The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Why is modern media teeming with vampires, witches, ghosts and ghouls? Laurie Taylor explores representations of the paranormal. Also, how Russia deals with criminal youngsters.
In the UK we spend £1.9 billion a year taming plants, from our native gorse to the imported Japanese knotweed, and controlling pests like rabbits and mink. Trevor Reynolds in the Environment Agency's senior advisor on invasive species The Environment Agency's senior advisor on invasive species says that tackling the problem costs 4.5% of global GDP.
One of Europe's biggest bioethanol plants based on Teesside, is to shut down for a few months because of a lack of demand for its product. The Ensus plant opened last year and uses locally grown wheat to make 400 million litres of bioethanol fuel and also produces animal feed as a by product. Its marketing manager Grant Pearson explained why it was temporarily shutting up shop.
Moira Hickey visits the Torridon Estate in the north-west Highlands of Scotland with Alexander Bennett of the National Trust to see what damage the wildfires have done to the landscape and to the Trust's plans for the area.
Presenter: Charlotte Smith. Producer: Ruth Sanderson.
Morning news and current affairs with John Humphrys and Justin Webb, including:
Is the head of the military right to call for Nato to intensify the military campaign in Libya?
Are emotions and intuition more important than academic ability and hard work in the search for a good life?
Andrew Marr talks to Francis Fukuyama about the development of political institutions from the early tribal societies to the growth of the modern state. Pakistan has often been referred to as a 'failed state', but Anatol Lieven argues that despite its reputation it has the makings of a modern, viable and coherent country. The author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid, explores what it means to be middle class in Pakistan, and Tahmima Anam looks back to Bangladesh's fight for Independence, and the relationship between religion and politics in the country of her birth.
Actress Emma Fielding reads Gillian Darley's 'Vesuvius, The Most Famous Volcano in the World'.
Dormant since 1944, but still a potential threat to those who live at its foot, Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the European mainland. In AD 79 thousands perished whilst fleeing the lava's path, hit by what is known as a pyroclastic surge, during which a hurtling jet of gas, carrying along the detritus of the eruption, at immense speed and horrifyingly high temperatures simply incinerated everything in its path. It was, in effect, a horizontal H-bomb and thousands perished.
Amongst the volcano's victims was Pliny the Elder, and on hand to record events was his nephew, Pliny the Younger. He wrote that the devastation was so complete that the inhabitants of Naples 'besought the aid of the gods, but still more imagined there were no gods left, and that the universe was plunged into eternal darkness for evermore.'
As the belief in the power of the gods gave way to Christianity, medieval Neapolitans adopted a patron saint, Saint Januarius, to defend them from the terrible ferocity of Vesuvius' power. The success of Januarius, (or San Gennaro to the Neapolitans), depended on the miraculous liquefaction of phials of his (allegedly) dried blood. He came into his own during the violent eruption of 1631, when he apparently intervened to halt the volcano's lava just short of the city.
After that, a whole chapel was given over to the cult of the saint. His head was placed by the altar along with the phials of his blood and a series of priests rocked slowly to and fro for hours, if not days. From them on, the inhabitants of Naples placed their entire faith in Januarius to save them from the volcano's fury.
With additional readings by Simon Tcherniak. Abridged by Olivia Seligman.
Presented by Jane Garvey. Is justice influenced by the gender of a judiciary which is predominantly male?
Michelle Bachelet survived torture and imprisonment under Pinochet's dictatorship before going on to become President of Chile. Now in a new role as head of UN Women, she discusses how to empower women across the world. When a relationship ends, can you remain friends or is that a recipe for disaster?
Rebecca Front (The Thick of It, Nighty Night, The Day Today) stars in this series about five extraordinary and unforgettable characters in Incredible Women.
In each programme less-than-intrepid interviewer Jeremy spends one night in the home of each of his interviewees. On their territory, he asks about their personal histories, plus we discover some very odd things about the way they live their daily lives. These 'actuality' interviews are interspersed with insert interviews Jeremy has done with famous voices who have been 'affected' in one way or another by the central character of each episode.
In the first episode, Michael Rosen and Graham Norton reveal their lingering disdain for Eleanor Fane-Gore, writer of bullying children's tales and purveyor of fascist doctrines.
The last sustained recession in the UK began in the late eighties as the "Lawson boom" turned to bust. So what was it like to leave school then? Especially if your school was in the North East, an area that had already seen much of its established industries such as mining and heavy manufacturing disappear? And what if yours was the first year to sit the new GCSE exams, replacing the O Levels that employers knew about?
Prudhoe is a small town in the Tyne Valley, a transition between urban Newcastle and the wilds of Northumberland. Prudhoe Community High School is an ordinary school drawing pupils from the local community. Looking at the world through the eyes of a single year group -the class of 88 - the programme evokes their hopes and expectations as they recount their experiences of school and of stepping out into a career. For some it was a chance to make their own future by starting up a business of their own. For many, a choice had to be made about staying or leaving the region and their roots.
In the summer of 88, Yazz was in the charts for 6 weeks: their song title provided a refrain for the class of 88 -The only way is up. Now in their thirties, how did they cope with the struggles of career amid economic ups and downs? Did the experience of recession tap into hidden reserves of gumption? Were they driven, as one classmate put it "to get the hell out of the North East" or did they stay and make a success of it at home? And what do their experiences tell us about the prospects for school leavers today when, once more, prospects appear far from rosy?
School for Start Ups mixes memories and music to offer a snapshot of life through the eyes of Prudhoe's class of 88.
Harvey Easter is a family man, tone-deaf piano seller and eternal optimist. Bittersweet sitcom with Mark Benton. From May 2011.
How psychological profiling on social networks is a treasure trove for advertisers - we hear about the new application that promises more precise targeting than ever before. Advice for the shoppers left high and dry when the DIY chain Focus went bust. And the long-overdue fire engines finally pulling their weight. Presented by Julian Worricker.
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.
Can you suggest a musical connection between Hank Williams, the Marvelettes, and the Canadian rock group Klaatu?
The answer to this and many other questions will be provided by Paul Gambaccini, in the seventh heat of this 25th anniversary series of the evergreen music quiz.
The competitors this week are from the North of England - from Stockport, Crewe and Leeds to be precise - and they will each be hoping to win a place in the series semi-finals which begin in a few weeks' time.
As always, the questions cover the widest possible range of music, both classical and popular.
An illicit affair proves both destructive and a useful teaching aid. Starring John Gordon Sinclair, Sharon Horgan and Gemma Jones.
Stuart is a freelance surveillance expert who teaches covert 'information gathering' to new Intelligence recruits. As part of his work he 'bugs' friends & family, including his wife, Penny. When he discovers that she's having an affair with a man called Neil, his work colleague, Ren, offers her own skills in 'enhanced interview techniques' to help, but Stuart declines. He realises that the secret affair could make an engaging teaching aid. Initially, his students are slightly unsettled but very intrigued. The affair becomes the main focus of the curriculum, and the group study how to 'bug' all manner of difficult situations, such as an impromptu hotel room, a car in a field, busy nightclub, and hot-air balloon. But Penny feels terrible about the affair and Stuart discovers emotions deeply buried and things soon spiral out of control.
'The Recordist' is a dark, offbeat comedy, looking at the price love pays for clear acoustics in Dolby NR.
In the final week of the first part of BBC Radio 4's major new series on the History of Russia, the momentum is all towards revolution.
After centuries of unbending autocratic government Nicholas II creates an embryonic parliament - an astounding leap forward. Unrest abates and the economy recovers. Martin Sixsmith reflects, "For a brief moment the vision of the Russian empire as a sort of British constitutional monarchy looked enticingly possible. Had it been offered earlier and more willingly - it might just have worked."
Sixsmith stands where the revolutionaries stood and paints this picture: "On the 18th of October 1905, a young Jewish intellectual with a small goatee beard, a thick head of black hair and intense dark eyes rose to address an unruly assembly of striking workers here in the Technological Institute in Saint Petersburg." That man was Lev Bronstein, better known by the pseudonym Leon Trotsky. He and Lenin were agitating for the whole Tsarist system to be swept away.
After the assassination of his uncle, Tsar Nicholas retreats from public view for eight years, but remains under the influence of his wife and her faith in the maverick and dissolute holy man, Grigory Rasputin. When the Prime Minister is assassinated at Kiev Opera House, imperial Russia's last attempt at political liberalism comes to an irrevocable end.
Simon Cox gets a rare insight into life for junior social workers as he follows two newly qualified workers through their first six months in one of the busiest children's services departments in Britain.
These are the people we rarely hear from. When something goes badly wrong and the protection of children like Baby P, Kyra Ishaq and Victoria Climbie fails, social workers are roundly lambasted, but never interviewed.
In this programme, we see social work through their eyes. James and Natalie are fresh from their training at Birmingham University. They join the ranks of hundreds of over-loaded social workers trying to protect children in some of Birmingham's poorest areas.
Freshly armed with the latest child development theories, honed listening skills, and advice on how to conduct a good family assessment, they brace themselves for work in the real world, not the class room.
What follows is a sobering insight into the hidden lives of so many children: the prevalence of domestic violence, drug and alcohol addiction and latent aggression. As Natalie and James struggle with mountains of paperwork and looming deadlines, they constantly question whether they've got it right. Did they do all they could for that child, or was the truth cleverly concealed from them? How do you ask a burly, aggressive father if you can strip back the sheets, look through his cupboards and check for punch marks behind the door? And if they get it wrong, will it be their face staring out from the front of the newspaper as the latest social worker to have failed a child?
Presenter: Simon Cox presents The Report and Click On on Radio 4, and previously fronted The Investigation.
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.
Nicholas Parsons is back with the first of a new series of Just a Minute, the show that stretches your linguistic elastic to breaking point. On today's show we learn Paul Merton's motto is Work Hard Be Happy whereas Tony Hawks' motto is You're Never Too Old to Be Told Off By a Park Keeper.
Joining Nicholas Parsons over the course of this series are Paul Merton, Stephen Fry, Josie Lawrence, Julian Clary, Gyles Brandreth, Jenny Elair, Sue Perkins, Graham Norton, Tony Hawks and new girl Fi Glover.
Clarrie regrets telling Eddie about Will wanting a baby and Nic saying no to it. He thinks it's unfair considering how great Will's been with Mia and Jake, along with not having George live with him. Clarrie thinks Nic's decision should be respected. She warns Eddie not to say anything to Nic.
Oliver's busy getting preparations underway for the puppy show. He's also looking forward to taking Caroline out for the day next Tuesday, to spoil her after all her hard work. Kenton asks Oliver for a gift idea for Jolene to celebrate her not smoking for a month.
Hayley notices how motivated Roy is in the morning to get to work. He still thinks it's a shame that the falconry may close, and might speak to Elizabeth about it. Hayley's frustrated when Kate rings to say she's taking Phoebe out after school.
Later Hayley tells Roy she's sick of Kate wading in with no thought about their plans or Phoebe falling behind on her schoolwork. She's even more upset when Kate pops round to say she's offered Phoebe the chance to live with her in South Africa. Hayley tells Roy they need to the nip the idea in the bud before it gets a whole lot worse.
Germaine Greer reviews a new comprehensive exhibition of the work of Tracey Emin. Love Is What You Want covers every period of her career, with seldom-seen early works and recent large-scale installations.
Johnny Depp reprises his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth film in the Pirates franchise, opening this week. Depp is joined once again by Geoffrey Rush, and also by Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane, with cameos from Judi Dench and Keith Richards. Chris Tookey reviews.
Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller is one of the judges of the Art Fund Prize for museums or galleries, and he's been keeping an audio diary for Front Row as he visits contenders for this year's Prize. In his first report, he travels to York to assess the Yorkshire Museum, and to Alloway to see the newly-refurbished Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. Chair of judges Michael Portillo announces the short-list on Thursday's Front Row.
David Lodge has turned his novel Thinks into a play, Secret Thoughts, which has just opened at the Bolton Octagon. He reflects on the art of turning prose into stage drama, along with Julian Barnes, whose novel Arthur and George was adapted by playwright David Edgar, and Joan Didion, whose memoir The Year of Magical Thinking was performed by Vanessa Redgrave.
The Methodist church has been debating whether it should continue to exist or merge with the Church of England. But while Methodism may be fading in Britain today, it originally gave birth to one of the most remarkable forces in religious and social life - here and around the world. In 'The Life and Death of Methodism' historian Robert Colls revisits his Methodist upbringing in the north-east of England and the people and places that bear witness to this most passionate of people's religion. He describes Methodism's belief in personal salvation, an instant change in human behaviour through intense faith, its 'war on the village' as it tried to transform social life, and its great political influence as men and women moved out from the chapels to become prominent figures in national life. And he listens to the sounds of a movement with a great belief in powerful preaching, personal testimony and song, with everyone from industrial revolution pitmen to modern American Pentecostalists swaying faithfully to its tunes.
Following the discovery that Osama Bin Laden was living close to the heart of Pakistan's military establishment in Abbotabad, Owen Bennett-Jones investigates the ties between elements of Pakistan's army, intelligence and government with jihadi and Taleban forces.
Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of science in and behind the headlines. He talks to the scientists who are publishing their research in peer reviewed journals, and he discusses how that research is scrutinised and used by the scientific community, the media and the public. The programme also reflects how science affects our daily lives; from predicting natural disasters to the latest advances in cutting edge science like nanotechnology and stem cell research.
In the wake of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's arrest, should rape suspects be granted anonymity?
Written by Alaa Al Aswany. Read by Mido Hamada.
Taha's involvement with Muslim extremists bent on jihad takes him to a training camp outside of Cairo, where he will meet his destiny...
Once home to the creme de la creme of Egyptian society, The Yacoubian Building is now past its prime. Older residents cling to the faded glories and old-world charm of its past, while newer tenants busily prevent eager arrivals from usurping more space in a building that reflects 70 years of Egypt's social and political upheavals.
Structured as a series of intersecting vignettes, The Yacoubian Building follows Taha, the studious doorman's son; his first love, Busayna, who struggles to support her family; Zaki Bey el Dessouki, an elderly yet elegant lothario; Hatim Rasheed, the homosexual editor of a leading newspaper; rags-to riches millionaire and political aspirant Hagg Azzam; and the wheeler-dealer tailor Malak Khilla, among others, as they conspire, romance, suffer, and dream in the shadow of the historic edifice. Bursting with life, The Yacoubian Building vividly provides a revealing glimpse into contemporary Egypt, where a cosmopolitan past clashes with a tumultuous present.
Alaa Al Aswaney studied to be a dentist and in fact had his first surgery in The Yakoubian building before turning his hand to writing and becoming a worldwide bestselling author. The Yakoubian Building was made into a film in 2006.
He now lives in Chicago but has been commentating on and supporting the call for democracy in Egypt.
Michael Rosen takes a look at the history and usefulness of the mysterious art of shorthand, with a look at its uses in Ancient Rome, Elizabethan England and the present day. There's a trip to Bath to hear from Sir Isaac Pitman himself, recorded in 1891, and a visit to the University of Sheffield's Journalism department.
Tonight the government says it will put Britain's obligations to the military into law.
MPs agree to suspend the former Treasury minister, David Laws, from the Commons for 7 days after he was found to have broken expenses rules.
And the leader of the Lords rules out allocating places by lottery in a revised Upper House.
TUESDAY 17 MAY 2011
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b0112dkz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b0112dl1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0112dl3)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0112dl5)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0112dl7)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b0112dl9)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01134ch)
Becky Harris
Prayer and reflection with Becky Harris.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b0112dlc)
Meat and milk from the offspring of cloned animals should be allowed in our food chain without a licence according to new advice from the Food Standards Agency. But one cloning scientist, who was a member of the team who produced the first cloned animal - Dolly the Sheep - says we're probably eating it already. The FSA says that claim is highly unlikely. Also on the programme, a conservation charity is asking farmers to help save more the 250 species of insects from extinction by planting flower meadows. We also take a tour of the National Trust for Scotland's Torridon Estate in the north-west Highlands in the final part of the report into the damage caused by gorse fires last month. And we join the conservationist in Devon ripping up invasive species, Himalayan Balsam from the riverbank. Presenter: Anna Hill; Producer: Angela Frain.
TUE 06:00 Today (b0112dlf)
Including Sports Desk at
6.25am,
7.25am,
8.25am; Weather
6.05am,
6.57am,
7.57am; Yesterday in Parliament
6.45am; Thought for the Day
7.48am.
TUE 09:00 The Jam Generation Takes Power (b0112fb6)
Episode 3
Political columnist Anne McElvoy meets leading figures from the new generation at the top of British politics, including Ed Miliband, George Osborne and Nick Clegg, who grew up in the 1980s listening to bands like The Jam.
In the final programme, Anne asks how this generation's distinctive life experiences - too young to remember the 1960s and much of the 1970s, but too old to grow up with the internet - will shape our lives over the years to come.
Producer: Phil Tinline.
TUE 09:30 The Prime Ministers (b0112fb8)
Series 2
Harold Macmillan
Nick Robinson, the BBC Political Editor, continues his series exploring how different prime ministers have used their power, have responded to the great challenges of their time and have made the job what it is today.
The sixth of Nick's portraits in power is Harold Macmillan, prime minister between 1957 and 1963. Macmillan took over from Eden after Britain's humiliation in the Suez crisis, and his upbeat approach and political skill soon earned him the nickname of 'Supermac'. He managed to seem calm despite his inner doubts, and famously dismissed the resignation of his entire Treasury team as 'little local difficulties'. He was admired for his passionate commitment to full employment and wider affluence, but he has also been condemned for failing to tackle Britain's deeper economic problems and for turning a blind eye to the risk of inflation. He developed a close relationship with the US President, John F.Kennedy, but his great ambition of leading Britain into the European Common Market was vetoed by the French President, General de Gaulle. By the end of his premiership, Macmillan seemed out of touch as his government was beset by a series of sex and spy scandals, and he became the butt of the early 1960s' satire boom.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b011682p)
Vesuvius: The Most Famous Volcano in the World
Episode 2
Actress Emma Fielding reads Gillian Darley's 'Vesuvius, The Most Famous Volcano in the World'.
Dormant since 1944, but still a potential threat to the thousands who live at its foot, Vesuvius has produced its own literature, imagery and scientific insights. The philosopher and cleric, Bishop Berkeley visited the volcano in 1717 and was overwhelmed by its 'roaring and groaning'.
Fascinated by it, he climbed Vesuvius in the dead of night, taking a risk too far and having to run for his life. He was captivated by the psychological and aesthetic power of the volcano, as was William Hamilton, the British Ambassador in Naples from 1764. Smitten and obsessed, he dedicated himself to climbing the volcano and recording its terrifying moods. He frequently risked his life getting too close to the edge of its crater, and he and his trusted one-eyed guide, Bartolomeo Pumo (known as the Cyclops of Vesuvius), often had to run for their lives. Simultaneously Hamilton was carrying out his ambassadorial duties. These included entertaining the young Mozart, who performed at his house against a percussive accompaniment of volcanic activity.
After the death of Hamilton's wife, he married the notorious Emma, a voluptuous figure who was rarely drawn or painted without the outline of the volcano behind her. Emma Hamilton was to cuckold her husband, becoming Nelson's mistress, and bearing him a child, Horatia. Meanwhile the slopes of the volcano were starting to become the playground of smart Neapolitans, and other Europeans who had embarked on the Grand Tour. All were inclined to look on the prospect of volcanic activity as a bonus rather than a hazard.
Additional readings by Simon Tcherniak. Abridged by Olivia Seligman.
Producer: Olivia Seligman
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0112fbb)
Presented by Jane Garvey.
On today's Woman's Hour we ask whether talking to the Taliban is a betrayal of Afghanistan's women? Jane's guests are Orzala Ashraf, who organised secret literacy and health programmes for Afghan women and girls whilst the Taliban were in power, and Meena Baktash.
Jane discusses the future of work with Lynda Gratton and asks what will a job involve in 2025?
Jane Harris, author of the acclaimed The Observations, which was short-listed for the Orange Prize in 2007, talks about her second novel: Gillespie and I. It is largely set in the late 19th century, and involves anonymous letters, sleazy journalism and a notorious court case. We ask Jane Harris why she returned to the setting of late 19th Century Glasgow - and to writing about madness.
Anne Wareham claims she hates gardening. She says it's "repetitive and mind-blowingly boring, just like housework". She doesn't dig, turn her compost heap, remove leaves or anything else from her borders - she lets it rot where it grew. But garden she does and on a scale few of us could contemplate - "four acres of garden . practically single handed". And she gardens, she claims, entirely for the end result - "the point is the product" - the garden itself. She has just published a book, The Bad Tempered Gardener, and she and fellow gardener and writer, Lia Leendertz join Jane Garvey in the studio to discuss the challenges, the joys, and most importantly, the point of gardens and gardening today.
Producer: Vibeke Venema.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b011ff2m)
Incredible Women: Series 1
Episode 2
Rebecca Front (The Thick of It, Nighty Night, The Day Today) stars in this series about five extraordinary and unforgettable characters in Incredible Women.
In each programme less-than-intrepid interviewer Jeremy spends one night in the home of each of his interviewees. On their territory, he asks about their personal histories, plus we discover some very odd things about the way they live their daily lives.
In this episode he interviews Lauren Bone, a contemporary artist who has hit the headlines with her slogan art on great buildings. Over the course of the 15 minute programme we discover, very much through art critic Waldemar Januszczak, something unexpected about her. It was Waldemar who first noticed her as a student and recognised she had a real and original - though much less trendy - talent for painting beautiful tiny animal and nature portraits.
But what happens when a raw talent is waylaid by a Svengali-type person - in Lauren's case, her partner Dagmar who persuaded her to grab the headlines with her graffiti projects?
TUE 11:00 Saving Species (b0112fgd)
Series 2
Episode 4
The public outcry that ensued following the UK government's announcement it was to sell off state-owned woodlands to private ownership triggered a U-turn in government policy. Woodlands were in the fore of everyone's minds and the topic of conversation up and down the land. It was the biodiversity value of woodlands that became a crucial argument - and public access to the health-giving and recreational world woodlands provide. But now the government have scrapped plans to sell off their woodlands, is the problem over? Saving Species reports from Norfolk where an ancient woodland is being restored and we talk to environmentalist Chris Baines about the value of all woodlands.
And we broadcast our first report from Bob Swann who has monitored the same two seabird colonies in Scotland for 25 years, and we're going to stay with him through the year and see how the seabirds cope with 2011.
Patrick Evans reads his second piece from the area around Chernobyl - this piece about the use of the Przewalski's Horse.
Presenter: Brett Westwood
Producer: Mary Colwell
Editor: Julian Hector.
TUE 11:30 The Chinese Nureyev (b0112fgg)
Fifty years ago, in June 1961, Rudolph Nureyev made headlines by defecting to the West while on tour in Paris with Russia's Kirov Ballet. Six months earlier, during the height of Mao's Cultural Revolution, a baby was born in a village in China. The sixth of seven sons, Li Cunxin was destined to follow Nureyev's example. Twenty years later in 1981, while on a cultural scholarship to the Houston Ballet, Li defected.
His story is a remarkable one, equal to any roles that he has danced. He is now a successful businessman in Australia and was recently named Australian 'Father of the Year'. Darcey Bussell who, since retiring from the Royal Ballet has also been living in Australia, visits Li and his family in Melbourne to hear about his extraordinary journey from peasant to stockbroker, from Communist to Capitalist, from East to West via the world of ballet.
At the age of eleven Li was taken from the poor but happy life he enjoyed with his family by scouts from Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy who toured the country in search of children with the right physique to be trained as dancers. For the next seven years his education was a combination of rigorous ballet classes accompanied by political brainwashing. The name Nureyev was never heard - his videos banned. Madame Mao demanded ballets with a political message - more often than not Li would be dancing with a gun in his hand.
When he was eighteen Li's life changed dramatically with the arrival in Beijing of the first American cultural delegation to visit China. It was then that British choreographer Ben Stevenson, Director of the Houston Ballet, noticed Li's talent and began a chain of events leading to his defection and an international incident between China and the United States.
Producer: Merilyn Harris
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b0112fgj)
Does the SNP victory in the Holyrood elections put Scotland in the departure lounge of the British Union?
What's the future for the England-Scotland Union after the Holyrood elections? Will the "marriage" continue or are we heading for a messy divorce? Call You and Yours with Julian Worricker. Your chance to share your views on the programme. Email youandyours@bbc.co.uk or call 03700 100 444 (lines open at
10am Tuesday).
TUE 12:57 Weather (b0112dlh)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b0112fgl)
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 The Music Group (b0112fgn)
Series 5
Episode 4
Fashion designer Betty Jackson joins founder member of The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, George Hinchliffe and astrophysicist Lucie Green to discuss three personally significant pieces of music.
Amongst their choices are a sweeping Sixties soundscape, some philosophising Canadian power rock and eight minutes of magnificent trombone solo played by a man with a pork pie hat.
Along the way we discover what makes a fashion entrepreneur weep at the kitchen table, why comedy instruments can produce very moving music, how rock has contributed to the public understanding of science and the name of the Italian singer that links the occult film Don't Look Now with the phrase 'The weekend starts here!'
The Music Choices are:
You Don't Have To Say You Love Me by Dusty Springfield
Closer To The Heart by Rush
The Lord Is Listening To Ya, Hallelujah by The Carla Bley Band
Presenter: Phil Hammond
Producer: Tamsin Hughes
A Testbed production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b0112fl8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b0112flb)
Katie Hims - Lost Property
A Telegram From the Queen
For Alice's 100th birthday present, her granddaughter Ruthie sets out to put her family back together again. The final play in Katie Hims' trilogy of heartbreak and redemption.
Cast
Ruthie ..... Rosie Cavaliero
Alice ..... Edna Doré
Ted ..... Gary Beadle
Vincent ..... Daniel Rabin
Marcus ..... Stuart McLoughlin
Ray ..... Sean Baker
Queenie ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Roseanna ..... Alex Tregear
Ella May ..... Joanna Monro
Receptionist ..... Sally Orrock
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Edna Doré stars in A Telegram from the Queen, the final play in this trilogy by acclaimed radio dramatist Katie Hims charting one family's tragi-comic history of heartbreak and redemption. The trilogy won the 2011 BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Drama, where Rosie Cavaliero also picked up the Best Actress award.
TUE 15:00 Making History (b0112fnr)
Making History marks the beginning of the BBC's Domesday Re-Loaded project.
Tom Holland talks to Sally Pearce a university lecturer who was involved in the BBC's original Domesday Project and a leading figure in trying find ways of accessing data that had been stored on laser discs which had become obsolete.
In Scotland, Fiona Watson talks to medieval historian Professor Dauvit Brown at the University of Glasgow about how historians north of the border cope after missing out on the original Domesday Book in 1086.
Professor Hugh Pyper at the University of Sheffield talks to Tom Holland about the Roman census which forced Mary and Joseph and King David's census around a thousand years earlier which the book of Chronicles tells us was met with the wrath of God.
Gardening historian Marion Marko takes up the challenge of 'double-top Domesday' and Professor Eddy Higgs at the University of Essex head to the problems the internet age might bring to future historical researchers.
Producer: Nick Patrick
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:30 Ballads of Thin Men (b0112fnt)
Dig Yourself
Bob Dylan - one of the most significant and influential cultural figures of the late 20th and early 21st century - was 70 on 24 May 2011. The three stories in Ballads Of Thin Men were commissioned specially to mark the occasion.
Written by Nick Walker
The Savoy Hotel, London, 1965. In the Iolanthe Room, Margaret is holding a meeting to prepare for a memorial function in honour of the recently-deceased Sir Winston Churchill. She uses flash-cards to help her small audience. Staying at the Savoy is 'a chap ... who plays the guitar which is quite nice,' And he's been using flash-cards too ...
Nick Walker is part of Coventry-based mixed media experimentalists Talking Birds whose work has been presented extensively in the UK as well as in Sweden, Ireland, and the USA. He has worked with some of the country's leading new work theatre companies including Stan's Cafe, Insomniac, and Theatre Instituut Nederlands both in the UK and abroad.
He is the author of two critically-acclaimed novels Blackbox and Helloland. His plays and short stories are often featured on BBC Radio 4 including Arnold In A Purple Haze (2009), the 'First King of Mars' stories (2007 - 2010) and the Afternoon Play Life Coach (2010), all of them Sweet Talk productions.
Reader: Sarah Hadland
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:45 Russia: The Wild East (b0112fv3)
Series 1
The Centre Weakens
Tsar Nicholas 2nd's reign at the beginning of the 20th century had already been marked by the shedding of workers' blood, and political weakness. Revolutionary voices had been raised, and an unstable Europe would break out into the First World War. The seeds of instability had been sown 40 years before, but it would be Nicholas who would reap the disastrous harvest.
Martin Sixsmith tells the story of Russia's part in the First World War through Solzhenitsyn's novel August 1914. Solzhenitsyn takes issue with Tolstoy's belief that individuals cannot shape history and argues that there was nothing inevitable about the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Greater determination and better leadership could have made things turn out very differently.
Sixsmith comments, "In many respects 1914 was a last opportunity for the tsarist regime to save itself. The war was popular and its cause had united many elements of a divided society. For a brief moment, peasant resentment and workers' demands took second place to the overriding imperative of defending the motherland. But the mood of national unity was soon to be shattered by political shenanigans, tsarist incompetence and further setbacks on the battlefield."
By 1917 patience with the Tsar had run out, the strain of the war effort led to food shortages, profiteering and inflation. The hated figure of Rasputin had been assassinated the previous year but it was not enough to save the monarchy. Discontent was turning to revolt. Sixsmith concludes, "The unity of 1914 was long gone; the old myths of loyalty to the tsar could no longer hold society together. Tsarism was rotting from within and the only question was who or what would trigger its collapse."
Historical Consultant: Professor Geoffrey Hosking
Producers: Adam Fowler & Anna Scott-Brown
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 16:00 The Secret History of Social Networking (b00xw14v)
Episode 1
In the first instalment of a three-part series, Rory Cellan-Jones traces the roots of social networking from the counterculture of the 1970s through early bulletin board systems such as California's The WELL and the first networks on the World Wide Web, finding out how a geeky hobby became a mass phenomenon.
Forty years ago, hippies and hackers came together to produce the first attempts at online community. Rory visits the scene of the perhaps the first computer social network open to the general public. Community Memory was a series of terminals in Berkeley and the San Francisco Bay area which opened for business in 1973.
It never picked up more than a handful of users, but as personal computers became more common in the 1980s, a host of online bulletin board systems sprang up around the world - although The WELL was perhaps the most influential. An offshoot of the Whole Earth Catalog, The WELL's discussion forums interested journalists as well as computer nerds and showed how computer networks might impact offline life.
And Rory follows the trend through to the arrival of the World Wide Web, the thing that turned a mass audience on to the internet and online social networking.
Millions signed up for early sites like SixDegrees and Friendster. But the lack of digital cameras and ubiquitous internet access in its late-90s heyday limited the usefulness of SixDegrees as a networking tool. And Friendster's sheer popularity in the early 2000s caused tech problems that the company struggled to overcome. It wouldn't be too long, however, before social networking hit the mainstream. Part 1 of 3.
Interviewees include:
Lee Felsenstein, co-founder, Community Memory
Larry Brilliant, co-founder, The WELL
Stewart Brand, co-founder The WELL
Howard Rheingold, early WELL user, author of The Virtual Community
John Perry Barlow, early WELL user, co-founder Electronic Frontier Foundation
Marc Weber, founding curator, Computer History Museum
Andrew Weinrich, founder, SixDegrees.com
Jonathan Abrams, co-founder, Friendster.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b0112fv5)
Series 24
Jack Johnson
It was the fight of the century, July 4th 1910, when Tim Jeffries, the so-called Great White Hope, was stopped by Jack Johnson in the 15th round. Suddenly white supremacy didn't seem so self-assured. In America there were riots, while a follow up fight in Britain - between Johnson and the British champion, Bombardier Wells - never took place. A leader in the Times newspaper had urged the promoter to consider 'the special position of trusteeship for coloured subject peoples which the British empire holds ....'
Jack Johnson, also known as the Galveston Giant, has been proposed by Matthew Syed, a recent sports journalist of the year. His nomination is based not only on Johnson's life, but what he came to represent. The expert is Kasia Boddy, author of Boxing: A Cultural History. The presenter is Matthew Parris and the producer Miles Warde.
TUE 17:00 PM (b0112fv7)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0112dlk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Clare in the Community (b00snrjy)
Series 6
Some Others Do 'Ave 'Em
Clare Barker's back on the social work frontline as a vomiting bug hits her colleagues.
Clare Barker is the self-absorbed social worker who has the right jargon for every problem she comes across, though never a practical solution. But there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.
Clare ... Sally Phillips
Brian ... Alex Lowe
Helen ... Liza Tarbuck
Ray ... Richard Lumsden
Libby ... Sarah Kendall
Megan/Na ... Nina Conti
Peggy ... Rosemary Leach
Dolly ... Doreen Mantle
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden
Producer: Katie Tyrrell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2010.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b0112fz3)
Elizabeth's confident that Roy will do a fabulous job in running Lower Loxley during her days off. She'll talk to him about English Wine Week when she's back. She wants it to be a huge success, for Nigel's sake. The falconry was a big favourite of his too, but it's just not paying its way and something has to go.
Roy tells Hayley that he's been looking at the falconry figures. Although Elizabeth seems to have made up her mind, he's going to do more research.
Peggy invites Jill round to show her the brooch she's made. Jill's pleased that Peggy is able to enjoy Ted's company, and Peggy feels confident that Jack would understand. Ted has said that Jill would be welcome to join them next time, so Peggy encourages Jill to come along on Friday.
As Jamie and new girlfriend Natalie discuss their latest exam, they bump into Kathy. Jamie introduces Natalie and she and Kathy chat away. Jamie interrupts and drags Natalie away for a coffee. Later, Jamie is uncomfortable with Kathy asking him about Natalie. She changes the subject and suggests that he doesn't work any more shifts at The Bull until after exams. To Kathy's relief, Jamie agrees to talk to Jolene.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b0112fz7)
Paul Giamatti in Win Win; documentary maker Adam Curtis; Danger Mouse
With John Wilson.
In a new film Win Win, Paul Giamatti plays a disheartened lawyer who moonlights as a high school wrestling coach, and whose life is turned upside down with the arrival of the troubled mother of his star athlete. The director is Tom McCarthy, whose previous films include The Station Agent and The Visitor. Natalie Haynes reviews
Documentary maker Adam Curtis, who brought us The Power of Nightmares, talks about his new three-part TV series All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace, which examines how we've been beguiled by computers and how the myths we've woven around them have had a world-wide impact on economics, ecology and science.
Chart-topping songwriter and producer Danger Mouse discusses his new album Rome, which is inspired by Italian film soundtracks of the 1960s, and features singers Jack White and Norah Jones along with musicians who performed on the original recordings of scores by Ennio Morricone.
Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller - one of the judges of the Art Fund Prize for museums or galleries - has been keeping an audio diary for Front Row as he visits contenders for this year's Prize. In his second report, Jeremy travels to the renovated Polar Museum in Cambridge, the Hertford Museum, and the Roman Baths Museum in Bath. Chair of judges Michael Portillo announces the short-list on Thursday's Front Row
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b011ff2m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 The Bankers and the Bottom Billion (b0112fz9)
The bankers are back in the spotlight - this time financing an explosion in lending services for the poorest people on earth. They are building on the original dream of "micro-finance" with an array of new products for very poor people, funded in part by raising private debt and equity in London and the world's other financial capitals.
It is thought credit, insurance and mortgages could improve the lives of people in slums and villages from Bangladesh to Bolivia. Yet with mounting attacks on micro-finance's idealistic founder Muhammad Yunus, there are also concerns that this rapid injection of investment capital could hurt the poorest.
Mukul Devichand tells the intimate story of one slum lane in India, where a group of women have been targeted by the audacious plan to create financial services for the "bottom billion."
His report asks one of the most important questions of our time: can financial markets help the poorest, or do they need to be protected from the profit motive?
Contributors, in order of appearance, include:
David Roodman, Centre for Global Development
Tanmay Chetan, Agora Microfinance
Meenal Patole, Agora Microfinance India Limited
Jayesh Modi, HSBC
Yezdi Malegam, Reserve Bank of India
Nitin Aggarwal, Spandana Sphoorty Financial Services
R Subramanyam, Principal Secretary of Rural Development, Andhra Pradesh
Vijay Mahajan, Basix
Professor Abhijit Banerjee, MIT
Rajnish Dhall, Micro Housing Financial Corporation
Presenter: Mukul Devichand
Producer: Ruth Alexander.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b0112g4p)
How easy it is to use the iPlayer if you can't see? Technology expert Robin Christopherson tries to get to the bottom of some of the problems you have been contacting us about - and we hear from the iPlayer team.
Plus we look at the effectiveness of the Hardest Hit Protest, hearing from those who went and those who decided not to. Liz Ball from deafblind charity Sense and visually impaired journalist Kevin Mulhern discuss its impact amongst the disabled community and the public at large.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Steven Williams.
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b0112g4r)
Earthquake Trauma Treatment - Placebo Power - Facial Mimicry
Thousands of people across the world who survive devastating earthquakes are living with the trauma of the disaster compounded by the experiences of aftershocks. Claudia Hammond talks to Metin Basoglu, a psychiatrist who has developed a method of mass psychological treatment for survivors of disasters like these, based on his research with over 10,000 people who lived through the Turkish earthquake of 1999. Could a single session of this kind of therapy really make a difference?
How strong is the placebo effect? Can sugar pills make you feel better even when you know that's exactly what they are? Claudia talks to Ted Kaptchuk from Harvard University about his findings that for people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, knowingly taking a placebo pill twice a day improved their symptoms. But is it the placebo or the ritual that surrounds taking it?
Professor Irene Tracey, pain researcher at Oxford University, says the power of placebo is all about manipulating expectation of the person taking it. She believes this research still required deception. Her research on pain and the brain had led her to suggest that rather than using placebo, changing people's expectations of active drugs could be medically beneficial.
Also - why to read someone else's emotion your own face needs to minutely mimic their facial expressions. When the brain gets feedback from the face it gets information on what that person is feeling. And why Botox, which paralyses those muscles reduces the ability to understand emotion.
TUE 21:30 The Jam Generation Takes Power (b0112fb6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b0112dlm)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b0112g4t)
Protests in Dublin as the Queen begins her historic visit to the Republic of Ireland. Can she bury the past?
Chris Huhne announces ambitious carbon emission targets. Are they achievable?
Aid agencies threaten to pull out of famine-stricken Nepal
with Robin Lustig.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b010t6lc)
The Yacoubian Building
Episode 7
Local bigwig Hagg Azzam and owner of the shops on the ground floor of the Yacoubian building yearns for a second wife and a political career..
Written by Alaa Al Aswany. Read by Mido Hamada.
Once home to the creme de la creme of Egyptian society, The Yacoubian Building is now past its prime. Older residents cling to the faded glories and old-world charm of its past, while newer tenants busily prevent eager arrivals from usurping more space in a building that reflects 70 years of Egypt's social and political upheavals.
Structured as a series of intersecting vignettes, The Yacoubian Building follows Taha, the studious doorman's son; his first love, Busayna, who struggles to support her family; Zaki Bey el Dessouki, an elderly yet elegant lothario; Hatim Rasheed, the homosexual editor of a leading newspaper; rags-to riches millionaire and political aspirant Hagg Azzam; and the wheeler-dealer tailor Malak Khilla, among others, as they conspire, romance, suffer, and dream in the shadow of the historic edifice. Bursting with life, The Yacoubian Building vividly provides a revealing glimpse into contemporary Egypt, where a cosmopolitan past clashes with a tumultuous present.
Alaa Al Aswaney studied to be a dentist and in fact had his first surgery in The Yakoubian building before turning his hand to writing and becoming a worldwide bestselling author. The Yakoubian Building was made into a film in 2006.
He now lives in Chicago but has been commentating on and supporting the call for democracy in Egypt.
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:00 Jon Ronson On (b0112g4w)
Series 6
Witch Hunts
Jon Ronson considers the moment when we follow the herd and make accusations. Jon talks to Meredith Maran who at one time believed she was abused by her father. Her beliefs wrecked her family's relationships. Years later she was to question her memory, and ask whether she had been caught up in a wave of accusations that swept America at the same time which was based on false memory syndrome. But what were the consequences of her doubts on her family and her father?
Music writer David Quantick brings a lighter note to the programme with his stories of his time as entertainment officer at the student union where he took part in an evening of humiliation towards the rock society. He is still left with feelings of guilt around his actions.
Producers: Laura Parfitt and Simon Jacobs
An Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0112g4y)
The Prime Minister faces a senior committee of MPs and questions about the economy and the military intervention in Libya.
David Cameron goes before the liaison committee in the first of three new-look evidence sessions a year.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, unveils his proposals for reform of the House of Lords.
And the Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne, sets out plans to cut carbon emissions in half by 2027 and change the way Britain produces energy.
In the Lords, peers continue an inquiry into the governance of the BBC and question ministers about the impact of the new English Baccalaureate.
Sean Curran and team report on today's events in Parliament.
WEDNESDAY 18 MAY 2011
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b0112gtj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b011682p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0112gtl)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0112gtn)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0112gtq)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b0112gts)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01134c3)
Becky Harris
Prayer and reflection with Becky Harris.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b0112gtv)
More than 62 thousand people suffered campylobacter infections in England and Wales alone last year - a 25% increase over the last 2 years according to the Health Protection Agency.
The Food Standards Agency says up to 80% of food-related cases can be linked to chicken and estimates there could even be as many as 300,000. The FSA has now told the poultry industry it must take action to reduce the levels of contamination. Anna Hill asks the British Poultry Council if they're doing enough.
Two hundred native crayfish are being released at a secret location today to help revive numbers. The white-clawed crayfish has become endangered since the American signal crayfish was introduced in the 1980s. Meanwhile Plantlife are calling for a ban of 30 invasive plants which are sold in the UK to prevent them spreading further.
Presented by Anna Hill. Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.
WED 06:00 Today (b0112gtx)
Morning news and current affairs with James Naughtie and Sarah Montague, including:
07:30 Should the government stop trying to computerise NHS records?
08:10 Nick Clegg is to oppose the idea of getting an independent regulator to promote competition in the NHS.
08:20 Is the government taking revenge on the police force?
WED 09:00 Midweek (b0112gtz)
This week Libby Purves is joined by Dr Kevin Jones, Vic Armstrong, Vidal Sassoon and Peter Jefferson.
Dr Kevin Jones is an NHS Consultant in Acute Medicine at the Royal Bolton Hospital and is also a comedian. He features in a short film, 'Dying for a Laugh', along with stand-up comedians including Shappi Khorsandi, Ricky Tomlinson, and Dave Spikey, all reflecting (and joking) about the taboo subject of death. The film supports National Dying Matters Awareness Week which aims to get people talking more openly about end of life care and dying.
Vic Armstrong is a British-born stuntman and director. He has worked in the movie industry for forty years, as stunt double for Indiana Jones, James Bond and Superman, and has directed action scenes for three James Bond movies, 'Mission Impossible 3' and 'I Am Legend', to name but a few. His autobiography, 'The True Adventures of The World's Greatest Stuntman' is published by Titan Books.
Vidal Sassoon is known as the man who 'changed the world with a pair of scissors', with the Bauhaus-inspired hair styles he pioneered in the 1960s and his 'wash and wear' philosophy. His life story is a true rags to riches one, told in a new film Vidal Sassoon The Movie which traces his path from his early days in an orphanage in the East End, to his time as a soldier in Israel, his beginnings on Bond Street and ultimately to international success and celebrity.
Peter Jefferson is a former BBC announcer who read the shipping forecast on Radio 4 for over forty years. He's now written a book detailing the history of this British institution and looking at its broader cultural influence. 'And Now the Shipping Forecast' is published by UIT Cambridge.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b011684h)
Vesuvius: The Most Famous Volcano in the World
Episode 3
Actress Emma Fielding reads Gillian Darley's 'Vesuvius, The Most Famous Volcano in the World'. Dormant since 1944, but still a potential threat to the thousands who live at its foot, Vesuvius has produced its own literature, imagery and scientific insights.
The Romantics were particularly intrigued by its mysterious violence and the German writer and polymath, Goethe, visited the volcano in 1787. The sight of Vesuvius erupting one evening was completely overwhelming for him. No subsequent scene would ever provide such a combination of thrilling and spiritual calm, 'the emotions and the senses in complete equilibrium'.
The poet, Shelley, who was fond of invoking volcanoes for their political message, climbed Vesuvius with his wife, Mary. The intensity of the experience brought him close to a breakdown and he wove his impressions of the volcano into his famous play, Prometheus Unbound. Scientists, Humphrey Davy and Michael Faraday, celebrated the defeat of Napoleon with a huge, euphoric midnight feast on the slopes of the volcano, accompanied by toasts to 'Old England' and the singing of 'God Save The King' and 'Rule Britannia'.
They were followed by Charles Dickens, who finally managed to visit Vesuvius in 1845. He undertook a memorable moonlit climb, accompanied by his wife and daughter, and a 'rather heavy' gentleman from Naples, whose ascent required a lifting party of fifteen men. But scientists, poets and writers were not alone in their fascination with Vesuvius. It was starting to inspire novels, plays, and recreations of the volcano itself the world over, as the general public was increasingly drawn to its marvels.
Abridged by Olivia Seligman. Additional readings by Simon Tcherniak
Producer: Olivia Seligman
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0112gv1)
Presented by Jenni Murray. Jeffrey Archer on his latest novel 'Only Time Will Tell'. We look at the long history of politics, power and sex scandals and consider whether some countries like France and Italy have been more accepting of extra marital affairs and sex scandals. To discuss Jenni is joined by Adam Raphael, Former Political Editor of the Observer and writer and broadcaster Cristina Odone. We how girls in Tanzania risk being attacked and raped for an education and Jane looks at the difficulties of readjusting to family life after working away.
WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b011ff49)
Incredible Women: Series 1
Episode 3
Rebecca Front (The Thick of It, Nighty Night, The Day Today) stars in this series about five extraordinary and unforgettable characters in Incredible Women.
In each programme less-than-intrepid interviewer Jeremy spends one night in the home of each of his interviewees. On their territory, he asks about their personal histories, plus we discover some very odd things about the way they live their daily lives. These 'actuality' interviews are interspersed with interviews Jeremy has done with famous voices who have been 'affected' in one way or another by the central character of each episode.
In today's episode, Jeremy takes a look at Peggy Saville. He speaks to 'close friend' Honor Blackman about what made Peggy such a special and loved star.
Now in her seventies, Peggy was very big in the 'Round the Back' series of saucy British comedy films: Round the Back of the Barracks, Round the Back of The Costa Brava, etc. Peggy was always cast as the young, busty innocent in a fearsomely pointy bra. Her father, Sheridan Saville was at The Rada with Olivier and warned his daughter that, due to her piggy eyes, she would never make it in pictures, but her beautiful voice would keep her in work. Sheridan has remained the only significant man in her life - she has never married, though ironically she became the bigger star.
During the course of the programme, Peggy talks about her film roles in all innocence. She genuinely doesn't seem to realise how chock full of innuendo they were. Now an elderly woman but still a daddy's girl, she still has the same beautiful voice and it still makes her money, as Jeremy discovers when he accidentally answers Peggy's phone.
WED 11:00 A History of the World Special (b010y36c)
When Peter Lewis heard that the BBC were inviting people to nominate personal objects that helped tell the story of the history of the world, he thought immediately of his Uncle Bryn.
The invitation was intended to complement the award-winning Radio 4 series 'A History of the World in A Hundred Objects', made in partnership with the British Museum. Those objects told of mankind's origins, of dynasties, of trade and economics, of science and engineering, war, peace, growth and development.
The many thousands of contributions to the BBC website threw vivid personal light on those broader subjects, but perhaps none more than Bryn's portrait of his World War Two sweetheart, and later wife, Peggy.
The picture, which still hangs in his living room, was painted in oils from a Red Cross postcard photograph that Peggy had sent him when he was a prisoner of war in Poland. He'd been captured in April 1940 and, in spite of twelve unsuccessful escape attempts, he wouldn't see Peggy again until 1945.
His life as a prisoner is an extraordinary story of a private soldier gifted with an iron will, a wicked optimism and an unshakeable survival instinct.
Many of the camps in which he was held are familiar to historians: Thorn, Stalag VIIb Lamsdorf, Terezin - but it's Auschwitz that leaps most agressively from the page.
Bryn was never held with the Jewish prisoners in the main camp. As a British soldier, he had rights they could only have dreamt of. But he was a labourer in the metal workshops alongside the main camp, and he saw the brutality meted out over the several months of his incarceration there.
It was during this period that a fellow worker, a Polish Jew, told him that he could get the tired photograph of Peggy painted for him in oils.
Bryn was uneasy about losing such a treasured possession - but when he learnt about the Nazi policy of employing Jewish craftsmen and artists to copy stolen art treasures in the camp next door, he relented.
A couple of weeks later, his postcard photo was returned, along with a beautiful portrait of Peggy. For obvious reasons, it was unsigned.
So Bryn would never discover the name of the person who painted it, but he treasured it beyond any other possession and kept it taped to his stomach or back for the remaining two years of the war.
Bryn is now in his nineties. He's always been reticent about telling the stories of his imprisonment, but here he talks to Peter Lewis about his survival, his escapes, and the portrait from Auschwitz that he brought home safely to the woman who was to become his wife.
PRODUCER: Tom Alban.
WED 11:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b00j4hk2)
Series 1
Skipton
Comedian Mark Steel visits the attractive market town of Skipton in Yorkshire and presents a show from the a livestock auction hall to discover what makes the town and its inhabitants distinctive. From March 2009.
Producer - Julia McKenzie.
WED 12:00 You and Yours (b0112gv3)
Consumer news with Winifred Robinson. Today we begin our series looking at the competition to run one of the busiest rail lines in the country, the West Coast Mainline, which runs from London to Glasgow. We'll also be looking at the latest developments in the campaign to save public libraries.
WED 12:30 Face the Facts (b0112gv5)
John Waite examines why schools across the UK have been left without the skiing trips they paid for. He speaks to the schools, parents and councils left to pick up the pieces and he investigates the business behind the trips.
WED 12:57 Weather (b0112gv7)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b0112gv9)
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 (b0112gvc)
This week Mr Justice Eady ruled that Imogen Thomas could not publish her story about her relationship with a married footballer, or even name the footballer, due to his right to privacy. Media lawyer Duncan Lamont and PR consultant Max Clifford discuss whether the latest judgement signals the end of the "Kiss and Tell" story.
When he announced the Hargreaves Review into intellectual property last year, David Cameron promised that this was the first step towards creating copyright laws "fit for the internet age". The report, which is published today, recommends changes to the law but is not as radical as some digital companies might have hoped. To discuss his report, and how he hopes the changes will encourage innovation, Steve Hewlett is joined by author, Professor Ian Hargreaves.
Forbes Magazine is best known for its rich lists of the world's billionaires. But can America's best selling business magazine, with its focus on capitalism and making big money, translate for a European audience? Steve Hewlett hears from Steve Forbes, the editor in chief of Forbes Magazine, about his plans for a European edition.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b0112fz3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b0112gvf)
Mike Bartlett - Heart
by Mike Bartlett. Alison Steadman plays Susan, a recently retired primary school teacher. She sells things on eBay, paints her own version of modern art and grows exotic plants in a poly-tunnel. Her husband Steve is stressed at work and is becoming depressed and increasingly vicious. She hardly recognises him. Even hates him at times. Retirement wasn't meant to be like this.
Directed by Claire Grove
Can love cope with personality change? In Mike Bartlett's play, Steve thinks he is being sidelined by his new young boss. His mounting stress unleashes a ferocity of emotions between him and his wife. Susan tries to be light and funny but it only makes things worse. Mark is actually in a downward spiral into full blown clinical depression. Neither he nor Susan recognise this until it is too late. Alison Steadman and Nicholas Farrell star.
Mike Bartlett is one of the most exciting writers in Britain today. He has worked with Paines Plough, the Royal Court and the National Theatre, where he was writer-in-residence. His play LOVE,LOVE,LOVE won Best New Play in the 2011 Theatre Awards UK and COCK won an Olivier Award in 2010 for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. NOT TALKING for BBC Radio 3 scooped both the Imison Award for Best First Radio Play and The Tinniswood Award for Best Play in 2007. His television series THE TOWN was nominated for a BAFTA for Breakthrough Talent.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b0112gyy)
Financial help and support for people who need or provide care is the subject on Wednesday's Money Box Live.
Proposals put forward by the Law Commission should make our legal rights to care and support services clearer, but in the meantime if you have a question about arranging or paying for care, Paul Lewis and guests will be on hand with help and advice.
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 Ballads of Thin Men (b0113fws)
The Night Ride
Bob Dylan - one of the most significant and influential cultural figures of the late 20th and early 21st century - was 70 on 24 May 2011. The three stories in Ballads Of Thin Men were commissioned specially to mark the occasion.
Written by Simone Felice
The starting point for this story is the line from Bob Dylan's 'Joey': 'Born in Red Hook, Brooklyn, in the year of who-knows-when.' When the lights in his apartment fuse Adrian Young puts on a dress and takes to his bike to ride the borough's streets on a wintry December night.
Simone Felice is the author of two novellas, Goodbye, Amelia and Hail Mary Full Of Holes, and numerous short stories, poems and songs. He is a founding member of The Felice Brothers and his new band The Duke & King's first album 'Nothing Gold Can Stay' has been described as 'Neil Young meets Marvin Gaye on the kind of record that cults are made of.' His new novel, Black Jesus, publishes in April 2011. Simone lives in the Catskill Mountains of New York State.
Reader: Madeleine Potter
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:45 Russia: The Wild East (b0112gz0)
Series 1
The Year 1917 Dawns
1917 is the year etched into Russian history. The First World War had caused disillusion amongst the military and the workers. Tsar Nicholas the 2nd believed blindly in his autocratic right to rule, but enemies were all around him, and the eventual victor - Lenin - was biding his time at a safe distance.
Shostakovich's Symphony 'The Year 1917' provides the backdrop for this most momentous year in Russian History. The February Revolution of 1917 was, like the earlier peasant revolts of Stenka Razin and Pugachev, a spontaneous uprising against a hated regime. Contrary to the Soviet account of the period, Martin Sixsmith argues "It was unplanned, uncoordinated, and the professional revolutionaries were left trailing in its wake."
But, with his kingdom crumbling, Tsar Nicholas the Second is portrayed, through letters to his wife Alexandra, as strangely detached. He barely mentions the revolution that was about to end Tsarism in Russia, as if willing it to go away by concentrating on other, minor inconveniences. Finally the Romanov dynasty, that had begun in the heroic glory of 1613 and celebrated its third centenary with great pomp just four years previously, came to an end in the banality of a provincial railway siding where Nicholas was forced to resign.
In the Tauride Palace in Saint Petersburg from where Martin Sixsmith tells the rest of the story, Nicholas's portrait was unceremoniously ripped from the wall of the Duma chamber. Sixsmith walks from the palace's right wing, where the Duma deputies announced they were creating a new government, to the left wing where hundreds of workers, soldiers and peasants were gathering - the two groups jostling to fill the vacuum. The time was crying out for someone to seize the initiative; he was already waiting in the wings.
Historical Consultant: Professor Geoffrey Hosking
Producers: Adam Fowler & Anna Scott-Brown
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b0112gzd)
Cemetery Taboo - The City
Cities are growing at an enormous rate all over the world. As they wrestle with overcrowding, pollution, resource vulnerability and an increasing gulf between the rich and poor what will be the dominant factor to define them? Which forces will shape the experience of urban life for the individual and will our imagination and creativity enable cities to survive into the future? The sociologist Sophie Watson and the geographer Matthew Gandy join Laurie Taylor to discuss the future of the city.
Also, the taboo of the body in the cemetery. Kate Woodthorpe reveals her research into what remains unmentionable at the graveside.
Producer: Charlie Taylor.
WED 16:30 All in the Mind (b0112g4r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 17:00 PM (b0112gzg)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0112gvh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Arthur Smith's Balham Bash (b010hcwk)
Series 3
Episode 3
Arthur Smith presents comedy and music from his flat in Balham, south London.
With stand-up comedy from Sean Lock in the living room, Annette Fagon on the landing and music from Squeeze in the kitchen.
Producer Alison Vernon-Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b0112xcb)
Jolene's gone a whole month without smoking so Kenton treats her to a voucher for Grey Gables health club. Jolene is so excited she books it for later. Jolene later thanks Oliver for having suggested the idea to Kenton. She comes back very relaxed and happy.
Caroline has had to prepare a last minute special tea for the Felpersham Civic Society, but with a little help from Ian it's all running smoothly. She's been so busy at Grey Gables but reassures Oliver that she'll make it up to him. They're both looking forward to their day out on Tuesday.
The new figures are in at Brookfield, and they're looking good. It looks like it's going to be the most profitable milk production of the year. David and Ruth agree to go out and celebrate on Friday.
David goes to Lower Loxley to use the aerator on the parkland. Elizabeth really appreciates his help. David pops into The Bull on his way home. He chats to Jolene and Kenton about the single wicket competition. David agrees to see if Josh wants to sign up. Kenton's pleased to see David in The Bull, even if it is only for a quick drink.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b0112xcd)
Miriam Margolyes on her 70th birthday
On her 70th birthday, actress Miriam Margolyes reflects on her career - from Cambridge Footlights to Harry Potter, via Dickens' Women and Blackadder. She discusses her disappointment that she has never worked at the National Theatre or the RSC, and reveals her advice to Daniel Radcliffe and young people in general.
Zoe Wanamaker stars in a new staging of Anton Chekhov's last play, The Cherry Orchard, directed by Howard Davies at the National Theatre. Writer Tobias Hill reviews.
American writer Philip Roth has won the Man Booker International Prize, announced today. From the Front Row archive, he reflects on being too closely identified with characters in his novels such as Portnoy's Complaint and American Pastoral.
Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller is one of the judges of the Art Fund Prize for museums or galleries, and has been keeping an audio diary for Front Row as he visits contenders for this year's Prize. In his third report, Jeremy travels to the People's History Museum in Manchester, to the refurbished gallery at Mostyn, Llandudno, and to the British Museum for its History Of The World In 100 Objects.
The new computer game LA Noire invites you to become a Los Angeles cop in 1947, a role which mixes gumshoe duties and gunfire, as you progress through the force in a setting which borrows heavily from film noir. Novelist and games player Naomi Alderman reviews.
Producer Nicki Paxman.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b011ff49)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b0112xcg)
Slut Walks
It all started with a no doubt well meaning, but bungling, policeman in Canada who told a small group of female students that if they wanted to be safe when they go out at night then they shouldn't dress like sluts. The resulting protests, called "Slut Walks" have spread like wildfire and will be coming to the UK soon. Thousands of women have taken to the streets, often wearing very little, to defend their right to wear what they like and attacking the idea that somehow women are responsible for male violence against them. The organisers also claim that by re-appropriating the word "slut" it will help women achieve full autonomy over their sexuality in whichever way they please.
As the protestors organising the London march put the finishing touches to their chants - "Come out on the streets - Show some skin - We are all sluts - Win, win, win!" - is one of the current favourites, it's hard to avoid the irony of the fact that a government review in to the sexualisation of children is about to be published. Should we welcome this very fleshy public protest, or does it just feed our already highly sexualised society? Is this an act of radical feminism, or does it just pander to male stereotypes that have also given us padded bras for 7 year olds with matching "Future Porn Star" tee-shirts?
Is our attitude to sexuality at best confused or actually hypocritical? On the one hand wanting to have it all, on our own terms and at the same time wringing our hands over the effect that such an open and brazen attitude to sex has on our children.
Witnesses:
Elizabeth Head - Slut Walk London
Rachel Russell - Senior lecturer in sociology, Glasgow Caledonian University.
Dr Linda Papadopoulos - Psychologist who wrote a report on the Sexualisation of Young People commissioned by the Home Office last year.
Jennifer Selway - Assistant Editor on The Daily Express
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by David Aaronovitch with Claire Fox, Melanie Phillips, Kenan Malik and Matthew Taylor.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b0112xcj)
Series 2
Jake Wallis Simons: Buddha vs Buddha
Writer Jake Wallis Simons describes how an ancient row within Tibetan Buddhism is causing a modern schism - and why it led him to give up Buddhism for good.
Recorded live at the RSA in London, Four Thought is unscripted, thought-provoking and entertaining, with a personal dimension.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b0112xcl)
California Gasping
California has a rapidly expanding population, one of the world's most important agricultural zones and a chronic lack of water. That contradiction has led to 70 years of wrangling punctuated by outbursts of violence and corruption.
A new plan is being drawn up which is intended to resolve the outstanding problems once and for all, finding a balance between the needs of farmers, consumers and the environment.
Travelling from one of the primary sources of the state's water in the far north to the threatened landscape of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Tom Heap hears the voices of those who've spent their lives in these stunning landscapes, feeling themselves at the mercy of those in power.
WED 21:30 Midweek (b0112gtz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b0112gvk)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b0112xcn)
Radio 4's daily evening news and current affairs programme bringing you global news and analysis.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b010t7v1)
The Yacoubian Building
Episode 8
Haag Azzam has got what he wished for, but fails to anticipate the terrible consequences....
Written by Alaa Al Aswany. Read by Mido Hamada.
Once home to the creme de la creme of Egyptian society, The Yacoubian Building is now past its prime. Older residents cling to the faded glories and old-world charm of its past, while newer tenants busily prevent eager arrivals from usurping more space in a building that reflects 70 years of Egypt's social and political upheavals.
Structured as a series of intersecting vignettes, The Yacoubian Building follows Taha, the studious doorman's son; his first love, Busayna, who struggles to support her family; Zaki Bey el Dessouki, an elderly yet elegant lothario; Hatim Rasheed, the homosexual editor of a leading newspaper; rags-to riches millionaire and political aspirant Hagg Azzam; and the wheeler-dealer tailor Malak Khilla, among others, as they conspire, romance, suffer, and dream in the shadow of the historic edifice. Bursting with life, The Yacoubian Building vividly provides a revealing glimpse into contemporary Egypt, where a cosmopolitan past clashes with a tumultuous present.
Alaa Al Aswaney studied to be a dentist and in fact had his first surgery in The Yakoubian building before turning his hand to writing and becoming a worldwide bestselling author. The Yakoubian Building was made into a film in 2006.
He now lives in Chicago but has been commentating on and supporting the call for democracy in Egypt.
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:00 Fabulous (b00f41w5)
Series 2
Episode 3
Faye is anxious. She knows that today's women are Fabulous; they have it all, the job, the house, the colour co-ordinated capsule wardrobe and they cope with the pressures modern life brings effortlessly, with nothing more than a copy of Prima and a poem by Pam Ayres to guide them. So why can't she pull it off? With the family coming to dinner, life should be cozy...
Starring Daisy Haggard with Katy Brand, Stephen Critchlow, Justin Edwards, Sally Grace, Martin Hyder, Geoffrey McGivern, Joanna Neary, Jo Scanlan, Laura Solon and Dan Starkey. The children were Bradley Ford, Renee Clark and Chelsea Jabbau.
Written by Lucy Clarke
Music by Osymyso
Producer Simon Nicholls
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0112xcq)
Susan Hulme with the day's top news stories from Westminster.
THURSDAY 19 MAY 2011
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b0112xdw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b011684h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0112xdy)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0112xf0)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0112xf2)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b0112xf4)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0112xf6)
Becky Harris
Prayer and reflection with Becky Harris.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b0112xf8)
Live sheep and veal calves will be exported from Ramsgate for the first time in the port's history re-opening the debate on animal welfare. The first shipment of calves left the port this week, carried by a company which has moved its operation from Dover. Last year 16,000 live calves were exported from the UK. Farmers argue it is a legal and legitimate trade with Europe, but animal welfare charities are calling for an total end to the trade. Also on the programme, our reporter tracks the footprints of mink through the Scottish countryside. The animals were originally imported for fur farms but they are now so successful in Britain that they pose a threat to other wildlife. And farmers groups have launched a campaign to help reduce the number of people who are killed in the agricultural industry. In the last 10 years more than 400 people have died whilst working or visiting farms.
Producer: Angela Frain. Presenter: Charlotte Smith.
THU 06:00 Today (b0112xfb)
Morning news and current affairs with Sarah Montague and Evan Davis, including:
07:50 Prince Hassan of Jordan on the crisis in Syria.
08:10 Why are our trains around 30% more expensive to run than their equivalents in other countries?
08:55 Is another dot com bubble being blown?
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b0112xfd)
Custer's Last Stand
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand.In 1876 a dispute between the American federal government and Native Americans over land rights led to an armed conflict now known as the Great Sioux War. An expeditionary federal force was sent out to coerce the Native Americans into reservations, and away from the gold reserves recently discovered in their traditional homelands.One of the officers in this expeditionary force was a Civil War hero, George Custer. While en route to his arranged rendezvous, Custer unexpectedly encountered a large group of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. Disobeying orders, he decided to attack. Barely half an hour later, he and all 200 of his men lay dead. Custer's Last Stand has become one of the most famous and closely studied military engagements in American history.With:Kathleen BurkProfessor of Modern and Contemporary History at University College, LondonAdam SmithSenior Lecturer in American History at University College LondonSaul DavidProfessor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham.Producer: Thomas Morris.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b01169k3)
Vesuvius: The Most Famous Volcano in the World
Episode 4
Actress Emma Fielding reads Gillian Darley's 'Vesuvius, The Most Famous Volcano in the World'. Dormant since 1944, but still a potential threat to the thousands who live at its foot, Vesuvius has produced its own literature, imagery and scientific insights.
In the early nineteenth century, geologists long used to seeing the volcano as a giant chemistry set, were now all set to use it as a research laboratory for fieldwork using first-hand evidence. Industrialists were also fascinated and the great iron master and inventor, James Naysmith, climbed the volcano in 1865, tied a card from his Bridgewater Foundry to a piece of lava, and chucked it into the volcano as a 'token of respectful civility to Vulcan, the head of our craft'.
For him, as for the ancients, the volcano potentially held the secrets of the universe. Polymath, Mary Somerville, founder of the Oxford women's college, moved from Rome to Naples, from where she could observe the volcano's behaviour with great attention. She was to witness and be moved by the terrible destruction of the 1872 eruption. Afterwards, volcanologist, Frank Perret, an American electrical engineer, took the first steps towards predicting an eruption as well as being one of the first to photograph the eruption of 1906 in great detail. He also observed the terrible scene in Naples itself, as the population attempted to flee the city, a sight which had changed little since the time of Pompeii.
Perret was amongst those imprisoned by heavy ash in Vesuivus' Observatory during the eruption. Along with six caribinieri he and other scientists could not leave the building for more than a fortnight, but were able to record a volcanic eruption from inside the volcanic zone for the first time.
Additional readings by Virginia Ironside. Abridged by Olivia Seligman
Producer: Olivia Seligman
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0112y48)
Presented by Jenni Murray. The artist Tracey Emin on the latest exhibition of her work. As part of our Women in Business season we discuss how to develop your leadership style. Getting the wrong number of hours sleep a night can trigger mental decline according to new research. We talk to Dr Jane Ferrie about her findings and what is the attitude of young people towards cheating in exams? A new survey suggests a quarter of them don't think it's wrong. Is this the sign of moral decline? And should we be teaching ethics in schools today?
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b011ff80)
Incredible Women: Series 1
Episode 4
Rebecca Front (The Thick of It, Nighty Night, The Day Today) stars in this series about five extraordinary and unforgettable characters in Incredible Women.
In each programme less-than-intrepid interviewer Jeremy spends one night in the home of each of his interviewees. On their territory, he asks about their personal histories, plus we discover some very odd things about the way they live their daily lives. These 'actuality' interviews are interspersed with interviews Jeremy has done with people who have been 'affected' in one way or another by the central character of each episode.
In today's episode, Jeremy meets Kate Wilkie, now aged 37, who shot to fame at the age of 12 when she accompanied her father on a polar expedition and saved his life...in a very macabre way.
Utterly driven since childhood, this programme tries to uncover the truth behind her fearless ambition. As she talks, we discover that Kate has an extremely literal view of the world. She can happily talk about polar equipment and preparation for the next expedition till the cows come home... but not much else. Music-wise, she listens to Celine Dion...but nothing else. And we discover she's just signed up Brian Blessed for her next expedition.
However, dark rumours have spread about how her tastes have developed during her various cross-polar expeditions.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b0112y4b)
Searching for an Alzheimer's Cure in Colombia
Early-onset Alzheimer's has stalked a poor extended family in Medellin, Colombia. The family carries a dominant gene that means that half are at risk. The disease strikes family members as young as 25 and by their 40s sufferers are in the grip of full-blown dementia. Alzheimer's is by and large a disease of the developed world, if for no other reason than that people in the developing world don't live long enough to suffer from it. Now by using the Colombian family to trial new drugs, researchers say they may be on the road to a global cure for Alzheimer's. Bill Law asks if this represents an unfair exploitation of desperate people - many of them barely literate - to benefit those in the West? Or is it a case of bringing hope to those in a hopeless situation?
Producer: Natalie Morton.
THU 11:30 The Luddite Lament (b0112y4d)
In The Luddite Lament, the award winning folk singer John Tams looks back at the machine breakers of the 19th century, through the prism of the songs they inspired.
Two hundred years ago parts of Britain were on the brink of rebellion - and you could be imprisoned for singing a song. There were said to be more troops on the border of Yorkshire and Lancashire than on the Continent with Wellington. The reason? Men armed with hammers, pikes and even guns were attacking mills in protest at the introduction of new machinery. Luddism began in the Midlands in 1811 and swept northwards to Yorkshire and then Lancashire.
In just one month in 1812 a mill was attacked by over a hundred men, two Luddites were killed, a manufacturer was shot dead and then, to add to the air of fear and paranoia, the Prime Minister was assassinated. Spies and informers criss crossed the Luddite areas passing what information they could to the authorities - but the Luddites were notoriously difficult to infiltrate. They sang songs about their exploits - about hardship, about machine breaking and about their hero General Ludd. This programme examines the story of the Luddites using some of those songs.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.
THU 12:00 You and Yours (b0112y4g)
Consumer news with Winifred Robinson. Sir Roy McNulty's long awaited report into the future funding and organisation of the railways is released. It is expected to recommend a shake up of the fares structure and a move from central to local decision making.
The government say they want to see more allotments where there is demand and believe the new Localism Bill will help reverse a decline that has seen around a five thousand plots being lost every year since 1996.
Typewriters may be a redundant technology but in the developing world they are still helping blind children to get on at school.
One of the big names in electrical retail on the UK high street faces an uncertain future after its parent company signals that it is for sale.
The second in a four part series looking at the battle to run the West Coast Main Line - we look at the two British companies hoping to clinch the right to run it between 2013 and 2027.
THU 12:57 Weather (b0112xfg)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b0112y4j)
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 (b0112xcl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:00 The Archers (b0112xcb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b01169k5)
Macmillan's Marvellous Motion Machine
Written by Jules Horne.
Young Scots country blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan is a man of ideas, like the velocipede - a clanking, pedalled contraption that's the ancestor of the modern bike.
The cranky, smoky voice of the velocipede is our narrator, and Kirkpatrick's constant companion. Kirkpatrick has been working on the velocipede for the past two years. Dreaming of fame, he's oblivious to girls' attentions, smitten instead with his velocipede, he's going to ride the 70 miles from Dumfries to Glasgow.
It's the summer of 1840, and a long way to go cross-country without brakes. But he'll get there quicker than the stagecoach. They'll see. First, he meets Gavin Dalziel, an engineer. Dalziel takes a mighty interest in the velocipede, measures it up and rushes to his workshop, but Pate is too naive to notice. Pate and the velocipede clank to the top of the final hill and then: Glasgow! In the city, he grazes a small girl and is hauled up in court for dangerous driving.
The velocipede is seen as a treacherous contraption, and he's found guilty and fined for dangerous driving. He's mortified and finally crushed. When he and the velocipede eventually arrive home, the shameful news has got there before him. Fury drives him out in search of a wife. He strides into the kitchens at Drumlanrig Castle and asks the maids who wants the job. And there's one who laughs and takes him up on it. Gavin Dalziel becomes rich and famous as the inventor of the pedal bicycle. The bicycle is delighted. Kirkpatrick stops inventing and has a grand life.
Cast:
Kirkpatrick MacMillan ..... Scott Hoatson
Machine ..... John Kazek
Catherine ..... Gabriel Quigley
Duke ..... Gavin Mitchell
Duchess ..... Isabella Jarrett
Wee Toddy ..... Leo MacNeill
Director: Rosie Kellaghe.
THU 15:00 Open Country (b0112902)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:07 on Saturday]
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b011297f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Ballads of Thin Men (b011325p)
People Carry Roses
Bob Dylan - one of the most significant and influential cultural figures of the late 20th and early 21st century - was 70 on 24 May 2011. The three stories in Ballads Of Thin Men were commissioned specially to mark the occasion.
Written by Toby Litt
It's 1985. A fifteen-year-old boy finds his entire LP collection vandalised after his sister's eighteenth birthday party. All except one - his only Bob Dylan record - which he'd lent out. But who has it? He goes all over the village to track it down, but his reasons for doing so aren't what they might seem...
Toby Litt was born in 1968 and grew up in Bedfordshire. In 2003, he was named one of Grant's Best of Young British Novelists. His most recent novel, King Death,was published in 2010. His story, The Melancholy, formed part of the Sweet Talk series Why, Robot? for the Afternoon Reading in 2010.
Reader: Matt Green
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:45 Russia: The Wild East (b0112ydd)
Series 1
Lenin's Return
Chaos follows the abdication of the Tsar, and it is into this chaos that Lenin returns from exile. The programme opens with a series of telegrams from the German foreign ministry which reveal that Berlin saw Lenin as a 'secret weapon', a 'dangerous virus' that would foment revolution forcing Russia to withdraw from the war, and so the Germans put him on the legendary sealed train bound for St Petersburg.
But Lenin was most certainly not in control. No one was in control. Tsarism had collapsed but the revolutionaries were far from united. The Provisional Government was trying to create Russia's first western style law-governed state: their "liberal idealism was impeccable," muses Martin Sixsmith, "but the middle of a world war with revolutionary chaos on the streets was not the easiest moment to introduce democracy."
The opposition was divided between the Mensheviks who wanted to go through a phase of capitalist democracy before true revolution ushered in the nirvana of socialism. The Bolsheviks, at that stage minor players, had more idea of what they wanted to destroy than what they wanted to create. But Lenin seized the moment: "All power to the soviets!" was his dramatic conclusion that has resonated through Russian history. He was already plotting a Bolshevik coup to take control and boldly promised Land, Peace, Bread and Freedom. This gave him the popular support he needed to have a real chance of taking power.
But then he ran away. Sixsmith draws on comments by Nikolai Valentinov, a friend of Lenin, which hint at a manic depressive side to Lenin's character to explain it. It puts things on hold, the Bolsheviks go underground, but by October, the pressure for change was unstoppable.
Historical Consultant: Professor Geoffrey Hosking
Producers: Adam Fowler & Anna Scott-Brown
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 16:00 Open Book (b0112d9q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:30 Material World (b0112ydg)
Quentin Cooper presents his weekly digest of the science in and behind the headlines. This week Quentin asks if the remaining stocks of smallpox virus should be destroyed? He celebrates 150 years of the colour photo and finds out when and if we will know if we’ve found the elusive Higgs Boson particle.
The producer is Ania Lichtarowicz.
THU 17:00 PM (b0112ydj)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0112xfj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 The Simon Day Show (b0112ydl)
Series 1
Tommy Cockles
Simon Day and his characters welcome listeners to The Mallard, a small provincial theatre somewhere in the UK. Each week one of Simon's characters come to perform at The Mallard and we hear the highlights of that night's show along with the back stage and front of house goings on at the theatre itself.
This week, comedy legend Tommy Cockles performs at the Mallard and is stunned to discover that manager Ron Bone has no idea who he is.
Cast list:
Tommy Cockles ..... Simon Day
Catherine ..... Catherine Shepherd
Goose ..... Felix Dexter
Ron Bone ..... Simon Greenall
Written by Simon Day
Produced by Colin Anderson.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b0112ydn)
Ruth tells Jill that she and David are going out for a meal tomorrow. Jill's really pleased and would happily babysit but Pip's already agreed to do it.
Hayley's delighted with their new car, and loves them working at the same place. Elizabeth congratulates Roy for bringing a fresh approach to his work at Lower Loxley.
Elizabeth's really grateful for David's hard work, and lays out a beautiful picnic for their lunch. David remarks on how good Elizabeth is looking. It's clear that Roy is a great asset. As they sit back and relax, Elizabeth is full of praise for David but he's burdened with guilt as Elizabeth gets more and more emphatic. He can't take it any more, and admits that going on the roof was his idea. Elizabeth is furious. She cannot believe that David's kept it quiet and lied to her for all these months. She storms off, telling David to stay away from her and the children. David is devastated.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b0112ydq)
Catherine Tate and David Tennant, Michael Portillo, Ed Smith
With Mark Lawson.
David Tennant and Catherine Tate discuss playing Shakespearian lovers in Much Ado About Nothing and whether there are any similarities with their roles in Doctor Who.
Former England cricketer Ed Smith reviews a pair of cricket documentaries. Fire in Babylon follows the West Indian team of the 70s and early 80s and traces the way a generation of fast bowlers conquered the world. From the Ashes follows Botham, Brearley and the England Ashes wins of 1981.
Chair of the judges Michael Portillo reveals the four museums which have made it through to the final for The Art Fund Prize 2011.
The often-overlooked jazz double-bass player deserves more attention, argues Kevin LeGendre, in the year that bassist Esperanza Spalding won the Grammy for Best New Act, beating high-profile pop star Justin Bieber.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b011ff80)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b0112yds)
Tesco Riots in Bristol
Last month riots broke out during a protest in Bristol about the opening of a new Tesco Express in the independent, bohemian area of Stokes Croft. Hundreds of people took to the street, several police officers were injured and there was serious damage to the new store.
A longstanding campaign had concerns about the impact of the store on the area's character - exacerbated by the belief that Tesco had been less than open. The council are frustrated that they didn't know a supermarket was in the offing when they agreed to the site's 'change of use'. There's no obligation on any supermarket to declare their hand at that stage and Tesco say that as well as bringing investment into the area there were thousands of people through the door when the Express store opened. The Council have asked the Government to review the planning rules.
As the Localism Bill goes through Parliament and the Government appoints Mary Portas 'Queen of Shops' as High Street Tzar there's an emphasis on devolved decision making and more control for local authorities. Phil Kemp visits areas where the local community is split and hears that some councillors feel they can't ask the questions they want to - like whether or not the community 'needs' a new supermarket. The coalition had made a commitment to change the planning rules to that effect, but the question is whether a Government keen to kick start the economy can afford to stand by that pledge.
Producer: Andy Denwood
Reporter: Phil Kemp.
THU 20:30 In Business (b0112ydv)
Take a Copy
Intellectual property sounds an innocuous enough idea, but patents and copyright have recently been stirring up a lot of strife. Peter Day finds out why copyright in particular is such a contentious issue in the Internet age.
Producer: Sanda Kanthal.
THU 21:00 Saving Species (b0112fgd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Tuesday]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b0112xfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b0112xfl)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b0112y4l)
President Obama sets out his vision for the Middle East. But does the US have much power any more?
Are the Tories in danger of losing their law and order mantle?
Japan starts to suffer economic damage after the earthquake and tsunami.
With Robin Lustig.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b010t7v7)
The Yacoubian Building
Episode 9
Busayna, the most beautiful young resident on the Yacoubian roof , finds employment with strings attached....
Written by Alaa Al Aswany. Read by Mido Hamada.
Once home to the creme de la creme of Egyptian society, The Yacoubian Building is now past its prime. Older residents cling to the faded glories and old-world charm of its past, while newer tenants busily prevent eager arrivals from usurping more space in a building that reflects 70 years of Egypt's social and political upheavals.
Structured as a series of intersecting vignettes, The Yacoubian Building follows Taha, the studious doorman's son; his first love, Busayna, who struggles to support her family; Zaki Bey el Dessouki, an elderly yet elegant lothario; Hatim Rasheed, the homosexual editor of a leading newspaper; rags-to riches millionaire and political aspirant Hagg Azzam; and the wheeler-dealer tailor Malak Khilla, among others, as they conspire, romance, suffer, and dream in the shadow of the historic edifice. Bursting with life, The Yacoubian Building vividly provides a revealing glimpse into contemporary Egypt, where a cosmopolitan past clashes with a tumultuous present.
Alaa Al Aswaney studied to be a dentist and in fact had his first surgery in The Yakoubian building before turning his hand to writing and becoming a worldwide bestselling author. The Yakoubian Building was made into a film in 2006.
He now lives in Chicago but has been commentating on and supporting the call for democracy in Egypt.
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:00 Jason Cook's Happiness HQ (b0112ydx)
The comedian Jason Cook is joined by Chris Ramsey, psychiatrist Dr Sandra Scott and his own mum, Pat, as they take a vivacious look at happiness in the workplace. In this pilot episode of the comedy, the team discuss what is Britain's happiest job and what we can do to make our professional lives more cheerful.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0112yf1)
Rail passengers should no longer face above-inflation fare hikes, the Government says.
Responding to a Whitehall-commissioned review of rail industry costs, the Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, believes rail costs must be cut to protect passengers.
In the Lords, a peer uses parliamentary privilege to reveal more details of the super-injunction relating to a former bank boss.
And a minister gets a mauling from MPs over the Government's refusal to introduce a ban on wild animals in circuses.
Alicia McCarthy and team report on today's events in Parliament.
FRIDAY 20 MAY 2011
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b01130p2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b01169k3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01130p4)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01130p6)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01130p8)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b01130pb)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01130pd)
Becky Harris
Prayer and reflection with Becky Harris.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b01134jg)
The Environment Agency has objected to plans for one of the UK's largest pig farms over concerns that it will pollute the water. The Midland Pig Producers have plans for the Foston development which would house 2,500 sows and would produce more than a thousand pigs for sale each week. However, Penny Thorpe from the Environment Agency says that they are not against the idea of mega farms.
This weekend's Devon County show marks the beginning of the English Agricultural calendar. Sarah Swadling meets exhibitors as they prepare to exhibit their stock.
Removing non-native invasive species of plants and animals is an expensive process. Anna Hill joins volunteers at the National Trust's Sheringham Park in Norfolk to remove the rhododendrons that the Victorians introduced.
And 25 years since the cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was on our screens we hear how the craze for pet terrapins still has an impact on Britain's waterways. Anne-Marie Bullock goes searching for them with British Waterways Senior Ecologist Richard Bennett in Alrewas near Burton Upon Trent.
Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced by Emma Weatherill.
FRI 06:00 Today (b011344s)
Morning news and current affairs with Evan Davis and Justin Webb, including:
07:50 Has President Obama tilted US policy away from Israel?
08:10 Lord Falconer and Kelvin MacKenzie debate privacy and the media.
08:30 Does science fact ever follow science fiction?
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b011297t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b01169r6)
Vesuvius: The Most Famous Volcano in the World
Episode 5
Actress Emma Fielding reads Gillian Darley's 'Vesuvius, The Most Famous Volcano in the World'. Dormant since 1944, but still a potential threat to the thousands who live at its foot, Vesuvius has produced its own literature, imagery and scientific insights.
It has also attracted visitors from all over the world. Many of them have flocked to see the perfect casts of a group of fleeing Romans, captured in their final moments as the deadly volcanic ash incarcerated them in Pompeii. Thomas Cook, the 'Napoleon of Excursions' led his initial tour to the volcano in 1864 and from then on the crowds kept coming, lured by the gruesome prospect of seeing these contorted bodies, the possibility of another major eruption and the many other tourist attractions on offer.Transport improved, first with a funicular for the arduous ascent to the top of the volcanic cone, and then an electrified railway took visitors to its foot. Freud, along with the Surrealists, was deeply curious about Vesuvius, but tourism and artistic interest came to an end with the start of the Second World War.
A young officer, Norman Lewis, serving in Naples, witnessed the terrible eruption of 1944 at first-hand. The Allied forces at first thought the noise had come from the detonation of a huge bomb. He recorded the way the villagers from the badly-affected San Sebastiano reverted to the superstitions of mediaeval times by praying to their own Saints to save them from the terrifying lava flow. Astonishingly, their prayers were answered. Since 1944 a huge amount of building has taken place on the dormant slopes of the volcano. How can Italy really be prepared for the moment when Vesuvius comes to life again, as it surely must?
Additional Readings by Simon Tcherniak. Abridged by Olivia Seligman.
Producer: Olivia Seligman
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01130pg)
Presented by Jenni Murray.
As part of our continuing cookery series, 'How to Cook the Perfect...', we focus on the Madeleine made famous by Marcel Proust in his novel 'In Search of Lost Time'.
The number of children who are violent to their parents is under-reported because of parents' reluctance to incriminate their own.
Jenni talks to Lynette Robinson, co-developer of the 'Do It Different' programme, a new scheme which aims to tackle the problem.
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the Standedge canal tunnel which cuts its way through more than three miles of Pennine hills. Taking centre stage in the celebrations is the Horseboating Society who have been recreating the days when horses pulled boats along the canals. And 'Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice'; a new exhibition exploring the history of the sweet tooth.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b011fff5)
Incredible Women: Series 1
Episode 5
Rebecca Front (The Thick of It, Nighty Night, The Day Today) stars in this series about five extraordinary and unforgettable characters in Incredible Women.
In each programme less-than-intrepid interviewer Jeremy spends one night in the home of each of his interviewees. On their territory, he asks about their personal histories, plus we discover some very odd things about the way they live their daily lives. These 'actuality' interviews are interspersed with interviews Jeremy has done with famous voices who have been 'affected' in one way or another by the central character of each episode.
Today Jeremy meets Valerie Panther, the doyenne of British television. Valerie has been the genius behind almost every seminal TV programme for forty years and she has recently been asked by Number 10 to be the new broadcast integrity tzar. But when Jeremy meets her only son Piers, he reveals there are a lot of disgruntled writers and stars who've got together in an online campaign saying she has cheated her way to the top.
This is the only time you will ever hear the nicest-man-in-the-world Barry Cryer saying anything nasty about anyone. And boy does he make up for lost time.
FRI 11:00 Roller Girls (b01130pj)
An American import, Roller Derby is part race/part contact sport, in which young women violently jostle and elbow their opponents in an attempt to steer them off course. Adopting alter-egos on the track characters like Anna Mosity, Grievous Bodily Charm, Vaga-blonde and Debbie does Malice don war paint, vibrantly-coloured costumes and roller skates as they skid, smash and knock into each other.
Leagues are currently springing up in cities across the UK with demand rapidly outstripping the number of places available. These women often end up bruised and battered - so what has propelled the rise of this aggressive 'sports entertainment' amongst Britain's young women?
In this programme we explore the stories of two young skaters from the London Roller Girls - Auntie Terror, who skates in the main league, and Hannah Harding, who skates in the practice league.
Produced by Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:30 The Gobetweenies (b01130pl)
Series 1
Commendation and Competition
David Tennant and Sarah Alexander star as the exes determined their marital failures will not get in the way of good parenting.
Lucy gets inspired by art and creates her own Angel of the North London - but she is confused by Joe's refusal to take her to an exhibition of his own work.
Meanwhile Mimi is stuck as usual with annoying Helen who overuses the word 'achingly', hits on Joe and is oddly pretending to find Tom's lame jokes a hoot.
If it's Wednesday... it must be Holloway
Cast List:
Joe ..... David Tennant
Mimi ..... Sarah Alexander
Tom ..... Finlay Christie
Lucy ..... Phoebe Abbott
Katy ..... Ophelia Davidson
Helen ..... Tracy-Ann Oberman
Writer: Marcella Evaristi
Director: Marilyn Imrie
Producer: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b01130pn)
Families planning holidays to France and other European countries are being urged to get their children vaccinated for measles before they travel. The Health Protection Agency - the UK's independent public health body - says an epidemic in France is rapidly spreading across borders and has already led to cases here.
As Britain's biggest nightclub chain Luminar posts pre-tax losses of £1.1 million, we examine how changing tastes and tightened belts are affecting the industry.
Increased taxes and troubled off-licences; after 25 years of unbroken growth, Britain's wine consumption has stalled. Peter White joins 10,000 wine producers, buyers and analysts including Tesco's Director of Beer Wine and Spirits at the London International Wine Fair to find out what pressures the wine trade is facing and how this may change what we'll drink in the future.
And the new rules announced by the EU which state clothes manufacturers have to clearly label textiles containing animal products.
The presenter is Peter White. The producer is Kathryn Takatsuki.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b01130pq)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b01130ps)
National and international news, featuring analysis, comment and interviews. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on Twitter: #wato.
FRI 13:30 Feedback (b01130pv)
Too many repeats, schedule changes and the loss of much of the children's programming. Fans of the former BBC Radio 7 lament its loss and challenge the station's head of programming Mary Kalemkerian over the changes she's made to the station that's now called Radio 4 Extra.
Incest, murder and trench warfare - is Book at Bedtime too dour? Radio 4 commissioning editor Caroline Raphael explains how books are chosen for the late night slot and hears your pleas to let listeners know details of music featured in the programmes.
And the controller of Radio 4 Gwyneth Williams reveals how she stopped The Archers being moved from Radio 4 to Radio 4 Extra.
Contact the Feedback team to let Roger know what you'd like him to tackle this series about anything you've heard on BBC radio.
Producer: Karen Pirie
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b0112ydn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b0117cfy)
The Death of Tom Inglis
Lesley Manville stars in the true story of Frances Inglis. This modern tragedy also stars Phil Daniels and William Gaminara.
When 22 year old Tom Inglis falls out of the back of a moving ambulance and suffers terrible head injuries he is brain damaged and unable to communicate. His family struggle to cope with his disablement, and his mother believes he is in constant pain. Set against the doctors, she becomes increasingly desperate to relieve his suffering. She begins a journey that leads her to action no mother would ever want to contemplate.
Cast:
Frances (Frankie) Inglis ..... Lesley Manville
Alex Inglis ..... Phil Daniels
AJ Inglis ..... Sid Mitchell
Professor Derick Wade ...... William Gaminara
Miranda Moore QC ...... Samantha Beart
Dr Arvin ..... Rupert Degas
Sacha Wass QC ..... Felicity Duncan
Katie Wheatley ...... DeNica Fairman
Mr Vindlacheruvu ..... Imran Khan
Music: Chris O'Shaughnessy
Writer: David Morley
Director: Dirk Maggs
Producer: David Morley
A Perfectly Normal Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b01130pz)
Clapham, N. Yorkshire
Eric Robson and the team are in Clapham Village Hall, near Lancaster. Eric Robson explores the legacy left by plant-hunter Reginald Farrer.
In addition, Christine Walkden visits Emma Morris in her Shrewsbury garden.
Produced by Howard Shannon
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Russia: The Wild East (b01130q1)
Series 1
Revolution!
The signal for the Revolution was given on October 25th by the battleship Avrora, still moored at the St Petersburg quay where she was anchored in 1917.
In the concluding programme of the first half of BBC Radio 4's major history of Russia, Martin Sixsmith argues that between the February and October Revolutions of 1917, Russia missed her only chance for real change. He says, '1917 has long been seen as a turning point in Russian history. February put an end to tsarist rule and October inaugurated the era of proletarian socialism. But I believe the real chance for change came in the brief period between the revolutions. The Provisional Government was committed to the introduction of liberal parliamentary democracy, respect for the law and individual civil rights.'
But the Provisional Government did not survive, and under Lenin and Communism, the country's 1000 year history of autocracy would continue. Sixsmith quotes the writer Vassily Grossman who says, 'In 1917, the Russian soul had been a slave for a thousand years... the path of freedom lay open, but Russia chose Lenin.'
Sixsmith identifies widely differing versions of the events of 1917, untangling the myth and the reality.
Eisenstein's iconic film 'October' dramatizes the storming of the Winter Palace, but in fact it was defended by a smattering of teenage cadets. There wasn't much heroism or bloodshed, and it was all over in 24 hours. But it was the beginning of a power struggle between competing revolutionaries, and, in the next part of his history, coming to BBC Radio 4 in the Summer, Martin Sixsmith will describe how the Bolsheviks would consolidate their monopoly on power. They would create a repressive Communist state that would last for over seventy years until it was, in 1991, overturned.
Historical Consultant: Professor Geoffrey Hosking
Producers: Adam Fowler & Anna Scott-Brown
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b01130q3)
Garret FitzGerald, Pam Gems, Elisabeth Svendsen, Ernesto Sabato, Bernard Greenhouse
Matthew Bannister on
The former Irish Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald. He helped persuade Margaret Thatcher to sign the Anglo Irish agreement which paved the way for power sharing in Northern Ireland.
Also the playwright Pam Gems - whose best known works are Piaf and Stanley. Sir Antony Sher pays tribute.
Elisabeth Svendsen who founded the Donkey Sanctuary charity after being left 204 donkeys in someone's will.
Ernesto Sabato the Argentinian writer who led the country's investigation into the thousands who disappeared under military dictatorship.
And Bernard Greenhouse, cellist and co founder of the world famous Beaux Arts Trio.
FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b01130q5)
Francine Stock has her travelling shoes on for The Film Programme this week. There's a trip to Cannes to hear what's soon going to be showing in an art house near you; there's a journey back in time to assess Karel Reisz' Isadora starring Vanessa Redgrave; and Francine nips down to the Antarctic to savour Herbert Ponting's Twenties classic, The Great White Silence which has just been released in a dazzling new print with a brand new score composed by Simon Fisher Turner. And last but not least - as the cliché would have it - the independent cinema owner, Kevin Markwick and the former editor of Screen International, Michael Gubbins take the temperature of the film industry in what's been a tricky year.
Producer: Zahid Warley.
FRI 17:00 PM (b01130q7)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01130q9)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b01130qc)
Series 74
The News Quiz, Series 74, Episode 6
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig, with Armando Iannucci, Will Smith, Bridget Christie and Jeremy Hardy.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b01130qf)
Ruth is beside herself with worry.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b01130qh)
Chinese pianist Lang Lang on inspiring young players
This weekend the young Chinese pianist Lang Lang reaches the climax of his week-long season at the South Bank Centre in London. The finale to Lang Lang Inspires: Young Pianists' Week is the Massed Piano Day in which he will bring together 100 British pianists aged 5-24 to perform on 50 grand pianos on the stage of the Festival Hall. Lang Lang describes the process of selection and his apprehension about the pianists' first rehearsal together this weekend.
Rupert Goold, directs Patrick Stewart in the RSC's new production of The Merchant of Venice, one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays, following on from their previous collaborations on The Tempest and Macbeth and from Goold's productions of Enron and Earthquakes in London.
This Summer theatre is tasty, with most festivals offering some kind of food-related performance. Artichoke have staged Dining With Alice, a theatrical feast in the grounds of Elsing Hall in Norfolk inspired by Lewis Carroll's classic and the Barbican Centre in London recently hosted a banquet, entitled An Anarchidinner, inspired by 1970s New York performance artists. Kirsty Lang has sampled these delights and had a visit to her own kitchen, from Olivia Winteringham of Kindle Theatre and Mike Knowlden, food designer of Blanche and Shock, complete with primus stove in bag.
Producer Claire Bartlett.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b011fff5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b01130qk)
From The Galtres Centre, Easingwold, Yorkshire
Eddie Mair chairs the live discussion from the Galtres Centre in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, with panellists Peter Oborne, Daily Telegraph columnist, Julia Hobsbawn, media busineswoman, Ivan Lewis, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture and Alan Duncan, Minister for International Development.
Producer: Victoria Wakely.
FRI 20:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b01130qm)
Series 2
Cuckoo
The Cuckoo is one of the iconic brood parasites of the world - the bird that cons another species into taking its egg as its own and rears the chick to fledging.
In the single frame of the Cuckoo you have a long distance migrant, travelling from Africa to breeding grounds in the temperate north, and back again.
The Cuckoo does not raise its own chick and across a range of Cuckoo individuals, they parasitise several species of bird - all much smaller than they are.
Sir David Attenborough explores the world of the Cuckoo and not only marvels at their natural history but tells the story of how a wildlife cameraman resolved a scientific mystery - and how the Cuckoo itself harbours yet more secrets to science and natural history.
Producer: Julian Hector.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011
FRI 21:00 Russia: The Wild East (b01130qp)
Series 1 Omnibus
The Road to Revolution
In the final week of the first part of BBC Radio 4's major new series on the History of Russia, the momentum is all towards revolution.
After centuries of unbending autocratic government Nicholas II creates an embryonic parliament - an astounding leap forward. Unrest abates and the economy recovers. Martin Sixsmith reflects, "For a brief moment the vision of the Russian empire as a sort of British constitutional monarchy looked enticingly possible. Had it been offered earlier and more willingly - it might just have worked."
Instead it is seen as too little too late.
Sixsmith stands where the revolutionaries stood and paints this picture: "On the 18th of October 1905, a young Jewish intellectual with a small goatee beard, a thick head of black hair and intense dark eyes rose to address an unruly assembly of striking workers here in the Technological Institute in Saint Petersburg." That man was Lev Bronstein, better known by the pseudonym Leon Trotsky. He and Lenin were agitating for the whole Tsarist system to be swept away.
After the assassination of his uncle, Tsar Nicholas retreats from public view for eight years, but remains under the influence of his wife and her faith in the maverick and dissolute holy man, Grigory Rasputin. When the Prime Minister is assassinated at Kiev Opera House, imperial Russia's last attempt at political liberalism comes to an irrevocable end.
Historical Consultant: Professor Geoffrey Hosking
Producers: Adam Fowler & Anna Scott-Brown
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b01130qr)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b01130qt)
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is holding talks with President Obama in Washington.
New anti-government protests have erupted across Syria.
Looking back on the Queen's trip to Ireland
And New York city prepares to ban smoking in all public places.
The World Tonight with Ritula Shah.
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b010t6c6)
The Yacoubian Building
Episode 10
Busayna and Zaki are falling in love, much to her surprise...but Zaki's sister is not going to give up her vendetta.
Written by Alaa Al Aswany. Read by Mido Hamada.
Once home to the creme de la creme of Egyptian society, The Yacoubian Building is now past its prime. Older residents cling to the faded glories and old-world charm of its past, while newer tenants busily prevent eager arrivals from usurping more space in a building that reflects 70 years of Egypt's social and political upheavals.
Structured as a series of intersecting vignettes, The Yacoubian Building follows Taha, the studious doorman's son; his first love, Busayna, who struggles to support her family; Zaki Bey el Dessouki, an elderly yet elegant lothario; Hatim Rasheed, the homosexual editor of a leading newspaper; rags-to riches millionaire and political aspirant Hagg Azzam; and the wheeler-dealer tailor Malak Khilla, among others, as they conspire, romance, suffer, and dream in the shadow of the historic edifice. Bursting with life, The Yacoubian Building vividly provides a revealing glimpse into contemporary Egypt, where a cosmopolitan past clashes with a tumultuous present.
Alaa Al Aswaney studied to be a dentist and in fact had his first surgery in The Yakoubian building before turning his hand to writing and becoming a worldwide bestselling author. The Yakoubian Building was made into a film in 2006.
He now lives in Chicago but has been commentating on and supporting the call for democracy in Egypt.
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b0112fv5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01130qw)
Mark D'Arcy with the day's top news stories from Westminster.
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
10:45 MON (b0112fbd)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 MON (b0112fbd)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 TUE (b011ff2m)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 TUE (b011ff2m)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 WED (b011ff49)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 WED (b011ff49)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 THU (b011ff80)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 THU (b011ff80)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 FRI (b011fff5)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 FRI (b011fff5)
15 by 15
14:45 SUN (b0112d58)
A History of the World Special
11:00 WED (b010y36c)
Afternoon Reading
00:30 SUN (b00mg6my)
All in the Mind
21:00 TUE (b0112g4r)
All in the Mind
16:30 WED (b0112g4r)
Americana
19:15 SUN (b0112df4)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (b011290n)
Any Questions?
13:10 SAT (b010y0r5)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (b01130qk)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b0112913)
Archive on 4
15:00 MON (b0112913)
Arthur Smith's Balham Bash
18:30 WED (b010hcwk)
Ballads of Thin Men
15:30 TUE (b0112fnt)
Ballads of Thin Men
15:30 WED (b0113fws)
Ballads of Thin Men
15:30 THU (b011325p)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (b011296z)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (b011296z)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 MON (b010t654)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 TUE (b010t6lc)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 WED (b010t7v1)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 THU (b010t7v7)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 FRI (b010t6c6)
Book of the Week
00:30 SAT (b010xyp3)
Book of the Week
09:45 MON (b0112dl1)
Book of the Week
00:30 TUE (b0112dl1)
Book of the Week
09:45 TUE (b011682p)
Book of the Week
00:30 WED (b011682p)
Book of the Week
09:45 WED (b011684h)
Book of the Week
00:30 THU (b011684h)
Book of the Week
09:45 THU (b01169k3)
Book of the Week
00:30 FRI (b01169k3)
Book of the Week
09:45 FRI (b01169r6)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (b011297p)
Clare in the Community
18:30 TUE (b00snrjy)
Classic Serial
21:00 SAT (b010xy3s)
Classic Serial
15:00 SUN (b0112d5g)
Costing the Earth
21:00 WED (b0112xcl)
Costing the Earth
13:30 THU (b0112xcl)
Counterpoint
23:00 SAT (b010y378)
Counterpoint
13:30 MON (b01132z4)
Crossing Continents
20:30 MON (b010y30p)
Crossing Continents
11:00 THU (b0112y4b)
David Attenborough's Life Stories
08:50 SUN (b010y0r7)
David Attenborough's Life Stories
20:50 FRI (b01130qm)
Desert Island Discs
11:15 SUN (b011297t)
Desert Island Discs
09:00 FRI (b011297t)
Drama
14:15 MON (b00scv5n)
Drama
14:15 TUE (b0112flb)
Drama
14:15 WED (b0112gvf)
Drama
14:15 THU (b01169k5)
Drama
14:15 FRI (b0117cfy)
Excess Baggage
10:00 SAT (b011290b)
Fabulous
23:00 WED (b00f41w5)
Face the Facts
12:30 WED (b0112gv5)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (b0112904)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (b01132kc)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (b0112dlc)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (b0112gtv)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (b0112xf8)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (b01134jg)
Feedback
13:30 FRI (b01130pv)
Four Thought
05:45 SUN (b010y0t3)
Four Thought
20:45 WED (b0112xcj)
From Fact to Fiction
19:00 SAT (b011290z)
From Fact to Fiction
17:40 SUN (b011290z)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (b011290j)
Front Row
19:15 MON (b01132zj)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (b0112fz7)
Front Row
19:15 WED (b0112xcd)
Front Row
19:15 THU (b0112ydq)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (b01130qh)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (b010xzs9)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (b01130pz)
Giving Voice to the Victims
17:00 SUN (b010xzzy)
Great Lives
16:30 TUE (b0112fv5)
Great Lives
23:00 FRI (b0112fv5)
Heel, Toe, Step Together
13:30 SUN (b00wdf4b)
In Business
21:30 SUN (b010y316)
In Business
20:30 THU (b0112ydv)
In Our Time
09:00 THU (b0112xfd)
In Our Time
21:30 THU (b0112xfd)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (b0112g4p)
Jason Cook's Happiness HQ
23:00 THU (b0112ydx)
Jon Ronson On
23:00 TUE (b0112g4w)
Just a Minute
18:30 MON (b01132zd)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (b010y0qv)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (b01130q3)
Living World
06:35 SUN (b0112975)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (b011290x)
Making History
15:00 TUE (b0112fnr)
Mark Steel's in Town
11:30 WED (b00j4hk2)
Material World
21:00 MON (b010y310)
Material World
16:30 THU (b0112ydg)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (b010y0w2)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (b011296n)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (b0112djp)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (b0112dkz)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (b0112gtj)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (b0112xdw)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (b01130p2)
Midweek
09:00 WED (b0112gtz)
Midweek
21:30 WED (b0112gtz)
Money Box Live
15:00 WED (b0112gyy)
Money Box
12:00 SAT (b011290l)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (b011290l)
Moral Maze
22:15 SAT (b010y0t1)
Moral Maze
20:00 WED (b0112xcg)
More or Less
20:00 SUN (b010xzs5)
Mr Blue Sky
11:30 MON (b01132yy)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (b010y0wb)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (b011296x)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (b0112djy)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (b0112dl9)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (b0112gts)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (b0112xf4)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (b01130pb)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (b0112971)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (b010y0wd)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (b0112979)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (b011297k)
News
13:00 SAT (b010y0wn)
Open Book
16:00 SUN (b0112d9q)
Open Book
16:00 THU (b0112d9q)
Open Country
06:07 SAT (b0112902)
Open Country
15:00 THU (b0112902)
PM
17:00 SAT (b011290v)
PM
17:00 MON (b01132zb)
PM
17:00 TUE (b0112fv7)
PM
17:00 WED (b0112gzg)
PM
17:00 THU (b0112ydj)
PM
17:00 FRI (b01130q7)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (b0112df0)
Poetry Please
23:30 SAT (b010xy8f)
Poetry Please
16:30 SUN (b0112d9s)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (b010y0xr)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (b0112dk0)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (b01134ch)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (b01134c3)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (b0112xf6)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (b01130pd)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:55 SUN (b011297f)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:26 SUN (b011297f)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (b011297f)
Roller Girls
11:00 FRI (b01130pj)
Russia: The Wild East
15:45 MON (b01132z6)
Russia: The Wild East
15:45 TUE (b0112fv3)
Russia: The Wild East
15:45 WED (b0112gz0)
Russia: The Wild East
15:45 THU (b0112ydd)
Russia: The Wild East
15:45 FRI (b01130q1)
Russia: The Wild East
21:00 FRI (b01130qp)
Saturday Drama
14:30 SAT (b011290q)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (b0112908)
Saturday Review
19:15 SAT (b0112911)
Saving Species
11:00 TUE (b0112fgd)
Saving Species
21:00 THU (b0112fgd)
School for Startups
11:00 MON (b01132km)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (b010y0w6)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (b011296s)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (b0112djt)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (b0112dl5)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (b0112gtn)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (b0112xf0)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (b01130p6)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (b010y0w4)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (b010y0w8)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (b010y0wq)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (b011296q)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (b011296v)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (b0112984)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (b0112djr)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (b0112djw)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (b0112dl3)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (b0112dl7)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (b0112gtl)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (b0112gtq)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (b0112xdy)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (b0112xf2)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (b01130p4)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (b01130p8)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (b010y0wv)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (b0112988)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (b0112dk6)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (b0112dlk)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (b0112gvh)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (b0112xfj)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (b01130q9)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b0112973)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (b0112973)
Start the Week
09:00 MON (b01132kh)
Start the Week
21:30 MON (b01132kh)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (b011297m)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (b011297c)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (b011297r)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (b0112df2)
The Archers
14:00 MON (b0112df2)
The Archers
19:00 MON (b0112fl8)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (b0112fl8)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (b0112fz3)
The Archers
14:00 WED (b0112fz3)
The Archers
19:00 WED (b0112xcb)
The Archers
14:00 THU (b0112xcb)
The Archers
19:00 THU (b0112ydn)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (b0112ydn)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (b01130qf)
The Bankers and the Bottom Billion
20:00 TUE (b0112fz9)
The Chinese Nureyev
11:30 TUE (b0112fgg)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (b010y0qx)
The Film Programme
16:30 FRI (b01130q5)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (b011297w)
The Food Programme
16:00 MON (b011297w)
The Gobetweenies
11:30 FRI (b01130pl)
The Heart of Saturday Night
19:45 SUN (b00mbxdw)
The Jam Generation Takes Power
09:00 TUE (b0112fb6)
The Jam Generation Takes Power
21:30 TUE (b0112fb6)
The Life and Death of Methodism
20:00 MON (b01132zl)
The Luddite Lament
11:30 THU (b0112y4d)
The Media Show
13:30 WED (b0112gvc)
The Music Group
15:30 SAT (b010xzzk)
The Music Group
13:30 TUE (b0112fgn)
The News Quiz
12:30 SAT (b010y0r1)
The News Quiz
18:30 FRI (b01130qc)
The Prime Ministers
09:30 TUE (b0112fb8)
The Report
20:00 THU (b0112yds)
The Secret History of Social Networking
16:00 TUE (b00xw14v)
The Simon Day Show
18:30 THU (b0112ydl)
The Twangmasters: The Art of the Lead Guitarist
10:30 SAT (b011290d)
The Unbelievable Truth
12:00 SUN (b010y39b)
The Week in Westminster
11:00 SAT (b011290g)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (b0112980)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (b011335w)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (b0112g4t)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (b0112xcn)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (b0112y4l)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (b01130qt)
Thinking Allowed
00:15 MON (b010y0sx)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (b0112gzd)
Today in Parliament
23:30 MON (b0113360)
Today in Parliament
23:30 TUE (b0112g4y)
Today in Parliament
23:30 WED (b0112xcq)
Today in Parliament
23:30 THU (b0112yf1)
Today in Parliament
23:30 FRI (b01130qw)
Today
07:00 SAT (b0112906)
Today
06:00 MON (b01132kf)
Today
06:00 TUE (b0112dlf)
Today
06:00 WED (b0112gtx)
Today
06:00 THU (b0112xfb)
Today
06:00 FRI (b011344s)
Weather
06:04 SAT (b010y0wg)
Weather
06:57 SAT (b010y0wj)
Weather
12:57 SAT (b010y0wl)
Weather
17:57 SAT (b010y0ws)
Weather
22:00 SAT (b010y0wx)
Weather
06:57 SUN (b0112977)
Weather
07:57 SUN (b011297h)
Weather
12:57 SUN (b011297y)
Weather
17:57 SUN (b0112986)
Weather
05:57 MON (b0112dk2)
Weather
12:57 MON (b0112dk4)
Weather
21:58 MON (b0112dk8)
Weather
12:57 TUE (b0112dlh)
Weather
21:58 TUE (b0112dlm)
Weather
12:57 WED (b0112gv7)
Weather
21:58 WED (b0112gvk)
Weather
12:57 THU (b0112xfg)
Weather
21:58 THU (b0112xfl)
Weather
12:57 FRI (b01130pq)
Weather
21:58 FRI (b01130qr)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (b0112df8)
What the Papers Say
22:45 SUN (b0112dfb)
Who'd be a Social Worker
16:30 MON (b01132z8)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (b011290s)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (b01132kk)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (b0112fbb)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (b0112gv1)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (b0112y48)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (b01130pg)
Word of Mouth
23:00 MON (b010xzzt)
World at One
13:00 MON (b01132z2)
World at One
13:00 TUE (b0112fgl)
World at One
13:00 WED (b0112gv9)
World at One
13:00 THU (b0112y4j)
World at One
13:00 FRI (b01130ps)
You and Yours
12:00 MON (b01132z0)
You and Yours
12:00 TUE (b0112fgj)
You and Yours
12:00 WED (b0112gv3)
You and Yours
12:00 THU (b0112y4g)
You and Yours
12:00 FRI (b01130pn)
iPM
05:45 SAT (b010y0xt)
iPM
17:30 SAT (b010y0xt)