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 17 DECEMBER 2011

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b0184w7m)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b018scwh)
Craig Taylor - Londoners

Episode 5

By Craig Taylor. Abridged by Pete Nichols.

Craig Taylor's book has given new voice to Londoners; the rich and the poor, the native and the immigrant; men and women. It continues an oral tradition that goes back to Henry Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor, published in the mid-nineteenth century.

Taylor gives us the squatter and the teacher; the bicycle mechanic and the registrar; the plumber and the rickshaw rider; the lost property clerk and the Wiccan priestess, who casts the remnants of her spells into the Thames.

These remarkable snapshots of the city dwellers are moving, funny and informative.

"What makes Londoners as valuable as any sociological treatise is Taylor's appreciation of the ways in which his subjects are themselves surveying, analysing and theorising the turbulent city in which they live.... At more than 400 pages, the book could easily have been twice as long... But this remains a remarkable volume, from the heaving, contradictory energy of its countless funny, terrifying, epic stories" Sukhdev Sandhu in The Guardian.

The lost property clerk ..... Paul Ritter

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


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0184w7p)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0184w7r)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0184w7t)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b0184w7y)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0184wv2)
with Bishop Dr Joe Aldred.


SAT 05:45 iPM (b0184wv4)
'The sea's a monster, if you love it you're an idiot!' Listeners Bill and Laurel Cooper long ago quit the land and have spent half their lives sailing the world, but now age and ill health have confined them to port. What do you do after you've lived the dream? Also iPM visits an old-fashioned menswear shop to talk about mohair and the decline of the High Street. With Eddie Mair and Jennifer Tracey. iPM@bbc.co.uk.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b0184w9y)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b0184wb2)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (b0184v2z)
Snowdonia: Search and Rescue Dog Association

The Search and Rescue Dog Association (SARDA) Wales is a specialist element of Mountain Rescue in England and Wales responsible for the training and deployment of dogs to search for missing people in the mountains and on the moorlands of Britain as well as lowland, rural and urban areas. When someone is missing in a rural or mountain environment, a dog team can be more effective than 4 teams of people, covering large areas much faster and effectively. For the handlers and trainers who bring their dogs along to be trained in this work, this work is voluntary and something that they do out of their sheer love of the great outdoors and, of course, the reward of working so closely with their dogs to search for missing people. Helen Mark joins some of the experienced, and not so experienced, dogs and handlers at the foot of Cader Idris in the Snowdonia National Park to find out what this work involves, how important it is to the search teams and to the people they help and to hear why 'one man (or woman!) and their dog are such a fundamental part of the British landscape.

Helen meets Helen Howe, an experienced trainer and handler, who explains how the dogs and their handlers are trained to search and rescue missing people. It can take around 3 years to train a new puppy to become a fully qualified Search Dog and Helen Howe explains how this is done. Between then, Helen and Cluania have had several successful finds. However, it is impossible to train a search dog without the invaluable help of a team of people called 'dogsbodies' and Helen Mark then meets up with Emmer Litt who has been volunteering herself as a 'body' for over four years. At each training event, Emmer spends her time hiding out in the hills that she loves with a good book and a flask of tea waiting to be 'found' by the dogs in training. Without the help of people like Emmer it is impossible to train a search dog because they need someone to search for and so Helen joins trainee handler, Rob Johnson, and his dog Skye as they set off in the hunt for Emmer who is now hidden somewhere under Snowdonia's autumn sunshine in the foothills of Cader Idris.

Finally, Helen joins handler Iain Nicholson and his dog, Mij, who is a trailing dog. Together they demonstrate for Helen how Mij works in a scent specific way by following the actual scent of the person that is missing. Iain and Mij work from the place that the missing person was last seen and have been extremely successful in locating people in more lowland and urban areas as well as helping out with the Mountain Rescue Teams of the Lake District.

Being part of SARDA is extremely important to the handlers and dogs that are involved but their continued presence on the British landscape is just as vital to the people that they help to rescue each year.

Presenter: Helen Mark
Producer: Helen Chetwynd.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b018851p)
Farming Today This Week

Caz Graham visits the farmers working around the clock to ensure the festive vegetables arrive in time for Christmas dinner. She braves the sleet and snow at a parsnip farm in Staffordshire, where pickers and packers work through the night to get the stock to the supermarkets.

The UK is eating much less of many traditional winter vegetables. In 1985 UK farmers grew 135 thousand tonnes of sprouts - by 2010 that had reduced to just 43 thousand tonnes. And while in 1985 232 thousand tonnes of winter cabbage were grown, that shrank to 162 thousand tonnes by 2010. Charlotte Smith visits Brixton market with Christopher Stocks, author of Forgotten Fruit, to discover the origins of our winter veg, and analyse changing tastes.

And in Suffolk, Anna Hill takes to the fields to harvest sprouts and cauliflower for the Christmas dinner table.

Presenter: Caz Graham Producer: Melvin Rickarby.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b0184wb6)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b01886s5)
With James Naughtie and Evan Davis. Including Sports Desk, Weather, Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b018851r)
Samantha Bond; Luke Wright; young ballerina; lung scientist; Chi Chi's keeper; saw Sound Sculpture; Gareth Malone

Richard Coles with actress Samantha Bond, poet Luke Wright, young ballerina Izzy McGuire who left home to train in Russia when she was just 14, medical scientist Dame Julia Polak who ended up suffering from the rare condition she'd been researching, JP Devlin continues the saga of celebrity panda Chi-chi this week with Chris Madden who was the man she mauled, a Sound Sculpture of a saw from listener Alexander Frew, and the Inheritance Tracks of choirmaster Gareth Malone.

Producer: Sukey Firth.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b018851t)
Animal welfare - Plant hunting

John McCarthy meets Phillip Cribb, a botanist and orchid specialist at Kew Gardens who's spent thirty years plant hunting in Western China. Along with Christopher Grey-Wilson, he's just produced a Guide to the Flowers of Western China and he regularly leads tours there. He explains the process of gathering the flowers and how attitudes towards their native flora are changing.

John also discusses animal welfare abroad and meets two women who have decided to devote their life to helping domestic animals around the world. Barbara Webb spent ten years trekking in Nepal before the plight of stray dogs there inspired her to set up HART, the Himalayan Animal Rescue Trust. Caroline Yates is CEO of the Mayhew, an animal home in the UK supporting projects in Moscow, northern Peru, India and Afghanistan. Now she regularly treks in East Africa, Morocco and South America with animal welfare in mind.

Producer: Margaret Collins.


SAT 10:30 Pop Goes the Bible! (b018851w)
As the 400th anniversary of the translation of the Bible into English draws to a close Paul Gambaccini picks out some of the 100's of pop songs that have been inspired by the Old and New Testaments. The stories, characters and text have led to a huge catalogue of songs ranging from Elvis Presley ('Adam and Evil'), to Bob Dylan (Highway 61 Revisited), Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice ('Joseph' and 'Jesus Christ, Superstar'), The Byrds (Turn! Turn! Turn!), Leonard Cohen ('Hallelujah'), and U2 ('40' and 'Yahweh').

Paul talks to Tim Rice about his early schooling which laid down for him an intimate knowledge of Bible stories. One of his favourites was that of 'Joseph' and the musical that evolved became the foundation of the Rice/Lloyd-Webber partnership. His fascination with the stories and characters took Rice not only on to 'Jesus Christ, Superstar' but more recently to the story of King David and Saul. He talks about his continued absorption in the people within the pages of the Bible.

Diana Lipton, an Old Testament scholar, shows how many popular song treatments refresh the ancient stories by setting them in an entirely different and often contemporary context. She cites Bob Dylan's treatment of the story of Abraham and Isaac in 'Highway 61 Revisited', but also finds a connection in Tom Jones' hit 'Delilah'. Although the only Biblical connection is the name 'Delilah', the blind passion of both the character in the song and Samson provokes the same disastrous outcome.

U2, with their song '40', took much of the lyric from Psalm 40, and rock critic Neil McCormick points to the close connection between Bono and his religious upbringing, a connection which - as in many of the songs in this programme - feeds into popular song culture.

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


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b018851y)
Jackie Ashley looks behind the scenes at Westminster.
The Editor is Peter Mulligan.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b0188520)
The polar bear's back in the news - this time it's at the centre of controversy in Canada where some believe it's a far better animal to be the country's national symbol than the one which currently holds the honour, the beaver. Lorraine Mallinder has been finding out that some Canadians reckon the beaver's just too boring for the job. At the end of another stressful week in the eurozone Chris Morris tells us that the Germans don't seem too concerned -- the Christmas party season's on their minds! The revolution's brought a new look to Libya but Tarik Kafala, who's been back to Tripoli after many years away, says not everything's changed. Jill McGivering's in Indian Kashmir where questions are being asked about thousands of unmarked graves. And a celebrated bookshop owner passed away this week in Paris and Christine Finn, who worked in his shop recently, tells us what made this store, over the bridge from Notre Dame, so special.


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b0188522)
Over 50s plans are sold by some of the biggest names in insurance but have been roundly criticised by the consumer organisation Which?

It says they may be worse than a savings account - or even putting your money into a box in a cupboard. What do they really give you?

Money Box gets the response from some of the providers and speaks to Richard Lloyd, Which?'s executive director.

Paul Lewis also looks at the story of a Church of Scotland Minister who was charged for unwanted texts, reward credit cards, PPI compensation delays and the likely purchase of hundreds of Lloyds branches by the Co-op Bank.

The programme was produced by Bob Howard.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b0184w5y)
Series 35

Episode 6

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by Jon Holmes, Alun Cochrane, Laura Shavin and Mitch Benn for the last in the current series.

Back in February 2012.

Producer: Katie Tyrrell.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b0184wbg)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b0184wbj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b0184w64)
Stepney, London

Jonathan Dimbleby presents a panel discussion of news and politics from Sir John Cass Red Coat School in Stepney, London with broadcaster and former Cabinet minister, Michael Portillo; poet Andrew Motion; veteran foreign correspondent and broadcaster, Dame Ann Leslie; and vice-chair of the Liberal Democrats' National Policy Committee and Hacked Off activist, Dr Evan Harris.

Producer: Victoria Wakely.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b0188524)
Call Jonathan Dimbleby on 03700 100 444 about the following topics: are we heading for a great depression as bad as the 1930s? Do you agree with David Cameron when he said the UK is a Christian country and we should not be afraid to say so? Is it news that newspapers use dodgy tactics to create stories to sell newspapers? And what should be done to tackle child poverty?

The panel from Stepney in London were: broadcaster and former Cabinet minister, Michael Portillo; poet Andrew Motion; veteran foreign correspondent and broadcaster, Dame Ann Leslie; and vice-chair of the Liberal Democrats' National Policy Committee and Hacked Off activist, Dr Evan Harris.


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b0188526)
Our Country's Good

by Timberlake Wertenbaker

Australia 1789: A young lieutenant attempts to direct a cast of convicts
in 'The Recruiting Officer', the first play ever to be staged in the country.
But one of his cast may be about to be hanged.
The convicts' production of The Recruiting Officer can be heard
on Drama on 3 on Sunday evening..

Captain Arthur Philip ..... Nicholas Le Prevost
Major Robbie Ross ..... Stuart McQuarrie
Captain David Collins ..... Paul Moriarty
Captain Watkin Tench ..... Adam Billington
Captain Campbell ..... James Lailey
2nd Lieutenant Ralph Clark ..... Paul Higgins
Reverend Johnson ..... Simon Bubb
Midshipman Harry Brewer ..... Rikki Lawton
Mary Brenham ..... Francine Chamberlain
Robert Sideway ..... Adam James
John Wisehammer ..... Elliot Levey
Liz Morden ..... Kate Fleetwood
Dabby Bryant ..... Alex Tregear
John Arscott ...... Ralph Ineson
Ketch Freeman ..... Jonathan Forbes
Duckling Smith ..... Adjoa Andoh

Director ..... Sally Avens

Timberlake Wertenbaker's stage play was adapted from Thomas Keneally's novel, 'The Playmaker'.
It tells the true story of Lieutenant Ralph Clark's attempts to put on a production of George Farquhar's 'The Recruiting Officer' using a cast of convicts. It met with high praise when it was first staged at The Royal Court and the play argues eloquently for the redemptive power of theatre. Many of the arguments are still current today as we debate how best to rehabilitate prisoners. At the heart of the play is its language; Wertenbaker celebrates the beauty of language in the slang of the criminal classes and the poetry of the play but she also looks at how language is used as an instrument of power.

Over one weekend Radio 4 and Radio 3 present new productions of 'Our Country's Good' and 'The Recruiting Officer' using the same cast. On Saturday on Radio 4 we hear 'Our Country's Good' and watch a group of convicts' lives change as they rehearse 'The Recruiting Officer' and on Sunday on Radio 3 we hear the convicts' production of 'The Recruiting Officer'.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b01886jl)
Yotam Ottolenghi, Strictly Come Dancing, Tripoli Witness

Yotam Ottolenghi Cooks the Perfect Baba Ganoush. Forget Superman - meet the new generation of actiongirl heroines. We step into the Strictly Come Dancing wardrobe with one of today's finalists Chelsee Healey. The free schools that are changing the educational agenda. Folklore and the power of the Snow Queen. Tripoli Witness: the woman behind the blog. Presented by Jane Garvey.


SAT 17:00 PM (b01886jn)
Saturday PM

A fresh perspective on the day's news with sports headlines with Carolyn Quinn.


SAT 17:30 iPM (b0184wv4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:45 today]


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b0184wbq)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b0184wbs)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0184wbx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b01886jq)
Clive Anderson and guests with an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.

In 2006 he was 'Pedantic and Whimsical', but this year, Perrier Award-nominated Irish comedian Ed Byrne's critically acclaimed show was a 'Crowd Pleaser' and is now available on DVD. Ed tells Clive what it takes to tickle the ribs and appease a room full of hecklers.

Prize-winning author Adam Nicolson talks about his book 'The Gentry: Stories of the English'. Telling the real story of England, it focuses on fourteen families, from the medieval gung-ho of the Plumpton family to the high-seas adventures of the Lascelles in the 18th century and is a wonderful sweep of English history.

All aboard The Swallow! Jo Bunting talks to The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon about writing songs for the musical play 'Swallows And Amazons' at London's Vaudeville Theatre. Based on the much-loved book by Arthur Ransome, Neil's songs accompany Captain John and his crew, embarking on an exotic adventure capturing dastardly pirates and defeating mortal enemies.

Bonafide member of The IT Crowd, Katherine Parkinson explains her new role as Conceptiva Secret-Past, the on-screen wife of Robert Webb, purveyor of miscellaneous odd things in BBC Two's 'The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff'. It's a tale of hidden wills, brave urchins, giant clocks, misery, joy and treacle!

Bringing some funk and rhythm into the Loose Ends studio is soulful Nigerian Xantoné Blacq who performs 'Mama Won't Listen' from his album 'Revelation'.

And the magnificent singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt gives us an exclusive rendition of his his brand new song 'El Magnifico'.

Producer: Cathie Mahoney.


SAT 19:00 Profile (b01886js)
Peter Higgs

Profile this week looks at the physicist Peter Higgs who in the 1960s predicted the existence of the so-called "God Particle" which scientists think they glimpsed at CERN this week.

The Higgs boson - which has so excited the scientific community this week - is a subatomic particle which gives mass to all matter and the quest to find it has been described as the holy grail of physics.

Peter Higgs made his prediction in the mid-1960s when he was a relatively young scientist, adding a crucial element to the Standard Model of the universe. At the time the significance of his work was not widely recognised or understood, and one leading scientific journal even turned down one of his early papers setting out his groundbreaking theory.

Higgs, now in his 80s, is very much a theoretical scientist. Colleagues say he has never excelled at practical experiments, and to this day he doesn't get on with computers.

What kind of man is he? Samira Ahmed talks to those who know the scientist, and asks what makes him tick.

Producers:
Ben Crighton and Arlene Gregorius.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b01886jv)
Tom Sutcliffe and his guests the writers Lisa Appignanesi and Kamila Shamsie and theatre writer David Benedict review the week's cultural highlights including Noises Off at the Old Vic.

THEATRE Noises Off - Old Vic - revival of Michael Frayn's farce starring Celia Imrie

FILM Dreams of a Life - dir. Carol Morley

EXHIBITION Rabindranath Tagore - V&A - retrospective of paintings by the Bengali polymath

BOOK All Is Song - Samantha Harvey

Producer: Torquil MacLeod.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b01886jx)
The European Dream

As the Eurozone lurches from crisis to crisis, John Tusa takes us back to the very start of the journey to the single currency: to the vision, and the realpolitik, that made European union happen in the first place.

In 1950, France and Germany, along with Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxemburg, agreed to surrender national control over some of their most vital industries. Just six years after the Nazis had been driven out of Paris.

John traces how a highly unusual mix of vision and canny national self-interest drove a handful of leading statesmen to take this decisive step.

Robert Schuman was the French Foreign Minister - but had fought for the Germans in the First World War. Then, as a French politician and member of the Resistance, he narrowly avoided being sent by the Nazis to Dachau.

Konrad Adenauer, West Germany's first Chancellor, was proposing a form of European unity as early as 1923. Having survived the Nazi era, he was intent on sacrificing power to bind his pariah nation into the West - and keep it safe from Stalin.

More surprisingly, the idea of European union was also championed by Winston Churchill, in a rousing run of speeches across the Continent in the years after VE Day. The great patriot even advocated a European Army.

But John also explores why - once Churchill was back in power in 1951 - he chose not to join the emergent union.

Meanwhile, Churchill's wartime ally, America, was actively pushing the Europeans to unite - and was prepared to pay handsomely to ensure they wouldn't drag American troops into yet another war.

And John finds out how the whole project came to the brink of collapse within weeks of its birth. In June 1950, the Communists invaded South Korea. Western capitals panicked: was West Germany next? Was this the start of World War 3?

America demanded that West Germany be re-armed. But the French public were outraged, and took to the streets with large photos of Nazi atrocity victims held aloft.

John explores how the project was rescued, and how its strange fusion of realism and idealism presages the crises of today.

Producer: Phil Tinline.


SAT 21:00 Classic Serial (b0183r3q)
François Rabelais - Gargantua and Pantagruel

Gargantua

Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais. Dramatised by Lavinia Murray.

Ep 2 - Pantagruel.

Concluding the bawdy and scatological adventures of Medieval giants. This episode concentrates on the story of Gargantua's son, Pantagruel and his morally dubious friend Panurge, as they go on a quest to discover whether marriage is for them. On the way they have many adventures before they come before the Seer of the Holy Bottle who gives them a definitive judgement.

Rabelais.....David Troughton
Gargantua....Robert Wilfort
Pantagruel....Justin Edwards
Panurge...Conrad Nelson
Friar Jean....Jonathan Keeble
Jacqueline/Seer...Fiona Clarke
Librarian/Secretary...Mark Chatterton

Producer Gary Brown

This tale is a dizzying blend of fantasy, comedy, philosophy and scatological humour. The world's a messy place. All the big mock-heroic novels that followed - Don Quixote, Tristram Shandy, Gulliver's Travels, Ulysses - are about mess, they're about slops and slime, encyclopedic in their efforts to encompass humanity in all its bawdy, chaotic, grungy, and painful reality. And like Gargantua and Pantagruel they're also very funny. The Rabelaisian world view is founded on the assumption that the humourless are not yet wise - and these tales insist you learn to laugh at humanity.

Gargantua and Pantagruel is dramatised by Lavinia Murray, one of our leading radio playwrights whose credits include 'The Anatomy of Melancholy' and 'The Confessions of an English Opium Eater'.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b0184wc3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Bringing Up Britain (b0184s39)
Series 4

Feral Kids and Feckless Parents

Programme 1: Feral Kids and Feckless Parents

The August riots in parts of England showed youngsters out of control on the streets, and put huge focus onto parenting skills.

MPs and council leaders warned parents that they should know where their children were at night and keep them indoors and out of trouble.

But parents themselves were saying they were unable to discipline their kids, either because they feared repercussions by the authorities, or because their children were simply physically too strong.

In the first of the new series of "Bringing Up Britain", Mariella Frostrup is joined by a panel of experts to discuss parental discipline right across British society.

How easy is it for us to control our children, especially after they stop being biddable toddlers and begin to assert their own personalities?

Have we given children too many rights and ignored those of parents?

Can you really stop a large teenage child going out, and what restraining measures can you legally use?

And, if your child is going off the rails, how do you break the cycle and get them back into good habits?

Joining Mariella to explore these issues will be:

Charlie Taylor, headteacher and behaviour advisor to the Department of Education;
Sheldon Thomas, who founded "Gangsline" to help youngsters caught up in gangs and their families;
Clem Henricson, social policy analyst and Member of the University of Oxford Centre for Research into Parenting and Children;
Guardian journalist Zoe Williams.

We also find out the results of a poll commissioned by the programme into attitudes to parental discipline.

Producer: Emma Kingsley.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b0183t4j)
(5/17)
What name is given to the curved surface of a liquid as it stands in a tube, caused by surface tension? And what kind of creature is a great curassow?

Russell Davies is in the questionmaster's chair for the fifth heat in the current series. Aiming to become the 59th Brain of Britain champion are competitors from Aberdeenshire, the West Midlands, Berkshire and Essex. Today's winner will progress to the semi-finals in the new year.

There'll also be a chance, as usual, for a Brain of Britain listener to outwit the contestants with questions of his or her own.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


SAT 23:30 Guns, Roses and Poetry Readings (b017c9ph)
Poet and translator W.N. Herbert and sound artist and editor of Poetry Wales Zoe Skoulding share their experiences of worldwide poetry festivals and performance.

They tell us how in many Eastern European countries, poetry festivals attract people in their thousands - particularly to the town of Struga in Macedonia which has become one of the most important poetry festivals in the world. Despite the fall of Yugoslavia, the war in Bosnia, the Kosovo crisis and the political and ethnic clashes in the whole of the region - this particular poetry festival attracts hundreds of international poets all wanting to take part. We discover why.

We also hear why in South America, poets from all over the world gather not only to share their work, but each year decide to "bury" a philosophical thought that the poets feel the world can do without. But we also hear how, in places like China and Burma, poetry can be seen as subversive and is only shared with great risk of imprisonment or torture. Bill Herbert and Zoe Skoulding share all this and more - as they take us on a personal tour to experience poetry, performance and festivals that celebrate this sometimes marginalized art form.

Presented by Bill Herbert.

Producer: Neil Cargill
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.



SUNDAY 18 DECEMBER 2011

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b01882w4)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Afternoon Reading (b01276xs)
The British at Table

Episode 2

By Christopher Driver

Christopher Driver's observations on the impact of foreign food on British eating habits.

Christopher Driver was a passionate writer, broadcaster, second-hand bookshop owner, conscientious objector and controversial hand-picked successor to Raymond Postgate as editor of The Good Food Guide through the 1970s. His descriptions of our changing attitudes towards what we allowed to grace our plates between the end of rationing and the affluent 1980s, and caustically witty observations of the marvels of British catering (such as the waitress who uncorked the wine with her teeth), made both informative and amusing reading. It is, as he said, "a book about the way we eat now in the light of the way we used to eat within middle-aged-memory. It is about ourselves as shoppers, cultivators, cooks and consumers."

Driver saw the shape of food to come thirty years before the rest of us and his accuracy is extraordinary: "The march of regulation and technology means that to obtain good bacon it will be once again necessary to kill and cure your own pig, as in the eighteenth-century. Progress takes odd forms."

It is sixty years since Postgate (known as "Public Stomach Number One" after founding his "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Food") first published the Good Food Guide. Here is an opportunity to enjoy part of its history in the words of its most eloquent editor, revealing everything from the lost world of whale steaks, coypu vindaloo and sweet and sour barracuda, to the language of food description that embraces such evocative phrases as "the flavour of unploughed fields" and "the texture of compressed string."

Read by Tony Gardner
Abridged by Neil Cargill

Producer: Neil Cargill
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01882w6)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01882w8)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01882wb)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b01882wd)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b01886tx)
The bells from Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire.


SUN 05:45 Profile (b01886js)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b01882wh)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b01886zz)
99 Words - Episode 2

When Liz Gray found herself forced into a strange period of enforced retreat by a whiplash injury, the following question came to her mind: if you had breath for no more than 99 words, what would they be?

She began asking friends, colleagues, artists and political figures she admired, gathering together a collection of 99 responses.

In the second of a pair of programmes, she introduces contributions from, among others, the artist Keith Critchlow, the human rights campaigner Helen Bamber, the writer Ariel Dorfman and film maker Sally Potter.

Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b018887y)
Plans are underway for a memorial to the Women's Land Army and Women's Timber Corps at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. If it goes ahead a statue of the iconic land girl from the war time posters will stand alongside the memorials for the Armed Forces and other civilian services.

In 1943, more than 80,000 women were working from sunrise to sunset toiling in the fields, doing the work of men who had gone off to fight.

In the programme, Charlotte Smith takes a tour of the Arboretum and reminisces about the old days with 81 year old Mary Wright from Cannock who signed up to the Land Army in 1947. Mary worked for three years on a mixed farm in Burton on Trent in Staffordshire. When she left the service, she bought her own farm which she still runs with her family to this day. Sitting having tea in the farmhouse kitchen, Charlotte and Mary are also joined by Eunice Finney from the Women's Farming Union which is behind the idea for a memorial.

This programme is presented by Charlotte Smith and produced in Birmingham by Angela Frain.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b01882wk)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b01882wn)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b0188880)
Edward Stourton with the religious and ethical news of the week. Moral arguments and perspectives on stories familiar and unfamiliar.

Series Producer: Amanda Hancox.


SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b0188882)
I CAN

Michael Buerk presents the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity I CAN.
Reg Charity: 210031
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope I CAN
- Give Online www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/appeal.


SUN 07:57 Weather (b01882wr)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b01882wt)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b0188884)
The Coming of Emmanuel: A service for the last Sunday of Advent from the Chapel of Unity, Methodist College, Belfast.

Traditionally In the week leading up to Christmas, seven antiphons, or short verses were sung after the Magnificat at the Daily Office. Today's service focuses on the last of these:

O Emmanuel, our King and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God

Leader: Rev David Neilands
Preacher: Rev Professor Stephen Williams, Union Theological College, Belfast.
Director of Music: Ruth McCartney
With the Chapel Choir.
Producer: Bert Tosh.


SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b0184w66)
Climate Change Belief

Lisa Jardine thinks selective hearing skews the debate over climate change and urges climate scientists to fully engage in a conversation with their sceptical critics. "Graphs and pie charts have evidently failed to convince. Perhaps a more discursive approach which focuses on observable change backed up by scientific evidence may be more persuasive."

Producer: Sheila Cook.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b0188886)
News and conversation about the big stories of the week. With Paddy O'Connell.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b0188888)
For detailed synopses, see daily episodes

Writer ..... Adrian Flynn
Director ..... Kim Greengrass
Editor ..... Vanessa Whitburn

Jill Archer ..... Patricia Greene
Shula Hebden Lloyd ..... Judy Bennett
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Pip Archer ..... Helen Monks
Elizabeth Pargetter ..... Alison Dowling
Freddie Pargetter ..... Jack Firth
Lily Pargetter ..... Georgie Feller
Tony Archer ..... Colin Skipp
Pat Archer ..... Patricia Gallimore
Helen Archer ..... Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer ..... Tom Graham
Brian Aldridge ..... Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ..... Angela Piper
Fallon Rogers ..... Joanna Van Kampen
Kathy Perks ..... Hedli Niklaus
Joe Grundy ..... Edward Kelsey
Clarrie Grundy ..... Rosalind Adams
William Grundy ..... Philip Molloy
Nic Hanson ..... Becky Wright
Neil Carter ..... Brian Hewlett
Roy Tucker ..... Ian Pepperell
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Bert Fry ..... Eric Allan
Annabelle Shrivener ..... Julia Hills
Eamonn Philips ..... Stephen Hogan
Clem Porter ..... Carl Prekopp.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b018888b)
Julian Fellowes

Kirsty Young's castaway is the creator of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes.

He won an Oscar for his screenplay for Gosford Park and went on to write other feature films including The Young Victoria and Vanity Fair. Downton Abbey, which he created and writes, has been an enormous TV success with a huge audience. "Of course" he says, "if I had a clear understanding of why it had done so well, I would continue to write shows that attracted record viewers for the rest of my life."

Producer: Leanne Buckle.


SUN 12:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b0183tly)
Series 56

Episode 5

The godfather of all panel shows pays a first visit to the brand new Colosseum in Watford. Old-timers Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Andy Hamilton, with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell accompanies on the piano. Producer - Jon Naismith.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b018888d)
Gin and Botanicals

Dan Saladino explores the past, present and future of the most British of drinks, gin. And hears how a new generation of distillers is testing the boundaries of an old and familiar flavour.

For decades vodka was the spirit of choice, not just for James Bond, but also for bartenders and mixologists (a recent term for the people who develop new drink recipes and cocktails). But more recently people have been reaching out for more interesting and complex flavours to replace the neutral taste of vodka. Gin was perfect.

From as far back as the 12th century apothecaries had used juniper and its coniferous flavours in spirits to heal and revive. By the 17th century the Dutch had given us Geneva or Holland Gin, a rough, whisky like spirit with juniper at its base. As distilling techniques developed in the 19th century it became the refined gin we know today with juniper flavours being delicately mixed with botanicals like coriander, cinnamon, ginger and Orris.

It's the challenge of blending and experimenting with these flavours that has attracted a new generation of gin distillers. Dan Saladino explains the history that has made this 21st century gin craze possible and finds out what is now drawing people to what was once Britain's most notorious drink.

Producer: Dan Saladino.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b01882ww)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b018888g)
Shaun Ley presents the latest national and international news, with an in-depth look at events around the world. Email: wato@bbc.co.uk; twitter: #theworldthisweekend.


SUN 13:30 Ayckbourn in Action (b014gdqz)
Alan Ayckbourn's talent as a director has often been obscured by his global success as a playwright.

In this programme - amid rehearsals for his latest (75th!) stage play, Neighbourhood Watch - we analyse what makes him such a deft and consummate director of his own plays and those of others.

With contributions from Julia McKenzie, Michael Gambon, Peter Bowles, Suzie Blake, Penelope Wilton and Martin Jarvis we find out about his skill in handling actors and in prompting performances that delicately balance the comedy and the pain of life.

Producer: Susan Marling
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2011.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b0184vhj)
Sutton Coldfield

Eric Robson chairs a Q&A with Anne Swithinbank, Bob Flowerdew and Matthew Wilson.
How to: prune a Forest Pansy as well as how best detect truffles. In addition, the panel's favourite fruit and vegetable varieties.

Questions were addressed in the programme:
I've oak saplings impregnated with summer truffle. Will I see a crop?
Suggestions for Christmas plant decorations for a church (not Holly)
Suggestions included: Cornus Alba, Cotoneaster Watereri and of course spray-painting leek heads.
Can I prune my Forest Pansy to encourage upward growth?
What is the panel's view on irrigation during drought etc.?
Should I cut off all the foliage on my Hellibores before it flowers or just the damaged ones?

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


SUN 14:45 Coming Out (b01888d8)
Bankruptcy

Five programmes exploring the ways in which we reveal our true histories to the world.

5. Bankruptcy

Hannah, like many students, left university with a burden of debt in addition to her student loan. Unable to find a job in the field she had trained for, her debts escalated to the point where she had to consider bankruptcy. With her father and a friend who had also had to declare herself bankrupt she looks back over the depression and guilt which accompanied her financial disaster and is now able to draw some positive conclusions from it.

Producer Christine Hall.


SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b01888l1)
François Rabelais - Gargantua and Pantagruel

Pantagruel

Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais. Dramatised by Lavinia Murray.

Ep 2 - Pantagruel.

Concluding the bawdy and scatological adventures of Medieval giants. This episode concentrates on the story of Gargantua's son, Pantagruel and his morally dubious friend Panurge, as they go on a quest to discover whether marriage is for them. On the way they have many adventures before they come before the Seer of the Holy Bottle who gives them a definitive judgement.

Rabelais.....David Troughton
Gargantua....Robert Wilfort
Pantagruel....Justin Edwards
Panurge...Conrad Nelson
Friar Jean....Jonathan Keeble
Jacqueline/Seer...Fiona Clarke
Librarian/Secretary...Mark Chatterton

Producer Gary Brown

This tale is a dizzying blend of fantasy, comedy, philosophy and scatological humour. The world's a messy place. All the big mock-heroic novels that followed - Don Quixote, Tristram Shandy, Gulliver's Travels, Ulysses - are about mess, they're about slops and slime, encyclopaedic in their efforts to encompass humanity in all its bawdy, chaotic, grungy, and painful reality. And like Gargantua and Pantagruel they're also very funny. The Rabelaisian world view is founded on the assumption that the humourless are not yet wise - and these tales insist you learn to laugh at humanity.

Gargantua and Pantagruel is dramatised by Lavinia Murray, one of our leading radio playwrights whose credits include 'The Anatomy of Melancholy' and 'The Confessions of an English Opium Eater'.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (b01888w8)
Open Book continues its celebration of funny books and writers

Mariella Frostrup continues her celebration of funny books and funny writers with award winning comic novelist Christopher Brookmyre discussing why Jeff Torrington's 1992 Whitbread Award winning novel "Swing Hammer Swing" is his choice for Open Book's Funniest Book. He joins an illustrious panel of writers and comedians - Jo Brand, John Sessions, A L Kennedy and Tony Parsons - for the Open Book Funniest Book Balloon Debate which will be broadcast in an hour long special on Christmas Eve.

In the concluding part of Open Book's Mini History of Comic Writing our resident expert John Mullan joins award winning screenwriter Sir Ronald Harwood - his stellar career includes The Dresser, The Pianist and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. They discuss the two comic writing giants of the 20th century - P G Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh - and how their unique contributions to the comic novel have influenced the contemporary novel as well as reflecting the best traditions of British comedy.

And Gaza through the eyes of a British Palestinian - Selma Dabbagh discusses her debut novel "Out Of It".


SUN 16:30 What the Donkey Saw: UA Fanthorpe's Christmas Poems (b018vdhw)
Sheila Hancock reads a selection of poems written especially for Christmas by U. A. Fanthorpe, a poet both popular and critically acclaimed.

In 1972 U.A. Fanthorpe and Rosie Bailey started sending new poems as Christmas cards to their friends. They continued, graduating from an old Banda machine to a small Adana moveable type press, up to U.A.'s death in 2009.

Fanthorpe was witty, original, and she reworked the Christmas story from quirky angles, such as from the donkey's point of view (the donkey who, it is suggested, later carries Christ into Jerusalem) and from the cat and sheep-dog left out of the stable. There's even a wicked fairy who intrudes from another genre, with alternative gifts for Jesus.

These were so popular with their recipients that Enitharmon Press published a collection called 'Christmas Poems', and Sheila Hancock reads a selection from this volume.

U. A.'s partner Rosie Bailey, recorded at their home, with the press and some of the cards, introduces the poems. We hear, too, from some of those on their Christmas card list, including the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and writers Lawrence Sail and Jackie Kay. For them receiving U.A's poem was important, a funny but thoughtful beginning to Christmas.

Producer: Julian May.


SUN 17:00 Boundaries of Blood (b0184rgx)
In December 1971, after just two weeks of a hot war with India, Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat and a new country, Bangladesh, was born. The BBC's South Asia Editor, Shahzeb Jillani, was born in what was then West Pakistan as the bombs were falling. 40 years later, Shahzeb, now the BBC World Service South Asia Editor, returns to the region to find out how these traumatic events have shaped contemporary Pakistan. It is a personal journey of discovery to challenge the contradictions in the Pakistani narrative he was taught while at school.

There he learned little, if anything, of the injustices visited in the 1950s and 1960s on Eastern Pakistan by the Western half - with government spending and political power overwhelmingly biased towards the the West. The discrimination came to a head in the bid for Bangladeshi independence and then a brutal war which Pakistan expected to win. When India entered on the side of the Bangladeshi independence fighters, Pakistan suffered the ultimate humiliation: surrender on December 16th 1971.

Through this programme, Shahzeb will explore how the memory of defeat at the hands of India has shaped the thinking of the Pakistani military - that the country faces a continued external threat from its much larger neighbour. Does that go some way to explaining Pakistan's determination to acquire the bomb and, as is widely suspected, to support militant groups active in South Asia? And Shahzeb will explore the hidden legacy of violence, coming face to face with Bangladeshis who witnessed the widespread rape, torture, and killings by Pakistani forces and to understand the resentment many Bangladeshis still feel towards Pakistan.


SUN 17:40 Profile (b01886js)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b01882wy)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b01882x0)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01882x2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b01888wb)
Sheila McClennon makes her selection from the past seven days of BBC Radio.

This week a gastronomic festival puts Budleigh Salterton on the European Carte du Cuisine and an Italian marathon runner has to be helped across the Olympic finishing line after too much champagne en route. Not a problem for the fell runners tackling over 70 miles and 42 peaks in the Lakes or the composer who's been inspired to set their feat to music. There are fake sob stories, bad boys and shock eliminations and a reminder that the American Dance Hall Marathons were the 1920s equivalent of reality TV. And how gaffer tape came to the rescue of a Primary School's Nativity Play in Scotland.

Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off - Radio 4
Broadcasting House - Radio 4
Post Mortem - Radio 4
Detective Sergeant Nick Mohammed - Radio 4
Open Country - Radio 4
The Essay - Radio 3
The Wild Neighbour and the Willing Coward - World Service
The Bob Graham Round - Radio 4
Our Country's Good - Radio 4
Start The Week - Radio 4
They Shoot Horses Don't They? - Radio 2
Good Morning Scotland - Radio Scotland

Email: potw@bbc.co.uk or www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/potw
Producer: Helen Lee.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b01888wd)
Lynda's determined to have everything ready in good time for the Christmas show, and with Coriander and the family arriving on Christmas Eve she's grateful to Fallon for helping her to dress the stage. With everything looking good, they have time to enjoy a Sacristan - a sample of Ian's food for the evening, while Fallon chats about the plans for Nic's hen night. Lynda thinks the pink stretch limo sounds delightfully vulgar.

Pat and Tony arrive in Leeds with plenty of time to spare but Pat's far too anxious at the thought of meeting Rich to be able to enjoy the Christmas Market. They finally spot Sharon and Eamonn, and are casually introduced to Rich. Tony gets a chance to ask him about his interest in cricket, and they learn that he likes science - but that's about it. Within no time Eamonn is taking Rich off for something to eat.

Sharon holds back just long enough to remind Pat and Tony that it's done now. There'll be nothing more unless Rich asks about his dad or his grandparents. Sharon ends with one final shock: her son took Eamonn's surname, Philips, but Rich is his nickname. His real name is John.


SUN 19:15 Dilemma (b01888wg)
Series 1

Episode 6

Sue Perkins puts Zoe Lyons, Phill Jupitus, Simon Garfield and Humphrey Ker through the moral and ethical wringer in the show where there are no "right" answers - but some deeply damning ones...

Quandaries on the agenda include swapped babies, one-night stands, and biochip crime prevention.

They also try to solve some dilemmas the audience have brought along.

Devised by Danielle Ward.

Producer: Ed Morrish

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2011.


SUN 19:45 Stories from Earth Music Bristol (b01888wj)
I Am River

By Horatio Clare. A watery memory of dark times. Inspired by the themes of the Earth Music Bristol festival. Recorded with an audience in 2011.


SUN 20:00 More or Less (b0184w5t)
Higgs Boson:
In the week that scientists at the Large Hadron Collider announced that the most coveted prize in particle physics - the Higgs boson - may have been found, Tim Harford hears how everyone is getting confused about how to report statistical significance. Robert Matthew of Aston University says the meaning of 2, 3 and 5-sigma evidence is being misinterpreted by science journalists and some of the physicists themselves.

Medieval mathematics:
Tim Harford talks to author Keith Devlin about how Fibonacci revolutionised trade by introducing medieval businessmen to simple arithmetic.

How (not) to corner a market:
Performance artist Jamie Moakes is trying to corner the market in a 1980s plastic doll from cartoon series He- Man. Tim Harford explores the difficulties of Jamie's quest to push up the price of something that for many years no one has much wanted. He hears from Professor Eric Smith of the University of Essex who says that there is no saying why certain items gain value, although in this instance Jamie may struggle to achieve his goal. He also hears lessons from history from John Gapper of the Financial Times.

Producer: Ruth Alexander
More or Less is made in association with the Open University.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b0184w5r)
Christopher Hitchens, Lynn Margulis, George Whitman and Jerry Robinson

John Wilson on:

Christopher Hitchens, a giant of modern political journalism, who targeted tyranny, corruption and religion in print.

Microbiologist Lynn Margulis, whose theories about evolution brought about new understanding of cellular development.

George Whitman, owner of the world famous Shakespeare and co. bookshop in Paris.

And Jerry Robinson, the comic strip artist who created the character of Batman's faithful sidekick Robin and his arch villain The Joker.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b0188522)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b0188882)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 The Life of Vaclav Havel (b019l2yn)
Former BBC Prague correspondent Chris Bowlby looks back at the life of Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright and politican who led his country's revolution against communism, who died today.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b018b5dg)
Carolyn Quinn talks to the Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb about the problems the Lib Dems have faced in coalition government in 2011.

The political editor of the Financial Times, George Parker, looks back over the last 12 months at Westminster.

The Conservative MP Margo James and the Labour MP Lisa Nandy take part in the weekly MPs' panel.

Keith Macdougall reports on the government's pledge to appoint a commission on the 'West Lothian Question.'.


SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b018b5dj)
Episode 83

Hugo Rifkind of The Times analyses how the newspapers are covering the biggest stories in Westminster and beyond.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b0184v31)
Francine Stock talks to two of the brightest stars in British cinema, the actor, Eddie Marsan and the director, Carol Morley.

Carol's documentary, Dreams of a Life, is being hailed as one of the most accomplished and disturbing films of the year. Its a story of casual neglect -- no harm intended more a case of someone just slipping off the radar -- but it ends in death. A young woman's body is discovered in a North London flat ...there are three years worth of bills on the floor and the television is still playing....all the ingredients for a film noir...or a modern morality tale.

Dreams of a Life inhabits the same recognisably contemporary world as Paddy Considine's award winning, Tyrannosaur -- just one of the films featuring Eddie Marsan this year. He's also in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Junkhearts and next year he'll appear in Spielberg's Warhorse and, as a dwarf, in Snow White and The Huntsman. As Francine discovered he believes in mixing and matching and revels in the variety.

Francine hears from the critics too -- Andrew Collins gives his verdict on the nominations for this year's Golden Globes and Jonathan Romney and Hannah McGill pick the year's best foreign language films and look forward to 2012.

Producer: Zahid Warley.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b01886zz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 19 DECEMBER 2011

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b01882xq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b0184s2x)
Tipping points

Laurie Taylor explores the idea of the Tipping Point using a multidisciplinary project at Durham University as a springboard to examine what tipping points are, how they happen and what effect they have. Professor Tim Clark and Professor Pat Waugh from Durham University and Professor Alex Bentley from Bristol University are all involved in the Durham Tipping Points project and they are joined by Dr Shahidha Bari from Queen Mary, London to discuss the idea of the tipping point and what it might tell us about ourselves and our environment - and how, perhaps, we can use our understanding of it to prevent significant problems in areas as diverse as banking and sociology.
Producer: Chris Wilson.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b01886tx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01882xs)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01882xv)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01882xx)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b01882xz)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b018b5fm)
with Bishop Dr Joe Aldred.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b018g3hk)
The cheese that looks like Stilton, tastes like Stilton, made to a Stilton recipe in the village of Stilton. But it's against the law to call it Stilton. Caz Graham asks why.

Which meat will you be serving up on your Christmas plate this year? Tim Wilson and runs Ginger Pig Butchers' shops. He tells Caz how our tastes have changed over the last 100 years. And now, goose is proving increasingly popular.

And the Shropshire company that's made milking Dubai's camels a whole lot easier. Suzy O'Shea from milking parlour manufacturer Fullwood says it's not just camels, it's donkey milk for face and body cream in Portugal too.

Presented by Caz Graham. Produced by Clare Freeman in Birmingham.


MON 05:57 Weather (b01882y1)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b018g3hm)
With Sarah Montague and James Naughtie. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b018b63r)
The Spirit of Christmas: Claire Tomalin, Susan Hill and Canon Giles Fraser

Andrew Marr discusses the idea of Christmas with Canon Giles Fraser who argues that the Christian Christmas was invented by the Emperor Constantine for political, not religious, reasons, 300 years after the birth of Christ. Canon Fraser will be discussing the idea that the legacy of Constantine's December feast distorts the message of Christ and casts a long shadow on modern believers. Clare Tomalin will be talking about Dickens and how the Victorian imagination shaped our understanding of what Christmas is and should be, and Susan Hill will be exploring the Christmas ghost story - one of the tenacious Victorian traditions still being reinvented in the 21st century.

Producer: Eleanor Garland.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b018b63t)
The Etymologicon

Episode 1

Abridged by Jane Marshall.

A circular stroll through the fascinating and amusing connections of the English language by the author of the popular Inky Fool blog, Mark Forsyth.

In the first episode the glorious insanities of our language are explored as a turn up for the books starts a chain reaction which leads to gambling in medieval France, the link between gonads and testifying by oath and the derivation of the word avocado.

Read by Hugh Dennis.

Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b018b63w)
Presented by Jane Garvey. A phone in about the first night with a new baby. Call 03700 100 444 with your experiences after 0800 or you can email us via the woman's hour web site.


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b018b63y)
AS Byatt - Possession

Episode 1

Roland Michell, an academic research assistant, is completing some work in the London Library, when he comes across two unfinished letters written by the Victorian Poet, Randolph Henry Ash. These letters have obviously not been found by anyone else and they are not to his wife but to an unknown woman. Roland, whose entire academic life has been devoted to studying Ash, decides, recklessly to pocket the letters and try to determine exactly who they were written to.

This is the beginning of a quest that will change literary history and with the help of a feminist literary scholar Maud Bailey, they are determined to find out the truth behind these letters. Certain other characters hear about the letters and are eager to get their hands on them for their own financial gain and will do so, by any means necessary, and so the chase begins.

Written by AS Byatt. Dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker

Cast:
Maud ...... Jemma Redgrave
Roland ...... Harry Hadden-Paton
Ash ....... James d'arcy
Lamotte ..... Rachael Stirling
Blackadder ..... Bill Paterson
Cropper ..... Matthew Marsh
George ...... Kenneth Cranham
Joan ....... Joanna David
Beatrice Nest ...... Stella Gonet
Euan ...... Nicholas Boulton
Fergus ...... Jonjo O'Neil
Hildebrand ..... Robert Portal
Val ...... Laura Pyper
Leonora .... Lorelei King
Raoul/Toby Byng .... Sam Dale
Mrs Wapshott/Mrs Cammish/Mrs lees ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Beth/PA/Mrs Judge/Librarian ...... Rachel Atkins
Girl ...... Sylvie Goodwin

Director: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 11:00 Tales from the Arab Spring (b018b6y8)
Revolution (Egypt)

The BBC's Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen looks back over a momentous year in the Middle East and hears from those who witnessed events at first hand. The protests started in Tunisia after a fruit-seller set himself on fire and quickly spread to Egypt which, once again, became the leader of the Arab world, although not in a way anyone had expected. Millions of protesters took the streets demanding the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak but why hadn't this happened sooner and what exactly did they want?

Jeremy Bowen recalls his own experiences of the Mubarak regime and meets blogger Wael Abbas in Tahrir Square. The security police didn't take the internet seriously at first but then Abbas and his fellow bloggers started to organise demonstrations on the streets. Abbas was detained and questioned many times and the authorities spread rumours designed to discredit him in the eyes of his followers. Tunisia, however, provided the spark which set Egypt on fire: " It gave people courage to do something similar. Because they saw that it was possible. Other people did it. This small country that beats us in football, in African tournaments has removed its president. Why the hell can't we do that?"

Bowen recounts his own experiences during the 'Day of Rage' graphically recorded as the security forces moved in to Tahrir Square, firing teargas as they went. He meets Essam el-Erian, one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, who was locked up in jail earlier that day but escaped along with scores of criminals when then
jails were sprung open - either by protestors or amazingly by the security forces who, some say, wanted to show what would happen if the people were left in charge.

A senior figure in the military describes how they were ordered not to fire on protestors although he makes the point that it would have been useless to do so because the protestors kept on coming and they would have run out of ammunition. And the deputy chief of police in a northern industrial town describes the battles they fought on the streets.

Produced by Mark Savage and Cara Swift.


MON 11:30 Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off (b018b6yb)
Series 5

Rocket Man

In this episode, Giles meets some leftover post-Soviet rocket fuel. What could possibly go wrong? And how will he react to the world's first weightless pasty?

Budleigh Salterton's most famous citizen is back! But this time, he's got a computer! Giles Wemmbley Hogg has been grounded by both the Home Office and his father, so he's set up GWH Travvel ("2m's 2g's 2v's, bit of a mix up at the printers").

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

Cast
Giles ..... Marcus Brigstocke
Mr. Timmis ..... Vincent Franklin
Charlotte Wemmbley Hogg ..... Catherine Shepherd
Callum ..... David Fynn
Sergei ..... Jack Klaff
Russkov ..... Paul Shearer
Professor Komarov ..... Lorelei King

Written by Marcus Brigstocke, Jeremy Salsby & Toby Davies

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


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b018b6yd)
Why a compulsory medical test for drink drivers is not happening

Nearly 4,000 convicted drink drivers have been given back their licences without undergoing the required medical checks.

Why NHS dentistry is in the process of undergoing its second major shake-up in 5 years. We look at what the reforms will mean for patients.

And changes to the way gluten free foods are labelled.

The presenter is Julian Worricker. The producer is Alex Lewis.


MON 12:57 Weather (b01882y3)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b018b6yg)
Martha Kearney presents the national and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


MON 13:45 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b018b6yj)
The Telegraph

In 1870 the telegraph system came under the control of the post office, in the first ever instance of the government nationalising a commercial industry. The aim was to provide an extended and more efficient network, to serve the public and make a profit.

In the late nineteenth century the Post Office became a key instrument of the State.

Providing a national telegraph service, as censor and channel in the first world war, as a model employer in the 1930s and pioneer in communications technology for much of the twentieth century. The last four decades have seen the State pulling away from Royal Mail leaving it's future very much uncertain.

Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook

Historical Consultant: Iain Stevenson

Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart

Actors: Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw

Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b01888wd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b018b6yl)
Down and Out in Auchangaish

By BAFTA-winning writer, Donna Franceschild.

Cal's about to turn eighteen and he's sleeping rough. Ziggy keeps setting fire to his hotel. And Gino, the local chip shop owner, wants to help everyone. Everyone except his wife, that is.

A gentle comedy about the love that fire-fighting brings to a remote Highland village.

Cast:

Gino ..... Liam Brennan
Anna ..... Wendy Seager
Cal ..... Kyle McPhail
Ziggy ..... David Ireland
Natia ..... Lesley Hart
Peter ..... Simon Tait
Donnie ..... Robin Laing

Director: Kirsty Williams.


MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (b018b7jn)
(6/17)
Arranged alphabetically, which is the last book of the Old Testament?

If the contestants' general knowledge is up to scratch in this week's Brain of Britain contest, the answer to this question may help them in their bid to become the 59th proud holder of the Brain of Britain title. Russell Davies is joined by four contestants from the North of England in this sixth heat of the series.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b018888d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 The Art of Darkness (b018b8ct)
Richard Coles travels in the dead of winter up to the Lofoten Island in Norway - where the Northern lights and the extraordinary colours of winter darkness draw spellbound artists to live and work. Lofoten, on the very edge of Norway's Fjords, is home to both art and artists in abundance. Every turning on the road has a sign pointing to a gallery, and as Richard observes, "Looking out the window is like looking at an abstract painting - streaks of brilliant pastel colours across the dark sky and sea". Shops display paintings and weavings, inspired by the grandeur of winter at its wildest. The natural surroundings - the sea, triangular fish-drying racks, the jagged snow peaked mountains, and the darkness, illuminated by the dancing lights of the Aurora Borealis - provide rich inspiration. The peninsula has even attracted international artists, such as Anthony Gormley and Anish Kapoor, to contribute inspired pieces of work to the striking landscape.

Richard Coles travels to the frozen landscape of extreme beauty to meet the artists inspired by both the cold and the dark; artists like Scott Thoe, who breaks the ice to swim every morning; his wife Vebjørg Hagene, who creates underwater tapestries; Dagfinn Bakke, whose landscapes feature tiny figures dwarfed by storms, and Yngve Henriksen who grew up on the Islands and felt drawn to return to paint the colours of the landscape he finds so compelling - huge canvases smothered in layered oils and filled with a darkness relieved only by a 'Blue Hour'. The one person who wishes for Spring is Kjell Ove Storvik.

Producer: Sara Jane Hall.


MON 16:30 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b018b8cw)
Series 5

I'm a Chemist Get Me Out of Here

Robin Ince and Brian Cox give the chemists a chance to fight back as they stage the ultimate battle of the sciences to find out, once and for all, whether all science is really just physics...and whether chemistry is, as Brian puts it "the social science of molecules". Joining Brian in the physics corner will be comedian and ex-physicist Dara O'Briain, and trading punches for the chemists will be Professor Andrea Sella and monkey cage regular Professor Tony Ryan. Referee Robin Ince will be ringside to make sure its a clean fight and there's no hitting below the belt. Ding ding.

Producer: Alexandra Feachem.


MON 17:00 PM (b018b8cy)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01882y5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b018b8d0)
Series 56

Episode 6

Back for a second week at the Watford Colosseum, regulars Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Andy Hamilton, with Jack Dee in the chair. Piano accompaniment is provided by Colin Sell. Producer - Jon Naismith.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b018b8d2)
Tom turns up with some burgers, and gives David and Ruth a hand moving some ewes so that David can spread slurry. It's bad luck, on top of their yield problems with the dairy herd But David acknowledges that with the beef and sheep doing ok there's something to be said for mixed farming - just like Phil used to say.

David sounds out Tom about Oliver's idea for a local badger vaccination scheme for TB, which David has agreed to raise at the NFU lunch. Tom's in favour.

Pat can't stop thinking about Rich - a part of John still out there in the world. Knowing Sharon gave him John's name makes Pat feel a bit better about her. She must have really loved John after all. Tony agrees. Now they just have to hope that one day he'll come and find them. Pat pulls herself together when Helen comes to show her the new artwork for Ambridge Organics. Pat and Tony approve of it.

Tom remarks on Elona's husband moving in next door. Pat acknowledges that having family around you is all that matters. Tom knows it's not been a brilliant year but tells her they're all together - and they're going to have a great Christmas.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b018b8d4)
Jennifer Saunders; the new Mission: Impossible film

With Mark Lawson.

Jennifer Saunders reflects on the return of Absolutely Fabulous, 20 years after Patsy and Eddy first staggered onto our screens.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is the latest instalment of the action-packed franchise. The film sees Tom Cruise return as undercover operative Ethan Hunt, trotting the globe in an attempt to clear his name of terrorism charges and prevent a nuclear attack. Naomi Alderman gives her verdict.

Television is as much part of a traditional Christmas as turkey, with programmes including Downton Abbey, Doctor Who and Great Expectations on offer this year. Sarah Crompton makes her selection.

And a tribute to Vaclav Havel, the playwright and former Czech President who died this weekend, from his friend and translator Paul Wilson.

Producer Katie Langton

Presenter Mark Lawson.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b018b63y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 How New Is the New Philanthropy? (b018b8s5)
Victorian Philanthropy and its Critics

As the debate about wealth in British society continues, Professor Hugh Cunningham presents a timely history of philanthropic giving

2. Victorian Philanthropy and its Critics

The Victorian era is often seen as the high-point of philanthropic giving and Hugh Cunningham starts his journey by recalling his own great-grandfather, Andrew Usher, a brewer and distiller who donated £100,000 to the city of Edinburgh to build the Usher Hall.

However, he has questions about such major capital projects, which might have enhanced the lives of the poor but did little to relieve their poverty.

Hugh also chases a less familiar story: that of the critics who believed that philanthropy would create what is sometimes today called a 'dependency culture'.

He travels to Stoke and to Manchester, exploring the lives of the 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor; looking into how women increasingly participated in philanthropic activity and how this, in turn, helped their struggle for equality.

He hears about the Victorian trend towards the poor helping the poor.

He talks to historian and Labour MP Tristram Hunt, and to Nick Hurd, Conservative MP and Minister for Civil Society in the Coalition Government, about the obstacles which can stand in the way of philanthropists combating poverty today.

And he interviews Dame Susie Sainsbury, who speaks both of the major capital projects to which she has donated and about her willingness to give to the "less sexy items on the philanthropic shopping list".

Hugh Cunningham is Emeritus Professor of History in the University of Kent, and was academic consultant and co-writer of Radio Four's major narrative history series 'The Invention of Childhood'.

Producer: Beaty Rubens.


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b0184v2q)
China's Migrant Worker Mega-City

The world economy has pinned its hopes on China's economy, which depends on over 150 million migrant workers and their labour. The system of internal migration, based on the idea that workers do not settle in the places they work, has sustained an economic miracle and rapid development. But the country has seen a summer of unrest, with rioting among migrants in the Pearl River Delta and angry reactions to the injustices of the system. Mukul Devichand visits Guangzhou, the southern metropolis where 7 million migrants form half the population. There is anger and frustration with the hukou, China's "internal passport." Meanwhile, the city is now also home to communities from around the world, with 100,000 Africans adding to the already sensitive ethnic mix. How will the city change under the pressure of migration, and will its economic success survive the social tensions?


MON 21:00 Material World (b0184v33)
Quentin Cooper presents the latest on the search for the Higgs particle, hears about a scheme to pair scientists with members of Parliament, announces the next group of shortlisted candidates for So You Want to Be a Scientist and sniffs the smell of the Moon from a lunar exhibition in Liverpool.

Producer: Martin Redfern.


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b018b63r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b01882y7)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b018cbbp)
Ritula Shah presents national and international news and analysis.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b018cbbr)
Nancy Mitford - The Pursuit of Love

Episode 1

Nancy Mitford's razor-sharp comic classic on love and growing up in the 1930s. Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths and read by Diana Quick.

Fanny Logan tells the story of her beloved aristocratic cousins, the Radletts, and in particular Linda, who is beautiful and loves animals. Uncle Mathew hunts his children with bloodhounds (to the horror of respectable families in the local village) and keeps a blood-spattered entrenching tool above the fireplace as a relic of his experiences in the First World War. The cousins spend much of their childhood in the airing cupboard - the only warm place in the enormous Alconleigh Hall - discussing love and sex.

Beautifully observed and hilariously funny, the novel is also a fascinating hinterland account of the period leading to the Second World War and never pulls its punches in evoking the painful reality of the times.

Reader...Diana Quick
Abridger...Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.


MON 23:00 Off the Page (b0184rgl)
Birmingham

Dominic Arkwright and guests Adrian Goldberg, Shazia Mirza and Luke Bainbridge discuss Birmingham; its flaws and its fabulousness.

According to a recent survey, the majority of the population believe that Manchester is the UK's second city and not Birmingham. Lord Digby Jones added further fuel to that debate when he suggested earlier this year that Manchester has a more legitimate claim to that crown. But is there anything to be gained from being classified as second? Is it a title that either cities want?

Brummies Adrian Goldberg and Shazia Mirza and Mancunian Luke Bainridge join Dominic Arkwright to discuss why coolness is the one adjective that has eluded the city of a thousand trades. Blighted by dialectic prejudice and the stereotypes borne of Crossroads and the like, Birmingham is about to embark on another architectural city revamp. Is Birmingham happy with itself?

Producer: Sarah Langan.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b018cbd5)
Sean Curran with the day's top news stories from Westminster. The government defends its record on deporting foreign criminals. The chancellor announces plans to separate high street banking from investment banking, as recommended by the Vickers report. In the House of Lords, a call for the Winter Fuel Payment to be taxed.



TUESDAY 20 DECEMBER 2011

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b01882yw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b018b63t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01882yy)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01882z0)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01882z2)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b01882z4)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b018mbvg)
with Bishop Dr Joe Aldred.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b018cbns)
Scientists at the University of Reading are coordinating a £3.5 million international project to find more sustainable animal feeds and they think a pink flowering plant, Sainfoin, could be one answer. Ninety eight pints of milk a day - all in a day's work for Bradley Cora 289, the dairy cow we're following through a year of production. And, a turkey farmer takes a break from his frantic work to tell us how he's preparing birds for the shops.

Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling.


TUE 06:00 Today (b018cbnv)
Morning news and current affairs with James Naughtie and Sarah Montague, including:
07:50 Fears raised of a shortfall in foster carers.
08:10 Margaret Hodge MP explains her criticisms of HMRC
08:20 Why do some people's names perfectly fit their job?


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (b018cbnx)
Lord Robert Winston

He's the man on the telly with the big moustache, famous for A Child of Our Time, The Human Body and Making Babies but Robert Winston is also a well respected scientist. He played a pioneering role in developing IVF technology, and has brought life to many hundreds of couples who had given up hope of ever having a baby . Jim Al-Khalili talks to Robert Winston about why he quit the theatre to become a medic, creating human life in a test tube and why he disagrees with Richard Dawkins about The God Delusion.

Producer: Anna Buckley.


TUE 09:30 One to One (b018cbnz)
Lucy Kellaway with Sir Peter Moores

Lucy Kellaway of the Financial Times concludes her exploration into the complexities of having considerable personal wealth by talking Sir Peter Moores. Son of John Moores, founder of the Littlewoods company, Sir Peter is now eighty and starting to wind up his foundation that has given an estimated ninety three million pounds to charity. He talks to Lucy about how he's used the money he inherited and earned, the things he's still stingy about and why he trusts no one to run his foundation after he has gone.
Producer: Lucy Lunt.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b018cdmv)
The Etymologicon

Episode 2

Abridged by Jane Marshall.

The author of the Inky Fool blog leads us on a fascinating journey tracing the connection between seemingly unrelated words and uncovers the links between the 'proof of a pudding', 'sausage-shaped poison', being hoist by a 'petard' and 'feisty heroines'.

Read by Hugh Dennis

Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b018cdmx)
Cook the Perfect bread and pudding with Sophie Dahl; women in N Korea; play-date etiquette

The model, writer and food lover Sophie Dahl famously grew up as the granddaughter of children's writer Roald Dahl enjoying food and stories. So it's perhaps not surprising that she has a love of nostalgic comfort food. She joins Jane Garvey in the studio to show us how to Cook the Perfect bread and butter Pudding with panettone. The situation for women in North Korea. The Fostering Network says that nearly 9,000 children need foster homes at the moment in the UK and the number has been on the increase for the last five years. Jane discusses what we can do to change this. This is the time of year when we are surrounded by images of angels, many looking rather benevolent, musical creatures. But in the biblical tradition angels are often more alarming and the Revd Lucy Winkett takes a look at the heavenly hordes in all their strange glory. And the school holidays have started and your child will want to see their friends, but does the thought of a play date strike you with fear? Is there a play date etiquette for parents?


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b018cdmz)
AS Byatt - Possession

Episode 2

Roland Michell, an academic research assistant, is completing some work in the London Library, when he comes across two unfinished letters written by the Victorian Poet, Randolph Henry Ash. Theses letters have obviously not been found by anyone else and they are not to his wife but to an unknown woman. Roland, whose entire academic life has been devoted to studying Ash, decides, recklessly to pocket the letters and try to determine exactly who they were written to.

This is the beginning of a quest that will change literary history and with the help of a feminist literary scholar Maud Bailey, they are determined to find out the truth behind these letters. Certain other characters hear about the letters and are eager to get their hands on them for their own financial gain and will do so, by any means necessary, and so the chase begins.

Written by A S Byatt. Dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker

Cast:
Maud ...... Jemma Redgrave
Roland ...... Harry Hadden-Paton
Ash ....... James d'arcy
Lamotte ..... Rachael Stirling
Blackadder ..... Bill Paterson
Cropper ..... Matthew Marsh
George ...... Kenneth Cranham
Joan ....... Joanna David
Beatrice Nest ...... Stella Gonet
Euan ...... Nicholas Boulton
Fergus ...... Jonjo O'Neil
Hildebrand ..... Robert Portal
Val ...... Laura Pyper
Leonora .... Lorelei King
Raoul/Toby Byng .... Sam Dale
Mrs Wapshott/Mrs Cammish/Mrs lees ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Beth/PA/Mrs Judge/Librarian ...... Rachel Atkins
Girl ...... Sylvie Goodwin

Director: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 11:00 Tales from the Arab Spring (b018cdn1)
Counter Revolution (Libya)

The experience of protesters in Libya proved to be the opposite of their counterparts in Egypt and Tunisia. After Egypt's President Mubarak fell, many assumed that all you had to do was organise using social media, occupy, push hard and the hollow regime would fall. Colonel Gaddafi had other ideas. He was determined to crush the revolution. Jeremy Bowen hears from some of those who were caught up in the conflict

Bowen first met Salem al-Faturi at a funeral for someone who had been killed after government forces opened fire on protesters in a suburb of Tripoli. The regime's use of killings, beatings, arbitrary arrests and torture provoked violent resistance. Salem, an accountant with Price Waterhouse Coopers, became a gun-runner and describes how he would buy weapons, which were stolen from a military warehouse, and smuggle them through army checkpoints, hidden inside his car door. He still keeps a Kalashnikov in the boot of his car, together with two home-made pipe bombs. Everybody in Libya, Salim says, is interested in weapons now.

Jeremy Bowen was among the last journalists to interview Colonel Gaddafi. He describes how he was rushed to a secret location by one of the Colonel's nephews. The BBC journalist stopped to ask if he could put on a suit.
'No,' said his minder: 'It's war. Jeans are fine.' Gaddafi thought that people were prepared to die to protect him. Some were, but many others were prepared to die to bring him down. Mohammed al-Ziani was caught attempting to bomb an army checkpoint. He was taken to Abu Salim, Libya's notorious jail, where he was beaten and tortured along with other opponents of the regime, including lawyers and doctors. Mohammed goes back to the jail with Jeremy where he says he learnt many things that will help him in life: 'How to be patient, how to not lose faith . . .You know beating Gaddafi was something like impossible. But we was believing it.'

The programme ends with celebrations in the centre of Tripoli in Martyrs' Square. But Gaddafi had his supporters, including a young woman called Noor Saied who helped translate for foreign journalists. She tells Jeremy Bowen that people still love him but are afraid of saying so.

Producers: Cara Swift and Mark Savage.


TUE 11:30 Warsaw Variations (b018cg7v)
Panufnik and Lutoslawski were the great hopes of Polish music at the outbreak of World War Two.

During the Occupation, opportunities for musical development were severely limited, but an artistic life sprang up in the cafes and bars of Warsaw. For four years, Lutoslawski and Panufnik made a living playing arrangements of popular and classical tunes (most famously the Paganini variations) to mixed audiences of music lovers, nationalist resisters and cultured Wehrmacht officers.

Warsaw Variations traces the experiences of these two young musicians through the Occupation, the Warsaw Uprising (in which virtually all their manuscripts were destroyed) and into the era of Socialist Realism.

Immediately following the war Panufnik was designated 'Composer Number One'. But by 1954, he'd had enough of pleasing the authorities and defected to Britain. Lutoslawski stayed in Poland and emerged as one of the most prominent composers of the late 20th Century.

With contributions from two men with memories of Warsaw's war-time cafe culture - actor and former waiter Witold Sadowy and musicologist Wladyslaw Malinowski, as well as Panufnik's widow, Lady Camilla Panufnik; the music scholar and Lutoslawski expert Adrian Thomas; Panufnik's biographer Beata Boleslawska, and a historian of Polish musical life under the Nazis Katarzyna Naliwajek.

This programme received the Prix Europa in October 2012 for the 'Best European Music Programme of the Year'. It was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b018cg7x)
The Problem of Childhood Obesity

How do we reverse the trend of childhood obesity?

Call You and Yours with Julian Worricker. An opportunity to contribute your views to the programme. Email youandyours@bbc.co.uk or call 03700 100 444 (lines open at 10am).


TUE 12:57 Weather (b01882z6)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b018cg81)
Martha Kearney presents national and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


TUE 13:45 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b018cg83)
The Post Office at War

In 1914 the post office was called upon to play a vital role in the country's war effort. Every week twelve and half million letters left Britain for Flanders, and it took 2 days for a letter to reach the front. The post office also supported the army's censorship activities, preventing sensitive information reaching enemy hands and helping to capture spies.

As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook charts the development of the post office and examines it's impact on literacy, free speech, commerce and communication. The Post Office has become a cherished social institution, linking people together and extending their vision outward into the wider world.

It's called Royal Mail but it should be known as the People's Post

Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook

Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart

Historical Consultant: Iain Stevenson

Actors: Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw

Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b018b8d2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 McLevy (b018cpzy)
Series 8

The Last Illusion

Victorian detective mystery starring Brian Cox and Siobhan Redmond.

Episode 4: The Last Illusion.

McLevy sets out to prove a celebrated stage magician is a jewel thief.

McLevy.......................................................................BRIAN COX
Jean Brash.....................................................SIOBHAN REDMOND
Mulholland.....................................MICHAEL PERCEVAL-MAXWELL
Roach....................................................................DAVID ASHTON
Hannah................................................................COLETTE O'NEIL
Charles Boniface............................................................ALAN COX
Fergus Dundee......................................................TAM DEAN BURN
Tam...................................................................DANIEL PORTMAN
Callum..........................................................................ALI CRAIG
Gambler.................................................................RIKKI LAWTON

Producer/director: Bruce Young.


TUE 15:00 Home Planet (b018cq00)
Carbon dioxide munching plants

The concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is continuing to rise and a number of schemes have been suggested to limit this increase. This week one Home Planet listener wants to know what plants might do this job most effectively, and should we planting them for that reason? Then there's the puzzle that even though carbon dioxide levels have risen, global temperatures appear to have stabilized over the last few decades. Is this really the case and what are the implications for climate science? Japanese knotweed, water hyacinth and kudzu are all invasive plant species causing significant damage to sensitive environments. There is a great deal of effort put into removing them but is there an alternative approach to dealing with these alien species? And just how does water vapour trap heat on Earth rather than reflecting it back into space in the first instance.

On the panel this week are marine biologist Dr Helen Scales; forestry expert Dr Nick Brown of Oxford University and Mike Hulme, Professor of Climate Change at the University of East Anglia..

The programme is presented by Richard Daniel.
Producer: Toby Murcott
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:30 Questions, Questions (b012lkkl)
Stewart Henderson presents another sparkling series of Questions Questions - the programme which offers answers to those intriguing questions of everyday life, inspired by current events and popular culture.

Each programme is compiled directly from the well-informed and inquisitive Radio 4 audience, who bring their unrivalled collective brain to bear on these puzzlers every week.

In this weeks programme Stewart travels to Cornwall to explore the musical heritage of tin mining, he investigates the origins of the collective nouns for birds and asks how we recognise voices.

Producer: Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b018cq02)
Bonds and Bailouts - the language of the financial markets. Michael Rosen returns for a new series on words and the way we use them.
The ups and downs of the banking world have moved from the financial news to the front pages. We are, we're told, witnessing momentous events with far-reaching consequences. But how well do we understand the language of global economic turmoil? Does financial jargon explain or obscure the picture? Michael Rosen talks to money makers, anti-capitalists and commentators.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b018csyq)
Series 26

Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes: the writer and psychologist Steven Pinker joins Matthew Parris to discuss the life of the great English philosopher. Noel Malcolm from All Souls College, Oxford provides the expert analysis.
Power and violence are themes of the discussion of Hobbes who, Steven Pinker argues, was "perhaps the first cognitive psychologist." Although he was born in the late sixteenth century, we are fortunate to have some rich biographical description of Hobbes thanks to his contemporary and friend, the writer John Aubrey.
Now, the word Hobbesian is often used to describe a world in which life is "nasty, brutish and short." But Professor Pinker suggests Hobbes was actually "a nice man, despite the fact his name became a rather nasty adjective."

Producer: Chris Ledgard.


TUE 17:00 PM (b018csys)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01882z8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b018csyv)
Series 3

Basingstoke

In this third series comedian Mark Steel visits 6 more UK towns to discover what makes them and their inhabitants distinctive.

He creates a bespoke stand-up show for that town and performs the show in front of a local audience.

As well as shedding light on the less visited areas of Britain, Mark uncovers stories and experiences that resonate with us all as we recognise the quirkiness of the British way of life and the rich tapestry of remarkable events and people who have shaped where we live.

During the series 'Mark Steel's In Town' Mark will visit Berwick-Upon Tweed, Holyhead, Basingstoke, Douglas (Isle of Man), Bungay and Wigan.

Episode 3 - In this episode Mark performs a show for the residents of Basingstoke, where he talks about war with the Salvation Army, prehistoric roundabouts and a rather unusual world record set in a shopping centre. From December 2011.

Written by Mark Steel with additional material by Pete Sinclair.
Produced by Sam Bryant.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b018csyx)
Jazzer admires the stage set at the village hall but is surprised that Lynda plans to record his rehearsal so that she and Vicky can provide feedback. After recovering from a coughing fit, Jazzer manages to sing but Lynda's not happy with his inappropriate choice of song. Jazzer's not prepared to come up with something twee.

With so much to do, Susan's glad she's taken the day off. Neil wishes she'd talk to Tracy about when she and the kids are moving out. Susan reminds him they agreed to get Christmas out the way first.

Clarrie's gutting the turkeys when Susan calls to deliver their Christmas card. Clarrie shows Susan the wedding cake, which is looking wonderful. They reminisce on the ups and downs of the past year.

Susan tells Neil that she and Tracy have made Bert and Gary's house look Christmassy but she knows it's not going to be the same. Neil agrees it's down to him and Susan to make sure everyone has a good time. He's sure they can do it - for Ivy.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b018csyz)
Michelle Yeoh, 2011 music picks, book cover design

With John Wilson.

Michelle Yeoh, star of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Tomorrow Never Dies, on playing Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in The Lady. Luc Besson's film tells the extraordinary story of the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who sacrificed her personal life for her people, remaining under house arrest in Burma even when her Oxford-based husband Michael Aris was dying of cancer.

Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills; BBC Proms presenter Suzy Klein; and writer and critic David Hepworth nominate their album of the year for 2011.

And - Julian Barnes thanked his book jacket designer in his Booker acceptance speech this year and emphasised the importance of books as beautiful objects. At a time when e-readers are changing the publishing landscape, Barnes' designer Suzanne Dean and art director at Harper Collins Alice Moore reflect on how the role of the cover designer might evolve.

Producer Lisa Davis.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b018cdmz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 Can You Touch Your Toes? (b018csz1)
The Government wants to cut the benefits bill, but how should it decide who is and isn't fit for work? Anita Anand investigates the new assessment scheme being used to decide between deserving claimants and those who are playing the system.

This programme takes us inside the controversial new series of tests and forms being used to decide who is eligible for the 'employment support allowance' - the replacement for the old incapacity benefit - and who needs extra support in getting back into the jobs market. Disability campaigners claim the new system is too crude to measure fairly claimants' fitness to work, but how exactly does it work?

Anita Anand follows four people with different disabilities and health problems through the process. She meets claimants, sees their day-to-day lives and learns how their medical conditions affect them and the jobs they could do - from visual impairment to depression, cerebral palsy and ME. We follow all four people through the assessments - from filling in the forms to the 'computer-led' medical, the results and the appeals process.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b018csz3)
Latest Can't See, Will Cook + Braille reaction

Imaginative and safe ways to cook in the latest Can't See Will Cook. Richard Lane talks to Ian Macrae who tells him that being blind or visually impaired doesn't prevent you from making and enjoying a good stir-fry. Plus UK Braillists strike back after our report last week about changes to the system.

Presenter Peter White.
Producer Cheryl Gabriel.


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b018csz5)
The Stress Special: The Results - Time for a Laugh - Disclosing Mental Health Histories

The BBC Stress test was launched in June with BBC Lab UK, with the aim of answering one of the big questions in mental health - what is the cause of mental illness ? More than 32,000 Radio 4 listeners took part, making this one of the largest studies of its kind in the world. The early results are in and Peter Kinderman, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Liverpool, tells Claudia Hammond what the findings reveal about the origins of mental health problems and the most effective coping strategies.

Mental Health - Time for a Laugh?
We all like a good laugh and there's plenty of evidence that it makes us feel better. But if somebody asked you to a night of comedy and sketches around mental health - if you were honest would your heart sink? Can mental illness ever be funny? Can we poke fun at the absurdities of serious conditions such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder or even - suicide? Or does a serious message automatically consign it to the unfunny bin? Claudia goes to see Cracking Up, a show that tackles the stigma around mental illness head on. She talks to the show's compere and writer, John Ryan, and the creator, health psychologist, Maya Twardzicki, about whether mental health can ever be funny.

Disclosing your mental health history when you apply for a job:
There's a lot of confusion about whether you should, or shouldn't reveal to a potential employer your history of mental illness. Employers too, aren't clear about what questions they can ask and when. Claudia asks the experts what the legal situation actually is. Ben Willmott, head of Public Policy for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and Emma Mamo who oversees employment work for the mental health charity, MIND, answer listeners' questions on the subject.

Producer: Fiona Hill.


TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (b018cbnx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b01882zb)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b018csz7)
Political crisis in Iraq as Shia and Sunni politicians clash.

How can the UK economy be re-balanced?

A tale of two Libyan cities - Misrata and Sirte.

With Robin Lustig.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b018csz9)
Nancy Mitford - The Pursuit of Love

Episode 2

by Nancy Mitford. Fanny is anxious about meeting her beloved Aunt Emily's husband-to-be. Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths and read by Diana Quick.

Fanny Logan tells the story of her aristocratic cousins, the Radletts, and in particular Linda, who is beautiful and loves animals. Uncle Mathew hunts his children with bloodhounds (to the horror of respectable families in the local village) and keeps a blood-spattered entrenching tool above the fireplace as a relic of his experiences in the First World War. The cousins spend much of their childhood in the airing cupboard - the only warm place in the enormous Alconleigh Hall - discussing love and sex.

Beautifully observed and hilariously funny, the novel is also a fascinating hinterland account of the period leading to the Second World War and never pulls its punches in evoking the painful reality of the times.

Reader...Diana Quick
Abridger...Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.


TUE 23:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b018b8cw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Monday]


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b018cvsg)
The Government says it will bring forward legislation to implement changes to public sector pensions after ministers reach an "outline" agreement with a number of unions.
Labour warns the coalition not to use "provocative tactics" as the talks with the unions entered their final stages.
Ministers say they will ensure any change in the law on lobbying has no effect on charities or ordinary voters.
In the Lords, peers consider plans for a badger cull and the Government's moves to restrict access to legal aid.
Susan Hulme and team report on today's events in Parliament.



WEDNESDAY 21 DECEMBER 2011

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b01882zx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b018cdmv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01882zz)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0188301)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0188303)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b0188305)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b018mbxz)
with Bishop Dr Joe Aldred.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b018cvtm)
The Red Tractor label's welfare standards for turkeys are being criticised by campaigners as offering 'bog standard factory farming' conditions for birds. Red Tractor Assurance refutes the claim, saying its standards promote good welfare conditions in farming systems which produce affordable turkeys. Scientists believe algae could help them breed crops to resist climate change. And, putting British beef on Christmas celebration tables.

Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling.


WED 06:00 Today (b018cwgw)
Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b018cwgy)
This week Libby Purves is joined by Alistair Sutcliffe, Martha Fiennes, Celia Imrie and Amanda Vickery.

Alistair Sutcliffe is a GP who became the first man to summit the highest mountain on each of the seven continents at the first attempt. He subsequently suffered a near fatal brain haemorrhage, and he describes his recovery as the most difficult climb of all in his book 'The Hardest Climb', published by Blue Moose.

Martha Fiennes is a filmmaker, whose films include Onegin and Chromophobia. She also directs television commercials. For her latest project she has created her first digital installation, Nativity, a completely self-generating technological art-work based on the Christmas Nativity scene, on display in a specially constructed chalet in London's Covent Garden piazza.

Celia Imrie plays Dotty Otley who plays Mrs Clackett, in Michael Frayn's 'Noises Off' at the Old Vic. She is perhaps best known for her regular characters in the award-winning TV series Acorn Antiques and Dinnerladies. Her many screen credits include Calendar Girls, Hilary and Jackie, and Aunt Una Alconbury in the Bridget Jones films and she will soon be seen on the big screen in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Amanda Vickery is the historian, writer and broadcaster and Professor of Early Modern History at Queen Mary College, University of London. She presents a BBC Two documentary 'The Many Lovers of Miss Jane Austen' to mark the 200th anniversary of the publication of Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen's first novel. She explores her enduring popularity through her plots and characters.

Producer: Lucinda Montefiore.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b018cwh0)
The Etymologicon

Episode 3

Abridged by Jane Marshall.

The Etymologicon takes a festive turn as we discover the origins of turkey, punch, and pink champagne. And look at the difference between balderdash and rumbullion.

Read by Hugh Dennis

Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall Production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b018cwh2)
Celebrating, informing and entertaining women. Presented by Jenni Murray.

Producer Vibeke Venema.


WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b018fljt)
AS Byatt - Possession

Episode 3

Roland Michell, an academic research assistant, is completing some work in the London Library, when he comes across two unfinished letters written by the Victorian Poet, Randolph Henry Ash. Theses letters have obviously not been found by anyone else and they are not to his wife but to an unknown woman. Roland, whose entire academic life has been devoted to studying Ash, decides, recklessly to pocket the letters and try to determine exactly who they were written to.

This is the beginning of a quest that will change literary history and with the help of a feminist literary scholar Maud Bailey, they are determined to find out the truth behind these letters. Certain other characters hear about the letters and are eager to get their hands on them for their own financial gain and will do so, by any means necessary, and so the chase begins.

Roland and Maud find themselves in the house where poet Christabel LaMotte spent the last few years of her life and more letters are discovered.

Written by A S Byatt. Dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker

Cast:
Maud ...... Jemma Redgrave
Roland ...... Harry Hadden-Paton
Ash ....... James d'arcy
Lamotte ..... Rachael Stirling
Blackadder ..... Bill Paterson
Cropper ..... Matthew Marsh
George ...... Kenneth Cranham
Joan ....... Joanna David
Beatrice Nest ...... Stella Gonet
Euan ...... Nicholas Boulton
Fergus ...... Jonjo O'Neil
Hildebrand ..... Robert Portal
Val ...... Laura Pyper
Leonora .... Lorelei King
Raoul/Toby Byng .... Sam Dale
Mrs Wapshott/Mrs Cammish/Mrs lees ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Beth/PA/Mrs Judge/Librarian ...... Rachel Atkins
Girl ...... Sylvie Goodwin

Director: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 11:00 Tales from the Arab Spring (b018fljw)
Whose Tomorrow? (Syria)

The BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen hears from some of the people who have witnessed the repression of Bashir al-Assad's regime in Syria.

An activist describes his attempts to make the rest of the world aware of the violence being meted out to protestors. From the comparatively safe haven of his apartment in Beirut, he describes the efforts made to smuggle out evidence of brutality.

A protestor recalls being subjected to endless torture sessions by the secret police: "The worst thing ever was hearing the young women pleading for their virginity when they were being raped. They would say 'Please leave me alone. I'm a virgin'. The other prisoners would start yelling and beating on the doors, hoping that the guards would give up and start beating them instead, but they just carried on.

A deserter from the Syrian military describes how his unit was ordered to fire on protestors. He was threatened when he refused and eventually fled across the border into Lebanon where he is being harboured by sympathisers.

Producers: Mark Savage and Cara Swift.


WED 11:30 John Peel's Shed (b018fljy)
Direct from a five-star, complete sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival, comes John Osborne's Radio 4 debut partly adapted from his acclaimed book Radio Head (Radio 4's Book Of The Week).

In 2002, John Osborne won a competition on John Peel's Radio One show. His prize was a box of records that took eight years to listen to. This is an ode to radio, those records and anyone who's ever sought solace in the wireless.

A story about one man's love for radio, how it allows you to escape into another world. Based on his book Radio Head, up and down the dial of British Radio, this is about what happened next: a show about the pleasure of having your own personal project. The story is about passion, obsession with music and about legacy; trying to do something special with such a rare, eclectic box of records.

Produced by John Pocock

Writer and performer John Osborne is based in Norwich. Experienced at performing poetry, storytelling and book readings. Performed across the UK since 2006. Member of poetry collective Aisle16.

Published work

'Radio Head', up and down the dial of British Radio. Radio 4's Book of the Week.

'The Newsagent's Window', adventures in a world of second hand cars and lost cats. 'Bring Me Sunshine', a travel book for the AA about British seaside towns, due for publication May 2013.

First full poetry collection with Nasty Little Press, due for publication November 2012.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b018flk0)
Do you give in to pester power

A ban on the use of battery cages within the EU will come into force on the 1st January 2012, but 13 out of 27 nations said that they will not comply. The government says that it has taken steps to protect UK farmers from being undercut - by gaining agreement by supermarkets not to sell illegal eggs

Crime on Britain's forecourts cost fuel retailers over 22 million in 2010 up from 19 million in 2009. In 2010, 15.5 million was lost from 'drive offs' with a further 4.5 million lost from motorists claiming to have no means of payment.

Pester power is defined as buying something, against your own better judgement, because a child just won't let you rest. Tips on how to resist.

Britain's newest energy supplier Co-operative Energy, announced that it is to reduce its gas and electricity charges for most customers by on average 3% from 1 February 2012. That's a saving of around £35 per year for the average household. This will make Co-operative Energy cheaper than all the Big 6 standard tariffs in all 14 regions.
Producer Maire Devine
Presenter Winifred Robinson.


WED 12:57 Weather (b0188307)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b018flk2)
The head of England's exam watchdog OFQUAL tells us why she's getting exam boards to improve their question setting. Robert Peston has the latest on the European Central Bank's attempts to improve liquidity in the financial system. We hear from the Falklands as South American ports ban ships from the Islands. We look at how poor economies helped to spark the Arab Spring and Lord Harris of Peckham reflects on the summer's riots and speaks of his anger at the lack of compensation for victims.


WED 13:45 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b018flk4)
A Job in a Million

In the 1930s the GPO was a model employer, pioneering equal opportunities and offering staff a secure career path. Employees were encouraged to attend academic classes and leisure pursuits, but lateness and inefficiency weren't tolerated.

As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook charts the development of the post office and examines its impact on literacy, free speech, commerce and communication. The Post Office has become a cherished social institution, linking people together and extending their vision outward into the wider world.

It's called Royal Mail but it should be known as the People's Post

Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook

Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart

Historical Consultant: Iain Stevenson

Actors: Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw

Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b018csyx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b00pcl7n)
Joan Aiken - Black Hearts in Battersea

Episode 1

By Joan Aiken, dramatised by Lin Coghlan

Part One (of two)

A dramatisation of Joan Aiken's classic children's adventure. Young Simon comes to 18th century London to study painting - and finds himself caught up in wicked Hanoverian plots to overthrow the king.

SIMON ..... Joe Dempsie
DIDO ..... Nicola Miles-Wildin
SOPHIE ..... Emerald O'Hanrahan
DUKE ..... John Rowe
DUCHESS ..... Sheila Reid
COBBE ..... Ben Crowe
MRS COBBE ..... Annabelle Dowler
MR TWITE ..... Rhys Jennings
MRS TWITE ..... Tessa Nicholson
JUSTIN ..... Sam Pamphilon
BUCKLE ..... Nigel Hastings
DR FURNEAUX ..... Bruce Alexander
GUS ..... Joseph Cohen Cole
JABWING ..... Piers Wehner
WOMAN ..... Kate Layden

Directed by Marc Beeby.


WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b018flkz)
Paul Lewis and a panel of guests take your calls on paying for long term care.

The rising cost of long-term care is a worry for the elderly and their immediate family. The bill for a two year stay at an average care home is at least £50,000.

A recent survey by the insurer Aviva suggests that half of those responded had no plans in place to meet the costs of long-term care.

Earlier this summer the Commission on Funding of Care and Support in England recommended that the bill that elderly people have to pay for care should be capped at £35,000. Under the current system, charges are unlimited. But the Government is still considering the issue of capping.

So what can you do now to plan for the future?
Who will pay for your care? The council, NHS or you? Will it count against you if you have savings or property?
What are the options if your care costs more than the local authority is happy to fund?
Are you confused by the charging rules?
Who regulates care provision and what can be done if you are unhappy with the care you receive?
Whatever your question, our panel of experts are here to advise you.
Jean French, Carers UK
Michael Stennett, Solicitors for the Elderly
Janet Davies, IFA and managing Director at Symposia.

Phone lines open at 1.00 pm 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 All in the Mind (b018csz5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b018fll1)
Madness - Anti Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis

The Anti Psychiatry movement of the 1960s, pioneered by R.D. Laing, asserted that societal ills were at the root of mental illness. Insanity was therefore a sane response to a repressive and unjust world. Michael Staub, Professor of English and author of 'Madness is Civilisation', talks to Laurie Taylor about the once popular, now discredited, theories of anti psychiatry. Also, new research uncovers the hidden history of psychoanalysis. Professor of Jung History, Sonu Shamdasani, suggests that psychoanalysis achieved its cultural power only by re-scripting history in its own image. He's joined by Stephen Frosh, Professor of Psychology.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.


WED 16:30 The Media Show (b018fll3)
Steve discusses the changes to tabloids and the wider media since David Cameron announced the Leveson Inquiry in July, following the closure of the News of the World, with Simon Jenkins, George Brock, Claire Enders and Trevor Kavanagh. Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist and former Times and Evening Standard editor, Claire Enders is the founder of media consultants Enders Analysis, Prof George Brock is Head of Journalism at City University and Trevor Kavanagh is a Sun columnist and former political editor.

The producer is Simon Tillotson.


WED 17:00 PM (b018fll5)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b018830h)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 Heresy (b018fll7)
Series 8

Episode 4

Victoria Coren presents another edition of the show which dares to commit heresy.

Her guests this week are comedians Rufus Hound and Dr Phil Hammond and writer and broadcaster Germaine Greer. Together they have fun exposing the wrong-headedness of received wisdom and challenging knee-jerk public reaction to events.

GP, Dr Phil Hammond enthusiastically argues against the received wisdom that people should not self-diagnose using the internet, pointing out that statistically doctors only just beat the internet in getting it right. Germaine Greer offers some constructive if controversial advice for self-diagnosers who get it wrong: 'Just die!'

Germaine also refutes the belief that the sixties were a great time to be young by cheerfully recalling the decade as a time of police repression and sexually-transmitted diseases.

And Rufus Hound pours scorn on the suggestion that the best Christmas presents are the ones you make yourself. He warns Victoria Coren that if she turns up at his house on Christmas Day with a gift she has baked herself, he will ask her to leave.

Producer: Brian King
A Avalon Television production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b018fll9)
Pat wishes they knew more about Rich, other than that he's good at science and likes cricket, just like John. Tony suggests they should pull themselves together before Tom and Helen notice and start asking questions.

When Lilian turns up and offers to throw a party for Pat's 60th birthday in January, Pat thanks her. Tony agrees with Lilian that it's a great idea. It will do Pat the world of good.

After celebrating Christine's 80th birthday at Grey Gables, Jill goes with Shula to Lower Loxley, where Freddie's preparing for Caspar's arrival. Jill admires the smart loose box. Apart from suggesting there's a bit too much hay, Shula agrees Caspar's home is just about perfect.

Jill tells Elizabeth that Jennifer's taking Ruairi to the pantomime on 2nd January, to see Cinderella. It gave Jill the idea to invite Elizabeth, Freddie and Lily as her treat. Elizabeth's touched and agrees to go. The emotional moment is broken by Freddie excitedly announcing Caspar's arrival. Elizabeth and Jill join Freddie in welcoming Caspar to Lower Loxley. Freddie wishes his dad was there to share his joy. Shula assures him that they all do.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b018fllc)
Paul Merton; Neon Artwork; Adele's producer Paul Epworth

With John Wilson.

Paul Merton reviews the new silent film The Artist, which with six Golden Globe nominations is already the surprise hit of this year's Hollywood awards season.

Adele's producer Paul Epworth discusses his part in creating this year's biggest album, 21, for which he has received four Grammy nominations, and how he and Adele came up with the hit song Rolling in the Deep.

It's almost a century since a Parisian barber's shop began the urban romance with neon when it put up the first commercial neon sign. Although neon has fallen out of commercial favour, artists are breathing new life into the medium. John went to the Neon Workshops in Wakefield, Yorkshire, to learn how to make his own neon artwork.

The neon art is now installed at the BBC's building in Salford. The graphic designer Peter Saville, famed for his record sleeves for the likes of New Order, Joy Division, Roxy Music and Pulp - and a huge neon fan - joins John, along with the Junior Royal Northern College Brass Quintet and the BBC North Staff Choir, to switch on the first Front Row artwork.

Producer Ekene Akalawu.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b018fljt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


WED 20:00 Bringing Up Britain (b018fllf)
Series 4

Birds, Bees and Blushes

Birds, Bees and Blushes. Mariella Frostrup and a panel of expert guests debate how parents talk to their children about sex. In a recent poll only 6% of young people said they got the information they needed from their parents. If that's the case, why are so many of us failing to have these vital conversations?

Many parents worry about what to say to their children, and when. And it's not just because it can all be a bit embarrassing. Mariella and her guests explore how adults' attitudes to children and sexuality colour how they behave as parents. Are we a society dangerously relaxed about the sexualised clothing, imagery and culture surrounding young people? Or, has the increased awareness of child sexual abuse in recent years made parents deeply uncomfortable with talking and thinking about children and sex at all?

Mariella explores how all of this translates into everyday dilemmas and awkward situations, and pinpoints practical solutions and useful research. Parents know that children are curious about their bodies and where babies come from, but if your five year old still exposes himself at every family gathering and your teen is online all night with the door closed, what do you do? Perceptions of what is 'normal' differ, but what do we know about how sexual identity develops, and how should that shape these conversations?

Reg Bailey, Chief Executive of The Mothers' Union carried out a recent review into the sexualisation and commercialisation of childhood, Simon Blake is the Chief Executive of Brook, a charity offering sexual health information and services. They join Viviane Green, adult, child and adolescent psychotherapist and Programe Manager for the MSc in Child and Adolescent Counselling and Psychotherapy, Dept of Psychosocial Studies Birkbeck College and Dr. Jan Macvarish from the University of Kent to debate the issues.

The columnist and writer Giles Coren talks about the why he wrote a highly personal magazine article about his baby daughter in which he imagined her future sex life. And parents who think that schools teach too much too young explain why they feel their parental authority is being undermined

Producer: Erin Riley.


WED 20:45 Four Thought (b018fllh)
Series 2

James Lange: YouTube and Scientific Research

Alcohol and drug researcher James Lange describes how YouTube videos of drug use have improved the speed and quality of his research, and argues that they can be a vital tool for scientists.

Dr. Lange's research has been into salvia divinorum, and he explains how new technology could now make his job even easier.

He argues that YouTube is an incredible archive of social and biological behaviour, which did not exist a few years ago, and that using it in a sophisticated and systematic way can help us to quickly understand complicated behaviour.

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 The Oath (b018fllk)
In realms of science as diverse as vaccine safety, cloning, drugs trials, climate research, psychology and palaeontology, the behaviour of scientists has come in for harsh public criticism. In some cases, published research has turned out to be fraudulent or conducted unethically. In others, scientists have been accused of being economical with the truth or avoiding openness with their data and activities.

So, should scientists sign up to an ethical code of behaviour along the lines of the Hippocratic Oath and what specific clauses should they promise to uphold?

Science broadcaster Adam Rutherford chairs a discussion with neuroscientist Colin Blakemore, science ethicist Sarah Chan and columnists Ben Goldacre and George Monbiot.

Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker.


WED 21:30 Midweek (b018cwgy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b018830p)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b018fllm)
Hundreds of banks rush to take up the European Central Bank's offer of low cost loans. Is it a step towards easing a potential credit crunch? or a worrying sign of how fragile the banking system is?

Can Washington politicians resolve their differences to prevent a tax rise hitting 160 million US workers next month?

And we hear from the Californian illegal immigrants hoping to fulfil their American dream.

With Robin Lustig.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b018fllp)
Nancy Mitford - The Pursuit of Love

Episode 3

by Nancy Mitford. Aunt Sadie needs to find some young men to invite to Louisa's ball. Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths and read by Diana Quick.

Fanny Logan tells the story of her beloved aristocratic cousins, the Radletts, and in particular Linda, who is beautiful and loves animals. Uncle Mathew hunts his children with bloodhounds (to the horror of respectable families in the local village) and keeps a blood-spattered entrenching tool above the fireplace as a relic of his experiences in the First World War. The cousins spend much of their childhood in the airing cupboard - the only warm place in the enormous Alconleigh Hall - discussing love and sex.

Beautifully observed and hilariously funny, the novel is also a fascinating hinterland account of the period leading to the Second World War and never pulls its punches in evoking the painful reality of the times.

Reader...Diana Quick
Abridger...Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.


WED 23:00 Detective Sergeant Nick Mohammed (b018gr0v)
Series 1

Episode 2

Someone's been Kidnapped... Yikes! Join DS Nick Mohammed and co. for the antithesis to We Need To Talk About Kevin.

Written & performed by Nick Mohammed, with Anna Crilly, Colin Hoult, and special guests Peter Dickson and Kae Alexander.

Produced by Victoria Lloyd.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b018flly)
Sean Curran presents the day's top news stories from Westminster where peers handed out strong criticism of Nick Clegg after his pledge this week to push through plans for an elected Upper House.

Editor : Peter Mulligan.



THURSDAY 22 DECEMBER 2011

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b018832k)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b018cwh0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b018832m)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b018832r)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b018832t)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b018832w)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b018md2j)
with Bishop Dr Joe Aldred.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b018flp0)
The sale of raw, unpasteurised, milk is tightly regulated because of the health risks. Caz Graham hears from one farmer who thinks the rules on selling it are out of date. He is now renting a space in Selfridges for his raw milk vending machine, which according to the Food Standards Agency could contravene food safety regulations.

With gammon, pork loin and sausages flying off supermarket shelves ready for Christmas, Caz Graham visits a pig farmer preparing his stock for the sale. She also meets the butcher who says even though turkey is the star of the Christmas dinner, pork should be considered the best supporting actor.

And the ban on battery cages across the EU is just 10 days away. The European Commission tells Farming Today it will take legal action against countries which continue to use the cages. 13 countries are expected to miss the deadline, but UK producers say they have spent more than £400 million converting to the new system.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced in Birmingham by Angela Frain.


THU 06:00 Today (b018flp2)
Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather, Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b018flp4)
Robinson Crusoe

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe. Published in 1719, it was an immediate success and is considered the classic adventure story. There are several incidents that may have inspired the tale, although none of them exactly mirrors Defoe's thrilling yet didactic narrative. The plot is now universally known - the sailor stranded on a desert island who learns to tame the environment and the native population. The character of Friday, Crusoe's trusty companion and servant, has become almost as famous as Crusoe himself and their master-servant relationship forms one of the principal themes in the novel. Robinson Crusoe has been interpreted in myriad ways, from colonial fable to religious instruction manual to capitalist tract; although arguably above all of these, it is perhaps best known today as a children's story. With:Karen O'BrienPro-Vice Chancellor for Education at the University of Birmingham Judith HawleyProfessor of Eighteenth-Century Literature at Royal Holloway, University of LondonBob OwensEmeritus Professor of English Literature at the Open UniversityProducer: Natalia Fernandez.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b018flp6)
The Etymologicon

Episode 4

Abridged by Jane Marshall.

Before you can say Jack Robinson the Etymologicon uncovers who Jack Robinson was and what his link is to The Tower of London, derricks and guillotines.

Read by Hugh Dennis

Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall Production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b018flp8)
Marriage and family stability? Homeless women sleeping rough

Presented by Jenni Murray. Marriage and family stability? Is the coalition planning to make marriage financially advantageous and will this lead to greater cohesion within the family? Switched off female voters? Why are all the main parties failing to appeal to female voters? What influence does celebrity culture have on fashion and we hear about homeless women sleeping rough.


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b018flpb)
AS Byatt - Possession

Episode 4

Roland Michell, an academic research assistant, is completing some work in the London Library, when he comes across two unfinished letters written by the Victorian Poet, Randolph Henry Ash. Theses letters have obviously not been found by anyone else and they are not to his wife but to an unknown woman. Roland, whose entire academic life has been devoted to studying Ash, decides, recklessly to pocket the letters and try to determine exactly who they were written to.

This is the beginning of a quest that will change literary history and with the help of a feminist literary scholar Maud Bailey, they are determined to find out the truth behind these letters. Certain other characters hear about the letters and are eager to get their hands on them for their own financial gain and will do so, by any means necessary, and so the chase begins.

Mortimer Cropper, a collector of Ash memorabilia from Harmony City, New Mexico is in town. Will Roland manage to keep his secret away from Cropper's clutches.

Written by A S Byatt. Dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker

Cast:
Maud ...... Jemma Redgrave
Roland ...... Harry Hadden-Paton
Ash ....... James d'arcy
Lamotte ..... Rachael Stirling
Blackadder ..... Bill Paterson
Cropper ..... Matthew Marsh
George ...... Kenneth Cranham
Joan ....... Joanna David
Beatrice Nest ...... Stella Gonet
Euan ...... Nicholas Boulton
Fergus ...... Jonjo O'Neil
Hildebrand ..... Robert Portal
Val ...... Laura Pyper
Leonora .... Lorelei King
Raoul/Toby Byng .... Sam Dale
Mrs Wapshott/Mrs Cammish/Mrs lees ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Beth/PA/Mrs Judge/Librarian ...... Rachel Atkins
Girl ...... Sylvie Goodwin

Director: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b018flpd)
The Graves of Kashmir

Jill McGivering, the BBC World Service South Asia editor, investigates the discovery of thousands of bodies in mass graves in Indian Kashmir. Human rights groups suspect they are just some of the victims of "disappearances" at the hands of the Indian military in this contested region. The authorities respond that the bodies are in fact those of militants who have infiltrated from Pakistan. Will an official investigation reveal the truth?
Producer: Michael Gallagher.


THU 11:30 Sex and the Single Girl (b018flpg)
Helen Gurley Brown was perhaps best known for her long editorship of US Cosmopolitan Magazine. She took a failing literary rag and turned it into a slick, sexy ladies' glossy.

Before that she wrote a ground-breaking guide for the unmarried professional woman, "Sex and the Single Girl". First published in 1962, it encouraged women to embrace the single life and offered advice from make-up to having an affair. It got more than a few people hot under the collar.

Karen Krizanovich delves into the story behind the writing of the book and charts the enormous impact it had and continues to have today. "Sex and the Single Girl" sold 2,000,000 copies in three weeks and went on to influence some of the greatest success stories of recent decades - Bridget Jones's Diary, Sex and the City and Mad Men among them. The success of the book then landed Helen Gurley Brown the role of Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan in the mid-sixties. She went on to create the "Cosmo girl" and defined the magazine's now instantly recognisable style of lipsticks and sex tips.

Presenter and single girl-about-town Karen will take a leaf out of Helen Gurley Brown's study on "how to stay single in superlative style" and will meet the writers, journalists, film and TV personalities it has inspired along the way, including Mad Men creator Mathew Weiner.

A fun, cheeky and sexy look at the changing status of the single woman through the five decades from its 1962 publication, as expressed through the books, TV and films "Sex and the Single Girl" has inspired.

Helen Gurley Brown died in 2012.

Producer: Rose de Larrabeiti

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


THU 12:00 You and Yours (b018flpj)
Delivery charges, supermarket planning and picture books

Christmas presents to doctors or teachers may fall foul of the new anti-bribery laws. We look at the unintended consequences of the recent Bribery Act.
Hospital now have targets to assess 90% of hospital admissions for deep vein thrombosis or risk a fine. But do these targets actually save lives? We hear the debate.
Shoppers now buy 10% of our goods online, but are they being ripped off by excessive delivery charges? Citizens Advice Scotland shares their survey findings.
We look at the new driving tests coming into force in January.
And the beautifully illustated books for older children. Jan Pietkowski talks about his book.


THU 12:57 Weather (b018832y)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b018flpl)
We hear from Baghdad as bombs rip through the city on the bloodiest day for Iraq this year. The former EU mediator - Alastair Crooke - looks behind the Arab League mission to Syria. Retail boss Sir Stuart Rose gives his assessment of the year ahead. As physicists at the Large Hadron Collider discover a new particle, Professor Roger Jones tells us what it means. Should Margaret Thatcher be honoured with a state funeral? We have a debate between her admirers. Plus Jon Manel finds out what is happening to people who didn't fill out their census forms this year and novelist Louise Patten on why the Titanic disaster still resonates with people today.


THU 13:45 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b018flpn)
The Post Code

When a national post-code system was introduced in the 1970s it met with fierce resistance: from postal workers, concerned about the pace of change, and a general public incensed by "useless symbols". Intended to aid sorting mechanisation, today postcodes are used by geodemographic databases to classify households for the benefit of commerce, government services and political canvassing.

As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook charts the development of the post office and examines its impact on literacy, free speech, commerce and communication. The Post Office has become a cherished social institution, linking people together and extending their vision outward into the wider world.

It's called Royal Mail but it should be known as the People's Post

Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook

Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart

Historical Consultant: Iain Stevenson

Actors: Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw

Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b018fll9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b00pd18h)
Joan Aiken - Black Hearts in Battersea

Episode 2

By Joan Aiken, dramatised by Lin Coghlan

Part Two (of two)

To save the King from Hanoverian plotters Simon and Sophie must first suffer shipwreck, attacks by wolves and a narrow escape from an exploding castle in hot air balloon.

SIMON ..... Joe Dempsie
DIDO ..... Nicola Miles-Wildin
SOPHIE ..... Emerald O'Hanrahan
DUKE ..... John Rowe
DUCHESS ..... Sheila Reid
COBBE ..... Ben Crowe
MRS COBBE ..... Annabelle Dowler
MR TWITE ..... Rhys Jennings
MRS TWITE ..... Tessa Nicholson
JUSTIN ..... Sam Pamphilon
BUCKLE ..... Nigel Hastings
DR FURNEAUX ..... Bruce Alexander
DR FIELD ..... Ewan Hooper
MRS BUCKLE ..... Kate Layden
MOGG ..... John Biggins
GUS ..... Joseph Cohen Cole
JABWING ..... Piers Wehner

Directed by Marc Beeby.


THU 15:00 Open Country (b018flps)
This is one of the busiest times of year on the Farne Islands off the Northumberland Coast. Almost 1,500 seal pups are being born and almost half of these will die in their first three weeks. Since 1951, wardens have been counting and tagging the pups born on the Farne Islands. During this time, the number of pups born has trebled, from 500 to 1499, making it the largest English colony of Atlantic grey seals.

When the survey began, scientists knew almost nothing about how seals bred, what they ate or where they went during the winter. Those early studies on the Farnes were groundbreaking, setting the standard for all later seal research around the world.

The local port, Seahouses, used to be a major fishing town. During the 1960's and 70's, thousands of seals were shot because they were thought to be a threat to local fish stocks. Now the town relies more on tourism than fishing.

Jules Hudson visits the Farne Islands to find out more about the research project and to investigate the impact the seals are having on the fishing industry and the local area.


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b0188882)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (b01888w8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b018fmq6)
December is a time for looking forward as well as a time for looking back and this week Francine Stock is doing a bit of both. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a glimpse of our immediate celluloid future opening as it does on Boxing Day so Francine has been talking to one of the film's stars, Daniel Craig. Stieg Larsson's story was, he says, a nice change from Bond and it gave him the chance to work with one of his heroes, the director, David Fincher.
Shift focus slightly and we find ourselves gazing deep into 2012. Charles Gant of Heat magazine and the independent cinema owner, Kevin Markwick discuss the films we'll be queuing up to see next year as well as the ones that have tickled our fancy over the past twelve months.
Then there are the cinematic moments which have made an indelible mark on the imagination of our listeners in 2011 -- everything from Melancholia to Troll Hunter! The programme finishes with a tribute to one of the great originals of British cinema, Ken Russell, who died last month at the age of 84.

Producer: Zahid Warley.


THU 16:30 Material World (b018fmq8)
This week, Quentin Cooper hears about a new planet the size of the Earth, simulating the brain with analogue chips, the last four in the long list of potential amateur scientists, how robins choose a sexy mate and how a warming climate is bad for your Christmas tree.

Producer: Martin Redfern.


THU 17:00 PM (b018fmqb)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0188330)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 Elvenquest (b016vn8f)
Series 3

Episode 4

As they continue their search for the Sword of Asnagar, the noble Questers find themselves coming to the rescue of King Baldwin the Jovial whose mead hall is being terrorised by a terrible creature called "The Grundle". But when Amis, the Chosen One, starts to question whether he is actually all that special after all, the Questers hatch a plan to kill the beast and restore Amis' self-worth.

Meanwhile, time is running out for Lord Darkness. Kreech tells he must find a girlfriend to keep him young, or he'll find his incorporeal essence once more slowly shrivelling and turning to dust. So Darkness starts off on the dating game. Trouble is, it's been a bit of time since he last met a girl, let alone chatted one up...

Starring:
Darren Boyd as Vidar
Kevin Eldon as Dean/Kreech
Dave Lamb as Amis aka The Chosen One
Alistair McGowan as Lord Darkness
Stephen Mangan as Sam
Daniel Rigby as King Baldwin The Jovial
and
Sophie Winkleman as Penthiselea

Written by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto

Producer: Sam Michell.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b018fmqd)
Will's a bit late for his stag night due to a busy shoot. But he got generous tips from the regulars who know he's getting married, so he's in fine spirits.

The girls are also in fine spirits - the vodka and gin is in plentiful supply in their limo. The driver looks like Daniel Craig so all is going well - until the limo crunches over a large rock and comes to a halt. While Daniel tries to solve the problem, the girls spend the next two hours enjoying Nic's hen party in the comfort of the well-stocked limo.

Will has to put up with some stick at the comedy club but apart from that he has a great night. He thanks everyone for being there and for being such good mates. It's a fairly tame night though, and back at Casa Nueva Tom and Roy reckon the girls are having a much livelier evening. Will's not so sure when he sees a police car pull up. His concern is short-lived when the girls merrily appear from the car and he learns about the broken-down limo.

Everyone's happy and Nic just wants to be married to Will. Her wedding day can't come soon enough.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b018fmqg)
Julian Barnes, Andrea Arnold, Sir David Chipperfield

Mark Lawson unwraps a selection of new interviews with arts headline makers of 2011.

Booker Prize winner Julian Barnes explains why he no longer refuses to read his reviews, and poet Jo Shapcott, winner of the Costa Prize for her collection Of Mutability, discusses why the book's subject, her cancer, is never referred to explicitly.

Director Nicholas Hytner and writer Richard Bean reflect on the success of their hit play One Man, Two Guvnors, which will make its way to Broadway after a sell-out UK tour and London run.

Film-maker Andrea Arnold is best known for contemporary dramas such as Red Road and Fish Tank, but her 2011 version of Wuthering Heights won wide acclaim. She reveals why her next film won't be an adaptation.

Architect Sir David Chipperfield received the RIBA Royal Gold Medal this year, as well as completing the Turner Contemporary in Margate and the Hepworth in Wakefield. He discusses how the current wranglings in Europe could affect his profession.

Producer Ellie Bury.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b018flpb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 The Report (b018fmrf)
Clinical Trials

The number of clinical trials being conducted in the UK has fallen sharply to 2% of the global figure. The government wants to turn this around by cutting bureaucracy and reducing the time it takes to get trials up and running. In The Report, Simon Cox investigates whether the changes being proposed can make a significant difference and resurrect Britain's role as the place to conduct cutting edge medical research.


THU 20:30 In Business (b018fmrh)
21st Century Unlimited

The American business guru Joe Pine thinks we have moved into an era of what he calls "Infinite Possibility". Peter Day finds out what he is talking about and what the ideas mean for conventional 20th-centuy-style corporations.
Producer: Sandra Kanthal
Editor: Stephen Chilcott.


THU 21:00 Am I Really Free? (b018fmrk)
Four years ago, twenty six year old Kerrie Wooltorton drank antifreeze with the intention of ending her life. She'd already been admitted to hospital several times following previous attempts. But this time, there was a notable difference.

Kerrie handed medical staff a note she'd written, asking them to keep her comfortable but to let her die. The treating team noted the clarity of her communication and instructions, and concluded that she had the ability or 'capacity' to refuse life-saving treatment. They felt they had no alternative but to let her die.

Although the inquest into Kerrie's death concluded that she had the capacity to refuse life-saving treatment, her family disagreed - how could a young woman, who had made several attempts on her life, be capable of making a decision that would ultimately lead to her death?

This case highlights a pressing issue in mental health circles today - when is a person with certain disorders of the mind or brain, including some who are being detained under the mental act, free to decide for themselves, and when does that disorder constrain their freedom?

For many years, the health service has recognised a patient's right to consent to or refuse treatment for physical disorders. But with the arrival of the Mental Capacity Act in 2007, which places the prized concept of patient autonomy at the very heart of medical decision making, consideration of patient rights are now extending more overtly into the mental health setting.

Mental health professionals are starting to face questions about whether some patients' expressed wishes can genuinely be said to be their own.

It's also taxing the minds of philosophers and lawyers, who are working with psychiatrists, interviewing patients with a range of mental health disorders, to shed light on when people are free decide, and when they are not.


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b018flp4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:58 Weather (b0188334)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b018fmrm)
A series of bomb attacks in Baghdad kills 57 after a major government split in Iraq.

Why do French MPs want to make Armenian holocaust denial a criminal offence ?

China's rebel villagers win a small victory in their battle with the Communist Party.

with Robin Lustig.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b018fmrp)
Nancy Mitford - The Pursuit of Love

Episode 4

by Nancy Mitford. Linda falls in love, to the dismay of her family. Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths and read by Diana Quick.

Fanny Logan tells the story of her beloved aristocratic cousins, the Radletts, and in particular Linda, who is beautiful and loves animals. Uncle Mathew hunts his children with bloodhounds (to the horror of respectable families in the local village) and keeps a blood-spattered entrenching tool above the fireplace as a relic of his experiences in the First World War. The cousins spend much of their childhood in the airing cupboard - the only warm place in the enormous Alconleigh Hall - discussing love and sex.

Beautifully observed and hilariously funny, the novel is also a fascinating hinterland account of the period leading to the Second World War and never pulls its punches in evoking the painful reality of the times.

Reader...Diana Quick
Abridger...Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.


THU 23:00 Weird Tales (b01ns0yb)
Series 3

Louisa's by Amanda Whittington

When a stranger walks into Louisa's café, the juke box which hasn't played a record for years whirrs into action, the lights start flashing and Louisa is thrown into a world where her past challenges life as she knows it.

Series of chilling plays for winter nights.

Louisa ... Sara Poyzer
Pete ... Paul Rider
Joe ... Gerard McDermott

Written by Amanda Whittington.

Producer, Jessica Brown

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2011.


THU 23:30 Cat Women of the Moon (b013q20k)
Episode 1

Cat Women of the Moon was a 1950s film that followed a popular motif in science fiction; an all women society surviving without men. Charlotte Perkins Gilman explored the idea as early as 1915 in the classic novel 'Herland'. In part one of a two part programme we look at how science fiction has been used to examine relationships between the sexes - and in some cases, more than two sexes. In many novels the exploration of sexuality is unconventional and experimental. Some societies have more than one sex, in others people can change sex at will. In certain imagined worlds people form relationships with aliens or don't have sex with flesh and blood beings at all - but with artificial life forms instead. The programme includes contributions from some of Britain's leading science fiction writers including Iain Banks, China Mieville and Nicola Griffith. The programme is presented by the writer Sarah Hall, author of 'The Carhullan Army' and 'The Electric Michelangelo' which was short listed for the Booker Prize. The programme is produced in Manchester by Nicola Swords.



FRIDAY 23 DECEMBER 2011

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b018833v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b018flp6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b018833x)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b018833z)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0188341)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b0188343)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b018md3r)
with Bishop Dr Joe Aldred.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b018fmsn)
Reindeer have become a 'must have' addition to Christmas attractions, and Caz Graham visits the Barrow in Furness Christmas parade to find out how reindeer owners make sure the animals welfare isn't compromised by the noise and hubbub, far from their natural home. Anna Hill meets the farmers giving their produce away for free at Christmas, at the Buckingham Emergency Food Appeal. And, Colin Spencer the author of 'From Microliths to Microwaves: The Evolution of British Agriculture, Food, and Cooking' on Christmas dinner from peacock, through goose, to turkey.

Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Sarah Swadling.


FRI 06:00 Today (b018fmsq)
With John Humphrys and Evan Davis. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b018888b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b018fmss)
The Etymologicon

Episode 5

Abridged by Jane Marshall.

Our circular stroll through the English language takes us to Venice and Ancient Rome, to Germany and the Hudson River, in search of the derivations of magazines and salt cellars, fast bucks and bucks that are passed -as we finally end up in the office of President Harry S Truman.

Read by Hugh Dennis

Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall Production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b018fmsv)
Life in the freezer, contact after adoption, breast implants & Mrs Leather's carols

Presented by Jenni Murray. Thousands of women in France are being ordered to have defective breast implants removed after a number of cancer deaths were linked to them. But what is our attitude to women whose health is affected when cosmetic breast surgery goes wrong? A judge recently ruled that a mother should stop sending letters and cards to her daughter because her adoptive parents fear it will lead to a secret relationship. But who decides whether adopted children should be allowed to maintain contact with their birth parents? The Arctic regions are among the most hostile on earth, and only the most hardy explorers are prepared to pit their courage and strength against the extreme conditions. Vanessa Berlowitz, series producer on the BBC's Frozen Planet, and travel writer, Sara Wheeler, have both endured life in the freezer, and explain the appeal and the challenges of living and working in the North and South Poles. And, a chance to hear carols from Herefordshire which have been re-published after being out of print for almost a century.


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b018fmsx)
AS Byatt - Possession

Episode 5

Roland Michell, an academic research assistant, is completing some work in the London Library, when he comes across two unfinished letters written by the Victorian Poet, Randolph Henry Ash. Theses letters have obviously not been found by anyone else and they are not to his wife but to an unknown woman. Roland, whose entire academic life has been devoted to studying Ash, decides, recklessly to pocket the letters and try to determine exactly who they were written to.

This is the beginning of a quest that will change literary history and with the help of a feminist literary scholar Maud Bailey, they are determined to find out the truth behind these letters. Certain other characters hear about the letters and are eager to get their hands on them for their own financial gain and will do so, by any means necessary, and so the chase begins.

Roland and Maud have opened a Pandora's Box and the chase is on to find the evidence that will back up their theory and unravel the mystery.

Written by A S Byatt. Dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker

Cast:
Maud ...... Jemma Redgrave
Roland ...... Harry Hadden-Paton
Ash ....... James d'arcy
Lamotte ..... Rachael Stirling
Blackadder ..... Bill Paterson
Cropper ..... Matthew Marsh
George ...... Kenneth Cranham
Joan ....... Joanna David
Beatrice Nest ...... Stella Gonet
Euan ...... Nicholas Boulton
Fergus ...... Jonjo O'Neil
Hildebrand ..... Robert Portal
Val ...... Laura Pyper
Leonora .... Lorelei King
Raoul/Toby Byng .... Sam Dale
Mrs Wapshott/Mrs Cammish/Mrs lees ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Beth/PA/Mrs Judge/Librarian ...... Rachel Atkins
Girl ...... Sylvie Goodwin

Director: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 11:00 Inside the Academie Francaise (b018fmsz)
The French language is under attack from foreign invasion. In today's world of mass instant communication and globalisation, it is harder and harder to protect one of the world's most refined languages.

Nevertheless, Francophones are trying to do just that, with the help of the Academie Francaise, the institution which for nearly 400 years has been the official authority on the French language.

Run by 40 illustrious members known as "Immortals", the Academie is one of France's most hallowed institutions and a symbol "par excellence" of Gallic pride. Its functions include publishing a dictionary sanctioning new words and reminding people of "le bon usage".

Once the language of the world's elite, French now ranks as only the eighth most spoken language in the world and its influence is clearly receding. French teenagers and twenty-somethings talk of "le buzz", they wear "les leggings" and enjoy "happy hour" in "le pub", immune to the protestations of the Academie.

In this programme, the London-based French journalist Agnes Poirier is invited inside the Academie to talk to some of the "Immortals". She has exclusive access to the reception of the latest member, the Belgian writer Francois Weyergans, and observes the Academie's quirky rituals first-hand.

She questions the role and relevance of the body, which has been working on the latest edition of the French dictionary for more than 70 years. She also compares the conservative approach taken in France with the more "laissez-faire" attitude adopted in the Anglophone world towards the English language.

Producer: Leala Padmanabhan.


FRI 11:30 North by Northamptonshire (b018fmt1)
Series 2

Episode 4

Esther has a big question to ask Ken and Keith, while on the horizon, storm clouds gather...

Sheila Hancock narrates the bittersweet adventures of the residents of a small town in Northamptonshire.

Written by Katherine Jakeways.

John Biggins................................Keith
Mackenzie Crook...........................Rod
Kevin Eldon...................Jonathan / Ken
Shelia Hancock....................... Narrator
Jessica Henwick...........................Helen
Katherine Jakeways........ Esther / Jacqui
Felicity Montagu..............................Jan
Geoffrey Palmer........................Norman
Lizzie Roper..............................Angela
Penelope Wilton............................Mary
Rufus Wright................................Frank

Producer: Victoria Lloyd

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2011.


FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b018fmt3)
Consumer news with Peter White.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b0188345)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b018fmt5)
Shaun Ley presents national and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


FRI 13:45 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b018fmt7)
The Last Post

In 1969 the post office ceased being a government industry to become a nationalised industry. It avoided being sold off in the 1980s, only to face even bigger challenges in the 2000s: sustaining the costs of a huge labour force, and rivalry from digital communications. As it sits on the brink of privatisation, what does the Royal Mail mean today?

As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook charts the development of the post office and examines its impact on literacy, free speech, commerce and communication. The Post Office has become a cherished social institution, linking people together and extending their vision outward into the wider world.

It's called Royal Mail but it should be known as the People's Post

Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook

Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart

Historical Consultant: Iain Stevenson

Actors: Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw

Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b018fmqd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b00g3cfq)
Christmas Eve

Festive comic drama by Imison Award-winner Adam
Beeson, based on a short story by Nikolai Gogol.

As the snow falls on Christmas Eve in the Ukrainian
village of Dikanka, the local witch is in league with a
devil to steal the moon and the stars. Meanwhile,
the witch's son goes on a magical night flight to St
Petersburg to borrow a pair of shoes from Catherine the Great.

Gogol...................... Dave Anderson
Solokha.................. Juliet Cadzow
Vakula .................... Steven McNicol
Devil ........................ Paul Thomas Hickey
Chub.................... Mark McDonnell
Oksana................... Lucy Paterson
Mayor ............. Crawford Logan
Deacon ........... Ralph Riach
Producer/director: Bruce Young.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b018fmtp)
Tenterden, Kent

A festive GQT recorded with Tenterden & District Horticultural Society in Kent, chaired by Eric Robson.
Joining him on the panel are Bob Flowerdew, Matthew Wilson and Bunny Guinness.

Anne Swithinbank advises on caring for Christmas plant gifts.
In addition, alternatives for dried blood and how to encourage an Emerald Lace Acer to keep its shape.

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

The following questions were answered in the programmes:
What should I feed my Christmas tree to prolong its life?
Planting suggestions for things to grow on the sloping roof of a kennel.
Suggestions include: Sedum matting, meadow turf and Cut & come again lettuce
We harvested seed from Cosmos. When do we plant these? We have no greenhouse.
How to deter voles from garden
We need range scented plants for border in front of a conservatory. What do the panel suggest?
Suggestions include:
Daphne odora 'Marginata', Clematis Armandii and Sporobolus Grass
When is the best time to plant strawberries
What are the alternatives to dried blood, tar oil & derris dust?
My Acer Palmatum "Emerald Lace' began as 3ft and domed shape. However it has started growing upwards and losing its shape. How can I bring the branches down?


FRI 15:45 O Henry Stories (b018fmtr)
The Gift of the Magi

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry.
A young couple struggle to find the money for a really special Christmas present for each other.

A Christmas classic by a cherished American writer, to warm the soul and intrigue the listener with satisfyingly unexpected plot twists.

Reader...John Guerrasio
Abridger...Annie Caulfield
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b018ft0z)
Vaclav Havel, Kim Jong-il, Chris Athey, Cesaria Evora and Russell Hoban

Matthew Bannister on

The mysterious life of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. We hear from the former British Charge D'Affaires in Pyongyang and the film actress who says she was kidnapped by "The Dear Leader".

Also Chris Athey - the educational psychologist who championed the Teletubbies

Russell Hoban, author of both children's and adult fiction, including his vision of a post apocalyptic world "Riddley Walker"

Cesaria Evora - the singer from Cape Verde known as the Barefoot Diva

and the Czech playwright and President Vaclav Havel remembered by his friend Ivan Klima and Sir John Tusa.


FRI 16:30 More or Less (b018ft11)
Who are the 1% and who are the 99%?

99 v 1%:
Tim Harford asks what we do and don't know about income inequality in the UK, the US, and other countries around the world. He speaks to Professor Sir Tony Atkinson of Oxford University; Stewart Lansley, author of 'The Cost of Inequality'; and Professor Donald Boudreaux of George Mason University in Virginia.

Laughing in the face of risk:
David Spiegelhalter, the Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk at Cambridge University explains what led him to take on what could be his riskiest venture to date - appearing as a contestant on BBC One's Winter Wipeout. Really.

The magic of maths:
As a special Christmas treat, we're honoured to have a guest appearance from a top professor of maths and statistics - described by magician (and loyal listener) Paul Daniels as a 'legend'. Persi Diaconis, of Stanford University in California and co-author of "Magical Mathematics", has an enthralling story to tell of how he discovered magic as a boy, and then, as a consequence, a love of maths. And to illustrate how closely maths and magic are linked, Crossing Continents editor and the BBC's in-house magician, Hugh Levinson, performs a mathemagical card trick - see the performance below.

Producer: Ruth Alexander.


FRI 17:00 PM (b018ft13)
Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0188347)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b018ft15)
Series 76

Episode 1

It's Christmas: in the week that Kim Jong-Il died, Sir Gus O'Donnell predicted the breakup of the United Kingdom, and metal thieves made off with a priceless sculpture, Radio 4 presents a festive review of the week's news. Sandi Toksvig hosts, and the glittering (literally) panel are Alexei Sayle, Susan Calman, Miles Jupp & Jeremy Hardy. Peter Donaldson reads the news. Produced by Victoria Lloyd.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b018ft17)
Tony encourages Pat to go into town with Kathy. As Kathy thinks back to her problems with Jamie this time last year, Pat admits she's finally getting into the Christmas spirit.

Delivering a pack of beef, David tells Tony how bizarre it seems to be looking at ways to protect badgers when their activity in the slurry pit could put him out of business. Further damage needs to be repaired and David has to be careful he's not interfering with their setts.

Tony tells David that Tom and Helen are optimistic for the new branding next month. David remarks that there was optimism at the NFU lunch on Wednesday. But David knows that he and Ruth need to up their game, especially the dairy side, in order to survive.

Tony's bought a lovely Christmas tree. Helen can't wait for the traditional tree decorating. She wants to do it tonight so she can see Henry's little face. Pat agrees it's a lovely tree and is touched when Tony produces the little angels they bought at the Christmas market. As Pat tenderly helps Henry to put one on the tree, Helen hopes Tony doesn't mind that they've broken the tradition of dressing the tree on Christmas Eve. Tony doesn't mind, and acknowledges that everything has to move on.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b018ft19)
Dominic West; Tracey Emin; Tom Hooper; Great British Bake Off; Inbetweeners

Mark Lawson unwraps a further selection of new interviews with arts headline makers of 2011.

Stage and screen actor Dominic West discusses playing serial murderer Fred West, Shakespeare's Iago, and upper-class anchorman Hector Madden in The Hour.

Tracey Emin, newly-appointed Professor of Drawing at the Royal Academy, reflects on opening the new Turner Contemporary gallery in her home town of Margate, her solo show at the Hayward Gallery, London, and her art-work for 10 Downing Street.

Director Tom Hooper considers the success of his Oscar-winning film The King's Speech, and how almost a year after its release it is still winning awards.

Another British film The Inbetweeners, based on the TV comedy, has taken more than £45 million at the UK box office and is the biggest-selling DVD this Christmas. Writers Iain Morris and Damon Beesley reveal how far they are prepared to push the cast.

And Mark meets Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, judges on The Great British Bake Off, one of the year's unexpected TV hits. They discuss their approach to cake-tasting, and the art of judging the perfect bake.

Producer Lisa Davis.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b018fmsx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Saving Species (b018ft1c)
Sustaining Life

In a special edition of Saving Species, recorded in front of an audience at the University of Bristol, Brett Westwood chairs a discussion about the building tension between the natural world and the burgeoning human population.

Every 2 seconds another child is born. The human population is now over 7 billion and is projected to rise to 9 billion by 2050. All these people will need food, water, energy and materials, is that possible? If everyone in the world lived like us in the UK, even at the present level of population, we would need 4 planet's worth of resources to sustain our lifestyles, and as the world gets wealthier and more people attain a western lifestyle, where will those resources come from?

How can a burgeoning population really live with a flourishing natural world?

Not only will more wetlands be drained, more forests destroyed for agriculture and the seas fished even more, the distribution of resources will be unevenly spread around the world. How will this affect us all in the years to come?

Or is another way possible, where we let go of the systems that drive the processes that destroy nature and learn to live with the natural world, which will mean making sacrifices?

Sustaining Life takes the issue of the human population and nature head on.

The speakers are:

Shiva Vandana - an environmentalist from India;
Jacqueline McGlade - Executive Director of the European Environment Agency;
Aubrey Manning - Emeritus Professor of Natural History, University of Edinburgh;
Jon Bridle, Evolutionary Biologist, Cabot Institute, University of Bristol.

There are guest performances by writer ALK and poet, Miles Chambers.

Saving Species news reporter Kelvin Boot will be presenting some of the themes.

And questions from some of the 800 members of the public who attended the recording of the programme.

Chair Brett Westwood
Producer Mary Colwell
Editor Julian Hector.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b018ft1f)
Carols at Christmas

Lisa Jardine reflects on the power of music to move, especially at Christmas, when the singing of carols unites singers and listeners alike, in an outpouring of community spirit. She also celebrates each advance in technology which has made music available to all, not just an elite, from the fifteenth century mass production of carol books to the screening in cinemas worldwide of opera live from the Met in New York.
Producer: Sheila Cook.


FRI 21:00 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b018ft1h)
The Post Office and the State

In 1870 the telegraph system came under the control of the post office, in the first ever instance of the government nationalising a commercial industry. The aim was to provide an extended and more efficient network, to serve the public and make a profit.

In the late nineteenth century the Post Office became a key instrument of the State.

Providing a national telegraph service, as censor and channel in the first world war, as a model employer in the 1930s and pioneer in communications technology for much of the twentieth century. The last four decades have seen the State pulling away from Royal Mail leaving it's future very much uncertain.

Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook

Historical Consultant: Iain Stevenson

Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart

Actors: Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw

Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b0188349)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b018ft1k)
Robin Lustig presents national and international news and analysis.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b018ft1m)
Nancy Mitford - The Pursuit of Love

Episode 5

By Nancy Mitford. Linda's marriage does not turn out as she'd hoped. Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths and read by Diana Quick.

Fanny Logan tells the story of her beloved aristocratic cousins, the Radletts, and in particular Linda, who is beautiful and loves animals. Uncle Mathew hunts his children with bloodhounds (to the horror of respectable families in the local village) and keeps a blood-spattered entrenching tool above the fireplace as a relic of his experiences in the First World War. The cousins spend much of their childhood in the airing cupboard - the only warm place in the enormous Alconleigh Hall - discussing love and sex.

Beautifully observed and hilariously funny, the novel is also a fascinating hinterland account of the period leading to the Second World War and never pulls its punches in evoking the painful reality of the times.

Reader...Diana Quick
Abridger...Lauris Morgan-Griffiths
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b018csyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Cat Women of the Moon (b0145x7h)
Episode 2

Cat Women of the Moon was a 1950s film that followed a popular motif in science fiction; an all women society surviving without men. One of its biggest challenges? How to reproduce. In the final part of a two part programme we look at how science fiction has been used to examine the myriad ways we might continue the human race. From test tube babies to parthenogenesis. From cloning to male pregnancy. From artificial wombs to a collective consciousness or hive mind. The programme includes contributions from some of Britain's leading science fiction writers including Iain Banks, China Mieville, Nicola Griffith and Geoff Ryman. The programme is presented by the writer Sarah Hall, author of 'The Carhullan Army' and 'The Electric Michelangelo' which was short listed for the Booker Prize. The programme is produced in Manchester by Nicola Swords.




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 (b018b63y)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 MON (b018b63y)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 TUE (b018cdmz)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 TUE (b018cdmz)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 WED (b018fljt)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 WED (b018fljt)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 THU (b018flpb)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 THU (b018flpb)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 FRI (b018fmsx)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 FRI (b018fmsx)

A Point of View 08:50 SUN (b0184w66)

A Point of View 20:50 FRI (b018ft1f)

Afternoon Reading 00:30 SUN (b01276xs)

All in the Mind 21:00 TUE (b018csz5)

All in the Mind 15:30 WED (b018csz5)

Am I Really Free? 21:00 THU (b018fmrk)

Any Answers? 14:00 SAT (b0188524)

Any Questions? 13:10 SAT (b0184w64)

Archive on 4 20:00 SAT (b01886jx)

Ayckbourn in Action 13:30 SUN (b014gdqz)

Bells on Sunday 05:43 SUN (b01886tx)

Bells on Sunday 00:45 MON (b01886tx)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 MON (b018cbbr)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 TUE (b018csz9)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 WED (b018fllp)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 THU (b018fmrp)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 FRI (b018ft1m)

Book of the Week 00:30 SAT (b018scwh)

Book of the Week 09:45 MON (b018b63t)

Book of the Week 00:30 TUE (b018b63t)

Book of the Week 09:45 TUE (b018cdmv)

Book of the Week 00:30 WED (b018cdmv)

Book of the Week 09:45 WED (b018cwh0)

Book of the Week 00:30 THU (b018cwh0)

Book of the Week 09:45 THU (b018flp6)

Book of the Week 00:30 FRI (b018flp6)

Book of the Week 09:45 FRI (b018fmss)

Boundaries of Blood 17:00 SUN (b0184rgx)

Brain of Britain 23:00 SAT (b0183t4j)

Brain of Britain 15:00 MON (b018b7jn)

Bringing Up Britain 22:15 SAT (b0184s39)

Bringing Up Britain 20:00 WED (b018fllf)

Broadcasting House 09:00 SUN (b0188886)

Can You Touch Your Toes? 20:00 TUE (b018csz1)

Cat Women of the Moon 23:30 THU (b013q20k)

Cat Women of the Moon 23:30 FRI (b0145x7h)

Classic Serial 21:00 SAT (b0183r3q)

Classic Serial 15:00 SUN (b01888l1)

Coming Out 14:45 SUN (b01888d8)

Crossing Continents 20:30 MON (b0184v2q)

Crossing Continents 11:00 THU (b018flpd)

Desert Island Discs 11:15 SUN (b018888b)

Desert Island Discs 09:00 FRI (b018888b)

Detective Sergeant Nick Mohammed 23:00 WED (b018gr0v)

Dilemma 19:15 SUN (b01888wg)

Drama 14:15 MON (b018b6yl)

Drama 14:15 WED (b00pcl7n)

Drama 14:15 THU (b00pd18h)

Drama 14:15 FRI (b00g3cfq)

Elvenquest 18:30 THU (b016vn8f)

Excess Baggage 10:00 SAT (b018851t)

Farming Today 06:30 SAT (b018851p)

Farming Today 05:45 MON (b018g3hk)

Farming Today 05:45 TUE (b018cbns)

Farming Today 05:45 WED (b018cvtm)

Farming Today 05:45 THU (b018flp0)

Farming Today 05:45 FRI (b018fmsn)

Four Thought 20:45 WED (b018fllh)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:30 SAT (b0188520)

Front Row 19:15 MON (b018b8d4)

Front Row 19:15 TUE (b018csyz)

Front Row 19:15 WED (b018fllc)

Front Row 19:15 THU (b018fmqg)

Front Row 19:15 FRI (b018ft19)

Gardeners' Question Time 14:00 SUN (b0184vhj)

Gardeners' Question Time 15:00 FRI (b018fmtp)

Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off 11:30 MON (b018b6yb)

Great Lives 16:30 TUE (b018csyq)

Great Lives 23:00 FRI (b018csyq)

Guns, Roses and Poetry Readings 23:30 SAT (b017c9ph)

Heresy 18:30 WED (b018fll7)

Home Planet 15:00 TUE (b018cq00)

How New Is the New Philanthropy? 20:00 MON (b018b8s5)

I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue 12:00 SUN (b0183tly)

I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue 18:30 MON (b018b8d0)

In Business 20:30 THU (b018fmrh)

In Our Time 09:00 THU (b018flp4)

In Our Time 21:30 THU (b018flp4)

In Touch 20:40 TUE (b018csz3)

Inside the Academie Francaise 11:00 FRI (b018fmsz)

John Peel's Shed 11:30 WED (b018fljy)

Last Word 20:30 SUN (b0184w5r)

Last Word 16:00 FRI (b018ft0z)

Loose Ends 18:15 SAT (b01886jq)

Mark Steel's in Town 18:30 TUE (b018csyv)

Material World 21:00 MON (b0184v33)

Material World 16:30 THU (b018fmq8)

McLevy 14:15 TUE (b018cpzy)

Midnight News 00:00 SAT (b0184w7m)

Midnight News 00:00 SUN (b01882w4)

Midnight News 00:00 MON (b01882xq)

Midnight News 00:00 TUE (b01882yw)

Midnight News 00:00 WED (b01882zx)

Midnight News 00:00 THU (b018832k)

Midnight News 00:00 FRI (b018833v)

Midweek 09:00 WED (b018cwgy)

Midweek 21:30 WED (b018cwgy)

Money Box Live 15:00 WED (b018flkz)

Money Box 12:00 SAT (b0188522)

Money Box 21:00 SUN (b0188522)

More or Less 20:00 SUN (b0184w5t)

More or Less 16:30 FRI (b018ft11)

News Briefing 05:30 SAT (b0184w7y)

News Briefing 05:30 SUN (b01882wd)

News Briefing 05:30 MON (b01882xz)

News Briefing 05:30 TUE (b01882z4)

News Briefing 05:30 WED (b0188305)

News Briefing 05:30 THU (b018832w)

News Briefing 05:30 FRI (b0188343)

News Headlines 06:00 SUN (b01882wh)

News and Papers 06:00 SAT (b0184w9y)

News and Papers 07:00 SUN (b01882wn)

News and Papers 08:00 SUN (b01882wt)

News and Weather 22:00 SAT (b0184wc3)

News 13:00 SAT (b0184wbj)

North by Northamptonshire 11:30 FRI (b018fmt1)

O Henry Stories 15:45 FRI (b018fmtr)

Off the Page 23:00 MON (b0184rgl)

On Your Farm 06:35 SUN (b018887y)

One to One 09:30 TUE (b018cbnz)

Open Book 16:00 SUN (b01888w8)

Open Book 15:30 THU (b01888w8)

Open Country 06:07 SAT (b0184v2z)

Open Country 15:00 THU (b018flps)

PM 17:00 SAT (b01886jn)

PM 17:00 MON (b018b8cy)

PM 17:00 TUE (b018csys)

PM 17:00 WED (b018fll5)

PM 17:00 THU (b018fmqb)

PM 17:00 FRI (b018ft13)

Pick of the Week 18:15 SUN (b01888wb)

Pop Goes the Bible! 10:30 SAT (b018851w)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 SAT (b0184wv2)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 MON (b018b5fm)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 TUE (b018mbvg)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 WED (b018mbxz)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 THU (b018md2j)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 FRI (b018md3r)

Profile 19:00 SAT (b01886js)

Profile 05:45 SUN (b01886js)

Profile 17:40 SUN (b01886js)

Questions, Questions 15:30 TUE (b012lkkl)

Radio 4 Appeal 07:55 SUN (b0188882)

Radio 4 Appeal 21:26 SUN (b0188882)

Radio 4 Appeal 15:27 THU (b0188882)

Saturday Drama 14:30 SAT (b0188526)

Saturday Live 09:00 SAT (b018851r)

Saturday Review 19:15 SAT (b01886jv)

Saving Species 20:00 FRI (b018ft1c)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SAT (b0184w7r)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SUN (b01882w8)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 MON (b01882xv)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 TUE (b01882z0)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 WED (b0188301)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 THU (b018832r)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 FRI (b018833z)

Sex and the Single Girl 11:30 THU (b018flpg)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SAT (b0184w7p)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SAT (b0184w7t)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SAT (b0184wbq)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SUN (b01882w6)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SUN (b01882wb)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SUN (b01882wy)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 MON (b01882xs)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 MON (b01882xx)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 TUE (b01882yy)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 TUE (b01882z2)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 WED (b01882zz)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 WED (b0188303)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 THU (b018832m)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 THU (b018832t)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 FRI (b018833x)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 FRI (b0188341)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SAT (b0184wbx)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SUN (b01882x2)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 MON (b01882y5)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 TUE (b01882z8)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 WED (b018830h)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 THU (b0188330)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 FRI (b0188347)

Something Understood 06:05 SUN (b01886zz)

Something Understood 23:30 SUN (b01886zz)

Start the Week 09:00 MON (b018b63r)

Start the Week 21:30 MON (b018b63r)

Stories from Earth Music Bristol 19:45 SUN (b01888wj)

Sunday Worship 08:10 SUN (b0188884)

Sunday 07:10 SUN (b0188880)

Tales from the Arab Spring 11:00 MON (b018b6y8)

Tales from the Arab Spring 11:00 TUE (b018cdn1)

Tales from the Arab Spring 11:00 WED (b018fljw)

The Archers Omnibus 10:00 SUN (b0188888)

The Archers 19:00 SUN (b01888wd)

The Archers 14:00 MON (b01888wd)

The Archers 19:00 MON (b018b8d2)

The Archers 14:00 TUE (b018b8d2)

The Archers 19:00 TUE (b018csyx)

The Archers 14:00 WED (b018csyx)

The Archers 19:00 WED (b018fll9)

The Archers 14:00 THU (b018fll9)

The Archers 19:00 THU (b018fmqd)

The Archers 14:00 FRI (b018fmqd)

The Archers 19:00 FRI (b018ft17)

The Art of Darkness 16:00 MON (b018b8ct)

The Film Programme 23:00 SUN (b0184v31)

The Film Programme 16:00 THU (b018fmq6)

The Food Programme 12:32 SUN (b018888d)

The Food Programme 15:30 MON (b018888d)

The Infinite Monkey Cage 16:30 MON (b018b8cw)

The Infinite Monkey Cage 23:00 TUE (b018b8cw)

The Life Scientific 09:00 TUE (b018cbnx)

The Life Scientific 21:30 TUE (b018cbnx)

The Life of Vaclav Havel 21:30 SUN (b019l2yn)

The Media Show 16:30 WED (b018fll3)

The News Quiz 18:30 FRI (b018ft15)

The Now Show 12:30 SAT (b0184w5y)

The Oath 21:00 WED (b018fllk)

The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office 13:45 MON (b018b6yj)

The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office 13:45 TUE (b018cg83)

The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office 13:45 WED (b018flk4)

The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office 13:45 THU (b018flpn)

The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office 13:45 FRI (b018fmt7)

The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office 21:00 FRI (b018ft1h)

The Report 20:00 THU (b018fmrf)

The Week in Westminster 11:00 SAT (b018851y)

The World This Weekend 13:00 SUN (b018888g)

The World Tonight 22:00 MON (b018cbbp)

The World Tonight 22:00 TUE (b018csz7)

The World Tonight 22:00 WED (b018fllm)

The World Tonight 22:00 THU (b018fmrm)

The World Tonight 22:00 FRI (b018ft1k)

Thinking Allowed 00:15 MON (b0184s2x)

Thinking Allowed 16:00 WED (b018fll1)

Today in Parliament 23:30 MON (b018cbd5)

Today in Parliament 23:30 TUE (b018cvsg)

Today in Parliament 23:30 WED (b018flly)

Today 07:00 SAT (b01886s5)

Today 06:00 MON (b018g3hm)

Today 06:00 TUE (b018cbnv)

Today 06:00 WED (b018cwgw)

Today 06:00 THU (b018flp2)

Today 06:00 FRI (b018fmsq)

Warsaw Variations 11:30 TUE (b018cg7v)

Weather 06:04 SAT (b0184wb2)

Weather 06:57 SAT (b0184wb6)

Weather 12:57 SAT (b0184wbg)

Weather 17:57 SAT (b0184wbs)

Weather 06:57 SUN (b01882wk)

Weather 07:57 SUN (b01882wr)

Weather 12:57 SUN (b01882ww)

Weather 17:57 SUN (b01882x0)

Weather 05:57 MON (b01882y1)

Weather 12:57 MON (b01882y3)

Weather 21:58 MON (b01882y7)

Weather 12:57 TUE (b01882z6)

Weather 21:58 TUE (b01882zb)

Weather 12:57 WED (b0188307)

Weather 21:58 WED (b018830p)

Weather 12:57 THU (b018832y)

Weather 21:58 THU (b0188334)

Weather 12:57 FRI (b0188345)

Weather 21:58 FRI (b0188349)

Weird Tales 23:00 THU (b01ns0yb)

Westminster Hour 22:00 SUN (b018b5dg)

What the Donkey Saw: UA Fanthorpe's Christmas Poems 16:30 SUN (b018vdhw)

What the Papers Say 22:45 SUN (b018b5dj)

Woman's Hour 16:00 SAT (b01886jl)

Woman's Hour 10:00 MON (b018b63w)

Woman's Hour 10:00 TUE (b018cdmx)

Woman's Hour 10:00 WED (b018cwh2)

Woman's Hour 10:00 THU (b018flp8)

Woman's Hour 10:00 FRI (b018fmsv)

Word of Mouth 16:00 TUE (b018cq02)

World at One 13:00 MON (b018b6yg)

World at One 13:00 TUE (b018cg81)

World at One 13:00 WED (b018flk2)

World at One 13:00 THU (b018flpl)

World at One 13:00 FRI (b018fmt5)

You and Yours 12:00 MON (b018b6yd)

You and Yours 12:00 TUE (b018cg7x)

You and Yours 12:00 WED (b018flk0)

You and Yours 12:00 THU (b018flpj)

You and Yours 12:00 FRI (b018fmt3)

iPM 05:45 SAT (b0184wv4)

iPM 17:30 SAT (b0184wv4)