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 18 FEBRUARY 2012

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b01by9nb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b01cdl53)
Europe in the Looking Glass

Episode 5

The men eventually make their way home.

Europe in the Looking Glass is Robert Byron's travel classic, recounting a car journey across Europe in 1926, and providing a mirror on events and nationhood both then and today. Byron (a descendant of the poet) found acclaim as the author of The Road to Oxiana - an account of a trip to Afghanistan and Persia.

The conclusion offers the travellers (and all of us) a new perspective on their homeland as well as the countries and cultures they explore together.

Read by Rupert Penry-Jones.

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01by9nd)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01by9ng)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01by9nj)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b01by9nl)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01by9rw)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Anna Magnusson, a writer and broadcaster from Glasgow.


SAT 05:45 iPM (b01by9ry)
The programme that starts with its listeners.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b01by9nn)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b01by9nq)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (b01by8nc)
Inspirational Walks

Northern Ireland - The Wee Binnians

In the second in a series of inspirational walks, Clare Balding joins members of the Wee Binnians, Northern Ireland's biggest walking club. The walking club was set up in 1987 by Veronica McCann who, over the years, has inspired countless people to join her in walking the hills and valleys of Northern Ireland's Mourne Mountains. Described by Veronica as 'a social group that walks, the Wee Binnians Walking Club is open to anyone over 16 and the club is the embodiment of a cross-community, cross-border group whose members share a passion for walking.

Today Clare joins just some of the 300 club members to climb to the summit of Slieve Binnian, the third highest mountain in Northern Ireland. She hears from Veronica, a self-confessed non-walker beforehand, about what inspired her to set up the group, why it is so important to her and then from some of the members about what the club - and Veronica - mean to them.

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Helen Chetwynd.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b01c6j19)
Farming Today This Week

Demand for venison is increasing, yet few people decide to farm deer. Caz Graham visits a Staffordshire deer farm who provide venison to the supermarkets.

The UK's new-found appetite for venison could be a golden opportunity for more people to convert to deer farming. But the number of deer farms has failed to keep up with the demand. The Scottish Venison Partnership says at least 500 more farms are needed, to supply a market that's currently dominated by imports. Moira Hickey meets Ali Loder, who keeps around 250 red deer near Strathdon in Aberdeenshire to find out what tempted him into deer farming

The number of wild deer in the UK has doubled in the past ten years, now standing at an estimated 2 million. Wild deer can cause damage to crops, woodland and can cause road collisions. For these reasons, each year 350,000 wild deer are culled across the UK. But some people say that we should be wary of culling too many of the animals. Peter Fraser from the Scottish Gamekeepers Association thinks that there needs to be plenty of wild deer to protect an already fragile rural economy.

In England, the Forestry Commission culls about 12,500 wild deer every year. The deer then gets sold on as venison meat. Our reporter Emma Weatherill joined Forestry Commission game keeper Matthew Davies early in the morning as he set out stalking deer in the New Forest.

Presented by Caz Graham. Produced by Emma Weatherill.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b01by9ns)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b01c6j1c)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by James Naughtie and Evan Davis. Featuring the debate over the role of the Church of England (0810) Kelvin Mackenzie and Labour MP Tom Watson on The Sun (0830) and new claims about Lord Lucan (0852).


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b01c6j1f)
On this week's Saturday Live, Richard Coles' guest is a television presenter and media personality whose private life has intrigued the tabloids - Anthea Turner. The sometime 'perfect housewife', Anthea will be fronting the 'Get Britain Crafting' campaign later in the year.

This week's poet is Mr Gee, from humble beginnings as a Hip-Hop DJ, Mr Gee has honed his spoken word skills to become one of the stars of the UK poetry scene.

We meet Jesse Ruiz, who, as a 27-year-old law student looking for intern work in Chicago, was mentored by a young lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School - Barack Obama.

Richard also talks to Thomas Keeper, an estate agent, who recently spent £35,000 on a surgical procedure to extend his legs pushing his height from 5ft 6in to 5ft 10in.

As an homage to Valentines day earlier this week, JP Devlin travels to Henley on Thames for a stroll with Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee to learn about the joys of romance.

And we experience James Naughtie's Inheritance Tracks.

Producer: Sukey Firth.


SAT 10:00 Excess Baggage (b01c6j1h)
Israel

John McCarthy discusses the diverse attractions of Israel as a destination. It's a land whose tumultuous existence often overshadows a rich, cultural life. The very word 'Israel' is often synonymous with conflict and religious tension, but John looks beyond the political debate to find what it has to offer the ordinary traveller. His guests are a travel writer, Samantha Wilson, a keen hiker, Alma Smith and a chef, Adi Gilo who spent many summers living and working on a kibbutz.

Producer: Margaret Collins.


SAT 10:30 The Art of Monarchy (b01c6j1k)
Friend or Foe

The Royal Collection is one of the most wide-ranging collections of art and artefacts in the world and provides an intriguing insight into the minds of the monarchs who assembled it.

In this series, BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz encounters dozens of these unique objects - some priceless, others no more than souvenirs - each shedding light on our relationship with the monarchy and giving a glimpse into the essential ingredients of a successful sovereign.

In today's programme, Will puts the Royal Collection on a war footing as he examines six very different items covering 700 years that show how the monarchy has rallied their subjects for war and endeavoured to keep the peace.

Will's explorations of monarchs at war begins with a photograph of the young Princess Elizabeth training to be an ATS Officer in 1945 shown to the nation to boost morale but then spools back to the Middle Ages with a clear symbol of martial authority - Edward III's six feet, eight inch long bearing sword. Henry VIII, Mary Queen of Scots and a elaborate object of apology from the city of Exeter all form part of the story of the monarchy in arms.

As well as curators from the Royal Collection, Will meets General Sir Mike Jackson, Dr Duncan Anderson - Head of Academy, Sandhurst and Sir David Cannadine.

Producer: Neil George.


SAT 11:00 Beyond Westminster (b01c6j1m)
Devo max

The Prime Minister David Cameron wants the referendum on the renegotiation of Scotland's relationship with the rest of the UK to offer a simple yes or no choice on independence. But the Scottish National Party have said that, if they are convinced there is sufficient public support for it, in addition to a 'clean break' question, they would also like a second option on the table involving significant new powers for the Scottish Parliament but falling short of independence. This has been dubbed - 'devo max'. But what exactly is 'devo max'? What would it mean for the people of Scotland and what would be the consequences for the rest of the UK? Michael Buchanan tries to find out.
Producer Jane Beresford.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b01c6j1p)
The gun remains the ultimate arbiter of disputes in post-Gaddafi Libya. And Gabriel Gatehouse in Benghazi says disarming the militias roaming the country is a priority for the country's new leaders. Bill Law's been in Bahrain as violence between protestors and security forces has left many casualties in recent days. Justin Rowlatt's been meeting a Brazilian man who admits to cutting down swathes of Amazonian rainforest. But he maintains it was his patriotic duty -- he was only doing what his government in those days considered appropriate. There's growing resentment between the people of Hong Kong and Chinese mainlanders - Juliana Liu's been exploring the tensions in this port city which until fifteen years ago was a British colony ... while in New York City Reggie Nadelson looks around a vast wedding emporium where you can spend tens of thousands on a wedding dress - and many do!!!


SAT 12:00 Money Box (b01c6j1r)
On Money Box with Paul Lewis:

Would you like to cut your energy bills? Most of us would. And in the last ten days more than 100,000 people have signed up with the consumer organisation Which? to do just that. The idea is that Which? will offer these customers to the energy company that gives them the best deal. The idea came from the Netherlands by its consumer union, Consumentenbond. The programme speaks to Sandra De Jong from the Dutch union and also from Richard Lloyd from Which?

Savings and inflation. The rate of inflation has fallen which is good news for savers. But to get the best rate on your savings you normally have to be fairly vigilant - signing up to the top rate account and then being posed to move your money to another account when the rate on the first plummets are a year or even less in some cases. Investec which is a bank as well an an investment company has re-launched its solution to this problem. It monitors the best paying savings accounts every week and pays customers the average of the top five or top ten accounts. Linda McBain from Investec joins the programme as well as Anna Bowes from Savings Champion.

How to build a credit history.If you've been cautious about using things like credit cards and store cards you might be in for a surprise. A thin file is the technical term for a credit record with almost nothing on it and what many people do not realise is that it can stop you getting credit as much as a fat file with missed payments.
Money Box hears from listener Viv Browne and also from Neil Munroe from Equifax.

There may be new powers for bailiffs to gain access to your home if you have a county court judgement against you for an unpaid debt. A Government consultation has been launched on the role of bailiffs. Peter Tutton from Citizens Advice gives his view on the proposals.

Would you like more details about financial apps on your smartphone to help you manage your money? If so Mike Hawkes from the Mobile Data Association will do a round up for the programme.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b01by9ls)
Series 36

Episode 1

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis return with another series of topical sketch and stand up. With Mitch Benn, Jon Holmes, Pippa Evans and John Finnemore.

Producer Katie Tyrrell.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b01by9nv)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b01by9nx)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b01by9lz)
Solihull

Jonathan Dimbleby chairs a live discussion of news and politics, hosted by the Knowle Society at Arden Academy, Solihull, with historian and Labour MP, Tristram hunt; Conservative MP and historian, Kwasi Kwarteng; Green Party leader and MP, Caroline Lucas; and director of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Mark Littlewood.

Producer: Victoria Wakely.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b01c6j68)
Call Jonathan Dimbleby on 03700 100 444 or email any.answers@bbc.co.uk or tweet #bbcaq. Topics this week include the UK's AAA rating, how to tackle alcohol misuse? new Sunday Sun? expansion of nuclear power in Britain? and the cost of maintaining fig trees at Portcullis House - the office of many Westminster MPs - a good use of tax payers money?


SAT 14:30 Saturday Drama (b01c6j6b)
Freud: The Case Histories

The Wolf Man

Deborah Levy's dramatisation of Sigmund Freud's iconic case study 'The Wolf Man- The History of an Infantile Neurosis' translated by Louise Adey Huish.

It is 1910 when the depressed son of a wealthy Russian landowner arrives in Vienna. Sergei Pankejeff, 24 years old, is suffering from debilitating fears and phobias. Freud's treatment of Pankejeff is centred around an enigmatic dream his patient had as a very young child; a dream of white wolves. Freud invites Sergei to return to his childhood as a means of understanding his current depression. Analysing the child inside the man Freud unlocks the meaning of the wolves that haunt Sergei's dreams

FREUD.....Robert Glenister
SERGEI PANKEJEFF (80).....Andrew Sachs
SERGEI PANKEJEFF (23).....Blake Ritson
SERGEI PANKEJEFF (10).....Ted Allpress
FATHER/FENCING MASTER.....Alun Raglan
MOTHER.....Susie Riddell
ANNA.....Amelia Clarkson
NANJA.....Elaine Claxton
GRANDFATHER/LATIN MASTER/BOOKSELLER.....Jonathan Oliver
TAILOR.....Simon Bubb
VIOLINIST.....Ruth Schulten

Directed by Nadia Molinari.


SAT 15:30 Soul Music (b01bwmw6)
Series 13

Rachmaninov, 2nd Piano Concerto

Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto, which was famously featured in David Lean's film "Brief Encounter", is one of the world's most popular pieces of classical. In this programme people describe the way in which Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto has touched and shaped their lives. The programme features a pianist from Taiwan whose memories of a repressive childhood were dispelled by the emotions contained within this music. Plus a story from an acclaimed pianist from Argentina who was told she would never play the piano again after a serious car accident, but who has recently performed this piece in New York. And finally an account of the place that this piece of passionate and heartfelt music played in the life of John Peel and his family, told by his wife Sheila Ravenscroft.

The concerto is also given historical and musical context in the programme by pianists Peter Donohoe and Howard Shelley.

Producer: Rosie Boulton.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b01c6kqx)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Mary Quant

Sixties icon Mary Quant, Rosie Millard and Jeanette Winterson on taking kids to museums and art galleries. Why is surgery still so male dominated? The former governor of Styal Prison speaks out. A Dad is Born - Learning to be a dad. Plus - trying to diet ? Listener Sue Lyons gets advice from three experts.

Highlights from the Woman's Hour week. Presented by Jane Garvey.
Editor: Beverley Purcell.


SAT 17:00 PM (b01c6kqz)
Saturday PM

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


SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (b01by8nt)
Young Entrepreneurs

The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion, statistics and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies. The programme is broadcast first on BBC Radio 4 and later on BBC World Service Radio, BBC World News TV and BBC News Channel TV.

Three young entrepreneurs, all in their early twenties, join Evan to discuss the headaches in getting their businesses up and running. They also discuss the next chapter - moving on and crucially letting go or getting out.

Joining Evan in the studio are Suleman Sacranie, founder of online wholesaler 99pwholesaler.com; Kelly Goss of independent fashion brand Rock 'n' Needle; Louis Barnett, founder of luxury chocolate maker Chokolit.

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Stephen Chilcott.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b01by9nz)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b01by9p1)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01by9p3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b01c6kr1)
Clive will be chewing the fat with author Will Self, whose new book 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Prawn Cracker' is a selection of his hilarious New Statesman Real Meals columns. Will bravely delves into the ubiquitous Thai meal and chicken tikka masala, frozen TV dinners and airline food.

Clive will be saying 'Yes M'Lady' to actress Keeley Hawes, who stars as Lady Agnes in the second series of 'Upstairs Downstairs'. Keeley will be talking about the drama, intrigue and passion among the sumptuous household of 165 Eaton Place. What would Mrs Bridges think? 'Upstairs Downstairs' returns to BBC One on Sunday 19th February at 21.30.

Gideon Coe will be making a splash with intrepid adventurer and original 'Castaway' Ben Fogle, whose new BBC Two series takes a thrilling look at the underwater world of the crocodile. 'Swimming With Crocodiles' starts on Sunday 19th February at 21.00.

Clive talks 'Infidelity' with the original 'It' girl Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, who's had no time to 'do lunch' as she's been writing, presenting, playing the piano and even swinging through the jungle! 'Infidelity' is the sequel to Tara's first book 'Inheritance' and is a tale of lovers and losers, cheaters and winners.

With music from Canadian five-piece roots collective The Deep Dark Woods who perform 'Sugar Mama' from their album 'The Place I Left Behind'.

And sending pulses racing, bluesy punk duo The Kills are in to celebrate their tenth anniversary with their new single 'The Last Goodbye' from their album 'Blood Pressures'.

Producer: Cathie Mahoney.


SAT 19:00 From Fact to Fiction (b01c6kr3)
Series 11

The Warrah

The Warrah by Lucy Catherine.

As the 30th anniversary of the Falklands conflict approaches, the war of words between Britain and Argentina has, in recent weeks, become increasingly heated. In this story, writer Lucy Catherine digs deep into the spirit of the place to tell a personal story of young woman's unexpected and unsettling encounter with the islands' past.

Amy ..... Georgia Groome
Pablo ..... Paulo Rivera
Dad ..... Peter Hamilton-Dyer

Directed by Marc Beeby

To complement Radio Four's News and Current Affairs output, our weekly series presents a dramatic response to a major story from the week's news.

This is the 12th series and the sheer breadth of approach is reflected in the range of writers who have participated so far. They include: Lionel Shriver, David Baddiel, David Edgar, Amelia Bulmore, Mark Lawson, Bonnie Greer, Laura Solon, Will Self, Alistair Beaton, Lemn Sissay, April de Angelis, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Adrian Mitchell, Stewart Lee, John Sergeant, Jo Shapcott, Ian McMillan, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Kate Mosse, Marina Warner, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, A.L.Kennedy and Lyn Coghlan.

From Fact to Fiction presents writers with the creative opportunity to work in a bold and instinctive way as they respond to events in the news, beginning on a Monday when an idea is selected through to Friday when the programme is recorded and edited.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b01c6kr5)
Tom Sutcliffe and his guests historian Dominic Sandbrook, writer Lisa Appignanesi and poet Cahal Dallat review the week's cultural highlights including The Recruiting Officer.

George Farquhar's 1706 play The Recruiting Officer is Josie Rourke's first production in her new role of Artistic Director at the Donmar Warehouse in London. It stars Tobias Menzies as Captain Plume who, assisted by Sergeant Kite (Mackenzie Crook), has come to Shrewsbury to enlist the men of the town, but is also in pursuit of a local heiress (Nancy Carroll).

Lysander Rief is the hero of William Boyd's novel Waiting For Sunrise. Rief visits Vienna in 1913 to undergo psychoanalysis for a sexual problem, but an affair with a fellow patient leads to a series of sinister complications in his life which continue to trouble him through the opening years of the First World War.

Stephen Daldry has made a film of Jonathan Safran Foer's novel Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close starring Thomas Horn as Oskar, a young boy who sets out on a solo mission across New York City after his father is killed in the attack on the World Trade Centre.

Picasso and Modern British Art at Tate Britain in London explores the influence the Spanish artist had on his British counterparts - including Ben Nicholson, Francis Bacon and Henry Moore - throughout his career.

Barack Goodman's four part documentary Clinton tells the story of the boy from Hope's rise to the American Presidency. It includes interviews with many of the people closest to Clinton during his incumbency - those with an inside view of what went right and wrong during his time in office.

Producer: Torquil MacLeod.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b01c6kr7)
Attention All Shipping

"I love it. It's the nearest thing to poetry that I ever got to read on the radio - wonderful cadences" - Charlotte Green, Radio 4 announcer and newsreader is just one of dozens of professional broadcasters who've been transfixed by the strangely elegiac nature of the curt and abbreviated language of the formal statement of weather conditions around our island. For Archive on 4, Charlotte's former colleague, Peter Jefferson presents an elegy to the Shipping Forecast, travelling via the archive through the history and romance of the sea areas that daily make their weather known to seafarers.

The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the Straits; - on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.

But Matthew Arnold's poem 'Dover Beach' also perfectly encapsulates the spirit in which many Radio 4 listeners embrace the Forecast; gazing into the depths of the night, a seascape of indigo swept by a distant lighthouse beam. So is the Shipping Forecast as much a hymn to our former seafaring island as formal meteorological bulletin, to be shared and enjoyed by landlubbers who've long escaped all contact with the sea and ships....?

Peter travels to Exeter where the Forecast is compiled from the Met Office's supercomputer's myriad pieces of data... and talks to sailor and radio-lover Libby Purves, national poet of Wales and composer of an ode to the Forecast, Gillian Clarke and to photographer Mark Power, who shot a stunning sequence of black-and-white images of the sea areas.

Producer: Simon Elmes.


SAT 21:00 Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels (b01bwddl)
2 The Voyage to Brobdingnag

Gulliver's adventures continue when he finds himself in Brobdingnag - a land where the inhabitants are enormous!

Here, as a miniature man, Gulliver must fight for survival against rats the size of dogs, a dwarf who is 40 foot high, and the ridicule and humiliation of a scornful court.

Jonathan Swift's classic satire starring Arthur Darvill as Gulliver.

Gulliver …. Arthur Darvill
King …. Sam Dale
Richard Sympson …. Matthew Gravelle
Mary …. Bethan Walker
Dwarf …. Gareth Pierce
Farmer's Wife …. Claire Cage
The Queen …. Lynne Seymour

With his uniquely close-up view, Gulliver sees the people (even the great beauties) as if under a microscope - and they are dirty, stinking and disgusting. He becomes increasingly horrified by humankind, stranded in a frightening land where his only ally is an innocent child. Once again, escape is imperative - if he doesn't, he won't survive...

As an exploration of of man's vanity and complacency, Gulliver's second voyage is an acute satire - as relevant today as ever. Beyond that, it is also a rattling good adventure story - a man lost, swashbuckling his way through manifold giant-sized dangers, desperate to find a way back home.

Adapted by Matthew Broughton.

A BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in February 2012.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b01by9p5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (b01by7cz)
Organ Donation

Every year around a thousand people die waiting for a donor organ. The scientific and medical problems of organ transplantation have long since been solved. The moral, ethical and psychological issues are proving much trickier. Now many patients and doctors are calling for radical changes to tackle the organ shortage to save lives. A new report by the BMA says patients could be kept alive solely to harvest their organs. The practice is called "elective ventilation" and would mean that when a patient was recognised to be near death doctors would start ventilating them, not to save their lives, but with the specific intention of facilitating organ donation. There's also a call to switch to a system of presumed consent where people would assumed to be a willing donor unless they actively opt out of the system - something the Welsh Assembly is already considering. Is it about time we redress and update our ethical boundaries and set aside our moral squeamishness to save lives? How many of those who instinctively recoil from these ideas would happy accept a donor organ for themselves or a loved one? Or is this a horrific vision of Brave New World utilitarianism were we reduce patients to a collection of potential spare parts - a means to an end, rather than an end in themselves? The debate goes to the heart of what it is to be human and what lengths we'll go to save a human life. It's a moral dilemma of Solomon like proportions. Whose body is it anyway? That's the Moral Maze.

Witnesses: George Pitcher Anglican Priest at St Brides' Fleet Street, author of "Time to Live -The Cases Against Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide", Janet Radcliff-Richard Professor of Practical Philosophy at the University of Oxford. Her book 'The Ethics of Transplants: Why Careless Thought Costs Lives' is due out later this year, Joyce Robbins Patient Concern, Melanie Wager - Kidney Wales.

Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk with Melanie Phillips, Michael Portillo, Claire Fox and Anne McElvoy.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b01bwfyj)
(14/17)
The 2012 series of the general knowledge contest reaches the second semi-final, with competitors from Elgin in Morayshire, London, Twickenham and Sale in Cheshire bidding for a place in the Final next month.

Russell Davies is in the questionmaster's chair. Among the questions facing this week's contestants are the name of the country of which Goodluck Jonathan is the President; and which well-known painting had the not-very-revealing original title 'Arrangement in Grey and Black', when exhibited in 1872?

As usual, there's also a chance for a Brain of Britain listener to win a prize by outwitting the contestants with question suggestions of his or her own.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


SAT 23:30 Poetry Please (b01bwddq)
To stem the syrupiness of Valentine's day, Roger McGough presents a selection of spine chilling poetry. Jealousy rears its ugly head with dire consequences in two sinister poems by Robert Browning. Roger recalls adolescent days spent in the company of a German girl called Ursula, who would recite poems by Goethe in German. So to indulge him a little, and to enjoy the poem as the poet wrote it, guest Iris Pflueger-Bassett reads Der Erlkönig in German. John Sessions and Lisa Kerr read Walter Scott's translation of it, with a little help from a well-known musical setting of the poem by Schubert. The refrain of 'Nevermore' haunts the airwaves in Poe's classic poem The Raven and a little girl goes missing in a snow-storm in a poem by Wordsworth. The other readers are Timothy West, Clive Swift and Catherine Harvey.

Producer: Sarah Langan.



SUNDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2012

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b01c6hjh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Under the Skin (b01c6s87)
Correspondence

Under the Skin is a celebration of the second ever South Asian Literature Festival, which was staged in London and across the United Kingdom in October. The relationship between the English language, its literary tradition and writers from South Asia has become an exciting and enduring part of British literary life.

The Festival celebrated writers from South Asia and British Asian writing, equally, reflecting the diversity of themes, subjects and literary forms that constitute South Asian writing in 2011.

Under the Skin features two original stories and one adapted from the collection Too Asian, Not Asian Enough which was published to coincide with the festival. NSR Khan's story Correspondence is a touching and witty account of a Pakistani father coming to terms with the life of his British Asian daughter.

Under the Skin starts with Deni Francis, Lyndam Gregory and Najma Khan reading a story in letters between a father and daughter.

Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hjk)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01c6hjm)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hjp)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b01c6hjr)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b01c6s89)
The bells of St Mary's in Barnes, Greater London.


SUN 05:45 Four Thought (b01by7d1)
Series 2

Rob Hopkins: Sustainability and Community

The influential founder of the Transition Towns movement Rob Hopkins argues for a new approach to energy, society and our surroundings - with the help of a bottle of beer and a ten pound note bearing a picture of David Bowie.

Four Thought is a series of talks combining personal stories with fresh arguments, recorded in front of an audience at the RSA in London.

Producer: Sheila Cook.


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b01c6hjt)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b01c6s8c)
Superstition

Irma Kurtz reflects on why humans often abandon common sense and resort to superstition to deal with life under stress. Superstitions, she reflects, originated long before scientific knowledge as primitive tactics in the human war for survival, their origins unknown and having no basis in logic or reason.

Irma concludes that although anyone today living by superstition would probably qualify as having an obsessive compulsive disorder, nevertheless superstitions are still handed down from generation to generation and are stored in our subconscious. We might not believe in them, but we don't forget them.

To illustrate her theme, we hear readings from W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, Alexander Pushkin and Rudyard Kipling. The music is by Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, and Frederick Chopin .

Read by Liza Sadovy and Greg Hicks.

Producer: Ronni Davis
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 Living World (b01c6s8f)
Woodcock

In this week's Living World, Miranda Krestovnikoff tracks down one of our most mysterious and elusive birds, the woodcock. This mysterious wader spends most of its life in woodland and is wonderfully patterned to blend in with dead leaves. In summer there are about 160, 000 woodcocks in the UK, but in winter their numbers are swelled to over a million by migrant birds from Scandinavia and Russia. With their long bills, woodcock probe for worms and when the soil freezes, birds are forced to move south to the British Isles.

Woodcock are nocturnal , hiding by day in dense woodland. To see one, Miranda enlists the expertise of Dr Andrew Hoodless, a woodcock biologist with the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust who's been studying the birds for 20 years to find out where they feed, how they're affected by hard weather and what type of woodlands they require in the breeding season. Producer Brett Westwood.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b01c6hjw)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b01c6hjy)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b01c6sjk)
Edward Stourton with the religious and ethical news of the week. Moral arguments and perspectives on stories familiar and unfamiliar.

The Archbishop of Athens has warned the Greek government of further serious social upheaval if more austerity measures brought in . Ed speaks to Othon Anastasakis.

The market for Islamic art is booming and has now come to the attention of the criminal underworld in the Middle East. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

A delegation of Imams and Police from Pakistan will be in Yorkshire this week. Bishop Tony Robinson tells Ed why this visit could help the Christian community in Pakistan.

Bishop John Packer gives us an update on the Welfare Reform Bill which is ping-ponging back between the 2 houses of Parliament.

The UK will host a major conference on Somalia this week. Ed speaks to BBC World Service Africa Editor Mary Harper about the religious dimension to the conflict.

Next week a programme launches in England that will provide support to victims of anti-Muslim attacks and measure, map and monitor such attacks in the country. Kevin Bocquet reports.

Is religion under attack from militant atheism and what role should it play in modern Britain? Ed discusses with philosopher Julian Baggini, Commons Chaplain Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin and Reform Movement Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner.

Series Producer: Amanda Hancox.


SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b01c6sjm)
Childhood First

Baroness Butler-Sloss presents the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity Childhood First.

Reg Charity: 286909

To Give:

- Freephone 0800 404 8144

- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope Childhood First.

- Give Online www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/appeal.


SUN 07:57 Weather (b01c6hk0)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b01c6hk2)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b01c6sjp)
Live from Wilmslow United Reformed Church and led by the Revd Dr Kirsty Thorpe, their minister and Moderator of General Assembly, this service seeks healing for the Church's past and reflects on ways Christians have grown closer as they serve those around them. It marks 350 years since the parting of the ways between the Church of England and those non conformist clergy who could not accept its authority in 1662 and celebrates the United Reformed Church's fortieth year of life. Director of Music: Cliff Crewe; Organist: Richard Brocklehurst. Producer: Philip Billson.


SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b01by9m1)
Bankers in America

David Cannadine reflects on current and historic attitudes towards bankers in America where opinion does not divide neatly along party lines. He sees today's criticism as mild by comparison with the attitude of Franklin D. Roosevelt who unleashed "a sustained and ferocious attack " during the era of the New Deal.
Producer: Sheila Cook.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b01c6trh)
Paddy O'Connell presents news and conversation about the big stories of the week.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b01c6trk)
For detailed synopsis, see daily episodes

Writer ..... Keri Davies
Director ..... Rosemary Watts
Editor ..... Vanessa Whitburn

Jill Archer ..... Patricia Greene
Alistair Lloyd ..... Michael Lumsden
Shula Hebden Lloyd ..... Judy Bennett
Daniel Archer ..... Louis Hamblett
David Archer .... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Pip Archer ..... Helen Monks
Josh Archer ..... Cian Cheesbrough
Tony Archer ..... Colin Skipp
Pat Archer ..... Patricia Gallimore
Helen Archer ..... Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer ..... Tom Graham
Brian Aldridge ..... Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ..... Angela Piper
Adam Macy ..... Andrew Wincott
Ian Craig ..... Stephen Kennedy
William Grundy ..... Philip Molloy
Nic Grundy ..... Becky Wright
Neil Carter ..... Brian Hewlett
Christopher Carter ..... William Sanderson-Thwaite
Alice Carter ..... Hollie Chapman
Brenda Tucker ..... Amy Shindler
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Tracy Horrobin ..... Susie Riddell
Bert Horrobin ..... Martyn Read.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b01c6trm)
Lord Prescott

Kirsty Young's castaway is the former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

In this frank interview, he describes life in the highly political home where he grew up, the impact that failing the school 11+ exam had on him and the gradual kindling of his own ambitions. He speaks of his debt to his wife Pauline and how for many years of their marriage he underestimated her. He describes, too, the inferiority complex which dogged him for much of his adult life:

"All the attacks on me because of my grammar and kind of background, aggressive style - it used to ruff up a few feathers and whilst I would never let it show, certainly deep inside me I felt a bit inferior."

Producer: Leanne Buckle.


SUN 12:00 Just a Minute (b01bwfys)
Series 62

Episode 2

Panellists Ross Noble, Paul Merton, Jenny Eclair and Gyles Brandreth join host Nicholas Parsons for the popular panel game where they have to speak on a given subject for sixty seconds without hesitation, repetition or deviation.

This week Gyles Brandreth tells us which Self-Help Books he keeps at the side of his bed, Ross Noble talks about the Search for Intelligent Life, Paul Merton reveals the Things he Throws Away and Jenny Eclair talks about Coping With Embarrassment.

Devised by Ian Messiter.

Producer: Claire Jones.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b01c6trp)
Food Clubs

Sheila Dillon looks at how people are clubbing together to buy budget and luxury food.

Producer: Maggie Ayre.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b01c6hk6)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b01c6trr)
Shaun Ley presents the latest national and international news, including an in-depth look at events around the world. Email: wato@bbc.co.uk; twitter: #theworldthisweekend.


SUN 13:30 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


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b01by9lg)
Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria

Eric Robson chairs a horticultural Q&A from Grange-Over-Sands in Cumbria. Sharing their wisdom, on the panel are Matthew Biggs, Anne Swithinbank and Bob Flowerdew.

Eric Robson visits the 300 year old topiary garden at the Levens Hall, and Matthew Biggs is starts off his own hardy orchid collection.

Questions answered in the programme are:
Can the panel suggest plants suited to a woodland prone to severe flooding?
Suggestions included: Skunk cabbage, Osmunda Regalis, Kingcups, Darmera Paitata, Swamp cypress and Alder.

How can hen droppings be put to use on the veg plot?
Why am I complete unable to grow Buddleias?
"Noisy plant" suggestions for a sensory garden:
Bamboo and Miscanthus, Broom for its bursting pods and Pine for its hissing cones.

Is possible that my Maidenhair spleenwort underwent a genetic mutation in a fire and developed crested fronds?

Suggestions for plants to incorporate in a veg bed, to be viewed from 2 high ( and no blue flowers please ): Mexican sunflower 'Tithonia', Cosmos bipinnatus, Aronia melanocarpa, Gladioli and Ribes Odoratum.

Why do my French beans go curly?
Is it true you can grow potatoes from eyes instead of tubers?
Given that my husband refuses to heat the greenhouse over winter, what can I grow? Suggestions included: Camellias, Ornamental Leaf Begonias
and Bougainvillea.

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


SUN 14:45 Key Matters (b00tt5j1)
Series 2

C Sharp

Ivan Hewett talks with pianist Kenneth Hamilton about the key of C sharp in an attempt to discover why this key is so obscure and treacherous for performers.


SUN 15:00 Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels (b01c6trt)
3 The Voyage to Laputa

The last voyages of Jonathan Swift's story are the lesser told. Gulliver finds himself on the floating Island of Laputa, where he encounters mad scientists and the terrifying ghosts of the great and the good. He flees from these intellectual and spiritual horrors, only to finally find a kind of Eden with the Houyhnhnms, a race of intelligent and gentle horses.

However, in this land, humans - or as they are called, the 'Yahoos' - are considered vermin. The dark and traumatizing experiences Gulliver has in this land change his life (and his wife and family's lives) forever.

With the satire here focused on crazy scientific experimentation, superstition, and finally spiritual desolation - Gulliver's Travels is as modern and potent now as it has ever been.

Jonathan Swift's classic satire starring Arthur Darvill as Gulliver.

Gulliver …. Arthur Darvill
Richard Sympson …. Matthew Gravelle
Mary …. Bethan Walker
The Governor of Glubdrubdrib …. Ewan Bailey
The Master Horse …. Sam Dale
Lady Munodi …. Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Adapted by Matthew Broughton.

A BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in February 2012.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (b01c6trw)
Aminatta Forna discusses the delights of the short story

Aminatta Forna explores the delights and challenges of the short story.

Author and creative writing teacher Tessa Hadley discusses the history and development of the short story, from Edgar Allan Poe, through Chekhov, Mansfield and Monroe, and short story writers Helen Simpson and Jon McGregor, along with Deputy Editor of Granta Magazine Ellah Allfrey discuss what makes a great short story.

Producer: Andrea Kidd.


SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (b01c6try)
Roger McGough presents a selection of poetry asked for by listeners, including this week poems by Brian Patten and Thomas Hardy. There is also a special focus on the work of the late Christopher Logue, a friend and inspiration to both Brian Patten and Roger himself.

Producer Christine Hall.


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (b01bwp6n)
Iranian Sanctions

With the EU poised to ban oil imports from Iran, Allan Urry assesses the impact of international sanctions on Britain and Europe.

Designed to curb Iran's nuclear programme, the oil embargo could further push up the cost of fuel.

Iranian companies are involved in a number of joint ventures that bring energy into European homes and factories: File on 4 examines what will happen to these vital projects as the new round of trade restrictions begins to bite.

And British companies that trade legitimately with Iran are already finding it harder to do business. They warn that it could lead to job losses.

How will the sanctions affect Europe at a time when many economies are in recession or are just stagnating?
And how effective are the new restrictions likely to be given Iran's experience of finding ways around international controls on what it can buy and sell.
Producer: David Lewis.


SUN 17:40 From Fact to Fiction (b01c6kr3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hk8)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b01c6hkb)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01c6hkd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b01c6ts0)
John Waite makes his selection from the past seven days of BBC Radio

Don't be doing the washing up during John Waite's Pick of the Week on Sunday.
He's featuring a touching story about the late John Peel and his wife, and one of the listeners who requested it says she couldn't see the dishes for crying. He'll also be hearing about murder, mayhem and other unspeakable acts practised by the residents of Somerset. And that gravelly-voiced song-smith of doom and loss -Leonard Cohen - reveals his Mamma Mia side.

Mark Thomas - The Manifesto - Radio 4
Ramblings - Radio 4
Brother Dusty Feet - Radio 4extra
The Essay - Radio 3
Thom Tuck Goes Straight to DVD - Radio 4
Soul Music - Radio 4
Victoria Derbyshire - 5live
The Degner Defection - Radio 4
The Interrogation - Radio 4
The Life Scientific - Radio 4
Today - Radio 4
The Write Stuff - Radio 4
When Cocker Met Cohen - Radio 2

Email: potw@bbc.co.uk or www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/potw
Producer: Cecile Wright.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b01c6tzx)
Alan tells the congregation that this year's idea for Lent is to give up gossip, and to perform special random acts of kindness. Jill likes the idea and Neil goes off to finish painting Bert's hall. Shula remarks that Susan's going to struggle without gossip.

Neil tells Tony he's meeting Brian to chat about Friday's public meeting. Tony gets to Brian first and tells him that Pat's going to wipe the floor with him.

Brian explains that he and Debbie would each like a turn to present their plans ahead of the Q&A session. Neil thinks it should be just one of them, and the audience can make comments as well as ask questions. After all, it's a debate.

Jill's surprised by Shula's decision to buy Topper but agrees with it. She doesn't want Shula to let things fester with Alistair.

Tom wants Tony to start clearing the yard, ready for the launch, but Tony's only just caught up after Tom's jaunt to Shrewsbury last week. Tom suggests they do it together but Tony's too busy to be tied down to a time. When Tom asks why he keeps making excuses, Tony emphatically tells him to back off.


SUN 19:15 Meet David Sedaris (b0125g85)
Series 2

Nuit of the Living Dead and The End of the Affair

The multi-award winning American essayist brings his wit and charm to BBC Radio 4 for a series of audience readings. This week: what not to do with a mouse, in front of strangers in "Nuit of the Living Dead" and the ups and downs of along term relationship get the Sedaris treatment in "The End of the Affair"

Producer: Steve Doherty
A Boomerang production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 19:45 Sussex Scandals (b01c6tzz)
A Yard in Crawley

Written by John Peacock.

A young woman falls in love with her parent's lodger, the charming John George Haigh, twenty years older than herself. Eventually she will have to find a way of dealing with his appalling crimes.

These are three short stories narrated by characters involved in notorious scandals that originated in Sussex: Uppark (Lady Hamilton), Crawley (John George Haigh's girl friend) and Brighton (Katie O' Shea's son, Gerard), ranging from 1815 to 1953. The fall of a woman who revelled in her scandals; another who was forced to face the truth that her lover was a murderer; and the son of Katie O' Shea, defending his father during his mother's notorious affair with Charles Stewart Parnell.

Read by Anna Madeley.

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


SUN 20:00 Feedback (b01by9ln)
Did the death of singer Whitney Houston and the acquittal of football manager Harry Redknapp deserve to top the news bulletins? Many listeners feel that important events at home and abroad were shunted aside unjustifiably. In this week's Feedback Roger asks Mary Hockaday, head of the BBC's newsroom, whether the right decisions were made.

During a particularly robust episode of the Moral Maze, many listeners felt debate gave way to a dust-up. Michael Buerk tells Roger how he tries - and sometimes fails - to ensure the discussion generates more light than heat.

Last week teacher Deborah Mole and her student Kevin agreed to listen exclusively to each other's favourite station for a whole week. After a traumatic week of BBC 1Xtra for her and BBC 6Music for him they reveal what the experience has taught them.

Plus by special request there's a soul-stirring valentine's message from velvet-voiced announcer Zeb Soanes ...

Presenter: Roger Bolton

Producers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b01by9ll)
Patricia Stephens Due, James Whitaker, Josh Gifford, Jim Riordan, Whitney Houston

Matthew Bannister on

the American civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due who went to prison after entering a "whites only" lunch counter in Florida.

The tabloid royal correspondent James Whitaker, who broke the news of Princess Diana's eating disorder

The racehorse trainer Josh Gifford who stood by jockey Bob Champion when he contracted cancer and gave him his fairy tale Grand National win on Aldaniti

The Communist party member and writer Jim Riordan who was once called up to play football for Spartak Moscow

And Whitney Houston in her own words and music.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b01c6j1r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b01c6sjm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 today]


SUN 21:30 Analysis (b01bwm1h)
Preparing for Eurogeddon

Europe thinks the unthinkable - what happens if the Eurozone splits. What would happen to the banking sector, how would a new currency be put in place, can contagion be halted, and more fundamentally could the Euro survive? Policymakers across Europe are putting their contingency plans together. We reveal what some of the preparations may be. Reporter Chris Bowlby runs through some of the scenarios of what may happen if a country were to withdraw, and crucially what would happen next.

Contributors: Dawn Holland, National Institute of Economic and Social Research; Aristotle Kallis, Political Scientist; David Marsh, author "The History of the Euro"; David Lascelles, senior fellow of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation; Mark Crickett De La Rue; and Larry Hatheway, UBS

Producer: Kavita Puri.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b01c6v01)
Carolyn Quinn talks to the centre right commentator and blogger Iain Martin about the big political stories in the week ahead.

A Liberal Democrat activist, Martin Tod, explains why he wants the party's Spring conference to debate an emergency resolution opposing the Health and Social Care bill.

This week's panel of MPs has the Conservative Anna Soubry and Labour's Lisa Nandy. They discuss the government's plans to reform the NHS in England.

John Beesley reports on the contest to elect a new leader of the Welsh Nationalist party, Plaid Cymru. He talks to the three contenders and asks why the question of Welsh independence has been such a big feature of the campaigning.

Programme editor: Terry Dignan.


SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b01c6v03)
Episode 91

Dennis Sewell of The Spectator analyses how the newspapers are covering the biggest stories in Westminster and beyond.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b01by8nf)
In this week's programme Matthew Sweet grapples with two men who've played the Devil, Max von Sydow and Ciaran Hinds. Von Sydow doesn't sport any horns for his latest Oscar nominated appearance in Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close but Ciaran Hinds gamely plays a comic demon in Ghost Rider II - quite a contrast with his role in the Woman in Black which is also in cinemas at the moment.
There's a cameo from the cult British director, Norman J Warren, whose feature debut, Her Private Hell is being released on DVD for the first time and the composer, Neil Brand, joins Matthew to explain how atonal music and Hammer horror discovered that they were made for each other - a marriage made in hell, as it were.

Producer: Zahid Warley.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b01c6s8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2012

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b01c6hl3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b01by7cl)
Citizens without Frontiers - Monogamy in men

Laurie Taylor considers why men 'cheat' in relationships. 78% of young male students have been unfaithful to their current partners according to the sociologist, Eric Anderson. He discusses men, monogamy and the reality of infidelity. They're joined by the sociologist, Lynn Jamieson. Also, the new politics of citizenship - Engin Isin, a Professor of politics at the Open University, explores the ways in which people embrace acts and causes which transcend national boundaries.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b01c6s89)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hl5)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01c6hl7)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hl9)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b01c6hlc)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01c7ljr)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Anna Magnusson, a writer and broadcaster from Glasgow.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b01c7ljt)
Farmers in some parts of England have been battling through drought conditions for months and it's predicted it will only get worse. As the Government meets today with water companies, environmental groups and farmers - Caz Graham hears how the drought could push up the price of our weekly shop.

Every year hundreds of thousands of people are taken ill after coming into contact with Campylobacter. It is a bacteria most commonly found on poultry and is the number one cause of food poisoning in the UK. Researchers in Scotland are now trying to breed chickens which are genetically resistant to the bug.

And do you know your Midland Bullock from your Lancashire & Westmorland?
They are both names for two different styles of British hedge. This is one of the busiest times of year for farmers and professional hedge layers to get their ash, larch or hazel hedges in order. Caz gets a lesson in the rural craft in the Lake District.

This programme is presented by Caz Graham and produced in Birmingham by Angela Frain.


MON 05:57 Weather (b01c6hlf)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 06:00 Today (b01c7ljw)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague and James Naughtie, debating whether military action against Iran should be on the table (08:10), why groups opposed to the Health Bill were not invited to the prime minister's summit (07:50), brawling boxers (08:30) and burgers made in the lab (07:16).


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b01c7ljy)
Ian Stewart, Peter Randall-Page, Mark Miodownik, Jane Rapley

On Start the Week Tom Sutcliffe looks at how science has shaped our civilisation. Mark Miodownik explores how the discovery of new materials has transformed the way we live, from the Stone Age to the Silicon Age. While the mathematician Ian Stewart argues that calculations made centuries ago have led to untold innovations, and that mathematical equations really have changed our world. The natural world is the starting point for the sculptor, Peter Randall-Page and his abstract geometric form carved in stone. And Jane Rapley from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design considers how far fashion designers are influenced by modern materials and techniques, and inspired by the natural world.
Producer: Katy Hickman.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b01c7lk0)
Michele Hanson - What the Grown-Ups Were Doing

Episode 1

Written by by Michele Hanson.
Read by Rebecca Front.

Metroland : the neat lawns and large houses of Ruislip were the canvas for Michele's childhood, and food was the main preoccupation of her mother who was convinced that her Christian neighbours had no concept of how to feed a child.

The genteel suburbia of Northwest London in the 1950s is the setting for this memoir of an only child whose Jewish mother had loudly held opinions on everything from the stinginess of her neighbours to the bowel movements of her entire family. Negotiating adolescence was never going to be easy.

Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01c7lk2)
London Fashion Week special

With London Fashion Week in full swing, and the great and the good from the world of fashion vying for a front row seat, we bring the catwalk to the Woman's Hour studio in a special edition of the programme.

Presented by Jane Garvey. Produced by Emma Wallace.


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01c7lk4)
Ed Harris - The Resistance of Mrs Brown

Episode 1

by Ed Harris

Amanda Root stars in a stirring British thriller with a difference.

It's 1944, and after the British defeat at Dunkirk and the Americans' decision to stay out of the war, we find ourselves at home in bomb-strewn suburbia with Mrs Brown. She is very ordinary, her husband died in the invasion, and now she pushes a tea trolley for the Nazi Military Administration in Whitehall.

Mrs Brown wants nothing more than to be a nobody. Determined above all to survive, and to protect her daughter, she never misses an opportunity to go unnoticed. But when she's contacted by the Resistance, will she keep her resolution?

Mrs Brown is given a task. She will have one week to complete it. One week to decide. One week to prepare. One week to live.

1/5 Mrs Brown advertises for a lodger.

Joan Brown ..... Amanda Root
Maisie Brown..... Ellie Kendrick
Mrs Crace ..... Adjoa Andoh
Miss Fry ..... Marlene Sidaway
Oberst Vitte ..... Simon Wilson
Gwen Evans ..... Tracy Wiles
Sturmbannfuhrer Smith ..... James Lailey
Mr Thomas ..... Paul Moriarty
Wode ..... Simon Bubb
Molly ..... Francine Chamberlain
Hans ..... Mark Edel-Hunt

Translations by Johannes Mirbach and Miguel Frank

Produced and Directed by Jonquil Panting.


MON 11:00 An African Asian Affair (b017vsjm)
Vishva Samani, a descendent of British Asian Ugandans, returns to the country of her family and witnesses the rekindling of a relationship with the land her parents left behind almost 40 years on.

Set against the trauma that came with being expelled from Uganda in 1972 and the fierce resilience of the Asian community in re-establishing their lives and livelihoods in the UK, Vishva explores the motivations and the current challenges faced by those British Asians who have chosen to make Uganda their focus.

She meets the Madhvanis - one of the most successful and powerful British Asian Ugandan families doing business in the country. What were the lessons learnt in 1972? She contrasts how two generations of family feel about the country today.

Putting the expulsion in context, Vishva speaks to Ugandan businessman Andrew Rugasira - founder of the international brand Good African Coffee. After the Asian Ugandans were expelled, the country suffered, not least economically. Despite this, she asks whether General Idi Amin's objective, to clear a space for Africans to thrive in business was in any way successful.

In the course of her travels Vishva witnesses a strike at the Madhvani's sugar plantation and asks if this is a sign of an entrenched resentment that still exists between 'outsiders' and locals.

Now, a new generation of British Asians are choosing to make Uganda their home despite being raised in the UK. Vishva meets Leicester-born Ashish Thakkar. At just 30 years old he owns a multi-national company operating out of the capital Kampala, as well as Dubai. How has Ashish's British background informed how he does business? And as the African continent once again becomes a prime land for investment is there the potential for it all to go wrong once more?

Producer: Vivienne Perry
A Like It Is Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 11:30 Wordaholics (b01c7lk6)
Series 1

Episode 1

Wordaholics is the comedy panel game all about words.

Gyles Brandreth presides as Stephen Fry, Natalie Haynes, Milton Jones and Lloyd Langford vie for supremacy in the ring.

Wordaholics is clever, intelligent, witty and unexpected. There are toponyms, abbreviations, euphemisms, old words, new words, cockney rhyming slang, Greek gobbledegook, plus the panellists' picks of the ugliest and the most beautiful words.

Find out the meaning of words like giff-gaff, knock-knobbler and buckfitches - the difference between French marbles, French velvet and the French ache - hear the glorious poetry of the English language, as practiced from writers varying from William Shakespeare to Vanilla Ice - and spend half an hour laughing and learning with some of the finest Wordaholics in the business.

Writers: Jon Hunter and James Kettle

Producer: Claire Jones.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2012.


MON 12:00 You and Yours (b01c7lk8)
Energy bills, the all-advert radio station, using credit cards on foreign websites

Energy bill confusion. Consumer Focus say too many consumers don't trust their supplier.

The challenges of using your credit or debit card on foreign websites and UK websites if you're living abroad.

The university accused of blighting its neighbourhood by leaving property empty.

And a new radio station that's all adverts, all day. Would you tune in?

Presented by Julian Worricker. Produced by Paul Waters.


MON 12:57 Weather (b01c6hlh)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b01c7lkb)
Martha Kearney presents national and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


MON 13:45 Sport and the British (b01c7lkd)
Cricket and the English Hero

Clare Balding continues her investigation into how sport shaped Britain and Britain shaped sport.
In this weeks programmes she looks at how sport unites us all when we get behind out national teams and no more so, than when the character of that team can be personified by one person.
If there's one sport that embodies Englishness, it's cricket and in this programme she looks at how and why W.G.Grace, in the nineteenth century and Jack Hobbs, in the twentieth, became the epitome of a national sporting hero. Clare visits Lords Cricket ground and the Oval to discover more.
She also talks to Professor Richard Holt from The International Centre for Sports History and Culture at De Montfort University, Simon Rae, a biographer of W.G.Grace and broadcaster David Rayvern Allen. The readers are:Jo Munro and Brian Bowles.
The programme is produced in Birmingham by Garth Brameld.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b01c6tzx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b01c7ncl)
Number 10 - Series 5

See Glasgow and Die

Written by Jonathan Myerson.

Scotland has legalised assisted dying and have arrested a couple on their way to the new Dignitas clinic in Glasgow. But is this just a way of promoting Scottish independence and embarrassing the government? Meanwhile, Simon's partner Alan appears to have snubbed a visiting Crown Prince - and now a new Oil exploration contract is under threat.

Cast:
Simon Laity ...... Damian Lewis
Nathan Toltz ...... Mike Sengelow
Georgie ...... Gina Mckee
Sir Hugo ...... Julian Glover
Amjad Hemmati ..... Arsher Ali
Connie ...... Stella Gonet
Emyr Rhys ....... Steven Speirs
Natalie Warren ...... Jane Slavin
Alex/Andy Mcgrue ...... Jasper Britton
Milo Howman/Copper/
Tv Journo ...... Theo Fraser Steele
Crown Prince ....... Chinna Wodu
Chief Constable ...... Steven Speirs
Tess, Tannie, Lennie ..... Alana Ramsay

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


MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (b01c7ncn)
(15/17)
The third semi-final of the grand-daddy of general knowledge quizzes features competitors from Windsor, Glasgow, Tottenham and Farnsfield in Nottinghamshire. Each of them has come unscathed through the heats stage, and now plays for a place in the grand 2012 Final the week after next.

Russell Davies puts questions from every conceivable field of knowledge. Which war was formally ended by the Treaty of Paris of 1856? In the Beatles' first film 'A Hard Day's Night', which Irish-born actor played the grandfather?

As always, there's also a chance for a listener to win a prize with his or her suggestions for fiendish questions to defeat the contestants' combined brainpower.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b01c6trp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 Al Read Rediscovered (b01c7ncq)
Robert Powell explores recordings of Salford born comedian Al Read and reveals a collection of hilarious and perceptive monologues way ahead of their time.

"Al Read: introducing us to ourselves"; was the opening announcement to his popular BBC radio show of the fifties and sixties. Often cited as being the first observational comic, Read's stories and reflections on everyday life coupled with catchphrases "Right Monkey" and "You'll be lucky, I say you'll be lucky!" were the highlight of Sunday lunchtimes for over twenty million listeners.

Born in 1909, Read grew up in Salford. His father was in the butchery business and his grandfather's claim to fame was that he had been the first to tin sausages. Read's early life was spent playing in the back streets where he gathered the chatter and stories which would later surface in his comedy.

His early radio routines broadcast live were not recorded. However a collection of these innovative gems surfaced recently at the home of the late BBC Producer and Comedy Writer Mike Craig.

Craig had been given the audio as a wedding present with shows taped direct from the radio by Read himself and they took pride of place in his archive collection.

As the programme reveals this unique assortment of material has recently attracted the interest of Salford University who are preserving Craig's archives for future study of comedy and popular culture.

Salford born Robert Powell identifies with Read's characters such as the Johnny Know-All, the Little Rascal, the Nagging Wife and for him and many others the smell of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding on a Sunday afternoon immediately transports him into Al Read's world.

With extracts from this rediscovered footage, classic monologues, rare archive of Read in conversation together with new contributions from people who knew and worked with him Powell offers a fresh insight into this northern comedian's ground-breaking work.

Written and produced in Salford by Stephen Garner.


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b01c7ncs)
Baha'i faith

The Baha'i faith, though numerically small, claims to have a geographical reach second only to Christianity.

It was founded in the nineteenth century in Iran, where its followers are now severely persecuted, and preaches the Unity of God, humanity and religion.

Fidelma Meehan tells Ernie Rea how she was introduced to the faith by the comedian Omid Djalili.

Ernie is joined by two Baha'i writers Moojan Momen and Lil Osborne, and by Denis MacEoin who used to be a Baha'i but left after he became disillusioned with what he saw as its authoritarian structures.


MON 17:00 PM (b01c7ncv)
Eddie Mair presents full coverage and analysis of the day's news.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01c6hlk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b01c7ncx)
Series 62

Episode 3

Chairman Nicholas Parsons endeavours to find out who has the greatest gift of the gab.

Panellists Paul Merton, Sue Perkins, Julian Clary and Charles Collingwood have to speak on a variety of subjects given to them by Nicholas. They must speak for 60 seconds on that subject without hesitation, repetition or deviation - a task much more difficult than it sounds.

This week Sue Perkins reveals what she's got in her attic, Paul Merton talks about his Olympic Dreams, Julian Clary explains why he likes singing in the shower and Charles Collingwood lets us in on his fear of spiders and rats when he's asked to talk on the subject of Sydney.

The game Just A Minute was devised by the late Ian Messiter atop a London bus on his way to work as a BBC Radio producer more than 45 years ago. It was inspired by his memory of a teacher making him and his classmates speak on a subject for 60 seconds as a punishment for bad behaviour.

Producer: Claire Jones.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b01c7ncz)
Bert Horrobin tries his luck. Meanwhile Kylie causes a stir.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b01c7nd1)
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

With John Wilson.

Dame Judi Dench leads a cast of British stars, including Bill Nighy and Maggie Smith, in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a film which follows a group of pensioners attracted by the prospect of spending their golden years in India. Joan Bakewell gives her verdict.

Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller is about to open a new exhibition which brings together almost all his major works to date, including installations, videos, photographs, performance works and sound pieces. Some works also feature volunteers as participants. John talks to Jeremy and to three of the volunteers.

On the eve of the 2012 Brit Awards, John speaks to nominees who have found inspiration in great literary figures, with Kate Bush and Laura Marling on James Joyce and Charlotte Bronte, Critics' Choice Winner Emeli Sande on Virginia Woolf, Guy Garvey from Elbow on Alan Bennett; and PJ Harvey on Harold Pinter. Plus producer Paul Epworth on working on the album which dominated 2011 - Adele's 21.

Producer Rebecca Nicholson.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01c7lk4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 Doctor - Tell Me the Truth (b01c7nd3)
Episode 1

Each year between 45,000 and 98,000 Americans die because of the treatment they receive in hospital. In Doctor, Tell Me The Truth, Professor James Reason discovers how encouraging doctors to admit their mistakes has improved patient safety. He hears from Rick Boothman and Darrell Campbell at the University of Michigan, the creators of a programme where doctors have to be open about their errors. They describe the previous 'deny-and-defend' attitude in which the hospital would stonewall any complaints made against them and contrast this with the present system in which investigations into errors can be started even before the patient comes round from their anaesthetic. We hear moving stories about face-to-face apologies from patients, doctors and lawyers.


MON 20:30 Analysis (b01c7nd5)
Profits Before Pay

It may come as no great surprise that many of us have experienced a wage squeeze, while the cost of living has gone the other way, since the financial crisis of 2008. However, as Duncan Weldon, a senior economist at the Trades Union Congress, points out, wages for most people in the UK began stagnating years before the crisis.

We tend to think of the early 2000s as a time of relative wealth: house prices were rising, credit flowed easily, the government introduced a generous tax credit scheme and people generally felt better off. But Duncan Weldon argues these masked the reality of what was going on.

Work done by the think tank The Resolution Foundation, which focuses on those on low and modest incomes, shows that there was almost no wage growth in the middle and below during the five years leading up to 2008 and yet the economy grew by 11% in that period. Others also point out that the share of the national income which goes into wages, as opposed to profits, has been decreasing since the mid-1970s. The argument is that less of the economic pie is going into the pockets of ordinary workers.

What is also clear is that a disproportionate amount of the economic wealth has been going to those at the top. The earnings of the richest few per cent have increased rapidly in the UK since the 1980s and that pattern accelerated in the last ten years. In the United States that process began earlier and has been more extreme.

Some economists argue that this is not a problem in itself as taxation, for example, helps to re-distribute the money to the less well off or those with disadvantages.

In Analysis Duncan Weldon asks why wages stopped rising in the years before the crash and what was the driving force for the squeeze?


MON 21:00 Material World (b01by8nh)
Reflections on a supernova in waiting

The supermassive star Eta Carinae could be on the brink of exploding into a supernova. In Victorian times, this normally innocuous star suddenly brightened to be the second brightest star in the night sky - for those in the southern hemisphere at least. But it happened before modern astronomical techniques could capture its full details. Now however, researchers are getting a second chance to examine the eruptions that caused the brightening. Because light reflected off nearby galactic clouds has started arriving, 150 years later than the first glimmerings, revealing in reflected glory the details of those Victorian events. Professor Nathan Smith of the Steward Observatory in Arizona is one of the world's experts on Eta Carinae, and joins Quentin Cooper to describe what the latest observations reveal.

Water water everywhere

We may all be watching carefully how much water flows through our taps, and how much we waste. But a new report warns that a fifth of the water consumed round the world has nothing to do with plumbing, drinking and washing. Agricultural produce and industrial production also have a huge impact on natural water resources, and the goods that come through our doors should also be considered a form of 'virtual' water consumption, the authors say. Arjen Hoekstra from the Water Footprint Network and ecological economist Klaus Hubacek join the programme to discuss the implications.

New Elizabethans

As Radio 4 starts the quest for the 60 individuals who have done the most to change our lives since Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne, Material World throws the spotlight on scientists, medics and engineers, with the help of historian Jon Agar, and journalist Vivienne Parry.

Producer: Roland Pease.


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b01c7ljy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b01c6hlp)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b01c7nd7)
The UK border agency is to be split up after an investigation reveals passport checks were suspended hundreds of times. We hear from former Home Secretary Lord Reid, who set up the agency.

European leaders meet to the seal the deal on Greek debt. But are the conditions so tough they will backfire?

And a graduate of the government's controversial work experience programme tells us what it did for him.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01c7nd9)
The Dream Life of Sukhanov

Episode 6

Sukhanov discovers that a controversial article offered for publication in the magazine he edits - by a certain D. M. Fyodorov - is in fact written by his erstwhile lodger and cousin. The issue of whether to publish it in his Art newspaper becomes for Sukhanov a question of deciding whether to stick to his guns about the policy and doctrines of the paper as he has always upheld them, or to anticipate and embrace the introduction of new policies and new, and to him subversive, ways of thinking about Art.

Set in the dawning days of Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika, The Dream Life of Sukhanov is the story of one man's battle with his true nature amidst the Soviet state's struggle with its own identity. Olga Grushin opens a window on to the soul of an artist who cannot escape his own vision amidst a transient and unsettling world.

Olga Grushin was born in Moscow in 1971 and spent her childhood in Moscow and Prague. In 1989 she became the first Soviet citizen to enrol for a full-time degree in the United States while retaining Soviet citizenship. In 2006 she was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers and named one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists in 2007. She has published two novels: The Dream Life of Sukhanov (2006) and The Concert Ticket (published in the US as The Line) in April 2010. Olga lives in Washington D.C.

"A stunning fictional debut": The Independent
"Haunting": The Observer
"Heartbreaking": Vogue
"Wonderful": Daily Telegraph
"It breathes new life into American literary fiction": The Washington Post

Abridged by Jeremy Osborne
Reader: Robert Glenister

Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:00 Miracles R Us (b00sjpjd)
Postcards

A woman engages Caroline to stay in her Sussex cottage to post daily pre-written postcards to her husband at home.

Caroline and Sylvia are dubious but need the cash. They gain her assurance and promise not to draw attention to themselves.

So it’s off for a well-paid long weekend away. What could possibly go wrong?

Sitcom by Lesley Bruce.

Sylvia ..... Anna Massey
Caroline ..... Deborah Findlay
Vivi / Mrs Davies ..... Gabrielle Lloyd
Constable Galloway ..... Alex Lowe
Producer: Katie Tyrrell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2010.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01c7ndc)
On a busy first day back at Westminster after their half-term break, MPs have got stuck into a row over the social background of young people going to university. Tory backbenchers have attacked the LibDem Cabinet minister Vince Cable over his decision to appoint Professor Les Ebdon as the new University Access tsar. Susan Hulme covers the lively exchanges.
Also on the programme:
* Simon Jones reports on the Home Secretary's announcement that the UK Border Agency is to be split in two.
* David Cornock reports on the Commons reaction to the rising tensions in the South Atlantic over the future of the Falkland Islands.
* Alicia McCarthy covers an important all-day Commons debate on whether force should be contemplated in the global response to Iran's development of a nuclear programme.



TUESDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2012

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b01c6hmj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b01c7lk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hml)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01c6hmn)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hmq)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b01c6hms)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01d22bb)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Anna Magnusson, a writer and broadcaster from Glasgow.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b01c7ppw)
As drought is declared in South East England, as well as East Anglia, farmers warn it could have an impact on food prices. The Vice President of the National Farmers Union, Gwyn Jones, says that, in negotiations over access to water, food security should be given similar priority as public drinking supplies and power generation.
Important livestock farming areas in South West England and South Wales are now considered at risk of a new disease which causes birth defects in cattle and sheep. England's Animal Health agency has confirmed Schmallenberg virus on a farm in Cornwall. And, as well as leaving land aside for wildlife and being paid extra to grow special crops to feed the birds, farmers are now being urged to put out grain to feed birds in the winter too. The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust is researching the idea.

Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling.


TUE 06:00 Today (b01c7ppy)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague and James Naughtie, including: 07:30 Should stamps be more expensive? 07:50 Is work experience being abused? 08:10 Analysis of the Greek debt deal with former chancellor Alistair Darling. 08:20 Why do some dads feel uncomfortable hugging their children? 08:40 Pakistan's foreign minister.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (b01c7pq0)
Tony Ryan

What do miniature solar cells, making clothes that dissolve in the rain and new treatments for motor neurone disease all have in common? Chemistry - according to Professor Tony Ryan of Sheffield University. He develops innovative materials with nanotechnology. In this week's, The Life Scientific, Tony Ryan talks to Jim Al-Khalili and explores issues around the still controversial science of nanotechnology, including how safe it is and how scientists need to learn to talk to the public.

Much of Tony's work involves unlikely collaborations to discover novel ways of solving problems and of communicating science. He argues that chemistry can solve today's global challenges such as supporting the needs of 7 billion people in terms of food and power.

Clothes that absorb a dangerous greenhouse gas and sheets of plastic solar cells are just a few of his ongoing projects. He says chemistry needs to learn how to recycle every atom, whilst still providing all the things that people want - energy, food, electronics, clothing, and drugs.

Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald.


TUE 09:30 One to One (b01c7pq2)
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown with Anon

For the next three weeks, the 'One to One' interviewer's microphone belongs to journalist and broadcaster Yasmin Alibhai-Brown who - for personal reasons - has chosen to explore the impact of divorce on families.

Yasmin divorced over twenty years ago, and - although happily re-married - often contemplates the fall-out of divorce, and the resulting emotional ripples which inevitably reach further than the separating couple. In these programmes she's hearing the stories of a grandparent, a parent and a young person who have all lived through a family break-up

In this, the first programme, she speaks to Jane, a grandparent who hasn't seen her 11 year old granddaughter for four years. When her son divorced he maintained a relationship with his ex-wife which allowed contact with his daughter - Jane's granddaughter. But eventually that contact was withdrawn, resulting in what Jane describes as a living bereavement.

Jane has now set up a support group for grandparents who find themselves in the same situation www.bristolgranddparentssupportgroup.co.uk) and runs a blog (www.bristolgrandparentssupport.blogspot.com) .


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b01cpvsl)
Michele Hanson - What the Grown-Ups Were Doing

Episode 2

Written by Michele Hanson.
Read by Rebecca Front.

The extended family : fleeing from Poland and Russia Michele's grandparents had somehow found themselves in Barrow-in-Furness, but marrying out of the faith brought repercussions for Uncle Cyril.

The genteel suburbia of Northwest London in the 1950s is the setting for this memoir of an only child whose Jewish mother had loudly held opinions on everything from the stinginess of her neighbours to the bowel movements of her entire family. Negotiating adolescence was never going to be easy.

Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01c7pq4)
Joan Baez

Joan Baez, on why her latest tour will take her to some more intimate locations across the UK. Human Rights Watch on why Saudi Arabia has never sent a female athlete to represent them in the Olympics. The debate on university campuses about so called 'lad's banter' and US author Eowyn Ivey on her debut novel "The Snow Child".

Producer Louise Corley.
Presenter Jane Garvey.


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01c7pq6)
Ed Harris - The Resistance of Mrs Brown

Episode 2

by Ed Harris

Amanda Root stars in a stirring wartime thriller with a difference.

After the British defeat at Dunkirk, and the death of her husband, Mrs Brown has found herself pushing a tea trolley for the new Nazi Military Administration in London.

Determined to survive, she makes sure she is unremarkable. But when she's contacted by the Resistance, can she keep her resolution?

2/5 In the corridors of Whitehall, Mrs Brown must turn from tea lady to spy.

Joan Brown ..... Amanda Root
Maisie Brown..... Ellie Kendrick
Mrs Crace ..... Adjoa Andoh
Miss Fry ..... Marlene Sidaway
Oberst Vitte ..... Simon Wilson
Gwen Evans ..... Tracy Wiles
Sturmbannfuhrer Smith ..... James Lailey
Mr Thomas ..... Paul Moriarty
Wode ..... Simon Bubb
Molly ..... Francine Chamberlain
Hans ..... Mark Edel-Hunt

Translations by Johannes Mirbach and Miguel Frank

Produced and Directed by Jonquil Panting.


TUE 11:00 Nature (b01c7pq8)
Series 5

James and the Giant Redwood - Part Two

Ever since he was a boy, James Aldred has loved climbing trees. And over the years, James has dreamt of seeing the world's tallest living tree, a Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) in Northern California called Hyperion - which measures 379.3 feet tall. (The tallest tree is Britain is a Douglas Fir in Argyll, Scotland which is about 209 feet tall. Hyperion at nearly 380 feet tall is about 3 times the height of Nelson's Column!).

Hyperion was discovered on August 25, 2006 by naturalist Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor. The tree was verified as standing 115.55 m (379.1 ft tall) by Stephen Sillett. It's estimated to be increasing in height at about 2cm a year. The exact location of the tree is kept a secret to prevent human traffic disturbing and causing damage to the tree or its environment. After months and months of research trying to piece together clues from books and papers as to the location, of the tree, James approached Michael Taylor and to his complete amazement and delight Michael agreed to take James to see Hyperion.

In the second of two programmes, NATURE follows James and three other tree climbers as Michael first leads them to The Grove of Titans; which as its name suggests is a grove of some of the world's biggest trees by mass. Despite the fact that James and the others had seen pictures of the trees in books and on the internet, nothing could have prepared them for the colossal size of these trees. But there was another surprise in store for James when Michael led the way to Hyperion, the world's tallest tree and not only did James get to see this tree, but he also got to climb it. It was a dream come true and an unforgettable adventure.

Producer Sarah Blunt.


TUE 11:30 Soul Music (b01c7pqb)
Series 13

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien

The powerful song, Non, je ne regrette rien, made famous by Edith Piaf, is this week's Soul Music.

Written in 1960 by Charles Dumont, in a fit of despair, he gave the music to lyricist Michel Vaucaire, but was surprised by the words he wrote. Dumont thought the song should be about war or revolution. Vaucaire explained he wanted to give the song to Edith Piaf. She was living in Paris at the time, having recently finished her 'suicide tour' during which she had collapsed. At that time, Piaf didn't think much of Charles Dumont and tried to cancel their appointment. But on hearing the song, Piaf told Dumont that with this song, she would sing again.

Contributers include;

Charles Dumont who lives in Paris at the same apartment, with the same piano on which he wrote the song in 1960. He plays the song on the very same piano.

Lord Lamont, who became associated with the song when asked by a reporter which he regretted most - talking about the 'green shoots of recovery' or allegedly singing in the bath after the withdrawal of Britain from the Exchange Rate Mechanism. Lamont famously replied 'Je ne regrette rien.'

Christine Bovill, who tours a one-woman show about Piaf's life.

Carolyn Birke, biographer of Piaf.


TUE 12:00 You and Yours (b01c7pqd)
Call You and Yours

In December David Cameron said that Britain is a Christian nation and that we should not be afraid of standing up for Christian values. And only last week Baroness Warsi, the co-chairwoman of the Conservative party, condemned what she called the rise of a 'militant secularisation'.

On today's programme we ask what part Christianity plays in British life. Is it being eroded and are people putting their faith elsewhere. And if they are, is that a good or a bad thing?


TUE 12:57 Weather (b01c6hmv)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b01c7pqg)
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 Sport and the British (b01c7pqj)
Anyone But England

Clare Balding continues her investigation into how sport shaped Britain and Britain shaped sport. Today we join her at Hampden Park in Glasgow as she explores the part football has played in shaping Scotland's national identity and its changing relationship with England. Clare talks to Hugh McIlvaney about why supporting, 'anyone but England' is still part of the Scottish mindset.
This series has been made in partnership with the The International Centre for Sports History and Culture, De Montfort University
The readers are James Lailey and Jonathan Forbes.
The programme is produced in Birmingham by Sara Conkey.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b01c7ncz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b01c7pql)
Number 10 - Series 5

Democracy in Traction

Written by Anders Lustgarden.

A routine council eviction has blown up into a full scale riot and the police have been heavy-handed resulting in two hospitalised civilians. With a policeman also in hospital - the Met Commissioner is demanding increased police powers. Meanwhile - Nathan is expected to go on a foreign trip with the PM only to discover his visa seems to have expired.

Cast:
Simon Laity ...... Damian Lewis
Nathan Toltz ....... Mike Sengelow
Georgie ....... Gina Mckee
Sir Hugo ....... Julian Glover
Amjad Hemmati ...... Arsher Ali
Connie ....... Stella Gonet
Alan ....... John Hollingworth
Mike Holmes ...... Rob Hudson
Dave Pulis ...... Matthew Marsh
The Governer Of The Bank Of England ......Nicholas Woodeson

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


TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (b01c7pqn)
Series 1

Episode 3

Jay Rayner presents the third programme of a new BBC Radio 4 series: a food panel show, recorded in front of a live audience, aimed at anyone who cooks at home, not just the experts. Each week the programme travels round the country to visit interesting food locations, and meet local food-loving people.

This week The Kitchen Cabinet is in Melton Mowbray, a market town that describes itself as 'the UK's rural capital of food and drink', which is known worldwide for its pork pies, and its tradition of making Stilton cheese.

The panel features: Stefan Gates, food adventurer and self-styled 'gastronaut'; Rachel McCormack, a Glaswegian who spent her formative years in Spain, and who is now teaching authentic Catalan cookery; chef, co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain, and regular on Radio 4's Loose Ends, Allegra McEvedy; and food scientist Peter Barham, who has advised some of the leading restaurants in the world, including Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck and Noma in Copenhagen.

As well as pies and cheese, inspired by the fact that today is Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras, the panel will also be talking about pancakes.

The show is witty, fast-moving, and irreverent, but packed full of information that may well change the way you think about cooking.

Producer: Robert Abel
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (b01c7pqq)
Tunnel Beneath the Thames

Every time more than two millimetres of rain drops onto the streets of London a combination of raw sewerage and rainwater overwhelms the Victorian sewers and pours into the River Thames, killing fish and disgusting the users of the river.

The solution being proposed by Thames Water is an enormous 15 mile long tunnel buried beneath the river as it flows through the city. There's little doubt that it will clean up the river but is the health of a few fish really worth over £4 billion of Londoners' money and years of disruption for those who live close to the tunnel construction sites?

In 'Costing the Earth' Professor Alice Roberts descends into Joseph Bazalgette's Victorian sewer system to see the extent of the problem and the scale of the new works.

Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.


TUE 16:00 Law in Action (b01c7pqs)
Legal Aid Reform: Long Overdue or Denial of Justice?

"The single biggest attack on access to justice since the legal aid system was introduced". That's the view of the Law Society on the government's controversial proposals to reform the civil justice system in England and Wales. But the government argue that the legal aid system has become unaffordable and along with no win no fee has helped create a litigious society. They say the current system is a boon for lawyers, while draining resources from organisations like the NHS and leaving many small businesses in fear of legal action. The Government are planning to scrap legal aid in some areas and make fundamental changes to no-win no fee. The aim is to bring down costs and encourage alternatives to going to court. But the bill to introduce these changes has been having a rocky ride in Parliament and there is widespread opposition to the reforms. Advice centres, lawyers and even some from the government's own benches say the changes will deny justice for vulnerable people, and will ultimately end up costing the government more money. In the first programme of a new series of Law in Action, Joshua Rozenberg examines the arguments and the likely impact of the contentious changes.
Producer: Wesley Stephenson.


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b01c7pqv)
Martin Stephen and Augustus Casely-Hayford

Harriett Gilbert and her guests, historian, Gus Casely-Hayford and educationalist Martin Stephen discuss books by Aminatta Forna, Dan Vyleta and Thomas Hardy.

Gus chooses a fictional account of the fall-out from the conflict in Sierra Leone, Aminatta Forna's "The Memory of Love", which has a natural resonance with Harriett's own choice, "Pavel and I". This is a first novel from Dan Vyleta, set in post-war Berlin.

Martin Stephen brings with him “Poems of Thomas Hardy” selected by Claire Tomalin.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2012.


TUE 17:00 PM (b01c7pqx)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01c6hmx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b01c7pqz)
Series 7

The Minx

Count Arthur (Steve Delaney) encounters more problems with the world as he tries to insure his car, a Hillman Minx. In an attempt to reduce his premium he sets out to prove that Terry Wogan will not be his passenger, causing great confusion for Mr Wogan himself.

Count Arthur Strong - one time Variety Star, now sole proprietor and owner of Doncaster's Academy of Performance - is a show business legend, raconteur, and lecturer extraordinaire. He stars in a Sitcom with regular sidekick Wilfred Taylor, Master Butcher, and a host of other characters.

All false starts and nervous fumbling badly covered up by a delicate sheen of bravado and self-assurance, and an expert in everything from the world of entertainment to the origin of the species, everyday life with Arthur is an enlightening experience.

Cast:
Steve Delaney
Mel Giedroyc
Alastair Kerr
David Mounfield

Producer: John Leonard
A Komedia Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b01c7pr1)
Usha plans to support Ruth at the public meeting on Friday, and wants Ruth to support Alan tonight at the promises auction.

Alan smiles at Jim's scepticism over his proposals for Lent. Jolene thinks giving up gossip is a tall order.

The Bull Upstairs is packed, and the auction gets underway with Ed and George's offer to clear away slugs. Eddie's water feature offer goes down well, and Vicky's the successful bidder at £65. Lynda's secret offer turns out to be grass-cutting by her llamas, which causes groans and laughs. As Jolene offers a fiver, embarrassed Lynda excuses herself from the room. As predicted, Harry's four hours labour goes down a storm, with Sabrina stealing him from Jolene and Usha with a bid of £85. With help from the wine, Ruth unwinds and enjoys herself. Usha congratulates Alan on a job well done.

Alan thanks Jim for buying Oliver's offer of four hours digging. He bought it for Joe, and asks Alan to call it a random act of kindness. Lynda thanks Alan for his offer of £30 for the llamas. He assures Lynda that people didn't quite know how to react to her offer because they were so taken aback. She agrees with him.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b01c7pr3)
Sue Townsend, Charlotte Keatley, Black Gold

With Mark Lawson.

Mark Eccleston reviews Black Gold, a film about warring Arabian tribes during the 1930s oil boom, which was financed by Qatar and stars Antonio Banderas as a desert sheikh and Freida Pinto as a harem charmer.

Three decades after publishing the first of her hugely successful Adrian Mole books, Sue Townsend talks about her new novel about modern family life, The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year, and how losing her eyesight has affected her writing process.

Charlotte Keatley's play My Mother Said I Never Should is, according to the National Theatre, one of the most significant plays of the 20th Century. Charlotte tells Mark about her latest play, Our Father, and explains why writing a play is like unravelling a dream.

Producer Timothy Prosser.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01c7pq6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b01c7pr5)
Diabetes

New NHS research has revealed the shocking toll of preventable deaths caused by just one medical condition. Diabetes - in which the body fails to control blood sugar levels safely - is causing 24,000 needless deaths a year in England alone.

It's not just the old and middle-aged who are at risk. Young women with diabetes are 6 to 9 times more likely to die than their age group overall. And many more young people who don't die will develop life threatening diseases later due to failure to manage their blood sugar.

Badly controlled diabetes can lead to kidney disease, heart conditions, or blindness. It's also the cause of 5,000 amputations a year, mainly of legs or feet. With around 3 million diagnosed sufferers known to the health service, diabetes is said to be costing the NHS £9 billion a year, about a tenth of the total health budget.

Julian O'Halloran reveals why, despite Government pledges, it's so difficult to get to grips with the disease. And, with the incidence of diabetes rocketing, he asks whether the NHS can cope.

Producer - Gail Champion.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b01c7pr7)
Mani Djazmi is joined by David Aldwinckle, Head of Innovation and Projects, Action For Blind People and Damon Rose, Ouch! editor, to look at some of the problems facing blind and visually-impaired people when they decide to relocate to a new area.
How do you find out what's going on that will interest you?
Once you've found out, how do you get there?
What help is available to help you?
Lee Kumutat offers her experience of moving from Australia to London and then talks to Geoff Adams-Spink to test the Siri personal assistant software application for iphone 4S.


TUE 21:00 Inside Health (b01c7pr9)
Anti-smoking incentives, ACE inhibitor cough, Raynaud's, fizzy drinks

Dr Mark Porter demystifies the health issues that perplex us and separates the facts from the fiction. He brings clarity to conflicting health advice, explores new medical research and tackles the big health issue of the moment revealing the inner workings of the medical profession and the daily dilemmas doctors face.

As new figures published show that 1 in 7 women in England continue to smoke during pregnancy, Inside Health investigates a pilot incentive scheme - which gives women just over £750 worth of vouchers if they give up, and stay off cigarettes for at least 6 months after they give birth. What is the evidence that these incentive schemes work?

And what about incentives encouraging doctors to ask whether a patient smokes, or check their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Dr Margaret McCartney explains why she is one of many GPs who are uncomfortable with the way incentives can influence practice

Plus if you've been plagued by a recurring dry tickly cough, it could be caused by a widely used family of blood pressure drug - the ACE inhibitors. Mark Porter investigates.

And although it's been slightly warmer that's likely to be cold comfort for 10 million people in the UK with Raynaud's disease where the fingers turn ghostly white after exposure to temperature changes .

Presenter: Dr Mark Porter
Producer: Erika Wright.


TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (b01c7pq0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b01c6hmz)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b01c7prc)
How will the eurozone bailout deal affect the lives of ordinary Greeks?

Are companies starting to pull out of the Government's programme to get the unemployed back to work?

And are dolphins so intelligent that they need to have their rights protected?

With Robin Lustig.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01c7prf)
The Dream Life of Sukhanov

Episode 7

When Sukhanov returns early from a friend's dinner party which, it turned out, had happened the night before, he finds his apartment invaded by friends of his daughter's, including her married lover, Boris Tumanov.

Sukhanov is given a couple of hallucinatory tablets by one of the crowd at the event, and quickly slips into a dream.

Set in the dawning days of Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika, The Dream Life of Sukhanov is the story of one man's battle with his true nature amidst the Soviet state's struggle with its own identity. Olga Grushin opens a window on to the soul of an artist who cannot escape his own vision amidst a transient and unsettling world.

Olga Grushin was born in Moscow in 1971 and spent her childhood in Moscow and Prague. In 1989 she became the first Soviet citizen to enrol for a full-time degree in the United States while retaining Soviet citizenship. In 2006 she was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers and named one of Grant's Best Young American Novelists in 2007. She has published two novels: The Dream Life of Sukhanov (2006) and The Concert Ticket (published in the US as The Line) in April 2010. Olga lives in Washington D.C.

"A stunning fictional debut": The Independent

"Haunting": The Observer

"Heartbreaking": Vogue

"Wonderful": Daily Telegraph

"It breathes new life into American literary fiction"
The Washington Post

Abridged by Jeremy Osborne

Reader: Robert Glenister

Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:00 The History Plays (b01cmfh1)
Jagger in Jail

The History Plays
By Nigel Smith
Jagger in Jail

The History Plays are a series of two-hander plays by Vent author Nigel Smith which are imagined conversations at key moments in recent history, moments that have permanently changed the British psyche. Starting with Mick Jagger's conviction for drug possession and the surprising pro-Jagger line taken in a Times editorial; through the fragmented morality of John Stonehouse; the Indian summer of patriotism over the Falklands; the death of Diana; and the end of the Blair years, The History Plays are a satirical and thoughtful exploration of huge social forces played out in small human dramas. This is a series about the promises and pitfalls of history, the points of conflict. But what's really significant is what these moments say about our attitudes and assumptions now.

JAGGER IN JAIL
Written and directed by Nigel Smith
Produced by Gareth Edwards

Starring Kayvan Novak ("Facejacker") as Mick Jagger and Blake Harrison ("The Inbetweeners") as Jim

It is 1967, the summer of love and Mick Jagger, lead singer of the Rolling Stones, is in prison starting his three-month sentence for drug possession. His trial - and particularly his sentence - has both scandalised and split public opinion.

Jagger in Jail imagines the conversation that might have taken place between Mick and a cellmate, Jim, during what turned out to be his only night behind bars. As the night passes Jim and Mick find that while they have a fair bit in common, society's plans for them could not be more different. And Jim isn't too happy about it..


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01c7prh)
The Health Secretary faces renewed pressure in the Commons over his plans to overhaul the NHS in England.
Andrew Lansley rejects demands from Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs for him to abandon his controversial shake-up of the health service.
The Government overturns the latest change, made by the House of Lords, to its welfare proposals.
MPs debate a pay increase for European Union staff and there's criticism of library closures.
Sean Curran and team report on today's events in Parliament.



WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2012

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b01c6hnk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b01cpvsl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hnm)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01c6hnp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hnr)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b01c6hnt)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01d22vl)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Anna Magnusson, a writer and broadcaster from Glasgow.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b01c7rgg)
The number of UK farms with Schmallenberg has increased by 50% in the last week - there are now around 60 cases. The virus causes birth defects in lambs and calves. Anna Hill speaks with shepherd Clive Sleightholme who keeps two thousand sheep on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. So far they have had 75 lambs affected by Schmallenberg.

Farmers are told they need to persuade the public to accept intensive farming if the UK is to produce enough food for a growing population. These are the sentiments of Peter Kendall, the President of the National Farmers Union, speaking at their conference.

And Scotland contains 90% of the UK's fresh water. With predictions that some parts of the UK could be facing the worst drought since 1976, that water is becoming increasingly valuable. Professor Christopher Spray is from the UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science at the University of Dundee. He explained that the solution is more complicated than Scotland quenching England's thirst.

Presented by Anna Hill. Produced by Emma Weatherill.


WED 06:00 Today (b01c7rgj)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by James Naughtie and Evan Davis, including: 07:30 The CBI's John Cridland gives his thoughts on the next budget. 07:50 What can the prime minister do to stop racism in football. 08:10 Times correspondent Tom Coghlan describes the battle for Homs. 08:15 How should the law on missing persons change? 08:30 Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b01c7rgl)
Libby Purves is joined by Hans Klok, Adrian Jackson, Sabrina Jean, Mary M Talbot and Dave Kelly.

Illusionist Hans Klok, reputedly 'the fastest magician in the world', has been performing magic since he was ten years old. He recently played shows at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, where Pamela Anderson was his glamorous assistant. He brings his homage to Harry Houdini, The Houdini Experience, to London. The show combines daredevil stunts, illusions and tricks. The Houdini Experience is at the Sadler's Wells Peacock Theatre.

Adrian Jackson is a writer and director, who set up the theatre company 'Cardboard Citizens'. His latest play 'A Few Man Fridays' tells the story of how the British Government evicted 2000 islanders from the Chagos islands in the Indian Ocean during the cold war to make way for a US military base. Sabrina Jean's family were part of that community who eventually settled in the UK. She is secretary of the UK Chagos Support Association. A Few Man Fridays is at London's Riverside Studios.

Scholar Mary M Talbot's latest book 'Dotter of her Father's Eyes' is part biography and part personal history which contrasts two coming of age narratives; that of Lucia, the daughter of James Joyce, and that of the author herself who is the daughter of an eminent Joycean scholar. Dotter of her Father's Eyes by Mary M Talbot with illustrations by Bryan Talbot is published by Jonathan Cape.

Dave Kelly lost his sight fifteen years ago to a rare eye condition, retinitis pigmentosa. After two years of struggling to adjust to his condition, he was inspired to set up his own charity, Daisy UK. The charity runs sports sessions for the disabled, including blind football and wheelchair basketball. The project will use funding from Sport Relief to run one day sports courses for young people, both disabled and able bodied, and their carers.

Producer: Paula McGinley.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b01cpw43)
Michele Hanson - What the Grown-Ups Were Doing

Episode 3

Written by Michele Hanson
Read by Rebecca Front

Holidays in France meant the Hanson family could indulge in continental glamour, and somehow her mother didn't seem so loud on the Riviera.

The genteel suburbia of Northwest London in the 1950s is the setting for this memoir of an only child whose Jewish mother had loudly held opinions on everything from the stinginess of her neighbours to the bowel movements of her entire family. Negotiating adolescence was never going to be easy.

Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01c7rgn)
The Truth About Exercise

The Truth about Exercise; Can you stay healthy on 3 minutes vigorous exercise a week - plus a couple of walks a day, plus fidgeting. What impact does chemotherapy have on your unborn child? And two years on from her Mercury-winning debut, rapper Speech Debelle is back with a new album. Was winning a prize at the start of her career a help or a hindrance.

Producer Ruth Watts.


WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01c7rgq)
Ed Harris - The Resistance of Mrs Brown

Episode 3

by Ed Harris

Amanda Root stars in a stirring wartime thriller with a difference.

After the British defeat at Dunkirk, and the death of her husband, Mrs Brown has found herself pushing a tea trolley for the new Nazi Military Administration in London.

Determined to survive, she makes sure she is unremarkable. But when she's contacted by the Resistance, can she keep her resolution?

3/5 Is saying no more dangerous than saying yes?

Joan Brown ..... Amanda Root
Maisie Brown..... Ellie Kendrick
Mrs Crace ..... Adjoa Andoh
Miss Fry ..... Marlene Sidaway
Oberst Vitte ..... Simon Wilson
Gwen Evans ..... Tracy Wiles
Sturmbannfuhrer Smith ..... James Lailey
Mr Thomas ..... Paul Moriarty
Wode ..... Simon Bubb
Molly ..... Francine Chamberlain
Hans ..... Mark Edel-Hunt

Translations by Johannes Mirbach and Miguel Frank

Produced and Directed by Jonquil Panting.


WED 11:00 In Living Memory (b01c7rgs)
Series 15

Kung Fu

In 1973, the martial arts classic movie Enter the Dragon premiered in New York and around the world. In the UK, the films release marked the beginning of an explosion in demand for martial arts classes. Jolyon Jenkins meets those caught up in the kung fu craze of the mid-1970's and discovers that not everyone was looking for Shaolin self-control and spiritual enlightenment.


WED 11:30 HR (b01c7rgv)
Series 3

Disinherited

After losing their pensions, 60-something chums Sam and Peter chums resort to desperate measures.

Which now include visiting an aged - very wealthy - aunt.

Nigel Williams's comedy series stars Jonathan Pryce and Nicholas le Prevost.

Sam....Nicholas le Prevost
Peter...Jonathan Pryce
Aunt Norah... Dillie Keane
Maud...Kate Layden

Producer: Peter Kavanagh

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2012.


WED 12:00 You and Yours (b01c7rgx)
Fake coins, solid wall insulation and dodgy door locks

There are 43 million fake pound coins in circulation; double the number four years ago. Could the counterfeiters force the government to consider re-issuing the currency?
For millions of homes solid wall insulation is the best option to retain warmth but it is expensive, intrusive and can look ugly; will the consumer buy into the technology as the government hopes?
A new Bill to force insurance companies to be more transparent about exclusions from policies is due to become law in the summer; the government says it wants to give the consumer more confidence when buying policies.
If you have what you think is a Sky Box warranty to cover faults, are you sure it's from Sky?
One of the most popular locks for UPVC doors and windows has been shown to be ineffective. With home break-ins on the rise consumers have little alternative but to hope, as there is currently no alternative that meets minimum security standards.
A new report into large scale events, says safety for the huge crowds that attend them could be better.
As Universities are encouraged to take students from poorer backgrounds we ask how do they define 'poor'?


WED 12:57 Weather (b01c6hnw)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b01c7rgz)
Martha Kearney presents national and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


WED 13:45 Sport and the British (b01c7rh1)
Welsh Rugby and Its National Heroes

Clare Balding's at Cardiff Arms Park for this edition of the series that explores how sport made Britain and Britain made sport. Here she looks at the vital role rugby has played in shaping Welsh identity; the stadium was built to be an emblem of national pride, a fortress for Welsh sport in its capital city.

She talks to the legendary Welsh captain and scrum half, Gareth Edwards about Wales' glory days of the sixties and seventies and the impact the introduction of professionalism had on the national side. She also talks to Professor Tony Collins from The International Centre for Sports History and Culture, De Montfort University

The reader is Alun Raglan.
Producer : Lucy Lunt.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b01c7pr1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b01c7rq2)
Number 10 - Series 5

The Emperor's New Speech

Written by Jonathan Myerson.

It's the Party Conference in Brighton...and it's 11 hours until the PM is due to deliver his speech with only one problem - it's not written yet. And just when they didn't need it, one of Lord Rudolph's newspapers splashes a Treasury leak, ruining the latest bond issue and jeopardising the UK's credit rating. But who leaked the information in the first place? Meanwhile - the major supermarkets are being leaned on to contribute to a fund to help small shop owners, but will they agree before the conference speech is delivered?

Cast:
Simon Laity ...... Damian Lewis
Nathan Toltzn ....... Mike Sengelow
Georgie ...... Gina Mckee
Sir Hugo ...... Julian Glover
Amjad Hemmati ...... Arsher Ali
Connie ...... Stella Gonet
Alan ...... John Hollingworth
Mike Plimpton ...... David Troughton
Rodney Birch ....... Matthew Marsh
Tejan Mahoi ....... Chinna Wodu
Lord Hendrik Rudolph ...... Paul Jesson
Tess, Tannie, Lennie ..... Alana Ramsay

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


WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b01c7rq4)
General insurance is the topic of Money Box Live with Vincent Duggleby.

The rising cost of insurance - particularly car and home insurance - is a very hot topic at the moment. According to the AA, motor insurance premiums jumped by 15.3% last year. This is on top of the 33.2% hike reported in 2010. The Prime Minister David Cameron met insurance bosses earlier this month to discuss ways of reducing car premiums. Meanwhile some insurers report that buildings and house contents premiums have both risen by just under 6%. The jump in insurance premiums is of particular concern to families whose budgets have already been stretched by the high rates of inflation and low wage settlements. Issues over pet insurance and the difficulty of obtaining cover if you live in areas prone to flooding have also been in the news recently.

Are you concerned about rising premiums?
Do you understand what is covered and excluded?
Perhaps you want some insurance jargon explained?
Where can you find a specialist policy?
Maybe you want advice pursuing a claim?
Who can help if you have a dispute with your insurer?

Vincent Duggleby will be joined by:
Malcolm Tarling, Association of British Insurers
Graham Trudgill, British Insurance Brokers' Association
Clare Francis, Moneysupermarket

Lines open at 1pm. The number to ring: 03700 100 444.

Presenter: Vincent Duggleby
Producer: Emma Rippon.


WED 15:30 Inside Health (b01c7pr9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b01c7rq6)
In 1980 there were around 300,000 students in forty-six universities, now there are some two and a quarter million students studying in 130 universities across Britain. More people than ever before are receiving a university education but despite - or even because of this - there is enormous anxiety about the role that universities should play. Should they be judged on their contribution to the economy or on the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge's sake? How can their 'impact' or success be measured? The intellectual historian Stefan Collini puts these debates in their historical context as he talks to Laurie about his new book, What Are Universities For?

And why are we so fascinated with outlaws? Could it be that they offer an alternative way of life without the hierarchies and corporate power that seem to hold us back? Martin Parker, author of Alternative Business: Outlaws Crime and Culture thinks so. He discusses his work with Laurie and criminologist Dick Hobbs.

Producer: Charlie Taylor.


WED 16:30 The Media Show (b01c7rq8)
John Witherow, editor of the Sunday Times and Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 News international editor, talk about the renowned war correspondent Marie Colvin who was killed this morning in Syria.

The Sun on Sunday is to launch this weekend. Sun associate editor Trevor Kavanagh, media commentator Roy Greenslade and analyst Claire Enders discuss its prospects and its impact on the newspaper market.

And, following last week's discussion on women in the media, Rowan Atkinson contacted the programme to question whether anti-discrimination laws had any place in the creative industries. Lorraine Heggessey has been invited back to see how far she supports his view. The full text of his email is on The Media Show's web page.

The producer is Simon Tillotson.


WED 17:00 PM (b01c7rqb)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01c6hny)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 Mark Thomas: The Manifesto (b01c7rqd)
Series 4

Episode 3

Comedian-activist Mark Thomas and his studio audience consider proposals for a People's Manifesto.

The Agenda:
1) Cancel out everyone's debt.
2) Sue Goldman Sachs for their part in the Greek economic collapse.
and
3) Increase the indicated speed on car speedometers.

Plus throughout the show there are "any other business" policy suggestions from the studio audience.

Produced by Colin Anderson.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b01c7rqg)
Mike tells Eddie that Vicky has chosen her water feature. Eddie quotes him £99.99 for the Trevi. Mike realises Eddie expects it to be paid for - it's the installation that's free. He reckons Eddie's a shark.

Jim's timesheets are finally being filled in accurately, but a percentage of cider still needs to be allocated to Joe and Eddie. Mike suggests Jim uses a formula to calculate entitlements. Jim likes the idea, and presents a spurious mathematical calculation to the cider club, with a pictorial representation of the results. People are so confused, they agree to giving Grundys 60%.

Tom drops off Lilian's veg box and asks if she'd be more interested if it contained more exotic produce. She likes the sound of chillies and blueberries. Tom's dismayed when she confirms she and Matt are supporting Brian on Friday. They see the dairy as good for jobs

Tom tells Tony about his ideas for new produce. Tony feels patronised and reminds Tom that he's already in hock to Lilian and the bank. Tom tells him to forget it. Tom later reminds Tony about tidying up the yard. Tony gives in and agrees to do it tomorrow.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b01c7rqj)
Olivia Colman, Rampart, e-books

With Mark Lawson.

The actress Olivia Colman talks about her breakthrough year, in which she has followed supporting roles in Peep Show and Rev with an award-winning lead in Paddy Considine's film Tyrannosaur and the role of Carol Thatcher alongside Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady. She's now appearing in a new stage production of Noel Coward's play Hay Fever.

Woody Harrelson stars as a wayward LA policeman in Rampart, a film exploring the fallout of the LAPD's 1990s corruption scandal. Crime writer Dreda Say Mitchell gives her verdict on this bad cop, bad cop story.

As e-books account for an increasing percentage of total book sales, many in the publishing industry are keen for the UK to instigate an e-book chart, along with the other readily-available sales figures. Jonathan Nowell from chart compilers Nielsen and Philip Jones from The Bookseller discuss why this is yet to happen.

Producer Ellie Bury.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01c7rgq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b01c7rql)
University admissions

When The Office for Fair Access (OFFA), the public body that promotes fair access to higher education, was created it was immediately dubbed by cynics as "Off-Toff". Those critics would say their fears have been justified with the appointment of its new chief "university access tsar" Professor Les Ebden who has threatened to use OFFA's power to impose huge financial penalties on universities that fail to do enough to open their doors to undergraduates from disadvantaged homes. Depending on your educational background that's either an ad hominem argument, or playing the man rather than the ball. The moral battle that universities find themselves in the centre of is meritocracy verses social engineering. OFFA supporters say our universities, especially Oxbridge and the so called Russell Group are becoming dominated by those from wealthy and privileged backgrounds. They want more use of "contextual data" about applicant's backgrounds and even lower grades for some state pupils to promote social mobility and justice - especially when a steep rise in tuition fees and cuts in places is making it harder to get a place at all. The "Off-Toff" camp says this kind of interference will undermine the academic excellence of one of our last truly world class sectors at a time when as a nation we need to be investing in our intellectual capital to compete with countries like India, China and Brazil and to produce graduates who see their education as a career-changing improvement rather than a lifestyle choice. Or is this treating the symptom and not the cause - a state education system that's lost sight of the quest for academic excellence and is not producing what top universities are looking for and a society that likes to think its meritocratic, but is still beset with class envy and division? And while both sides fight over the position of the educational goalposts parents are left wondering how to do the best for their children.

Witnesses: Professor Dennis Hayes - Founder of the campaign group Academics For Academic Freedom. Head of the Centre for Educational Research, University of Derby; Geoff Parks - Head of Admissions, University of Cambridge; Professor Roger Brown - Co-Director of the Centre of Higher Education Research & Development at Liverpool Hope University; Wes Streeting - Chief Executive of the Helena Kennedy Foundation and former President of the National Union of Students.

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


WED 20:45 Four Thought (b01c7rqn)
Series 2

Robin Gorna: Are We Losing the Fight Against AIDS?

Robin Gorna has spent 26 years working globally to combat AIDS. She fears that at a time when we know how to deal with the problem, we are losing the political will to tackle it.

She sees finances drying up, and stigma, prejudice and an unwillingness to engage with social and sexual aspects of the illness preventing millions from getting access to the treatment and care they need.

Robin believes there is a real opportunity to end the epidemic, and she blames short attention spans and the wrong actions for the fact that it is still on the increase.

Four Thought is a series of talks in which speakers give a personal viewpoint recorded in front of an audience at the RSA in London.

Producer: Sheila Cook.


WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b01c7pqq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 Midweek (b01c7rgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 21:58 Weather (b01c6hp0)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b01c7rqs)
Veteran correspondent , Marie Colvin is killed in Homs.Can Syrian guns and mortars stifle reports of human suffering?

Why Somalia's piracy problem will stand in the way of any international plan for state building.

The defence for Hosni Mubarak rests its case.What kind of justice will he face ?

with Robin Lustig.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01c7rqv)
The Dream Life of Sukhanov

Episode 8

Nina and Sukhanov meet at the Dacha and she tells him she wants to stay there for a while on her own, not because she want to leave him, but simply for some peace and reflection.

Nina says she hopes their children will not mess up their lives and abandon their dreams as they have done; she also says that she did not marry Sukhanov expecting happiness.

Sukhanov, devastated by this, returns alone late that night to Moscow by train...

Set in the dawning days of Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika, The Dream Life of Sukhanov is the story of one man's battle with his true nature amidst the Soviet state's struggle with its own identity. Olga Grushin opens a window on to the soul of an artist who cannot escape his own vision amidst a transient and unsettling world.

Olga Grushin was born in Moscow in 1971 and spent her childhood in Moscow and Prague. In 1989 she became the first Soviet citizen to enrol for a full-time degree in the United States while retaining Soviet citizenship. In 2006 she was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers and named one of Grant's Best Young American Novelists in 2007. She has published two novels: The Dream Life of Sukhanov (2006) and The Concert Ticket (published in the US as The Line) in April 2010. Olga lives in Washington D.C.

"A stunning fictional debut": The Independent

"Haunting": The Observer

"Heartbreaking": Vogue

"Wonderful": Daily Telegraph

"It breathes new life into American literary fiction"
The Washington Post

Abridged by Jeremy Osborne

Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:00 Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme (b01c7s27)
Series 1

Family

Tim Key grapples with the idea of 'family' via his narrative poem: The Godfather. Musical accompaniment is provided by Tom Basden.

Written and presented by Tim Key

With Tom Basden

Produced by James Robinson.


WED 23:15 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b01c7s29)
Series 1

About Nightmare Relatives

This is the story of young, up-and-coming comedian Nathan Caton, who becomes the first in his family to graduate from University - only to opt for a career in comedy - much to his family's annoyance who want him to get a 'proper job' using his architecture degree.

Each episode is designed to show the criticism, interference and rollercoaster ride that Nathan endures from his family as he pursues his career. The episodes are a mix of Nathan's stand-up intercut with scenes from his family life.

Can Nathan persuade his family to support his career choice?

Mum is probably the most lenient of the disappointed family members. She loves Nathan, but she ain't looking embarrassed for nobody!

Dad works in the construction industry and was looking forward to his son joining him to work together in the same field. But now Nathan has blown that dream out of the window Martin feels he has to get Nathan back into getting a real job.

Grandma cannot believe Nathan turned down architecture for comedy. She didn't leave the paradise in the West Indies and came to the freezing United Kingdom for a better life so that her grandson could 'tell jokes!'

So with all this going on in the household what will Nathan do? Will he be able to persist and follow his dreams? Or will he give in to his family's interference?

Nathan ..... Nathan Caton
Grandma ..... Mona Hammond
Mum ..... Adjoa Andoh
Dad ..... Curtis Walker
Reverend Williams ..... Don Gilét

Written by: Nathan Caton
Additional material by: Ola and Maff Brown
Script Editor: James Kettle
Producer: Katie Tyrrell.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2012.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01c7s2c)
Susan Hulme with the day's top news stories from Westminster.



THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2012

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b01c6hpl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b01cpw43)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hpn)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01c6hpq)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hps)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b01c6hpv)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01d23f8)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Anna Magnusson, a writer and broadcaster from Glasgow.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b01c7s8l)
Landowners are wanting a change to the rights of way system, saying that at the moment the system is "long winded, expensive and completely incomprehensible". The Ramblers Association think that there are benefits with the current system because it maintains a balance between landowners and walkers.

Farmers in southern and eastern England are facing the possibility of the worst drought since 1976 - according to predictions made by the Environment Agency. Professor Tim Benton, the UK's Global Food Security Champion, thinks we need radical solutions to make sure there is enough water for both cities and farming.

The RSPCA wants more farmers to sign up to its Freedom Foods label, claiming that current welfare laws for farmed animals don't go far enough. Dr Julia Wrathall, the RSPCA's head of farm animals, explained that the label does not insist on free range animals because they want an achievable level for farmers.

Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced by Emma Weatherill.


THU 06:00 Today (b01c7s8n)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by John Humphrys and Evan Davis, including: 07:09 Stephen Hester on RBS results. 08:10 Foreign Secretary William Hague on Syria. 08:20 Can science predict the future?


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b01c7sml)
Conductors and Semiconductors

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the physics of electrical conduction. Although electricity has been known for several hundred years, it was only in the early twentieth century that physicists first satisfactorily explained the phenomenon. Electric current is the passage of charged particles through a medium - but a material will only conduct electricity if its atomic structure enables it to do so. In investigating electrical conduction scientists discovered two new classes of material. Semiconductors, first exploited commercially in the 1950s, have given us the transistor, the solar cell and the silicon chip, and have revolutionised telecommunications. And superconductors, remarkable materials first observed in 1911, are used in medical imaging and at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva. With:Frank CloseProfessor of Physics at the University of OxfordJenny NelsonProfessor of Physics at Imperial College LondonLesley CohenProfessor of Solid State Physics at Imperial College LondonProducer: Thomas Morris.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b01cpw90)
Michele Hanson - What the Grown-Ups Were Doing

Episode 4

Written by Michele Hanson
Read by Rebecca Front

The strictures of religion become increasingly confusing, added to by the burden of a long nose.

The genteel suburbia of Northwest London in the 1950s is the setting for this memoir of an only child whose Jewish mother had loudly held opinions on everything from the stinginess of her neighbours to the bowel movements of her entire family. Negotiating adolescence was never going to be easy

Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01c7smn)
Fascinating Mummies at the National Museum of Scotland

The science behind the "Fascinating Mummies" exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland. A CEO of one of the eleven companies in the FTSE 100 who have no women on the Board, responds to our appeal to talk about the prospects for women in the company. Where are all the Alpha Males? And her face will be on a stamp from today but who was Joan Mary Fry.

Presenter Jenni Murray
Producer Sarah Johnson.


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01c7smq)
Ed Harris - The Resistance of Mrs Brown

Episode 4

by Ed Harris

Amanda Root stars in a stirring wartime thriller with a difference.

After the British defeat at Dunkirk, and the death of her husband, Mrs Brown has found herself pushing a tea trolley for the new Nazi Military Administration in London.

Determined to survive, she makes sure she is unremarkable. But when she's contacted by the Resistance, can she keep her resolution?

4/5 A copy of Signal magazine brings a visitor to Mrs Brown's home.

Joan Brown ..... Amanda Root
Maisie Brown..... Ellie Kendrick
Mrs Crace ..... Adjoa Andoh
Miss Fry ..... Marlene Sidaway
Oberst Vitte ..... Simon Wilson
Gwen Evans ..... Tracy Wiles
Sturmbannfuhrer Smith ..... James Lailey
Mr Thomas ..... Paul Moriarty
Wode ..... Simon Bubb
Molly ..... Francine Chamberlain
Hans ..... Mark Edel-Hunt

Translations by Johannes Mirbach and Miguel Frank

Produced and Directed by Jonquil Panting.


THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b01c7sms)
Is al-Qaeda giving the people of Yemen something their government is not? It's a question explored by Rupert Wingfield-Hayes who's there in the wake of this week's election for a new president. Who wants to venture seven miles to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean? Rebecca Morelle tells us four competing teams are developing submarines to do just that and she's been on a test dive off the Bahamas with one of them. Christchurch in New Zealand is still far from rebuilt a year after the devastating earthquake there. Joanna Lester talks of a business district in ruins and communities torn apart. The French province of Brittany has a great deal going for it but not, as Robert Colls has been telling us, much in the way of job opportunities. And Frank Gardner's taken to the skies off the coast of Somalia to see how an international force is dealing with the threat posed by pirates.


THU 11:30 Oscar Sings (b01c7smv)
Film critic Andrew Collins explores how the award for 'Best Song' has developed and reflects a changing music and film landscape in Oscar Sings.

Director Alan Parker (in the programme) makes films that use music to great effect as can be heard in 'Midnight Express', 'Evita' and 'Bugsy Malone'. He scored 'Best Song' Oscar for 'Fame' and he believes that the Academy needs to do rethink its approach to the award.

We hear from Oscar winners and composers Leslie Bricusse and Al Kasha. Bricusse explains the song writing process and reveals how he approaches writing for film. His Oscar winning song 'Talk To The Animals' for 'Dr.Dolittle' was no fluke.

Composer Al Kasha (also featured) is a rare individual having won the Best Oscar song twice! Both his Oscars as we discover sit on the piano and Al believes that when you write for a film it must be integral to the "spirit or philosophy of the film".

But what about writing for a major franchise like a Bond film or a Disney movie. Genesis drummer and composer Phil Collins (also featured) scored a 'Best Song Oscar' for his song 'You'll Be In My Heart' for the Disney cartoon - Tarzan. Collins explains how working for the Disney studio scared him and made him raise his game.

Oscar Sings! features film and music folk who have scored 6 Best Song Oscars between them they give a different perspective on the Academy Award for the tune you hum as you leave your popcorn and sweet wrappers scattered on the cinema floor.

Producer: John Sugar
A Sugar Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2012.


THU 12:00 You and Yours (b01c7smx)
With Winifred Robinson.

Scotland's first commercial gold mine in Loch Lomond's National Park has formally been granted planning permission. Scotgold Resources plans to extract more than £50m worth of gold and silver from a hillside near Tyndrum. It is the firm's second attempt at securing planning permission. The first application was rejected by the Loch Lomond National Park Authority over conservation concerns. The mine is overlooked by Ben Lui, which is scaled by up to 15,000 climbers a year. Gordon Watson Director of planning and rural development at Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park and Robert Maund, Vice President of the Scottish Campaign for National Parks join the programme to discuss the balance of conservation and development.

Claer Barrett, the Retail correspondent of the Financial Times discusses the new trend of local councils buying town centre retail units or shopping centres. Will it help save the high street?

Living wills are a way for people to retain control over medical decisions as they near the end of their lives. At the moment there is no central register for them. This makes it difficult for relatives and doctors to find the wills, when a person has become incapacitated and is unable to communicate. Helen McGrath is a solicitor who is calling for an easy to access database for living wills.

Producer Helen Roberts.


THU 12:57 Weather (b01c6hpx)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b01c7smz)
Martha Kearney presents national and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.


THU 13:45 Sport and the British (b01c7sn1)
Ireland, Politics on the Pitch

Clare Balding visits Croke Park in Dublin, to discover the story behind the formation of the Gaelic Athletic Association and it's founder Michael Cusack. All this week in Sport and the British Clare has been exploring how sport defined and gave an independence to the nations of the British Isles, nowhere is this more evident and vocal than in Ireland. The GAA defined what it was to be Irish - meaning how far removed that is from being English and hurling and Irish football were a way of exemplifying that. Clare talks to Dr Paul Rouse of University College Dublin and Professor Michael Cronin of Boston College Ireland about the history and future of the GAA.
The reader is Jonathan Forbes
Producer: Lucy Lunt.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b01c7rqg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b01c7sn3)
Number 10 - Series 5

Episode 4

Written by Jonathan Myerson.

Alan is now wheelchair bound and eating through a tube - yet Simon still cannot find the time he promised to spend with him.

Alan is talking about going across the border to the Dignitas Clinic in Glasgow. Meanwhile - Rudolph Media are now gunning for the government at every turn and will stop at nothing in their hunt for stories to embarrass the government. Especially when they uncover something about someone who works very close to the PM.

Cast:
Simon Laity ...... Damian Lewis
Nathan Toltz ...... Mike Sengelow
Georgie ....... Gina Mckee
Sir Hugo ....... Julian Glover
Amjad Hemmati ....... Arsher Ali
Connie ..... Stella Gonet
Alan ...... John Hollingworth
Mike Plimpton ...... David Troughton
Monica Smith ....... Sasha Behar
Adam Armstrong ....... Antony Sher
Tess, Tannie, Lennie ..... Alana Ramsay

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


THU 15:00 Ramblings (b01c7sn5)
Inspirational Walks

Storytelling in Cornwall

In the third in a series of inspirational walks for Ramblings, Clare Balding is in Cornwall where she is joined by writer and storyteller, Anna Maria Murphy. Inspired by the story of Mary Kelynack, an 84 year old Cornish fishwife who walked from Newlyn to London in 1851, Anna decided to walk all over Cornwall meeting people along the way and gathering stories to inspire her writing. Using ancient routes and seldom used footpaths, Anna set off with a notebook and pen and describes her journey as possibly the single most inspirational thing she has ever done in her life.
Today, Clare joins Anna to walk from the small coastal fishing town of Looe to Polperro, the village where Anna was born. Although this route usually forms part of the popular South West Coast Path, Clare and Anna choose to head inland following woodland footpaths and the 'roads less travelled' of Cornwall before heading to Talland Bay where they pick up the coast path for the last section of the walk. Who will they meet along the way?

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Helen Chetwynd.


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b01c6sjm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:55 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (b01c6trw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b01c7sn7)
Francine Stock talks to Woody Harrelson, who plays a violent racist cop in his new film Rampart. It's been hailed by many as one of the performances of the year. So why no Oscar nod? He explains all.

Also out this week is Black Gold, a vast sweeping epic which tells the story of the discovery of oil in the Arab states at the turn of the 20th century. Staring Mark Strong and Antonio Banderas, the film is conspicuous in featuring no Arab actors in the lead roles. One of the producers behind the film Ali Jaafar, discusses the challenges of making a movie set in the Arab world.

Director Stephen Frears explains why Otto Preminger's Laura, starring Gene Tierney, is one of his favourites from the film noir genre.

And ahead of the Academy Awards this weekend Francine speaks to producer Sue Goffe and director Grant Orchard about their Oscar-nominated short, A Morning Stroll.

Producer: Craig Smith.


THU 16:30 Material World (b01c7sn9)
Quentin Cooper hears that men may not be heading for extinction after all! The male Y-chromosome is degenerate but, according to a new study, has been stable since we diverged from monkeys 25 million years ago. But the fundamental unit of mass, the kilogram, may not be stable. Attempts to redefine it in terms of fundamental constants are fraught with difficulty. But there is hope on the horizon for mimicking one of nature's greatest secrets, photosynthesis, the ability to turn sunshine into fuel.

Producer: Martin Redfern.


THU 17:00 PM (b01c7snc)
Eddie Mair presents the day's top stories. Including Weather.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01c6hpz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 It's Not What You Know (b01c7snf)
Series 1

Episode 1

Rachel Johnson, Desmond Lynam and Mark Steel nominate one of their nearest and dearest to answer a selection of questions.

Anything from "Who would you like to be stranded on a desert island with?" to "What is your favourite film?" to "How much is a pint of milk?"

Then they attempt to second-guess how their nominee responded. If they can get it right, or come close, they get points.

Miles Jupp takes the chair.

Plus special guest - renowned film director and food critic, Michael Winner gives answers which the panel must try to predict.

Producer: Sam Michell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2012.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b01c7wyt)
Tony take Susan's advice and has a break. Tony tells Susan they'd love to see Kylie again.

Jennifer's furious that Pat has linked her petition to the village website and tells Tony that Pat's lost all perspective. Tony defends Pat. Jennifer puts it all down to jealousy, because she wouldn't lend them money last year. Tony can't believe she'd think him that petty and their debate gets heated.

Neil takes Tracy to get her stuff from Den's house. Tracy had forgotten how much there was. But she insists they need to take the balloons that Den's bought for the kids, even though the van's full. Neil's just about to leave when Tracy sees Den coming towards them. They crouch out of sight but as Tracey lights a cigarette, she bursts a balloon and the shock causes Neil to hit the horn. Suddenly, Den's knocking on the window.

Neil tells Susan the saga. He finally delivered Tracy and the kids to their new home and it turned out Den just wanted to give Tracy some money for the kids. Alone at last, Neil and Susan reminisce on recent events. Neil suggests they go out for dinner. But with the place to themselves, Susan would rather stay in. Neil agrees.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b01c7snh)
Fourth Plinth; Peter Ackroyd; new Water Music

With Mark Lawson.

Mark reports on the latest art-work to adorn the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar - a golden boy on a rocking horse designed by Elmgreen and Dragset. and unveiled today by Joanna Lumley, who discusses the work.

Peter Ackroyd reflects on his biography of Wilkie Collins, author of the Moonstone and The Woman in White, and friend of Charles Dickens, whose personal life was full of secrets.

In Basildon is a new play by David Eldridge about a close knit Essex family coming to terms with a recent death. Writer Tim Lott gives his verdict.

And Mark speaks to two of the ten composers taking inspiration from Handel's Water Music for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The new works will be performed as part of the 1000 boat flotilla travelling down the Thames on June 3. Debbie Wiseman, whose film scores include Tom and Viv and Wilde, and Christopher Gunning, whose music includes the theme for Poirot, talk about the challenges of re-imagining Handel's famous score.

Producer Timothy Prosser.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01c7smq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 Law in Action (b01c7pqs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]


THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b01c7srg)
Selling expertise

The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, The Bottom Line cuts through confusion, statistics and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies. The programme is broadcast first on BBC Radio 4 and later on BBC World Service Radio, BBC World News TV and BBC News Channel TV.

Evan and three top executives discuss the curiosities of selling their expertise, knowledge the customer doesn't have. If consumers are in a state of relative ignorance, how can they shop around? What stops them getting ripped off? They also swap thoughts on religion in the workplace.

Joining Evan are Heather McGregor, managing director of headhunters Taylor Bennett; Rupert Soames, chief executive of mobile energy company Aggreko; Gavin Oldham, chief executive of retail stockbroker The Share Centre.

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Stephen Chilcott.


THU 21:00 Nature (b01c7pq8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Tuesday]


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b01c7sml)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 21:58 Weather (b01c6hq1)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b01c7srj)
Can Somalis rebuild their country ? World leaders in London have a plan.

Plans are being made to get the wounded out of Homs.

and Y the male chromosome will survive.

with Robin Lustig.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01c7srl)
The Dream Life of Sukhanov

Episode 9

Sukhanov returns to Moscow on a train after leaving Nina at the Dacha, and in a dream finds himself in 1957, with Nina showing him a secret storehouse of paintings forbidden to be viewed in public. Malevich, Filonov, Kandinsky, Chagall - legendary Russian artists whose works he has never seen.

He feels anger at the country that has condemned its greatest masters to oblivion, but realises that Nina believes that he can be, and perhaps already is, as great as they are.

Set in the dawning days of Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika, The Dream Life of Sukhanov is the story of one man's battle with his true nature amidst the Soviet state's struggle with its own identity. Olga Grushin opens a window on to the soul of an artist who cannot escape his own vision amidst a transient and unsettling world.

Olga Grushin was born in Moscow in 1971 and spent her childhood in Moscow and Prague. In 1989 she became the first Soviet citizen to enrol for a full-time degree in the United States while retaining Soviet citizenship. In 2006 she was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers and named one of Grant's Best Young American Novelists in 2007. She has published two novels: The Dream Life of Sukhanov (2006) and The Concert Ticket (published in the US as The Line) in April 2010. Olga lives in Washington D.C.

"A stunning fictional debut": The Independent

"Haunting": The Observer

"Heartbreaking": Vogue

"Wonderful": Daily Telegraph

"It breathes new life into American literary fiction"
The Washington Post

Abridged by Jeremy Osborne

Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:00 Paul Temple (b00sy3lc)
Paul Temple and Steve

David Nelson Explains

A new production of the 1947 detective serial 'Paul Temple and Steve.' One of the great radio detectives returns refreshed and reinvigorated to the airwaves to investigate the activities of a shadowy and ruthless criminal mastermind in post-war London.

The investigation into the activities of the mysterious Dr. Belasco lead him to a murder scene in a flat above a London dry-cleaning business; but then the clues begin to point far away from the great city, to a lonely country house on Romney Marsh.

Paul Temple ..... Crawford Logan
Steve ..... Gerda Stevenson
Sir Graham Forbes ..... Gareth Thomas
Kaufman ..... Nick Underwood
Worth/Charlie ..... Greg Powrie
Nelson ..... Jimmy Chisholm
Joseph ..... Richard Greenwood
Mrs Forester ..... Candida Benson
Ed Bellamy ..... Robin Laing
Waitress ..... Lucy Paterson

Produced by Patrick Rayner.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01c7srv)
Sean Curran with the day's top stories from Westminster, where a Conservative former Cabinet Minister calls for the Treasury-backed RBS to be broken up and sold off.

The Leader of the Commons comes under pressure over the Government's controversial plans to shake-up the NHS in England.

Labour and the Conservatives clash over who's to blame for rising rail fares.

Amid concern over the number of cyclists killed and injured on our roads, MPs debate how to make cycling safer.

An expert suggests MPs should learn to "talk human" to make the most of the Commons committee system.

And a Labour frontbencher suggests that MPs be allowed to take toys to Parliament on the last day of term, if the Prime Minister doesn't want to face them at question time.



FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2012

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b01c6hqm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b01cpw90)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hqp)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01c6hqr)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01c6hqt)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b01c6hqw)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01d23fq)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Anna Magnusson, a writer and broadcaster from Glasgow.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b01c7tzr)
The next two weeks is the busiest lambing period of the year for UK farmers. The National Sheep Association says once that has passed, the industry will have an idea of the scale of the impact of Schmallenberg Disease. The virus which causes birth defects in lambs and calves, has been confirmed on 58 farms. It is thought that if the number of cases in the UK mirror those in Europe some farmers could be forced out of business and the price of lamb on supermarket shelves could increase. Caz Graham visits a farm watching and waiting as lambs are born in Cumbria.

The organic group, the Soil Association defends the system of farming against criticism from a leading food security expert. Professor Tim Benton, the UK's Global Food Security Champion says the environmental benefits seen on organic farms can never compensate for the fact they produce less food..

And a group of MP's say they have found a legal solution which could make it possible for the British Government to take back some of the control of fishing in British waters, whilst still being part of Europe's Common Fisheries Policy.

This programme is presented by Caz Graham and produced in Birmingham by Angela Frain.


FRI 06:00 Today (b01c7tzt)
Morning news and current affairs, presented by John Humphrys and Evan Davis, including: 07:30 Business editor Robert Peston looks at Lloyds' results. 08:10 Employment Minister Chris Grayling on work experience programmes. 08:20 Should there council tax be raised for million pound homes? 08:30 Why four GCSE exams are being toughened up.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b01c6trm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b01cpy0w)
Michele Hanson - What the Grown-Ups Were Doing

Episode 5

Written by Michele Hanson.
Read by Rebecca Front.

Fleeing suburbia for Art School brings liberation in many guises.

The genteel suburbia of Northwest London in the 1950s is the setting for this memoir of an only child whose Jewish mother had loudly held opinions on everything from the stinginess of her neighbours to the bowel movements of her entire family. Negotiating adolescence was never going to be easy.

Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01c7tzw)
Women and cotton; Voluntary patients in psychiatric care; Protecting children from parental abuse on the touchline

Women and their role in the cotton industry - from the Lancashire Mills in the 19th and 20th century, to Africa and India today. The parents of twenty-four year old Melanie Rabone who killed herself after leaving hospital talk about their six year battle for better protection of voluntary patients in psychiatric care. And its only a game - but is it? Children and young people are being subjected to intimidating and abusive behaviour from adults when playing sport. We'll hear from the charity 'Children 1st' who say it is not only a case of parents shouting and swearing at their own children but also verbally assaulting other people's children from the sidelines. Will their 'Sideline Bad Behaviour' campaign make a difference? And how ironing has inspired collectors, poets and artists.


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b01c7tzy)
Ed Harris - The Resistance of Mrs Brown

Episode 5

The Trolley, The Pin, and Mrs Brown's Decision. Conclusion of the wartime thriller, with a modern twist. Stars Amanda Root.


FRI 11:00 The Unseeing Eye (b01c7v00)
Jost Haas is the last glass eye maker left in Britain, and he is close to retirement. He comes from Germany, where glass eye technology was perfected nearly 200 years ago. Nowadays prosthetic eyes are acrylic and the skill of the glass eye blower is not needed. But some wearers still prefer glass to plastic, and those who have been with Mr Haas for decades are stocking up against the time when he finally turns off his Bunsen burner.

In this programme Jolyon Jenkins explores the world of the prosthetic eye. Unlike, say, an artificial leg, or a false tooth, the artificial eye brings no direct benefit to its wearer. It exists to make other people feel comfortable with eyeless person. Some one-eyed people rebel against wearing a prosthesis, but most fall into line, uncomfortable themselves with the reaction an eyeless face provokes.

For others, being fitted with a false eye, after an accident or illness, is a highly emotional moment. One man describes how he cried as he saw his face in the mirror with the prosthesis fitted for the first time. Another woman describes how she didn't want a false eye but wanted the eyelid stitched down. "I had the thought that if eyes are the windows to the soul I had lost half my soul."

Although the "windows to the soul" saying is a cliché that many false eye-wearers dislike there is, remarkably, evidence that eyes really do correlate with character. A Swedish study suggests that patterns in the iris can predict such things as warmth, trust, and impulsiveness. So someone making a glass eye is, in a sense, constructing an image of the soul.

In the programme, Jolyon sits in on glass eye fittings and speaks to the skilled artists who paint acrylic eyes; he talks to artificial eye wearers and attends a meeting of one-eyed people.


FRI 11:30 The Write Stuff (b01c7wx4)
Series 15

HG Wells

This week the teams look at the life and work of one of the father's of Science Fiction and creator of such famous works as "The Time Machine" and "War of the Worlds", H.G. Wells.

Team captains, Sebastian Faulks and John Walsh, are helped out by journalist and critic, Alex Clark and comedy writer, John O'Farrell as they are set more literary challenges by host, James Walton.

For the finale, the teams must also put themselves in Wells' shoes (he was famous for making predictions about the future, some prescient, some very much not so) and make their own prophesies for 2012.


FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b01c7wx6)
Greek Tourism, Costume Oscars and Learners on the Motorway

With the ink on the latest rescue deal for the Greek economy barely dry, how is the tourist industry in Greece faring? Winifred Robinson speak to the Greek Culture and Tourism Minister to find out.
The Office of Fair Trading launches an enquiry into payday loan companies.
We visit the British company up for four of the five nominations in the Best Costume Oscar.
Are new plans to teach learners to drive on motorways a good idea, or a danger to other road users?
Olympic volunteers complain they are being forced to use premium phone lines to organise their training, when they are already giving their time for free.
Pub landlady Karen Murphy wins her court case against Sky - we find out what this means.
And what impact will the collapse of a Spanish car hire company have on availability - and prices - this summer?

Producer Rebecca Moore.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b01c6hqy)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b01c7wx8)
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 Sport and the British (b01c7wxb)
Ireland, North of the Border

While sport is endlessly talked of as a force for unity, in today's edition of Sport and the British, Clare Balding's in Belfast on the Falls Road, where it's clear that here sport was just another arena to reinforce divisions that rent the community in two.
In Northern Ireland the sporting choices for people were, for so long, based on their religious and political backgrounds. In soccer there was one team for the Catholics, Belfast Celtic, Linfield for the Protestants. Clare hears about the violent clashes that always ensued when these two teams met, finally leading to the disbandment of Celtic. Boxer, Barry Mcguigan talks about how he tried to be identified with neither side and we hear about the only sporting hero that did manage to straddle the divide, uniting both sides, George Best
Producer: Lucy Lunt.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b01c7wyt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b00n8b3n)
Daniel Thurman - Those Hard to Reach Places

'Cleaner...only dirtier' is not how your average domestic cleaner describes themselves. But then Rita is anything but your average domestic cleaner as an unfortunate former mayor is about to discover in Daniel Thurman's sparkling comedy.

Fawcett ..... Geoffrey Whitehead
Mrs Randle ..... Anne Reid
Rita ..... Janet Dibley
Bus Driver ..... Piers Wehner
Phone voice ..... Emerald O'Hanrahan

Directed by Toby Swift.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b01d167g)
Saltash, Cornwall

Matthew Wilson, Bunny Guinness and Anne Swithinbank are on the panel. Eric Robson chairs.

Matt James explores how the slag heaps around Cornwall's polluted and now defunct tin mines are being cleaned up and replanted as a massive new park.

Producer: Howard Shannon
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:45 Leap Year Tales (b01c7x4m)
Aw Wrong

Three stories that mark Leap Year.

'Aw Wrong' by Laura Marney.

Facing the imminent birth of their first child, a couple take steps to try to influence the course of nature.

Read by Gabriel Quigley.

Produced by Patricia Hitchcock

Laura Marney is a writer of fiction and drama. She is the author of four novels: 'No Wonder I Take a Drink', Nobody Loves a Ginger Baby', 'Only Strange People go to Church' and most recently, 'My Best Friend has Issues'. She is currently working on a new novel provisionally entitled 'Snorkelling in a Burkha'.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b01c7x4p)
Matthew Bannister on

the war correspondent Marie Colvin who was killed covering the bombardment of Homs in Syria. We hear about her dangerous career - and her love of sailing.

the adventurer John Fairfax - he was the first man to row solo across the Atlantic and then rowed across the Pacific with Sylvia Cook. She tells me how they braved huge storms and a shark attack.

the military historian MRD Foot, who drew on his own experiences in the SAS to become the official historian of the Special Operations Executive

And the comedian Frank Carson, who unified Northern Ireland through laughter.


FRI 16:30 Feedback (b01c7x4r)
Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations.

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

This programme's content is entirely directed by you.

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


FRI 17:00 PM (b01c7x4t)
Eddie Mair presents full coverage and analysis of the day's news.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01c6hr0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b01c7x4w)
Series 36

Episode 2

Steve Punt is joined by Jon Culshaw, Mitch Benn, Jon Holmes, Laura Shavin and Paul Sinha for a topical tour of the week's news.

Producer Katie Tyrrell.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b01c7xfb)
Tony's decided he's too tired to go to the public meeting about the mega-dairy. Pat thinks it's best if Helen leaves Henry with him, which ruins Tony's hopes for a peaceful evening .

When Ed sees the plans for the dairy, he's amazed at the size of it. He's promised to speak up on Joe's behalf. David, as NFU chair, is strictly observing. Ruth remarks on Jennifer and the tribe being in the front row. There's no Adam but Ian's at the back.

Debbie puts forward a strong case in favour of the dairy, and Pat's the first to respond from the floor. Ed questions the effect on the small producer. Debbie insists the dairy won't affect local trade. The debate goes on, with very split opinions. Ruth puts across a very strong case for cows belonging on grass.

Debbie appreciates David's neutrality. David hopes he can separate his personal and public roles but has to bite his tongue while talking to Debbie.

Brian's not sure how the meeting went but Debbie thinks it's gone ok. She reckons the local economy angle could swing it for people. She knows who was leading the opposition but tells Brian to relax and just keep hold of the big picture.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b01c7xfd)
Naomi Alderman on video games

Novelist and games writer Naomi Alderman asks why video games haven't received the cultural recognition of other art forms.

On her quest, she meets some of the most important and powerful people in today's entertainment industry. They run companies worth millions of pounds and make games played by tens of millions of people around the world, yet they rarely find their way into the spotlight.

She also finds out how writers contribute to the shaping of new game narratives, and looks to the future, when games might well react to the personality of the player.

Producer Stephen Hughes.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b01c7tzy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b01c7xfg)
Long Eaton, Nottingham

Jonathan Dimbleby chairs a live discussion of news and politics from Trent College, Long Eaton, Derbyshire, with Education minister, Sarah Teather; Shadow minister, Michael Dugher; businesswoman, Nickki King; and writer and broadcaster, Kenan Malik.

Producer: Victoria Wakely.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b01c7xfj)
A History of Monetary Unions

David Cannadine reflects on the history of monetary unions and what causes them to succeed or fail. Ancient Greece turns out to be a pioneer, whereas modern Greece has posed a threat to any monetary union it has joined.

Producer: Sheila Cook.


FRI 21:00 Sport and the British: Omnibus (b01c7xfl)
Episode 4

This week in Sport and the British Clare Balding's been exploring how sport has been used for centuries to define national identity, to unite and promote Scottish football, Welsh rugby union, English cricket and Irish Hurling. Clare Balding makes a tour round the Uk to look at why we play the games we do.
Producer: Lucy Lunt.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b01c6hr2)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b01c7xfn)
'Friends of Syria' demand a ceasefire at a major conference in Tunis. But what hope is there that President Assad will listen?

The historical precedents for the Greek bailout plan - have any lessons been learned?

And the obstacles to Palestinian unity.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b01c7xfq)
The Dream Life of Sukhanov

Episode 10

Sukhanov encounters Dalevich at his mother's apartment. He shows him some drawings of Sukhanov's given to Dalevich when he was a child. They remind him of his talent as an artist, long buried.

Sukhanov discovers that the paintings he thought had been kept in a cupboard in his mother's apartment had been destroyed by her long ago. She tells him that she was afraid that his talent would lead to no good.

Set in the dawning days of Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika, The Dream Life of Sukhanov is the story of one man's battle with his true nature amidst the Soviet state's struggle with its own identity. Olga Grushin opens a window on to the soul of an artist who cannot escape his own vision amidst a transient and unsettling world.

Olga Grushin was born in Moscow in 1971 and spent her childhood in Moscow and Prague. In 1989 she became the first Soviet citizen to enrol for a full-time degree in the United States while retaining Soviet citizenship. In 2006 she was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers and named one of Grant's Best Young American Novelists in 2007. She has published two novels: The Dream Life of Sukhanov (2006) and The Concert Ticket (published in the US as The Line) in April 2010. Olga lives in Washington D.C.

"A stunning fictional debut": The Independent

"Haunting": The Observer

"Heartbreaking": Vogue

"Wonderful": Daily Telegraph

"It breathes new life into American literary fiction"
The Washington Post

Abridged by Jeremy Osborne

Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b01c7pqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b01c7xfs)
Mark D'Arcy with the day's top news stories from Westminster.




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

15 Minute Drama 10:45 MON (b01c7lk4)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 MON (b01c7lk4)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 TUE (b01c7pq6)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 TUE (b01c7pq6)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 WED (b01c7rgq)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 WED (b01c7rgq)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 THU (b01c7smq)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 THU (b01c7smq)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 FRI (b01c7tzy)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 FRI (b01c7tzy)

A Good Read 16:30 TUE (b01c7pqv)

A Good Read 23:00 FRI (b01c7pqv)

A Point of View 08:50 SUN (b01by9m1)

A Point of View 20:50 FRI (b01c7xfj)

Al Read Rediscovered 16:00 MON (b01c7ncq)

An African Asian Affair 11:00 MON (b017vsjm)

Analysis 21:30 SUN (b01bwm1h)

Analysis 20:30 MON (b01c7nd5)

Any Answers? 14:00 SAT (b01c6j68)

Any Questions? 13:10 SAT (b01by9lz)

Any Questions? 20:00 FRI (b01c7xfg)

Archive on 4 20:00 SAT (b01c6kr7)

Bells on Sunday 05:43 SUN (b01c6s89)

Bells on Sunday 00:45 MON (b01c6s89)

Beyond Belief 16:30 MON (b01c7ncs)

Beyond Westminster 11:00 SAT (b01c6j1m)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 MON (b01c7nd9)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 TUE (b01c7prf)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 WED (b01c7rqv)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 THU (b01c7srl)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 FRI (b01c7xfq)

Book of the Week 00:30 SAT (b01cdl53)

Book of the Week 09:45 MON (b01c7lk0)

Book of the Week 00:30 TUE (b01c7lk0)

Book of the Week 09:45 TUE (b01cpvsl)

Book of the Week 00:30 WED (b01cpvsl)

Book of the Week 09:45 WED (b01cpw43)

Book of the Week 00:30 THU (b01cpw43)

Book of the Week 09:45 THU (b01cpw90)

Book of the Week 00:30 FRI (b01cpw90)

Book of the Week 09:45 FRI (b01cpy0w)

Brain of Britain 23:00 SAT (b01bwfyj)

Brain of Britain 15:00 MON (b01c7ncn)

Broadcasting House 09:00 SUN (b01c6trh)

Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing 23:15 WED (b01c7s29)

Costing the Earth 15:30 TUE (b01c7pqq)

Costing the Earth 21:00 WED (b01c7pqq)

Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! 18:30 TUE (b01c7pqz)

Desert Island Discs 11:15 SUN (b01c6trm)

Desert Island Discs 09:00 FRI (b01c6trm)

Doctor - Tell Me the Truth 20:00 MON (b01c7nd3)

Drama 14:15 MON (b01c7ncl)

Drama 14:15 TUE (b01c7pql)

Drama 14:15 WED (b01c7rq2)

Drama 14:15 THU (b01c7sn3)

Drama 14:15 FRI (b00n8b3n)

Excess Baggage 10:00 SAT (b01c6j1h)

Farming Today 06:30 SAT (b01c6j19)

Farming Today 05:45 MON (b01c7ljt)

Farming Today 05:45 TUE (b01c7ppw)

Farming Today 05:45 WED (b01c7rgg)

Farming Today 05:45 THU (b01c7s8l)

Farming Today 05:45 FRI (b01c7tzr)

Feedback 20:00 SUN (b01by9ln)

Feedback 16:30 FRI (b01c7x4r)

File on 4 17:00 SUN (b01bwp6n)

File on 4 20:00 TUE (b01c7pr5)

Four Thought 05:45 SUN (b01by7d1)

Four Thought 20:45 WED (b01c7rqn)

From Fact to Fiction 19:00 SAT (b01c6kr3)

From Fact to Fiction 17:40 SUN (b01c6kr3)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:30 SAT (b01c6j1p)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:00 THU (b01c7sms)

Front Row 19:15 MON (b01c7nd1)

Front Row 19:15 TUE (b01c7pr3)

Front Row 19:15 WED (b01c7rqj)

Front Row 19:15 THU (b01c7snh)

Front Row 19:15 FRI (b01c7xfd)

Gardeners' Question Time 14:00 SUN (b01by9lg)

Gardeners' Question Time 15:00 FRI (b01d167g)

HR 11:30 WED (b01c7rgv)

In Living Memory 11:00 WED (b01c7rgs)

In Our Time 09:00 THU (b01c7sml)

In Our Time 21:30 THU (b01c7sml)

In Touch 20:40 TUE (b01c7pr7)

Inside Health 21:00 TUE (b01c7pr9)

Inside Health 15:30 WED (b01c7pr9)

It's Not What You Know 18:30 THU (b01c7snf)

Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels 21:00 SAT (b01bwddl)

Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels 15:00 SUN (b01c6trt)

Just a Minute 12:00 SUN (b01bwfys)

Just a Minute 18:30 MON (b01c7ncx)

Key Matters 14:45 SUN (b00tt5j1)

Last Word 20:30 SUN (b01by9ll)

Last Word 16:00 FRI (b01c7x4p)

Law in Action 16:00 TUE (b01c7pqs)

Law in Action 20:00 THU (b01c7pqs)

Leap Year Tales 15:45 FRI (b01c7x4m)

Living World 06:35 SUN (b01c6s8f)

Loose Ends 18:15 SAT (b01c6kr1)

Mark Thomas: The Manifesto 18:30 WED (b01c7rqd)

Material World 21:00 MON (b01by8nh)

Material World 16:30 THU (b01c7sn9)

Meet David Sedaris 19:15 SUN (b0125g85)

Midnight News 00:00 SAT (b01by9nb)

Midnight News 00:00 SUN (b01c6hjh)

Midnight News 00:00 MON (b01c6hl3)

Midnight News 00:00 TUE (b01c6hmj)

Midnight News 00:00 WED (b01c6hnk)

Midnight News 00:00 THU (b01c6hpl)

Midnight News 00:00 FRI (b01c6hqm)

Midweek 09:00 WED (b01c7rgl)

Midweek 21:30 WED (b01c7rgl)

Miracles R Us 23:00 MON (b00sjpjd)

Money Box Live 15:00 WED (b01c7rq4)

Money Box 12:00 SAT (b01c6j1r)

Money Box 21:00 SUN (b01c6j1r)

Moral Maze 22:15 SAT (b01by7cz)

Moral Maze 20:00 WED (b01c7rql)

Nature 11:00 TUE (b01c7pq8)

Nature 21:00 THU (b01c7pq8)

News Briefing 05:30 SAT (b01by9nl)

News Briefing 05:30 SUN (b01c6hjr)

News Briefing 05:30 MON (b01c6hlc)

News Briefing 05:30 TUE (b01c6hms)

News Briefing 05:30 WED (b01c6hnt)

News Briefing 05:30 THU (b01c6hpv)

News Briefing 05:30 FRI (b01c6hqw)

News Headlines 06:00 SUN (b01c6hjt)

News and Papers 06:00 SAT (b01by9nn)

News and Papers 07:00 SUN (b01c6hjy)

News and Papers 08:00 SUN (b01c6hk2)

News and Weather 22:00 SAT (b01by9p5)

News 13:00 SAT (b01by9nx)

One to One 09:30 TUE (b01c7pq2)

Open Book 16:00 SUN (b01c6trw)

Open Book 15:30 THU (b01c6trw)

Oscar Sings 11:30 THU (b01c7smv)

PM 17:00 SAT (b01c6kqz)

PM 17:00 MON (b01c7ncv)

PM 17:00 TUE (b01c7pqx)

PM 17:00 WED (b01c7rqb)

PM 17:00 THU (b01c7snc)

PM 17:00 FRI (b01c7x4t)

Paul Temple 23:00 THU (b00sy3lc)

Pick of the Week 18:15 SUN (b01c6ts0)

Poetry Please 23:30 SAT (b01bwddq)

Poetry Please 16:30 SUN (b01c6try)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 SAT (b01by9rw)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 MON (b01c7ljr)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 TUE (b01d22bb)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 WED (b01d22vl)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 THU (b01d23f8)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 FRI (b01d23fq)

Radio 4 Appeal 07:55 SUN (b01c6sjm)

Radio 4 Appeal 21:26 SUN (b01c6sjm)

Radio 4 Appeal 15:27 THU (b01c6sjm)

Ramblings 06:07 SAT (b01by8nc)

Ramblings 15:00 THU (b01c7sn5)

Saturday Drama 14:30 SAT (b01c6j6b)

Saturday Live 09:00 SAT (b01c6j1f)

Saturday Review 19:15 SAT (b01c6kr5)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SAT (b01by9ng)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SUN (b01c6hjm)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 MON (b01c6hl7)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 TUE (b01c6hmn)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 WED (b01c6hnp)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 THU (b01c6hpq)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 FRI (b01c6hqr)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SAT (b01by9nd)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SAT (b01by9nj)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SAT (b01by9nz)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SUN (b01c6hjk)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SUN (b01c6hjp)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SUN (b01c6hk8)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 MON (b01c6hl5)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 MON (b01c6hl9)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 TUE (b01c6hml)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 TUE (b01c6hmq)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 WED (b01c6hnm)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 WED (b01c6hnr)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 THU (b01c6hpn)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 THU (b01c6hps)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 FRI (b01c6hqp)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 FRI (b01c6hqt)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SAT (b01by9p3)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SUN (b01c6hkd)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 MON (b01c6hlk)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 TUE (b01c6hmx)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 WED (b01c6hny)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 THU (b01c6hpz)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 FRI (b01c6hr0)

Something Understood 06:05 SUN (b01c6s8c)

Something Understood 23:30 SUN (b01c6s8c)

Soul Music 15:30 SAT (b01bwmw6)

Soul Music 11:30 TUE (b01c7pqb)

Sport and the British: Omnibus 21:00 FRI (b01c7xfl)

Sport and the British 13:45 MON (b01c7lkd)

Sport and the British 13:45 TUE (b01c7pqj)

Sport and the British 13:45 WED (b01c7rh1)

Sport and the British 13:45 THU (b01c7sn1)

Sport and the British 13:45 FRI (b01c7wxb)

Start the Week 09:00 MON (b01c7ljy)

Start the Week 21:30 MON (b01c7ljy)

Sunday Worship 08:10 SUN (b01c6sjp)

Sunday 07:10 SUN (b01c6sjk)

Sussex Scandals 19:45 SUN (b01c6tzz)

The Archers Omnibus 10:00 SUN (b01c6trk)

The Archers 19:00 SUN (b01c6tzx)

The Archers 14:00 MON (b01c6tzx)

The Archers 19:00 MON (b01c7ncz)

The Archers 14:00 TUE (b01c7ncz)

The Archers 19:00 TUE (b01c7pr1)

The Archers 14:00 WED (b01c7pr1)

The Archers 19:00 WED (b01c7rqg)

The Archers 14:00 THU (b01c7rqg)

The Archers 19:00 THU (b01c7wyt)

The Archers 14:00 FRI (b01c7wyt)

The Archers 19:00 FRI (b01c7xfb)

The Art of Monarchy 10:30 SAT (b01c6j1k)

The Bottom Line 17:30 SAT (b01by8nt)

The Bottom Line 20:30 THU (b01c7srg)

The Film Programme 23:00 SUN (b01by8nf)

The Film Programme 16:00 THU (b01c7sn7)

The Food Programme 12:32 SUN (b01c6trp)

The Food Programme 15:30 MON (b01c6trp)

The History Plays 23:00 TUE (b01cmfh1)

The Kitchen Cabinet 15:00 TUE (b01c7pqn)

The Life Scientific 09:00 TUE (b01c7pq0)

The Life Scientific 21:30 TUE (b01c7pq0)

The Media Show 16:30 WED (b01c7rq8)

The Now Show 12:30 SAT (b01by9ls)

The Now Show 18:30 FRI (b01c7x4w)

The Unseeing Eye 11:00 FRI (b01c7v00)

The World This Weekend 13:00 SUN (b01c6trr)

The World Tonight 22:00 MON (b01c7nd7)

The World Tonight 22:00 TUE (b01c7prc)

The World Tonight 22:00 WED (b01c7rqs)

The World Tonight 22:00 THU (b01c7srj)

The World Tonight 22:00 FRI (b01c7xfn)

The Write Stuff 11:30 FRI (b01c7wx4)

Thinking Allowed 00:15 MON (b01by7cl)

Thinking Allowed 16:00 WED (b01c7rq6)

Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme 23:00 WED (b01c7s27)

Today in Parliament 23:30 MON (b01c7ndc)

Today in Parliament 23:30 TUE (b01c7prh)

Today in Parliament 23:30 WED (b01c7s2c)

Today in Parliament 23:30 THU (b01c7srv)

Today in Parliament 23:30 FRI (b01c7xfs)

Today 07:00 SAT (b01c6j1c)

Today 06:00 MON (b01c7ljw)

Today 06:00 TUE (b01c7ppy)

Today 06:00 WED (b01c7rgj)

Today 06:00 THU (b01c7s8n)

Today 06:00 FRI (b01c7tzt)

Under the Skin 00:30 SUN (b01c6s87)

Warsaw Variations 13:30 SUN (b018cg7v)

Weather 06:04 SAT (b01by9nq)

Weather 06:57 SAT (b01by9ns)

Weather 12:57 SAT (b01by9nv)

Weather 17:57 SAT (b01by9p1)

Weather 06:57 SUN (b01c6hjw)

Weather 07:57 SUN (b01c6hk0)

Weather 12:57 SUN (b01c6hk6)

Weather 17:57 SUN (b01c6hkb)

Weather 05:57 MON (b01c6hlf)

Weather 12:57 MON (b01c6hlh)

Weather 21:58 MON (b01c6hlp)

Weather 12:57 TUE (b01c6hmv)

Weather 21:58 TUE (b01c6hmz)

Weather 12:57 WED (b01c6hnw)

Weather 21:58 WED (b01c6hp0)

Weather 12:57 THU (b01c6hpx)

Weather 21:58 THU (b01c6hq1)

Weather 12:57 FRI (b01c6hqy)

Weather 21:58 FRI (b01c6hr2)

Westminster Hour 22:00 SUN (b01c6v01)

What the Papers Say 22:45 SUN (b01c6v03)

Woman's Hour 16:00 SAT (b01c6kqx)

Woman's Hour 10:00 MON (b01c7lk2)

Woman's Hour 10:00 TUE (b01c7pq4)

Woman's Hour 10:00 WED (b01c7rgn)

Woman's Hour 10:00 THU (b01c7smn)

Woman's Hour 10:00 FRI (b01c7tzw)

Wordaholics 11:30 MON (b01c7lk6)

World at One 13:00 MON (b01c7lkb)

World at One 13:00 TUE (b01c7pqg)

World at One 13:00 WED (b01c7rgz)

World at One 13:00 THU (b01c7smz)

World at One 13:00 FRI (b01c7wx8)

You and Yours 12:00 MON (b01c7lk8)

You and Yours 12:00 TUE (b01c7pqd)

You and Yours 12:00 WED (b01c7rgx)

You and Yours 12:00 THU (b01c7smx)

You and Yours 12:00 FRI (b01c7wx6)

iPM 05:45 SAT (b01by9ry)