times'? Or guess which composer's work is the most-performed in the entire history of the Proms?

The evergreen music quiz returns for its 2011 series, with Paul Gambaccini in the questionmaster's chair. He'll be putting questions on the widest possible range of music to contestants from all over Great Britain, the eventual champion taking the 25th Counterpoint trophy at the end of June.

The quiz tests the competitors' knowledge of the core classics, as well as film and stage music, jazz, rock and pop. There are plenty of musical surprises, and forgotten or rarely-heard extracts, alongside long-established favourites.

As always, the general knowledge questions on music are followed by a specialised round, in which the contestants have to choose a musical topic or category on which to answer. The available categories can range from questions on a specific composer, to musical genres, music for particular instruments, and quirky eclectic themes.

The first trio of competitors joins Paul Gambaccini in Manchester for the opening heat of this 25th anniversary series.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


SAT 23:30 A House Divided: The Poetry of the American Civil War (b00zzpl9)
On the 12th of April 1861 Confederate forces attacked the US Military's Fort Sumter, thus beginning the bloodiest war in American history. It is this conflict, more than the American Revolution or World War Two that has had the most dramatic impact on the nation's character. This year marks its 150th anniversary.

In a war of brother against brother; the conflict created a tragic human drama as the country struggled to define itself. America's most distinguished poets were affected by unprecedented levels of carnage. Herman Melville wrote a chronological, impressionistic volume of poetry on the Civil War.

Walt Whitman, a volunteer nurse during the war wrote heart-wrenching poems about wounded soldiers beside piles of amputated limbs. Emily Dickinson was most productive during this time, though she never wrote directly about the war. However, her meditations on death, violence and the bloody landscape provide a deep insight into the nation's character.

In this programme, we'll hear music and poetry from before, during and after the war.

Slaves like George Moses Horton who sold poetry in the hopes of buying his own freedom reflects on the meaning of liberty. Soldiers like Obediah Ethelbert Baker who wrote for his wife back home, talks about the righteousness of the Union cause. Northern abolitionist Quakers regale the noble Northern mission and the "poet laureate of the Confederacy", Henry Timrod, recalls the birth of a new nation. Allan Gurganus is a southern US author whose work has been heavily influenced by the American Civil War. He presents this fascinating documentary.

Producer: Colin McNulty
A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.



SUNDAY 10 APRIL 2011

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b0105r71)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Lent Talks (b0100grg)
Well known figures reflect on elements of conflict found in the story of Jesus' ministry and Passion from the perspective of their own personal and professional experience.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0105r73)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0105r75)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0105r77)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b0105r79)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b0105r7c)
The bells of All Saints, East Pennard, Somerset.


SUN 05:45 Profile (b0103zpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b0105r7f)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b0105r7h)
Colours of Religion

Mark Tully attends the Hindu festival of Holi in Delhi, gets covered with dye, and asks what is the significance of colour, in religion and in spring festivals.

Recorded partly on location in Mark Tully's home town of Delhi, this programme charts the run up to the festival, with the singing of traditional songs, and the lighting of bonfires. On the special day itself, coloured dyes and waters are thrown as the city erupts in an explosion of colour, noise and sometimes lusty humour. Speaking to locals and visitors alike, Tully gets a sense of the importance of colour to this festival, his city and to Hinduism. Looking to other traditions he asks what different colours mean to different faiths.

And as the rumbustiousness of Holi subsides, Tully is left to consider what parallels he can find in western festivals, music and writing, which might first appear more solemn, but can have their own undercurrents of bawdiness and abandon.

Presented by Mark Tully

Produced by Adam Fowler
An Unique production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b0105r7k)
Caz Graham meets John Geldard, a farmer who claims the boom in local food has saved his livelihood and been a lifeline to farmers in the local area. Caz joins John at one of the busiest times of the year: he's currently lambing and calving. He tells Caz that local food production will help to feed the world's growing population and safeguard the futures for many struggling farmers.
Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b0105r7m)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b0105r7p)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b0105r7r)
William Crawley with the religious and ethical news of the week. Moral arguments and perspectives on stories familiar and unfamiliar.

The murder of Constable Ronan Kerr has brought Church and community together in an unprecedented way this week in Northern Ireland. Ireland Correspondent Andrew Martin will talk to William Crawley about the hope that has come from tragedy.

A new survey by a Jewish charity has identified increasing levels of child poverty - particularly within the ultra-orthodox Haredi community. William talks to the author Jonathan Boyd.

In the second of four audio postcards from Westminster Abbey, Quentin Letts looks at the often troubled relationship between the Abbey and Parliament.

As the EU consider a law that would require kosher meat to be labelled in a way that shows how the animal was killed, we debate the issue with an MEP and the Jewish group who say it is the equivalent of putting a yellow star on the package.

What's in a name? Quite a lot, according to the Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols, who has joined the campaign to stop his local pub being renamed. He tells William the story behind "The Cardinal" pub and also how it ties into Catholic social teaching today.

Science and religion are often seen as polar opposites, but this weekend a major conference in Cambridge is celebrating the Belgian Catholic priest who came up with Big Bang theory. William talks to former Templeton Prize winner Rev Dr John Polkinghorne about the conference, and also what he thinks of this week's decision to award the prize to an atheist.

Is the Catholic church still ignoring official guidelines about defrocking priests who are convicted of child abuse? Kevin Bocquet returns to Salford to investigate these claims.

Finally, what can we learn from the case of Nan Maitland, the 84-year-old woman who ended her life in Switzerland this week because she didn't want to die of old age? William looks at the ethics of assisted dying with Dr Michael Irwin from the Society of Old Age Rational Suicide and the Bishop of Swindon Rt Rev Dr Lee Rayfield.

E-mail: sunday@bbc.co.uk

Series producer: Amanda Hancox.


SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b0105r7t)
Action on Elder Abuse

Richard Briers presents the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity Action on Elder Abuse.

Donations to Action on Elder Abuse should be sent to FREEPOST BBC Radio 4 Appeal, please mark the back of your envelope Action on Elder Abuse. Credit cards: Freephone 0800 404 8144. You can also give online at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/appeal. If you are a UK tax payer, please provide Action on Elder Abuse 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: 1048397.


SUN 07:57 Weather (b0105r7w)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b0105r7y)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b0105rh5)
The Unreconciled - Heaven and Hell

Part of our series for Lent live from New Life Christian Centre Derby. Preacher: Pastor Geoff Pickup; Worship Leader: Henry Ita. Producer: Philip Billson.

In our journey through Lent, we are looking at issues in Christian reconciliation. Download web resources specially written for the series from the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland website. As we travel towards Easter, we prepare ourselves to meet the ultimate reconciling work - what God has done for us in the crucifixion, death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ. Our service this morning comes from a church with ministries stretching out to those in debt or who are homeless. One member of the congregation works with a community she was once part of, women who work the streets of inner city Derby. Heaven and hell are terms traditionally associated with our ultimate destinies, but in what ways do they illustrate our living here and now - whether or not we consider ourselves the Unreconciled?


SUN 08:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b0100j9q)
Series 2

Hummers

Hummingbirds are given spectacular names motivated by their striking colours, patterns and shimmering metallic iridescence; their names are beautiful as are the birds.

David Attenborough has filmed them on several occasions and is fascinated by their agility and flying skills to drink nectar from flowers inaccessible to any other animal. And propelled by this rocket fuel of nature they are capable of flying great distances and living life in the fast lane. Enchanting in this story is how moved David Attenborough is when recalling a story of their conservation; a rare piece of good news he comments.

Written and presented by Sir David Attenborough

Producer: Julian Hector

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b0105rh7)
News and conversation about the big stories of the week.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b0105rh9)
Written by Joanna Toye
Directed by Jenny Stephens
Editor ..... Vanessa Whitburn

Jill Archer ..... Patricia Green
Kenton Archer ..... Richard Attlee
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Elizabeth Pargetter ..... Alison Dowling
Pat Archer ..... Patricia Gallimore
Brian Aldridge ..... Charles Collingwood
Lilian Bellamy ..... Sunny Ormonde
Christine Barford ..... Lesley Saweard
Jolene Perks ..... Buffy Davis
Fallon Rogers ..... Joanna Van Kampen
Kathy Perks ..... Hedli Niklaus
Jamie Perks ..... Dan Ciotkowski
Joe Grundy ..... Edward Kelsey
Eddie Grundy ..... Trevor Harrison
Clarrie Grundy ..... Rosalind Adams
Will Grundy ..... Phillip Molloy
Nic Hanson ..... Becky Wright
Emma Grundy ..... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Ed Grundy ..... Barry Farrimond
Neil Carter ..... Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter ..... Charlotte Martin
Roy Tucker .....Ian Pepperell
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Jim Lloyd ..... John Rowe
Midwife ..... Jenny Coverack.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b0105rhd)
Terry Gilliam

Kirsty Young's castaway is the animator and director Terry Gilliam.
He first planted his foot-print on our cultural landscape more than thirty years ago - back then, it was a huge, animated foot which squashed everything beneath it and became one of the defining images of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
In the years since, his film credits have included Brazil, Twelve Monkeys and The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus. Now aged 70, he's directing his first opera. He says: "I've always liked the extremes, the edges. I like to know where the cliff is, but you only find out by stepping off."
Record: Ein Heldenleben
Book: Dictionary
Luxury: A mirror
Producer: Leanne Buckle.


SUN 12:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b00zzz1y)
Series 7

Episode 1

David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.

Alan Davies, Jack Dee, Marcus Brigstocke and Lucy Porter are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as: curry, eyes, flies and breasts.

The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.

Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b0105rhg)
Food and the Sicilian mafia

Sheila Dillon looks at the role of food producers and farmers in combating the Sicilian mafia.

The Sicilian "Cosa Nostra" emerged around the citrus groves of Palermo in the 19th century as control of farming and food production fell into the hands of estate managers and middle men.

From that time the influence of the mafia over food production and distribution on the island has been extensive.

In recent decades the work of investigators like Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino did much to lessen the power of the mafia but its involvement in the food business continues to this day.

Now, a new generation of entrepreneurs and anti-mafia campaigners are using food to send a message around the world that Sicily is breaking away from that past.

Producer Dan Saladino.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b0105r80)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b0107wxc)
The latest national and international news, with an in-depth look at events around the world. To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #theworldthisweekend.


SUN 13:30 What Would Jesus Eat? (b00rxjgw)
Food writer Stefan Gates investigates what was on the menu at The Last Supper, looking at a new theory that Leonardo Da Vinci thought it was grilled eels and sliced oranges.

The controversial restoration of Leonardo's masterpiece in 1997 has raised the possibility of identifying the food on the table in the painting. Stefan journeys to Milan to find the reasons Leonardo chose to paint what he did. Along the way he uncovers a long tradition of depictions of the Last Supper, giving an insight into the way Christian attitudes to food have changed.

Though Leonardo's version is the most famous, other paintings of the Last Supper have offered unusual answers to the question "what would Jesus eat", including crayfish, roast pork and even guinea pig, all decidedly un-kosher for what is commonly understood to have been a passover meal. Other paintings of the subject like that of Paolo Veronese attracted the attention of the Inquisition for the inclusion of "dwarves and drunkards".

Stefan talks to historians of art and food and visits the Last Supper in Milan to find out more on what the paintings can tell us about our relationship with food and dining.

Producer: Russell Finch

A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2010.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b0100j94)
Postbag edition from Bunny Guinness' garden

Round at Bunny's: Bob Flowerdew, Chris Beardhshaw and Eric Robson gather in Bunny Guinness' Peterborough garden to answer a selection of listener questions sent in by post and email.
In addition, a snoop around the award-winning garden designer's patch.

Produced by Howard Shannon
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 14:45 Wonderful Ways to Beat the Recession (b0105s44)
Episode 2

The American satirist Joe Queenan is fascinated by anyone who can turn an idea into a revenue stream. So three years on from his series A Wonderful Way to Make a Living - in which he met the penetration testers, the naked yoga instructor, and the emergency shirt delivery guy - Joe is back to meet the brains behind the businesses bucking the economic downturn. This week he meets the company that rents out an extraordinary array of empty properties - including police stations and fire stations - to people in search of cheap rent. The only catch is that they have to guard the property too. The producer is Miles Warde.


SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b0105s46)
Patrick O'Brian - The Mauritius Command

Episode 2

Patrick O'Brian's naval epic set in 1809, dramatised by Roger Danes. Starring David Robb as Captain Jack Aubrey and Richard Dillane as Doctor Stephen Maturin. Episode 2 of 3.

Jack Aubrey is promoted (temporarily) to Commodore to lead a squadron of English ships, charged with taking the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius and RĂ©union from the French. Jack must succeed against superior odds at sea and on land (where Stephen's subversive skills are invaluable as ever). Yet, in his new role as Commodore, Jack needs subtlety and subterfuge to win over the crews and subordinate captains of his own fleet, including the flamboyant but erratic, Lord Clonfert.

The story is based on a naval campaign in 1809-10 when Britain and France were bitterly engaged in protecting their trade routes around the southern tip of Africa - and the islands of Mauritius and RĂ©union (east of Madagascar) were viewed as strategic bases.

The Mauritius Command is the fourth novel in Patrick O'Brian's Nelsonic epic series and the sequel to HMS Surprise which was dramatised for Radio 4 in 2008.

Captain Jack Aubrey ................... DAVID ROBB
Doctor Stephen Maturin .......... ...RICHARD DILLANE
Lord Clonfert.................................SAM DALE
Dr McAdam................................. SEAN BAKER
Lt-Col Keating ............ .......THOMAS ARNOLD
Governor Farquhar ..................... .DAVID RINTOUL
Captain Corbett................. ....CHRISTIAN RODSKA
Captain Pym............................... BRIAN BOWLES
Lt Webber....................................PIP CARTER
Lt Seymour ....................... ...MAX DOWLER
Lt Briggs..................................... NYASHA HATENDI
Midshipman Cotton........................LLOYD THOMAS
Producer/director: Bruce Young.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (b0105s48)
Mariella Frostrup talks to Orange prize nominated novelist Jennifer Egan about her book, A Visit From The Goon Squad. The book takes its inspiration from the writings of Marcel Proust as well as the hit American television series The Sopranos.

Mariella is also joined by writers Hisham Matar and Mirza Waheed to examine how the experience of living in a region with ongoing political conflict translates into fiction.

Plus, children's author Anthony Horowitz and his son Cassian are in the studio to offer literary advice to arguably the most challenging reading group of all - teenage boys.

PRODUCER: AASIYA LODHI.


SUN 16:30 Lost Voices (b0105sjz)
Series 3

Anne Ridler

In the first of a new series, Brian Patten explores the life and poetry of Anne Ridler, whose quiet and lucid observations of 20th century life are often overlooked. Born into a literary family, Anne's early employment with the publisher Faber meant that she was working to T.S. Eliot. Her work, however, is very much in her own distinctive voice: quiet, contemplative, but acute in its observation. Juliet Stevenson reads a selection of Anne Ridler's poems on themes of the natural world, relationships, the rhythms of human life.

Producer Christine Hall.


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (b010025s)
Air Crashes

The investigation following an air disaster is supposed to make air travel safer. But do the reports always get to the truth about why planes crash? Emma Jane Kirby examines claims that international air accident investigations are often slow, incompetent and influenced by political sensitivities. So how does this affect the victims' families as they fight manufacturers and airlines for compensation? And could the blame game be preventing lessons being learned that could prevent future accidents?
Producer Jenny Chryss.


SUN 17:40 Profile (b0103zpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b0105r82)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b0105r84)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0105r86)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b0105syw)
Did you know... that it was accepted wisdom for a thousand years that flies had only four legs? That the female cuckoo can lay up to 25 eggs in other birds' nests in one season? That Edison refused to invent the hearing aid despite pleas from hundreds of fans... and that Himmler's watch was swapped by his captors for cigarettes? Fact or fiction? Find out in Pick of the Week.

Sounds of the 20th Century - Radio 2
Book of the Week - Ken Campbell - The Great Caper - Radio 4
Loud Organs His Glory - Radio 4
Desert Island Discs - Terry Gilliam - Radio 4
Between Ourselves - Radio 4
Great Lives - Thomas Edison - Radio 4
Shaun Keaveny - 6Music Breakfast Show
The Unbelievable Truth - Radio 4
The Cuckoo - Radio 4
Afternoon Play - Early Belt and the Present - Radio 4
Esler on Eichmann - Radio 4
Midweek - Radio 4
The Communist Cosmos - Radio 4

Liz Barclay makes her selection from the past seven days of BBC Radio
Email: potw@bbc.co.uk or www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/potw
Producer: Cecile Wright.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b0105syy)
Kathy apologises to Jolene for the things she said when they last met, and acknowledges that Jolene's in a difficult position. They resolve their differences. Kathy lays down some conditions before agreeing that Jamie can work at The Bull, including no more absence from school. She also wants him to pay housekeeping to Jolene while he stays at The Bull. Jolene respects Kathy's wishes, and also agrees to try to persuade Jamie to go back home.

Susan and Clarrie are besotted with their new granddaughter but wish she'd got a name. Ed winds them up before Emma finally reveals the baby's name is Keira Susan. Susan is delighted and Clarrie is touched when Edward says the name is for his Grandma Susan too.

Jolene discusses work hours and duties with Jamie and lets him know that she agrees with Kathy's conditions. She is also firm in telling him it's not an invitation to stay at The Bull permanently. She suggests it's not impossible for him to live with Kathy again. Jamie apologises to Jolene but says that yes it is.


SUN 19:15 Americana (b0105sz0)
Americana investigates the American Civil War.

Civil War Today:
Yale's Professor David Blight joins Matt Frei to discuss the political, social and racial tensions of the Civil War era, still reverberating through America today.

American Voices of the Civil War:
The experiences of ordinary Americans at the Battle of Antietam - STILL the bloodiest single-day battle in American history.

Dean Faulkner Wells:
Dean Faulkner Wells, niece of the double-Pulitzer-prize-winning writer, William Faulkner, recalls her own upbringing in America's Deep South.


SUN 19:45 Pavilion Pieces (b00m175f)
The Prince's Favourite

Written by Emma Barnes. Not long after the death of George IV, a group of visitors are given a tour of the Brighton Pavilion by a servant of the Royal Household. Mr Hodges takes no particular interest in the group until the oldest of the party, a dowdy spinster, drops some remarks which suggest she is less respectable than she seems. Her sister, she reveals, had a connection with the Prince Regent. As the Prince was a notorious womaniser, Mr Hodges immediately scents the whiff of scandal.

As they proceed through the marvels of the Pavilion, the old lady seems to be searching for something, beyond the many artefacts on display. Mr Hodges is so curious that he allows her access to the private Royal Apartments, in the hope of discovering more about her and her mysterious sister. The revelation, when it comes, takes Mr Hodges completely by surprise.

Read by Claire Skinner

Producer/Director: Celia de Wolff
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:00 More or Less (b0100j90)
Youth unemployment

We are frequently told that young people have never had it so bad. They can't get on the housing ladder and it's increasingly difficult to get a job. New unemployment statistics will be published next week. But will they tell the whole story?

Trumptonshire's deficit

Should the Government cut spending and raise taxes in order to cut the deficit or will doing so be counterproductive? It is, of course, the question of the moment. It's a debate about what economists call the "fiscal multiplier". But what is a fiscal multiplier? And can we measure it? Let's take an example: Trumptonshire.

Social immobility?

A shocking graph showing how the education system allows untalented rich kids to overtake talented poor kids was used by the Government this week to demonstrate Britain's lack of social mobility. But some argue the graph is distorted by one of the oldest statistical problems of all.

Producer: Richard Knight.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b0100j98)
Juliano Mer Khamis, Leslie Collier, Pinetop Perkins and Andrew Tait

Matthew Bannister on

The Israeli/Palestinian actor and director Juliano Mer Khamis. He set up the Freedom Theatre in the refugee camp at Jenin - and was shot dead earlier this week.

Also: the virologist Professor Leslie Collier. His work on smallpox vaccines led to the eradication of the illness. He also made a big impact on the treatment of the eye disease trachoma.

The veteran blues pianist Pinetop Perkins - he won a Grammy at the age of 97.

And Andrew Tait - the Director General of the National House Building Council who's been credited with ending the practice of "jerry building" in Britain.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b0103z8z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b0105r7t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 In Business (b0100ljy)
New Bric On The Block

Brazil, Russia, Indonesia and China are the BRICs - the developing countries experts think are well on their way to the top of the world's economic league table. But now there's talk that the fourth most populous country, Indonesia, is heading there, too. From Jakarta, Peter Day finds out more.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b0105t23)
Carolyn Quinn talks to Janan Ganesh of The Economist about the big political stories, including tensions within the Coalition over reforms to the NHS, the interim recommendations of an independent banking commission and the UK's role in helping Portugal overcome its debt crisis.

This week's panel of MPs consists of Stewart Hosie of the Scottish National Party and Harriett Baldwin of the Conservatives. They discuss Portugal, Britain's banks, the NHS and whether MPs from Scotland should have the right to vote on legislation which only affects England.

John Beesley reports from Rochdale on the local elections. We hear why the council is no longer run by a coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

Professor Colin Rallings of Plymouth University, a leading expert on local elections, previews the contests in England on May 5th.

Programme Editor: Terry Dignan.


SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b0105t25)
Andrew Porter

Andrew Porter of The Telegraph analyses how the broadsheets and red tops are covering the week's biggest stories.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b0100j9b)
The Film Programme covers all the tenses this week - past, present and future. Francine Stock talks to the director, Guillaume Canet, about his latest film, Little White Lies, which has sold five million tickets in France alone and is opening in cinemas here now.To look back she's joined by the writer, Paul Mayersberg and the historian, Pasquale Iannone. Paul will be discussing the genesis of Nicholas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth while, on the eve of a big Bertolucci season on London's Southbank, Pasquale considers the importance of his second feature, Before the Revolution. Last but not least, the critic Tony Rayns, examines China's attitude to foreign films and what the future might hold for directors trying to get a toehold in its huge market

Producer - Zahid Warley.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b0105r7h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 11 APRIL 2011

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b0103tcd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b0100gr4)
Streetlife - Performing politics in the square

In 1905 Russians gathered at 6 different points to march on the Winter Palace and the streetscape of St Petersburg contributed enormously to their success. The Russian poor were cheek by jowl with the rich and this inflamed a class consciousness which - despite industrialisation - the poor suburbs of Europe did much to dissapate. How does urban geography effect the way societies develop? What have streets given to politics? As street protests continue to challenge authority across the Middle East and violence characterises the marches in our own capital, Laurie is joined by Leif Jerram and John Clarke from the Open University to discuss the role the street in the history of politics. Also on the programme Jeffrey Alexander discusses how the revolution was 'performed' for Egypt and for the rest of the world from Cairo's central square. That compelling drama provided a powerful symbol which was enough to bring down the government.
Producer: Charlie Taylor.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b0105r7c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0103tcg)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0103tcj)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0103tcl)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b0103tcn)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0105t6m)
with the Rev Dr Bert Tosh.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b0105t6p)
A new report measuring nitrogen pollution says it's costing 280 billion pounds a year. That's ÂŁ650 annually for every person in Europe. Two thirds of the problem is being attributed to farming. Charlotte Smith asks an author of the European Nitrogen Assessment what needs to be done and whether British farmers are doing enough.

Around a third of beef cattle and 93% of dairy animals are bred using artificial insemination. Charlotte visits a farm which chooses to keep a breeding bull and asks if there's still a need for them on farms in the UK.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.


MON 05:57 Weather (b0103tcq)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b0105t6r)
Including Sports Desk at 6.25am, 7.25am, 8.25am; Weather 6.05am, 6.57am, 7.57am; Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b0105vth)
Tom Sutcliffe talks to Anne Dudley about the new opera, The Doctor's Tale, which with a Monty Python-esque absurdity tells the story of a devoted doctor, who just happens to be a dog. The writer Elif Batuman follows the footsteps of her Russian literary heroes, to see whether their lives and work can influence her own. While the BBC's former Moscow correspondent, Martin Sixsmith takes in a thousand years of Russian history. And David Runciman asks 'Can Democracy Cope?' with what is happening around the world, and looks back to the works of Tocqueville and Nietzsche to help make sense of the state of democracy today.
Producer: Katy Hickman.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b0105vtk)
The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting

Episode 1

French psychologist Marie de Hennezel looks at western attitudes to ageing and asks if we can transform the way we feel about growing old, to make this most feared period one of the best times of our lives.

Relating her encounters with extraordinary people who have embraced ageing happily and with grace, de Hennezel guides us through the art of growing old.

Read by Alexandra Mathie.
Abridged by Alison Joseph.

Marie de Hennezel is a respected psychologist and psychotherapist who works with the French government to raise awareness of palliative care. She has written nine books about the end of life, including 'Intimate Death', and is the author of two ministerial reports on caring for those with terminal illnesses.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0105vtm)
With Jenni Murray. Mothers' and babies' lives are being put in danger by the UK's over-stretched and under-resourced maternity services. So are super units the way forward? Jenni explores the issues. Ursula Sladec has just won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. She tells Jenni how her quest to limit Germany's dependence on nuclear power ended up with her, and her like-minded neighbours, owning the local electricity supply. Back in 1971, the feminist artist Margaret Harrison famously depicted Hugh Hefner as a bunny girl. She joins Jenni to discuss a new retrospective of her work. Also, the growing outdoor sport of Parkour and the pleasures of the European Picture Book Collection.


MON 10:45 Roald Dahl (b0105vtp)
Kiss Kiss

William And Mary

Meet Mary Pearl, who thinks she's finally free of William, the tyrannical husband who forbade her all life's pleasures, when he dies after a short illness.

She subsequently learns, however, that - hoping to cheat the grave - he allowed a scientist to remove his brain and attach it to a life support system. This gives her the opportunity to get her own back....

Five classic tales by Roald Dahl starring Charles Dance as the urbane Storyteller and Celia Imrie as Mary.

Taken from the anthology, Kiss, Kiss. Bizarre and amusing by turns, these black comedies are justly famous for their surprise endings. They show Dahl at the height of his powers as a writer of adult fiction, and are characterised by their deliciously cynical view of human nature and the relish with which they punish the charlatans, bullies and schemers who inhabit their world.

Dramatised by Stephen Sheridan.

Storyteller....Charles Dance
Mary.......Celia Imrie
William......John Rowe
Landy......Nigel Anthony

Director: David Blount

A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2011.


MON 11:00 Random Edition (b0105vtr)
1961 First Man in Space 50th Anniversary Special

This Peter Snow Random Edition Special, marking the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first manned spaceflight, brings alive the Daily Telegraph for April 13th 1961. The highlight is an interview with Yuri Gagarin's daughter, Yelena Gagarina, specially recorded for the programme in Moscow.

Gagarina talks about how her father hugely regretted that his experience in space was over so fast. he wanted to experience space again but it proved impossible. Random Edition visits the National Space Centre in Leicester, where Peter Snow enters a mock-up of Gagarin's Vostok 1 spacecraft and inspects a soviet-made space suit for a dog.

Among the contributors to the programme are astronomers Sir Bernard Lovell and Sir Patrick Moore. In 1961 Lovell was establishing Jodrell Bank as one of the world's great centres for space research. Now 97, he reflects on his confidence shown in this 1961 Daily Telegraph that Russia would be first to the moon. Lovell also talks of his role in the use of Jodrell Bank as an early warning indicator of a soviet missile attack on Britain. He talks of his belief that he was lucky to survive his visits to moscow in this period.

This Special Random Edition also brings alive the newspaper's reporting of wild celebrations in Russia at the news of Gagarin's flight. in 1961, Olga Selivanova was living in the caucasus. she recalls hearing the news on the sole tv set left on the shelves of her local department store. The Daily Telegraph shows the British Government congratulating Russia on the space flight, but the authorities were reluctant to host Gagarin on his international PR tour later in 1961...until he accepted an invitation to visit a foundrymen's union in Manchester. We hear from a Mancunian who cine-filmed Gagarin's arrival at Ringway Airport.

Producer: Andrew Green
An Andrew Green production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 11:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b0105vtt)
Series 4

Magical Mister Murgatroyd

The hit Radio 4 series 'Fags, Mags & Bags' returns with a 4th series with more shop based shenanigans and over the counter philosophy, courtesy of Ramesh Mahju and his trusty sidekick Dave.

Written by and starring Donald McLeary and Sanjeev Kohli. 'Fags, Mags & Bags' has proved a hit with the Radio 4 audience with the show also collecting a Sony nomination and a Writers' Guild award in 2008. This brand new series sees a crop of new shop regulars, and some guest appearances along the way from the likes of Mina Anwar and Kevin Eldon.

In this episode Alok announces his sudden engagement to Siddiqua, the daughter of the local Pennywise empire and shop rival to Ramesh. So is it love that is driving Alok, or the promise of a gadget filled backshop?

So join the staff of 'Fags, Mags and Bags' in their tireless quest to bring nice-price custard creams and cans of coke with Arabic writing on them to an ungrateful nation. Ramesh Mahju has built it up over the course of 30 years, and is a firmly entrenched feature of the local area. Ramesh loves the art of the 'shop'.

However; he does apply the 'low return' rules of the shop to all other aspects of his life. Ramesh is ably assisted by his shop sidekick Dave, a forty-something underachiever who shares Ramesh's love of the art of shopkeeping, even if he is treated like a slave.

Then of course there are Ramesh's sons Sanjay and Alok, both surly and not particularly keen on the old school approach to shopkeeping, but natural successors to the business, and Ramesh is keen to pass all his worldly wisdom onto them whether they like it or not!

Cast:
Ramesh ..... Sanjeev Kolhi
Dave ..... Donald McLeary
Sanjay ..... Omar Raza
Alok ..... Susheel Kumar
Mrs Begg ..... Marjory Hogarth
Keith Futures ..... Greg McHugh
Siddiqua ..... Debbie Welsh
Shahid Mirza ..... Mani Sumal

Producer/Director: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b0105vtw)
How much do you spend on your mobile? Could you save money just by switching your contract ?
We investigate whether home pregnancy tests could be made accessible for blind and visually impaired women. We'll ask if London 2012 will be the Greenest ever Olympics and chat to entrepreneur Theo Paphitis about his latest ventures.


MON 12:57 Weather (b0103tcs)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b01075s1)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4. Thirty minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews. To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


MON 13:30 Counterpoint (b0105vty)
Series 25

Episode 2

(2/13)
Do you know which role in classical music has been performed over the years by Boris Karloff, Dame Edna Everage, David Bowie and Sir Sean Connery, among others?

Paul Gambaccini will have the answer, as he takes the chair for the second heat in the 25th anniversary series of the wide-ranging music quiz. Facing his questions this week are contestants from Hertfordshire, Middlesex and the West Midlands.

As usual, the questions cover everything from the classical repertoire to film music, show tunes, classic jazz, rock and pop. There'll be a chance for the contestants to specialise, with a choice of musical topics on which to answer their own individual questions - but they get no advance warning of the categories.

The quiz features plenty of musical extracts, some familiar, others rarely heard.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b0105syy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b0105vv0)
The Afghan and the Penguin

Neither Muriel, Younis' landlady, nor Major Douglas, his MOD case officer, can help the Afghan interpreter. Having sustained an injury in Afghanistan while serving with the British army, Younis has been brought back to England for an operation and recuperation within an MOD safe house.

As he faces deportation back home to an uncertain fate, the Afghan interpreter is prepared to try anything in his attempt to stay. Muriel tries her best to keep his spirits up and even allows a moment of intimacy. On a whim she takes him to her local wet zoo where Younis befriends an unlikely companion, a penguin. Two very different beings out of their element. But can the penguin offer him any comfort? And can he use what he has learnt from the penguin to help persuade Major Douglas he should be allowed to stay?

Michael Hastings' original play for radio takes a wry look at the world through the eyes of those who play an unsung part in the war in Afghanistan.

Cast:
Younis ..... Sargon Yelda
Muriel ..... Lynne Miller
Major Dougie ..... Alan Cox
Lieutenant/Policeman ..... Christian Bradley
Station Jock ..... Christian Brassington
The Boy ..... Timon Greaves

Directed by Steven Atkinson
Produced by Nicholas Newton
A Promenade production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 15:00 Archive on 4 (b0103zpt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


MON 15:45 America, Empire of Liberty (b00gtlx2)
The Passing of the Dead

David Reynolds tells the story of the American Civil War which began 150 years ago this month.

Episode 6: 'The Passing of the Dead': The end of the Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Previously broadcast on 26 January, 2009, as part of David Reynolds' 90 part series on the history of Amerca.


MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b0105rhg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 Click On (b0105ymq)
Series 8

Crowdsourcing Japanese radiation

As officials struggle to stop radioactive material seeping into the sea and air, software developers in Japan and around the world have been using their skills to try and help out. We speak to Shigeru Koboyashi in Japan, who has been distributing Geiger counters and hooking them up to an online radiation visualisation map, created by London-based Haiyan Zang.

High frequency trading relies on computers competing with each other to trade in the money markets. Simon asks who is regulating this need for speed and whether it could contribute to another financial crisis. We also hear concerns that the IT system used by the London Stock Exchange will in time struggle to deal with the ever faster algorithms used by traders.

Simon visits the Metropolitan Police's Digital and Electronic Forensic Lab, where police officers are now able to provide barristers and defence lawyers access to interactive evidence in court; allowing greater flexibility during trials, helping to engage jurors and helping in some cases to cut court cases by four weeks.

And George MacKerron an Environmental Economist from LSE discuses the results of his Mappiness, which collates information from thousands of people to find out when, why and where we are at our happiest.

Producer Kate Bissell.


MON 17:00 PM (b0105yms)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


MON 17:54 Referendum Campaign Broadcast (b0109k21)
Referendum Campaign Broadcast by the No campaign for the referendum on changing the UK voting system on 5th May 2011.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0103tcv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b0105ymv)
Series 7

Episode 2

David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.

Clive Anderson, Sue Perkins, Henning Wehn and Graeme Garden are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as: dogs, lobsters, Lewis Carroll and the sun.

The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.

Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b0105t3l)
Roy telephones Elizabeth to accept her job offer, then has the difficult task of telling Caroline. Caroline is dismayed to learn he's handing in his notice and shares her feeling of resentment with Oliver. They grudgingly admit it's a wonderful opportunity for Roy. Caroline suggests the possibly of not replacing him. But Oliver is not keen on her taking on the extra work.

Fallon assures Jolene that she can cope with Jamie over the holidays, while Jolene and Kenton go to Monte Carlo. Jolene worries that she's letting Sid down but Fallon insists it's what Sid would have wanted. Jolene tells Kenton how confident she is that Fallon has got everything under control regarding the Easter events at The Bull.

Jolene wants to mark this new phase in her life, and Kenton suggests that giving up smoking would be a good life mark. Jolene's not convinced she can do it but Kenton vows to support her. He suggests that she hand over her cigarettes immediately as there's no time like the present!


MON 19:15 Front Row (b0105ymx)
Writer Rona Munro; Meek's Cutoff reviewed

With Kirsty Lang, including an interview with playwright and screenwriter Rona Munro, who this month launches two new plays - one about the early Soviet space programme, and one about a Chinese couple in Edinburgh - and her film, Oranges and Sunshine about the organised deportation of children in care from Britain to Australia.

Horses and wagons feature in a new western, Meek's Cutoff, about the tribulations of three pioneer families in 1845, making their way across the harsh Oregon desert. Writer John Harvey reviews.

As this year's London Book Fair focuses on the Russian market, leading Russian writers Boris Akunin, Mikhail Shishkin and German Sadulaev, and poet Maria Stepanova explore the current literary scene in the country.

And film critic Adam Smith casts a critical eye over today's film-trailers - and notices various stylistic trends.

Producer Rebecca Nicholson.


MON 19:45 Roald Dahl (b0105vtp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 The Sub 2-Hour Marathon: Sport's Holy Grail (b0105ymz)
Sixty years ago, people said the four minute mile was impossible: in 1954 they all gasped in disbelief when Roger Bannister proved them wrong. They also said the 100 metres would never be run in under 10 seconds and shuddered again when Jim Hines did just that in 1968. Will the 2 hour marathon be the next great sporting barrier to be broken or will it remain beyond human endeavour? The question polarises opinion among athletes, sports scientists and commentators worldwide.

BBC reporter and marathon runner Chris Dennis will explore whether it's physically and mentally possible to run 26.2 miles in 120 minutes.

In the hills around Addis Ababa, the current world record holder Haile Gebrselassie tells him what it felt like to run the distance in 2 hours 3 minutes 59 seconds, how close to the limit he pushed his body, but why he is still convinced the two hour barrier will be broken in the next 20-30 years. Other elite athletes, including the women's marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe and London marathon Race Director Dave Bedford also explain when and how they think it will happen.

The Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru will argue that the sub 2-hour marathon is simply a pipedream, a landmark too far. The Secretary General of World Marathon Majors, Glenn Latimer, who has worked with many of the world's leading athletes for 30 years also has serious reservations.

Chris also heads to Loughborough to the English Institute of Sport to meet Dr Barry Fudge who gets him on the treadmill so he can experience first-hand what it feels like to run a mile in 4 minutes 35 seconds, the pace required for a sub 2 hour marathon.

Producer: Jo Meek
An All Out Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b0100jq5)
Ecuador

The Ecuadorian Amazon region is one of the most bio-diverse on the planet. In one area, nearly 600 bird species, 80 kinds of bat and 150 varieties of amphibian have been recorded. And it's possible that the density of one of the rarest wild cats, the jaguar, is twice as high as anywhere else in the world. This is also home to two of the last uncontacted groups of indigenous people in the world, who choose to live undisturbed in voluntary isolation.

But beneath the rich tropical soil lies another treasure - nearly a billion barrels of untapped oil, 20% of this Latin American nation's reserves. Ecuador has calculated that if it were to exploit this petroleum, it would make over $7 billion. That is a significant sum of money for a relatively poor nation. But instead, the government has a radical plan: if the international community will compensate Ecuador for half of the loss of revenue, the government will pledge to protect this unique environment and keep the drillers out. With the funds raised, Ecuador will invest in social projects and non-carbon forms of energy, and aims to create a global template for other poor equatorial countries with oil.

This is what's known as Plan A in Ecuador, and President Correa has set a deadline of the end of 2011 to collect the first US $100 million. If donors don't materialise, he has always said he will implement Plan B - to begin the process of extracting crude from this particular oil block, known as Yasuni-ITT.

For Crossing Continents, Linda Pressly travels deep into the rainforest to find out what is at stake. She visits a community of Haorani indigenous people who have a history of resisting - often violently - the encroachment of oil companies in the Amazon. And with the recent court judgement against the US oil giant Chevron - who took over Texaco - and a resulting hefty fine of over US$8 billion for pollution, she traces the often dirty history of oil exploitation in Ecuador.

But how realistic is the Yasuni-ITT initiative? Ecuador's economy is dependent on oil exports. Technology too has moved on, and an oil investor and analyst tells Crossing Continents that not only has the industry learnt some lessons, but also that it is now possible to extract oil from the pristine forest with minimal damage to the ecosystems.

So far it seems the Ecuadorean people support Plan A. But although international donors have shown moral backing for the government's idea to save the rainforest, this hasn't been matched by contributions to the fund. And with less than half the $100 million pledged, the clock is ticking for one of the world's most unique and precious habitats.

Producer: Emil Petrie.


MON 21:00 Material World (b0100ljm)
Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. He talks to Professor Alison Bruce from Brighton University about the latest developments at the Fukushima plant in Japan. He's joined in the studio by Dr. Fred Kavalier a GP and former genetics consultant to discuss pre-pregnancy diagnosis and what genetic conditions it could possibly help detect. Professor Ian Stewart will also be in the programme explaining why maths is fundamental to biology, which is also the subject of his latest book "Mathematics of Life" and Royal Society Head Archivist Keith Moore is bringing in some of the scientific travel manuscripts that have been scanned and put online for all to enjoy.

The producer is Ania Lichtarowicz.


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b0105vth)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b0103tcx)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b01083xr)
The former president of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, has been arrested during a military operation. We'll have the latest from Abidjan and hear the implications.

We'll debate the recommendations for the future of banking - what will they mean for consumers?

And we'll be celebrating fifty years of the first manned orbit of the earth.

The World Tonight with Ritula Shah.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0105yn1)
Plague Child

Episode 1

Written by Peter Ransley. Abridged by Eileen Horne.

It is 1625 - on a rainy night in Oxfordshire, Tom Neave's life nearly ends as soon as it has begun, when Lord Stonehouse orders that the newborn must be cast into the plague pit - but the future holds much more in store for the red-haired, hot tempered boy who relates the story of his early years, from a childhood at the docks in Poplar into an apprenticeship at a City printers, which will take him into the the heart of politics at a turning point in British history.

Read by Jamie Glover

Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b010023v)
Michael Rosen explores the complex relationship between language and sport, and asks "If sport is so unpredictable, why is it that sports punditry is so predictably cliche-ridden?"
Michael talks to commentators, athletes, and athletes-turned-commentators to see if the arrival of the Olympics on British soil is likely to herald a new era of hyperbole and inarticulate over-excitement.

Producer: John Byrne.


MON 23:30 In Living Memory (b00tbbtz)
Series 12

Pope John Paul II in Britain

The visit by Pope John Paul II to England, Scotland and Wales in 1982 was a momentous occasion for British Catholics. This was the first time a Pope had set foot in Britain. The six day tour was a pastoral trip not a state visit, and on occasion after occasion the Pope showed his popular touch. In Westminster and Wembley, Coventry and Cardiff, the crowds turned out for noisy, colourful celebrations.

But the visit - which cost millions to organise - was very nearly cancelled at the last minute. As the Pope's arrival day in May 1982 drew closer, the crisis in the Falklands deepened. Many commentators suggested it would be impossible for the Pope to visit a nation at war with Argentina, a Catholic country. Argentine and British bishops flocked to Rome to press their case. Back in Liverpool, Bishop Vincent Malone was in the final planning meetings for the northern leg of the tour. As he waited for a call from his Archbishop in Rome with, he firmly expected, bad news, he discussed first aid and whether creams should be in tubes or bottles. It all seemed a little pointless. But then the phone went. It was the late Archbishop Derek Worlock - Pope John Paul II had defied the doubters and the trip was on.

In this programme, Chris Ledgard speaks to Bishop Malone, other officials and people who were part of the huge crowds and congregations. The main organiser, Monsignor Ralph Brown, explains how he dealt with companies wanting to cash in on the souvenir trade by bringing in the world's biggest sports management company, IMG. More used to dealing with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, IMG led the church through the commercial side of the tour, negotiating deals on popemobiles, taking care of spoons and candlesticks, and seeing off the firm that wanted to produce a screwdriver with a flashing papal head!



TUESDAY 12 APRIL 2011

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b0102rt7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b0105vtk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0102rt9)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0102rtc)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0102rtf)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b0102rtj)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b010b9f7)
with the Rev Dr Bert Tosh.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b0105yv1)
There are reports that the UK native oyster population could wiped out by a parasite. Bonamia exitosa has devastated stocks in Australia and New Zealand and now it's in Cornwall. Also in the programme, one supermarket is trialling sales of turkey eggs, and the bulls that have sired tens of thousands of cattle.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Martin Poyntz-Roberts.


TUE 06:00 Today (b0105yv3)
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and Justin Webb:
07:51 The Church of England has issued new guidance to clergy in an attempt to cut the number of sham marriages in the UK.
08:10 Can government help people to become happier?
08:20 Marking the 50th anniversary of the day Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space.


TUE 09:00 Between Ourselves (b0105zk7)
Series 6

Episode 2

Lady Carnarvon of Highclere Castle (the setting for Downton Abbey) and James Hervey Bathurst of Eastnor Castle discuss the responsibility of owning two of Britain's finest stately homes.

What's it like having everyone from Maggie Smith to Madonna, plus accompanying film crews, invade your family seat? Do you agree to place lit candles under oil paintings to keep the director happy?

Is it a necessary evil or a genuine pleasure to throw open your grounds and home to the general public? How else to make ends meet when the maintenance bills and heating costs for these old, cold, stone houses are so high?

Olivia O'Leary discusses how best to run your Stately Home on this week's Between Ourselves.

Producer: Karen Gregor.


TUE 09:30 The Prime Ministers (b0105zk9)
Series 2

William Pitt the Younger

Nick Robinson, the BBC Political Editor, begins a second series exploring how different prime ministers have used their power, responded to the great challenges of their time and made the job what it is today. The first of Nick's eight portraits in power is William Pitt the Younger, who became prime minister aged only 24 and held the post for almost 19 years in total. When Pitt died aged 46, he was younger than most of other premiers were when they first became prime minister. His father, Pitt the Elder (earl of Chatham), and his uncle, George Grenville, were both former prime ministers, and Pitt the Younger dedicated his life to politics.

Nick hears from William Hague, Foreign Secretary, former Conservative Leader and award-winning biographer of Pitt the Younger, and historians Jane Ridley and Jeremy Black. He recalls Pitt's life and times by visiting Downing Street, the Bank of England, the House of Commons, Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey.

Britain faced massive debts when Pitt became prime minister, but in 1783 the cause had been a disastrous war in America. Pitt began by reducing debt and boosting trade, but the impact of the French Revolution in 1789 dominated the rest of his premiership. The cost of the French wars plunged Britain deeper into debt, forcing Pitt to print money (he authorised the first ÂŁ1 and ÂŁ5 banknotes) and to introduce income tax for the first time. Shortly before his death, Nelson's victory at Trafalgar ensured Britain's security, but Napoleon dominated Europe and was not finally defeated until nine years after Pitt's death.

In this series, Nick Robinson also looks at Earl Grey, William Gladstone, Herbert Asquith, Ramsay MacDonald, Harold Macmillan, Harold Wilson and Edward Heath.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b0105zkc)
The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting

Episode 2

French psychologist Marie de Hennezel looks at western attitudes to ageing and asks if we can transform the way we feel about growing old, making this most feared period one of the best times of our lives.

In conversation with inspiring older people, de Hennezel tests her thesis that terror of old age is caused by a failure to see how we can learn from ageing.

Read by Alexandra Mathie.
Abridged by Alison Joseph

Marie de Hennezel is a respected psychologist and psychotherapist who works with the French government to raise awareness of palliative care. She has written nine books about the end of life, including 'Intimate Death', and is the author of two ministerial reports on caring for those with terminal illnesses.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0105zkf)
With Jenni Murray. The actor Celia Imrie has just published her autobiography, 'The Happy Hoofer'. She talks to Jenni about friendships, single parenthood - and Alan Bates. Tomorrow, Domestic Violence Homicide Reviews will become law. Jenni is joined by Frank Mullane whose sister and nephew were murdered in 2003. Frank has campaigned tirelessly to bring about this change in the law. Catherine Hardwicke became a household name when she directed the film 'Twilight'. Her latest film is 'Red Riding Hood' - so what attracts her to the fantasy thriller? And, as part of our Women in Business series, Jenni discusses how to make the best of a business disaster.


TUE 10:45 Roald Dahl (b0105zkh)
Kiss Kiss

Parson's Pleasure

Meet Cyril Boggis, an unscrupulous antiques dealer, who charms his way into people's homes disguised as a simple parson, hoping to pick up neglected treasures for a song.

One bright, Sunday afternoon however, all does not go according to plan when, in the home of farmer Rummins, he discovers a priceless Chippendale commode...

Five classic tales by Roald Dahl starring Charles Dance as the urbane Storyteller and Ronald Pickup as Cyril.

Taken from the anthology, Kiss, Kiss. Bizarre and amusing by turns, these black comedies are justly famous for their surprise endings. They show Dahl at the height of his powers as a writer of adult fiction, and are characterised by their deliciously cynical view of human nature and the relish with which they punish the charlatans, bullies and schemers who inhabit their world.

Dramatised by Stephen Sheridan.

Storyteller....Charles Dance
Cyril Boggis....Ronald Pickup
Rummins...David Ryall
Claud......John Baddeley
Lady Harcourt..Lucie Fitchett

Director: David Blount

A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2011.


TUE 11:00 Voodoo Wasps and Zombie Worms (b01061hk)
Almost every organism on Earth has an associated parasite, and most have quite a few. We're used to the idea that influenza and malaria microbes can wreak havoc on our bodies, but researchers now realise how they can also infect our minds, intentionally changing the way we think and behave.

Toxoplasma gondii is a tiny microbe that convinces rats to overcome their fear of cats. This suicidal behaviour will eventually get the rat eaten, passing on the microbe. T gondii will infect just about any warm blooded animal - including humans. It causes birth defects in humans, and farmers fear the onset of "abortion storms" where whole flocks of ewes miscarry. Due to us flushing cat litter down the toilet it's now infecting dolphins too. T gondii is now the world's most successful parasite, infecting 40% to 60% of humans on the planet.

Scientists in America are now looking at evidence that Toxocara and its relations are responsible for illnesses such as schizophrenia. This is because excessive production of the neurotransmitter dopamine is associated with schizophrenia - and toxoplasma gondii, uniquely, actually manufactures dopamine.

So how about getting rid of T gondii once it's penetrated your brain? So far, there's no vaccine available except for sheep. The development of a human vaccine has so far been slow, partly because T gondii doesn't kill. However, there's exciting evidence that anti-psychosis drugs such as the ones used for mental illnesses such as schizophrenia stop the T gondii from replicating in the brain.

Thankfully, not all parasites are harmful - and a national team of scientists in the U.S. are investigating the role that other parasites can play in treating Crohn's disease and other chronic autoimmune disorders.


TUE 11:30 The RSC at 50 (b01061hm)
The First Ten Years

James Naughtie explores the history of the Royal Shakespeare Company as it marks its 50th birthday and reopens its main Stratford theatre. Part 2: The First Ten Years.

In the second programme of his three-part series, James Naughtie explores how the Royal Shakespeare Company came into being in 1961 and its extraordinarily dynamic first ten years.

He speaks with the two key players - Peter Hall and Peter Brook (both now in their eighties, both still busily working in theatre) - about the stultifying 1950s theatre culture which they inherited. As Brook vividly recalls, "those old laddie codger actors just boomed away".

The two Peters discuss other aspects which were ripe for change - the need for a European-style ensemble, for training in verse-speaking, for longer and more open rehearsals, for productions which arose from a particular time rather than simply being wheeled out again and again - all RSC hallmarks which are now taken for granted. Veteran members of the company Patrick Stewart and Judi Dench recall the joys of that time, including, in Dench's case, the indiscrete joys of affairs which inevitably arose due to the geographical isolation of Stratford. Contemporary Associate Director Greg Doran explains the attraction of working in Stratford - walking daily, on his way to rehearsals, past the church where Shakespeare was baptized and buried; while Hall explains how vital it was to start up a London season if he was to succeed in turning a group of actors into a world-class company.

Meanwhile, the current Company dramaturge Jeannie O'Hare explains how productions of new works by contemporary writers - Pinter, Bond, Hare - helped re-energize the RSC, culminating in what is often seen as its aesthetic high-point - Brook's Dream in 1971 - which, in a rare interview, the great Peter Brook himself recalls for the programme.

The series as a whole features an exclusive breadth of interviews with the key players of the past half century. With the help of all five artistic directors: Peter Hall, Trevor Nunn, Terry Hands, Adrian Noble and Michael Boyd; luminaries such as Peter Brook, Cicely Berry, Greg Doran, Judi Dench, Patrick Stewart and David Tennant; and backstage artists, technicians and craftspeople, James Naughtie explores both the history of the company and the reasons why its work matters to the wider British cultural scene.

Producer: Beaty Rubens.


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b010g9jm)
Should teachers be given more respect and valued for their classroom skills? As teachers at a Lancashire school strike over pupils' bad behaviour, who would want to join the profession? If you're a teacher who's disillusioned with the whole education system or someone who feels passionate about passing on your knowledge to the next generation, we'd like to hear from you. Should parents take more responsibility for discipline and not leave it to schools to deal with? How can teachers tackle disruptive behaviour and inspire unmotivated students? If you're doing teacher-training now, what are your hopes and fears? To share your views, email youandyours@bbc.co.uk or call 03700 100 444 (lines open at 10am Tuesday).


TUE 12:57 Weather (b0102rtn)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b01075rn)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4. Thirty minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews. To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


TUE 13:30 Into the Music Library (b01061hr)
It's the music which has surrounded us our whole lives, but which most of us have never quite heard let alone listened to... and nearly all of it made in the UK.

Sometimes called 'Source music', 'Mood Music' or as it's best known, 'Library music': a hugely important part of British sonic history. Its use and purpose is simple: it's well produced, economic music for film, TV, advertising and radio. Never commercially available to the general public, this music was pressed onto vinyl from the 1950s onwards in short, limited quantities and then sent directly to TV production houses and radio stations for use when necessary.

From the mid 1960s onwards, as TV and radio productions expanded, so did library music usage. As a result the golden age of TV (and our memories of it) is not only punctuated but dominated by classic library music.

Sports themes, situation comedies, game shows, cartoons, talk shows, classic children's tv, the testcards and even Farmhouse Kitchen was brought to us all with the help of library music. Themes for Terry And June, Grange Hill, Mastermind, Match Of The Day and of course that gallery tune from Vision On are all well placed library cues. But there are reels (and reels) of gorgeously crafted, equally great stuff that never made it past the elevator door! We have been surrounded by it forever, but we know so little about it.... Where does it comes from? Who actually makes it? And how do you actually set about making music for the inside of a waiting area, a lift or for a plane before it takes off?

In this first ever documentary about library music we'll look into its history (starting in 1909), speak with the dynastic library owners (de Wolfe, KPM, John Gale), We find out what's it's like to make music to imaginary pictures by speaking to the library music makers (which could include Jimmy Page and Brian Eno), and even have a word with the Musicians Union who banned UK recording of library music throughout the late 60s.

We also talk to the modern day enthusiasts, the collectors (Jerry Dammers) and explore the contemporary influences of this extraordinary musical genre. And of course re-acquaint ourselves with some of the most familiar music we've never listened to!

Presented by collector and archivist Jonny Trunk.

Producer: Simon Hollis
A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b0105t3l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b01061ht)
Anita Sullivan - Titanium

History rarely remembers who came second. If Yuri Gagarin had so much as sneezed on the 12th of April 1961 the honour of being the first man in orbit would have gone to his training partner, Gherman Titov. But Gagarin didn't sneeze and a disappointed Titov had to climb back down the launch tower. A few months later Titov did launch successfully in Vostock II. He completed 17 earth orbits (got space-sick, ate and slept) and is still the youngest person ever to have gone into space. But he's largely unheard of because he wasn't 'first'. In Anita Sullivan's play, which marks the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, the story of the two cosmonauts - their training, their selection, the flight and its aftermath, is told through Titov's eyes as he waits at Chkalovsky Airbase for Yuri to return from what should have been a routine training flight on the 27th March 1968.

A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.


TUE 15:00 Making History (b01061hw)
Helen Castor and the team explore recent historical research and follow up listeners' questions and comments.

Today: a piece of iron 1400 years old which was found near Folkestone in Kent provides even more evidence that the 7th century was far from dark. It's a 'coulter', an attachment to a plough which helped it cultivate heavy land. Thought to have disappeared at the end of Roman occupation this is evidence of a boom time in English agriculture.

From America we receive an image of a chicken, the Stars and Stripes and the legend "I've got a chicken in France". Evidence of a wartime romantic assignation? Sadly not. Actually a leading historian and a respected virologist believe it could be evidence of a sponsorship scheme that fuelled the world's most deadly pandemic.

Back home in 'blighty' a leading historian from the University of Essex is travelling around England trying to track down examples of a 'protestation' or oath which he argues was at the heart of divisions during the Civil War.

Finally, to Suffolk where we try to help a band of volunteers at a former American airbase who have found a reel of film which they think may well bring to life its role in the wartime air bombardment of Europe.

Producer: Nick Patrick
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b01061hy)
Edna O'Brien - Saints and Sinners

Madame Cassandra

'Madame Cassandra' by Edna O'Brien.
Read by Sorcha Cusack.
Abridged by Doreen Estall
Produced by Lawrence Jackson

Edna O'Brien is one of the most distinguished writers and figures in the world of letters. Since emerging from Ireland in the early 1960s with 'The Country Girls', her many novels including 'Girl with Green Eyes', 'House of Splendid Isolation' and 'In The Forest' have attracted both praise and controversy. 'Saints and Sinners' is her eagerly awaited new collection.

Sorcha Cusack's numerous theatre credits range from plays with the RSC and National Theatre to Frank McGuinness's 'Baglady' to 'Bloody Sunday' at the Tricycle. Her many TV and film credits include 'Eureka Street', 'Snatch' and 'Middletown'.

Producer Lawrence Jackson's credits for Radio 4 include four series of the popular murder-mystery 'Baldi', two series of John Connolly's 'Ghost Stories' and the Classic Serial 'Barry Lyndon'. For Radio 7 his credits include C.S.Lewis' 'Out of the Silent Planet' and 'Perelandra', G.K.Chesterton's 'The Man Who Was Thursday', Daphne Du Maurier's 'The House on the Strand' and classic ghost stories by Sheridan Le Fanu and Algernon Blackwood.


TUE 15:45 America, Empire of Liberty (b00gtlwm)
Dead States, New Birth

David Reynolds tells the story of the American Civil War and its aftermath

Episode 7: 'Dead States, New Birth': The North attempts to force change upon the South.

Previously broadcast on 27 January, 2009, as part of David Reynolds 90 part history of America.


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b010626m)
Politeness

Michael Rosen takes a well-mannered look at politeness. Is it true that "thank you", "goodbye" and other traditional expressions of courtesy are dying out?

Cora Malinak is a trainer who helps people from other cultures to learn the unwritten rules of communicating politely in English. Geraldine D'Amico discusses French ideas on politeness, and the rules about using "tu" and "vous".

Blogger Sarah Ditum talks us through the "online disinhibition effect". Why is it that emails can seem ruder than other forms of communication?

And Michael talks to the eminent linguist and author Professor Deborah Tannen, who has spent many years studying the language of politeness, and believes that what seems like rudeness can in fact just be a different conversational style.

Producer Beth O'Dea.


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b010626p)
Series 24

Leonard Bernstein

The conductor Charles Hazlewood chooses the great American composer Leonard Bernstein, music director of the New York Philharmonic and creator of West Side Story, Wonderful Town, and Candide. The charismatic Bernstein clearly influenced Charles Hazlewood's own choice of career - he's an award winning conductor, made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 2003 and recently presented The Birth of British Music on BBC tv. Joining him in the studio is Humphrey Burton, friend and professional colleague of Leonard Bernstein and whose documentaries include The Making of West Side Story. Matthew Parris presents. The producer is Miles Warde.


TUE 17:00 PM (b010626r)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


TUE 17:56 Referendum Campaign Broadcast (b0109kly)
A campaign broadcast for the referendum on changing the UK voting system on 5th May.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0102rtq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Down the Line (b010626t)
Series 4

Episode 5

The return of the ground-breaking, Radio 4 show, hosted by the legendary Gary Bellamy; brought to you by the creators of The Fast Show.

Down The Line stars Rhys Thomas as Gary Bellamy, with Amelia Bullmore, Simon Day, Felix Dexter, Charlie Higson, Lucy Montgomery, and Paul Whitehouse.

Special guests are Rosie Cavaliero, Dave Cummings and Adil Ray

Producers: Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse
A Down The Line production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b010626w)
Elizabeth doesn't want to think about her birthday but is looking forward to Roy starting his new role in a month's time. She's got some of her energy back but admits to feeling bad about Caroline. Elizabeth visits Caroline to apologise. The atmosphere is tense, but both acknowledge that they can be professional about the situation.

David is frustrated that the milk yield figures are under target. Ruth tries to assure him that it's not his fault. Jill wonders about inviting Josh to the Beekeepers' Spring Convention next weekend. David's sure he'd love it. They also discuss Elizabeth's birthday. David suggests they ask Shula for advice. She'll remember what they did for her birthday after Mark died.

Lynda's pleased that the peregrines seem to have found a safer place on the church roof to lay their eggs. She also proudly tells Jill that her garden has been chosen for one of the special features on Gardeners' Question Time. However, together with fighting for her seat in the parish council elections, she won't have time to help with the catering for Gardeners' Question Time. Jill's been inundated with offers to help with the catering, so Lynda's contribution won't be missed.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b010626y)
Joan Miro at Tate Modern; Henning Mankell

A new exhibition of the Catalan surrealist artist Joan Miro opens at Tate Modern. Novelist Lionel Shriver reviews the show.

Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell is best known for his series of novels featuring Inspector Kurt Wallander. TV adaptations have been made of the books in Swedish and in English (starring Kenneth Branagh). He discusses writing about his character Wallander for the last time in his novel The Troubled Man.

Your Highness is a spoof medieval-romance starring James Franco as a feckless young prince forced to go on a quest to save his father's kingdom - with Natalie Portman as a warrior princess who has a dangerous agenda of her own. Film critic Ryan Gilbey reviews.

The actors David Bradley and Daniel Mays discuss Pinter's play Moonlight. They describe the role play which prepared them for a plot which features a man dying in bed, while his wife tries to bring his estranged sons to his side.

Producer: Allegra McIlroy.


TUE 19:45 Roald Dahl (b0105zkh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 The Sea Gangsters (b01095mf)
The recent murder of four innocent civilian hostages aboard their yacht 'Quest', the kidnapping of children aboard a Danish yacht, and the hi-jack of the giant oil tanker 'Irene' are game changers in the ever growing scandal of international piracy. Piracy Inc. is getting bigger, nastier and richer by the week - at the expense of the freedom of Western sea trade.

The new sea gangsters now have some 20 mother ships, most driven by hostage slave crews operating with virtual impunity on sea lanes stretching from Africa to India. The recent escalation highlights the impotence of the West's navies in facing the threat. Paralysed by indecision, the British and their NATO allies have virtually no authority to disarm, attack or aggressively confront the enemy. Only India, Russia and South Korea have taken the law into their own hands and blasted the Somali pirates out of the water when and where they have caught up with them - but at a price.

What the world sees is a half glamorous image of the Johnny Depps of Somalia. The reality is the new pirates are some 130 separate but highly organised gangs of ruthless operators who sometimes torture their hostages and are holding 760 seafarers, some of them going insane after nearly a year of captivity on filthy boats with minimal food and water.

"We are talking about a new international criminal conspiracy", Joe Angelo, Managing Director of Intertanko.

For BBC Radio 4 investigative reporter Tom Mangold, visits the front line and talks to the key people involved. Reporting from the Gulf from on board a British Royal Navy anti-piracy patrol and talking to victims, perpetrators and insiders about the ever darkening future for commercial shipping he asks what can be done about the gangsters who operate a $100 million dollar a year racket

Producer: Gemma Newby
A Jolt Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b0106283)
Home pregnancy testing kits are currently totally inaccessible to people who are blind or severely visually impaired but could they be adapted to include an audible result? We hear from an engineer who says an accessible option could be easy to produce and from a blind woman who wants to start a family but is forced to rely on a third party to read the results. Plus we ask when you are likely to hear whether you are eligible for an extra thirty pounds a week in benefits as changes to Disability Living Allowance come into effect.


TUE 21:00 The Chemist of Life and Death (b01062gy)
Science has always been capable of huge innovation, and frightening destruction. The life of one scientist encapsulates that tension more than any other - Fritz Haber. In this programme Chris Bowlby explores Haber's dramatic life, personal as well as professional, discovering how a Jew desperate to be a patriotic German, became a chemist of great creativity, but also of military power. Scenes from his life explore how he made his discoveries - including the fertiliser that fed the world, and the poison gas used in the First World War. We hear of his struggle for social acceptance, the suicide of his wife in protest at his war work, and finally his tragic death, shortly after expulsion from Nazi Germany. But he had left the most ironic legacy of all - research that gave the Nazis the basis for the gas used to murder millions in the Holocaust.


TUE 21:30 Between Ourselves (b0105zk7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b0102rts)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b01084f6)
In the face of stalemate on the ground, how will our intervention in Libya develop?

150 years after the American civil war, black people returning south.

Retailers report big fall in sales - how fragile is the economy?

With Ritula Shah.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0106ym2)
Plague Child

Episode 2

Written by Peter Ransley. Abridged by Eileen Horne.

Tom goes on the run after his life is threatened by two mysterious strangers- but not before he declares his love to Anne, the daughter of his employer. Returning to his childhood home he is faced with shocking news...

Read by Jamie Glover

Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:00 Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking (b00p67ts)
Series 3

Episode 4

Laura Solon presents her third series of sketches, monologues and one-liners.

This week unwelcoming neighbour Annabelle quizzes an unsuspecting soul over his windchimes; useless entrepreneur, Carole Price, takes another swing at selling her bad ideas to the world and someone travels back from the very near future to warn a man about his blind date.

Starring Laura Solon, with Rosie Cavaliero, Ben Moor and Ben Willbond.

Producer: Colin Anderson.


TUE 23:30 Party (b00r7l7j)
Series 1

Episode 1

A group of young idealists try to set up a brand new political party.

From the perils of electing a leader and choosing a party name through to the finer intricacies of Foreign and Environmental policy

Tom Basden’s sitcom satirises their ambitions, hypocrisy and naivety - based on his 2009 Edinburgh play which won a fringe first.

Simon ...... Tom Basden
Mel ...... Anna Crilly
Duncan ...... Tim Key
Jared ...... Johnny Sweet
Phoebe ...... Katy Wix

Producer: Julia McKenzie

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2010.



WEDNESDAY 13 APRIL 2011

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b01061p2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b0105zkc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01061p4)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01061p7)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01061p9)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b01061pc)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b010b9f9)
Prayer and reflection.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b01063v7)
Farmers in the UK are paying less than 70 pence a litre for the diesel they use in farm machinery - about half the price other road users are paying at the pumps. But that reduction could come to an end as early as next year, under new proposals being discussed in Brussels. Anna Hill asks why farmers think they deserve cheaper fuel.

A council tenant farm has been saved from sell-off by becoming a community farm and inviting the public to buy 'comunity shares'. Farming Today visits Woodhouse Farm in Lichfield and asks if more council farms threatened with a sell-off could follow suit.

Anna goes to meet a bull being primped and preened before show season to hear how much a prize can increase its saleability and desireability for breeding.

Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.


WED 06:00 Today (b01063x9)
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and Justin Webb, including:
07:50 Ai Weiwei's wife Lu Qing on the artist's detention by the Chinese authorities.
08:10 William Hague discusses what allied forces can do to break the deadlock in Libya.
08:50 With recent military interventions in Libya and Ivory Coast, has France disproved those who copy the Simpsons in calling the French "cheese-eating surrender monkeys"?


WED 09:00 Midweek (b01063xc)
This week Libby Purves is joined by Raghu Dixit, Beata Zatorska, Linda Nolan and Brian Deighton.

Raghu Dixit is an Indian crossover musician from Mysore. He founded the Raghu Dixit Project, an open house for musicians and artistes from different genres to come together, collaborate and create a dynamic sound and expression. He is a former Microbiologist and a proficient Indian Classical Dancer and his latest CD is entitled 'Raghu Dixit'.

Beata Zatorska was born and raised in Communist Poland in the sixties and seventies by her grandmother, a professional chef. In 1981 she moved to Australia and became a doctor. After twenty years away, she returned to the village in Poland where she was brought up and rediscovered her grandmother's family recipes. Her book 'Rose Petal Jam - Recipes and stories from a summer in Poland' is published by Tabula Books.

Linda Nolan is one of the Nolan sisters, originally from Ireland, who are probably best known for their hit song 'I'm in the Mood for Dancing'. Four members of the group, Maureen, Linda, Bernie and Coleen have written their autobiography 'Survivors' which tells of their rise to fame during the seventies and eighties. 'Survivors' is published by Sidgwick and Jackson.

Brian Deighton is Head Gardener at Castle Howard in Yorkshire, the 18th-century residence set within 1,000 acres of breathtaking landscape. He and his team have just won the annual Christie's Historic Houses Association's 'Garden of the Year Award'. His pride and joy is the rose garden, which he has tended for thirty years, and remembers the filming of Brideshead Revisited at the house back in the eighties. He is also the voice of the gardening 'Mole' in TV's Creatures Comforts.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b0106406)
The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting

Episode 3

French psychologist Marie de Hennezel looks at western attitudes to ageing and asks if we can transform the way we feel about growing old, making this most feared period one of the best times of our lives.

De Hennezel tackles the taboo subject of old people's sexuality, and shares strategies that we can all learn to help us age gracefully.

Read by Alexandra Mathie.
Abridged by Alison Joseph

Marie de Hennezel is a respected psychologist and psychotherapist who works with the French government to raise awareness of palliative care. She has written nine books about the end of life, including 'Intimate Death', and is the author of two ministerial reports on caring for those with terminal illnesses.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0106408)
With Jenni Murray. Michelle Gayle won fame as an actress and a singer and she's now published her first novel, aimed at teenagers. "Pride and Premiership: From Wags to Riches" is her attempt to take the gloss off being a WAG, she tells Jenni why. Lord Robert Winston has recently warned that freezing eggs as an insurance against future infertility is a giant con trick, Dr Gillian Lockwood thinks otherwise. They discuss the issues. It's 150 years since the American Civil War - so what part did women play and what impact did it have on their lives? And the best selling author Jodi Picoult talks about her latest novel "Sing You Home", which takes as its theme a same-sex relationship.


WED 10:45 Roald Dahl (b01064yd)
Kiss Kiss

Royal Jelly

Meet beekeeper Albert Taylor and his wife Mabel. Worried that their newborn daughter isn't eating properly, Albert starts giving her royal jelly - a highly nutritious substance fed by bees to the larvae of their queens.

The baby starts to put on weight. But Mabel begins to notice other changes too…

Five classic tales by Roald Dahl starring Charles Dance as the urbane Storyteller and Chris Emmett as Albert.

Taken from the anthology, Kiss, Kiss. Bizarre and amusing by turns, these black comedies are justly famous for their surprise endings. They show Dahl at the height of his powers as a writer of adult fiction, and are characterised by their deliciously cynical view of human nature and the relish with which they punish the charlatans, bullies and schemers who inhabit their world.

Dramatised by Stephen Sheridan.

Storyteller....Charles Dance
Albert.....Chris Emmett
Mabel.....Rachel Atkins

Director: David Blount

A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2011.


WED 11:00 Bronzeville Lives: Chicago's Black Metropolis (b01064yg)
Episode 1

Bronzeville is a city within a city. The once teeming heart of Chicago's Black Metropolis on the city's Southside has shaped the career of President Obama, made music to change the world and been on the frontline of the American dream.

For generations it has been the most densely populated part of the city. Divided by great highways from white neighbourhoods, latterly defined by its disastrous public housing developments or 'projects', it has birthed the words of Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wright and Lorraine Hansberry. The music of gospel, blues & jazz, not to mention the publishing phenomenon of Ebony Magazine.

Between 1900-1944 Chicago's black population grew from 30,000 to 340,000 constrained largely to the Southside with Bronzeville at its heart. The Great Migration saw successive waves of black Americans abandon the poverty and murderous racism of the South's small towns to head for what many saw as 'the Promised Land'. Work, freedom from fear and a shot at the American dream drew millions to the concrete and steel of Chicago and its steel mills, slaughter yards and railways. For a time, those who dwelt in the Black Metropolis had a community bound tight by pride and the knowledge that they stood on their own.

The Black Metropolis is also the title of the classic 1945 study of this world. As historian Adam Green consults its words as a guide to today's streets so activist, teacher and historian Timuel Black recalls his family's journey from the South to Bronzeville. Susan Cayton Woodson remembers the time Paul Robeson drove her to this vibrant city to begin an new life and the writer Sam Greenlee spins bittersweet tales of a world on the cusp of disintegration and painful change.

Producer: Mark Burman.


WED 11:30 Beauty of Britain (b01064yj)
Series 2

Laurelmead

No professional care-worker can afford to miss Beauty Olonga's survival guide to Britain - its overheated houses, its disappointing church services and its world-class charity shops. Series 2 of this Radio 4 comedy follows Beauty's continuing adventures as the Featherdown Agency sends her to provide care for the elderly.

Beauty sees herself as an inspiration to other African girls hoping to live the dream in Britain. The series breaks the embarrassed silence about what happens to us when we get old and start to lose our faculties. It shows the process in all its chaotic, tragi-comedy but it does so from the point of view of Beauty, whose Zimbabwean Shona background has taught her to respect age. Beauty sees Britain at its best, its worst and also sometimes without its clothes on running the wrong way down the M6 with a toy dog shouting 'Come on!'

'A British care home is basically a big house named after a tree' observes Beauty, as she decides to work at Laurelmead this week. A change from her usual live in work, but working for the care home brings its own difficulties. There is some good news- her church choir is through to the regional finals of 'Go for Gospel'.

Beauty ... Jocelyn Jee Esien
Kriss ... Felix Dexter
Neville ... Clive Swift
Mrs Gupte ... Indira Joshi
Anil ... Paul Sharma
Worship Leader Wayne ... Lloyd Thomas
Uncle Custard ... Chris Douglas
Sandra ... Nicola Sanderson

The music for the series was performed by The West End Gospel Choir.
Written by Christopher Douglas and Nicola Sanderson
The producer is Tilusha Ghelani.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b01064yl)
Consumer news with Winifred Robinson. Could the annual MOT on your car become a thing of the past?

How you'll soon be able to pick up legal advice alongside your newspapers and stationery.

And how one independent fashion retailer is coping with the downturn on the high street.


WED 12:57 Weather (b01061pf)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b01075rq)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4. Thirty minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews. To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


WED 13:30 The Media Show (b01064yn)
Last October, Danny Cohen was appointed as channel controller of BBC1, having been head of the BBC's youth channel, BBC3. In his first interview with The Media Show since taking over at the UK's most watched TV channel, Danny Cohen speaks to Steve Hewlett about competition from ITV, older on screen talent and whether BBC 1 could be more edgy.

Last week News International made an apology and offered to compensate several celebrities who had their phones hacked by the News of the World. But does the apology settle the matter or raise more questions about phone hacking and the British press? John Whittingdale MP, who chaired a committee which investigated phone hacking in 2007, explains why he feels a further enquiry is necessary.

Steve Hewlett is joined by Natalie Fenton, professor of media at Goldsmiths, University of London and Peter Preston, former editor of The Guardian, to discuss what the recent revelations have exposed and whether there should be tougher regulation of the press.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b010626w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b01064yq)
Jelly Babes

by Judy Upton. Resourceful mum, Shanice, is persuaded by her next-door neighbour, Evie, to take up the bizarre sport of jelly wrestling to make ends meet.

Becky, AKA Azaria The Amazon, shows her the ropes and Shanice is soon wowing the rowdy stag night audiences with her slams and smackdowns.

By night she's bikini clad Alice Malice, by day she's mum to gymnastics-mad Alex and a devoted daughter to her disabled, ex-army dad.

When these two worlds threaten to collide, it reawakens a painful episode from Shanice's childhood which threatens to tear apart her cherished family life and leads to a show-down with the father she adores.

Shanice... Sally Orrock
Becky... Nadine Marshall
Evie... Jane Whittenshaw
Club Manager... David Seddon
Shanice's dad... Sam Dale
Alex... Ryan Watson
Wrestling choreography by Henry Devas

Directed by Gemma Jenkins

The Writer: Judy Upton is an award winning stage and screen writer. To date, she has had five original plays broadcast on BBC Radio 4, including 2009's The Man Inside The Suitcase. Her 50-minute film, My Imprisoned Heart, which won Cobravision: Make Your Mark In Film, was screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival in August 2007. Her comedy drama Gaby Goes Global premiered at The New Wimbledon Theatre Studio in February 2009 and her musical, Nectropia with the composer, Oliver Searle, appeared in the Daring Pairings season at the Hampstead Theatre. In 2010, her site specific play, Lazarus, was performed as part of the Durham Mysteries.


WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b01064ys)
Vincent Duggleby and a team of experts will be here to answer your questions about personal, occupational and state pensions on Wednesday's Money Box Live.

The rules about annuities and how much you can save into a pension are changing and the age at which you can claim your state pension is rising.

If you have a question about planning or accessing your pension, or you want to know if you will be affected by pension reform, Vincent Duggleby and guests will be ready to help.

Phone lines open at 1.30pm on Wednesday afternoon and the number to call is 03700 100 444. Standard geographic charges apply. Calls from mobiles may be higher. The programme starts after the three o'clock news.


WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b01064yv)
Edna O'Brien - Saints and Sinners

Black Flower

'Black Flower' by Edna O'Brien.
Read by Sheila Hancock
Abridged by Doreen Estall
Produced by Lawrence Jackson

Edna O'Brien is one of the most distinguished writers and figures in the world of letters. Since emerging from Ireland in the early 1960s with 'The Country Girls', her many novels including 'Girl with Green Eyes', 'House of Splendid Isolation' and 'In The Forest' have attracted both praise and controversy. 'Saints and Sinners' is her eagerly awaited new collection.

Sheila Hancock CBE most recently won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Role in a Musical for 'Cabaret', as well as appearing in 'Sister Act' the Musical. She is known for her numerous TV and film appearances, and her popular memoirs 'The Two of Us' and 'Just Me'.

Producer Lawrence Jackson's credits for Radio 4 include four series of the popular murder-mystery 'Baldi', two series of John Connolly's 'Ghost Stories' and the Classic Serial 'Barry Lyndon'. For Radio 7 his credits include C.S.Lewis' 'Out of the Silent Planet' and 'Perelandra', G.K.Chesterton's 'The Man Who Was Thursday', Daphne Du Maurier's 'The House on the Strand' and classic ghost stories by Sheridan Le Fanu and Algernon Blackwood.


WED 15:45 America, Empire of Liberty (b00gtlwp)
Reunion but not Reconstruction

A history of America, written and presented by David Reynolds.

Episode 8: 'Reunion but not Reconstruction': Former slaves enjoy a brief period of political equality in the South.

Previously broadcast on 28 January, 2009 as part of David Reynolds' 90 part series on the history of America.


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b01064yx)
Catholic Police Officers in Northern Ireland - Facebook

In the wake of the murder of Ronan Kerr, a Catholic police officer in Omagh, Laurie talks to Dr Mary Gethins about her research into the Catholic police officers who have joined the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). She conducted a survey of 300 serving officers followed by in depth interviews with 70 current, trainee and officers and explored the rewards for doing a job which can isolate people from their communities, expose them to prejudice from colleagues and always carries the risk of violence from dissident republicans. Community policing is an enduring problem for the force with some Catholic communities utterly rejecting the legitimacy of the police. Will the PSNI eventually becoming an integrated force, respected by Catholics and Protestants alike? Perhaps the strong reaction against the murder of Ronan Kerr will help establish the authority of the police force across Northern Irish society.

Also on Thinking Allowed, Facebook in Trinidad. Laurie talks to Danny Miller about his ethnographic study of Facebook users in the Caribbean island. He finds it can wreck your marriage, put your job in jeopardy but actually bolsters community and augments many of the positive aspects of modern life.

Producer: Charlie Taylor.


WED 16:30 The Chemist of Life and Death (b01062gy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 17:00 PM (b010650g)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01061pj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 Act Your Age (b0106rvc)
Series 3

Episode 4

Simon Mayo hosts the three-way battle between the comedy generations to find out which is the funniest.

Will it be the Up-and-Comers, the Current Crop or the Old Guard who will be crowned, for one week at least, as the Golden Age of Comedy?

Holly Walsh is joined by Tom Deacon, Rufus Hound teams up with Henning Wehn and Ted Robbins is paired with Billy Pearce.

Devised and produced by Ashley Blaker and Bill Matthews.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b0106rvf)
Fallon catches Jolene succumbing to a few secret puffs.

Kathy's concerned that she hasn't heard from Jamie since Sunday. Jolene suggests that Fallon might be the best person to talk to for advice. Fallon reassures Kathy that Jamie needs space and time. She knows this from her own experiences. She'll keep Kathy informed of how he's doing.

Shula and Caroline meet for lunch. Shula feels she let Caroline down by not telling her that Elizabeth was going to offer Roy a job. Caroline understands Shula's predicament and is slowly accepting the situation.

Shula tells Caroline that Daniel's considering following in his father Mark's footsteps and pursuing a career as a lawyer. He needs to arrange work experience and has asked Shula to sound out Usha. Shula feels awkward approaching Usha, due to their past differences, but can't tell Daniel this. Caroline suggests that Daniel takes a pro-active approach and contacts Usha himself.

Elizabeth's pleased when Shula assures her that Caroline isn't one to bear a grudge. Shula sympathises with Elizabeth's lack of interest in her own birthday. Elizabeth agrees to Shula's suggestion that she should do something nice like have a day out with the children.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b0106rvh)
The Ipswich murders become a stage production: London Road

Mark Lawson talks to Judy Golding who has written a memoir about her father, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Golding, who found success with his debut novel Lord of the Flies.

Oscar-winning director of One Day in September, Touching the Void and The Last King of Scotland, Kevin Macdonald, talks to Mark ahead of a BBC lecture about how documentary filmmaking has been affected by technology over the last century.

As an experimental musical about the murder of five women in Ipswich in 2006 by convicted serial killer Steve Wright, is about to take to the stage, writer and lyricist Alecky Blythe and composer Adam Cork discuss their controversial play.

Jeremy Hunt, Culture Secretary, on private and public funding in the arts - following the announcement that The Art Fund is to increase funding by 50%, to museums and galleries

Producer Ella-mai Robey.


WED 19:45 Roald Dahl (b01064yd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


WED 20:00 Unreliable Evidence (b0106rvk)
Complexity

Clive Anderson and some of the country's top lawyers and judges discuss legal issues of the day.

The final programme in the current series discusses concerns that our law has become so complex that even judges are struggling to understand it.

The chair of the Law Commission, the appeal court judge Lord Justice Munby, tells Clive Anderson that unnecessary amounts of government legislation over recent years has compounded legal complexity, and made it difficult for the Commission to do its job, clarifying and simplifying the law.

The last Labour Government, for example, created 4,300 new crimes during its years in power - including a ban on swimming in the wreck of the Titanic and on the sale of game birds shot on a Sunday.
The programme hears how legal complexity creates problems in almost all areas of law, making it increasingly difficult for members of the public to understand and therefore exercise their rights.

Lord Justice Mumby says governments have failed to implement a lot of the Law Commissions suggested improvements to the law, and have also failed to introduce a "basic tool of democracy" - an authenticated electronic database of statutory law.

He admits that the Law Commission's ultimate objective, a complete codification of the law, is unlikely ever to be achieved.

Producer: Brian King
An Above The Title production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 20:45 Lent Talks (b0106rvn)
This year's Lent Talks sees six well known figures reflect on different elements of conflict found in the story of Jesus' ministry and Passion from the perspective of their own personal and professional experience.

In the fifth Lent Talk of the series, Guardian columnist, Madeleine Bunting, explores the unmet public appetite for justice in the wake of the financial crisis.

The Christian season of Lent is traditionally a time for self-examination and reflection on universal human conditions such as temptation, betrayal, abandonment, greed, forgiveness and love. The main theme for this year's talks will explore conflict in different forms and how it interacts with various aspects of society and culture.


WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b0106rvq)
Deepwater Horizon - The Real Damage

President Obama described Deepwater Horizon as America's worst environmental disaster. If that was true why have fish numbers in the Gulf massively increased since the blow-out?

One year on from the disaster Tom Heap travels through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana in search of the true economic and environmental impact of the spill. Did the political and media reaction cause more damage to the region than the accident itself?

He'll also be asking what effect the reaction to the disaster could have on Britain's plans for deep water drilling.


WED 21:30 Midweek (b01063xc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b01061pl)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b010963d)
Foreign ministers meet in Doha to discuss the future of Libya - but are they increasingly divided?

A special report on how the Maoist separatists have sustained their campaign in India for so long.

With David Eades.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0106yp7)
Plague Child

Episode 3

Written by Peter Ransley. Abridged by Eileen Horne.

While King Charles struggles to find accord with Parliament, Tom battles to understand his connection with the Stonehouse family, who are either his benefactors or his worst enemies...or both.

Read by Jamie Glover

Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:00 Living with Mother (b0106rvs)
Series 1

Home Time

Phillip is about to take early retirement and has plans with his golf friend Arnold to tour some of the best courses in the country. Maybe it's time for mother to go into a home, after all, she is losing her marbles and that wheelchair is a burden.

Poor June wants to stay in her own home but feels guilty about her son having to care for her. Will Phillip feel guilty? Will he end up missing watching his favourite programmes with mother? Or will June make some new friends and actually love her freedom and day trips?

Cast:
June: Anne Reid
Phillip: Timothy Spall

Producer: Anna Madley
An Avalon Television production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:15 Mordrin McDonald: 21st Century Wizard (b00qck4v)
Series 1

The Blairochil Business Awards

Written by David Kay and Gavin Smith, Mordrin McDonald is a 2000 year old Wizard living in the modern world where regular bin collections and watching Countdown are just as important as slaying the odd Jakonty Dragon.

In this episode Mordrin's jam making business Fruity Potions is up for a gong at the Blairochil Business awards, but who can he take along for his plus one?

Featuring and written by Scottish stand up David Kay and starring Gordon Kennedy and Jack Docherty, Mordrin McDonald mixes the magical with the mundane and offers a hilarious take on the life of a modern day Wizard.

Step into the magically mundane world that is the life of 21st century wizard Mordrin McDonald. An isolated 2000-year-old sorcerer with enough power in his small finger to destroy a town, yet not even enough clout to get his bins emptied on time by the local council. Even for such a skilful sorcerer modern life is rubbish!

Mordrin is deadpan, dry and makes delicious jams. He initially set up as a plc for income tax relief, but has found it a useful vehicle to help him bolster his Wizard skill set and his range of services. (Even a wizard has to diversify). He's been running Fruity Potions from his cave for the past few years, in between completing the odd quest as instructed by the Wizard Council. In the past his services were to help kings in battles of good and evil, or as he prefers to put it, assisting with neighbour disputes

Cast:
Mordrin: David Kay
Geoff: Gordon Kennedy
Heather: Cora Bissett
Councillor Campbell: Callum Cuthbertson
Flora: Eleanor Thom
Jim The Joiner: Grant O' Rourke

Producer/Director: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:30 Party (b00rblxx)
Series 1

Episode 2

The Party sets out to clarify its policies on climate change whilst Duncan deals with the aftermath of under-cooked chicken sausages from a BBQ.

Before long, murder is committed and the young idealists are placed in a compromising position.

Tom Basden’s sitcom satirises their ambitions, hypocrisy and naivety - based on his 2009 Edinburgh play which won a fringe first.

Simon ...... Tom Basden
Mel ...... Anna Crilly
Duncan ...... Tim Key
Jared ...... Johnny Sweet
Phoebe ...... Katy Wix

Producer: Julia McKenzie

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2010.



THURSDAY 14 APRIL 2011

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b01061pn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b0106406)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01061pq)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01061ps)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01061pv)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b01061px)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b010b9fc)
with the Rev Dr Bert Tosh.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b0106tj7)
The warm weather has led to this season's asparagus appearing ahead of schedule. A lack of rain and higher soil temperatures has meant farmers are racing to get this year's crop in. And Farming Today reports on the British bulls fathering offspring all around the world thanks to the power of the world wide web.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Martin Poyntz-Roberts.


THU 06:00 Today (b0106tj9)
Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b0106tjc)
The Neutrino

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the neutrino.In 1930 the physicist Wolfgang Pauli proposed the existence of an as-yet undiscovered subatomic particle. He also bet his colleagues a case of champagne that it would never be detected. He lost his bet when in 1956 the particle, now known as the neutrino, was first observed in an American nuclear reactor. Neutrinos are some of the most mysterious particles in the Universe. The Sun produces trillions of them every second, and they constantly bombard the Earth and everything on it. Neutrinos can pass through solid rock, and even stars, at almost the speed of light without being impeded, and are almost impossible to detect. Today, experiments involving neutrinos are providing insights into the nature of matter, the contents of the Universe and the processes deep inside stars.With:Frank CloseProfessor of Physics at Exeter College at the University of OxfordSusan CartwrightSenior Lecturer in Particle Physics and Astrophysics at the University of SheffieldDavid WarkProfessor of Particle Physics at Imperial College, London, and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. Producer: Thomas Morris.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b0106tjf)
The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting

Episode 4

French psychologist Marie de Hennezel examines western attitudes to ageing and asks if we can transform the way we feel about growing old, making this most feared period one of the best times of our lives.

De Hennezel outlines her belief that old age can be a time of great freedom and lightness of spirit.

Read by Alexandra Mathie.
Abridged by Alison Joseph

Marie de Hennezel is a respected psychologist and psychotherapist who works with the French government to raise awareness of palliative care. She has written nine books about the end of life, including 'Intimate Death', and is the author of two ministerial reports on caring for those with terminal illnesses.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0106tjh)
With Jenni Murray. It was in the late 1990s that Cat Deeley first became a household name, as a presenter on the Saturday morning children's TV show SM:TV, for which she won a BAFTA. Following a transatlantic career, she's back on our screens as the host of 'So You Think You Can Dance'. She talks to Jenni about dancing, wigs and false teeth. Last year, Kay Gilderdale was cleared of the attempted murder of her daughter Lynn. Lynn, who had had ME for 17 years, was in constant agony and Kay helped her take a fatal overdose. Kay talks to Jenni about what happened. India's national census has revealed that the country's already skewed birth sex ratio is getting worse. The numbers show that for every 1,000 boys born there are only 914 girls. So why is this trend occurring and what does this imbalance mean for Indian society? And, how have wedding dresses changed over the centuries and how far do their altering styles reflect different attitudes towards marriage?


THU 10:45 Roald Dahl (b0106tjk)
Kiss Kiss

Mrs Bixby and The Colonel's Coat

Mrs Bixby - wife of a dull, New York dentist - is having an affair with a wealthy playboy known as the Colonel. When he decides to end their relationship, the Colonel gives her a mink coat as a keepsake.

Realizing that her husband will wonder where she acquired such an expensive gift, Mrs Bixby devises an ingenious plan to explain it away....

Five classic tales by Roald Dahl starring Charles Dance as the urbane Storyteller and Lorelei King as Mrs Bixby.

Taken from the anthology, Kiss, Kiss. Bizarre and amusing by turns, these black comedies are justly famous for their surprise endings. They show Dahl at the height of his powers as a writer of adult fiction, and are characterised by their deliciously cynical view of human nature and the relish with which they punish the charlatans, bullies and schemers who inhabit their world.

Dramatised by Stephen Sheridan.

Storyteller........Charles Dance
Mrs Bixby / Miss Pulteney........Lorelei King
Bixby / Colonel /
Wilkins / Pawnbroker......Kerry Shale

Director: David Blount

A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2011.


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b0106tjm)
Egypt: Sisters of the Revolution

Three years ago Bill Law travelled to Egypt for Crossing Continents to meet five extraordinary women who were fighting for human rights and equal pay for women in Egypt. For this programme, Bill returns to Egypt to tell the story of the unfolding revolution through the eyes of those very same five women. Their stories are a unique insight into how the revolution came about and raise questions about its future.
Producer: Daniel Tetlow.


THU 11:30 Jules Verne's Volcano (b0106tjp)
12 months after Iceland's ash cloud grounded global air transport, leading sound recordist Chris Watson reveals the secrets of one of Iceland's more literary but no less famous volcanoes.

A boyhood Jules Verne fan, Chris will retrace the steps of Professor and Axel Lidenbrock from Reykjavik to his favourite place in the world - Snaefellsjokull - the glacier that contains the passage to the Centre of the Earth in Verne's 1864 seminal work of science-fiction.

Along the way he'll encounter communities affected by the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull, talking to people who live within this geologically charged environment and meeting artists and musicians who have been inspired by their volcanic landscape.

Tying in with Verne's theme of geographical exploration, to reach Snaefellsjokull - known to locals simply as Jules Verne's Volcano - Chris will travel through one of Iceland's most beautiful National Parks and will use his extraordinary recording techniques to reveal the natural sounds of this unique environment. The sounds of bubbling mud pools and sulphurous springs mirroring Jules Verne's deep connection to the physical world.

Revealing interviews with leading figures from Iceland's vibrant arts scene: including the keyboardist of Sigur Ros and best-selling Icelandic author Andri Snaer Magnason will combine with Chris's recordings as he creates his own sonic adventure in the shadow of Jules Verne's novel and Iceland's volcanoes.

Producer: Rose de Larrabeiti

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2011.


THU 12:00 You and Yours (b010g9h2)
Local council tenants are being offered money to carry out DIY repairs to their homes but will this prove more costly in the long run?

Public sector pensions have taken a battering in recent times. Two teachers - one at the start of her career, the other recently retired - discuss what it means for them.

The Law Commission has launched a consultation on how the law should be changed to help people who've been swindled by dubious sales tactics to get their money back.

Also, Mountain Rescue teams in the Lake District on why they receive twice as many calls as they did five years ago from lost ramblers. We find out why.

And have ever tried to get your flight upgraded? Columnist Stephen Armstrong recalls his efforts.


THU 12:57 Weather (b01061pz)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b01075rs)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4. Thirty minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews. To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


THU 13:30 Costing the Earth (b0106rvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:00 The Archers (b0106rvf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b009q9hs)
Series 1

Mural

by Nick Warburton. Part 2: Mural. In an idiosyncratic restaurant deep in the Fens the ancient proprietor, Warwick, can't help interfering in the kitchen. He is driving his son mad. Until his grandson suggests they give the old man a project.

Warwick Hedges.....Trevor Peacock
Jack Hedges.....Sam Dale
David.....Chris Pavlo
Fay.....Liza Sadovy
Marcia.....Kate Buffery
Zofia.....Helen Longworth
Samuel.....John Rowe

Director Claire Grove.


THU 15:00 Open Country (b0103z1x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:07 on Saturday]


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b0105r7t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b0106tjt)
Edna O'Brien - Saints and Sinners

My Two Mothers

'My Two Mothers' by Edna O'Brien
Read by Michelle Fairley
Abridged by Doreen Estall
Produced by Lawrence Jackson

Edna O'Brien is one of the most distinguished writers and figures in the world of letters. Since emerging from Ireland in the early 1960s with 'The Country Girls', her many novels including 'Girl with Green Eyes', 'House of Splendid Isolation' and 'In The Forest' have attracted both praise and controversy. 'Saints and Sinners' is her eagerly awaited new collection.

Michelle Fairley's acclaimed recent stage performances include 'Othello' at the Donmar Warehouse and 'Dancing at Lughnasa' at the Old Vic, while her TV and film work includes 'Best: His Mother's Son', 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' and 'Game of Thrones'.

Producer Lawrence Jackson's credits for Radio 4 include four series of the popular murder-mystery 'Baldi', two series of John Connolly's 'Ghost Stories' and the Classic Serial 'Barry Lyndon'. For Radio 7 his credits include C.S.Lewis' 'Out of the Silent Planet' and 'Perelandra', G.K.Chesterton's 'The Man Who Was Thursday', Daphne Du Maurier's 'The House on the Strand' and classic ghost stories by Sheridan Le Fanu and Algernon Blackwood.


THU 15:45 America, Empire of Liberty (b00gtlwr)
New South, Old Ways

David Reynolds tells the story of the American Civil War and its aftermath

Episode 9: 'New South, Old Ways': The birth of segregation.

Previously broadcast on 29 January, 2009 as part of David Reynolds' 90 part history of America.


THU 16:00 Open Book (b0105s48)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:30 Material World (b0106tqc)
On this week's programme, Quentin Cooper speaks to Leila Battison, part of the team who have discovered fossils of some of the first life forms on Earth in Loch Torridon in northwest Scotland. The research could change the way we think early life evolved. Also, Dr Drew Endy the director of BIOFAB, the world's first open source synthetic biology factory, explains how he hopes to provide generic genetic parts to bioengineers to speed up developing new organisms. Quentin goes to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to see one of the oldest chronometers in pieces - it's being studied as part of preparations for the 300th anniversary of the Longitude Act in 2014. Finally Doug Millard, the Space Curator from the Science Museum talks about Yuri Gagarin and the technology used to blast him into space.

The producer is Ania Lichtarowicz.


THU 17:00 PM (b0106v11)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01061q1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 So Wrong It's Right (b0106v13)
Series 2

Episode 6

Charlie Brooker hosts the comedy panel show that sees comics Lee Mack, Sarah Millican and Graham Linehan battle to supply the finest wrong answers.

Charlie's tests see the guests recall 'the worst thing they've done on their own'. Who will win between Lee Mack's story of avoiding Anthea Turner, Sarah Millican's tale of woe whilst stuck on the side of motorway, or Graham Linehan's calamity in a hotel shower?

Added to this are the panel's ideas for a terrible new gameshow. Will anyone spot the fatal flaw in Graham's pitch - the futuristic word quiz 'Scrabble 2000'?

The host of So Wrong It's Right, Charlie Brooker, also writes for The Guardian and presents BBC4's satirical series Newswipe & Screenwipe as well as Channel 4's 10 O'Clock Live. He won Best Newcomer at the British Comedy Awards 2009 and Columnist of the Year at the 2009 British Press Awards for his Guardian newspaper columns.

Produced by Aled Evans
A Zeppotron Production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b0106v15)
Kenton bumps into Usha and Alan while shopping with the twins for Elizabeth's birthday present. They wish him luck for the fun run. Usha tells Alan that Daniel approached her about some work experience, and wonders how Shula must feel about it. Alan reminds Usha that she and Shula put their differences aside when Nigel died. He thinks this could be a very good thing for all of them.

Clarrie and Susan wish Emma could have taken George along with Keira to the fun run but agree that it is more difficult at first to cope with two children. They also discuss Hilary Noakes' unashamed canvassing tactics throughout the village. Clarrie's convinced she'll only be shopping at the village shop until the parish council elections.

William's annoyed that George is being left out. He's looking after George this afternoon while Emma takes the baby to Ed's fun run. Will calls Clarrie to tell her that George wants to come and live with him. Clarrie placates Will and dissuades him from going round and having it out with Ed and Emma. She insists he should leave it to her. She'll talk to them.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b0106v17)
Betty Blue Eyes reviewed

With Mark Lawson, who reviews the new stage musical, Betty Blue Eyes, based on Alan Bennett's film, A Private Function - the tale of a pig being secretly reared in the austerity Britain of 1947.

Roger Wright, Director of the Proms and Controller of Radio 3, talks about this year's BBC Proms season.

Turner Contemporary - a new art gallery in Kent - opens this weekend. Front Row hears from artists Tracey Emin and Conrad Shawcross, the architect Sir David Chipperfield and gallery director Victoria Pomeroy.

Producer Rebecca Nicholson.


THU 19:45 Roald Dahl (b0106tjk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 The Report (b0106v19)
Illegal Music Downloads

The Report investigates the battle over the government's plans to stop illegal downloading of music. Is the digital economy bill unravelling?


THU 20:30 In Business (b0106v1c)
Quick on the Draw

In an age of high technology communications, two long-established companies in a single German city are still battling each other for supremacy in a global marketplace ... in pencils. In Nuremberg Peter Day asks Faber-Castell and Staedtler how they both stay sharp ... and finds out what light (and shade) they can throw on the success of German industry and the viability of Europe as a single economy.
Producer: Caroline Bayley.


THU 21:00 Voodoo Wasps and Zombie Worms (b01061hk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Tuesday]


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b0106tjc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:58 Weather (b01061q3)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b010b5tv)
As Britain presses for more support from NATO, the head of the UN says it's time to achieve a 'political solution' in Libya.

Bahrain bans opposition Shiite political parties.

And the play wot William wrote?

with Ritula Shah.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0106yq6)
Plague Child

Episode 4

Written by Peter Ransley. Abridged by Eileen Horne.

Tom is elated when Anne admits she loves him, and witnesses the momentous visit of the King to Parliament, when the tide turns toward the people. But his joy is short lived as his pursuers close in....

Read by Jamie Glover

Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:00 Mark Thomas: The Manifesto (b00fm3lj)
Series 1

Episode 1

The renowned comedian and activist attempts to piece together working policies with the aid of you, the people. From June 2009.


THU 23:30 Party (b00rfhjq)
Series 1

Episode 3

Satirical sitcom by Tom Basden about a group of young idealists trying to set up a new political party.

The Party clarifies its policies on climate change, while Duncan deals with the aftermath of under-cooked chicken sausages from a BBQ. Before long, murder is committed and the young idealists are placed in a compromising position.

Simon ...... Tom Basden
Mel ...... Anna Crilly
Duncan ...... Tim Key
Jared ...... Johnny Sweet
Phoebe ...... Katy Wix.



FRIDAY 15 APRIL 2011

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b01061q5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b0106tjf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01061q7)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01061q9)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01061qc)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b01061qf)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b010b9ff)
with the Rev Dr Bert Tosh.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b0106vcf)
Plans for a large scale rabbit farm in Nottinghamshire are meeting local objections. The villagers' main concerns are increased traffic, smell, pollution and the layout of the site. Also on the programme MPs warn that European reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy will tie up farmers in more red-tape and do little to encourage food production.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Angela Frain.


FRI 06:00 Today (b0106vch)
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and Evan Davis, including:
07:30 Is there an alternative to Colonel Gaddafi in Libya?
07:50 Is the Greek government in danger of defaulting on its debts?
08:10 Why has the number of middle aged people living alone soared by a third in the past decade?


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b0105rhd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b0106vck)
The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting

Episode 5

French psychologist Marie de Hennezel examines western attitudes to ageing and asks if we can transform the way we feel about growing old, making this most feared period one of the best times of our lives.

De Hennezel draws on her experience of working with the dying to argue that one's proximity to death is not to be feared.

Read by Alexandra Mathie.
Abridged by Alison Joseph.

Marie de Hennezel is a respected psychologist and psychotherapist who works with the French government to raise awareness of palliative care. She has written nine books about the end of life, including 'Intimate Death', and is the author of two ministerial reports on caring for those with terminal illnesses.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0106vcm)
With Jenni Murray including: Shanna Bukhari, the young woman from Blackburn who wants to be the first Muslim to represent Great Britain at this year's Miss Universe contest. Is entering a beauty contest a good way for a young British Muslim woman to use her freedoms when women in countries like Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia are denied many basic human rights? Women on Fleet Street - at last week's British Press Awards only 3 out of the 16 individual prizes went to women, and only two national newspapers are edited by women. Does it matter if women are so badly represented at the top end of Fleet Street? Rachel Beer, the first woman to edit a national newspaper back in 1894. And 5 @ 50 - a new play which looks at the lives of five women who've all been friends since school as they hit 50.


FRI 10:45 Roald Dahl (b0106vcp)
Kiss Kiss

The Landlady

Meet young Billy Weaver, who has just arrived in Bath to take up a new job. He books into a curiously deserted B&B. The landlady, who inhabits a sitting room filled with stuffed animals, is welcoming but odd. Wondering if he's her only guest, Billy checks the register and sees two strangely familiar names.

Taking tea with her later, Billy suddenly remembers reading in the papers that both her former guests disappeared in mysterious circumstances. The landlady tells Billy that, like him, each was a beautiful young man whom she didn't want to leave....

Five classic tales by Roald Dahl starring Charles Dance as the urbane Storyteller and Doreen Mantle as the Landlady.

Taken from the anthology, Kiss, Kiss. Bizarre and amusing by turns, these black comedies are justly famous for Dahl's surprise endings.

Storyteller........Charles Dance
Landlady.........Doreen Mantle
Billy Weaver.....James Joyce
Mr Greenslade...John Rowe

Director: David Blount

A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2011.


FRI 11:00 Lives in a Landscape (b0106vcr)
Series 7

Readers' Lives

5. Readers' Lives. Every six weeks a group of women in affluent Putney by the Thames in south-west London meets to discuss a book they've all been reading. This is no casual club open to the public but a close knit circle of friends and bibliophiles whose group is exclusive. As Boat Race Saturday - spring highpoint of the social calendar - approaches, Alan Dein joins the women as they go about their daily lives to hear about their relationship with Putney, with each other and the meaning the book club has for them.

Producer: Neil McCarthy.


FRI 11:30 Meet David Sedaris (b00rtg8c)
Series 1

Let It Snow; The Cat and the Baboon; Keeping Up

From Carnegie Hall to the BBC Radio Theatre - American humorist David Sedaris reads from his extensive collection of published stories and articles. In show 2 of 4: "Let It Snow", "The Cat and the Baboon" and "Keeping Up".

The producer is Steve Doherty, and this is a Boomerang Plus production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b0106vj4)
A year after ash cloud disrupted air travel, Peter White asks if we are prepared for the future.

The writer William Dalrymple joins him to talk about the business of running literature festivals.

And in the week that celebrated the golden anniversary of Yuri Gagarin shooting into space - we find out about the ordinary mortals doing astronomy in their backyards.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b01061qh)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b01075rv)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4. Thirty minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews. To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on Twitter: #wato.


FRI 13:30 More or Less (b0106vj6)
In the last series we looked at what changes to the tuition fee system in England will cost students. In this programme we examine the other side of the equation: how much will the changes cost the taxpayer? Could the Government be on the hook for more than it thinks?

The US Supreme Court recently issued a judgement on what might seem an unlikely subject: the uses and abuses of statistical significance testing. We explain why it matters.

It seems not a week goes by without a politician claiming to be progressive - or claiming that the other guy is regressive. Everyone seems to assume that progressivity in the tax system is self-evidently a good thing. But is that always true?

This week we were told that inflation has fallen by all measures but with the biggest drop shown in the Consumer Prices Index. What exactly is the difference between CPI and RPI? It's not - as most journalists report - all about housing costs.

Producer: Richard Knight.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b0106v15)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b0106vj8)
Lou Ramsden - Pouring Poison

by Lou Ramsden

Hazel spends her life describing plays for visually impaired people. But when she starts to describe the real world to her new friend Davy, is she giving an accurate picture of the world around her? She's looking for an escape from the pressures of looking after her disabled mother, but is she looking in the right place? A bittersweet romantic drama by award-winning writer Lou Ramsden.

Hazel. . . . . Kathryn Hunt
Davy. . . . . Nicholas Boulton
Phil . . . . . Jonathan Keeble
Suzanne . . . . . Alison Pettitt
Lynne . . . . . Marian Kemmer
Rob . . . . . Dan Hagley

Theatre Company: Nyasha Hatendi,
Jane Whittenshaw, Stuart McLoughlin, Sean Baker
and Alex Tregear.

Produced and directed by Peter Leslie Wild

Notes

Birmingham-born Lou Ramsden's previous play "Dos and Don'ts for the Mentally Interesting" won the Mind "Mental health in the Media" Award for Best Radio Drama, 2009. She has written several plays for Radio 4, including Sampler T6, Gunpowder Women, and Tree Splitting. She emerged through the BBC Writer's Room "Sparks" scheme.

Pouring Poison was written after time spent with audio describers in London theatres.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b0106vjb)
Powys, Wales

Bob Flowerdew, Pippa Greenwood and Anne Swithinbank join gardeners in Llandeilo and District Gardening Club for a horticultural discussion. Peter Gibbs chairs.

Anne Swithinbank visits the National Botanic Garden of Wales to uncover what uses rare Welsh natives have in the domestic garden.

Produced by Lucy Dichmont
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:45 America, Empire of Liberty (b00gtlwt)
War and Memory

David Reynolds tells the story of the American Civil War and its aftermath

Episode 10: 'War and Memory': How the Civil War became etched on the American consciousness for generations to come.

Previously broadcast on 30 January, 2009, as part of David Reynolds' 90 part history of America.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b0106vjd)
Sidney Lumet, Baruch Blumberg, Roger Nichols, Edith Helm and Ishbel MacAskill

Matthew Bannister on

The prolific film director Sidney Lumet - whose movies included Twelve Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon and Network. We have tributes from Omar Sharif and Jenny Agutter.
The nobel prize winning scientist Baruch Blumberg, who saved millions of lives by isolating the Hepatitis B virus and developing a vaccine
Roger Nichols - the innovative studio engineer who gave Steely Dan their distinctive sound.
Edith Helm - the first woman ever to be given a kidney transplant - we speak to the donor - her twin sister.
And the "honey voiced" Gaelic singer Ishbel MacAskill.


FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b0106vqt)
Matthew Sweet discusses the fashion sense of the Vikings with Tom Hiddleston, who plays the Norse god, Loki, in Kenneth Branagh's latest offering Thor and explores cowboy country with Shirley Henderson, one of the stars of Kelly Reichardt's feminist Western, Meek's Cutoff. You can also hear how Tony Garnett prepared for his groundbreaking film, Prostitute, which is being re-released on DVD and Shirley Anne Field remembers her part in John Mortimer's first feature film script, Lunch Hour...a rarely seen masterpiece from the early Sixties.


FRI 17:00 PM (b0106vqw)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01061qk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b0106vqy)
Series 74

Episode 1

A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b0106vr0)
Ed is surprised when Clarrie tells him that George wants to stay with William 'until they take the baby back to the hospital'. Ed is suspicious that William may be exaggerating the situation but accepts Clarrie's advice to make more fuss of George, and to treat him as a grown-up.

Peggy tells Vicky that she's making a surprise cake for the Gardeners' Question Time panel. Vicky warns that Jill is being pretty strict about who bakes what, but Peggy insists one more cake won't make a difference. Peggy's amused by the question Vicky's planning to ask: whether Joe's mistletoe propagation kits actually work.

Lillian takes Peggy to see Jack. Lilian's agreed to be door-keeper for the Gardeners' Question Time event. She's sure this should go down well with the voters in the parish council elections.

Jack's had a disturbed night. Elona suggests that Peggy take Jack for a walk along with Ted and Violet, but Peggy doesn't want to confuse Jack so takes him for a walk alone. Ted's concerned that he may have upset Peggy in some way. Elona doesn't think he has, and advises Ted not to give up trying.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b0106vr2)
The Pale King, by David Foster Wallace; Jazz Viola

With Kirsty Lang.

Writer Catherine O'Flynn discusses The Pale King, the final novel from the acclaimed American author David Foster Wallace, who took his own life in 2008.

Film-maker Wim Wenders discusses a new exhibition of his photography, which features images from around the world - Armenia to Australia, Brazil to Japan.

Forget the saxophone or the trumpet - it's time for the viola to take the spotlight in the jazz world, according to musician David Lasserson. He tells Kirsty why this often-overlooked member of the string family can bring new life to old jazz standards, and plays live in the studio, with pianist Stephen Large.

The 2012 Olympic Games require 205 National Anthems, and composer Phillip Sheppard is supervising the arrangement and recording of new versions of them all. He discusses the challenge of this musical marathon.

Producer Ella-mai Robey.


FRI 19:45 Roald Dahl (b0106vcp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Questions across the Pond (b0076g1d)
Jonathan Dimbleby dips into the archives to hear how events of the early 1950s in Britain and America were reflected in two radio debate programmes of the time.


FRI 20:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b0106x58)
Series 2

Identities

You get a very different insight into the natural world when you have the opportunity to study the behaviour of individual animals.

Sir David Attenborough recalls with sumptuous delight spotting a blackbird in his garden with a white feather - "whitey" - giving him a window into the life of blackbirds and what's more, that individual. And, he says, he saw what blackbirds get up to!

David remembers filming spiders and filming chimpanzees, both of which benefited from someone knowing about the individuals - and whether you're a spider or a chimpanzee, you have a personality all of your own.

Written and presented by David Attenborough

Producer: Julian Hector

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.


FRI 21:00 15 Minute Drama (b00zm3hv)
Cottonopolis

Episode 5

Cottonopolis is created by Nick Leather. Written by Michelle Lipton.

In Episode 5 of Cottonopolis, we go back across the weeks events through the eyes of the Taxi Driver Henri Mally

Today concludes the Woman's hour drama but the story is finally resolved in the Afternoon Play next Monday.

"Henri" is faced with an impossible choice bringing back echoes from his past, as we get nearer to the truth behind the disappearances.

Cast:
Henri Mally ..... Chris Jack
Lucas Mally/Lenoir ..... Beru Tessema
Al Choudhray ..... Sushil Chudasama
Joe ..... Jack Deam
DCI Bullmore/Newsreader ..... Victoria Brazier

Original music composed by Stephen Kilpatrick.

Producer/Director: Justine Potter
A Red production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 21:16 Friday Drama (b00zsd09)
Cottonopolis

Cottonopolis is created and written by Nick Leather

Cottonopolis follows local Manchester Evening News journalist Gemma Hayes, as she uncovers the truth behind the disappearances of women in Manchester; one of whom was an old school friend.

This Friday play is a stand-alone, but concludes the Woman's Hour drama, which contained five different stories exploring what happens when fear changes people's behaviour.

Cast:
Gemma Hayes ..... Lisa Millett
Drew .....Will Ash
Peter ..... David Crellin
Christie ..... Paula Wolfenden
Imogen ..... Lisa Brookes
Alex ..... Mark Jordon

Producer/Director: Justine Potter
A Red production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b01061qm)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b010b5yn)
Have Obama, Sarkozy and Cameron breached Resolution 1973 by aiming to topple Gadaffi?

London Metropolitan University to pioneer cut-price higher education.

Vladimir Putin joins in 'Dancing on Ice'. Could there be an election coming?

with Felicity Evans.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0106yql)
Plague Child

Episode 5

Written by Peter Ransley. Abridged by Eileen Horne.

Tom finally learns the truth behind his connection to the Stonehouse family and the identity of the man with the scar on his face whom he has feared since childhood - but this news pales when he discovers he is about to lose Anne forever...

Read by Jamie Glover

Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b010626p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Party (b00rmxk5)
Series 1

Episode 4

The Party of young idealists take to the streets with their inaugural protest. If only it wasn't raining.

Jared's musical attempts to draw attention backfire painfully and Mel is desperate to get arrested.

Tom Basden’s sitcom satirises their ambitions, hypocrisy and naivety - based on his 2009 Edinburgh play, which won a fringe first.

Duncan ... Tim Key
Jared ... Johnny Sweet
Mel ... Anna Crilly
Phoebe ... Katy Wix
Policeman ... Nick Mohammed
Simon ... Tom Basden

Written by Tom Basden. Producer: Julia McKenzie

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2010.




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 21:00 FRI (b00zm3hv)

A House Divided: The Poetry of the American Civil War 23:30 SAT (b00zzpl9)

Act Your Age 18:30 WED (b0106rvc)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 TUE (b01061hy)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 WED (b01064yv)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 THU (b0106tjt)

America, Empire of Liberty 15:45 MON (b00gtlx2)

America, Empire of Liberty 15:45 TUE (b00gtlwm)

America, Empire of Liberty 15:45 WED (b00gtlwp)

America, Empire of Liberty 15:45 THU (b00gtlwr)

America, Empire of Liberty 15:45 FRI (b00gtlwt)

Americana 19:15 SUN (b0105sz0)

Any Answers? 14:00 SAT (b0103zjt)

Any Questions? 13:10 SAT (b0100j9n)

Archive on 4 20:00 SAT (b0103zpt)

Archive on 4 15:00 MON (b0103zpt)

Beauty of Britain 11:30 WED (b01064yj)

Bells on Sunday 05:43 SUN (b0105r7c)

Bells on Sunday 00:45 MON (b0105r7c)

Between Ourselves 09:00 TUE (b0105zk7)

Between Ourselves 21:30 TUE (b0105zk7)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 MON (b0105yn1)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 TUE (b0106ym2)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 WED (b0106yp7)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 THU (b0106yq6)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 FRI (b0106yql)

Book of the Week 00:30 SAT (b0100x2x)

Book of the Week 09:45 MON (b0105vtk)

Book of the Week 00:30 TUE (b0105vtk)

Book of the Week 09:45 TUE (b0105zkc)

Book of the Week 00:30 WED (b0105zkc)

Book of the Week 09:45 WED (b0106406)

Book of the Week 00:30 THU (b0106406)

Book of the Week 09:45 THU (b0106tjf)

Book of the Week 00:30 FRI (b0106tjf)

Book of the Week 09:45 FRI (b0106vck)

Broadcasting House 09:00 SUN (b0105rh7)

Bronzeville Lives: Chicago's Black Metropolis 11:00 WED (b01064yg)

Classic Serial 21:00 SAT (b00zzpl5)

Classic Serial 15:00 SUN (b0105s46)

Click On 16:30 MON (b0105ymq)

Costing the Earth 21:00 WED (b0106rvq)

Costing the Earth 13:30 THU (b0106rvq)

Counterpoint 23:00 SAT (b00zzy2d)

Counterpoint 13:30 MON (b0105vty)

Crossing Continents 20:30 MON (b0100jq5)

Crossing Continents 11:00 THU (b0106tjm)

David Attenborough's Life Stories 08:50 SUN (b0100j9q)

David Attenborough's Life Stories 20:50 FRI (b0106x58)

Desert Island Discs 11:15 SUN (b0105rhd)

Desert Island Discs 09:00 FRI (b0105rhd)

Down the Line 18:30 TUE (b010626t)

Drama 14:15 MON (b0105vv0)

Drama 14:15 TUE (b01061ht)

Drama 14:15 WED (b01064yq)

Drama 14:15 THU (b009q9hs)

Drama 14:15 FRI (b0106vj8)

Excess Baggage 10:00 SAT (b0103z5p)

Fags, Mags and Bags 11:30 MON (b0105vtt)

Farming Today 06:30 SAT (b0103z1z)

Farming Today 05:45 MON (b0105t6p)

Farming Today 05:45 TUE (b0105yv1)

Farming Today 05:45 WED (b01063v7)

Farming Today 05:45 THU (b0106tj7)

Farming Today 05:45 FRI (b0106vcf)

File on 4 17:00 SUN (b010025s)

For One Night Only 10:30 SAT (b0103z8j)

Friday Drama 21:16 FRI (b00zsd09)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:30 SAT (b0103z8n)

Front Row 19:15 MON (b0105ymx)

Front Row 19:15 TUE (b010626y)

Front Row 19:15 WED (b0106rvh)

Front Row 19:15 THU (b0106v17)

Front Row 19:15 FRI (b0106vr2)

Gardeners' Question Time 14:00 SUN (b0100j94)

Gardeners' Question Time 15:00 FRI (b0106vjb)

Great Lives 16:30 TUE (b010626p)

Great Lives 23:00 FRI (b010626p)

In Business 21:30 SUN (b0100ljy)

In Business 20:30 THU (b0106v1c)

In Living Memory 23:30 MON (b00tbbtz)

In Our Time 09:00 THU (b0106tjc)

In Our Time 21:30 THU (b0106tjc)

In Touch 20:40 TUE (b0106283)

Into the Music Library 13:30 TUE (b01061hr)

Jules Verne's Volcano 11:30 THU (b0106tjp)

Last Word 20:30 SUN (b0100j98)

Last Word 16:00 FRI (b0106vjd)

Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking 23:00 TUE (b00p67ts)

Lent Talks 00:30 SUN (b0100grg)

Lent Talks 20:45 WED (b0106rvn)

Lives in a Landscape 11:00 FRI (b0106vcr)

Living with Mother 23:00 WED (b0106rvs)

Loose Ends 18:15 SAT (b0103zpm)

Lost Voices 16:30 SUN (b0105sjz)

Loud Organs His Glory 15:30 SAT (b0103wyx)

Making History 15:00 TUE (b01061hw)

Mark Thomas: The Manifesto 23:00 THU (b00fm3lj)

Material World 21:00 MON (b0100ljm)

Material World 16:30 THU (b0106tqc)

Meet David Sedaris 11:30 FRI (b00rtg8c)

Midnight News 00:00 SAT (b0100jmd)

Midnight News 00:00 SUN (b0105r71)

Midnight News 00:00 MON (b0103tcd)

Midnight News 00:00 TUE (b0102rt7)

Midnight News 00:00 WED (b01061p2)

Midnight News 00:00 THU (b01061pn)

Midnight News 00:00 FRI (b01061q5)

Midweek 09:00 WED (b01063xc)

Midweek 21:30 WED (b01063xc)

Money Box Live 15:00 WED (b01064ys)

Money Box 12:00 SAT (b0103z8z)

Money Box 21:00 SUN (b0103z8z)

Mordrin McDonald: 21st Century Wizard 23:15 WED (b00qck4v)

More or Less 20:00 SUN (b0100j90)

More or Less 13:30 FRI (b0106vj6)

News Briefing 05:30 SAT (b0100jmn)

News Briefing 05:30 SUN (b0105r79)

News Briefing 05:30 MON (b0103tcn)

News Briefing 05:30 TUE (b0102rtj)

News Briefing 05:30 WED (b01061pc)

News Briefing 05:30 THU (b01061px)

News Briefing 05:30 FRI (b01061qf)

News Headlines 06:00 SUN (b0105r7f)

News and Papers 06:00 SAT (b0100jmv)

News and Papers 07:00 SUN (b0105r7p)

News and Papers 08:00 SUN (b0105r7y)

News and Weather 22:00 SAT (b0100jnc)

News 13:00 SAT (b0100jn3)

On Your Farm 06:35 SUN (b0105r7k)

Open Book 16:00 SUN (b0105s48)

Open Book 16:00 THU (b0105s48)

Open Country 06:07 SAT (b0103z1x)

Open Country 15:00 THU (b0103z1x)

PM 17:00 SAT (b0103zpk)

PM 17:00 MON (b0105yms)

PM 17:00 TUE (b010626r)

PM 17:00 WED (b010650g)

PM 17:00 THU (b0106v11)

PM 17:00 FRI (b0106vqw)

Party 23:30 TUE (b00r7l7j)

Party 23:30 WED (b00rblxx)

Party 23:30 THU (b00rfhjq)

Party 23:30 FRI (b00rmxk5)

Pavilion Pieces 19:45 SUN (b00m175f)

Pick of the Week 18:15 SUN (b0105syw)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 SAT (b0100jmq)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 MON (b0105t6m)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 TUE (b010b9f7)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 WED (b010b9f9)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 THU (b010b9fc)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 FRI (b010b9ff)

Profile 19:00 SAT (b0103zpp)

Profile 05:45 SUN (b0103zpp)

Profile 17:40 SUN (b0103zpp)

Questions across the Pond 20:00 FRI (b0076g1d)

Radio 4 Appeal 07:55 SUN (b0105r7t)

Radio 4 Appeal 21:26 SUN (b0105r7t)

Radio 4 Appeal 15:27 THU (b0105r7t)

Random Edition 11:00 MON (b0105vtr)

Referendum Campaign Broadcast 17:54 MON (b0109k21)

Referendum Campaign Broadcast 17:56 TUE (b0109kly)

Roald Dahl 10:45 MON (b0105vtp)

Roald Dahl 19:45 MON (b0105vtp)

Roald Dahl 10:45 TUE (b0105zkh)

Roald Dahl 19:45 TUE (b0105zkh)

Roald Dahl 10:45 WED (b01064yd)

Roald Dahl 19:45 WED (b01064yd)

Roald Dahl 10:45 THU (b0106tjk)

Roald Dahl 19:45 THU (b0106tjk)

Roald Dahl 10:45 FRI (b0106vcp)

Roald Dahl 19:45 FRI (b0106vcp)

Saturday Drama 14:30 SAT (b0103zjw)

Saturday Live 09:00 SAT (b0103z5m)

Saturday Review 19:15 SAT (b0103zpr)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SAT (b0100jmj)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SUN (b0105r75)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 MON (b0103tcj)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 TUE (b0102rtc)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 WED (b01061p7)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 THU (b01061ps)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 FRI (b01061q9)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SAT (b0100jmg)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SAT (b0100jml)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SAT (b0100jn5)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SUN (b0105r73)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SUN (b0105r77)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SUN (b0105r82)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 MON (b0103tcg)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 MON (b0103tcl)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 TUE (b0102rt9)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 TUE (b0102rtf)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 WED (b01061p4)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 WED (b01061p9)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 THU (b01061pq)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 THU (b01061pv)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 FRI (b01061q7)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 FRI (b01061qc)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SAT (b0100jn9)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SUN (b0105r86)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 MON (b0103tcv)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 TUE (b0102rtq)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 WED (b01061pj)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 THU (b01061q1)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 FRI (b01061qk)

So Wrong It's Right 18:30 THU (b0106v13)

Something Understood 06:05 SUN (b0105r7h)

Something Understood 23:30 SUN (b0105r7h)

Start the Week 09:00 MON (b0105vth)

Start the Week 21:30 MON (b0105vth)

Sunday Worship 08:10 SUN (b0105rh5)

Sunday 07:10 SUN (b0105r7r)

The Archers Omnibus 10:00 SUN (b0105rh9)

The Archers 19:00 SUN (b0105syy)

The Archers 14:00 MON (b0105syy)

The Archers 19:00 MON (b0105t3l)

The Archers 14:00 TUE (b0105t3l)

The Archers 19:00 TUE (b010626w)

The Archers 14:00 WED (b010626w)

The Archers 19:00 WED (b0106rvf)

The Archers 14:00 THU (b0106rvf)

The Archers 19:00 THU (b0106v15)

The Archers 14:00 FRI (b0106v15)

The Archers 19:00 FRI (b0106vr0)

The Chemist of Life and Death 21:00 TUE (b01062gy)

The Chemist of Life and Death 16:30 WED (b01062gy)

The Film Programme 23:00 SUN (b0100j9b)

The Film Programme 16:30 FRI (b0106vqt)

The Food Programme 12:32 SUN (b0105rhg)

The Food Programme 16:00 MON (b0105rhg)

The Media Show 13:30 WED (b01064yn)

The News Quiz 18:30 FRI (b0106vqy)

The Now Show 12:30 SAT (b0100j9g)

The Prime Ministers 09:30 TUE (b0105zk9)

The RSC at 50 11:30 TUE (b01061hm)

The Report 20:00 THU (b0106v19)

The Sea Gangsters 20:00 TUE (b01095mf)

The Sub 2-Hour Marathon: Sport's Holy Grail 20:00 MON (b0105ymz)

The Unbelievable Truth 12:00 SUN (b00zzz1y)

The Unbelievable Truth 18:30 MON (b0105ymv)

The Week in Westminster 11:00 SAT (b0103z8l)

The World This Weekend 13:00 SUN (b0107wxc)

The World Tonight 22:00 MON (b01083xr)

The World Tonight 22:00 TUE (b01084f6)

The World Tonight 22:00 WED (b010963d)

The World Tonight 22:00 THU (b010b5tv)

The World Tonight 22:00 FRI (b010b5yn)

Thinking Allowed 00:15 MON (b0100gr4)

Thinking Allowed 16:00 WED (b01064yx)

Today 07:00 SAT (b0103z3s)

Today 06:00 MON (b0105t6r)

Today 06:00 TUE (b0105yv3)

Today 06:00 WED (b01063x9)

Today 06:00 THU (b0106tj9)

Today 06:00 FRI (b0106vch)

Unreliable Evidence 22:15 SAT (b0100grd)

Unreliable Evidence 20:00 WED (b0106rvk)

Voodoo Wasps and Zombie Worms 11:00 TUE (b01061hk)

Voodoo Wasps and Zombie Worms 21:00 THU (b01061hk)

Weather 06:04 SAT (b0100jmx)

Weather 06:57 SAT (b0100jmz)

Weather 12:57 SAT (b0100jn1)

Weather 17:57 SAT (b0100jn7)

Weather 06:57 SUN (b0105r7m)

Weather 07:57 SUN (b0105r7w)

Weather 12:57 SUN (b0105r80)

Weather 17:57 SUN (b0105r84)

Weather 05:57 MON (b0103tcq)

Weather 12:57 MON (b0103tcs)

Weather 21:58 MON (b0103tcx)

Weather 12:57 TUE (b0102rtn)

Weather 21:58 TUE (b0102rts)

Weather 12:57 WED (b01061pf)

Weather 21:58 WED (b01061pl)

Weather 12:57 THU (b01061pz)

Weather 21:58 THU (b01061q3)

Weather 12:57 FRI (b01061qh)

Weather 21:58 FRI (b01061qm)

Westminster Hour 22:00 SUN (b0105t23)

What Would Jesus Eat? 13:30 SUN (b00rxjgw)

What the Papers Say 22:45 SUN (b0105t25)

Woman's Hour 16:00 SAT (b0103zph)

Woman's Hour 10:00 MON (b0105vtm)

Woman's Hour 10:00 TUE (b0105zkf)

Woman's Hour 10:00 WED (b0106408)

Woman's Hour 10:00 THU (b0106tjh)

Woman's Hour 10:00 FRI (b0106vcm)

Wonderful Ways to Beat the Recession 14:45 SUN (b0105s44)

Word of Mouth 23:00 MON (b010023v)

Word of Mouth 16:00 TUE (b010626m)

World at One 13:00 MON (b01075s1)

World at One 13:00 TUE (b01075rn)

World at One 13:00 WED (b01075rq)

World at One 13:00 THU (b01075rs)

World at One 13:00 FRI (b01075rv)

You and Yours 12:00 MON (b0105vtw)

You and Yours 12:00 TUE (b010g9jm)

You and Yours 12:00 WED (b01064yl)

You and Yours 12:00 THU (b010g9h2)

You and Yours 12:00 FRI (b0106vj4)

iPM 05:45 SAT (b0100jms)

iPM 17:30 SAT (b0100jms)