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

Radio-Lists Home Now on R4 Contact

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



SATURDAY 01 OCTOBER 2011

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b0151xvt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b015b44t)
John Cooper - The Queen's Agent: Francis Walsingham at the Court of Elizabeth I

Episode 5

Written by John Cooper. Abridged by Libby Spurrier

Through his network of spies, Walsingham prepares the country for the defeat of the Spanish Armada. It would be the last triumph of his career.

The Queen's Agent is a story of secret agents, cryptic codes and ingenious plots, set in a turbulent period of England's history. It is also the story of a man devoted to his queen, sacrificing his every waking hour to save the threatened English state.

Reader: Hugh Bonneville

Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0151xvw)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0151xvy)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0151xw0)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b0151xw2)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0151xxk)
Presented by the Revd Neil Gardner, minister of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh.


SAT 05:45 iPM (b0151xyd)
"We'll wait for her son to get here, then take her off life support". How one listener's children were told by doctors to let her die. With Eddie Mair. iPM@bbc.co.uk.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b0151xw5)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b0151xw8)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (b015b91y)
Listener's Walks

Dales Way

In the third programme in a series of walks suggested by listeners, Clare Balding joins Colin Speakman, creator of the Dales Way and campaigner for walkers' rights. The Dales Way is one of Britain's most popular and cherished routes and for over 40 years walkers have followed its route from Ilkley in Yorkshire to Bowness-on-Windermere, passing through the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the foothills of southern Lakeland. Clare and Colin are joined by Colin's wife, Fleur and listener Chris Grogan who, along with husband Tony, created the Dales Highway, a sister route to the Dales Way which does what it says on the tin and follows a higher level route from Saltaire to Appleby-in-Westmoreland.
As they follow the course of the River Wharf, through the dale of the same name, Clare hears from Colin and Chris about their passion for walking in this landscape. Colin explains about the imagination of the Romantic writers who who inspired generations of people to enjoy the countryside, his love of long distance walking, his passionate belief in rights for ramblers and his fight to keep paths open and accessible for all.

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Helen Chetwynd.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b015b920)
Farming Today This Week

Farmers say British pork could become very rare if they continue to lose money. Charlotte Smith asks why, and finds out how some farmers are making pigs pay.

The export of live pigs to China is booming business. China has half the breeding sows in the world, and the genetics of British pigs are highly valued there. So Jumbo Jets are being loaded with live British animals to develop their herds.

The volatile wheat price has caused pig feed to double, causing huge problems for farmers trying to balance the books. But a visit to one Staffordshire farmer shows how by getting rid of some animals and growing your own feed, some of the losses can be wiped out.

Some farmers believe big farms are the best way to make money, and with a large and very controversial pig farm being planned for the village of Foston in Derbyshire, Charlotte Smith talks to the man behind the project and looks at some of the objections to the scheme.

And Farming Today This Week takes to the streets to see whether shoppers prefer British or imported ham.

Presenter: Charlotte Smith Producer: Melvin Rickarby.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b0151xwb)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b015b922)
With John Humphrys and Justin Webb. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b015b924)
Richard Coles with geneticist Professor Steve Jones, poet Kate Fox, a 14 year old boy with a bionic hand, and a former anarchist who describes what it was like to be part of the 1990 poll tax riots. There's an I Was There feature from the Conservative Party Conference of 1963, and to mark the 50th anniversary of Radio 4's In Touch, presenter Peter White shares his Inheritance Tracks.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b015b926)
Italy

John McCarthy gets a flavour of rural Italy and its food in conversation with writer Tracey Lawson who investigated the surprising longevity of an Italian village's residents by going to live there and learning all about their diet; their great life expectancy is due in no small part to simple food freshly prepared and she shares some of the secrets with John. They are joined by author Julia Blackburn whose own experiences of living in an Italian village led her to collect the memories and stories of the older inhabitants. And the writer and columnist Vitali Vitaliev tells why, originally from the Ukraine, he loves Italy so much and how he ate a great many good Italian meals in the apparently futile search for a bad one.

Producer : Harry Parker.


SAT 10:30 From Birmingham to Beijing: The Lure of a Chinese Career (b015b92b)
For many graduates in the UK job prospects at home look bleak. It's difficult to find work, paid or even unpaid, regardless of qualifications. Today, more and more students and even graduates are heading abroad to find their work experience, travelling as far as China to work for free.

Safraz Manzoor looks at both the challenges and opportunities that they encounter. How, for example, can you possibly deal with the language barrier and cultural differences that working for a Chinese company will entail?

He visits students working in law firms, international real estate, finance and advertising to find out if they are getting genuine work experience. In Shanghai he meets Daniel and Natalie, both from Hong Kong Chinese families living in the UK. They have decided that China is offering better opportunities than they would find at home. In Beijing, Sarfraz meets students who have been thrilled by an unexpectedly lively social life, and others who feel they would like to have been more integrated into the Chinese world. He asks them what they make of the political situation in China, so different from what they have left behind in the UK.

These young hopefuls are often forking out for the privilege of this work experience. One organisation in the UK is charging students around £1800 for the chance to be placed in Chinese law, finance and marketing companies. Do they get value for money?

Sarfraz Manzoor tells the fascinating story of modern day Britons who have had to find their work experience far from home.


SAT 11:00 Beyond Westminster (b015bgvc)
Anita Anand asks what impact the government's plans for free schools and new academies are having on the ground. Is our education system becoming more divided? She travels to the Bristol Free School, near Westbury-on-Trym, and asks what impact its arrival has had on its neighbours. She also asks what impact the new academy programme has had on those schools which are still in the state-maintained sector. Have academies benefited financially from opting out of the state sector? And how are disadvantaged pupils likely to be affected by coalition education plans?

Contributors
Blair King, Chair of Governors, Bristol Free School
Barbara Janke, Lib Dem leader of Bristol City Council
Linda Tanner, Bristol Evening Post
Zenna Atkins, MD Wey education
Richard Brown, Headteacher, Urswick School

Melissa Benn, Local Schools Network
James Groves, Policy Exchange
Nick Gibb, Schools Minister

Producer : Rosamund Jones.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b015bgvf)
An 18-hour train ride to the end of the line brings you to the very edge of Norway. Inside the Arctic Circle. Close to Russia. But why is it that this place has such firm connections with Italy. Christine Finn has the answer. Justin Webb examines a Japanese conundrum: the country benefits hugely from its cultural insularity and yet, if it doesn't open up to outsiders, it faces crippling economic decline.Mark Lowen charts the mood in Athens as international investigators assess the creditworthiness of Greece. He talks of clouds of tear gas and despair slowly closing over a troubled country. In the Pakistani port city of Karachi, the American consulate moved to a new location. Mohammed Hanif says it has meant an historic park opening up once again and armed guards being replaced by youngsters playing cricket. And you used to have to go America's Great Plains for a glimpse of the mighty bison. Not any more. Rob Cameron tells us why it can now be seen wandering around a place that used to be a training ground for the Russian Red Army.


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b015bgvh)
Paul Lewis with the latest news from the world of personal finance.

Customers who phone their travel insurer to check if they can make a claim would be forgiven for believing they could act according to what they've been told. But Money Box has been contacted by a listener who's £3000 plus claim following the death of a relative has been refused, despite him having obtained the recording in which a call centre employee clearly says he is covered. Bob Howard investigates.

The local Trading Standards office admits it has investigated a number of similar complaints about the business and that some consumers believe they have been misled. But the service says that taking payment for services from a company does not affect its ability to deal with complaints impartially.

The loans broker denies that it has debited money from customer accounts without authorisation and insists that all complaints are resolved within 28 days. Ben Carter reports

And ABI (Association of British Insurers) launches an initiative for customers. The new code will stop "automatic" annuity rollover and will ensure that customers receive all the information they need to shop around in one easily accessible place. ABI figures show that 70% of people shop around and switch providers but a third don't and may be missing out on an higher income. But does the code go far enough? Maggie Craig from ABI explains how the initiative will work and Pensions expert Billy Burroughs advices what listeners should do if they are in this situation.

Next month Junior ISAs replace Child Trust Funds. Unlike Child Trust Funds, there will be no Government contribution to each child's savings pot - instead family members will have the opportunity to invest up to £3600 a year into a tax free ISA. So how can you get the best deal from these products? And what charges are attached? Paul Lewis speaks to one provider, Sheffield Mutual Chief Executive, Tony Burdin.


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (b0151xt2)
Series 75

Episode 4

Weirdos, War Games and Website Dating: in the week that Ed Miliband defended himself against accusations of being "weird", ITV edited footage of a militaristic video game into a documentary, and figures suggested more than 200,000 Britons had been duped by internet dating scams, Sandi Toksvig presents Radio 4's topical panel show. She is joined by Laura Solon, Jeremy Hardy, Fred Macaulay and Phill Jupitus, and Charlotte Green reads the news. Produced by Victoria Lloyd.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b0151xwd)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b0151xwg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b0151xt8)
Orrell, Wigan

Jonathan Dimbleby presents a panel discussion of news and politics from Saint Peter's Catholic High School in Orrell, Wigan with panellists Andy Burnham, Shadow Secretary of State for Education; Alan Duncan, Minster of State for International Development; Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee and UKIP MEP Paul Nuttall.

Producer: Victoria Wakely.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b015bgvk)
Have your say on the issues of the week. Call Jonathan Dimbleby on 03700 100 444 or email any.answers@bbc.co.uk or you can tweet using the hashtag bbcaq. The panel from Wigan included the Labour MP Andy Burnham, the columnist Polly Toynbee, Conservative MP Alan Duncan and the MEP Paul Nuttall who represents UKIP. The topics for discussion today are: The direction and future of the Labour Party, should we raise the speed limit to 80 mph on motorways, Greek bailout the future of the Euro and the global economic crisis, the press and the right to privacy and should we have a Bill of Rights?


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b015bgvm)
Classic Chandler

Classic Chandler - The Long Goodbye

Toby Stephens is back as Raymond Chandler's fast-talking private eye Philip Marlowe.This is California in the 50's, as beautiful as a ripe fruit and rotten to the core, reflecting all the tarnished glitter of the American Dream. Outside a club on Sunset Boulevard Marlowe meets a drunk named Terry Lennox, a man with scars on one side of his face. They forge an uneasy friendship but everything changes when Lennox shows up late one night, asking for a favour.

Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt
Directed by Claire Grove

This series brings all the Philip Marlowe novels to Radio 4's Saturday Play. The Big Sleep 1939, Farewell My Lovely 1940, The High Window 1942, The Lady in the Lake 1943, The Little Sister 1949 and The Long Goodbye 1953, and two lesser known novels, Playback 1958 and Poodle Springs, unfinished at the time of his death in 1959.

Toby Stephens is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002) and Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre (2006). In autumn 2010 Toby starred as a detective in Vexed, a three-part comedic television series for BBC Two. He also made his debut at the National Theatre as George Danton in Danton's Death.

Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 23, 1888, but spent most of his boyhood and youth in England, where he attended Dulwich College and later worked as a freelance journalist for The Westminster Gazette and The Spectator. During World War I, he served in France with the First Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, transferring later to the R. A. F. In 1919 he returned to the United States, settling in California, where he eventually became director of a number of independent oil companies. The Depression put an end to his business career, and in 1933, at the age of forty-five, he turned to writing, publishing his first stories in Black Mask. By the time he published his first novel, The Big Sleep (1939), featuring the iconic private eye Philip Marlowe, it was clear that he had not only mastered a genre but had set a standard to which others could only aspire. He died in 1959.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b015bgvp)
Weekend Woman's Hour

Highlights from the Woman's Hour week. Cook the Perfect choux pastry; celibacy in France; an interview with Mary Soames; women and parking; a family try to achieve zero waste; gastric bands in the under-25s; and live performance from the folk singer Jackie Oates. Presented by Jane Garvey.


SAT 17:00 PM (b015bgvr)
Saturday PM

With Ritula Shah. A fresh perspective on the day's news with sports headlines.


SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (b0151t48)
McDonald's and New Tech

The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion, statistics and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies.

Evan and his guests discuss McDonald's. After a rocky period in the middle of the last decade, how well has the global burger chain managed to revive its famous fast-food formula? They also debate whether the progress of radical new technology has slowed down.

Evan is joined in the studio by Greg Lucier, chief executive of US biotechnology company Life Technologies; Rita Clifton, chairman of branding consultancy Interbrand; Jill McDonald, chief executive of McDonald's UK.

Producer: Ben Crighton.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b0151xwj)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b0151xwl)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0151xwn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b015bgvt)
Clive Anderson and guests with an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.

Harry Connick Jr. is a man of many talents having sold over 25 million albums worldwide as a singer, composer, conductor and piano player. Harry talks to Clive about his latest acting role in the film 'Dolphin Tale' inspired by the true story of a group of impassioned strangers who join together to save the life of Winter, the dolphin.

The rolfaroo himself, Rolf Harris tells Clive about his latest single 'Do You Still Remember which he's recorded with Australia's Got Talent winner Cam Henderson. Not only has Rolf had a long and successful career in music, he's also earned a special place in Britain's cultural heritage with his multifaceted art work and has an upcoming exhibition of paintings in London.

Best known as DCI Gene Hunt in 'Life On Mars' and 'Ashes to Ashes', Philip Glenister is now swapping roles to be a small-time solicitor in BBC One's latest drama serial 'Hidden'. Philip has been a star of the small screen for many years appearing in Mad Dogs and Hornblower to name just two, but has his work cut out now as 'Harry Venn' in this latest taut conspiracy thriller.

Jon Holmes talks to Lee Hall, playwright and screenwriter who penned the hugely successful 2000 film, 'Billy Elliot' and adapted the musical version with Elton John which won an Olivier Award for Best Musical. Another one of his award-winning productions 'The Pitmen Painters' returns to the London stage at the Duchess Theatre.

Freshly stocked Drugstore perform 'Aquamarine' from their latest album 'Anatomy'. And new girl on the block, Jodie Marie brings her soulful sound to the studio with a sneak rendition of her upcoming single 'On The Road'.

Producer: Cathie Mahoney.


SAT 19:00 Profile (b015bgvw)
Stelios Haji-Ioannou

Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the easyJet entrepreneur at the heart of the low-budget airline revolution, is the subject of this week's Profile. Stelios - as he is better known - has just set up Fastjet.com in a surprise move that has angered executives at his old company. Presenter Rosie Goldsmith talks to friends, foes and fans of the Greek-Cypriot tycoon.

Producer: Lucy Proctor.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b015bgvy)
Sarfraz Manzoor and his guests writers Adam Mars Jones and Susan Jeffreys and art critic Bill Feaver review the cultural highlights of the week including The Debt.

The Debt is John Madden's remake of a 2007 Israeli thriller which tells the story of a Mossad mission to abduct a Nazi war criminal from East Berlin in 1965 to face trial in Israel. The three agents who travel to Berlin are hailed as heroes on their return - having apparently succeeded - but 30 years later cracks begin to appear in the official story and the trio are forced to confront their past. Stars Jessica Chastain, Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington.

Tom Lubbock was the Independent's chief art critic until his untimely death earlier this year. Fifty of the weekly essays which he wrote for the paper have been published in a book - Great Works: 50 Paintings Explored.

Frank Oz makes his debut as a theatre director with a production of Saul Rubinek' s play Terrible Advice at the Menier Chocolate factory in London. Jake (Scott Bakula) and Stanley (Andy Nyman) are best friends, so are Delila (Sharon Horgan) and Hedda (Caroline Quentin). Jake is dating Hedda, Stanley is dating Delila - then Jake gives Stanley some advice...

Frank Stella is one of the most important and influential American artists of the last fifty years. Frank Stella: Connections at the Haunch of Venison gallery in London assembles paintings from 1958 to the present day.

Christos Tsialkos's best-selling novel The Slap has been adapted for television. Sophie Okonedo and Jonathan La Paglia star in this tale of tensions between eight characters linked by ties of blood and frienship in suburban Melbourne.

Producer: Torquil MacLeod.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b015bj1z)
The Oldest Music Hall

"A palace of entertainment" - so Paul Merton, Presenter, describes the Leeds City Varieties music hall .
He delves into the BBC archives to examine the life and death of Britain's music hall tradition in a funny and affectionate look at the City Varieties - once one of the most famous theatres in the world - as a result of 30 years transmission of The Good Old Days TV show.

With fresh interviews with former Good Old Days stars Ken Dodd, Barry Cryer and Roy Hudd, plus original archive clips of music hall stars and Good Old Days celebrities - this Archive on 4 documentary examines how the City Varieties mirrored the rise and fall of variety - and with a new multi million pound facelift - discovers whether such Yorkshire optimism in the future of this particular variety theatre is well founded.

Paul Merton is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide to the subject - not only has he performed at the theatre - he also is a fan of variety and its more rumbustious, red blooded predecessor, music hall. He discovers how the City Varieties launched the careers of international stars such as Frankie Vaughan and Ken Dodd - and also what made the iconic "Good Old Days" a staple of BBC tv schedules for three decades. He hears showbiz anecdotes, scandals and finds out just why twenty first century theatre-goers are enjoying a new appetite for variety as a result of the current TV talent shows.


SAT 21:00 Grossman's War (b0150ghf)
Life and Fate

Viktor and the Academy

Viktor's scientific breakthrough has not brought him the success he expected. Instead he is gradually ostracised for his 'anti-Soviet' science. He starts to dread the knock at the door.

Zhenya's visit to Moscow brings some distraction but it is Marya in whom he longs to confide.

Conclusion of Vasily Grossman’s epic saga.

Viktor Shtrum ..... Kenneth Branagh
Lyuda ..... Greta Scacchi
Marya Sokolova ..... Harriet Walter
Zhenya ..... Raquel Cassidy
Nadya ..... Ellie Kendrick
Shishakov ..... Jack Shepherd
Boris Badin ..... Carl Prekopp
Anna Stepanovna ..... Alex Tregear
Markov ..... Simon Bubb
Chepyzhin ..... James Greene
Vanya ..... Gerard McDermott
Stalin........ Philip Madoc

With Elaine Claxton, Jonathan Forbes and James Lailey

Dramatised by Mike Walker.

Original music by John Hardy with Rob Whitehead

Performed by Oliver Wilson-Dickson, Tom Jackson, Stacey Blythe and Max Pownall.

Translated by Robert Chandler

Director: Alison Hindell

Set against the ferocious Battle of Stalingrad, Life and Fate is a sweeping historical tale that charts the fate of both a nation and a family in the turmoil of war and is increasingly hailed as the most important Russian novel of the 20th century. Its comparison of Stalinism with Nazism was considered by Soviet authorities to be so dangerous that the manuscript itself was arrested and Grossman was told that it would not be published for at least 200 years. He died in 1964, never knowing that his book would be smuggled to the West and eventually published in 1980.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2011.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b0151xwq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (b0151pyq)
Euro Crisis

The moral hazard at the root of the Euro crisis is plain to see - especially if you're a German tax payer. The temptation to see the world being made up of morally upright savers and morally deficient debtors must be overwhelming when it's you that's going to have to foot the bill, possibly for generations to come. The view from that moral high ground may be clear and its certainty comforting, but this crisis has grown to such a scale that the moral limits of autonomy and sovereignty are being tested more than at any time in the history of the European project. Should we recognise that we do have a duty to those countries in trouble and that duty goes beyond any self-interest? Will Europe be stronger and everyone better off if we promote solidarity and set aside sectional national interests? Are those politicians, and they're not just German, who are dragging their feet over stumping up extra funds for a bail out, behaving badly? Or do we have to recognise that moral responsibility follows the contours of our emotions and there's no reason why the Germans, or any anyone else in Europe, should feel any moral solidarity or duty to the Greeks and the other countries on the edge of the financial abyss?

Witnesses:
The Rt Revd Geoffrey Rowell
Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe:

Jamie Whyte - Philosopher and Journalist; currently Head of Research and Publishing at the management consultancy Oliver Wyman.
Christian Kellermann - Director of the Nordic Office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Stockholm and author of "Decent Capitalism; A Blueprint for Reforming our Economies"
Prof Marcus Kerber - Professor of Finance at Berlin Technical University.

Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk with Claire Fox, Kenan Malik, Michael Portillo and Matthew Taylor.


SAT 23:00 Round Britain Quiz (b0150m8t)
(7/12)
The South of England are preparing to avenge their recent defeat by the North of England as they clash again in Round Britain Quiz.

Marcel Berlins and Fred Housego, the regular South of England team, are hoping to get their own back on Jim Coulson and Diana Collecott of the North. Tom Sutcliffe chairs the good-natured contest of intellectual convolutions and cryptic connections.

There'll be the usual fiendish questions devised by Round Britain Quiz listeners, as well as musical connections to unravel. Tom will also have the answer to last week's cliff-hanger question, which was: what is common to Tchaikovsky, Lenin, and the protagonist of a Tolstoy short story?

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


SAT 23:30 Poetry Please (b0150grj)
Roger McGough presents a selection of favourite poetry requests, read by Paul Mundell and Mark Meadows.
Today's programme includes two tense cradle songs by Louis MacNeice, poems about significant pauses by Paul Muldoon and Jean Sprackland, and two wonderful pieces of distinctly Welsh verse. Singer, 6 music presenter, and poetry lover Cerys Matthews reads a poem by the miner turned poet Idris Davies that's a clever take on the Welsh National Anthem. 'Welsh Incident' by Robert Graves captures a fantastically odd conversation, and there are other surreal offerings from Jules Renard and Günter Grass.

Producer: Sarah Langan.



SUNDAY 02 OCTOBER 2011

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b0153ymv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 I Was There Too! (b00kbj2r)
Permanent Wave

By Ian Sansom. What might Margaret Thatcher's hairdresser have witnessed in the lead-up to her exit from Downing Street? Read by Maggie Stead.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0153ymy)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0153yn1)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0153yn5)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b0153yn7)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b015bj98)
The bells of St Andrews in Rugby, Warwickshire.


SUN 05:45 Profile (b015bgvw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b0153yn9)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b015bqb5)
Jump!

Cathy Fitzgerald explores the terror, bliss and sheer delight of taking a leap.

With readings from Jeanette Winterson, Maud Parrish and Hermann Hesse and music from Rodrigo y Gabriela, Harry Belafonte and Bernard Hermann, Cathy reflects on our fear of jumping into the unknown - and examines the strange and wonderful places we can land when we do decide to take the plunge.

Produced by Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b015bqb7)
Chicken Farm

The amount of chicken eaten in the UK has tripled in the last four decades. Currently, the average person eats the equivalent of 13 full roast chickens each year.

In this programme, Sarah Swadling visits an intensive chicken farm in North Derbyshire where 180,000 chickens are being reared in massive sheds. The birds live in a state of the art temperature controlled environment with under floor heating and daylight. The food, water, heating and lighting are controlled by computers and monitored by farm staff.

Sarah talks to farm owner David Speller about the animal health and welfare, the future of chicken production and the ethics of producing over a million birds a year.

On Your Farm is presented by Sarah Swadling and produced in Birmingham by Angela Frain.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b0153ynd)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b0153yng)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b015bqb9)
Edward Stourton with the religious and ethical news of the week. Moral arguments and perspectives on stories familiar and unfamiliar.

Metal theft has been halting trains and disconnecting telephones across the country. Churches have been suffering from this kind of stealing for years but it has got so bad that some have been forced to close. Edward speaks to Monsignor John Nelson from the Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth.

The Turkish government have announced it will be returning hundreds of properties seized from its non-Muslim minorities. The seizures, some of which date back decades, have been a point of tension in the country and a poignant symbol of the difficulties faced by the country's religious minorities. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

Church leaders in earthquake-hit Christchurch are planning to build a cardboard cathedral to replace the original 150-year old building that was badly damaged earlier this year in one of New Zealand's worst natural disasters. The structure would be temporary but senior Anglicans believe it would provide an important psychological boost to a city still mourning the loss of 181 lives. Edward speaks to correspondent Phil Mercer.

In the third of our think pieces looking at the underlying cause behind last months riots we hear from Muslim thinker Fiyaz Mughal.

The Archbishop of Canterbury visits Zimbabwe next week and he may meet up with President Robert Mugabe. Trevor Barnes looks at the complex situation facing Anglicans in Zimbabwe and the diplomatic tightrope the Archbishop will have to walk.

Next week marks the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan. We hear from women MP's in Afghanistan who are worried that they will be marginalised by efforts to placate the Taliban. Edward discusses the prospects for peace with Serena de Matteo from Christian Aid and author and broadcaster Zari Kargar.


SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b015bqbc)
The Spinal Injuries Association

Melanie Reid presents the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the Spinal Injuries Association.

Reg Charity: 1054097

To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope: Spinal Injuries Association
- Give Online www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/appeal.


SUN 07:57 Weather (b0153ynl)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b0153ynn)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b015bqbf)
"Called to worship" - St Andrew's Church, Rugby uniquely possesses two sets of bells in two towers. This year the church has been celebrating the 300th anniversary of the original set, cast in 1711 by Joseph Smith of Edgbaston.

In this live service for Harvest, the Rector of Rugby, The Revd Dr Mark Beach, will explore the duty of Christians to make that same call to worship in all sorts of ways - be it proclaiming the message of the Bible, singing wonderful music - or ringing the good news from the church's two towers, all to bring about God's harvest of the world. Organist: Charles Matthews. Music Director: Nicholas Scott-Burt. Producer: Simon Vivian.


SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b0151xtb)
Political party membership

Will Self attacks the people who join political parties as "donkeys led by donkeys". He criticises the spectacle of the party conferences, a parade of "endlessly biddable Dobbins" displaying "a mental passivity that makes the average X-factor audience look like the participants in one of Plato's symposia." He argues that members repeatedly see their principles betrayed by the actions of the leaders of their parties who are continually fighting over the same patch of turf, "butting and biting the other herds".
Producer: Sheila Cook.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b015bqbh)
With Paddy O'Connell. News and conversation about the big stories of the week.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b015bqbk)
For detailed synopses, see daily episodes

Written by: Carolyn Sally Jones
Directed by: Julie Beckett
Editor: Vanessa Whitburn

Kenton Archer ..... Richard Attlee
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Elizabeth Pargetter ..... Alison Dowling
Freddie Pargetter ..... Jack Firth
Tony Archer ..... Colin Skipp
Pat Archer ..... Patricia Gallimore
Tom Archer ..... Tom Graham
Jennifer Aldridge ..... Angela Piper
Lilian Bellamy ..... Sunny Ormonde
Peggy Woolley ..... June Spencer
Jolene Perks ..... Buffy Davis
Kathy Perks ..... Hedli Niklaus
Joe Grundy ..... Edward Kelsey
Eddie Grundy ..... Trevor Harrison
Clarrie Grundy ..... Rosalind Adams
William Grundy ..... Philip Molloy
Nic Hanson ..... Becky Wright
Susan Carter ..... Charlotte Martin
Christopher Carter ..... William Sanderson-Thwaite
Alice Carter ..... Hollie Chapman
Brenda Tucker ..... Amy Shindler
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Jim Lloyd ..... John Rowe
James Bellamy ..... Roger May
Leonie Snell ..... Jasmine Hyde
Elona Makepeace ..... Eri Shuka.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b015bqbm)
Anne Wood

Kirsty Young's castaway is the children's TV producer Anne Wood.

Her creations - which include Teletubbies, Rosie and Jim and In the Night Garden - have delighted millions of children around the world. She says she is driven by her fascination with children's creative development - and was horrified by the critical response when Teletubbies was first screened. "I wanted to make a programme that had love in it," she says, "You'd have thought I'd started World War Three the response that happened - it's innocent fun, that's all it is."

Producer: Leanne Buckle.


SUN 12:00 Just a Minute (b0150mln)
Series 61

With Tony Hawks, Pam Ayres, Miles Jupp and Gyles Brandreth

Nicholas Parsons challenges Tony Hawks, Pam Ayres, Miles Jupp and Gyles Brandreth to speak on a topic without hesitation, deviation or repetition for 60 seconds. From Sep 2011.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b015bqbp)
Beer - Trouble Brewing?

Britain is a brewing nation, with a long tradition of creating incredible beers to be enjoyed in any number of taverns, inns and pubs.

Pete Brown - beer blogger and author - believes that Britain should be truly proud of its remarkable brewing heritage and charts the ups and downs of beer in the UK from Burton-on-Trent's special water via Lloyd George's unsuccessful attempt at Prohibition through to the importance of the glass that we sip our beer from.

On October the 1st new taxes came into effect that lower the tax on beer with less than 2.8% alcohol by volume (abv), and raise it on brews with more than 7.5% abv.

With concerns across the UK about problem drinking, and debates about minimum unit pricing and glass sizes, Sheila Dillon asks if it is time to re-evaluate our relationship with beer, or can it be part of the solution?

Dan Saladino visits the second largest brewing company in the world - SABMiller - at their new research laboratory in Nottingham to see how their research into a new generation of low-alcohol beers is going.

The programme also features Mark Hunter, CEO of Molson Coors UK and Ireland (Britain's biggest brewer), Dr Vivienne Nathanson of the British Medical Association, Dr John Holmes of the University of Sheffield, and the BBC's Scotland Correspondent Colin Blane.

Producer: Rich Ward.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b0153ynr)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b015bqbr)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4. Thirty minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews presented by Shaun Ley from the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester with guests including Conservative Party Co-Chairman Baroness Warsi.
You can watch the programme as it is broadcast here: http://bbc.in/qAFlrr
To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #theworldthisweekend.


SUN 13:30 A Student Voice (b015bqbt)
As an estimated 50,000 students took to the streets to protest at planned changes to University funding John Waite recorded with thirty 17 year olds chosen at random. He follows what happens to them as the changes take effect.

The youngsters came from schools across the UK, both grammars, independent and state 6th forms. They all planned to start their studies at 2012 but marched because of concerns that government decisions could heavily affect the choices they and others made.

The demonstrations against higher tuition fees galvanized many youngsters into action - a lot of them protesting for the very first time. John Waite recorded with them on the day of the demonstration but also took contact details to make it possible to track what happens and the factors which influence where and what they study. This documentary tracks their decisions since the protests as they reach the point where they must finally decide whether the fears, doubts and anger they expressed earlier in the year will actually stop them from applying for university at all: in some cases the effect is already filtering through as a few from his chosen group opt for apprenticeships and work placements instead of the courses they had planned to take.

The recordings provide an insight into the options facing 17 year olds as they wrestle with the reality of the Government's funding changes: from the young girl hoping to be the first in her family to get a degree, to those from middle class homes who fear they will be hardest hit and the private school pupils - alongside them in Whitehall, but facing very different financial realities as parents step in the fill the funding void. They were united as they protested but what will happen and how far will national policy decision affect them?

Producer: Sue Mitchell.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b0151xsr)
Colne

Peter Gibbs chairs a gardening Q&A with Christine Walkden, Bunny Guinness and Chris Beardshaw.
How to grow and process natural plant dyes at home: Anne Swithinbank reports.

Chris Beardshaw debunks a longstanding myth about nitrogen-fixing pea shoots. How to encourage fruiting on your grape vines.

Questions answered in the programme:

Can the panel suggest plants for a Pendle Witches Commemoration garden.
Suggestions included: Hemlock, Aquilegias, and Dandelions.

Can I plant my herbs in silt? How can I improve its nutritional qualities?

My Bottlebrush flowered last summer, was over-wintered indoors but did not flower this summer. Why not?

Which Fuchsia can I plant intermittently in a Hawthorne hedge to brighten it up?

My mother's grapevine survives the winters under glass. Will it ever fruit?

Which edibles can I grow in a shady, winter terraced-house back yard?

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


SUN 14:45 Picturing Britain (b015bqby)
Series 2

The Fisherman's Tale

In Picturing Britain, Adil Ray explores British life through the lens of some of the country's photographers.

How locals survive in Cornwall's ever-changing economic landscape is the subject of a popular weekly column in the Western Morning News. In this programme, Adil gets a chance to spend a day with the paper's photographer Emily Whitfield-Wicks, as she captures the life of fisherman Nigel Legge.

Like so many others, Nigel's economic survival depends on mastering the art of diversification, and in Cornwall this means embracing tourism.

Nigel, a member of the crab fleet based in Cadgwith, now has to supplement his living by giving boat tours of the rugged coastline in the summer and spending the winter months handcrafting traditional lobster pots of all sizes to sell to the general public as indoor and outdoor ornaments.

Producer: Mohini Patel.


SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b015brn6)
Neglected Classics - Nightingale Wood

Episode 1

by Stella Gibbons. Dramatised for radio by Christopher William Hill
1/2
On either side of Nightingale Wood through one idyllic year in the late 1930s, hearts beat and minds scheme, as the dowdy Wither family tries to compete with the glittering Springs. Bookish Tina Wither is in love with Saxon, her father's handsome and aloof chauffeur. Her shopgirl sister-in-law, Viola, has fallen for Victor Spring, the lord of the manor. And Madge is in love with a dog. With Stella Gibbons as an artful fairy godmother, might things just turn out for the best?

Tina ..... Victoria Hamilton
Mother/Nellie ..... Dinah Stabb
Father/Falger ..... Paul Moriarty
Viola ..... Francine Chamberlain
Victor ..... Simon Bubb
Saxon ..... Adam Billington
Edna/Fawcuss ..... Adjoa Andoh
Hetty ..... Alex Rivers
Phyllis ..... Joan Walker
Spurrey/Phillips ..... Ian Masters
Madge ..... Victoria Inez Hardy
Miss Cattyman ..... Judith Coke

Directed by Marion Nancarrow.


SUN 16:00 Bookclub (b015brn8)
Arundhati Roy - The God of Small Things

Arundhati Roy talks to James Naughtie and readers about her Booker prize winning novel The God of Small Things.

It's Arundhati Roy's first and so far only book of fiction and it took the literary world by storm, winning the Booker Prize in 1997.

It's a story about the childhood experiences of fraternal twins whose lives are destroyed by the "Love Laws" that lay down "who must be loved, and how, and how much". The book is a description of how the small things in life affect people's behaviour and their lives, and with a love affair between characters of different backgrounds, shows how cruel the caste system could be.

Arundhati Roy talks about why she's never written fiction since, and how she's not ruling out a return to the genre. She describes how her training as an architect was useful in the planning of this multi-layered story, with its complex time frames which owe a debt to James Joyce's Ulysses.

November's Bookclub choice : The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks.

Producer : Dymphna Flynn.


SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (b015brnb)
Roger McGough introduces a varied selection of poetry requests read by Paul Mundell and Alison Reid. Michael Longley reads a beautiful poem marking his grandson's first visit to his beloved Carrigskeewaun in County Mayo. Roger considers the pros and cons of having an active social life with help from Philip Larkin, Wendy Cope and Owen Sheers. Clare Pollard also recalls the haze of overindulgence at a thirtieth birthday party. Poems from one end of the cynical spectrum to the other, with work by Gerard Manley Hopkins, and a vitriolic piece by Baudelaire.

Producer: Sarah Langan.


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (b0150phx)
NHS Procurement

The Department of Health wants to slash £1.2 billion off the bill for hospital supplies -- everything from bandages and rubber gloves to operating tables and medical equipment.

The planned savings form part of the £20 billion in NHS efficiency savings the Government has pledged to make by 2014.

There's plenty of scope for savings. A recent survey found one Hospital Trust bought 177 different types of surgical gloves. Across the NHS, hospitals buy more than 1,700 different kinds of canula. Rationalising this medical shopping list could free-up £500 million a year for investment in patient care, the National Audit Office estimates.

But can the increasingly complex NHS procurement system in England deliver the major savings the Government wants to see?

Critics say Foundation Hospital Trusts increasingly make their own buying decisions, with little or no national co-ordination. Inside hospitals, managers tasked with purchasing millions of pounds worth of equipment often lack the authority or the support of their superiors to drive through savings. Meanwhile new private sector companies are moving in to take over the purchase and supply of NHS equipment.

Will the Government's plans for a more devolved health service help or hinder the drive to save taxpayers' money. Jenny Cuffe investigates.

Producer: Andy Denwood.


SUN 17:40 Profile (b015bgvw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b0153ynw)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b0153yny)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0153yp0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b015brnd)
Simon Parkes makes his selection from the past seven days of BBC Radio
Email: potw@bbc.co.uk or www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/potw
Producer: Helen Lee.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b015brng)
Pat and Tony are touched when Kathy offers to lend them a few thousand pounds she has in her savings account. They're grateful but Tony wants to hear what the bank manager says at their appointment on Tuesday first. He feels ashamed about the times he's moaned about Kathy coming round, and acknowledges that at times like this you find out who your real friends are.

Will tells Clarrie about the disagreement between him and Nic on Friday, and how she wouldn't let him go round and sort out Andrew, her ex. Clarrie addresses the conflict between him and Edward, and asks Will if he is completely over Emma. He insists that he loves Nic. Clarrie knows that, but he hasn't answered her question.

Will and Nic discuss their disagreement. Nic explains exactly why she doesn't want any more conflict. She doesn't love Andrew any more but he still has the power to hurt her, and has to be in her life because of the children. Now that she's got it balanced just right with him, she doesn't want Will to wade in and make things worse. She loves having Will in her life, and she's never been happier.


SUN 19:15 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b015brnj)
Series 1

Episode 3

John Finnemore, writer and star of Cabin Pressure, regular guest on The Now Show and popper-up in things like Miranda and That Mitchell and Webb Look returns with half an hour of his own sketches, each funnier than the last. Although, hang on, that system means starting the whole series with the least funny sketch. Might need to rethink that. OK, it's a new show filled with sketches written and performed by John Finnemore, but now no longer arranged in strict order of funniness. Also, he's cut the sketch that would have gone first.

In this third edition, the show visits some documentary-makers, has a big debate, and then treats itself to a little trophy.

John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is written by and stars John Finnemore. It also features Carrie Quinlan (The News Quiz, The Late Edition), Lawry Lewin (The Life & Times of Vivienne Vyle, Horrible Histories) and Simon Kane (Six Impossible Things).

Producer: Ed Morrish.


SUN 19:45 The Time Being (b015brnl)
Series 5

The Family Snaps

The latest season of The Time Being brings another showcase for new voices, none of whom have been previously broadcast. Previous series have brought new talent to a wider audience and provided a stepping stone for writers who have since gone on to enjoy further success both on radio and in print, such as Tania Hershman, Heidi Amsinck, Sally Hinchcliffe and Submarine author and National Short Story judge Joe Dunthorne.

The Family Snaps by Jarred McGinnis

Morna had her son Colin professionally photographed. When she goes to collect the prints she find she doesn't have enough money for them. But it's Colin's 'last day' and she can't wait until another time.

Jarred McGinnis, an American living in London, is the co-founder of the literary variety night, The Special Relationship. In addition to writing fiction, he holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence. He too is writing a novel.

Reader: Tracy Wiles

Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:00 Feedback (b0151xsm)
Is it possible to give listeners access to the riches of the BBC archive - without releasing material that was deemed acceptable when it was made but is offensive now? As you voice concerns about Orwellian attitudes, Roger ask David Jordon, director of Editorial Policy and standards what the rules are.

And following a furore in the press Roger finds out if it's really no longer acceptable to use the terms AD and BC, instead of CE and BCE, on the airwaves?

We celebrate the 50th birthday of In Touch, BBC Radio 4's programme for blind and partially-sighted people, and ask whether the BBC is doing enough for listeners with disabilities. Liz Carr, presenter of the irreverent podcast Ouch!, drops in on the different networks to find out what's on offer.

And a listener has sent in a play-let. It's set in a dark basement, features fingernail extraction, and stars a character called Roger Wright, apparently the controller of Radio 3...

Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio.

This programme's content is entirely directed by you.

Producer: Karen Pirie
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b015brnn)
Wangari Maathai, David Croft, Gusty Spence, Carl Wood

Matthew Bannister on

The Kenyan human rights and environmental campaigner Wangari Maathai who became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace prize in 2004

The writer and producer David Croft, who brought us some of TV's best loved comedies, including Dad's Army, Are You Being Served and Hi De Hi.

The former leader of the Ulster Volunteer Force, Gusty Spence, who turned his back on violence while serving an eighteen year prison sentence for murder

And the Australian pioneer of in vitro fertilisation, Professor Carl Wood.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b015bgvh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b015bqbc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 Analysis (b0150mtb)
Libya's Islamic Capitalists

Under Colonel Gaddafi, Libya was subject to the dictator's so-called Third Universal Theory. Hugh Miles asks what sort of ideology is likely to dominate in post-Gaddafi Libya.

Western media have been keeping a close eye on Libya's governing National Transitional Council, and there have been warnings about splits between Islamists and secularists, and about Libya's tribal society. But, as Hugh Miles discovers, amongst Libya's new ruling class there is broad consensus about support for one ideology: capitalism.

Gaddafi's idiosyncratic economic and political philosophy fused elements of socialism and Islam. The suppression of free markets was at times taken to bizarre extremes with, at one point, the banning of the entire retail sector. Support for capitalism is perhaps a reaction to the years in which entrepreneurship was suppressed.

Hugh Miles looks at the background of the new rulers and asks how Libyan Islamic capitalism might work.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b015brnq)
Carolyn Quinn reports from the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester. She talks to ministers and MPs about the mood of the Conservative Party.

Comment and analysis is provided live from our conference studio by the Economist's Janan Ganesh and the Spectator's James Forsyth.

Two MPs join our weekly panel - the Liberal Democrat Stephen Williams and Labour's Lisa Nandy. They discuss the big political stories.

Programme Editor: Terry Dignan

Presenter: Carolyn Quinn.


SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b015brns)
Episode 72

Mehdi Hasan of The New Statesman analyses how the newspapers are covering the biggest stories in Westminster and beyond.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b0151xsy)
Francine Stock talks to Lars von Trier about his new film Melancholia starring Kirsten Dunst as depressed bride Justine and Charlotte Gainsbourg as her sister Claire, responding in their different ways to their imminent annihilation - a rogue planet is hurtling towards earth and there is nothing they can do to stop it.

John Madden reveals the details of his new spy thriller The Debt starring Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson and Ciaran Hinds. The film is set in Israel in the 1990s with extensive flashback to Berlin in the 60s when the protagonists, a trio of Mossad agents, were tasked with finding an influential Nazi doctor who had slipped back into civilian life after the war. It's a fictional film but its plot is no more fantastic than some of the real life scenarios which it resembles.

Ali Samadi Ahadi discusses his film documenting the protests in Iran in 2009, The Green Wave. Against expectations elections held in that year reinforced the power of the ultra-conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Protestors under the banner 'Where is my Vote?' gathered in the streets, wearing green to signify Islam but also hope and the campaign of the opposition candidate Mir Housain-Mousavi. The response of the authorities to the demonstrations was violent and whilst the full extent of injury and death among the protestors is not known fragmented accounts made their way out via the internet - blogs, social media and amateur video posts. The Green Wave shapes some of this material into a polemical account of the backlash to the Green movement and its ambitions:

And Francine also looks at digital projection and why it's leaving some cinema goers in the dark. Regular contributor, cinema owner Kevin Marwick of the Picture House in Uckfield, explains why some cinemas appear to be delivering a projection murky beyond any moody intention of the art director.

Producer - Craig Smith.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b015bqb5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 03 OCTOBER 2011

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b0153ypt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b0151pyg)
Tour guide - Changing incomes

New research compares income distribution in the UK with a multi storey apartment building in which the poorest dwell in the basement, the richest occupy the penthouse and most of us still live on the floors in between the two extremes. The economist, Professor Stephen Jenkins discusses income mobility and the dynamics of poverty with Laurie Taylor. They're also joined by the sociologist, Professor John Holmwood. Also, the raucous sidewalk culture of New York Tour Guides. The sociologist Jonathan R. Wynn introduces us to the eccentrics, educators and radicals who provide introductions to New York's dizzying array of attractions.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b015bj98)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0153ypy)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0153yq0)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0153yq2)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b0153yq4)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b015bt0p)
Presented by the Revd Neil Gardner, minister of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b015bt0r)
The RSPCA says British songbirds are being trapped and sold in the UK or exported by criminals. The birds - especially finches - are sought after for their coloured plumage or beautiful song but they say keeping wild birds in cages causes them stress and deformities. It says the problem is rife and increasing.

A Somerset farmer is looking to brand 'Free Range Dairy' to set assurances about the amount of grazing cows are given. He wants other farmers to join him to gain more recognition for what farmers who put their cows out to pasture do and to ensure the customer knows.

Farming Today asks what would change under the new planning policy currently at consultation by the Government and whether it will make it easier for developments to get the go-ahead in the countryside or help rural areas get the housing transport and facilities they need.

Presented by Charlotte Smith.Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.


MON 05:57 Weather (b0153yq6)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b015bt0t)
With John Humphrys and Sarah Montague. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b015bt0w)
Afghanistan and the British Secret Service with Rory Stewart, Frank Ledwidge and Gordon Corera

In the run-up to the 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, Andrew Marr discusses foreign intervention with the Conservative MP Rory Stewart and the former intelligence officer, Frank Ledwidge. Stewart looks back at the conflict to ask whether simple notions of winning foreign wars is counterproductive, while Ledwidge turns a critical eye on the army's lack of strategic thinking which he argues led to catastrophic failures in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera discusses the role of the British secret service, from the Cold War days of spies lurking in the shadows, to the disaster of the 'dodgy dossier' on Iraq. And Dr Rosemary Hollis, Professor of Middle East Policy Studies, considers the impact of recent revelations of complicity with Gaddafi's regime, and how 9/11 has skewed international relations.
Producer: Katy Hickman.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b015bt0y)
The Castrato and His Wife

Episode 1

Helen Berry's astonishing new portrait of Giusto Ferdinando Tenducci, the celebrated 18th century castrato, and his love affair with a young Irish girl, Dorothea Maunsell.

In today's episode, a baby boy is born to a humble family in a remote Tuscan hilltown. As he grows up, his evident talent for music and the purity of his unbroken voice offer him an opportunity for social mobility. But it's an opportunity that will require a very brutal kind of sacrifice.

Read by Greta Scacchi
Abridged by Viv Beeby
Produced by Emma Harding

'The Castrato and His Wife' is published by Oxford University Press.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b015bt10)
Cook the Perfect, Mary Portas, Women in Afghanistan

The classic fish pie and how to make it as we add this latest recipe in our Cook the Perfect series. Sue Lawrence tells us why this mix of white fish and a creamy sauce is the ultimate comfort food. Ten years after military intervention in Afghanistan, two new reports released today highlight concerns about how women's rights will be safeguarded in a new era once international community troops are withdrawn. We talk to those involved. Mary Portas, one-time Queen of Shops, discusses her mission to become Queen of Frocks and why she's heralding a high street style that works for women, rather than girls. Author Laini Taylor on why she has an enduring fascination with angels and their role in the opening volume in her epic fantasy trilogy, Daughter of Smoke and Bone.
Presented by Jane Garvey.


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b015bt12)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys - Series 2

Episode 1

Kris Marshall returns as the famous diarist. As many of us do, Pepys begins the year - 1661 - with a resolution: to restrain himself in the expensive pleasures of theatre-going and drinking. He fails spectacularly on both counts. Free, for once, from builders, Samuel and Elizabeth are living happily in Seething Lane with their servants Jane and Will. All is well, until Sam's sister, Paulina, moves in with them - not as a family member and equal but as a third servant. Preparations are in hand for the Coronation of King Charles but the city is on alert for the nonconformist Fifth Monarchists who believe that Jesus is about to return as 'King of Kings'. Their leader, Thomas Venner, is caught, hanged, drawn and quartered. In the unseasonably warm winter weather, the bodies of Cromwell, Ireton and Bradshaw are exhumed and hanged. Elizabeth goes to see the spectacle but Samuel stays home.

Dramatised by Hattie Naylor.

Samuel Pepys . . . Kris Marshall
Elizabeth Pepys . . . Katherine Jakeways
Pauline . . . Rebecca Scott
Mr Pierce . . . Andrew Wincott
Mrs Pierce . . . Siriol Jenkins
Sir William . . . Richard Mitchley
Man in street . . . Stephen Marzella

Theme music: Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May, words by Robert Herrick and music by William Lawes, sung by Bethany Hughes. Lute, baroque guitar and theorbo played by David Miller. Violin and viol by Annika Gray, and recorders by Alice Baxter.

Historical consultant: Liza Picard
Sound by Nigel Lewis

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


MON 11:00 Robots that Care (b015bxq4)
Episode 2

In the second of a two-part series, Robots that Care, Jon Stewart visits research institutes in the USA and UK to explore the brave new ideas about how robots may be able to help humans on a one-to-one basis. He talks to key roboticists, their collaborators and volunteers about the practicalities and ethics of using robots to help people.

A number of studies have been done and more are underway in the use of robots for people wanting to lose weight and for children who are autistic. Robotocists are also conducting long-term projects with people who have suffered strokes. The robots are designed as personal instructors to help motivate and restore motor function. But they must be emotionally smart and coax rather than order about like a sergeant major. The roboticists are also examining how they might customise their robots to fit the personalities of the people whom they will serve.

We have put robots on the moon but it seems that it is more difficult to put them in homes. A visit to a robot house in the UK shows that there are many pitfalls still to overcome before robots will be useful in our living rooms and kitchens.

Finally, Robots that Care asks: what are the dangers of making the robots too human? Are there problems of dependency? What ethical and moral questions arise when robots socialise human beings?

Producer: Colin Grant.


MON 11:30 When the Dog Dies (b013n0q2)
Series 2

Tangled Web

Ronnie Corbett reunites with the writers of his hit sitcom Sorry, Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent. Sorry ran for seven series on BBC 1 and was number one in the UK ratings.

In the second series of their Radio 4 sitcom, Ronnie plays Sandy Hopper, who is growing old happily along with his dog Henry. His grown up children - both married to people Sandy doesn't approve of at all - would like him to move out of the family home so they can get their hands on their money earlier. But Sandy's not having this. He's not moving until the dog dies. And not just that, how can he move if he's got a lodger? His daughter is convinced that his too attractive lodger Dolores (Liza Tarbuck) is after Sandy and his money.

Luckily Sandy has three grandchildren and sometimes a friendly word, a kindly hand on the shoulder can really help a Granddad in the twenty-first century. Man and dog together face a complicated world. There's every chance they'll make it more so.

Episode Four- Tangled Web
Whenever people tell porkies, they seem to come to Sandy for help. Being a spare man and his own master - he can provide the alibi or hide the goods. However, multi-tasking was never his strongpoint even when he was Manager (Acting) of the Five Feathers, Frinton. Deceiving needs practice and not on the job, either.

Cast:
Sandy ..... Ronnie Corbett
Dolores ..... Liza Tarbuck
Ellie ..... Tilly Vosburgh
Blake ..... Jonathan Aris
Calais ..... Amelia Clarkson
PC - Stephen Critchlow
Megan ..... Polly Frame

Producer: Liz Anstee
A CPL Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b015bxq6)
Denmark's fat tax

The plans to revolutionise the energy sector by encouraging communities to generate their own. We report on the launch of the biggest community energy scheme in the UK to date.

The pharmaceutical expert with 25 years experience working in the drugs industry tells us why our policy for prescribing drugs to children needs an overhaul.

And the big sewer switchover - how will it affect you?

Presented by Julian Worricker. Produced by Alex Lewis.


MON 12:57 Weather (b0153yq8)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b015jj00)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4. Thirty minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews presented by Martha Kearney from the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester with guests including Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.
You can watch the programme as it is broadcast here: http://bbc.in/qAFlrr
To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


MON 13:30 Round Britain Quiz (b015bxq8)
(8 of 12)
What should you change in order to make an Italian broadcaster tell you about the state of the economy - and why could a further change be painful?

Tom Sutcliffe posed this teaser at the end of the previous edition of Round Britain Quiz, and he returns today with the answer - along with many more convoluted puzzles to test the ingenuity of the panel. This week the Scots, Alan Taylor and Michael Alexander, take on the Midlands team of Rosalind Miles and Stephen Maddock.

As always, the questions require the teams to dredge their memory banks for everything from Classical mythology to popular music, and from literature to sport.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b015brng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b015bxqb)
Dragonfly

Dragonfly by Katie Hims, specially written for David Bower and Sophie Woolley .

Cal is expecting a baby with his girlfriend Sophie. As deaf parents, in amongst the excitement, they have a few concerns . But every time Sophie has a scan at the hospital Cal is sick. His behaviour becomes more and more uncharacteristic . Sophie begins to worry when Cal finds letters from an old girlfriend and decides he has to go and see her .

Cal has to resolve the past before he can move forward as a Father and fully enjoy Sophie's pregnancy. In order to get there he has to return to the place he grew up in - Rochdale - and re-examine his past.

CAL...David Bower
SOPHIE Sophie Woolley
TARA. ..Sarah McDonald Hughes
HABERJAN Amerjit Deu
BRIAN Eric Potts
NURSE Zoe Iqbal

A signed film of the production can be accessed via the Radio 4 website.

Developed in partnership with Signdance Collective.
Produced in Manchester by Susan Roberts.


MON 15:00 Archive on 4 (b015bj1z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


MON 15:45 The Call (b00y2d7j)
Series 2

Concorde

Dominic Arkwright meets people who have made life-changing phone calls.

In the first programme in the series he meets Alice Brooking, who was on the phone to her sister Nathalie in London when an Air France Concorde crashed into her Paris hotel.

It was the 25th July 2000 and Alice Brooking was in the Hotelissimo in Gonesse, near Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. A language student working through her holidays as a tour guide, Alice was waiting for a party of young musicians to arrive from England. Torn between having a nap, having a shower and calling her sister for a chat, she picked up the phone to London. Half way through the conversation there was loud bang and the phone went dead. She went to the door of her room, to be met by searing heat and a wall of flame.

"I ran barefoot across the fields, because I'd left my shoes in my room, then tried calling the attention of the car drivers........ If I'd chosen to take a shower or a nap I'd be dead."".


MON 16:00 The Food Programme (b015bqbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b015bxqg)
Earlier this year the Irish Prime Minister launched an unprecedented attack on the Vatican, after an inquiry into the handling of allegations of child abuse found that the church had ignored its own child protection guidelines.
Enda Kenny said a culture of "dysfunction, disconnection, elitism and narcissism" dominated the Vatican, criticisms which were rejected by the Vatican as "unfounded".
Kenny's speech signalled beyond doubt an end to the symbiotic relationship between church and state which many say has dominated the Republic ever since it was founded.
So what is the future for Catholicism in Ireland? Joining Ernie Rea for the discussion is Dublin priest Father Joe Murphy, David Quinn, a columnist for the Irish Catholic and Irish Times, and the theologian and lecturer in medical ethics, Gina Menzies.


MON 17:00 PM (b015bxqj)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0153yqb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 The Museum of Curiosity (b015bxql)
Series 4

Carr, Bellos, Stavrakopoulou

The Museum of Curiosity is, as ever, hosted by the Professor of Ignorance from the University of Buckingham John Lloyd (now with added C.B.E). For this, the fourth series, he is joined by the intensely curious comedian Dave Gorman as his Curator. Dave is the latest in a line of illustrious Museum curators: Bill Bailey, Sean Lock and Jon Richardson.

The Museum of Curiosity has a unique method for collecting exhibits. Once a week it welcomes three luminaries from widely different specialist fields and asks them to bring with them their most treasured items to donate.

The Museum's collection already boasts The Big Bang When It Was The Size Of A Grapefruit; A Pineapple; A Yard Of Silence; Nothing; A British Railways Bridge Plate; A Telepathic Sheep; A Chimpanzee Rain Dance; An Impossible Rabbit; A Gay Bomb; A Choir Of Singing Sand Dunes; National Ignorance Day (of which we know nothing); and An Icelandic Volcano (long before they were fashionable).

In the first of the new series, John and Dave are joined by comedian Jimmy Carr; documentary maker, theologian (and atheist) Francesca Stavrakapoulou; and the mathematician, Guardian South America correspondent and football author Alex Bellos.

The museum's guests later in the rest of the series are:

Philosopher Alain de Botton
Linguist David Crystal
Filmmaker Gareth Edwards
Comedian Harry Enfield
Solar physicist Lucie Green
Classically-trained comedian Natalie Haynes
New Scientist Editor Roger Highfield
Comedian Alex Horne
Rational Comedian Robin Ince
Graham Linehan
Data Miner David McCandless
Marine biologist Helen Scales
Advertising guru Rory Sutherland
Admiral Alan William John West, Baron West of Spithead GCB DSC PC
Polar explorer Sara Wheeler.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b015bxqn)
Eddie's taking Clarrie to the jobcentre. They discuss the situation between William and Nic. Clarrie hopes William holds on to Nic because she's good for him. They also discuss the rift between Edward and William. Clarrie thinks the boys are making an effort lately but Eddie knows they've just got to leave them to it.

Kenton is packing up his belongings - mainly books - eady to move in with Jolene. He tells Elizabeth that Jolene is for keeps. Jill arrives, and Elizabeth takes her out for a birthday lunch. Elizabeth confides in her mother about her loneliness. The children are so busy with school and their new friends that they're hardly ever around now. They discuss their lost loves and wonder how Jolene could move on so soon after losing Sid. Elizabeth doesn't think she'll ever be able to love again. Jill wonders how long Kenton and Jolene will last.

Jolene looks through Kenton's book and comic collection. She doesn't know where it's all going to go but she's waited a long time to have Kenton under her roof and tells him he's a great guy. As they kiss, Kenton really feels he's come home.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b015bxqq)
Rowan Atkinson interviewed; Claire Tomalin on Dickens

With Mark Lawson.

The acclaimed literary biographer Claire Tomalin publishes a new life of Dickens this week, ahead of the bicentenary of his birth next year. She discusses the author's contradictions and insecurities and whether they were an essential part of his genius.

Rowan Atkinson returns to his role as the spy with no sense of fear but plenty of gadgets, in the film Johnny English Reborn. He talks about the similarities between Johnny English and Mr Bean, the art of pulling faces and the importance of cars in his work.

Artist Grayson Perry pays homage to thousands of forgotten and anonymous craftsmen by picking 200 objects from the British Museum's collection to display in his exhibition The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman. At the centre of the show is a decorated cast iron coffin ship, made by Perry himself. Natalie Haynes reviews.

Producer: Nicki Paxman.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b015bt12)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 In Defence of Politics (b015bxqs)
Episode 2

Prof Matthew Flinders asks if politicians are unfairly treated by a negative and crisis-obsessed media, cynical satirists and drama that ignores the good in politics.

Interviewees include Tony Blair, Boris Johnson, John Bercow, Ian Hislop, Hazel Blears, Alastair Campbell and David Baddiel.

Matthew Flinders is Professor of Politics at Sheffield University. This is the second part of a series in which he presents his personal viewpoint, challenging political cynicism and defending the role of politics in our society.

Producer: Martin Rosenbaum.


MON 20:30 Analysis (b015bxqv)
Aid or Immigration?

Despite a general policy of austerity and cut backs, the budget for development aid has been ring fenced by the coalition government. Frances Cairncross asks whether a more relaxed immigration policy might be a better way for the UK to help the developing world.

The official aid budget is dwarfed by a private form of help for the developing world: remittances sent home by immigrants working in richer countries.

So should governments keen to help the developing world encourage migration and remittances as a replacement for state-funded aid? "They have the key advantage that the people who send them know the people who are supposed to be receiving them... There's less opportunity for corruption and for waste... and they might have lower overhead costs," argues Owen Barder of the Center for Global Development.

Frances Cairncross, rector of Exeter College, Oxford and former managing editor of The Economist, explores the limits of this free market alternative to state-funded development aid.

Contributors include:

Steve Baker
Conservative MP for Wycombe

Dilip Ratha
Migration and remittances expert from the World Bank and the University of Sussex

Owen Barder
Senior fellow of Washington DC think-tank, the Center for Global Development

Hetty Kovach
Senior policy adviser to Oxfam

Devesh Kapur
Director of the Centre for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania

Onyekachi Wambu
From the African Foundation for Development, or AFFORD

Alex Oprunenco
Head of international programmes with Moldovan think-tank, Expert Grup

Professor Paul Collier
Author of The Bottom Billion and director at the Oxford University Centre for the study of African Economies

Producers: Helen Grady and Daniel Tetlow.


MON 21:00 Material World (b0151t3y)
So You Want to Be a Scientist launch

Material World announces the return of 'So You Want to Be a Scientist?' - the search for the BBC's Amateur Scientist of the Year.

Long Desc
Material World announces the return of 'So You Want to Be a Scientist?' - the search for the BBC's Amateur Scientist of the Year.

Last year 69 year old gardener Ruth Brooks from Devon was crowned the winner for her research into the homing distance of snails. With the help of ecologist Dr Dave Hodgson from the University of Exeter, she created an experiment in her back garden to measure how far she should move her snails away to stop them coming back to eat her petunias.

"The whole year was filled with fun," said Ms Brooks. "For a non-scientist like me, it was great to have my research idea taken seriously. If I can do it, anyone can - just have a go!"

Now you can put your ideas, hunches and theories to the test. If you're chosen as one of Material World's four finalists, your entry will be turned into a real experiment which you'll carry out with the help of a professional scientist.

A panel of judges, chaired by Nobel prize winning scientist Sir Paul Nurse, will select four finalists in December. The amateur scientists start their research in January and will present their results at the Cheltenham Science Festival in June 2012, where the judges will choose a winner.

Entries are open online from 26 Sept until 31 Oct: www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/scientist.


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b015bt0w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b0153yqd)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b015jj02)
Europe's Finance Ministers consider how to kick start their economies after new figures point to a Greek default.

George Osborne refuses to alter strategy on deficit reduction but comes up with a plan for cheap credit for small businesses.

Palestinians come to terms with the loss of $200m in aid from the United States following the request for state recognition at the UN

With Ritula Shah with the Conservatives in Manchester and Samira Ahmed in London.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b015bxr3)
Catch 22

Episode 6

by Joseph Heller

In Heller's iconoclastic comic masterpiece, bombardier Yossarian's attempts to stop flying combat missions are met by the unassailable circular logic of Catch 22.

Milo Minderbender's capitalist enterprise looks set for world domination and Yossarian decides against clothes. Including his uniform.

Abridged by Robin Brooks

Read by Stuart Milligan

Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane.


MON 23:00 Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change? (b00smngp)
1990s

The cockney comedian charts his life story during the 1990s - returning to education and becoming a teacher. Part of Radio 4 Extra's Comedy Club, originally broadcast on Radio 4 in June 2010.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b015bxr5)
Peers call for an overhaul of the UK's laws on scrap metal in a bid to counter a rising number of thefts
Peers approve a new funding system for the Royal Family.
And how do you read a select committee report? Mark D'Arcy investigates.
Alicia McCarthy and team on today's events in Parliament.



TUESDAY 04 OCTOBER 2011

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b0153yqz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b015bt0y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0153yr1)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0153yr3)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0153yr5)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b0153yr7)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b015ck8r)
Presented by the Revd Neil Gardner, minister of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b015ck8t)
Anna Hill hears the late hot spell could mean a vintage year for British wine. Conditions more typical of the Loire valley have been enjoyed by the UKs vineyards, whose owners are now predicting grapes of exceptional quality.

A new survey from The Halifax suggests country houses now cost on average 27,000 pounds more than city homes. It says the economic downturn has done little to effect the desirability of country living.

Community Supported Agriculture is booming business. There are now over 80 schemes around the country, a huge increase from the handful of schemes in existence a decade ago. Farming Today visits Norwich Farmshare to try and discover the attraction of both paying and working for the weekly shop.

And Farming Today continues its focus on the government's radical new planning policy. Today the Campaign to Protect Rural England warn the plans could permanently damage the fabric of the English countryside.

Presenter: Anna Hill Producer: Melvin Rickarby.


TUE 06:00 Today (b015ck8w)
With John Humphrys and Sarah Montague. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 Capitalism on Trial (b015ck8y)
Episode 2

Capitalism dominates the globe as never before, but after years of bailouts, downgrades, stagnating growth and market instability, Michael Portillo asks if free-market capitalism is a broken system. In the second of two programmes, Amartya Sen, Will Hutton, Ha-Joon Chang, Gillian Tett and Hernando De Soto are among the critics and defenders of the free-market as Michael weighs up the costs and benefits of the economic idea that governs our lives.

Producer: Julia Johnson.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b015j70j)
The Castrato and His Wife

Episode 2

Helen Berry's astonishing new portrait of Giusto Ferdinando Tenducci, the celebrated 18th century castrato, and his love affair with a young Irish girl, Dorothea Maunsell.

In today's episode, Tenducci embarks on his operatic career and after his first London season, has acquired a massive and enthusiastic following. But he is soon embroiled in a public scandal with an English society lady.

Read by Greta Scacchi
Abridged by Viv Beeby
Produced by Emma Harding

'The Castrato and His Wife' is published by Oxford University Press.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b015ck90)
George Alagiah on mixed Britain; schools commissioner Liz Sidwell; Lauren Child

Jane Garvey talks to George Alagiah and Saira Khan about mixed Britain and tales of love, of couples fighting prejudice and creating the new society that is mixed Britain. With 216 secondary schools and 962 primary schools below the minimum standard, the new Schools Commissioner for England Liz Sidwell joins Jane to discuss the challenges of fulfilling her role. In April 1872, a letter from 'An Earnest Englishwoman' appeared in The Times newspaper asking 'Are women animals?' The point being that women could expect worse treatment and fewer rights in law than animals at that time. In her book What It Means To Be Human, the historian Joanna Bourke explores the significance of this argument, and tells Jane why it still has resonance today. And having written and illustrated the hugely successful Charlie and Lola and and Clarice Bean books for young children, Lauren Child's next series centres around Ruby Redfort, an American teenaged super spy who finds herself having to balance international espionage with school and basketball commitments. Lauren joins Jane to explain what writers need to consider when aiming to capture the lucrative older child market.


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b015ck92)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys - Series 2

Episode 2

In this episode of Hattie Naylor's lively adaptation, Pepys throws a party to celebrate the third anniversary of his bladder operation. He regales his assembled guests with the gruesome story, telling them how he was bound to his cousin's dining room table so that he could not move, and how a gag was put in his mouth to stop him screaming as he was cut open by the surgeon, Mr Hollier. The stone that was removed from Pepys' bladder was the size of a tennis ball.

Samuel Pepys . . . Kris Marshall
Elizabeth Pepys . . . Katherine Jakeways
Edward Montague, Lord Sandwich . . . Blake Ritson
Captain Ferrers . . . Ewan Bailey
Sir William . . . Richard Mitchley
Lady Batten . . . Marilyn le Conte
Mingo . . . Clifford Lyonette
Alsemero . . . Lee Mengo
Woman in tavern . . . Rebecca Scott
Woman in tavern . . . Siriol Jenkins

Theme music: Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May, words by Robert Herrick and music by William Lawes, sung by Bethany Hughes. Lute, baroque guitar and theorbo played by David Miller. Violin and viol by Annika Gray, and recorders by Alice Baxter.
Historical consultant: Liza Picard
Sound by Nigel Lewis

A BBC/Cymru Wales Production directed by Kate McAll.


TUE 11:00 Saving Species (b015ck94)
Series 2

Episode 20

20/30 The Pika is a small mammal that lives in the high altitude grasslands in mountain ranges from Japan, through central Asia and North America. Andrew Smith and his team of field biologists from Arizona State University has studied the Pika for many years on the Tibetan Plateau. It's in Tibet, he claims, they are wrongly blamed for the degrading of the grasslands by the Chinese. We have been to see Andrew Smith and have a reply from the Chinese Academy of Science.

Also in the programme: Kelvin Boot reports the status of polar plankton from a meeting (about plankton) in Plymouth.

And the Curlew - the piping call of which contributes to the soundscape of uplands in summer and estuaries in winter, are seriously in decline in Ireland, SW Scotland and Wales. By how much and why we will find out.

Presented by Brett Westwood
Produced by Mary Colwell
Editor Julian Hector.


TUE 11:30 The Man with Many Names (b015ck96)
Brian O'Nolan he was born - or perhaps Brian O Nuallain if you want to be strictly accurate. He spoke Irish at home and learned English second (and German too); yet arguably his greatest work - the Third Policeman - is a tour de force of English linguistical pyrotechnics and Lewis Carroll-like absurdist exoticism - people turning into bicycles is par for the course.

He published his books as Flann O'Brien; he penned a must-read daily column in the Irish Times as Myles na gCopaleen and at various times in his short life wrote as George Knowall, John James Doe, Matt Duffy, Count O'Blather, Brother Barnabas and Sean O'Longain... But as Brian O'Nolan he was also a senior civil servant and adviser to government ministers, and his habit of retiring early to The Scotch House to consume many, many pints of plain, while tolerated for years ended up finishing his career. In fact 'the little weakness' as one contributor calls it finally cost O'Nolan his life.

To mark the centenary of O'Nolan's birth, Peter Day - a longtime Flann fan - travels to Dublin in search of the reality behind the multiple personas, and meets those who drank with him, supped with him at the family dinner table and have made careers out of studying him...

Producer: Simon Elmes.


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b015ck98)
The Right To Buy: Should council tenants be given extra help to buy their council homes? The right to buy was one of Margaret Thatcher's most famous and popular policies. Now David Cameron's promising to increase the discounts for council tenants to buy their homes - to try to boost the housing market and social mobility. And to avoid depleting stocks, he's promised a new home will be built for every one sold. So is it the right way forward? Are there enough council homes up for grabs? Or will it reduce already limited supplies? Whether you're in a council house, on the waiting list or simply a council tax payer, we'd like to hear from you. Call You and Yours with Julian Worricker. Your chance to share your views on the programme. Email youandyours@bbc.co.uk, text 84844 and we may call you back or call 03700 100 444 (lines open at 10am Tuesday).


TUE 12:57 Weather (b0153yrb)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b015jj0k)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Thirty minutes of intelligent analysis, comment and interviews presented by Martha Kearney from the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester with guests including Home Secretary Theresa May.
You can watch the programme as it is broadcast here: http://bbc.in/qAFlrr
To share your views email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


TUE 13:30 The World in His Ear (b015ck9b)
When composer, David Fanshawe died last year he left behind a myriad of field recordings and a rich portfolio of composition, including his magnum opus, African Sanctus.

In 'The World In His Ear' music writer, Philip Sweeney explores the famed Fanshawe archive and finds out about a pioneering, if controversial musical figure. Speaking to composers, admirers and family members, Philip discovers a larger than life character who collected thousands of field recordings from across the globe. He recorded tribes in Africa that no longer exist and visited Pacific Islands where few, if any other travellers have trod; he even moved his family out to Fiji to be near him.

When it came to his own compositional work Fanshawe was shunned by both the classical music establishment and by the world music aficionados who were embarrassed by this eccentric figure: "Sadly people look down on him. He had a manner which seemed rather white man goes abroad and loves the African music which can seem a little bit neocolonialist" says the editor of Songlines, Simon Broughton.

Some claim he was a forefather of world music, others that he mined cultures and music that were not his to take. But the result of his lifetime's passion was to bring together the spheres of classical and traditional, western and non-western, pre-recorded and live music, long before it became popular to do so. Step in to his converted garage in Wiltshire and you are transported not only to different continents, but also to lost eras recorded and catalogued for all to hear. David Fanshawe epitomized the spirit of freedom and adventure, capturing his experiences in music and in doing so brought the whole world to the place where his music was being performed.

Producer: Gemma Newby
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b015bxqn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b015ck9d)
Dinner in the Village

Tensions between two famous bi-racial couples are made worse when the women challenge their men, immigration officials come knocking and husbands show that they are not to be trusted.

In 1940's Greenwich Village, Trinidadian activist and author, CLR James, introduces his friend the African American novelist, Richard Wright, to a young white Californian girl called Constance whom he met at a political lecture.

He becomes her mentor and he also asks Richard Wright's wife Ellen, (who is from a Polish background), to teach Constance how to be the kind of woman he needs.

Over the course of many dinners at one of the few restaurants that serve mixed race couples in New York's Greenwich Village, the four talk and discuss problems. Would Paris offer more freedom than hostile Manhattan? How should wives of writers better serve their husbands?

Is the problem for the women being wives of coloured men or is being the wives of writers? And how to work through rifts that are developing between them as friends.

We are left wondering how difficult it is to hold together any marriage - but those between powerful men and women who 'serve' them are particularly difficult, without factoring in the racial element.

This is a story about developing friendships and how the dynamics between a foursome can change. How hard it is to trust friends and then to forgive.

The play is recorded in New York where Caryl Phillips lives.

Caryl Phillips met and corresponded with these literary giants and their wives. It's a play that he has wanted to write for a long time.

Cast:
Richard Wright ...... Neil Dawson
CLR James ....... Andre Blake
Constance ........ Jennifer Van Dyck
Ellen ....... Lauren McCord
Gloria ..... Anne Bobby
Interviewer ...... Tom Datnow
FBI man ...... Moti Margolin
Waitress ...... Sydney Beveridge

Technical Production: Peregrine Andrews

Producer: Judith Kampfner
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:00 Making History (b015ck9g)
A new series of 'Making History'. Tom Holland, Helen Castor and Fiona Watson share the workload as we sift through listener's questions and research and turn to some of our leading historians for some answers.

Each week, the Making History team: tackles listeners questions; hears about the latest research and puts the Radio 4 audience at the heart of historical debate.

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


TUE 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b015ck9j)
Flann O' Brien - The Brother

Episode 1

The Brother
By Myles na Gopaleen (Flann O'Brien)

"Do you know what it is, the brother's an extraordinary genius."

Born on the 5th October 1911 in Strabane, Northern Ireland, Brian O'Nolan is perhaps best known as Flann O'Brien, the name under which he published his novels At Swim Two Birds, The Hard Life, The Dalkey Archive and The Third Policeman. Often described as one of the 'holy trinity' of modern Irish writers alongside Joyce and Beckett, he was notorious for writing under a range of pseudonyms and penned the daily 'Cruiskeen Lawn' column in the Irish Times as Myles na Gopaleen (na gCopaleen) from1940 until his death in 1966. Satirising the absurdities and ironies of Dublin life the Cruiskeen Lawn introduced a memorable and hilarious cast of characters; Keats and Chapman, The Plain People of Ireland and the extraordinary, eccentric and preposterous 'brother'.

To mark the centenary of his birth, a series of readings selected from O'Brien's 'Brother' articles, introduces us to one of his most peculiar and eccentric literary creations. An 'extraordinary genius' indeed, the brother is apparently an authority on almost every subject imaginable and has his finger in more pies than he has fingers! Living in digs with his long-suffering landlady and her lodgers, the brother believes that he really does know best about everything from medicine, to water purity, politics and policing, and, as we discover, there is no arguing with the brother!

Meet the inimitable 'brother' as Myles regales us with that most unusual of individual's latest exploits.

Read by Jim Norton with Kevin Moore.

Producer Heather Larmour.


TUE 15:45 The Call (b00y8tzn)
Series 2

Episode 2

Dominic Arkwright meets people who have made or received life-changing phone calls.

Alex Evans was shopping in an Aberystwyth DIY store with his mum when he took a call from his friend Mark Corbett. Mark said he was on board a ship in the Caribbean and that it was sinking. The radio wasn't working and the only number he could remember was his best friend's.

Alex grabbed a till receipt, borrowed a pen from his mum, and started to take down the details. Both are volunteers for the RNLI, but when Alex heard the name of the vessel in distress there was a moment of hesitation.

"When he said the yacht was called Titanic, I did have to ask if this was a wind-up. But there was real panic in his voice, so I knew it was the real thing.".


TUE 16:00 Tracing Your Roots (b015ck9l)
Series 6

What Happens Next: Part 1

When Sally and Nick are able to provide vital new clues for listeners, they often wish they knew what listeners decide to do next with this new found information. Today Sally and Nick follow up on a few of their favourite stories from past series and discover the remarkable consequences one tiny detail can lead to.....


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b015ck9n)
Michael Morpurgo and Sara Maitland

Former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo joins short story writer Sara Maitland and presenter Harriett Gilbert to talk about the books they love, and share their enthusiasm for their choices.

Their favourite books cover the globe from Venezuela to Edinburgh to Steep in Hampshire, where Michael Morpurgo and the subject of his book both lived. He chooses Under Storm's Wing by Helen Thomas, a collection of her memoirs and letters about life with one of Britain's best-loved poets.

Sara Maitland's book, House-Bound by Winifred Peck, is described by all three as a real oddity, a book unlike any other - but a rather good oddity.

And Harriett Gilbert picks The Sickness by Alberto Barrera Tyszka, a slender novel about a man with a terminal illness, which turns out to be surprisingly gripping.

Producer: Beth O'Dea

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.


TUE 17:00 PM (b015jhw8)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0153yrf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b00rblt5)
Series 3

The Fall of Phallon and the Rise of Bugatox

The hit Radio 4 series 'Fags, Mags & Bags' returns to the airwaves of Radio 4 with more shop based shenanigans and over the counter philosophy, courtesy of Ramesh Mahju and his trusty sidekick Dave. Originally broadcast in February 2010, this series 3 repeat enjoys a run in the 6.30pm comedy slot.

Written by and starring Donald Mcleary and Sanjeev Kohli 'Fags, Mags & Bags' has proved a hit with the Radio 4 audience with the show also collecting a Sony nomination and a Writers' Guild award in 2008. This series features guest appearances from Sylvester McCoy (7th Doctor Who) and Ron Donachie (Titanic).

In this episode: Ramesh takes it upon himself to reunite a local couple who've split up, and he has to get busy after the latest kids toy craze sweeps Lenzie.

Cast:
Ramesh ...... Sanjeev Kohli
Dave ..... Donald Mcleary
Sanjay ..... Omar Raza
Alok ..... Susheel Kumar
Father Henderson ..... Gerard Kelly
Ted ..... Gavin Mitchell
Gay Alan ..... Tom Urie
Phil ..... Stewart Cairns
Mrs Gibb ..... Marjory Hogarth
Keenan ..... Max Merrill

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


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b015ck9q)
Tom only covered his costs at the food fair but he made some good contacts. One in particular is a cheese producer who was advocating membership of HEFF (Heart of England Fine Foods). Tom thinks they should consider it. The bank has agreed that Pat and Tony can go interest only on their loans for six months. Helen and Tom agree this will give them a breathing space.

Jim discusses the latest book club novel, and suggests the apple-picking scene where the whole village join in would be wonderful to see at Grange Farm. Joe tells Jim that Clarrie's jobseeker's allowance won't be paid for weeks because she resigned from her job instead of waiting to be pushed.

Clarrie's doing an extra volunteer shift at the shop. She and Susan discuss Kenton and Jolene's relationship and compare it to the book club novel. Susan's worrying over the food for the evening.

Clarrie and Jim think Joe seems low. He loved all the fuss around his 90th birthday celebrations, but now he's lost his sense of purpose. Clarrie recalls how he was when they lost the farm, and is worried he'll slip back. Jim knows he's loath to talk about it, which doesn't surprise Clarrie.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b015ck9s)
Johnny Mathis and David Bailey

With John Wilson

In a rare interview, singer Johnny Mathis talks about his 55 year career, during which he has sold 350m records. Mathis talks about his operatic vocal training, reveals why he chose music over Olympic high-jumping, and recalls working with the band Chic on a disco album that has never been released.

Ewan McGregor and Eva Green star in Perfect Sense, a new film by David Mackenzie, in which a global epidemic begins to deprive people of their sensory perceptions. Critic Kate Muir reviews.

Gerhard Richter's work is being exhibited at Tate Modern, in the first major retrospective of the leading German artist in London for over 20 years. The collection spans nearly five decades and coincides with the artist's 80th birthday. Rachel Cooke reviews.

Photographer David Bailey revisits the East End of his childhood for his new mixed-media exhibition Hitler Killed The Duck. Bailey has been creating works which mix painting and photography for many decades and these works will be shown in public for the first time. Bailey discusses his passion for paint and those early trips to the local picture house during the war.

Producer Claire Bartleet.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b015ck92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b015ck9v)
Energy Prices

Household gas and electricity bills are set to soar, leaving millions at risk of 'fuel poverty' and vulnerable to cold as winter approaches.
The government's hopes for recovery in UK manufacturing industry are also threatened in key sectors by rocketing energy prices. Some small and medium-sized businesses have already been pushed into liquidation and there are fears that others will follow.
Politically, attention is now focusing on the behaviour of the so-called Big Six energy companies which supply 99% of the gas and electricity used in British homes.
The regulator OFGEM accuses them of 'complex and unfair pricing policies'. It wants to increase competition by making it simpler for customers to decide to switch suppliers. It finds that prices go up like a rocket but fall like a feather. And it wants greater disclosure of corporate accounting systems, to check for excessive profits.
Gerry Northam examines claims from some industry insiders that the Big Six are behaving as the banks did before the credit crunch - threatening economic recovery while believing they are too big to fail.
Producer: Samantha Fenwick.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b015ck9x)
In Touch at 50 - looking back and looking forward. 04/10/11

Fifty years ago this week the very first In Touch hit the airways on Network Three, the channel dedicated to minority programmes. We look at how the presenters over the years - all of whom have been visually impaired or blind - compiled their scripts and got to grips with working in radio.
Plus Peter White talks to Jane Copsey one of the early presenters and Damon Rose, founder and editor of the BBC's online programme for disabled people Ouch about the programme's future in the digital age.


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b015ck9z)
Antipsychotic Drugs - Breaking Habits - PTSD

People with severe mental disorders are at much greater risk of dying prematurely compared to the general population. How much are the drugs for some mental illnesses contributing to their risk of disease? Anti psychotic drugs can cause people to rapidly put weight on and increase the risk of developing conditions like heart disease and diabetes. Claudia talks to psychiatrist, Dr Alex Mitchell about whether psychiatrists are doing enough to monitor these potentially health threatening side effects in their patients and what needs to be done.

Can bad eating habits be changed just by changing the hand you use to eat? New research on cinema going popcorn eaters has found that these kind of strategies could be a very effective way of disrupting the brain processes in habitual behaviour. Dr David Neal from the University of Southern California explains.

Also in the programme marine, Jess Goodell talks about about her role in Mortuary Affairs in the US Marines. Her job was to recover the remains of soldiers in Iraq so they could be returned to the US. She talks about the psychological impact of retrieving bodies often in the aftermath of Improvised Explosive Devices. In her training she was told "PTSD is real - like 'flu." She discusses the reality of living with PTSD and how she dealt with the nightmares and depression on returning home to civilian life.


TUE 21:30 Capitalism on Trial (b015ck8y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b0153yrh)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b015ckb1)
Ken Clarke and Teresa May argue at the Conservative Party conference about a cat (and Article 8 of the Human Rights Act).

French and Belgian governments mount a rescue of a major bank with a serious debt problem.

South Africa refuses to let the Dalai Lama attend Desmond Tutu's 80th Birthday.Fingers are being pointed at China.

with Robin Lustig in London and Ritula Shah at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b015ckb3)
Catch 22

Episode 7

by Joseph Heller

Nately has fallen in love with a whore in Rome and Orr crash lands again and then attempts to persuade Yossarian to fly with him in future. Yossarian refuses. It is a decision that he will come to regret.

Abridged by Robin Brooks

Read by Stuart Milligan

Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane.


TUE 23:00 Old Harry's Game (b00j7vtm)
Series 7

Episode 6

Satan has worked how to return baby Patrick to Earth behind God's back.

But God is all-seeing and knows what Satan is up to. And now God is pretty angry.

Stars Andy Hamilton as Satan, Annette Crosbie as Edith, Robert Duncan as Scumspawn, Jimmy Mulville as Thomas and Timothy West as God.

Other roles played by Mike Fenton Stevens, Philip Pope and Felicity Montagu.

Written by Andy Hamilton.

Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2009.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b015ckb5)
Susan Hulme and the BBC's parliamentary team report on the day's top news stories from Westminster where the Lords are sitting but the Commons are in recess for party conferences. We report on complaints from peers that part-time students will lose out under the Government's proposals for tuition fees. Their views get a sympathetic hearing from a Government spokeswoman. There's a row at question-time over economic growth and there's a committee inquiry into investigative journalism. And we have a special report on whether knife crime legislation, currently going through Parliament, is tough enough.



WEDNESDAY 05 OCTOBER 2011

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b0153ys5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b015j70j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0153ys7)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0153ys9)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0153ysc)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b0153ysf)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b015clyp)
Presented by the Revd Neil Gardner, minister of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b015clyr)
Organic chicken will become a rarer sight on supermarket shelves according to the industry body. Currently the organic chicken market makes up less than 1% of the UK market. It is estimated that each week 100,000 organic chickens are eaten in the UK compared to 17 million non-organic birds. The British Poultry Council says the market will shrink in the future due to the cost of feed, new restrictions from the EU and consumers choosing cheaper chicken in the recession. The Soil Association, which is responsible for the organic certification scheme says shoppers should consider the bird's welfare and diet, as well as the cost when picking their Sunday lunch.

The barley harvest is almost in across the UK - and the yields are down by around 20% on average. The level of nitrogen in the barley will mean the maltsters, who mix the barley for beer, will have to re-calculate their recipes for this year.

Finally, Anna Hill meets a developer who is in favour of proposed changes to the planning rules in the National Planning Policy Framework, which has been put out to public consultation until October 17th.

Presenter: Anna Hill; Producer; Angela Frain.


WED 06:00 Today (b015clyt)
With James Naughtie and Sarah Montague. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b015clyw)
This week Libby Purves is joined by Peter Brookes, Alexandra Fuller, Albie Sachs and Niamh Cusack.

Peter Brookes is the political cartoonist for The Times newspaper and the current British Cartoonist of the Year. His book, 'Hard Times' is his latest collection of outrageous sketches of contemporary and political life. 'Hard Times' is published by Biteback Publishing.

Alexandra Fuller is a writer. Her new book 'Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness' is an exploration of her family; at its heart is the story of her mother, Nicola. Born on the Isle of Skye and raised in Kenya, Nicola holds dear the values most likely to get you killed in Africa: loyalty to blood, passion for land and the holy belief in the restorative power of all animals. 'Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness' is published by Simon & Schuster.

Albie Sachs is a former high-court judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and one of the architects of the South African constitution. During the apartheid years, whilst in exile in Mozambique, his car was blown up by South African security agents and he lost an arm and an eye. He republishes his book 'The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter', an account of his journey, and his country's, from apartheid to a new South Africa with a moving chapter in which he tries to explain to his young son about apartheid. 'The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter' is published by Souvenir Press.

Niamh Cusack is an Irish actor who has worked extensively in theatre and television. She became a household name in 1992 in ITV's 'Heartbeat' and was recently seen as Edith Davenport in the critically acclaimed production of Rattigan's 'Cause Célèbre' at The Old Vic, She is currently starring as Widow Quinn in JM Synge's 'The Playboy of the Western World' at The Old Vic in London.

Producer: Chris Paling.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b015j8fl)
The Castrato and His Wife

Episode 3

Helen Berry's astonishing new portrait of Giusto Ferdinando Tenducci, the celebrated 18th century castrato, and his love affair with a young Irish girl, Dorothea Maunsell.

In today's episode, Tenducci's growing fame takes him to Dublin, to sing in a season of operas in English. It's in Dublin that he first encounters a charismatic teenage girl, who will bring him adventures in love, but a brush with total ruin.

Read by Greta Scacchi
Abridged by Viv Beeby
Produced by Emma Harding

'The Castrato and His Wife' is published by Oxford University Press.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b015clyy)
Kirsten Dunst, Janet Baker, Tories losing female votes?

Presented by Jane Garvey. Actress Kirsten Dunst on her new film Melancholia, the Yorkshire-born mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker talks about her life and work, and why she took the decision to retire while still in her prime. And after recent opion polls showing women's support for the Tories and the Coalition is falling, we look at what the parties need to do to regain ground.


WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b015cmrr)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys - Series 2

Episode 3

Pepys goes to Westminster Abbey at four in the morning to get his place on the scaffold for the Coronation of Charles II. It's a long wait - the King doesn't arrive until eleven. Sam and Elizabeth celebrate with friends at their old house in Axe Yard. Everyone gets drunk at the party afterwards and in traditional British fashion Pepys ends the night vomiting but happy.

Samuel Pepys . . . Kris Marshall
Elizabeth Pepys. . . Katherine Jakeways
Mr Payne . . . Matthew Gravelle
Rebecca Allen . . . Rebecca Newman
Sir William . . . Richard Mitchley
John Pepys . . . Stephen Marzella
Mrs Pepys . . . Manon Edwards
Mrs Pierce . . . Siriol Jenkins

Theme music: Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May, words by Robert Herrick and music by William Lawes, sung by Bethany Hughes. Lute, baroque guitar and theorbo played by David Miller. Violin and viola by Annika Gray, and recorders by Alice Baxter.
Historical consultant: Liza Picard
Sound by Nigel Lewis

A BBC Cymru/Wales Production directed by Kate McAll.


WED 11:00 Who found Machu Picchu? (b015cmrt)
The story of Machu Picchu's discovery is one of myth, court cases and controversy. The popular account involves the central character, the prototype for Indiana Jones, Hiram Bingham, who in 1911 stumbled upon the ancient ruins of an Inca city lost in the jungle. As Peru celebrates the centenary of it being found, writer and explorer Hugh Thomson follows Bingham's footsteps into the Andes to unearth the truth and the controversies about its discovery.

So, was Bingham the first person to see Machu Picchu? A re-examination of his classic book, Lost City of the Incas, which describes the expedition and subsequent archaeological studies of the site, says otherwise. Behind the words is a determined and ambitious Yale professor who saw Machu Picchu as his ticket to world renown. In his quest, Bingham all too often blurred fact with fiction.

As a historian, he was ill equipped to interpret the artefacts he'd brought back to Yale but nevertheless put forward suppositions about why the Incas built Machu Picchu and what they used it for. Inflating its importance and hence his own, these myths - for example, that it was a spiritual retreat for the Virgins of the Sun - are still perpetuated today. So what was its real purpose?

The thousands of Inca artefacts Bingham took out of Peru have been cause for controversy as well, culminating in a fiercely fought court case. The Peruvian government sued Yale University for breaking the contract to return the Machu Picchu artefacts. Finally, the case has been settled and many of the artefacts have been returned - just in time for Peru's centenary celebrations, which are as much about reclaiming national pride and identity as world heritage.

Producer: Dom Byrne

A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in October 2011.


WED 11:30 Paul Temple (b015cmrw)
A Case for Paul Temple

7. In Which the Net Tightens

Acting on a tip-off, and with the Flying Squad standing by, Temple lays a trap in Piccadilly Underground Station.

In this 2011 recreation of the 1946 vintage crime serial, Paul and Steve brave great danger to reveal the identity of the mysterious West End drug dealer known only as 'Valentine'...

Crawford Logan stars as Paul Temple and Gerda Stevenson as Steve.

Between 1938 and 1968, Francis Durbridge's incomparably suave amateur detective Paul Temple and glamorous wife Steve solved case after baffling case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. They inhabited a sophisticated, well-heeled world of cocktails and fast cars.

Sadly, only half of their adventures survive in the archives. But in 2006, the BBC began recreating them using original scripts and incidental music, and recorded with vintage microphones and sound effects.

Paul Temple ...... Crawford Logan
Steve ...... Gerda Stevenson
Sir Graham ...... Gareth Thomas
Major Peters ...... Greg Powrie
Supt. Wetherby ...... Richard Greenwood
Sheila Baxter ...... Melody Grove
Mary ...... Eliza Langland
Charles Kelvin ...... Nick Underwood
Sir Gilbert Dryden ...... Michael Mackenzie
Jules Condré ...... John Paul Hurley
Supt. Bradley ...... Simon Tait

Producer: Patrick Rayner

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2011.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b015cms0)
Consumer news with Winifred Robinson.

A new report claims that some universities are upgrading students' marks because of increasing pressure to treat them as consumers and give them what they want.

And the demand for vintage mobile phones, some selling for more than a thousand pounds. All part of an increasing demand for retro gadgets.


WED 12:57 Weather (b0153ysj)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b015cnnc)
With Martha Kearney. National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


WED 13:30 The Media Show (b015cnnf)
Amanda Knox trial and sports rights

Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were freed from prison in Perugia on Monday, having had their convictions for murdering British student Meredith Kercher overturned. But, as the verdict was being read out, parts of the British media wrongly reported that Knox and Sollecito had lost their appeal. Steve Hewlett asks how the mistake came about and why the misinformation spread so rapidly.

The coverage of the trial has been described as a media circus, driven by the press and public's fascination with Amanda Knox. American journalist Nina Burleigh has argued that there is a serious problem with Italian reporters who failed to properly investigate the case or ask the right questions. Nina Burleigh and Marco Colombo ask whether there is really a problem with Italian investigative journalism.

A British landlady won her fight against the Premier League and Sky this week after the European Court ruled that she should be able to show Premiership football matches in her pub without buying a Sky box. To discuss what the ruling means for Sky and other broadcasters, Steve is joined by Ashling O'Connor, sports correspondent for The Times, and sports rights lawyer Morris Bentata.

The BBC is due to announce its Delivery Quality First proposals tomorrow, a new strategy designed to make savings for licence fee payers. Media commentator Maggie Brown explains which areas are likely to see cuts and what this may mean for BBC audiences.

The producer is Simon Tillotson.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b015ck9q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b015p5ft)
In the Family

In the Family by Sean Grundy. After ten years, Peter leaves Gillian for Laura. Distraught, Gillian goes round to Peter's parents to be consoled. They take her in - then things go a little weird.

Director: Alison Crawford.


WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b015cnnm)
Money Box Live with Paul Lewis and guests take your calls on energy and energy saving.

Many households will be facing higher bills over the next few months as the major six energy companies have all raised their prices. Is this the time to go for a fixed rate deal? Or if you want to change energy supplier what penalties might you face?

What are the best deals for people who use oil to heat their homes?

Or you might want to know more about how to cut your bills by installing a heat pump or solar panels. What are the do's and don'ts?

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


WED 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b015cnnp)
Flann O' Brien - The Brother

Episode 2

The Brother
By Myles na Gopaleen (Flann O'Brien)

"Do you know what it is, the brother's an extraordinary genius."

Born on the 5th October 1911 in Strabane, Northern Ireland, Brian O'Nolan is perhaps best known as Flann O'Brien, the name under which he published his novels At Swim Two Birds, The Hard Life, The Dalkey Archive and The Third Policeman. Often described as one of the 'holy trinity' of modern Irish writers alongside Joyce and Beckett, he was notorious for writing under a range of pseudonyms and penned the daily 'Cruiskeen Lawn' column in the Irish Times as Myles na Gopaleen (na gCopaleen) from1940 until his death in 1966. Satirising the absurdities and ironies of Dublin life the Cruiskeen Lawn introduced a memorable and hilarious cast of characters; Keats and Chapman, The Plain People of Ireland and the extraordinary, eccentric and preposterous 'brother'.

To mark the centenary of his birth, a series of readings selected from O'Brien's 'Brother' articles, introduces us to one of his most peculiar and eccentric literary creations. An 'extraordinary genius' indeed, the brother is apparently an authority on almost every subject imaginable and has his finger in more pies than he has fingers! Living in digs with his long-suffering landlady and her lodgers, the brother believes that he really does know best about everything from medicine, to water purity, politics and policing, and, as we discover, there is no arguing with the brother!

Meet the inimitable 'brother' as Myles regales us with that most unusual of individual's latest exploits.

Read by Jim Norton with Kevin Moore.

Producer Heather Larmour.


WED 15:45 The Call (b00yj5vd)
Series 2

Answerphone Messages

Dominic Arkwright meets people who have made or received life-changing phone calls.

When he bought a brand new ansaphone machine back in 1985, Mark Craig decided not to re-cycle his tapes but to keep them all in a box. Twenty years later he opened the box and started to listen back to the audio diary of his life that he had inadvertently created.

"I went to a remote house in Devon and spent days just listening to voices from my past. It was like therapy. It was their lives, but it was the story of my life as well."

Carefully selecting messages to create a short film, Mark ended up with both a very personal story and a tale of "everyman", growing through reckless youth, loss, birth and eventually, wisdom.


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b015cnnt)
Surnames - War, Politics and comic strip Superheroes

Laurie Taylor talks to Marc DiPaolo and Matthew Sweet about the relationship between war, politics and comic strip superheroes. He also examines the importance of surnames, especially for children, exploring a new article by Dr Hayley Davies from Kings College London.

Producer Chris Wilson.


WED 16:30 All in the Mind (b015ck9z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 17:00 PM (b015cnny)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0153ysl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 The Castle (b00h8ym4)
Series 2

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Filled With Helium

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

In this episode, love is in the air as a new suitor for Anne puts De Warenne's visor firmly out of joint. Meanwhile, a primitive SatNav and some surgically-introduced helium cause chaos at the altar...

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

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

Produced and directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b015cnp1)
Jennifer wants to hear all about Alice's university course. They read a letter from Ruairi, who seems to be doing ok.

Jim tells Joe that with the help of the community, they could return the orchard to its original state - but it would need Joe to be the grand overseer. After some persuasion Joe warms to the idea, and agrees that Jim could have a word with Oliver.

Susan's in a panic. She's been to visit her mum and found her brother, Clive, there. He's been given permission to leave his bail hostel for a few days because Ivy is ill. Susan's got no illusions about her brother, and wants Neil to stay at home as she is hosting the book club there.

As Usha and Jennifer discuss the novel, Susan's on edge. Jim and Joe's late arrival sends her into total panic, thinking it's Clive at the door. Jennifer asks Susan if she's ok and Susan reveals that Clive is back Jennifer is both sympathetic and horrified. Usha and Jennifer insist she mustn't let her brother ruin the evening. Susan despairs. Clive ruins everything. That's exactly what he does, over and over again.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b015cnp4)
Kenneth Branagh talks to Mark Lawson

Actor and director Kenneth Branagh returns to the stage in his native Belfast this week in Sean Foley's adaptation of the French farce The Painkillers, alongside Rob Brydon.

In this Front Row special, Kenneth Branagh reflects on returning to Belfast, and looks back over his extensive career on stage, film and TV, which has featured Shakespeare, Chekhov, John Osborne, Hollywood movies and the role of the weary police inspector in the British TV adaptation of Henning Mankell's best-selling Wallander crime novels.

Producer Jerome Weatherald.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b015cmrr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b015cnys)
Human Rights Act

It's blamed for everything it seems from stopping us deporting terrorists to allowing prisoners the right to watch sport on TV. Looking at the press the Human Rights Act could do with a new PR agency. The act enshrines the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law. And Home Secretary Theresa May is the latest to fire a broadside at it. The Act should be scrapped and replaced with a British Bill of Rights she says and this week she announced plans to change the law so that foreign criminals may no longer be able to avoid deportation by claiming a "right to family life." The coalition has set up a commission to report on the possibility of bringing in a Bill of Rights for the UK to replace the Human Rights Act, by the end of the year. Is the Act protecting and promoting our fundamental rights and liberty? Or is it a criminal's charter that makes a mockery of British justice? How should we best balance the public good and the private entitlement? How would we in Britain define human rights differently from the European Convention? Are rights granted by the state or grounded in more fundamental values such a religion? With the changing nature of society and the moral values that it holds dear, is their even such a thing as an inalienable human right?

Witnesses
James Bartholomew - Author of "The welfare state we're in"
Shami Chakrabarti - Director of Liberty
Jonathan Cooper QC - Human Rights Lawyer at Doughty Street Chambers
David Conway - Professor of Philosophy at the University of Essex

Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk with Clifford Longley, Kenan Malik, Melanie Phillips and Michael Portillo.


WED 20:45 Four Thought (b015cnyv)
Series 2

Cindy Gallop: Embracing Zero Privacy

Advertising guru Cindy Gallop argues that if as businesses and individuals we define what we stand for and stay true to it, we could embrace a world of zero privacy.

Cindy describes her own embrace of zero privacy as rather more extreme than most, after a frank admission two years ago which has since gone viral online.

She explains why she designed her internet startup to require its users to pause and reflect on what they stand for, and urges people from every walk of life to redesign their lives around what they want to do.

Four Thought is a series of talks which combine thought provoking ideas and engaging storytelling.

Recorded in front of an audience at the RSA in London, speakers take to the stage to air their latest thinking on the trends, ideas, interests and passions that affect our culture and society.

Producer: Giles Edwards.


WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b015cnyx)
High Speed Hell?

What you hear is not necessarily what you're getting. We all have our pet noise hates, but experts tell us that the nuisance caused by noise depends on a number of factors and certainly not just volume. For this week's Costing The Earth, Tom Heap consults the experts and discovers that our response to noise is not only subjective, it is easily influenced by context and even what we can see.

Tom also looks at the environmental impact of major construction projects and asks what more could be done to limit the damage. Money, politics and diligent campaigning all have a part to play in ensuring that the latest technology is brought into play. Throw enough money at the problem and major projects like the High Speed rail line between London and Birmingham be significantly quieter and less disruptive than campaigners fear.


WED 21:30 Midweek (b015clyw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b0153ysn)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b015jj0w)
Cameron addresses the Conservatives - we get reaction from voters and analysts
Why Russia vetoed a UN resolution on Syria
President Karzai ends his two day visit to India.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b015cnyz)
Catch 22

Episode 8

by Joseph Heller

Orr is lost and, flying with McWatt, Yossarian is terrified by his gung-ho attitude and low-level flying, which is to have horrific consequences at the beach.

Abridged by Robin Brooks

Read by Stuart Milligan

Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane.


WED 23:00 Don't Start (b015cnz1)
Series 1

Text

A text sparks the first of Neil and Kim's arguments. Via a Greek chorus, a not eating celery pact and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the couple spectacularly fail to agree.

What do long term partners really argue about? Sharp comedy from Frank Skinner. A masterclass in the great art of arguing. Starring Frank Skinner and Katherine Parkinson.

Well observed, clever and funny, Don't Start is a scripted comedy with a deceptively simple premise - an argument. Each week, our couple fall out over another apparently trivial flashpoint - a text from a friend, a trilby and a bad night's sleep. Each week, the stakes mount as Neil and Kim battle with words. But these are no ordinary arguments. The two outdo each other with increasingly absurd images, unexpected literary references (Androcles and the Lion pop up at one point) and razor sharp analysis of their beloved's weaknesses.


WED 23:15 The Music Teacher (b00sdcxq)
Series 1

Episode 3

Another week shut away in a tiny windowless practice room for music teacher Nigel Penny in this aural feast of a musical comedy written by and starring 2009 Writers' Guild Award winner Richie Webb. Featuring Vicki Pepperdine as Arts Centre Manager Belinda.

Episode 3 sees Nigel suffering his usual succession of bizarre pupils - an asthmatic flautist and a thrash metal guitarist proving particularly trying. And though Belinda is demanding to use his tiny room to hide booze from the Peruvian Pan Pipe band booked into the Arts Centre that evening, it's having to share his tiny room with an unwanted boorish guest that threatens to take the gloss off Nigel's already rubbish day.

Cast:
Nigel Penny ...... Richie Webb
Belinda ...... Vicki Pepperdine
Other roles by Dave Lamb, Jim North and Jess Robinson

Written by Richie Webb

Produced by Richie Webb
Directed by Nick Walker
A Top Dog production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b015cnz3)
Alicia McCarthy with the day's top news stories from Westminster.



THURSDAY 06 OCTOBER 2011

THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b015j8fl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0153ytd)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0153ytg)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0153ytj)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b0153ytl)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b015cpfh)
Presented by the Revd Neil Gardner, minister of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b015cpfk)
Farmers are under pressure from the Government to produce more food. Charlotte Smith asks if the proposed planning laws will help or hinder food production.

Farming Today visits a cucumber and pepper grower on greenbelt land in Essex who wants to build an anaerobic digester to help him produce vegetables the whole year round. He claims the National Policy Planning Framework is unlikely to improve his chances of success.

British pig farmers claim they are losing money to cheap imports from European countries with lower welfare standards. But the EU will introduce a partial ban on using restrictive stalls in January 2013. These are already illegal in the UK, so Charlotte asks Farming Minister Jim Paice what a partial ban means and if shoppers will find the different levels of welfare for their bacon and ham confusing.

Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.


THU 06:00 Today (b015cpfm)
With James Naughtie and Evan Davis. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b015cpfp)
David Hume

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work of the philosopher David Hume. A key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment of the eighteenth century, Hume was an empiricist who believed that humans can only have knowledge of things they have themselves experienced. Hume made a number of significant contributions to philosophy. He saw human nature as a manifestation of the natural world, rather than something above and beyond it. He gave a sceptical account of religion, which caused many to suspect him of atheism. He was also the author of a bestselling History of England. His works, beginning in 1740 with A Treatise of Human Nature, have influenced thinkers from Adam Smith to Immanuel Kant and Charles Darwin, and today he is regarded by some scholars as the most important philosopher ever to write in English.With:Peter MillicanProfessor of Philosophy at the University of OxfordHelen BeebeeProfessor of Philosophy at the University of BirminghamJames HarrisSenior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of St AndrewsProducer: Thomas Morris.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b015j8qm)
The Castrato and His Wife

Episode 4

Helen Berry's astonishing new portrait of Giusto Ferdinando Tenducci, the celebrated 18th century castrato, and his love affair with a young Irish girl, Dorothea Maunsell.

In today's episode, the couple are apprehended by Dorothea's parents and separated. But Dorothea proves her tenacity and her determination to remain with her husband.

Read by Greta Scacchi
Abridged by Viv Beeby
Produced by Emma Harding

'The Castrato and His Wife' is published by Oxford University Press.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b015cpfr)
Presented by Jane Garvey. The actress Olivia Colman on her new film Tyrannosaur. We look at the problem of undetected HIV amongst various groups including older women, Deborah Bull talks about her new book and what it means to be a dancer, and are women starting the wrong types of businesses?


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b015cpft)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys - Series 2

Episode 4

Pepys' friend Captain Ferrers is so excited at the possibility of going to sea with Lord Sandwich that he jumps straight through a top floor window and survives, much to Pepys' amazement. Later in the year, when his Uncle dies, Pepys goes to the house to help. He finds his uncle's papers in a mess, his aunt deranged, and a rapidly deteriorating corpse. Dramatised by Hattie Naylor.

Samuel Pepys . . . Kris Marshall
Elizabeth Pepys . . . Katherine Jakeways
Captain Ferrers . . . Ewan Bailey
Edward Montague, Lord Sandwich . . . Blake Ritson
John Pepys . . . Stephen Marzella
Aunt . . . Manon Edwards
Jane . . . Rebecca Newman
Paulina . . . Rebecca Scott
Captain Robert Holmes . . . Andrew Wincott

Theme music: Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May, words by Robert Herrick and music by William Lawes, sung by Bethany Hughes. Lute, baroque guitar and theorbo played by David Miller. Violin and viola by Annika Gray, and recorders by Alice Baxter.
Historical consultant: Liza Picard
Sound by Nigel Lewis

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


THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b015cpfw)
The BBC's foreign correspondents take a closer look at the stories behind the headlines.


THU 11:30 Lyrical Journey (b015cpfy)
Series 1

Raintown

Deacon Blue's 'Raintown' (from the album of the same name) has a special place in the hearts of many Glaswegians. Released in 1987 at the start of a great period of change for the city, it has come to symbolise home, and a particular attitude.

Ricky Ross is the the band's lyricist and singer - he explains to presenter Jonathan Maitland that his association of Glasgow with rain was inspired partly by shock - shock at how wet the weather was in the city when he moved there from Dundee, and that it is something of a surprise that the name 'Raintown' has come to mean so much to him and others. To find out why this should be the case, Jonathan looks at other representations of rain in Glasgow and discovers that there have been surprisingly few artists and writers who have wanted to dwell on the damp. Many Glaswegians think that carrying an umbrella means you are paying the weather too much attention.

As a finale - Ricky performs a special acoustic version of the song at a piano bar in the city centre; he's joined in the audience by a new Glasgow band who have named themselves after the song, and a music journalist who feels that the song literally changed her life.


THU 12:00 You and Yours (b015cpg0)
Consumer news with Winifred Robinson.

September is a big month for the car industry in the UK. The new 61 plate went on sale on Sept 1st; will sales continue the slight upward drift that they have experienced for most of this year?

Cheddar cheese is getting sweeter. At least it is if you buy one of the popular brands from the supermarkets where brands like Cathedral City and Pilgrim are using a 'sweeter' bacteria to produce Britain's most popular cheese.

What does austerity mean for the German consumer? The German tax payer is being asked to pay out billions to save the weaker economies in the south of the EU like Greece ; How do Germans feel about this and how has it affected their consumer habits.

The Office of Fair Trading has withdrawn the licence of more than 60 debt management companies. they say that some are offering bad advice and others are levying unfair charges for their service on people already under a great deal of financial pressure.

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the BBC Radio programme 'In Touch'. We look back at some of the presenters and stories in the stand that highlights issues of concern to blind people.


THU 12:57 Weather (b0153ytn)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b015jj18)
With Martha Kearney. National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


THU 13:30 Costing the Earth (b015cnyx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:00 The Archers (b015cnp1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b015cpg2)
Hinterland

Hinterland
by Francis Turnly

When Garda officer Detective Sergeant Roisin MacKenna is called to the scene of a murder not far from the border between the North and South of Ireland she soon finds that boundaries, both geographical and moral, become blurred.

A body has been found buried in an Irish peat bog. Identified as a farmer from Northern Ireland, Roisin is thrust into working with a PSNI counterpart, Darren Quinn, as her investigation takes her into the murky hinterland of the border area where nothing and no one is quite what they seem.

Working together, Roisin and Darren must negotiate the limitations of their own jurisdictions and face up to the ambiguities of upholding the law in a landscape virtually impossible to police.

Writer Francis Turnly's first radio play Pressing the Flesh, was short-listed for the Imison Award in 2003. Subsequent work for Radio 4 includes Point of Departure, Homestead and Shelter, an episode of the detective series Baldi.

Producer/Director Heather Larmour.


THU 15:00 Ramblings (b015b91y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:07 on Saturday]


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b015bqbc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Afternoon Reading (b015cr9h)
Flann O' Brien - The Brother

Episode 3

The Brother
By Myles na Gopaleen (Flann O'Brien)

"Do you know what it is, the brother's an extraordinary genius."

Born on the 5th October 1911 in Strabane, Northern Ireland, Brian O'Nolan is perhaps best known as Flann O'Brien, the name under which he published his novels At Swim Two Birds, The Hard Life, The Dalkey Archive and The Third Policeman. Often described as one of the 'holy trinity' of modern Irish writers alongside Joyce and Beckett, he was notorious for writing under a range of pseudonyms and penned the daily 'Cruiskeen Lawn' column in the Irish Times as Myles na Gopaleen (na gCopaleen) from 1940 until his death in 1966. Satirising the absurdities and ironies of Dublin life the Cruiskeen Lawn introduced a memorable and hilarious cast of characters; Keats and Chapman, The Plain People of Ireland and the extraordinary, eccentric and preposterous 'brother'.

To mark the centenary of his birth, a series of readings selected from O'Brien's 'Brother' articles, introduces us to one of his most peculiar and eccentric literary creations. An 'extraordinary genius' indeed, the brother is apparently an authority on almost every subject imaginable and has his finger in more pies than he has fingers! Living in digs with his long-suffering landlady and her lodgers, the brother believes that he really does know best about everything from medicine, to water purity, politics and policing, and, as we discover, there is no arguing with the brother!

Meet the inimitable 'brother' as Myles regales us with that most unusual of individual's latest exploits.

Read by Jim Norton with Kevin Moore.

Producer Heather Larmour.


THU 15:45 The Call (b00yqn6s)
Series 2

The Samaritans

Dominic Arkwright meets people who have made life-changing phone calls.

Following a failed suicide attempt, Duncan Irvine made a phone call to the Samaritans that saved his life.

In the 1970's Duncan lived in a small village in the Scottish borders with his mother, who was suffering from mental health problems.

"She started hearing voices, and told me that the TV was talking to her. She would write down strange things like car numbers and putting them in my pocket. I got no help from our local doctor and I thought not helping her was my fault."

Duncan was also struggling with the realisation that he was gay.

"I felt guilty and ashamed about it all, and was afraid of speaking to anyone. I was depressed but no-one used that word then. Depressed was how you felt when Rangers lost at Ibrox."

One day at work, the pressure overwhelmed him and he tried to cut his wrists. When that didn't work, he thought about throwing himself into the sea. As he walked the streets of Edinburgh, he saw a poster for the Samaritans and decided to give them a call.

"Everything had been going round in my head and it seemed so big I couldn't cope with it....Talking through it made me realise maybe there are some things I can do about this a little bit at a time."

Duncan now runs a pub in London and volunteers for the Samaritans.


THU 16:00 Bookclub (b015brn8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:30 Material World (b015crkj)
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.

Producer: Fiona Roberts


THU 17:00 PM (b015jhx7)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0153ytq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 So Wrong It's Right (b00scw1t)
Series 1

Episode 2

Charlie Brooker presents the new comedy panel show that seeks the best in wrong answers. He plunders his guests' pasts and creativity over a series of rounds in which panellists have to be wrong to be right.

Comedians Lee Mack, Josie Long and Tom Basden are the guest panel for this edition. Their worst experiences on public transport and the wrongest ideas for high concept restaurants are up for comedy discussion.

Plus Lee Mack takes Charlie to task over his chief modern pleasure - the social network Twitter.

Producer: Aled Evans
A Zeppotron production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b015crkl)
Mike tells Kenton that Roy and Hayley miss him at Lower Loxley. They're still adjusting to Phoebe being away too. Mike reckons Elizabeth must miss him too.

Kenton asks if he can store some of his magazines in Ruth and David's attic but they refuse. Ruth and David are clearing the barn, ready for the harvest supper on Sunday.

Kenton returns to Lower Loxley with his boxes of magazines. Elizabeth's happy for him to keep them there. He stays for a catch up.

Bert is in The Bull, giving Rhys the history of Clive. They discuss the many terrible incidents involving him, including arson attacks, armed robbery and burglaries.

Mike's waiting to hear if he's got the job on the green burial site. David joins him just as he hears that he's been successful, and offers to buy him a pint to celebrate.

At the bar, Rhys is still gossiping about the gory details of Clive's crimes. David finds no humour in the situation and insists it's not the subject for tittle-tattle. There are still too many victims in the village.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b015crkn)
Driving Miss Daisy; Des O'Connor

With Mark Lawson.

Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones star in a new stage production of Driving Miss Daisy, the Pulitzer prize-winning play which inspired an Oscar-winning film. Peter Kemp reports from the opening night.

Des O'Connor has worked as an entertainer for over 45 years, including over 1000 appearances on the London Palladium stage. Now - at the age of 79 - he is making his debut in a West End musical, in Dreamboats and Petticoats. He reflects on his career, including the jokes made by Morecambe and Wise.

Frank Cottrell Boyce has written sequels to Ian Fleming's children's adventure Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, with the blessing of the Fleming Estate. He discusses the challenges of continuing a children's classic.

The Swedish poet Tomas Transtroemer has won the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature. Writer Anders Roslund reflects on how the news has been received in Sweden.

Producer Jerome Weatherald.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b015cpft)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 The Report (b015crkq)
School Exclusions

The rate of school exclusions, both permanent and fixed term, has fallen over the past decade as successive governments have sought to keep children in education. Samantha Washington goes behind the figures and finds that an apparent success story may be masking systemic failures. Some students are being unofficially and illegally excluded without access to education. The Department of Education has estimated that thousands of excluded students go missing from school rolls. And where alternative provision for excluded pupils is provided, it operates in "a largely uninspected and unregulated sector." (OFSTED, June 2011) The costs are high, not only for the children but for society - many of those who are excluded never get an education, never work and all too often wind up in jail.


THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b015crks)
Startups and Mistakes

The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion, statistics and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies.

Evan asks his panel if it's getting easier to create a new business in the wired world, or does a lower barrier to entry mean it's more difficult to get noticed? They also consider how good businesses are built on the back of mistakes.

Evan is joined in the studio by Matt Brittin, managing director of Google, UK and Ireland; Lara Morgan, founder of Pacific Direct and Company Shortcuts; Luke Johnson, serial entrepreneur and chairman of Risk Capital Partners.

Producer: Ben Crighton.


THU 21:00 Saving Species (b015ck94)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Tuesday]


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b015cpfp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:58 Weather (b0153yts)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b015jj1b)
With Robin Lustig. National and international news and analysis.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b015crrc)
Catch 22

Episode 9

by Joseph Heller

Yossarian begs Nately not to volunteer for any more missions. Nately's whore has finally fallen in love with Nately, just before he is lost on a bombing raid to La Spezia. Nately's whore holds Yossarian responsible for Nately's death and comes after him with first a potato peeler then a bread knife.

Abridged by Robin Brooks

Read by Stuart Milligan

Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane.


THU 23:00 Very Old Pretenders (b015crrf)
On Television

The last episode in the present series of Carl Gorham's culture clash comedy. With his marriage under severe strain, Andrew Merron introduces the Jacobites to the world of television. He attempts to turn the radio show he is making into a TV series and is on the verge of a deal when the executive in charge accidentally insults the scots and they attack him with his own Bafta. A depressed Merron then finds his wife has left him and hits the bottle, introducing the men to the ways of modern self -pity. The picture looks hopeless till Merron finds help from an unlikely source.

Cast:
Andrew Merron......................David Haig
Denise Merron..................Rebecca Front
Rab ....................................Jack Docherty
Macdonald........................Gordon Kennedy
David Roberts ...... Nicholas Burns

Producer: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b015crrh)
Sean Curran reports on a busy day at Westminster. On the programme :
* Complaints that too much legislation is being rushed through Parliament,
* Claims that a Scottish civil servant is too nationalist in outlook,
* Peers debate what can be done about Britain's obesity problem,
* A preview of next week's big Lords debate on the Bill that shakes up the NHS in England.



FRIDAY 07 OCTOBER 2011

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b0153yvc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b015j8qm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0153yvf)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0153yvh)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0153yvk)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b0153yvm)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b015csl5)
Presented by the Revd Neil Gardner, minister of Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b015csl7)
Planning Minister Greg Clarke says new planning proposals will give rural communities more say in decision making in their area. In an interview with Charlotte Smith, Mr Clarke answers listeners questions about the controversial National Planning Policy Framework.

Government plans to pay householders, businesses and industries to generate and use their own renewable heat have been delayed. The money was proposed to help pay for installing systems like anaerobic digesters or biomass boilers. The National Farmers Union says the people who have invested in infrastructure expecting the support tariff, are now suffering financially. The Government says it is still committed to the scheme and hopes to start it in November.

And Adam Henson visits one of the finalists for this year's Farmer of the Year for the Food and Farming Awards. Andrew Hughes has a 700 acre farm in Hampshire. He grows wheat, barley and oilseed rape alongside a herd of White Park Cattle. He is also passionate about conservation and education. He challenges Adam to identify a variety of native trees on a part of the farm set aside for school visits.

Presenter: Charlotte Smith; Producer: Angela Frain.


FRI 06:00 Today (b015csl9)
With James Naughtie and Justin Webb. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b015bqbm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b015j7l1)
The Castrato and His Wife

Episode 5

Helen Berry's astonishing new portrait of Giusto Ferdinando Tenducci, the celebrated 18th century castrato, and his love affair with a young Irish girl, Dorothea Maunsell.

In today's episode, Giusto and Dorothea Tenducci begin a new life in Italy, but their marriage soon comes under strain.

Read by Greta Scacchi
Abridged by Viv Beeby
Produced by Emma Harding

'The Castrato and His Wife' is published by Oxford University Press.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b015cslc)
Mobile Phone Novels, Women in the Dock, Buffalo Gals

Horrible Histories author Terry Deary has launched what's thought to be the first mobile phone novel in the UK. Known as 'keitai' novels the trend is already well established in Japan. Should parents embrace or resist the trend towards digital books - does it matter if kids only read e-books in future?
She was called "Foxy Knoxy" and a "She-Devil" in court, but as Amanda Knox walks free from her murder charge just what was it about her that made her so infamous? And what does the unmatched media frenzy say about our changing attitudes to women accused?
Kate Lissauer started playing Appalachian mountain music as a teenager in her native Maryland. Now living in Somerset she's recruited a group of English musicians and dancers to her Old Time String Band, The Buffalo Gals. They play the front-porch music of the early settlers. Felicity Finch meets the Gals at Didmarton Blue Grass Festival.
More women in Asia are choosing to stay single - or get married later in life according to recent research. And whilst it maybe good news for women gaining more personal freedom and career independence - what are the implications if more women choose to reject marriage in countries where sex selection abortion is practised?
Presented by Sheila McClennon.


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b015cslf)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys - Series 2

Episode 5

Pepys plays a trick on Sir William by stealing his silver tankard and sending an anonymous ransom note demanding thirty shillings for its return. The diarist ends 1661 as he began, worrying that he's spending too much money on going to see plays and drinking wine. He makes a resolution to be much more restrained in his pleasures next year.

Samuel Pepys . . . Kris Marshall
Elizabeth Pepys . . . Katherine Jakeways
Will . . . John Biddle
Captain Ferrers . . . Ewan Bailey
Sir William . . . Richard Mitchley

Theme music: Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May, words by Robert Herrick and music by William Lawes, sung by Bethany Hughes. Lute, baroque guitar and theorbo played by David Miller. Violin and viola by Annika Gray, and recorders by Alice Baxter.
Historical consultant: Liza Picard
Sound by Nigel Lewis

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


FRI 11:00 Home from Home (b015cslh)
Mumbai

As India's economy has boomed, many British Indians - born or brought up in the UK to immigrant Indian parents - have been encouraged to make the reverse journey.

In two programmes Hardeep Singh Kohli visits the centres of Bangalore and Mumbai and tracks down some of those who have decided to change their lives and make a go of it in India. But do they see themselves as Indian or British? What do they relish and what do they miss?

In the second programme Hardeep is in Mumbai - 20 million people crammed into this coastal centre offering everything from Bollywood to Banking. One of the most successful British entrepreneurs is Nanesh Patel who from his factory in Leicester managed to export samosas to Chennai. So successful and so tasty was their reception that he built a factory in Gujerat and now sends them throughout India and the world. An equally successful export is the rap singer Hard Kaur. Born in India she came with her mother and brother to Birmingham when she was 12 and started singing after leaving school. But, as she tells Hardeep, it was the Indian fans that have made her a huge star, and though she returns to visit her mother in Birmingham, Mumbai is her base.

There's also Anita Patel from Leicester who's running her wedding planner service taking couples to glamorous locations, and Yusuf Hatia who's set up a public relations company from scratch and feels the dynamism and energy.

Would Hardeep join these and the others who have taken the plunge and sought new opportunities in India? He tests his own talents as a stand-up performer when he does a gig at the Mumbai Comedy Store, an offshoot of the London centre for stand-up comedians and aimed at the young liberal Mumbai middleclass. If they laugh loud and long enough, would he be tempted...

Producer: Richard Bannerman
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 11:30 Clare in the Community (b015ctw6)
Series 7

Rude Girl

Social Worker, Clare Barker, is concerned she may be linguistically out of touch with today's youth. Brian fails to impress Clare with numerous romantic gestures. A Heating Engineer causes a stir in the Family Centre and Megan causes chaos.

Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.

A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.

Each week we join Clare in her continued struggle to control both her professional and private life

In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.

Episode Three 'Rude Girl' Cast:

SALLY PHILLIPS Clare
ALEX LOWE Brian
NINA CONTI Megan / Nali / Beautician
RICHARD LUMSDEN Ray
LIZA TARBUCK Helen
ANDREW WINCOTT Simon / John Harris / Youth Leader
SARAH KENDALL Libby
NATHAN CATON Daniel
GERARD McDERMOT Mr Truscott / Barman / Paramedic
STEFAN RAMSDEN Thomas

Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden
Producer Katie Tyrrell.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.


FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b015ctw8)
In Touch's 50th Birthday Party

A celebration of the achievements of blind people reflected in the 50th Anniversary of In Touch. (First broadcast 8th October 1961)

In a special one hour programme recorded in the Radio Theatre with a live audience, Peter White brings together an array of talented blind and visually impaired people from the politics, entertainment and music Joining in the celebration will be David Blunket, Sue Townsend, Ryan Kelly from the Archers, Opera singer Denise Leigh and national treasure Denis Norden.
Producer; Cheryl Gabriel.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b0153yvp)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b015jj1x)
With Shaun Ley. National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


FRI 13:30 Feedback (b015ctwb)
"Inane", "patronising" and "cultural vandalism" are just a few of the comments you have made about the recent changes to the BBC Radio 3 schedule. This week Roger puts your concerns to controller Roger Wright, discussing new programmes including Essential Classics, and listener criticism that breakfast is sounding more like Classic FM.

As the results of the "Delivering Quality First" consultation are finally announced, we'll be finding out what this cost-cutting strategy is going to mean for listeners. Roger will analyse the announcement with Torin Douglas and then discuss it's impact with Lord Patten, chair of the BBC Trust.

And we introduce a brand new feature: the Feedback Listening Club. We are looking for small groups of Feedback listeners to select a BBC radio programme, listen to it, and then get together for a recorded discussion of their thoughts on their chosen programme. First up is 'Open Book'. If you're interested and would like more information, please email feedback@bbc.co.uk

Producer: Karen Pirie
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b015crkl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Bad Faith (b015ctwd)
Insha'Allah

by Peter Jukes
Insha'Allah

Jake is three months into his secondment in West Yorkshire. It's spring and love is in the air, but during an investigation into a missing Muslim teenager, Jake gives out more information than he should, unleashing violent elements beyond his control.

Jake Thorne ..... Lenny Henry
Edie Gosling ..... Nadine Marshall
Kevin Stanhope ..... Conrad Nelson
Alyssa Mayes ..... Seroca Davis
Tony Wingard ..... Clive Russell
Chief Supt Sufiq Khan ..... Vincent Ebrahim
Azad Hasan ..... Pushpinder Chani
Marianne Brown ..... Claire Benedict
Omar Mohammed ..... Peter Polycarpou
Traffic Police Officer ..... Carl Prekopp

directed by Mary Peate


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b015ctwg)
Stoke Poges

Peter Gibbs chairs this gardening discussion from Buckinghamshire with Bob Flowerdew, Pippa Greenwood and Christine Walkden.

Pippa Greenwood visits two local Poinsettia growers to find out how to turn them red in time for Christmas.
Matthew Wilson invites us to observe how he transforms his new, family, urban garden.

Also, why you should plant your roses in cardboard boxes, and never add fresh woodchip to your beds.

Questions answered in the programme:
A GQT panellist once suggested sowing a second set of runner beans in August. Are there more late-sowing, late-cropping veg I can try?
Suggestions included, peas, beetroot, swiss chard & 'Rocket' potatoes.

How can I encourage my Canna Purpuria to flower in early summer instead of early autumn?
How can I grow decent radishes?
When is the best time to lift Dahlias?
My two year-old Hydrangea Quercifolia has never flowered and its leaves are bronzing. What is wrong with it?
How can I tackle Rose Replant Disorder?
How can I prevent mildew on my cucumbers, marrows and Begonias?
When is the best time to prune a box hedge?
Which small, erect shrub can I grow within my pergola?
Suggestions included: Skyrocket Jupiter, Winter Box, Elaeagnus Quicksilver and Choiysa Ternata 'Sundance'

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


FRI 15:45 The Call (b00yyg1w)
Series 2

Forensics

Dominic Arkwright talks to Professor Peter French of York University about the art and science of forensic acoustics, including speaker profiling, voice line-ups, and sound enhancement.

Developments in new technology mean that sound recordings can be examined and prepared for use in extortion, blackmail and murder trials. Also, the proliferation of digital recordings in all walks of life mean that copies of recordings for evidential purposes can now be taken from mobile telephones, voicemail services, digital dictaphones, digital answer phones and other devices. So just how much information can be extracted from a phone call, and how much of ourselves do we reveal in conversation?


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b015ctwj)
Steve Jobs, Bert Jansch, Ralph Steinman and Robert Whitaker

Radio 4's obituary programme with Matthew Bannister asks

What made Steve Jobs tick? We review a life that changed our world with his friend and advisor of forty years.

Also Bert Jansch - the guitarists' guitarist whose style ranged from jazz and blues to traditional folk. His collaborator Beth Orton pays tribute.

Professor Ralph Steinman, who won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work on the immune system..

And Robert Whitaker, official photographer to the Beatles who was wounded in Vietnam.


FRI 16:30 The Film Programme (b015ctwl)
Francine Stock travels to Manhattan for an extended interview with the supreme exponent of screen neurosis in the 1970s and beyond, Woody Allen, currently enjoying his biggest box office success in years with Midnight in Paris.

Producer: Craig Smith.


FRI 17:00 PM (b015jhy2)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0153yvr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b015ctwn)
Series 75

Episode 5

Conferences, Cat Fights, and Cuts. In the week that the Conservative party held their annual conference, Ken Clarke and Teresa May got into a spat about a cat, and the BBC announced a radical series of cuts, Sandi Toksvig chairs Radio 4's most popular panel show. Joining her to dissect the stories are Jeremy Hardy, Susan Calman, Andy Hamilton and Bob Mills, and Charlotte Green reads the news. Produced by Victoria Lloyd.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b015ctwq)
Clarrie calls on Emma. Emma's speaks of the hard times she and Ed have been through, and comments judgementally on Nic and Will's relationship. Clarrie defends Nic, and points out it's better for George that Will is settled.

Tom's been thinking about whether to join HEFF, the regional food marketing group. Brenda thinks it's worth considering. He's a brilliant salesman but there's strength in numbers.

Peggy house is looking spotless. She tells Lilian that Elona's worth her weight in gold. Tom calls in with some vegetables. Peggy tells Tom that Elona will be his new neighbour.

Back at the office, Lilian comments on Tom's perkiness. Brenda tells her about Pat and Tony's additional financial troubles with the Underwood's fine.

Lilian calls on Tony. Tony asks if it's true that Clive and Matt had a drink together. Lilian admits it's true but she's told Matt he shouldn't have anything to do with Clive. She has something more important to speak to Tony about, and apologises for having been too preoccupied to grasp how serious things are. She offers to lend them the £10K they need for Underwoods. Tony is overcome, and doesn't know what to say. Lilian just wishes he'd come to her sooner. It's what families are for.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b015frnk)
Orlando Bloom; Tracy Chevalier on Vermeer

With Kirsty Lang.

Vermeer's Women, a new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, features four works by the Dutch master, including The Lacemaker from the Louvre in Paris, on show in the UK for the first time. Tracy Chevalier, whose novel Girl With A Pearl Earring was inspired by a Vermeer painting, reviews the show.

The actor Paddy Considine, known for films including In America, Dead Man's Shoes and Hot Fuzz, has written and directed his first feature film. Tyrannosaur is loosely based on Considine's own father, and stars Peter Mullan as a man plagued by violence and rage, whose life changes when he meets a religious charity shop worker. Paddy Considine discusses the film and the difficulties he faces coping with Asperger's Syndrome, diagnosed last year.

Mohammed Hanif, Pakistan-born journalist and writer of the prize-winning A Case of Exploding Mangoes, talks about his new novel Our Lady of Alice Bhatti, the story of a junior nurse in downtown Karachi. He explains the art of being a sit-down comedian, and why Pakistan's secret service asked him to name his sources.

Orlando Bloom, star of three Pirates of the Caribbean films, reprises his swashbuckling skills as the villainous Duke of Buckingham in a new 3D film of The Three Musketeers. He reflects on his experiences in major film franchises, and the perils of too many swords and sandals roles.

Producer Philippa Ritchie.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b015cslf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b015cvcr)
Cheltenham Literature Festival

Jonathan Dimbleby presents a topical discussion of news and politics from the Cheltenham Literary Festival with Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude; Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Caroline Flint; historian and author, Sir Max Hastings; and associate director of the think-tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, Will Straw,

Producer: Victoria Wakely.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b015cvct)
Why Prisons Fail

Will Self sees an urgent need to reform the prison system and deplores what he sees as a lack of political will to tackle its present failings. "Not only does prison, for the vast majority of those who endure it not work - either as punishment or as rehabilitation - but there is no escaping the conclusion that it functions as a stimulant to crime, rather than its bromide".

Producer: Sheila Cook.


FRI 21:00 Friday Drama (b00ny6r4)
Vent

Ben has survived a crippling brain lesion, but he won't engage with the world around him, preferring to stay safely in his own fantasy world. A funny and moving drama about not being dead.

Cast:

Ben... Neil Pearson
Mary... Fiona Allen
Mum... Josie Lawrence
Blitz... Leslie Ash
Naz... Robert Webb
Ellie... Rachel Isaac
Bitch nurse... Joanna Brookes
Karl / HG Wells... Matthew Kelly
Katy... Laura Doddington
Mr Arcola... Bruce Alexander
Bea... Scarlett Milburn-Smith

Directed by Nigel Smith
Produced by Gareth Edwards.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b0153yvt)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b015jj1z)
Ten years after the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, president Hamid Karzai says that his government and international forces have failed to provide security to his people.

In the United States, new unemployment figures are better than expected. Unemployment is still high, at 9.1%, but is this an early sign of recovery?

Three women - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, both from Liberia, and Tawakkul Karman, of Yemen - have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. What difference does the Nobel make to those who receive it and the cause they champion?

The World Tonight, with David Eades.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b015cvcw)
Catch 22

Episode 10

by Joseph Heller

In the final episode, Colonel Korn offers Yossarian a deal, there is news of Orr and we discover the truth about what happened with Snowden.

Abridged by Robin Brooks

Read by Stuart Milligan

Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane.


FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b015ck9n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Pistols at Dawn (b00s6svn)
Between 1613 and 1614 it is claimed that every distinguished family in the UK lost a member to duelling. James I even campaigned against it, but the aristocracy wanted to retain it as a legal way of settling disputes 'honourably'. The practice continued until it was eventually outlawed at the end of the nineteenth century. Until it was, the duel has a fascinating place in British history as a means of 'solving' dispute and novelists and playwrights have been using it as a way of spicing up plots and intrigue along the way.

As a youngster, Justin Champion loved adventure novels that were jam-packed with sword play - The Three Musketeers, The Prisoner of Zenda and Scott's Waverley series. He has always been intrigued as to why men felt the urgency to defend their honour in such a dangerous way. In this programme, he tracks the history of the duel, its influence, some particularly pivotal duels, is shown how to sword fight and thinks he's found the reason why duelling eventually ceased as a practice in the UK.

Justin talks to experts of Shakespeare to discuss how frequently the Bard picked up on the duelling debate in many of his plays including Romeo and Juliet. He visits the Royal Armouries Collection in Leeds to witness a sword fight. Justin is shown the techniques and is handed a sword for a tutorial. He charts the move from sword to pistol and gets a tour behind the scenes at the Royal Armouries Collection to look at some important swords and pistols involved in duelling.

Justin also talks to fellow historians about significant duels and their political and literary impact. The duel has even been used by Cabinet Ministers and Prime Ministers as a way of settling their differences. We hear from BBC Diplomatic Correspondent, James Landale (who tells the story of his ancestor's involvement in the last fatal duel in Scotland in 1826) and who also tells listeners about Wellington's engagement in a duel in Battersea.

Listeners will also hear from a social historian of the 19th century about how the meaning of "honour" changed for men during this period and how a pension arrangement changed forever as the willingness of men to accept an invitation to "pistols at dawn".

Producer: Sarah Taylor

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2010.




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

15 Minute Drama 10:45 MON (b015bt12)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 MON (b015bt12)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 TUE (b015ck92)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 TUE (b015ck92)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 WED (b015cmrr)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 WED (b015cmrr)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 THU (b015cpft)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 THU (b015cpft)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 FRI (b015cslf)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 FRI (b015cslf)

A Good Read 16:30 TUE (b015ck9n)

A Good Read 23:00 FRI (b015ck9n)

A Point of View 08:50 SUN (b0151xtb)

A Point of View 20:50 FRI (b015cvct)

A Student Voice 13:30 SUN (b015bqbt)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 TUE (b015ck9j)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 WED (b015cnnp)

Afternoon Reading 15:30 THU (b015cr9h)

All in the Mind 21:00 TUE (b015ck9z)

All in the Mind 16:30 WED (b015ck9z)

Analysis 21:30 SUN (b0150mtb)

Analysis 20:30 MON (b015bxqv)

Any Answers? 14:00 SAT (b015bgvk)

Any Questions? 13:10 SAT (b0151xt8)

Any Questions? 20:00 FRI (b015cvcr)

Archive on 4 20:00 SAT (b015bj1z)

Archive on 4 15:00 MON (b015bj1z)

Bad Faith 14:15 FRI (b015ctwd)

Bells on Sunday 05:43 SUN (b015bj98)

Bells on Sunday 00:45 MON (b015bj98)

Beyond Belief 16:30 MON (b015bxqg)

Beyond Westminster 11:00 SAT (b015bgvc)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 MON (b015bxr3)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 TUE (b015ckb3)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 WED (b015cnyz)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 THU (b015crrc)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 FRI (b015cvcw)

Book of the Week 00:30 SAT (b015b44t)

Book of the Week 09:45 MON (b015bt0y)

Book of the Week 00:30 TUE (b015bt0y)

Book of the Week 09:45 TUE (b015j70j)

Book of the Week 00:30 WED (b015j70j)

Book of the Week 09:45 WED (b015j8fl)

Book of the Week 00:30 THU (b015j8fl)

Book of the Week 09:45 THU (b015j8qm)

Book of the Week 00:30 FRI (b015j8qm)

Book of the Week 09:45 FRI (b015j7l1)

Bookclub 16:00 SUN (b015brn8)

Bookclub 16:00 THU (b015brn8)

Broadcasting House 09:00 SUN (b015bqbh)

Capitalism on Trial 09:00 TUE (b015ck8y)

Capitalism on Trial 21:30 TUE (b015ck8y)

Clare in the Community 11:30 FRI (b015ctw6)

Classic Serial 15:00 SUN (b015brn6)

Costing the Earth 21:00 WED (b015cnyx)

Costing the Earth 13:30 THU (b015cnyx)

Desert Island Discs 11:15 SUN (b015bqbm)

Desert Island Discs 09:00 FRI (b015bqbm)

Don't Start 23:00 WED (b015cnz1)

Drama 14:15 MON (b015bxqb)

Drama 14:15 TUE (b015ck9d)

Drama 14:15 WED (b015p5ft)

Drama 14:15 THU (b015cpg2)

Excess Baggage 10:00 SAT (b015b926)

Fags, Mags and Bags 18:30 TUE (b00rblt5)

Farming Today 06:30 SAT (b015b920)

Farming Today 05:45 MON (b015bt0r)

Farming Today 05:45 TUE (b015ck8t)

Farming Today 05:45 WED (b015clyr)

Farming Today 05:45 THU (b015cpfk)

Farming Today 05:45 FRI (b015csl7)

Feedback 20:00 SUN (b0151xsm)

Feedback 13:30 FRI (b015ctwb)

File on 4 17:00 SUN (b0150phx)

File on 4 20:00 TUE (b015ck9v)

Four Thought 20:45 WED (b015cnyv)

Friday Drama 21:00 FRI (b00ny6r4)

From Birmingham to Beijing: The Lure of a Chinese Career 10:30 SAT (b015b92b)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:30 SAT (b015bgvf)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:00 THU (b015cpfw)

Front Row 19:15 MON (b015bxqq)

Front Row 19:15 TUE (b015ck9s)

Front Row 19:15 WED (b015cnp4)

Front Row 19:15 THU (b015crkn)

Front Row 19:15 FRI (b015frnk)

Gardeners' Question Time 14:00 SUN (b0151xsr)

Gardeners' Question Time 15:00 FRI (b015ctwg)

Grossman's War 21:00 SAT (b0150ghf)

Home from Home 11:00 FRI (b015cslh)

I Was There Too! 00:30 SUN (b00kbj2r)

In Defence of Politics 20:00 MON (b015bxqs)

In Our Time 09:00 THU (b015cpfp)

In Our Time 21:30 THU (b015cpfp)

In Touch 20:40 TUE (b015ck9x)

John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme 19:15 SUN (b015brnj)

Just a Minute 12:00 SUN (b0150mln)

Last Word 20:30 SUN (b015brnn)

Last Word 16:00 FRI (b015ctwj)

Loose Ends 18:15 SAT (b015bgvt)

Lyrical Journey 11:30 THU (b015cpfy)

Making History 15:00 TUE (b015ck9g)

Material World 21:00 MON (b0151t3y)

Material World 16:30 THU (b015crkj)

Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change? 23:00 MON (b00smngp)

Midnight News 00:00 SAT (b0151xvt)

Midnight News 00:00 SUN (b0153ymv)

Midnight News 00:00 MON (b0153ypt)

Midnight News 00:00 TUE (b0153yqz)

Midnight News 00:00 WED (b0153ys5)

Midnight News 00:00 FRI (b0153yvc)

Midweek 09:00 WED (b015clyw)

Midweek 21:30 WED (b015clyw)

Money Box Live 15:00 WED (b015cnnm)

Money Box 12:00 SAT (b015bgvh)

Money Box 21:00 SUN (b015bgvh)

Moral Maze 22:15 SAT (b0151pyq)

Moral Maze 20:00 WED (b015cnys)

News Briefing 05:30 SAT (b0151xw2)

News Briefing 05:30 SUN (b0153yn7)

News Briefing 05:30 MON (b0153yq4)

News Briefing 05:30 TUE (b0153yr7)

News Briefing 05:30 WED (b0153ysf)

News Briefing 05:30 THU (b0153ytl)

News Briefing 05:30 FRI (b0153yvm)

News Headlines 06:00 SUN (b0153yn9)

News and Papers 06:00 SAT (b0151xw5)

News and Papers 07:00 SUN (b0153yng)

News and Papers 08:00 SUN (b0153ynn)

News and Weather 22:00 SAT (b0151xwq)

News 13:00 SAT (b0151xwg)

Old Harry's Game 23:00 TUE (b00j7vtm)

On Your Farm 06:35 SUN (b015bqb7)

PM 17:00 SAT (b015bgvr)

PM 17:00 MON (b015bxqj)

PM 17:00 TUE (b015jhw8)

PM 17:00 WED (b015cnny)

PM 17:00 THU (b015jhx7)

PM 17:00 FRI (b015jhy2)

Paul Temple 11:30 WED (b015cmrw)

Pick of the Week 18:15 SUN (b015brnd)

Picturing Britain 14:45 SUN (b015bqby)

Pistols at Dawn 23:30 FRI (b00s6svn)

Poetry Please 23:30 SAT (b0150grj)

Poetry Please 16:30 SUN (b015brnb)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 SAT (b0151xxk)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 MON (b015bt0p)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 TUE (b015ck8r)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 WED (b015clyp)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 THU (b015cpfh)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 FRI (b015csl5)

Profile 19:00 SAT (b015bgvw)

Profile 05:45 SUN (b015bgvw)

Profile 17:40 SUN (b015bgvw)

Radio 4 Appeal 07:55 SUN (b015bqbc)

Radio 4 Appeal 21:26 SUN (b015bqbc)

Radio 4 Appeal 15:27 THU (b015bqbc)

Ramblings 06:07 SAT (b015b91y)

Ramblings 15:00 THU (b015b91y)

Robots that Care 11:00 MON (b015bxq4)

Round Britain Quiz 23:00 SAT (b0150m8t)

Round Britain Quiz 13:30 MON (b015bxq8)

Saturday Drama 14:30 SAT (b015bgvm)

Saturday Live 09:00 SAT (b015b924)

Saturday Review 19:15 SAT (b015bgvy)

Saving Species 11:00 TUE (b015ck94)

Saving Species 21:00 THU (b015ck94)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SAT (b0151xvy)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SUN (b0153yn1)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 MON (b0153yq0)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 TUE (b0153yr3)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 WED (b0153ys9)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 THU (b0153ytg)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 FRI (b0153yvh)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SAT (b0151xvw)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SAT (b0151xw0)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SAT (b0151xwj)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SUN (b0153ymy)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SUN (b0153yn5)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SUN (b0153ynw)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 MON (b0153ypy)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 MON (b0153yq2)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 TUE (b0153yr1)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 TUE (b0153yr5)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 WED (b0153ys7)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 WED (b0153ysc)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 THU (b0153ytd)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 THU (b0153ytj)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 FRI (b0153yvf)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 FRI (b0153yvk)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SAT (b0151xwn)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SUN (b0153yp0)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 MON (b0153yqb)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 TUE (b0153yrf)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 WED (b0153ysl)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 THU (b0153ytq)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 FRI (b0153yvr)

So Wrong It's Right 18:30 THU (b00scw1t)

Something Understood 06:05 SUN (b015bqb5)

Something Understood 23:30 SUN (b015bqb5)

Start the Week 09:00 MON (b015bt0w)

Start the Week 21:30 MON (b015bt0w)

Sunday Worship 08:10 SUN (b015bqbf)

Sunday 07:10 SUN (b015bqb9)

The Archers Omnibus 10:00 SUN (b015bqbk)

The Archers 19:00 SUN (b015brng)

The Archers 14:00 MON (b015brng)

The Archers 19:00 MON (b015bxqn)

The Archers 14:00 TUE (b015bxqn)

The Archers 19:00 TUE (b015ck9q)

The Archers 14:00 WED (b015ck9q)

The Archers 19:00 WED (b015cnp1)

The Archers 14:00 THU (b015cnp1)

The Archers 19:00 THU (b015crkl)

The Archers 14:00 FRI (b015crkl)

The Archers 19:00 FRI (b015ctwq)

The Bottom Line 17:30 SAT (b0151t48)

The Bottom Line 20:30 THU (b015crks)

The Call 15:45 MON (b00y2d7j)

The Call 15:45 TUE (b00y8tzn)

The Call 15:45 WED (b00yj5vd)

The Call 15:45 THU (b00yqn6s)

The Call 15:45 FRI (b00yyg1w)

The Castle 18:30 WED (b00h8ym4)

The Film Programme 23:00 SUN (b0151xsy)

The Film Programme 16:30 FRI (b015ctwl)

The Food Programme 12:32 SUN (b015bqbp)

The Food Programme 16:00 MON (b015bqbp)

The Man with Many Names 11:30 TUE (b015ck96)

The Media Show 13:30 WED (b015cnnf)

The Museum of Curiosity 18:30 MON (b015bxql)

The Music Teacher 23:15 WED (b00sdcxq)

The News Quiz 12:30 SAT (b0151xt2)

The News Quiz 18:30 FRI (b015ctwn)

The Report 20:00 THU (b015crkq)

The Time Being 19:45 SUN (b015brnl)

The World This Weekend 13:00 SUN (b015bqbr)

The World Tonight 22:00 MON (b015jj02)

The World Tonight 22:00 TUE (b015ckb1)

The World Tonight 22:00 WED (b015jj0w)

The World Tonight 22:00 THU (b015jj1b)

The World Tonight 22:00 FRI (b015jj1z)

The World in His Ear 13:30 TUE (b015ck9b)

Thinking Allowed 00:15 MON (b0151pyg)

Thinking Allowed 16:00 WED (b015cnnt)

Today in Parliament 23:30 MON (b015bxr5)

Today in Parliament 23:30 TUE (b015ckb5)

Today in Parliament 23:30 WED (b015cnz3)

Today in Parliament 23:30 THU (b015crrh)

Today 07:00 SAT (b015b922)

Today 06:00 MON (b015bt0t)

Today 06:00 TUE (b015ck8w)

Today 06:00 WED (b015clyt)

Today 06:00 THU (b015cpfm)

Today 06:00 FRI (b015csl9)

Tracing Your Roots 16:00 TUE (b015ck9l)

Very Old Pretenders 23:00 THU (b015crrf)

Weather 06:04 SAT (b0151xw8)

Weather 06:57 SAT (b0151xwb)

Weather 12:57 SAT (b0151xwd)

Weather 17:57 SAT (b0151xwl)

Weather 06:57 SUN (b0153ynd)

Weather 07:57 SUN (b0153ynl)

Weather 12:57 SUN (b0153ynr)

Weather 17:57 SUN (b0153yny)

Weather 05:57 MON (b0153yq6)

Weather 12:57 MON (b0153yq8)

Weather 21:58 MON (b0153yqd)

Weather 12:57 TUE (b0153yrb)

Weather 21:58 TUE (b0153yrh)

Weather 12:57 WED (b0153ysj)

Weather 21:58 WED (b0153ysn)

Weather 12:57 THU (b0153ytn)

Weather 21:58 THU (b0153yts)

Weather 12:57 FRI (b0153yvp)

Weather 21:58 FRI (b0153yvt)

Westminster Hour 22:00 SUN (b015brnq)

What the Papers Say 22:45 SUN (b015brns)

When the Dog Dies 11:30 MON (b013n0q2)

Who found Machu Picchu? 11:00 WED (b015cmrt)

Woman's Hour 16:00 SAT (b015bgvp)

Woman's Hour 10:00 MON (b015bt10)

Woman's Hour 10:00 TUE (b015ck90)

Woman's Hour 10:00 WED (b015clyy)

Woman's Hour 10:00 THU (b015cpfr)

Woman's Hour 10:00 FRI (b015cslc)

World at One 13:00 MON (b015jj00)

World at One 13:00 TUE (b015jj0k)

World at One 13:00 WED (b015cnnc)

World at One 13:00 THU (b015jj18)

World at One 13:00 FRI (b015jj1x)

You and Yours 12:00 MON (b015bxq6)

You and Yours 12:00 TUE (b015ck98)

You and Yours 12:00 WED (b015cms0)

You and Yours 12:00 THU (b015cpg0)

You and Yours 12:00 FRI (b015ctw8)

iPM 05:45 SAT (b0151xyd)