The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Stephen Fry traces the evolution of the mobile phone, from hefty executive bricks that required a separate briefcase to carry the battery to the smart little devices complete with personal assistant we have today.
There are more mobile phones in the world than there are people on the planet: Stephen Fry talks to the backroom boys who made it all possible and hears how the technology succeeded, in ways that the geeks had not necessarily intended.
Stephen Fry meets the men who created the first texting facility, as well as other less commercially successful products like taxifones, payphones on trains and in-car fax machines. He hears how texting triumphed unexpectedly when paging was all the rage, partly because paging services never seemed to work on Friday afternoon. On the earliest handsets there was no way of replying to a text. Later, just in case someone might want to reply, they included a short list of possible pre-set answers: yes, no and later. In the mid 90s texting was just one of countless facilities embedded within the new digital mobile phones: no one thought it that important. In 2010 alone, a staggering 6.1 trillion text messages were sent. And most of them received a reply.
A beautifully nostalgic childhood memoir of Britain in the late 1890s, written by the eminent author Angela Thirkell.
She recalls in rich detail, and with a delightful sense of humour, the three houses which were seminal to her youth.
It's Christmas at North End House in Rottingdean and the waits and the mummers are busy touring the village. But for one little girl, opening her stocking on her grandmother's bed, it's a tiny dormouse that steals the day.
Abridged and produced by Jane Marshall.
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at
Presented by the Very Rev Graham Forbes, Provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh.
The iPM New Year's Honours programme tells the stories of some of the nominees, including a woman who, with her husband, survived horrific violence in South Africa and remains a natural optimist. Plus the winner is announced.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
Peter Pan first came to life on the glittering stage of London's Duke of York Theatre on 27th December 1904, but he began life far away from the hustle, bustle and glamour of the West End in the market town of Kirriemuir near Dundee. Helen Mark visits the birth place of J.M. Barrie who immortalised this "wee red toonie" as "Thrums" in his popular (pre-Pan) novels Auld Licht Idylls, A Window in Thrums, and The Little Minister. Helen also takes us out into the landscape that is believed to have inspired Never Never Land and the adventures of Peter Pan himself.
There are 1.8 million dairy cows in the UK. Over the last couple of years the way those cows are farmed has come under increased scrutiny. Dairy farms are getting larger and, in some cases, more intensive. Cows are being bred, and fed, to produce higher yields. Farmers face continuing economic pressure. To explore some of these issues Farming Today followed a typical dairy cow through a year of milk production. Bradley Cora 289 is owned by David Cotton, who farms near Glastonbury in Somerset. This programme brings together the key moments in Cora's year.
Guest edited by journalist Dame Ann Leslie. Including:
Do we hold America to a higher moral standard than other countries? Our guest editor Ann Leslie thinks Britain is anti-American, we say nothing when arabs kill other arabs, but we heap criticism on the United States if it is responsible for any deaths. She suggests it is a form of racism. Jonathan Freedland writes for the Guardian and New York Times and has written about our mismatched attitudes. Lindsey German is convenor of the Stop the War Coalition and co-author of A People's History of London.
We heard overnight who made it on to the New Year's Honours List - the cyclist Bradley Wiggins and sailor Ben Ainslie both knighted, the Paralympian Sarah Storey made a dame. Sports men and women dominate the list. But there are also ordinary people who have dedicated their lives to good causes; for instance, people like Mandy Painter who has been awarded the British Empire Medal for services to seriously ill children.
Is the modern obsession with celebrity really such a new cultural phenomenon? Our guest editor this morning, Dame Ann Leslie, suspects not. We brought her together with the historian Bettany Hughes, who specialises in classical history, and the novelist and historian Stella Tillyard, a specialist in 18th Century British history. Stella began by explaining there may be nothing original under the sun.
As a veteran foreign correspondent, our guest editor this morning Dame Ann Leslie says she has always been moved by the unselfish courage and stoicism of ordinary people she's witnessed all over the world. Their leaders however - whether elected or not - are quite a different matter. Dame Ann Leslie presents her view.
Aggie MacKenzie; Ralph McTell; The Archers; Russell Grant's Inheritance Tracks
John McCarthy and Suzy Klein with journalist and broadcaster Aggie MacKenzie, Martin Green who was Head of Ceremonies at the 2012 Olympics and Andrew Parker who was 'the human bridge' during the Zeebrugge ferry disaster. Felicity Finch reveals the Secret Life of the Archers, poet Luke Wright offers a festive rhyme, travel writer Adrian Mourby describes Kosice, one of the 2013 European Capitals of Culture, singer Ralph McTell takes us by the hand and leads us through the streets of London, and celebrity astrologer Russell Grant shares his Inheritance Tracks
We tend to think of William Shakespeare as wholly British - but Stratford's greatest son has a rival fan club abroad. His plays have now been translated into over 90 languages and the first of these languages was German.
There are records of touring productions of German adaptations of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet as early as the first decade of the 17th century. But it was in the 18th century that Shakespeare's influence on German culture really took hold. Goethe proclaimed to a group of friends in a lecture in celebration of Shakespeare given in Frankfurt in 1771: "Once I had read an entire play, I stood there like a blind man given the gift of sight by some miraculous healing touch."
Twenty-two of Shakespeare's plays had already appeared in German prose translation by 1766. The world's first academic Shakespeare society was founded in Weimar in 1864 and continues to hold an annual Shakespeare conference. A Shakespeare statue was erected in Weimar in 1904 and seems as at home there as the statues of Wieland, Goethe and Schiller. Germany has an almost obsessive fascination with the bard, exemplified perhaps by the Ferdinand Freiligrath poem of 1844 that opens: "Deutschland ist Hamlet".
There are now more productions of Shakespeare's plays in Germany every year than in England.
Patrick Spottiswoode, Director of Education at Shakespeare's Globe, explores Germany's intense relationship with Shakespeare, using archive and recorded performances from celebrated German actors.
Digital technology has given us a new realm to operate in, but is the border between the real and the virtual becoming increasingly blurred? And what's the role of maths in helping us to make sense of things, both real and virtual?
In this episode of the ideas discussion programme, Bridget Kendall brings together three people whose work takes them close to the dividing line of the tangible and intangible worlds. From Jerusalem, the Israeli digital innovator Eyal Gever uses 3D imaging software to create stunning models of simulated catastrophes, from Boston the American professor Robert Kaplan explores the way that maths gives expression to virtual ideas, and in the studio the British ceramicist Edmund de Waal describes his love of hand-crafted, physical objects and how they connect people through time.
As the year draws to an end, Kate Adie presents a feast of highlights from correspondents' despatches across 2012.
Fuschia Dunlop is in Shanghai, dancing through the city's glamorous past.
Lucy Ash is challenged by a call of nature in Russia's Siberian wilderness.
Kate McGowan decides against boiled duck foetus for breakfast in Manila.
Allan Little uncovers the great egg crisis in the Falkland Islands.
Emma Jane Kirby is feeling distinctly underdressed as she takes a table in St Tropez.
And Will Grant discovers that Mexico's 'Day of the Dead' is a suprisingly uplifting experience.
Paul Lewis and his guests look ahead to 2013. What will happen to house prices? Will the retail distribution review really lead to a shake up in the world of paid for financial advice? Will savers have to turn to investing to get a decent rate of return? And will the UK economy grow as much as the Office for Budget Responsibility predicts?
Joining Paul Lewis in the studio will be freelance financial journalist, Cliff D'Arcy; The Telegraph's brand new personal finance editor, Andrew Oxlade; and Vicky Pryce, senior managing director of economics at FTI Consulting. And in Edinburgh we have Moneyweek's editor in chief, Merryn Somerset-Webb.
A compilation of the best bits of The News Quiz from 2012, presented by Sandi Toksvig.
Owen Bennett-Jones is joined by some of the BBC's top correspondents as they give their predictions about what will shape our world next year.
Will the global economy recover? How will the Arab Spring play out across the Middle East - and how will the conflict in Syria be resolved? Will Burma and North Korea continue to come out of the cold? And will a re-elected Barack Obama play a more assertive role in global affairs?
Join Owen and his guests as they gaze into their crystal balls - and he rates their predictions from last year's look ahead.
BBC Radio 4's Listening Project captures intimate, heartfelt encounters between friends and loved ones - the nation in conversation.
In this unique celebration, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra presents a new work by composer Gary Carpenter accompanied by highlights from the series compiled by producer Cathy FitzGerald. Fi Glover hosts the event live from MediaCityUK in Salford, where the BBC Philharmonic will perform in front of a specially invited audience of Listening Project participants.
This dark tale collected by Hans Christian Andersen is reimagined for radio by Frances Byrnes and stars Lizzy Watts as the teenage Karen whose vanity and skittishness compel her to demand a forbidden pair of red shoes. But as she had been warned on countless occasions, the red shoes are so imbued with sin and lasciviousness that they utterly destroy her both spiritually and corporally. In so doing, this version of The Red Shoes shirks none of Anderson's ruthlessness or darkness. Fairytale this may be but its bleak warning against wanton behaviour under threat of a violent and bloody demise, holds nothing back from young and old alike.
Dancer and drummer Guy Schalom hunts out the spirit of the new Egypt in one of its biggest cultural exports. To our ears, Baladi is the music of the bellydancer - kitsch and mock-Arab. But in its true form it is the essence of Egypt, 'of the country', 'home' in the deepest sense.
Our journey begins in Berlin, as bejwelled dancers from across Europe gather on a theatre stage ready to do battle for the title 'Miss Bellydance 2012'. They might not all know it, but the music which accompanies their gyrations is a knot of contradictions: an essence of the east inspired by western musical traditions, the spirit of rural Egypt made urban.
But the deepest contradictions rest with the very people who perform Baladi. What seems to us a provocative, alluring, even licentious dance for women in fact has roots in a ceremonial dance for men. As we discover in Cairo, deep divisions remain between those who think it is a vital expression of the oriental spirit and those committed to regenerating sexual stereotypes. So what is the reality of bellydance and Baladi in the new Egypt? Can it find any place amongst the street rappers and pop artists or is this an artform about to be consigned to realms of the tourist-pleasing clubs and cafes? As with so much in this rapidly changing culture, answers prove difficult to find.
Charlotte Church, Ren Harvieu and other young women who've impressed on Woman's Hour throughout 2012...
Child A, whose evidence led to nine men from Rochdale and Oldham being sent to prison for grooming and sexual abuse of young girls. 17-year-old Amy-Claire Davies who has a life-limiting illness talks about her ambitions and the effects of multiple system disease. Charlotte Church on the Leveson Enquiry and press intrusion on her childhood. Entrepreneur Carrie Green on setting up a business while at university and the occasional loneliness of working alone. Singer Ren Harvieu performs in the Woman's Hour studio - and tells us about the disabling accident that delayed her first album. Jessica Thom on Tourettes and her book Welcome to Biscuit Land. HJ Lim plays the piano; and Ruby Craig explains cosplay.
A panoply of stars joined Clive in the Loose Ends studio this year, so as a special festive treat we've dished up the best of the best in this tasty morsel of a show featuring (deep breath): cricketer-turned-boxer Freddie Flintoff, Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon, Chic's Nile Rogers, Radio 4's very own James Naughtie, Sir David Frost, 2012's golden gal Clare Balding, 2012 Booker nominee Will Self, 2012 Mercury award winners Alt-J and The Poet himself, Bobby Womack with an exclusive solo performance of Across 100th St. And there's even more live music from Mercury award nominees: Lianne La Havas, Field Music, Jess Ware, Django Django and Michael Kiwanuka.
Gravediggers Keith and Hugo (Dicken Ashworth and Freddie Fox) return to contemplate money, and the lack of it, in John Godber's drama 'Dead End'.
Are we in for a triple dip? And what about the fiscal cliff? How to bridge the north/south divide? The conversation takes a philosophical turn as two gravediggers labour with their spades in a graveyard not far from the Humber Bridge.
Hugo may be from Windsor but he has to work through his Christmas break from Hull University to earn enough money to keep him in chicken and pesto bagels. Keith has been grave-digging for years. He's a plain cheese and pickle man and he doesn't think much of the southern softie who's just here for the holidays. But they have more in common than they think.
Background: John Godber is one of the most performed playwrights in English and has won many awards for his work on stage, film and television. He revisits the characters and setting he first created for 'From Fact to Fiction' in February 2012, when the new 'Sun on Sunday' newspaper was about to launch.
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. The form and content are entirely lead by the news topic - an instant reaction to the mood of the moment.
The high-profile series also attracts big names from the acting profession. Philip Glenister, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Samuel West, David Soul, Henry Goodman, Anne-Marie Duff, Alistair McGowan, Robert Bathurst, Stephen Mangan, Ken Cranham, Brendan Coyle, Haydn Gwynne and Sally Hawkins are just some of the names who have featured so far.
In the New Year, Senior Announcer Harriet Cass leaves Radio 4 but before her departure she chooses her favourite moments from BBC Radio in 2012.
Included in her choices are children's voices talking about trout and haircuts, disembodied voices in desperate morse code messages signalling Titanic's end, Yorkshire voices searching for the point where language and accent change, great orator's voices - such as Martin Luther King - and voices telling moving and heart-breaking stories.
Charlie and Alfie's Breakfast Show: Martin Luther King Archive - Radio Newcastle
If there's something you'd like to suggest for next week's programme, please e-mail potw@bbc.co.uk.
Margaret Rutherford was a benign battleaxe, chin wagging like a windsock, famous as Miss Marple, Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit and for her roles in Passport to Pimlico, The Importance of Being Earnest and an Oscar-winning performance in The VIPs. Stephen Fry looks back at the life and work of one of our finest comedy actors and one of Britain's best-loved box office stars.
The comic and dramatic roles Margaret played were as nothing to the astonishing true crime stories that shaped her life and career. Murder was to play a part in her life, beyond the role of Miss Marple. She was also a regular visitor to a young offenders' institution and had a family secret that she never revealed.
The programme includes archive of Margaret herself, film director David Lean, writer Rumer Godden, comedian Frankie Howerd, actor Robert Morley, her husband Stringer Davis, and informally adopted daughter Dawn Langley Simmons. We also hear from Andy Merriman (author of Margaret Rutherford: Dreadnought with Good Manners) and actress Damaris Hayman.
And Stephen talks to one of Margaret's distant relatives. Somewhat surprisingly, it's the Rt.Hon.Tony Benn.
Rose Tremain's dramatisation of Anthony Trollope's enthralling novel stars Pippa Nixon as the beautiful Lizzie Eustace, fighting to retain possession of her magnificent diamond necklace, which she claims was left to her, as a gift, by her late husband Florian.
Her immediate relatives, spurred on by the intransigent family lawyer, Camperdown, argue that the diamonds are an heirloom, and on no account can be retained by her. The dispute colours all Lizzie's subsequent relationships - with her cousin Frank, her new lover Lord Fawn, and her admirer Lord George. As gossip and scandal intensify, Lizzie is driven to increasingly desperate behaviour in an attempt to retain her jewels.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
With its sets and costumes, soliloquies, suspense and dramatic revelations - the courtroom is pure theatre.
Following the return of Rumpole to Radio 4, Clive Anderson and his guests discuss how accurately the legal world is depicted in stage and screen dramas. And they discuss the issues which arise when the distinctions between fiction and fact - between Rumpole and reality - become blurred in the public's mind.
Guests Helena Kennedy QC, appeal court judge Sir Alan Moses, German judge Ruth Herz and former barrister and co-creator of Garrow's Law, Mark Pallis, reflect on 50 years of fictional courtroom dramas - from To Kill a Mockingbird to Silk, and ask if lawyers can learn things from the actors who portray them.
Does the way courtroom dramas introduce dramatic last minute evidence, show defendants crumbling under cross-examination and defence barristers reducing juries to tears, even remotely reflect the real world? Are judges really as out of touch, and lawyers as pompous and greedy as their screen counterparts? And does it really matter if screenwriters fail to stick to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Award-winning producers of comedy, drama, factual and entertainment programming.
Which writer's first published novel, 'Jumping The Queue' appeared when she was aged 70? And in a special televised ceremony at the end of 1999, who was named Sports Personality of the 20th Century?
Russell Davies chairs the latest heat of the longest-running general knowledge quiz on British radio, this week from the BBC's Maida Vale studios. Competitors from Swindon, Reading, London and Petersfield in Hampshire try for a place in the 2013 semi-finals.
As always, there's a chance for a listener to 'Beat the Brains' by devising questions that may outwit all four contestants.
Roger McGough presents a varied, warm, yet slush-free selection of Christmas poetry requests.
A moving poem called The Shepherd by Edward Kaulfuss will strike a chord with anyone who has felt estranged at a Christmas gathering. T.S. Eliot's 'The Journey of The Magi' with its complexities and doubt features alongside other classics like Hardy's ever hopeful poem The Oxen (it wouldn't be Christmas without it, after all) and Laurie Lee's Christmas Landscape. Another thoughtful nativity poem comes from a poet perhaps better known for her caustic wit; Dorothy Parker.
There are some nostalgic poems from Ireland, including Patrick Kavanagh's poem 'A Christmas Childhood' where the six year old Kavanagh saw the magic in the mundane ("my child poet picked out the letters/On the grey stone/In silver the wonder of a Christmas townland") as his father's melodeon called out to his neighbours. John Montague's poem The Silver Flask marks the brief reunion of a family dispersed from County Tyrone to Brooklyn, where Montague himself was born.
Coventry Patmore's poem The Toys might just move the hardest cynic heart to tears, whilst Hugh MacMillan's 'Saturday Afternoon at the Grotto' injects a healthy sense of Glaswegian realism.
The readers are John Mackay, Ian McElhinney and Eleanor Tremain.
SUNDAY 30 DECEMBER 2012
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b01pgq6d)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
SUN 00:15 Stephen Fry on the Phone (b017cjmn)
Shrinking the Handset
Stephen Fry traces the evolution of the mobile phone, from hefty executive bricks that required a separate briefcase to carry the battery to the smart little devices complete with personal assistant we have today.
There are more mobile phones in the world than there are people on the planet: Stephen Fry talks to the backroom boys who made it all possible and hears how the technology succeeded, in ways that the geeks had not necessarily intended.
In the fourth episode, Stephen Fry talk to the engineers who turned mobile phones from hefty executive bricks into svelte fashion accessories. One man at Motorola dreamt of a mobile phone small enough to fit in a shirt pocket but it was Nokia , once more famous for making loo paper and wellies, that cornered the global market. In the early nineties, Nokia was on the brink of collapse. But the new chief executive, brought in to save the company from bankruptcy, made a bold decision to ditch the wellies and focus solely on mobile phones. Soon the iconic Nokia ringtone (extracted incidentally from a piece for classical guitar composed in 1902) was inescapable.
Producer: Anna Buckley.
SUN 00:30 Afternoon Reading (b011j8zn)
Sylvia Townsend Warner - Winter in the Air and Other Stories
Winter in the Air
Winter in the Air is the title story from Sylvia Townsend Warner's recently republished collection in which a woman reflects on the final and difficult days of her marriage. At the same time she looks ahead to her new life in her solitary flat in 1950s London.
The stories in this collection were written between 1938 and 1950. They capture the mood and atmosphere of the times, and the lot of women in mid twentieth century England. Sylvia Townsend Warner is less well known today, but in her time was a prolific writer of novels, short stories and poetry. She also wrote a biography of T.H. White. These stories illustrate her talent for sharp, insightful, and vivid storytelling.
The reader is Susannah Harker
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01pgq6g)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01pgq6j)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01pgq6l)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b01pgq6n)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b01pgqcc)
The bells of St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
SUN 05:45 Four Thought (b01pg54z)
Series 3
Tom Armitage: The Coded World
Designer and technologist Tom Armitage argues that learning to write computer code means learning to think in a modern way, and that it should spur creativity: the possibility of doing entirely new things.
Four Thought is a series of talks which combine thought provoking ideas and engaging storytelling. Recorded live in front of an audience, speakers air their latest thinking on the trends, ideas, interests and passions that affect our culture and society.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b01pgq6q)
The latest national and international news.
SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b01ph59q)
Letting Go
Mark Tully asks when it is right to relinquish our dreams and how best to leave grief behind? From sporting defeat to the loss of a loved one, this programme looks at the benefits of knowing when to let go, and the consequences of not doing so.
Readings explore the notion of letting go of worldly successes and status symbols in preparation for retirement; the pain of bereavement as the gradual process of forgetting begins; a Hindu tradition of renouncing material possessions and family connections before death; and the joy of finally accepting defeat.
Music featured in the programme includes an excerpt from an opera unfinished by Claude Debussy which he finally let go of by pretending to have burned the score.
And in poetry, Naomi Shihab Nye suggests that if we don't lose things - let them go - we will never, "learn the tender gravity of kindness".
Producer: Adam Fowler
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b01ph59s)
Farming and Space
Caz Graham discovers how farming on planet Earth is increasingly being shaped by outer space.
For On Your Farm, Caz visits Julian Gold, who farms on the Hendred Estate in Oxfordshire in the shadow of the Harwell Campus, a centre for UK space research. Julian uses space technology in several ways on his farm, including using precision-guided tractors that steer themselves. Fifty-five years since the first satellite was launched into space, about six per cent of the UK economy is dependent on satellite technology and this figure is rising.
With the aid of Dr Hugh Mortimer, a space scientist from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and Stuart Martin, Vice Chair of UKspace, Caz peers into a high-tech future for agriculture involving invisible hedgerows, low-flying model aircraft and scanning for plant diseases from far, far above.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Rich Ward.
SUN 06:57 Weather (b01pgq6s)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b01pgq6v)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 07:10 Sunday (b01ph59v)
The year 2013 will see both a new Archbishop of Canterbury and a new Chief Rabbi installed in office. In this special edition of 'Sunday' on religious leadership - Rev Jesse Jackson reflects on Dr Martin Luther King, Jr's speech 'I have a dream' 50 years on. Edward Stourton talks to Rabbi Mirvis, who has been appointed the new Chief Rabbi, about his hopes and challenges ahead. John Laurenson reports on Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to speak publically about her faith - but was this a wise move? Edward Stourton talks to Mark Littlewood, Director General of the Institute for Economic Affairs and former head of Media for the Liberal Democrats, about the relationship between faith and political leaders. And what personality type makes the best religious leader? Imam Ajmal Masroor, Rabbi Laura janner Klausner and Bishop Robert Paterson take the abridged Myers Briggs personality test to see if they have what it takes to be a good religious leader.
SUN 07:55 Radio 4 Appeal (b01ph59x)
SolarAid
Ian McEwan presents the Radio 4 Appeal for SolarAid
Reg Charity:1115960
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope SolarAid.
SUN 07:57 Weather (b01pgq6x)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b01pgq6z)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b01ph59z)
Looking forward to Hogmanay and the turn of the year, Kevin Franz, Mental Health Chaplain and member of the Society of Friends, and the Revd Alison Jack of New College, Edinburgh, explore the meaning of hospitality.
With the Choir of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow, directed by Frikki Walker. Organist: Mark Browne.
Readings: Genesis 18: 1-8, Luke 10: 38-42.
Music:
Let us build a house (Two Oaks)
In the bleak midwinter (Darke)
While shepherds watched (Owain Park)
Christ has no body (David Ogden)
I heard the voice of Jesus say (Rowan Tree)
Of the father's love begotten (Corde Natus)
Producer: Mo McCullough.
SUN 08:50 A Point of View (b01pglsb)
Will Self: The British Vomitorium
"Are you full yet? Stuffed? Fit to burst?" asks Will Self as he appeals to the post-Christmas glutton to consider a major lifestyle change in the year ahead.
"What I think we should all do", he says, "is throw up our very obsession with food itself, and enter the New Year purged".
He takes us on a tour of foodie history, and explores how we've gone from being a culinary backwater to "the most food-obsessed nation in Europe - if not the world".
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b01ph5b1)
News and conversation about the big stories of the week with Paddy O'Connell.
SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b01ph5b3)
See daily episodes for detailed synopsis
Writer ..... Joanna Toye
Director ..... Rosemary Watts
Editor ..... Vanessa Whitburn
Jill Archer ..... Patricia Greene
Kenton Archer ..... Richard Attlee
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ..... Felicity Finch
Elizabeth Pargetter ..... Alison Dowling
Matt Crawford ..... Kim Durham
Lilian Bellamy ..... Sunny Ormonde
Peggy Woolley ..... June Spencer
Fallon Rogers ..... Joanna Van Kampen
Emma Grundy ..... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Edward Grundy ..... Barry Farrimond
Neil Carter ..... Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter ..... Charlotte Martin
Alice Carter ..... Hollie Chapman
Mike Tucker ..... Terry Molloy
Vicky Tucker ..... Rachel Atkins
Robert Snell ..... Graham Blockey
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Kirsty Miller ..... Annabelle Dowler
Jazzer Mccreary ..... Ryan Kelly
Jim Lloyd ..... John Rowe
Paul Morgan ..... Michael Fenton Stevens
Rhys Williams ..... Scott Arthur.
SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b01ph5b5)
Anya Hindmarch
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the designer and businesswoman, Anya Hindmarch.
Given her first handbag by her mother at 16, she knew that her future lay in fashion. At 18 she went to Florence to immerse herself in Italian style, and ended up deep in the world of Florentine leather, getting samples made up of a duffel bag she'd spotted. An initial run of 500 bags sold out. Fast forward 25 years and her eponymous fashion business is globally successful with her designs much sought after.
She's also known for her conscience and designed a canvas tote called "I'm not a plastic bag" as part of an environmental campaign to highlight our over use of plastic bags.
She combines all this with a hectic family life. She met and subsequently married a widower 12 years her senior when she was 25. He had 3 children aged under 5 and they've added a further two to the clan.
She says her life is like "juggling and dancing while having one arm and one eye at the same time".
Producer: Alison Hughes.
SUN 12:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b01pfv8y)
Christmas Special
In celebration of its 40th Anniversary this year, Radio 4's perennial antidote to panel games presents a specially extended Christmas edition of the show. Programme regulars Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Stephen Fry, with Jack Dee as the programme's reluctant chairman. Regular listeners will know to expect inspired nonsense, pointless revelry and Colin Sell at the piano. Producer - Jon Naismith.
SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b01ph7f0)
The cocktail, old and new
Dan Saladino explores the cocktail, a story which begins with 18th century Indian punch and keeps on evolving with new wave flavours being developed in the bars of New York , London, Bristol and Manchester.
After years of being out of fashion and misunderstood, the cocktail is making a comeback. Drinks that had been forgotten for decades, like the Sidecar, the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan have returned as a new generation is discovering the pleasures of a cold, expertly mixed drink.
Cocktail expert Nick Strangeway explains that the renaissance is largely down to drinks "following on the coat tails" of wider changes in food in Britain. Meanwhile, television programmes like Sex in the City and Mad Men have excited the imagination of a generation less familiar with the Martini and Bloody Mary.
Joe Carlin, author of Cocktails: A Global History provides some insights into why the cocktail became so successful in 19th century America and why it still endures to this day.
SUN 12:57 Weather (b01pgq71)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b01ph7f2)
Have Britain's Paralympians been snubbed in the New Year Honours?
The former Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe thinks so, and tells us an opportunity has been missed by creating the impression disabled athletes have to work much harder to get recognition. But the Paralympic equestrian Sophie Christiansen -- triple gold and now OBE, disagrees -- to get a gong you need to do more than simply win medals.
Plus a flavour of the political year ahead from Sir Menzies Campbell, Lord Howard and Lord Hattersley.
And with 2013 a centenary year for Benjamin Britten, Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner, we ask Who is the Greatest?
SUN 13:30 Hardeep's Sunday Lunch (b01ph7f4)
Series 1
Episode 6
In the heart of the Hertfordshire countryside live snow leopards, pumas, amur leopards, ocelot and jaguar. For Hardeep Singh Kohli's last Sunday lunch this week he visits the Cat Survival Trust and with the help of its Director, Terry Moore he cooks lunch for some of the volunteers who work for the charity for free. Whilst preparing his fish pie he finds out why Terry Moore set up his charity over 30 years ago and hears some of the incredible stories about the cats and their keepers.
Producer: Amanda Hancox.
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b01pgll5)
Newcastleton, Scotland
Eric Robson and the team are in Newcastleton in Scotland for the final GQT of 2012. Bob Flowerdew, Matt Biggs and Anne Swithinbank join Eric as this week's GQT panel.
Produced by Howard Shannon
A Somethin' Else Production for BBC Radio 4.
Overflow and notes:
Q. I have a north-facing concrete garden, in the constant shade of my house. What can an armchair gardener do with this garden?
A. Get a greenhouse and also consider building some raised beds from railway sleepers. Small trees could be planted in large containers, and walkways covered in bark or gravel to hide the rest of the concrete pad.
Q. When and how hard should a Hydrangea Hortensia be pruned to encourage it back to life after being cut down to ground level?
A. Leave the thicket of stems that have grown back until they are ready to flower, then after flowering some of the stems can be thinned out. Leave the flower heads on the plant to protect developing buds below.
Q. What is the best way to move my clump of Common Dog Violets from a gravel bed when I undertake re-landscaping next spring?
A. Divide the clump into smaller pieces in the spring and replant into trays of potting compost before planting out again into multiple clumps.
Q. How does the panel recommend making the most of cold frames attached to a greenhouse?
A. Cold frames are good for over-wintering almost-hardy plants that will overheat in the greenhouse. Potted-out Strawberry plants can be kept in the cold frame and insulated space blankets can be laid over the frames to keep Fuschias and Pelargoniums through the winter. Seeds that need a cold period, such as some trees, shubs and herbaceous plants, can be put in a cold frame to break their dormancy.
Q. How do I look after my large Mock Orange (Philadelphus) bush? Last year I pruned them and this year they did not blossom.
A. These should be pruned directly after flowering but will not respond well to being shaped in general. To reduce the plant in size whilst maintaining its flowering, thin out the shoots annually. Philadelphus Microcarpam is a recommended smaller variety of Philadelphus.
Q. Against the odds a vine has survived after the destruction of its greenhouse home. How can we encourage it to fruit?
A. Prune back very hard to remove last year's growth. Leave two or three shoots on each shoot and remove again any shoots that do not develop flower trusses on them. When berries develop, remove intermittent bunches to encourage the vine to ripen sooner and shorten the shoots again to concentrate growth.
Q. Would Myrtle grow in the Scottish Borders?
A. Temperatures below -8 or -9 degrees will harm a Myrtle. They can be grown in a conservatory or greenhouse, or in pots that you can move inside in the winter.
Q. Will a tree grown from a plum stone bear fruit and if so, when? It is currently about 18in tall.
A. This needs to be planted out, as plums are not happy in pots. It probably will bear fruit, though in its original form.
Q. How do you garden when you only get 7 hours of sunshine in the whole month of July?
A. Jerusalem Artichokes, Celeriac, runner beans and even roses did OK this year despite the wet weather. A greenhouse will make your life easier as a gardener, as will a helmet with a torch on top!
________________________________________________________________
PRODUCER
name: Howard Shannon
Produced by Howard Shannon
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b01ph7f7)
Sunday Edition
Fi Glover features conversations requested by listeners in the Sunday Edition of Radio 4's series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Many of the long conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
SUN 15:00 Classic Serial (b01ph7fc)
The Eustace Diamonds
Episode 2
Rose Tremain's dramatisation of Anthony Trollope's The Eustace Diamonds stars Pippa Nixon as the beautiful Lizzie Eustace, fighting to retain possession of her magnificent diamond necklace, which she claims was left to her as a gift by her late husband Florian.
Her immediate relatives, spurred on by the intransigent family lawyer, Camperdown, argue that the diamonds are an heirloom and on no account can be retained by her. The dispute colours all Lizzie's subsequent relationships - with her cousin Frank, her new lover Lord Fawn, and her admirer Lord George. As gossip and scandal intensify, Lizzie is driven to increasingly desperate behaviour in an attempt to retain her jewels.
Harpist: Cecilia De Maria
Cellist: Alison Baldwin
Original Music: Lucinda Mason Brown
Produced and directed by Gordon House
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 16:00 Open Book (b01ph7ff)
Literary trends of 2012
Mariella Frostrup is joined by authors James Runcie and Naomi Alderman and the editor of The Bookseller Philip Jones to discuss the literary trends of 2012. Themes include EL James's 50 Shades of Grey and the rise of the bonkbusters, Hilary Mantel's historic second winning of the Man Booker Prize and what that means for historical fiction, and how self-publishing is helping to change what and how people read
Producer: Andrea Kidd.
SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (b01ph7fh)
Roger McGough presents a diverse selection of listeners' poetry requests on the theme of time. The readers are Ian McElhinney and John Mackay.
Pianos, mountains, train stations and even coffee provide the inspiration for poems on the theme of time. There's a dystopian vision of earth in the future in a poem by Sheenagh Pugh. Thomas Hardy wonders what people may say of him when he's gone in 'Afterwards', whilst Cecil Day Lewis's meditation on New Year's Eve urges us to cherish the 'dying, but never dead' state of now.
There's a rarely heard piece of archive of the poet Tony Harrison reading his poem Old Soldiers which was inspired by his childhood memory of a repeating image on a coffee label that seemed to stretch to infinity. Jackie Kay also reads her own work in a moving dialect poem about an old friendship.
Other poets reading their own work include two winners of the recent Gardeners' World Magazine's Poetry Competition.
There are also a few significant pauses at train stations with poems by John Montague and Tomas Tranströmer. John Dryden's speech 'When I Consider Life' is a glorious rant, and Tennyson roars to the world in this poem 'I Stood on a Tower in the Wet.'
Producer: Sarah Langan.
SUN 17:00 The Left to Die Boat (b01pnn8d)
In March 2011, 72 African migrants were forced onto an inflatable boat by Libyan soldiers in Tripoli. They were desperate to escape the fighting in Libya and hoping for a new life in Europe. Their boat headed for the small Italian island of Lampedusa, only 18 hours away across the Mediterranean.
There was a NATO naval blockade of Libya at the time and the area was full of military ships and aircraft. Yet, despite a number of sightings, the boat was never rescued.
Fifteen days later it washed up back on Libya's coast with only 11 survivors on board - two more died soon after.
In this documentary the survivors tell their story to producer Sharon Davis and she investigates how it was that these people were left to die in a boat in one of the most heavily-monitored seas on earth.
Producers - Sharon Davis and Geoff Parish.
SUN 17:40 From Fact to Fiction (b01pgq31)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b01pgq73)
The latest shipping forecast.
SUN 17:57 Weather (b01pgq75)
The latest weather forecast.
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01pgq77)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b01ph7fp)
Liz Barclay makes her selection from the past seven days of BBC Radio.
We wave a fond farewell to 2012 (and get 2013 off to a great start) with some of the Radio highlights of the past week - what we really think of those Round Robins telling us how successful friends have been, how Art Garfunkel bridged his troubled waters with a little prayer and how Just William tackled the other William - Shakespeare. Music and merriment, fun and frivolity, Great Lives past and present - with a host of well known voices - but not all as they first appear.
With Great Pleasure at Christmas - Radio 4
Ed Readon at Christmas - Radio 4
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue - Radio 4
Johnnie Walker meets Art Garfunkel - Radio 2
Mike Yarwood, So This is Him - Radio 2
15 Minute Musical - Radio 4
Mark Steel's in Town - Radio 4
And No Birds Sing - Radio 4
Murals: A Bowl of Cherries - Radio 4
World Routes - Radio 3
Bellydancing and the Blues - Radio 4
Great Lives - Radio 4
Andy Murray History Boy - Radio 5 Live
Just William Live - Radio 4
If there's something you'd like to suggest for next week's programme, please e-mail potw@bbc.co.uk.
SUN 19:00 The Archers (b01ph7lh)
Chris to spend the day with her instead. When Jim turns up they discuss the success of the Christmas show. Jim believes that Lynda was in on Kenton's audience participation ruse.
The interview proceeds, although Chris is not overly impressed with the pictures. Jim is particularly excited when Chris points out the mjolnir (Norse hammer) that Chris made. They then discuss the financial implications of Chris' entrepreneurship, ending in an unfortunate joke at Alice's expense!
Jazzer thinks Tom should attend Bob Pullen's funeral on Friday. He was a village character after all. Alice can't get time off work but Brenda will try to go. They suggest Jazzer should give a reprise of his bawdy song The Friar and The Nun but Jazzer insists he can't sing that at a funeral. He'll sing it for money now though.
Chris joins them with news that Clive Horrobin has been arrested. Chris isn't concerned. Which is more than can be said for Tom, when he learns about Chris's interview. Jazzer later mentions this to Jim who seems concerned at Tom's annoyance.
SUN 19:15 Just William - Live! (b01ph83g)
Series 3
Aunt Arabelle in Charge
In 2012, as part of Winchester's Best of British Festival in celebration of the Jubilee, Martin Jarvis performed the second of two of Richmal Crompton's comic classics, live on-stage.
In Aunt Arabelle in Charge, William and his faithful Outlaws (Ginger, Douglas and Henry) encounter a strangely complacent six year old who is staying in the village. This odious child turns out to be the hugely famous Anthony Martin, subject of his mother's best-selling books and poems.
The Outlaws need to redeem themselves in the admittedly short-sighted eyes of Ginger's journalist aunt. She, equally, is desperate to secure an exclusive interview with the child star. It's soon clear that this wonderfully constructed story is a brilliant parody of - who else - A.A. Milne's Christopher Robin.
The packed Winchester audience understood this at once. In Jarvis' inhabitation of both the smug infant and Ginger's aunt, the comedy is unremitting.
Can William sort this out and, incidentally, give the horrific child his just deserts? Blackmail is the answer, of course.
Performed by Martin Jarvis
Director: Rosalind Ayres
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 19:45 Fairy Tales Retold by Sara Maitland (b01phdqk)
Sleeping Beauty Wakes Up
Sara Maitland puts her own spin on the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty. After that kiss, would the lovers really live happily ever after?
Read by Lia Williams.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
SUN 20:00 More or Less (b01pglrw)
Numbers of 2012
A guide to 2012 in numbers - the most informative, interesting and idiosyncratic statistics of the year discussed by More or Less interviewees.
Contributors: Robert Peston, BBC's Business Editor; Dr Pippa Wells, physicist at CERN; Bill Edgar, author of Back of the Net One Hundred Golden Goals; John Rodda, Hydrologist; Gabriella Lebrecht, sports analyst at Decision Technology; Helen Joyce, Brazil correspondent for The Economist; Jack Straw, Member of Parliament for Blackburn; Jil Matheson, the UK's National Statistician; Dr James Grime, from the Millennium Mathematics Project at the University of Cambridge; Gillian Tett, columnist and assistant editor of the Financial Times; David Spiegelhalter, Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk at Cambridge University
Presenter: Tim Harford.
Producer: Charlotte Pritchard.
SUN 20:30 Every Day in Every Way (b01mqq6f)
Positive thinking gurus and hypnotherapists aren't the only ones familiar with the phrase 'Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better.' It's reputation today is that of a trite, rather ineffective 'feel good' relic of yesteryear but the phrase, and the man who conjured it up have a fascinating history.
Writer Gillian Darley explores the work of the Frenchman Emile Coué who, though a mere pharmacist in his native France, came to be one of the best known figures of the post First World War world. His visits to England and America were preceeded by record sales of his books which encouraged advocates in the ways of auto-suggestion.
The scientific community are dismissive of his place in the development of psychiatric thinking and development and Gillian Darley reveals reports of one event in which he caused chaos amongst a group of shell-shocked soldiers during a 1922 visit to England. But there are others who say that the 'Every day, in every way' phrase, borrowed to comic effect by Frank Spencer amongst others, was in fact the work of a genuine pioneer in cognitive therapy.
Using contemporary eye-witness reports and newspaper coverage of his travels, Gillian Darley reveals a character who might well merit a more measured response from those writing the popular, as well as the academic history of 20th century medicine.
Meanwhile in France, a recent conference being held in his old base in Nancy shows that there is a new interest in the Coué method, ensuring that 'Every Day, in Every way' his reputation is, at the very least changing.
Producer: Tom Alban
(Repeat).
SUN 21:00 Money Box (b01pgnbr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:00 on Saturday]
SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b01ph59x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 today]
SUN 21:30 In Business (b01pgh6t)
The Business of Kindness
Random acts of kindness can help businesses grow in surprising ways. Peter Day talks with one woman who explains how the generosity of others has made all the difference to her company. Henrietta Lovell, the Rare Tea Lady, started her firm just before becoming seriously ill. Through the kindness of strangers she has managed to return to health and run a prosperous company. She is now a great advocate for spreading the idea that kind gestures are an important force in the way we conduct our personal and professional lives.
SUN 22:00 News Review of the Year (b01phdqp)
2012
A look back at the defining events over the past twelve months with Paddy O'Connell. There has been much to celebrate, despite Britain's economic woes. 2012 will undoubtedly be remembered for the great success of the London Olympic Games with team GB surpassing expectations. Cyclist Bradley Wiggins was among the 29 gold medal winners, having already become the first Briton to win the Tour de France. Clare Balding is on hand to give her own perspective on the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
On the international stage, there were victories for President Obama, returned for a second term in the United States, and for Francois Hollande in France, who defeated President Nicolas Sarkozy. Vladimir Putin returned for a third term as Russian president and Xi Jinping was confirmed as the man who will lead China for the next ten years. Meanwhile, the situation in Syria steadily got worse, claiming countless lives, including the celebrated journalist Marie Colvin, who was in the city of Homs to report the story.
The economy continues to cause concern in Britain and around the world. The BBC's Business Editor Robert Peston helps to make sense of it all and predicts what he thinks will happen to the Eurozone. Benefit claimants felt the squeeze and big multinationals like Starbucks, Amazon and Google came under attack over the amount of corporation tax they pay in the UK. Meanwhile, parts of the country suffered their most severe drought since 1976, followed by some of the worst floods people had ever seen.
The Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of the press took evidence from nearly 400 people representing 120 different organisations. And the BBC found itself in crisis over the sexual abuse carried out by the former disc jockey Jimmy Saville and a completely false allegation levelled at the Tory peer Lord McAlpine. The corporation is now minus one director general and about to inherit another.
Producer: Mark Savage.
SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b01pgh5v)
The Unfilmable Books That Have Made It to the Big Screen
In a special edition, Francine Stock and guests discuss difficult books adapted for the big screen. Deepa Mehta talks Midnight's Children, Ang Lee reveals the challenges of making Life of Pi, and Walter Salles discusses On the Road. Meanwhile, Sir Christopher Frayling, critic Tim Robey, and screenwriter Tony Grisoni look back over the years at cinema's attempts at realising 'unfilmable' books.
Producer: Craig Smith.
SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b01ph59q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:05 today]
MONDAY 31 DECEMBER 2012
MON 00:00 Midnight News (b01phds6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b01pg54j)
Intoxication
Intoxication - In a special programme, Laurie Taylor explores the role and meaning of both alcohol and drugs in human life. Why do so many people chose to alter their consciousness with stimulants, whether legal or illicit? Professor James Mills, the author of 'Cannabis Nation..' is joined by Professor Fiona Measham and Professor Chris Hackley.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b01pgqcc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01phds8)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01phdsb)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01phdsd)
The latest shipping forecast.
MON 05:30 News Briefing (b01phdsg)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01px5vf)
Presented by the Very Rev Graham Forbes, Provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (b01phf2c)
Charlotte Smith takes a look back at one of the most controversial issues of 2012 - the cancellation of the badger cull designed to reduce TB in cattle.
Around 27,000 cattle were culled between January and September alone due to bovine TB - the disease costs tax payers around £100 million each year. Badgers are accused of spreading the disease and a trial cull was controversially given the go ahead in two areas of England.
A bitter battle ensued between farmers, politicians and animal rights activists, with Queen guitarist and vice chair of the RSPCA Brian May emerging as one of the policy's leading opponents.
However, the culls were called off, with blame falling on the weather, the Olympics and - crucially - an underestimation of UK badger numbers. The government and farmers say that the cull will take place in 2013.
President of the National Farmers' Union Peter Kendall, Vice President of the Badger Trust Jack Reedy and Gloucestershire farmer Jan Rowe join Charlotte to discuss the issue.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Polly Procter.
MON 05:57 Weather (b01phdsj)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
MON 06:00 Today (b01phf2f)
Morning news and current affairs with James Naughtie and Sarah Montague. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 The Value of Culture (b01phf4c)
Culture and Anarchy
Melvyn Bragg presents the first in a series of programmes examining the idea of culture and its evolution over the last 150 years. In 1869 the poet and critic Matthew Arnold published Culture and Anarchy, a series of essays in which he argued passionately that culture - 'the best which has been thought and said' - was a powerful force for good. In this first programme Melvyn Bragg visits the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, where Arnold first unveiled his ideas on the subject, and discovers how Arnold's ideas were refined and rejected by later thinkers.
Producer: Thomas Morris.
MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b01phf4f)
Wild
Episode 1
Cheryl Strayed's redemptive account of hiking 1100 miles alone through America's rugged western landscape. At twenty-six Cheryl Strayed thought she'd lost everything after her mother died, and her marriage crumbled. With no previous experience of backpacking, she made the impulsive decision to rebuild her life by setting out on an incredible journey along America's Pacific Crest Trail. Beginning in California's Mojave Desert and ending at the Bridge of the Gods, marking the border between Oregon and Washington State, Strayed's story captures the physical, mental and emotional highs and lows of her experience.
Cheryl Strayed is a novelist, essayist and short story writer. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
Reader: Kelly Burke
Abridger: Miranda Davies
Producer: Elizabeth Allard.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01phf4h)
Campaigning Women
Woman's Hour looks back at campaigns led by women in 2012. Among guests this year, we hear from Stephen Lawrence's mother Doreen about waiting almost 19 years to see her son's killers convicted of his murder. From mothers against violence in Northern Ireland to Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan, we ask what it takes to lead a campaign. With studio guests Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder and director of the charity Kids Company, and Laura Bates from The Every Day Sexism project, an online campaign.
Presented by Jane Garvey
Producer Steven Williams.
MON 10:45 The Cazalets (b01phf4k)
The Light Years
Episode 1
by Elizabeth Jane Howard, dramatised by Sarah Daniels
Produced and Directed by Sally Avens and Marion Nancarrow.
As the Cazalet family gather for their annual summer holiday the onset of war is about to change everything.
In the hot summer of 1938, Home Place in the beautiful Sussex countryside is frantically being opened up and prepared for another Cazalet family holiday, as siblings Hugh, Edward, Rupert and Rachel - and their respective families - are reunited. Rupert is trying not to think about whether he married the beautiful but rather petulant Zoe too soon after his first wife's death; Hugh and his wife Sybil each try to put the other first, not necessarily to their mutual advantage; Edward is mulling on how he might be able to get away from his wife, Villy, to spend time with his mistress and Rachel is trying to find a private place to read her letter in secret. But the wider world is about to intrude on their lives forever and each is increasingly to wonder what their future may hold - for themselves and their children.
'The Light Years' is the first of four compelling Cazalet novels by Elizabeth Jane Howard, which together give a vivid insight into the lives, hopes and loves of three generations.
As Elizabeth Jane Howard approaches her 90th Birthday, Radio 4 is dramatising all four novels in 45 episodes, to be broadcast between New Year's Eve and July 2013.
When Elizabeth Jane Howard began writing the first of her four novels featuring the Cazalet family, her aims were simple: . "I wanted to write about my youth, and the ten years that straddled the Second World War. I also wanted to write about what domestic life was like for people at home. A lot has been written about the battles and the war in a more direct sense, but little had been said about the way the whole of England changed. When the war ended, everybody was in a different position from where they were when it started."
Two decades later, Howard's quartet of books -- The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion and Casting Off - charting the family's fortunes between 1937 and 1947 have sold over a million copies.
Martin Amis said of Elizabeth Jane Howard, "She is, with Iris Murdoch, the most interesting woman writer of her generation. An instinctivist, like Muriel Spark, she has a freakish and poetic eye, and a penetrating sanity."
The cast includes: Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Pip Torrens (Silk, Green Wing),
Lisa Dillon (The Knot of The Heart, Cranford), Ruth Gemmell (Fever Pitch, Moving On), Zoe Tapper (Mr Selfridge, Despearte Romantics), Raymond Coulthard (Emma, The English Patient), Dominic Mafham (Our Mutal Friend, Journey's End), Sarah-Jane Holm (A Bit of A Do, My Family and Other Animals), Naomi Frederick (As You Like It, The Trial of Tony Blair), Helen Schlesinger (The Way We Live Now, 24 Hour Party People) Alix Wilton Regan (King Lear, The Symmetry of Love) Flora Spencer-Longhurst (Leonardo, Father Brown), Georgia Groome (Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging)
The dramatists are Sarah Daniels and Lin Coghlan. Sarah is a highly respected theatre, television and radio writer; her play 'Masterpieces' was voted one of the most important of the 20th Century by the National Theatre. Lin Coghlan has written for stage, screen and radio; her recent dramatisations for Radio 4 include 'Ethan Frome' and 'Les Miserables'.
"Marking Time" follows in February.
MON 11:00 The Hobbit, the Musical (b01ld15z)
Actor Billy Boyd, who played a hobbit in the films of The Lord Of The Rings, narrates the story of the first ever stage production of J.R.R.Tolkien's The Hobbit, at New College School in Oxford in 1967. It was written by Humphrey Carpenter, with music by composer, Paul Drayton, then Director of Music at the school. We hear from the boys who performed it, who were choristers at the time and who are now renowned in the musical world: Choral conductor Simon Halsey, Martin Pickard Head of Music at Opera North, artist's agent Stephen Lumsden and composer Howard Goodall- who watched his older brother Ashley, now a marketing professional, perform. They talk about their memories and about Tolkien's presence in the audience on the last night.
The present-day Chamber choir at New College School sing some of the original songs, and we also play a never before broadcast recording of the production as it happened in 1967.
Producer: Sara Conkey.
MON 11:30 Enid Blyton - The Magic Faraway Tree (b01phf4m)
Up the Tree Again
Wisha, wisha, wisha.
Playfulness, soundscape and oddity above the rustling leaves of Enid Blyton's Magic Faraway Tree.
In the centre of the Enchanted Wood is the Faraway Tree. Home to Moonface, Silky and Saucepan Man, its upper branches stretch into cloud-hosted dimensions of strange and magical lands.
In this two-part abridged adaptation of Enid Blyton's classic children's tale, BBC Radio 4 swoops voices from the world of entertainment into the mystical lands above.
Featuring Johnny Vegas, as Moonface, Nigel Planer as Saucepan and Lucy Beaumont (Winner of the BBC's New Comedy Awards 2012) as Silky.
Episode 2 of 2: Up The Tree Again
Narrator........................Ronni Ancona
Rick.............................Billy Kennedy
Joe...............................Alex Clarke
Frannie.........................Nell Tiger Free
Beth.............................Tess Fontaine
Moonface......................Johnny Vegas
Silky.............................Lucy Beaumont
Saucepan......................Nigel Planer
Mother...........................Joanna Hall
Mr Changeabout.............Wayne Forester
Additional voices: Joanna Hall and Wayne Forrester
Written by Enid Blyton
Adapted for Radio by Andrew Lynch
Music composed and arranged by Phase Music
Directed by Johnny Vegas
Produced by Sally Harrison
A Woolyback Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:00 You and Yours (b01phf4p)
Has social media made us antisocial? Or has it improved the way we get on?
Call You and Yours: Is social media anti-social? Or has it improved the way we communicate and get on?
You may just have been given a new smartphone or tablet for Christmas - but did using it over the holiday season cause friction? Were you annoyed when the kids carried on messaging their friends during what was supposed to be 'family time'? Or did you slip away to check work emails or vent your frustration online?
According to Ofcom's latest research, the British use smartphones and tablets to access the web more heavily than any of the world's leading economies. 18-to 24-year-olds in the UK are the world's top mobile social networkers, with 62% accessing their profiles on the go.
So how is all this technology changing the way we relate to each other - has it alienated us or allowed us to be closer?
Are the holidays a time to take a break from Facebook or Twitter? Do we need a new family etiquette? Or do you simply welcome the fact that technology allows you to talk to absent family and friends?
03700 100 400 is the phone number to call or you can e-mail via the Radio 4 website or text us on 84844. Join Julian Worricker at four minutes past twelve.
MON 12:57 Weather (b01phdsl)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 13:00 World at One (b01phf4r)
Shaun Ley presents national and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
MON 13:45 Belle de Jour's History of Anon (b01phf7d)
The Importance of Namelessness
A history of anonymity and why writers have sought it, as told by Brooke Magnanti, the real voice behind one of the 21st century's most famous anonymous texts, Belle de Jour's Diary of a London Call Girl. Brooke explores motivations for remaining masked and the lengths the anonymous have gone to in order to remain unnamed. She draws on her own experiences to reveal how the concept of anonymity has changed - and how both writers and readers have dealt with it. From life or death to trivial and bitchy, juggling open disclosure with the withholding of vital information, Brooke shows us that whilst we may not know their names, the anonymous have long shaped our worldview.
In this first programme, Brooke begins her exploration of anonymity. The word itself is derived from the Greek anonymia, "without a name". Writers in antiquity often sought anonymity not as protection, but as a nod to the importance of their subject beyond its author's identity. From The Torah and Old Testament, texts have been composed, refined, and accepted over a period of centuries, the word more important than who said it (beyond the ultimate author, of course). Yet alongside the collectively written, and fabled authors, there were always anonymous texts, and as Brooke discovers, the reasons for that anonymity are complex and varied.
MON 14:00 The Archers (b01ph7lh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Drama (b01phf7g)
Stormchasers
The British have always had a very emotional relationship with the weather, and its climate creates particularly fertile conditions for obsessive weather watching. Though less dramatic than in other countries, Britain nevertheless has its fair share of tornadoes and waterspouts and hurricanes - with attendant fans and followers. For many people, the pursuit of extreme weather phenomena is a matter of scientific, and sometimes personal necessity.
For Ken and Bernard, however, there is only deeply personal necessity, and when, on a muggy afternoon, conditions become perfect for tornado spotting, both men drop everything and set out on a road trip to try and find the 'big one' - hoping that it will go some way to making up for the tragic failures in their lives.
Along the way, a divorce, a kidnapping, and a series of confrontations with mobile catering vans and rival stormchasers mean the trip soon becomes about so much more than the weather, and both men soon realise they are on a life-defining journey through the arterial roads of the midlands.
Stormchasers is a rain-sodden, windswept comedy drama written by Nick Walker.
Written and produced by: Nick Walker
Directed by Paul Warwick
A Top Dog production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (b01phf7j)
(6/17)
Which of Ian Fleming's original James Bond novels is narrated by a female character? And which is the largest lake in Italy? The contestant whose general knowledge is good enough to cope with these questions could be taking another step towards the title of Brain of Britain 2013 - with Russell Davies in the chair.
This week's four contenders come from the West Country and the Home Counties. They're bidding for a semi-final place in this, the sixtieth series of the ever-popular general knowledge contest. As usual, the questions cover every imaginable subject, from literature and music to geography, medicine and science.
There'll also be the customary chance for a Brain of Britain listener to outwit the contestants with some cunning questions of his or her own devising.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b01ph7f0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:32 on Sunday]
MON 16:00 Roger, the Eagle Has Landed (b01phf7l)
DJ and club promoter Roger Eagle was a mentor to many young music fans in Liverpool and Manchester from the early-1960s until his death aged 56, in 1999. In this programme, Mark Radcliffe pieces together his unconventional life. Roger Eagle wasn't local - he came from Oxford and was related to George Bernard Shaw - but his love of blues and jazz brought him to Manchester, on his motorbike, in the late 1950s, where, as one of the first DJ's at the Twisted Wheel Club, he was responsible for booking, befriending and promoting acts like Howling Wolf, Bo Diddley, and Sonny Boy Williamson, on their earliest visits to the UK. Roger's musical knowledge and enthusiasm gained the club enough notoriety to coin the term "Northern Soul" as a description of what was going on there, both musically and as a subculture, by the late 1960s.
But, always wary of musical conservatism, Roger rapidly moved on, to Liverpool, where he co-founded another club, Erics. Here, in the mid 1970s, he helped to develop the talents of new bands like Echo & The Bunnymen, the Teardrop Explodes and Frankie Goes To Hollywood, as well as championing dub reggae and what became known as world music. Roger promoted everything from Louisiana zydeco music to the Clash, and Eric's had a direct influence on the development in Manchester of the Factory club and record label.
Returning to Manchester in the early 1980s Roger discovered a scruffy post-punk band, the Frantic Elevators, whose vocalist, Mick Hucknall, was converted by Roger, and his record collection, into a soul-styled solo singer, subsequently a major pop star. Here also, Roger co-founded yet another influential club, the International, staging early gigs by REM and the Stone Roses. Anyone interested in particular musical styles could get a free informal lecture from Roger, and probably a free mix tape or record as well. These included producer of this programme, Bob Dickinson, who got to know Roger (and wrote his obituary for the Guardian newspaper). Interviews with many other friends of Roger including artist and KLF member Bill Drummond, musicians Jayne Casey, Andy McCluskey of OMD, and C.P. Lee, underground magazine editor Mike Don, manager/ promoter Elliott Rashman, and Bill Sykes,the author of "Sit Down! Listen To This!", a new biography of Roger, who will show what an unsung hero Roger Eagle was and what a fascinating figure he remains.
MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b01phf89)
Apocalyptic
If you get to listen to this programme, it's because the Domesday scenario - according to which the world would end on December 21st - did not happen. The interpretation of the Mayan calendar that arrived at this date was derided by most Mayan scholars, but this hasn't stopped the media camping out in the French village of Bugarach, identified as the only village on earth which was to be spared destruction.
Apocalyptic ideas about the end of the world, as we in the West understand them, have their roots in the Jewish and Christian traditions. The popular imagery - the Mark of the Beast, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Whore of Babylon - feed the imagination of film makers and writers, who draw upon Biblical imagery.
Joining Ernie Rea to discuss the nature and role of apocalyptic ideas on western religion and culture are Dr Philip Alexander, Professor of Post Biblical Jewish Studies at the University of Manchester; Dr Stefan Skrimshire, lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Leeds; and Rev Dr Steve Jeffrey minister of Emmanuel Evangelical Church in North London.
MON 17:00 PM (b01phf8c)
Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01phdsn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 18:15 15 Minute Musical (b01phfmv)
Series 7
Licence to Kil...marnock
Ep 5: Licence to Kil...marnock
Sean Connery is Special Agent Ond, Alex Salm-Ond, in musical espionage pitted against his old foe Dr No Vote, Alistair Darling..
Starring: Richie Webb, Dave Lamb and Pippa Evans
Written by: Richie Webb, Dave Cohen and David Quantick
Music by: Richie Webb
Music Production: Matt Katz
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
Radio 4's 15 Minute Musicals are lovingly crafted treats for the ear. The bitesize yet satisfying musicals take an easily identifiable public figure and give them a West End Musical make-over. The fabricated, sugar-coated story is told in an original, never heard before, musical that will have your toes tapping to the rhythm and shoulders shaking to the laughs.
So, enjoy a West End Musical experience for a fraction of the cost - well, actually for no cost at all.
15 Minute Musicals are beautifully crafted treats for the ear!
MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b01phfmx)
Series 10
Episode 1
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents. Tony Hawks, Ed Byrne, Lucy Porter and Charlie Higson are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as Pies, Worms, Dancing and James Bond.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Producer: Jon Naismith.
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 19:00 The Archers (b01phfmz)
With tonight's Ball on everyone's mind at Lower Loxley, Freddie's mutinous side makes its first appearance of the day, and Lily has to remind her brother to keep in line.
Brenda and Tom learn of Lilian's plans for Whitby after the New Year, but Tom is far more preoccupied with a run-in with Jim, who has lectured Tom about why his 'sausage factory' is not Borsetshire Life material. Tom is outraged.
At the ball, Kirsty tells Tom he's lucky to be in such a strong position both with work and in his relationship with Brenda, his soul mate. Kirsty's not as confident of a long future between her and Ifty
Matt believes he has the most talented dancer on his arm. Lilian is abashed by the attention, and seems to be longing to get away to Whitby as soon as possible.
Ifty is commandeered by Freddie, leaving Kirsty and Elizabeth alone. Elizabeth mournfully mentions Nigel. Elizabeth is further upset as the night continues when Freddie inexplicably goes missing, leaving Ifty to fill Nigel's role in finding him. Elizabeth reflects on how alone she feels without Nigel. Ifty comforts Elizabeth. Nigel would have been proud of her.
MON 19:15 Front Row (b01phfn1)
Julian Fellowes, Rumer and Maureen Lipman in the Front Row Quiz
Mark Lawson turns quizmaster to test the cultural knowledge of two teams in the Front Row Quiz of the Year.
Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and film-maker Asif Kapadia join team captain Natalie Haynes to compete against actress Maureen Lipman and singer Rumer, under the captaincy of crime writer Mark Billingham.
Questions cover a wide range of the year's events, and there's a teasing round of Nordic TV crime drama clips - in their original languages.
Producer Claire Bartleet.
MON 19:45 The Cazalets (b01phf4k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
MON 20:00 Northern Ireland: Who Are We Now? (b01phfn3)
On January 1 2013 Derry~Londonderry begins its year as the first UK City of Culture.
Here William Crawley visits the city and other places in Northern Ireland to reflect on identity in his homeland.
The recent protests following the decision to restrict the flying of the union flag at Belfast City Hall have made identity a talking point. As have the census results - they show 40% of people in Northern Ireland have a British only national identity, 25% an Irish only national identity and 21% a Northern Irish only national identity.
William meets men and women across Northern Ireland to consider whether there are changes in perceptions of identity.
Producer: Claire Burgoyne.
MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b01pg5p2)
Burma
Lucy Ash asks what the explosion in popular protest over a Chinese-backed copper mine says about changes in Burma and asks if this is a test case for the government's commitment to democratic reforms.
Farmers' daughters Aye Net and Thwe Thwe Win have led thousands of villagers in protest against what they say is the unlawful seizure of thousands of acres of land to make way for a $1 billion expansion of a copper mine run by the military and a large Chinese arms manufacturer. They have been thrown in jail and they have been harassed by their own police and military, and yet they have refused to back down.
Their bravery has been celebrated by the poet Ant Maung from the nearest big city Monywa, who wrote: "The struggle made them into iron ladies. . .This is life or death for them - they will defend it at the cost of everything."
Burmese officials and the Chinese company say the Monywa copper mine will create jobs and bring prosperity to one of the poorest and least developed nations in Asia. But the villagers complain about pollution, damage to crops and the loss of fertile land.
A violent crackdown on the protestors was a stark reminder that the country's transition to democracy remains fraught with difficulties. Some suspect the government acted to avoid scaring away foreign investors. Others say the brutal response shows Burma's military leaders are still in charge behind the scenes and that they are not prepared to tolerate any dissent which encroaches on their economic interests.
Meanwhile there is a rising tide of Sinophobia in a country which feels overshadowed by its powerful northern neighbour. How the mine dispute is resolved may provide vital clues about the future of Burma.
Producer: Katharine Hodgson.
MON 21:00 Material World (b01pgh5x)
Unsung heroes of Science
Recorded in front of an audience Quentin Cooper and guests, Kevin Fong, Adam Rutherford, Mark Miodownik, Vivienne Parry and Dallas Campbell, discuss the unsung heroes of science
MON 21:30 The Value of Culture (b01phf4c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:58 Weather (b01phdss)
The latest weather forecast.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b01phfq7)
US Fiscal cliff: is a deal finally emerging?
French economic woes.
A view from Syria.
With Roger Hearing.
MON 22:45 Daphne Du Maurier (b01phfq9)
Frenchman's Creek
Episode 6
Part adventure, part romance, and set in Cornwall, Daphne Du Maurier's novel tells the powerful love story between Lady Dona and the French pirate Aubery.
Episode 6
Lady Dona trades her skirts for the trousers of a cabin boy and sets sail with the Frenchman and his crew, in a daring bid to steal a merchant ship from under the noses of her compatriots.
Read by Adjoa Andoh
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b01pfxj1)
Michael Rosen meets linguists, historians, students and sequence dancers to find out why the giving and receiving of compliments can be a complex and dangerous business. He meets language students in Cheltenham and sequence dancers in North London, who each have very different responses to people saying nice things to them. He talks to a personal development tutor and an etiquette coach about the do's and dont's of positive feedback. And he talks to the Swansea linguist studying why people feel uncomfortable with compliments. The difficulty is not the compliment, it's the response. How do you reply positively and politely without sounding arrogant? Michael discovers that our tendency towards post-modern irony makes a sincere compliment a difficult manoeuvre to complete - so even if you can say something nice, it may still be best to say nothing at all.
Producer: John Byrne.
MON 23:30 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..
TUESDAY 01 JANUARY 2013
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b01phfsp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:15 Stephen Fry on the Phone (b017clwx)
The Chips Inside Smartphones
Stephen Fry traces the evolution of the mobile phone, from hefty executive bricks that required a separate briefcase to carry the battery to the smart little devices complete with personal assistant we have today.
There are more mobile phones in the world than there are people on the planet: Stephen Fry talks to the backroom boys who made it all possible and hears how the technology succeeded, in ways that the geeks had not necessarily intended.
All mobile phones rely on hyper-intelligent silicon chips to run them. And the astonishing thing is 85% of the silicon chips inside all mobile phones are designed by one Cambridge-based company, ARM. Stephen Fry talks to the pioneers who designed these chips. They needed some micro-processors to build a better home computer, but didn't like what they saw and decided to make their own. Strapped for cash, they designed chips that were small, cheap and exceptionally low power and, quite by chance, ideally suited to the next generation of pocket-sized mobile phones. Not to mention today's power-hungry smartphones.
Producer: Anna Buckley.
TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b01phf4f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01phdtx)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01phdtz)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01phdv1)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b01phdv3)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01px5v3)
Presented by the Very Rev Graham Forbes, Provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b01phfsr)
After a year of protest, Anna Hill asks what 2013 might hold for the troubled dairy industry. 2012 saw blockades, negotiations and boycotts as farmers mobilised to fight for what they saw as a fair price for a pint. Jim Begg from Dairy UK and industry consultant, Ian Potter explain why the price paid to farmers was cut, and look at whether the any truce between farmers, processors and supermarkets might last.
Presenter: Anna Hill Producer: Melvin Rickarby.
TUE 06:00 Today (b01phfst)
Morning news and current affairs with Justin Webb and Sarah Montague. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Value of Culture (b01phfsw)
Culture and the Anthropologists
Melvyn Bragg continues his exploration of the idea of culture by considering its use in the discipline of anthropology. In 1871 the anthropologist Edward Tylor published Primitive Culture, an enormously influential work which for the first time placed culture at the centre of the study of humanity. His definition of culture as the 'capabilities and habits acquired by man' ensured that later generations saw culture as common to all humans, and not simply as the preserve of writers and philosophers.
Producer: Thomas Morris.
TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b01pkkky)
Wild
Episode 2
Cheryl Strayed's redemptive account of hiking 1100 miles alone through America's rugged western landscape. At twenty-six Cheryl Strayed thought she'd lost everything after her mother died, and her marriage crumbled. With no previous experience of backpacking, she made the impulsive decision to rebuild her life by setting out on an incredible journey along America's Pacific Crest Trail. Today, Cheryl Strayed begins her journey in the heat of California's Mojave desert.
Read by Kelly Burke
Abridged by Miranda Davies
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01phfsy)
Sinead O'Connor and 2012 musical highlights
Sinead O'Connor sings and talks about her musical career, her political activism and her mental health along with highlights from twelve months of music on Woman's Hour including Tori Amos, Stooshe, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Janina Fialkowska and Melody Gardot. Presented by Jane Garvey
Producer: Laura Northedge.
TUE 10:45 The Cazalets (b01phft0)
The Light Years
Episode 2
2/10 by Elizabeth Jane Howard, dramatised by Sarah Daniels
Produced and Directed by Sally Avens and Marion Nancarrow
As the long summer holiday continues for the Cazalet family Edward heads up to London for a secret liaison.
The Light Year's tells the story of the extended Cazalet family. Set in the lead up to the outbreak of World War II, it appears that the Cazalets have it all but we soon discover that infidelity, indiscretions, jealousies and misplaced loyalties lurk just beneath the surface.
As Elizabeth Jane Howard approaches her 90th Birthday Radio 4 is to broadcast all four of her Cazalet novels , The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion and Casting Off; The story of the family stretches over ten years. The dramatisations begin on New's Year Eve and finish in August 2013.
TUE 11:00 Saving Species (b01phft2)
Series 3
Wetland Habitats
The first of January is often a special day for birdwatchers everywhere as the race is on to begin their new year lists whilst also reflecting on the year list just completed. For this Saving Species the role of wetland habitats in providing a wintering refuge for our own wildfowl, and to birds from more northern areas of Europe, is explored at the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust reserve at Welney in Cambridgeshire and Lymington Marshes in Hampshire.
Joanna Pinnock visits Welney at dawn to witness the very noisy but magical spectacle of thousands of Whooper and Bewick's swans flighting off from the pools by the reserve centre to head out to feed on the fields for the day. Over 1,000 Bewick's swans arrive and up to 5,000 Whooper swans with many more out on the 2,000 hectares which make up the Ouse Washes and surrounding fields.
Chris Sperring is on the Hampshire coast at the Lymington-Keyhaven nature reserve which is home to important numbers of Dark-bellied Brent Geese amongst many other species of smaller ducks. The geese come to the reserve for the winter from Siberia. With their distinctive call, these grass grazers benefit from the rough grazing management which takes place in the summer with cattle and which ensures a short rich sward for the geese when they return for the winter.
These areas of our coastline are a vital jigsaw of protected areas providing roosting and feeding areas for so many species of ducks, geese and swans that come to the UK.
Also in the programme - News from around the world with our regular news reporter, Kelvin Boot, plus we'll update you on the activities of the Open University's iSpot.
Presenter: Joanna Pinnock
Producer: Sheena Duncan.
TUE 11:30 Jazz Is Dead (b01phg6m)
Jazz was once revolutionary, but is now arguably part of the heritage industry. Paul Morley meets performers, critics and passionate punters to test the contention that jazz is dead - a victim of its own history. Featuring Geoff Dyer, Paul Gilroy, Seb Rochford, Gary Crosby, Laura Jurd, Nick Smart and Chris Hodgkins.
TUE 12:00 Pick of the Week (b01ph7fp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Sunday]
TUE 12:57 Weather (b01phdv5)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b01phg6p)
National and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
TUE 13:45 Belle de Jour's History of Anon (b01phg8c)
Writers and Readers
A history of anonymity and why writers have sought it, as told by Brooke Magnanti, the real voice behind one of the 21st century's most famous anonymous texts, Belle de Jour's Diary of a London Call Girl. Brooke explores motivations for remaining masked and the lengths the anonymous have gone to in order to remain unnamed. She draws on her own experiences to reveal how the concept of anonymity has changed - and how both writers and readers have dealt with it. From life or death to trivial and bitchy, juggling open disclosure with the withholding of vital information, Brooke shows us that whilst we may not know their names, the anonymous have long shaped our worldview.
Today, Brooke reveals the varied, complex and often mischievous reasons for which authors have hidden their names. Reflecting on today's hunger for details of writers' interior lives, and readers' demands for authentic voices, she asks what impact audiences have had on unnamed writers, and wonders whether we are less accepting of anonymity than our book-loving forebears.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b01phfmz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b011p607)
Andy Merriman - A Monstrous Vitality
by Andy Merriman
June Whitfield stars as the indomitable actress Margaret Rutherford in a tale of chimpanzees, Jordanian Princes, an adoring husband and falling in love with a musician 30 years her junior.
Director: David Hunter.
TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (b01phgjn)
Series 3
Bath
Jay Rayner and the team present a relaxing and refreshing New Year edition of The Kitchen Cabinet from The Komedia theatre in Bath.
Joining Jay to field the audience's questions are; London-born chef Sophie Wright, food-writer and restaurateur Tim Hayward, Asian-cooking expert Angela Malik, and The Kitchen Cabinet's resident food-scientist Peter Barham.
On the menu this week: Peter Barham rants on how to make your Yorkshire puddings rise properly, and the panel debate the best cure for a hangover and whether detoxing and cleansing diets work.
The team also suggest their best ideas for how to make spinach taste delicious, and discuss what makes the best tasting Bath bun. Angela Malik explains how bulk cooking can save you money, and Tim Hayward talks about why butter would have to be the one ingredient he couldn't live without.
Food Consultant: Anna Colquhoun.
Produced by Robert Abel and Peggy Sutton.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:30 Lives in a Landscape (b01n1qxw)
Series 11
Gone Astray
Alan Dein goes in search of stories from Britain today.
1. Gone Astray. Maureen's black and white cat Rosie has gone missing and the pensioner is scouring the neighbourhood to find her. Little does she know that further down the same Portsmouth street, the Fletcher family have had a visitor. Last Sunday night a black and white cat wandered into their house, sprawled herself out and showed every indication she wanted to stay. The cat has brought the family back together after a nightmare summer holiday with their teenage children. But does their feline peacemaker actually belong to Maureen?
Alan Dein finds out in a tale of lost and found cats, aided by Joy Wilson of Portsmouth and District Cat Rescue, who has devoted her life to the welfare of cats.
Producer: Laurence Grissell.
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b01phgjq)
Stenography
As courts around the world replace human stenographers with digital recording systems, Michael Rosen explores the ancient art of stenography. Michael looks at the work Charles Dickens did in London courts around 1830, and asks how his career as a shorthand reporter influenced his work. He investigates the mysteries of modern stenograph machines, and talks to people who operate them and to a leading barrister about the different ways we record words spoken in trials and other official proceedings.
Producer: Chris Ledgard.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b01phgjs)
Series 29
Grigori Rasputin
What was so notable about Grigori Rasputin ? "The hypnotic power shining in his exceptional gaze," said one observer. The photos are indeed remarkable, and so are the myths. This programme begins with his death. The date is December 1916, and Rasputin, ice encrusted and with a mutilated face, is dragged out of a frozen river in St Petersburg. According to police reports at the time, people ran to the river with armed with jugs and buckets, hoping to scoop up any unfrozen water that had come into contact with this famous man.
Comedian Richard Herring chooses Rasputin as much for the mythology as the fact. Was he really the lover of the Russian Queen ? No ... but it is said that his dead body sat up in the fire when it was being burnt. Filling in some of the gaps in this mysterious tale of pre-revolutionary Russia is Bob Service of Oxford University, and an endlessly entertained Matthew Parris presents.
Producer: Miles Warde.
TUE 17:00 PM (b01phgkt)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01phdvh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:15 15 Minute Musical (b01phhb1)
Series 7
Barack of Ages
Episode 6: Barack of Ages
Can Barack find the strength to fight for another Presidential term? With enough power ballads and rock anthems he can.
Starring: Richie Webb, Dave Lamb and Jess Robinson
Written by: Richie Webb, Dave Cohen and David Quantick
Music by: Richie Webb
Music Production: Matt Katz
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
Let the music play on!
BBC Radio 4's 15 Minute Musical are delicious, bite-size, musical delicacies. Beautifully crafted with astronomically high production values 15 Minute Musical does for your ears what chocolate does for your taste buds.
All in fifteen minutes!
After a year's break 15 Minute Musical is itching to get it's musical teeth back into easily identifiable public figures and give them a West End Musical make-over. This fabricated, sugar-coated story is then told in an original, never heard before, mini musical.
TUE 18:30 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b01phhb3)
Series 5
Meera Syal
Marcus Brigstocke invites actress Meera Syal to try new experiences.
How did she get on watching her first football match?
Series in which guests experience new things and give their verdicts to Marcus Brigstocke – and explain why they've waited so long to do it.
Producer: Bill Dare
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2013.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b01phhb5)
Alice tells Jennifer that her New Year celebration was quiet. She went to the village to hear Christopher and Neil ring in the New Year but after a full day at work, which she's still not enjoying, all she wanted was to go home to bed. She offers to go with Jennifer to take Peggy to the Laurels. With Jack not even knowing who Peggy is, Alice reckons she needs all their support.
Nic tells Susan that Will spoils Jake and Mia just as much as George. Susan admits it's lovely having the grandchildren living with them.
Nic and Will enjoy a romantic anniversary meal at Grey Gables. They toast the best year of their lives.
Emma tells Susan she's had an unexpected visitor. Tracy called round with flowers and an apology. Emma learned that it was Tracy who called the police to arrest Clive, after he started to get violent with her and Donna. Tracy now appreciates the difficult situation Emma was in over Keith.
Susan voices concerns about why Clive had risked coming back to Ambridge. He knew he wasn't supposed to, nor was he welcome. Emma did ask Tracy this, but realises Tracy never actually answered her.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b01phhb7)
Andy Serkis and Neil Young on the impact of technology in the arts
With John Wilson
Digital technology is developing at a rapid pace. John investigates how new technology will shape how we experience culture in the coming year.
Andy Serkis, who has recently reprised the role of Gollum in The Hobbit, has been so inspired by the technology behind some of his famous roles, that he has set up a studio to develop the art of performance capture in the UK. Serkis demonstrates the multiple ways in which technology can be used in films and video games.
Neil Young explains why his dislike of the compressed sound offered by mp3 recordings has led him to invent his own digital music format, which he hopes will be more representative of a musician's performance.
Discussing virtual theatre, art in a digital age and making their predictions for the future are technology writer Bill Thompson, Chair of Artangel and co-owner of Somethin' Else productions Paul Bennun and digital entrepreneur and product designer Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino.
Producer Claire Bartleet.
TUE 19:45 The Cazalets (b01phft0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Ben Goldacre's Bad Evidence (b01phhb9)
Medic and author Ben Goldacre explores the idea of evidence-based policy and asks if it can ever become a reality in the UK.
In medicine, how do we know if a particular treatment works? The simple answer is to subject it to a fair test against other treatments or a placebo. So far the best example of a fair test in medicine is a randomised controlled trial or RCT.
Often to referred to as 'the gold standard' when it comes to determining what works, RCTs are now commonplace in business. But what about government? The idea of evidence-based policy is hardly new - it's what social scientists have been banging on about since the 1960s. But in practice, when evidence has been used to determine policy, it's often been anything but 'gold-standard'.
In this programme, the medic and author of Bad Science, Ben Goldacre, sets out to explore the potential for putting RCTs at the heart of the policy-making process, arguing that not only can they reveal if our existing policies are effective but RCTs have the potential to transform the way we create and implement social policy across the country, from education to health, from welfare to crime.
Of course not everyone agrees that all you need is hard data to make the best policy. Experience, values, ideology - these, say critics should never be abandoned in favour of cold statistics. And whilst the RCT may work well for pills and potions, it's too blunt an instrument to deal with the subtle and complex challenges of assessing how best to punish crime, treat drug users or teach children from impoverished background to read and write. Just look at the recent fiasco over badger-culling. over a ten-year period, randomised experiments and pilot studies have resulted in no clear policy on how to prevent the spread of bovine TB. And then there's the ethical question - how for example could you allow randomisation to determine something as morally (and politically) sensitive as sentencing criminals, let alone teaching kids?
What is clear, is that bad policies cost us dear - both socially and economically. The challenges are many but the potential, argues Ben, could be truly transformational, both for society and for government.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b01phhbc)
Henry Blofeld Test Match Special's long-standing commentator, famed for addressing everyone as 'My Dear Old Thing' talks to Peter White about the impact his recent eyesight problems have had on his commentating.
Peter visits Henry at his London home, where he talks openly about his dust with Macular Degeneration and the onset of cataracts.
TUE 21:00 I'm a Lumberjack (b01mqmgj)
When the English poet and writer James Lasdun moved to wooded New York State his wife gave him a chainsaw. He had to either learn to chop down trees or risk his home and garden being taken over by the resurgent forests of the eastern states of the USA. But how should a clumsy townie, good with his words but not with his hands, take to the woods? With help from some of the champion axmen of the Lumberjack World Championships at Hayward, Wisconsin, he learns the underhand chop, the standing block chop, the hot saw, and much of the wisdom and lore of the world of tall trees and tough men. Producer: Tim Dee.
TUE 21:30 The Value of Culture (b01phfsw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b01phdvk)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b01phhbf)
Seven teachers and health workers have been shot dead by gunmen in north-west Pakistan; the centre where they worked provides education for women and organises vaccination programmes. The US House of Representatives is debating a deal agreed by President Obama and the Senate to avert steep tax rises and spending cuts. And how does commodity trading affect the price of food? Presented by Philippa Thomas.
TUE 22:45 Daphne Du Maurier (b01phhbh)
Frenchman's Creek
Episode 7
Part adventure, part romance, and set in Cornwall, Daphne Du Maurier's novel tells the powerful love story between Lady Dona and the French pirate Aubery.
Episode 7
Lady Dona succumbs at last to the Frenchman's charms and enjoys an idyllic voyage with him. But the dream cannot last.
Read by Adjoa Andoh
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:00 Heresy (b017mv2b)
Series 8
Episode 1
The first in a new series of the programme that dares to commit heresy. Victoria Coren and her guests have fun exposing the wrong-headedness of received wisdom and challenging knee-jerk public reaction to events.
Her guests in the first programme are comedian Mark Steel, novelist Jessica Berens and actor and national treasure, Christopher Biggins.
Christopher Biggins gets on his high pantomime horse, arguing against the assertion that Panto is an outdated art form, Mark Steel comes out in support of public displays of drunkenness and former Tatler journalist Jessica Berens explains why people are totally misguided if they think it would be nice to live in a house like Downton Abbey.
Producer: Brian King
An Avalon Television production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:30 The History Plays (b01cdvb7)
Stonehouse in Alice
Written and directed by Nigel Smith and starring Tim McInnerny as John Stonehouse and Daniel Rigby as Ed Jennings. Stonehouse in Alice is the second of The History Plays, imaginary conversations set against the backdrop of real events.
It's 1974 and Ed Jennings, a cub reporter from a local paper has stumbled upon the scoop of a lifetime while on holiday in Australia. Because Leonard has found missing maverick MP, John Stonehouse.
Stonehouse recently faked his death to escape from a sea of debt, the fraud squad, his wife, and a series of misadventures back home in the UK. A charmer, a snob, an aesthete, a writer and a con man, the Walsall North MP, once one of the greatest loose cannons of his political generation, is now in hiding, shacked up with his mistress in one of the loneliest places on earth. What will be kept secret for decades, however, is that he's also a communist spy.
Ed is bright enough to know this story will make his name. It has all the ingredients; celebrity, notoriety, sex, politics and sleaze. But what it's fundamentally about is greed. And that is still seen as shocking in an MP. Chisholm knows no post-war English politician will have had such a fall from grace. Profumo only erred for lust. This is something new... and thrilling. And it turns out Stonehouse has an offer for the young reporter. One that will change both their lives.
WEDNESDAY 02 JANUARY 2013
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b01phdwd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:17 Musical Migrants (b015zs0x)
Series 3
Zanzibar
Watching the Live Aid concert on television in the mid 80s changed the life of Englishman, Yusuf Mahmoud. At the time, Yusuf was working as a milkman in Cheltenham and doing the odd bit of DJ-ing, but when he realised that music could be used as a tool for change he got involved in music promotion and festival organising for the Anti-Apartheid movement and similar operations.
After several years of doing that, an opportunity arose for him to work at the first Zanzibar International Film Festival. Driven by his interest in the music of the region, he headed off to Tanzania intending to stay for only 6 months. Thirteen years on, he's still there and has set up the Sauti Za Busara Festival - a thriving festival that promotes the music of East Africa.
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world; Yusuf is used to going for months without power and his daily shower consists of a beaker and a bucket of water. Yet such things don't faze him because - he says - he's nourished by the cultural richness of his adopted land.
Produced by Rachel Hopkin
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b01pkkky)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01phdwg)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01phdwj)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01phdwl)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b01phdwn)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01px5v5)
Presented by the Very Rev Graham Forbes, Provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b01phhy1)
Anna Hill reviews a year of drought and flood and asks what the weather might bring for farmers in 2013. East Anglian farming consultant Lindsay Hargreaves reflects on the driest spring and wettest summer in a century; Aberdeenshire farmer Charlie Adam recalls the challenges of harvesting in the snow; and Newcastle University hydrologist Paul Quinn outlines on-farm solutions for flooding and drought.
Presenter: Anna Hill Producer: Melvin Rickarby.
WED 06:00 Today (b01phhy3)
Morning news and current affairs with Justin Webb and Sarah Montague. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 The Value of Culture (b01phhy5)
Two Cultures
Melvyn Bragg considers the 150-year history of the Two Cultures debate. In 1959 the novelist C.P. Snow delivered a lecture in Cambridge suggesting that intellectual life had become divided into two separate cultures: the sciences and the humanities. The lecture is still celebrated for the furore it provoked - but Snow was returning to a battleground almost a century old. Melvyn Bragg visits the old Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, scene of many of modern science's greatest triumphs, to put the Two Cultures debate in its historical context - and Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, reveals the influence the Two Cultures debate had on his development as a scientist.
Producer: Thomas Morris.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b01pkkr7)
Wild
Episode 3
Cheryl Strayed's redemptive account of hiking 1100 miles alone through America's rugged western landscape. At twenty-six Cheryl Strayed thought she'd lost everything after her mother died, and her marriage crumbled. With no previous experience of backpacking, she made the impulsive decision to rebuild her life by setting out on an incredible journey along America's Pacific Crest Trail. Today, a perilous section of the trail tests Cheryl's powers of resilience and endurance.
Read by Kelly Burke
Abridged by Miranda Davies
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01phhy7)
Mothers-in-Law Phone-In
Mother in law phone-in. Whether married or not, your relationship with your partner's mother is an important one, so how does it work for you? If you've been together over Christmas has it been all joy and laughter or hell on earth? If you're a mother in law, what are the flash points when dealing with your child's partner? What strategies have you learned over the years to keep the peace? And if you and your mother in law ARE good friends, tell us the special things she brings to your life.
Email us now via the Woman's Hour website or phone from 0800 on Wednesday the 2nd January on 03700 100 444
Presented by Jenni Murray. Produced by Karen Dalziel.
WED 10:45 The Cazalets (b01phhy9)
The Light Years
Episode 3
3/10 by Elizabeth Jane Howard, dramatised by Sarah Daniels
Sid and Rachel's day together is threatened by Sybil's pregnancy.
Produced and Directed by Sally Avens and Marion Nancarrow
The Light Year's tells the story of the extended Cazalet family. Set in the lead up to the outbreak of World War II, it appears that the Cazalets have it all but we soon discover that infidelity, indiscretions, jealousies and misplaced loyalties lurk just beneath the surface.
As Elizabeth Jane Howard approaches her 90th Birthday Radio 4 is to broadcast all four of her Cazalet novels; The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion and Casting Off. The story of the family stretches over ten years (1937-1947). The dramatisations begin on New's Year Eve and finish in August 2013.
WED 11:00 A Tale of Two Sittings (b01phhyc)
On the 40th anniversary of Britain's entry into the EEC, Edward Stourton lifts the lid on the turmoil surrounding accession.
Today, there's talk in Brussels of Britain's increasingly isolated position and calls for a referendum here are getting louder. A Tale of Two Sittings features guests from two key dinners in the early 1970s, one on 2nd January 1973 at Hampton Court celebrating Britain's entry to the EEC and the second at Roy Jenkins' London club marking the British public's sanctioning of it in 1975.
Key international players from both nights relive the political schisms and exhausting campaigning which characterised the two and a half years in between - and provide insight and perspective on Europe's current crisis.
Edward talks to Tony Benn, leader of the No campaign who feels his original arguments have been vindicated, and Lord Archer who voted in favour of entry into Europe and organised the Hampton Court banquet. And we hear from Kenneth Clarke, who was chief whip for a largely pro-European Conservative party but is now seen as one of the few remaining prominent Conservative supporters of Europe.
Presenter: Edward Stourton
Producer: Karen Pirie
A Whistledown production for BBC.
WED 11:30 Clare in the Community (b01phhyf)
Series 8
Hot Desk
Social Worker Clare Barker and her colleagues have to move offices and embrace hot desking. All this while Clare has a new student to wet nurse. Brian is struggling to keep control in the classroom.
Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.
A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.
Each week we join Clare in her continued struggle to control both her professional and private life
In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden
Clare ...... Sally Phillips
Brian ...... Alex Lowe
Megan ...... Nina Conti
Nali ...... Nina Conti
Ray ...... Richard Lumsden
Helen ...... Liza Tarbuck
Simon ...... Andrew Wincott
Libby ...... Sarah Kendall
Alice ...... Alex Tregear
Abigail ...... Eleanor Crooks
Dexter ...... Will Howard
Bob ...... Robert Blythe
Neighbour ...... Ben Crowe
Terence ...... Ben Crowe
MC ...... Ben Crowe
Simon's girlfriend ...... Bharti Patel
Producer Katie Tyrrell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2013.
WED 12:00 You and Yours (b01phhyh)
How much exercise should you be doing?
How much exercise should you be doing if you want to stay healthy? Dr Michael Mosley finds out why doing the same amount might not work for everyone.
And we look at new plans to regulate the people who look after adults living in residential care homes, in day centres and in their own homes.
Producer: John Neal
Presenter: Peter White.
WED 12:30 Face the Facts (b01pj2s6)
The Hotels of Last Resort
John Waite investigates why increasing numbers of homeless families are being housed in bed and breakfast hotels, sometimes for months at a time. The law states families should be placed in properly equipped temporary accommodation, but over the last year the number of families staying in B&Bs for over 6 weeks has more than doubled. Councils blame the rise in homelessness on the government's reform of housing benefit. A new cap on the amount of housing benefit that the State will pay has reduced the number of properties which poor families can afford and their local authorities have started looking beyond their boundaries, sometimes in completely different parts of the country, to fulfil their legal obligations to the homeless. The consequences are felt particularly acutely in relatively cheap outer London boroughs such as Barking and Dagenham and Croydon. There, competition from inner London authorities for suitable private rented accommodation has driven up rents and landlords prefer to rent their properties to students or working families. One local authority housing officer called it a "perfect storm." For its part, the Government says the payment of housing costs on behalf of tenants, direct to landlords was out of control and had to be tackled in an era of austerity.
Presenter:John Waite
Producer:Richard Hooper.
WED 12:57 Weather (b01phdwq)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b01phhyk)
Shaun Ley presents national and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
WED 13:45 Belle de Jour's History of Anon (b01phhym)
The Anonymous Woman
A history of anonymity and why writers have sought it, as told by Brooke Magnanti, the real voice behind one of the 21st century's most famous anonymous texts, Belle de Jour's Diary of a London Call Girl. Brooke explores motivations for remaining masked and the lengths the anonymous have gone to in order to remain unnamed. She draws on her own experiences to reveal how the concept of anonymity has changed - and how both writers and readers have dealt with it. From life or death to trivial and bitchy, juggling open disclosure with the withholding of vital information, Brooke shows us that whilst we may not know their names, the anonymous have long shaped our worldview.
Some of the most celebrated female authors of all time were first published under a pseudonym. But was it modesty, convention, or to pique curiosity that led the likes of Jane Austen, the Brontes and George Eliot to assume alternative identities? Brooke takes a look at the writings and reputations of anonymous women, from canonical greats to sexual memoirs. And she draws on the reaction to her own experiences to explore the reader's fascination with unnamed women, considering the conflicts of being open and revealing, whilst keeping the ultimate secret.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b01phhb5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b01phj10)
John Dryden - The Reluctant Spy
Episode 1
As the world waits to see what democracy will bring to Egypt, Nigel Lindsay plays hard-up Coptic art expert who becomes embroiled in (what appears to be) corporate espionage when approached by seductive Canadian student Tara to deliver a letter - for money - to a prominent Egyptian politician. But nothing in this tense three-parter from writer/director John Dryden is quite what it appears to be.
Casting - Toby Whale
Production Manager - Russell Owen
Script Editor - Mike Walker
Sound design - Steve Bond
Music - Sacha Puttnam
Written and directed by: John Dryden
A Goldhawk Production for BBC Radio 4
www.goldhawk.eu
Writer/Director - John Dryden
This is John's forth trilogy for Radio 4, after SEVERED THREADS, PANDEMIC (winner of this year's Writers' Guild award for Best Radio Drama) and A TOKYO MURDER. He recently directed and co-wrote with journalist Owen Bennett-Jones the documentary/drama BLASPHEMY AND THE GOVERNOR OF PUNJAB.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b01phj12)
Consumer Rights
Was your Christmas shopping a success? Or are you disappointed by poor quality goods and service? What are your rights and how can you enforce them? Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm or email moneybox@bbc.co.uk.
If the gifts you bought are faulty, arrived late or didn't turn up at all where do you stand and how do you complain?
Do your rights differ depending on whether you shop online, by mail order or over the phone?
Perhaps you have an issue with community or group buying?
What is the safest way to pay?
And what should you do if you regret a hasty purchase made in the sale?
For advice about faulty goods or poor service, call Paul Lewis and guests on Wednesday's Money Box Live.
Waiting to discuss your problems and give advice will be:
Alonso Ercilla, Trading Standards Institute
Jane Negus, European Consumer Centre
Joanne Lezmore, Which? Legal Services
You can email your questions now to moneybox@bbc.co.uk. Or the number to call is 03 700 100 444 - lines are open between
1pm and
3.30pm on Wednesday 2 January 2013. Standard geographic charges apply. Calls from mobiles may be higher.
WED 15:30 Dr Inkblot (b01l0kch)
The Rorschach ink blot test is one of the most popular and controversial personality tests used by psychologists here and abroad. The theory is that we reveal our true selves through interpreting ambiguous shapes. It was developed nearly a century ago by the Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach - a man who worked outside the mainstream and who died young.
Jo Fidgen traces the origins, refinement and application of Rorschach's test and its subsequent falling from favour. She visits the Tavistock Centre in London, where it is still in clinical use, and the Hermann Rorschach Museum and Archives in Bern, Switzerland. She also talks to psychologists around the world - in Japan, where it's more popular than ever, and in the US where controversy rages about its reliability and validity. And she undertakes the test herself.
With contributions from Dr Michael Drayton, Dr Justine McCarthy-Woods, Dr Noriko Nakamura, Dr Scott Lilienfeld, Dr Bruce Smith, Professor Anne Andronikof and Rita Signer, curator of the Rorschach Archives.
Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b01phj21)
Consuming passions
Consumer pleasures - Laurie Taylor explores the place of shopping in our lives, as well as within sociological thought. He's joined by Professor Colin Campbell, Dr Kate Soper and Professor Rachel Bowlby. Revised repeat.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b01phj2m)
Don McCullin; Christopher Martin-Jenkins
The Christmas TV ratings - who's really come out on top? What are going to be the most pressing issues for the BBC's new DG ? Plus as a film about veteran war photographer Don McCullin is released, we examine the role of photojournalists with Sarah Baxter Editor of the Sunday Times Magazine and photojournalist Sean Smith. And following the death of cricket commentator Christopher Martin-Jenkins the Telegraph's radio critic Gillian Reynolds talks about the art of sports commentary.
Presented by Steve Hewlett
Produced by Beverley Purcell.
WED 17:00 PM (b01phj43)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01phdws)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b01phjb0)
Series 4
Chipping Norton
Comedian Mark Steel returns with a new series, looking under the surface of some of the UK's more distinctive towns to shed some light on the people, history, rivalries, slang, traditions, and eccentricities that makes them unique.
Creating a bespoke stand-up set for each town, Mark performs the show in front of a local audience.
As well as examining the less visited areas of Britain, Mark uncovers stories and experiences that resonate with us all as we recognise the quirkiness of the British way of life and the rich tapestry of remarkable events and people who have shaped where we live.
During this 4th series of 'Mark Steel's In Town', Mark will visit Tobermory, Whitehaven, Handsworth, Ottery St Mary, Corby, and Chipping Norton.
This week, Mark visits Chipping Norton and uncovers the relationship between the Camerons, the Clarksons, and a town full of rebels. From January 2013.
Additional material by Pete Sinclair.
Produced by Sam Bryant.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b01phjb2)
David is amused to learn that Josh has been investigating online accounts that will pay better interest than his building society account.
As Lilian and Peggy prepare to leave, Jill arrives with news of Bob Pullen's funeral, which Mr Pullen left instructions for Jill to organise. He also wanted Joe to have his clothes. Peggy's looking forward to fish and chips on Whitby seafront but Lilian wants dinner in the hotel restaurant.
Ruth enters Ed's expenditure onto a computer programme. Ed finds it simple, compared to the Dairy Management Programme she showed him last week. He's still not sure he can justify the cost of that programme. They make some projections and Ruth highlights how his profits were hit when Mike cut the milk price. Ruth suggests he tries to renegotiate.
Susan learns that Donna has been having a fling with Clive. Things turned bad, so Tracy and Donna hatched a plan to entice Clive back to Ambridge. When he fell for it, Tracy called the police.
Ed tells Susan and Neil that Ruth believes his business can be saved. Susan's relieved. Tracy's made her peace with Emma and Ed's business has a future. What a perfect start to the new year.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b01phjb4)
Costa Book Awards category winners announced; look ahead to 2013
With Mark Lawson, including the announcement of the category winners in the Costa Book Awards 2012 for novel, first novel, biography, poetry and children's book.
As the new year gets underway, Skyfall director Sam Mendes, Fifty Shades author E L James, Bring up the Bodies writer Hilary Mantel, and presenter Clare Balding look ahead to what their own 2013 holds.
And nominations for this year's Oscars are announced next week and likely nominees will be four films with disability at their centre; Rust and Bone, Amour, Untouchable and The Sessions. But how far do these big screen depictions represent a watershed in portrayals of severe disability? Critic Scott Jordan Harris assesses their impact.
Producer Penny Murphy.
WED 19:45 The Cazalets (b01phhy9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
WED 20:00 Unreliable Evidence (b01phjb6)
Clive Anderson and top lawyers and judges reveal why the wheels of our legal system turn so slowly and discuss concerns that Government proposals to speed up proceedings in our criminal courts could lead to injustices.
The president of the Law Society, Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, strongly opposes plans for weekend courts and to extend court hours, warning that such measures would be expensive and ineffective.
Deputy chair of the Magistrates Association, Richard Monkhouse says delays in the criminal courts, which often result in defendants spending months in custody, could be addressed by giving magistrates greater sentencing powers.
Retired appeal court judge, Sir Mark Potter, predicts that legal aid cuts will result in major delays in the civil courts. He says a shortage of resources is causing particular problems in the family courts where delays have serious impacts on children's lives.
The programme also considers the arguments for reforming the appeal system, following comments from the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, who expressed "fury" over cases such as that of Abu Hamza which take many years to resolve.
Producer: Brian King
An Above the Title production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b01phjb8)
Series 3
Sally Kettle: Does hope help?
Adventurer Sally Kettle argues that hope is not helpful, and suggests some alternative strategies.
Sally has twice rowed the Atlantic Ocean, and worries that hope can lead to a passive state of mind. There is nothing, she believes, like taking concrete steps to make things happen.
Four Thought is a series of talks which combine thought provoking ideas and engaging storytelling. Recorded live in front of an audience, speakers air their latest thinking on the trends, ideas, interests and passions that affect our culture and society.
Producer: Giles Edwards.
WED 21:00 I'm Suzy and I'm a Phobic (b01lv7y0)
Suzy Klein is highly phobic and she wants it to stop. She won't go in lifts, no matter how many steps she has to climb, and she hasn't been on the underground for twenty years. Suzy has been phobic of spiders (now recovered) and didn't go on a plane for three years (but now flies). Yet every time she beats a phobia, another one takes hold.
At the moment she has claustrophobia and, in this programme, Suzy attempts to conquer her fear, culminating in a trip on the London Underground. Along the way she'll meet fellow phobics and discover the impact the fear has on their everyday lives and behaviour.
As a fly on the wall in her therapy sessions, we hear Professor Paul Salkovskis attempt to help Suzy overcome her claustrophobia through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - or CBT.
Other contributors include Dr James Lefanu of the Daily Telegraph, who warns Suzy that CBT is only successful in around 30% of cases and she will have to be "desensitised" by confronting her fear. Suzy also meets up with arachnophobic Phill Jupitus to discuss where fears come from.
Produced by David Morley
A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 21:30 The Value of Culture (b01phhy5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 21:58 Weather (b01phdwx)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b01phjbb)
Syria - Ann-Marie Slaughter and Edward Luttwak discuss if the West should intervene, military aircraft attacks in Burma's Kachin state and would a 'small business Saturday' initiative encourage people to use their local independent shops? With Roger Hearing.
WED 22:45 Daphne Du Maurier (b01phjbd)
Frenchman's Creek
Episode 8
Part adventure, part romance, and set in Cornwall, Daphne Du Maurier's novel tells the powerful love story between Lady Dona and the French pirate Aubery.
Episode 8
Harry and Rockingham prepare to trap the pirates, and Dona must host a dinner for their fellow conspirators.
Read by Adjoa Andoh
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:00 Sarah Millican's Support Group (b010twf6)
Series 2
1. 'My partner is too controlling - a fight for the TV remote'
"My partner is too controlling - a fight for the television remote"
"I'm a non drinker with no friends - should I just buy a cat?"
Sarah Millican returns as a life counsellor and modern-day agony aunt tackling the nation's problems head on, dishing out real advice for real people.
Assisted by her very own team of experts of the heart - man of the people local cabbie Terry, and self qualified counsellor Marion,
Sarah tackles the nation's problems head on and has a solution for everything.
Sarah ...... Sarah Millican
Marion ...... Ruth Bratt
Terry ...... Simon Daye
Linda ...... Diane Morgan
Matthew ...... Will Smith
Written by Sarah Millican.
Producer: Lianne Coop
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
WED 23:30 The History Plays (b01cw5p1)
Maggie Heart Galtieri
The History Play: Maggie Heart Galtieri
Maggie Watkins (Josie Lawrence) finds a young Argentinean soldier, Christian Galtieri (Javier Marzan), in her kitchen, wounded and in need of shelter. As she slowly learns why he is in hiding the pair fall in love, but as their relationship grows the Task Force lands and it becomes harder and harder to ignore the larger forces at play around them.
This is the third of Nigel Smith's series The History Plays, five two hander plays set at turning points in the history of the last five decades.
Written and directed by Nigel Smith
Produced by Gareth Edwards.
THURSDAY 03 JANUARY 2013
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b01phdxs)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b01pkkr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01phdxv)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01phdxx)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01phdxz)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b01phdy1)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01px5v7)
Presented by the Very Rev Graham Forbes, Provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b01phkt2)
The Secretary of State for the Environment Owen Paterson talks to Charlotte Smith about what the year ahead holds for UK agriculture and pledges to make the case for GM in Europe.
Presenter Charlotte Smith. Producer Ruth Sanderson.
THU 06:00 Today (b01phkt4)
Morning news and current affairs with Sarah Montague and Justin Webb. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 The Value of Culture (b01phkt6)
Mass Culture
Melvyn Bragg considers how technology and increasing access to education made possible the rise of a true mass culture in the twentieth century. He examines how the rise of cinema and photography opened the cultural realms to millions, and how our understanding of what culture is, and what it's for, was transformed by the work of scholars such as Richard Hoggart and Raymond Williams.
Producer: Thomas Morris.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b01pk8cv)
Wild
Episode 4
Cheryl Strayed's redemptive account of hiking 1100 miles alone through America's rugged western landscape. At twenty-six Cheryl Strayed thought she'd lost everything after her mother died, and her marriage crumbled. With no previous experience of backpacking, she made the impulsive decision to rebuild her life by setting out on an incredible journey along America's Pacific Crest Trail. Today, Cheryl reflects on her childhood, and a momentary lapse of concentration leads to an unexpected challenge.
Read by Kelly Burke
Abridged by Miranda Davies
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01phkt8)
The toys your kids are attached to, aid for Syria, women to watch in 2013
Why do kids become attached to particular toys? A pair of women who have set up a charity to provide medical aid to Syria talk to Jenni Murray and journalists Helen Lewis and Emma Barnett suggest women to watch in 2013. Also Bee Wilson on the history of the spoon and advice for over 50's looking for a job.
Producer: Louise Corley.
THU 10:45 The Cazalets (b01phktb)
The Light Years
Episode 4
by Elizabeth Jane Howard, dramatised by Sarah Daniels
Louise's image of her father, Edward, is about to be shattered for good.
Produced and Directed by Sally Avens and Marion Nancarrow
The Light Year's tells the story of the extended Cazalet family. Set in the lead up to the outbreak of World War II, it appears that the Cazalets have it all but we soon discover that infidelity, indiscretions, jealousies and misplaced loyalties lurk just beneath the surface.
As Elizabeth Jane Howard approaches her 90th Birthday Radio 4 is to broadcast all four of her Cazalet novels , The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion and Casting Off; The story of the family stretches over ten years (1937-1947). The dramatisations begin on New's Year Eve and finish in August 2013.
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b01phktd)
Forced Confessions in Japan
Mariko Oi investigates forced confessions of suspects in the Japanese criminal justice system. She asks if the use of prolonged questioning and other dubious tactics by police and prosecutors might be one reason for Japan's astonishingly high conviction rate.
Producer: Nina Robinson.
THU 11:30 Forgetting a Revolutionary: Lawrence Durrell at 100 (b01phktg)
This year Lawrence Durrell is or would have been 100. Tim Marlow sleeps beneath a special shelf above his bed which holds his collection of first editions of Durrell. He is a devotee. What does Durrell and those bright covered novels of The Alexandria Quartet once read by every open-minded reader mean today? Can his reputation extend beyond his surviving fans and the occasional leftovers of scandal? Should new readers pick him up, what would they find? With archive recordings and new interviews a reassessment of a revolutionary writer in danger of being forgotten. Producer: Tim Dee.
THU 12:00 You and Yours (b01phktj)
'Five a Day'
Should winter fuel benefits only be paid to the poorest pensioners? Former care minister and Lib Dem MP Paul Burstow believes the money saved could fund social care for older people in England.
As commuters get to grips with another rise in rail fares we reveal how to save money on monthly season tickets.
Where do TV shows get their questions from? A home business in Liverpool has been setting quizzes for almost 30 years, and counts Mastermind among its clients.
Research by the Nationwide Building Society suggests house prices fell 1% in 2012 and will fall again in 2013. We ask a panel of experts what buyers, sellers and renters can expect.
And in a special report, Dr Michael Mosley looks at the history and science behind the '5 a Day' fruit and veg message.
Producer: Joel Moors
Presenter: Peter White.
THU 12:57 Weather (b01phdy3)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b01phktl)
Shaun Ley presents national and international news. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
THU 13:45 Belle de Jour's History of Anon (b01phktn)
Anonymity and Accountability
A history of anonymity and why writers have sought it, as told by Brooke Magnanti, the real voice behind one of the 21st century's most famous anonymous texts, Belle de Jour's Diary of a London Call Girl. Brooke explores motivations for remaining masked and the lengths the anonymous have gone to in order to remain unnamed. She draws on her own experiences to reveal how the concept of anonymity has changed - and how both writers and readers have dealt with it. From life or death to trivial and bitchy, juggling open disclosure with the withholding of vital information, Brooke shows us that whilst we may not know their names, the anonymous have long shaped our worldview.
Anonymity can be valuable - a means of challenging an accepted view, of speaking out without reprisal. But it is a double-edged sword - anonymous commentary can also be brutal and malicious. Brooke explores the complicated relationships between anonymity, accountability and reputation.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b01phjb2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b01phktq)
John Dryden - The Reluctant Spy
Episode 2
Part 2 of John Dryden's original thriller set in present-day Egypt.
Nigel Lindsay plays hard-up Coptic art expert Duncan Kavanagh who, through greed and lust has been drawn into a world of espionage and unwittingly brought about the death of his good friend, the Palestinian Dr Zacoutte.
The enigmatic Tara, who claims to be a student from Canada, appears to be using Duncan. But Duncan is not as innocent as he seems to be - his past is about to catch up with him.
Casting: Toby Whale
Production Manager: Russell Owen
Script Editor: Mike Walker
Sound design: Steve Bond
Music: Sacha Puttnam.
Written, produced and directed by: John Dryden
A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4
John Dryden
This is John's forth trilogy for Radio 4, after SEVERED THREADS, PANDEMIC (winner of this year's Writers' Guild award for Best Radio Drama) and A TOKYO MURDER. He recently directed and co-wrote with journalist Owen Bennett-Jones the documentary/drama BLASPHEMY AND THE GOVERNOR OF PUNJAB.
THU 15:00 Open Country (b01phkts)
Hastings: The Shingle Fleet
Helen Mark visits the ancient town of Hastings to meet the people involved in the fishing community there. The fishing fleet is made up of small wooden boats which are all under ten metres long. This is important as, unusually, they are launched each day from the beach. This involves pushing them down the shingle bank, by tractor nowadays but traditionally by hand, and winching them back up again out of the sea when they return. Helen meets Paul Joy, a fisherman, who can date his family back as far as the 1000s, all launching their boats from the beach in Hastings as he does today. This is true of lots of the fishing families working there. But even with such a long and thriving history behind them the Hastings fishing industry is now in trouble. Their crews are in their seventies and there's no sign of new blood, and their wages are falling. Before 2006, under ten metre boats weren't subject to any EU fishing quotas as they were deemed exempt, but new legislation brought in six years ago changed all this. Since then the number of cod they're allowed to catch has dramatically reduced, and the fishermen are struggling.
Producer: Beatrice Fenton.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b01ph59x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b01ph7ff)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b01phlg8)
How the Grey Pound Is Influencing the Film World
In a special edition of the programme, Francine Stock looks at a growing number of films aimed at an older audience, known within the industry as the 'grey pound'.
Billy Connolly and Tom Courtenay discuss their retirement home comedy, Quartet, the directorial debut of Dustin Hoffman.
Francine visits the set of Roger Michell's latest, Le Weekend, starring Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan as a retired couple trying to rekindle the romance of their honeymoon.
Analyst Charles Gant reveals the films that made the industry sit up and notice the older cinemagoer, while president of Momentum pictures, Xavier Marchand, discusses his company's future plans for this audience.
Plus, Dame Helen Mirren, one of the most bankable British stars of the last 30 years.
Producer: Craig Smith.
THU 16:30 Material World (b01phlgb)
Norovirus; Superheroes; Army underpants
Winter vomiting bug is with us once again but what can science tell us about this recurrent illness? Quentin Cooper talks to experts in Britain and the US who are looking at the current outbreaks.
James Kakalios, Professor of Physics at Minnesota University, explains how he uses fictional superheroes to further his students' understanding of physics.
Following last week's programme about unsung scientific heroes, Quentin showcases some of the listeners' suggestions.
And he finds out why the British military is employing scientists to design underpants for soldiers serving in Afghanistan.
THU 17:00 PM (b01phlgd)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01phdy5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Births, Deaths and Marriages (b01jxvnz)
Series 1
Episode 5
In this episode, Malcolm loses his registrar mojo when his ex-girlfriend Emma comes into the office to register her marriage while Lorna tries to introduce themed weddings.
'Births, Deaths and Marriages' is a new sitcom set in a Local Authority Register Office, where the staff deal with the three greatest events in anybody's life.
Written by David Schneider ('The Day Today', 'I'm Alan Partridge'), he stars as chief registrar Malcolm Fox who is a stickler for rules and would be willing to interrupt any wedding service if the width of the bride infringes health and safety. He's unmarried but why does he need to be? He's married thousands of women.
Alongside him are rival and divorcee Lorna who has been parachuted in from Car Parks to drag the office (and Malcolm) into the 21st century. To her marriage isn't just about love and romance, it's got to be about making a profit in our new age of austerity.
There's also the ever spiky Mary, geeky Luke who's worried he'll end up like Malcolm one day while ditzy Anita may get her words and names mixed up occasionally but as the only parent in the office, she's a mother to them all.
Cast:
Malcolm ....... David Schneider
Lorna ....... Sarah Hadland
Anita ....... Sandy McDade
Luke ...... Russell Tovey
Mary ...... Sally Bretton
Richard, Male Dalek Voice, Bride's father .......Simon Greenall
Emma, Mrs Crawley ....... Jane Whittenshaw
Bride, female guest ....... Gina Peach
Producer: Simon Jacobs
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b01phlgg)
Peggy is enjoying a very windy Whitby rather more than Lilian is. Peggy is surprised when Lilian explains that the young people 'in fancy dress' are actually Goths, who come to the town for its Dracula connections. As they prepare for dinner, Lilian is flustered when Peggy offers to read out a text Lilian has received. Lilian intercepts it and says it's just James.
Neil invites Mike for a drink. Mike would rather stay with Vicky but she insists she'll be fine. Still concerned, Mike phones Brenda and asks her to look in on Vicky.
Vicky realises that Brenda's visit is Mike's idea but she's not complaining. They spend a relaxed evening discussing possible baby names. Nothing's decided for definite yet but Vicky dreamily reflects on the imminent arrival of Bethany Claire.
The baby is the main topic of conversation in the Bull too. Mike's looking forward to meeting his little girl but his old doubts creep back. Neil assures Mike that it's natural to get cold feet - he was the same with Emma. Mike just hopes Vicky is right and that the baby will be healthy and happy - and have a least a bit of independence in her life.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b01phlgj)
Comedian Jack Whitehall, Michael Dobbs on Borgen, and writer Stuart Neville
With Mark Lawson
Comedian and actor Jack Whitehall was hardly off our screens in 2012 - playing a struggling newly-qualified teacher in self-penned sitcom Bad Education and as the über-posh JP in Channel 4's Fresh Meat. He explains how he destroyed his chances of playing Harry Potter and why it's his mum's fault he's obsessed with Robert Pattinson.
Danish political TV drama Borgen - the second series of which starts this weekend - follows the attempts to form and maintain a coalition government by the female Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg. Conservative Peer Michael Dobbs and Labour MP Gisela Stuart give their verdicts.
Irish novelist Stuart Neville discusses his new historical thriller Ratlines, set in Ireland in the 1960s. When a German businessman is found murdered in a guest house, it transpires he is just one of a number of former Nazis granted asylum by the Irish government.
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
THU 19:45 The Cazalets (b01phktb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b01phlgl)
Historic Child Abuse Lessons
After a year marked by new revelations and allegations about the scale of historic child abuse in England and Wales, Simon Cox asks whether there are lessons in the way other countries have tackled the problem. In Northern Ireland victims from across the province have begun giving testimony to an independent inquiry panel and in Scotland there are also plans for a national hearing to take evidence from residents of children's homes across the country. In the Irish Republic, as long ago as 1999, the Prime Minister apologised on behalf of the State and set up a redress board to make pay-outs to victims of abuse. But there are complaints there from those who felt it didn't go far enough and from others worried about the way costs quickly spiralled. So should there be, as some argue, a comprehensive nation-wide inquiry in England and Wales? Would it just re-open old wounds or is a truth and reconciliation process necessary to learn the lessons of the past and protect children in the future?
Producer: Nicola Dowling.
THU 20:30 In Business (b01phlgn)
Sounds Familiar
After years of promise, voice recognition is at last becoming a significant method of using computers and accessing the Internet. Why now, and what difference does it make? Peter Day talks to the companies at the forefront of developments in the field (including Massachusetts-based Nuance, one of the largest makers of voice recognition technology), and asks whether our relationship with machines will change once we have the ability to talk to them.
[Picture: The IBM Shoebox, introduced in 1962, could understand 16 words: zero, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, minus, plus, subtotal, total, false, and off.].
THU 21:00 Saving Species (b01phft2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 on Tuesday]
THU 21:30 The Value of Culture (b01phkt6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 21:58 Weather (b01phdy7)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b01phlgq)
Abid Naseer - accused of leading an al-Qaeda plot to set off bombs in Manchester - has been extradited to the US, a very rare report from North Afghanistan near the border with Tajikistan, and cattle rustling is on the increase in Texas, with Carolyn Quinn.
THU 22:45 Daphne Du Maurier (b01phlgs)
Frenchman's Creek
Episode 9
Part adventure, part romance, and set in Cornwall, Daphne Du Maurier's novel tells the powerful love story between Lady Dona and the French pirate Aubery.
Episode 9
Dona fights for her life and her lover in the face of Rockingham's jealous rage and struggles to bridge the impossible gulf that divides her and the captured Frenchman.
Read by Adjoa Andoh
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:00 The Simon Day Show (b0112ydl)
Series 1
Tommy Cockles
Simon Day and his characters welcome listeners to The Mallard, a small provincial theatre somewhere in the UK. Each week one of Simon's characters come to perform at The Mallard and we hear the highlights of that night's show along with the back stage and front of house goings on at the theatre itself.
This week, comedy legend Tommy Cockles performs at the Mallard and is stunned to discover that manager Ron Bone has no idea who he is.
Cast list:
Tommy Cockles ..... Simon Day
Catherine ..... Catherine Shepherd
Goose ..... Felix Dexter
Ron Bone ..... Simon Greenall
Written by Simon Day
Produced by Colin Anderson.
THU 23:30 The History Plays (b01d1403)
O Salutaris Hostia, Diana
The History Plays are a series of imagined conversations at key moments in the recent history of Britain.
In "O Salutaris Hostia, Diana" Imelda Staunton stars as Martha and Toby Jones as Graham. The couple look back over their lives together but their very different views on Diana mask a far more personal conflict, and Graham's dislike of the princess has its roots in his pain over the circumstances of their son Alan's death.
Written and directed by Nigel Smith
Produced by Gareth Edwards.
FRIDAY 04 JANUARY 2013
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b01phdz2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b01pk8cv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b01phdz4)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b01phdz6)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b01phdz8)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b01phdzb)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b01px5v9)
Presented by the Very Rev Graham Forbes, Provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b01phm1d)
Charlotte Smith reports from the Oxford Farming Conference, as the government launches a farming recruitment drive. But after a year of flood, drought and a disastrous harvest, who would want a career in agriculture?
Presenter: Charlotte Smith. Producer: Melvin Rickarby.
FRI 06:00 Today (b01phm1g)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 The Value of Culture (b01phm1j)
What's the Value of Culture Today?
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the meaning and value of culture in the twenty-first century. In a programme recorded in front of an audience at Newcastle's Literary and Philosophical Society, Melvyn and the panel consider whether Matthew Arnold's assessment of culture as 'the great help out of our present difficulties' still has any relevance, almost 150 years after it was written.
With:
Sir Christopher Frayling
Former Rector of the Royal College of Art and Chair of Arts Council England
Tiffany Jenkins
Sociologist and cultural commentator
Matt Ridley
Scientist and writer
Producer: Thomas Morris.
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b01pk8fn)
Wild
Episode 5
Cheryl Strayed's redemptive account of hiking 1100 miles alone through America's rugged western landscape. At twenty-six Cheryl Strayed thought she'd lost everything after her mother died, and her marriage crumbled. With no previous experience of backpacking, she made the impulsive decision to rebuild her life by setting out on an incredible journey along America's Pacific Crest Trail. Today, Cheryl anticipates the journey's end.
Read by Kelly Burke
Abridged by Miranda Davies
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b01phm1l)
Sounds of 2013; Choosing a guardian for your children; Men who secretly diet; Birmingham gun crime
Presented by Jenni Murray. This year women artists have dominated the shortlist for the BBC's annual poll of new musical talent. Music journalist Jude Rogers considers who are the names set to make it big in 2013? Marcia Shakespeare and Beverley Thomas - the mothers of two girls killed in a drive by shooting 10 years ago - talk about their ongoing crusade against gang and gun crime. Appointing a legal guardian for children is the one of the most important decisions a parent can make. How do you decide who will look after your children if the worst should happen? Jenni talks to author and mother of three, Lizzie Enfield and to Liz Braude, head of wills, trusts and estate planning at law firm Pannone. A recent survey by a diet brand of over 600 men found that although the majority wanted to lose weight a third of them wanted to keep quiet about it - out of sheer embarrassment. It seems that for some men dieting is still "something women do". Hairy Biker, Dave Myers, who recently lost 3 stone, and Dr Ian Campbell, GP and specialist in weight management, discuss men's attitudes to dieting.
FRI 10:45 The Cazalets (b01phm1n)
The Light Years
Episode 5
5/10 by Elizabeth Jane Howard, dramatised by Sarah Daniels
As Sid worries about the situation in Germany, Louise discovers an enemy within her own family.
Produced and Directed by Sally Avens and Marion Nancarrow
The Light Year's tells the story of the extended Cazalet family. Set in the lead up to the outbreak of World War II, it appears that the Cazalets have it all but we soon discover that infidelity, indiscretions, jealousies and misplaced loyalties lurk just beneath the surface.
As Elizabeth Jane Howard approaches her 90th Birthday Radio 4 is to broadcast all four of her Cazalet novels , The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion and Casting Off; The story of the family stretches over ten years (1937-1947) The dramatisations begin on New's Year Eve and finish in August 2013.
FRI 11:00 The Silent Epidemic (b01phm1q)
Everybody assumes that the biggest killers of children in poor countries are diseases like cholera, pneumonia and dysentery and it's this belief that still drives the global public health agenda.
Yet it's not actually true.
In countries like Bangladesh, drowning is the number one killer and it's a leading cause of death in south-east Asia. There are a quarter of a million child fatalities from drowning every year - as many as all the children and adults who drowned in the Asian tsunami of 2004. Yet because most child drownings go unrecorded and because they happen in ones and twos every day, rather than in one great cataclysmic event, the problem has gone largely unreported. It's a hidden killer - a 'silent epidemic'.
Mark Whitaker reports from Bangladesh, and also from Vietnam where the problem was identified with the help of the first US Ambassador to the country after the war, Pete Peterson. An ex-fighter pilot who spent six years as a POW in Hanoi, Peterson founded The Alliance for Safe Children which led the research revealing the problem and now leads a large drowning prevention programme.
Children drown in these countries because there are so many ponds, irrigation ditches and rivers, often within yards of each house. Few know how to swim and the youngest are particularly vulnerable when mothers are too busy to supervise them closely. So in Bangladesh, a country that is 70% under water, TASC is pioneering a huge programme of "survival swimming", training local instructors to teach simple swimming strokes, treading water and safe rescue. For children under four, there's a parallel programme of village creches to keep them safe while their mothers do the chores.
Producer: Mike Hally
A Square Dog Radio production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:30 Slippered Pantaloons (b01jqfk6)
So what does it mean to be old?
The drama of stage and screen is one of the places we have traditionally gone to for answers to this sort of question. Theatre plays, sit-coms and soaps are full of images of the elderly - sometimes affectionate, sometimes contemptuous - that explore this subject. But what about the people who embody those images?
Slippered Pantaloons explores how actors come to terms with ageing, and draws parallels with how old age is portrayed on stage and screen. From characters like Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave via our favourite matriarchal soap opera figures to the deep and flawed characters of Shakespeare. Are there enough of these great characters and do they really reflect our aging demographic?
As a culture we are only just beginning to take serious notice of ageing. In England and Wales alone, census figures show that between 1900 and 1950, the number of centenarians receiving the traditional telegram from the monarch held fairly steady at under 400. By the 2001 census, this had risen to nearly 9000. By 2025, there are expected to be 1.2 billion people aged 60 or over worldwide. Are they visible in the plays being written and performed today?
Along with the physicality of performance, no artist is as conscious of the ageing process, no artist makes us as conscious of the ageing process, as the actor whose body itself displays, hides or imitates the ineluctable signs of youth or age.
So what does it mean to be old - for actors and the parts they play?
Presenter: Simon Fanshawe
Producer: Rob Alexander
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:00 You and Yours (b01phm1s)
Alcohol units
We all want to believe that a little bit of alcohol can be good for us but what's the truth? Dr Michael Mosley examines the Government guidelines.
Drivers in France beware; the police are removing hundreds of speed camera signs but the cameras will still work. The French government say the subterfuge is necessary to help reduce death on the nation's roads.
The Persimmon is an exotic fruit that looks a bit like tomato and sales in the UK have rocketed after it was declared a new super food.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b01phdzd)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b01phm1v)
National and international news with Norman Smith. Listeners can share their views via email: wato@bbc.co.uk or on twitter: #wato.
FRI 13:45 Belle de Jour's History of Anon (b01phm1x)
Identity and Control
A history of anonymity and why writers have sought it, as told by Brooke Magnanti, the real voice behind one of the 21st century's most famous anonymous texts, Belle de Jour's Diary of a London Call Girl. Brooke explores motivations for remaining masked and the lengths the anonymous have gone to in order to remain unnamed. She draws on her own experiences to reveal how the concept of anonymity has changed - and how both writers and readers have dealt with it. From life or death to trivial and bitchy, juggling open disclosure with the withholding of vital information, Brooke shows us that whilst we may not know their names, the anonymous have long shaped our worldview.
Here, Brooke ponders the impact of anonymity on the anonymous themselves. She speaks to other people who have used anonymity about their experiences and the different ways in which they have played with the concept - and finds out what happened when they were unmasked.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b01phlgg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b01phm1z)
John Dryden - The Reluctant Spy
Episode 3
The final part of John Dryden's thriller set against the political upheavals in Egypt.
Things are spiralling out of control for Duncan who has attracted the attentions of the Egyptian authorities investigating the disappearance of a university student.
Caught between his love for his daughter, his increasing infatuation with the mysterious Tara, and a desperate need to escape his past, Duncan navigates his way through a complex web of secrets and misinformation that threaten to destroy him, as a new Egypt struggles to realign itself in the world.
Casting: Toby Whale
Production Manager: Russell Owen
Script Editor: Mike Walker
Sound design: Steve Bond
Music: Sacha Puttnam
Written, produced and directed by John Dryden
A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4
John Dryden
This is John's forth trilogy for Radio 4, after SEVERED THREADS, PANDEMIC (winner of this year's Writers' Guild award for Best Radio Drama) and A TOKYO MURDER. He recently directed and co-wrote with journalist Owen Bennett-Jones the documentary/drama BLASPHEMY AND THE GOVERNOR OF PUNJAB.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b01phm21)
Mercia
Peter Gibbs is joined by panel members Christine Walkden, Chris Beardshaw and Bob Flowerdew to kick off the new gardening year in the first Gardeners' Question Time programme of 2013, recorded in Mercia.
Produced by Howard Shannon
A Somethin' Else Production for BBC Radio 4.
Q. Can growing Chrysanthemums and tomatoes in succession in the greenhouse border cause problems?
A. Certain plants are antithetical to other plants and leave residues in the soil that can harm them. It could be a problem, but you could dig a trench and refill it with old grass turfs and begin again.
Q. I have two Bromeliads, one a Tillandsia and the other a Guzmania. How can I propagate them and is it worth it?
A. Removed and divided offsets will normally take between 3-5 years to reach flowering size.
Q. Do the panel have any advice on building a Peach tree protection or cover, specifically how to attach plastic to the frame?
A. Peach trees need to be kept dry from around Christmas until the end of March in order to prevent Peach Leaf Curl. A temporary structure can be constructed with a sheet or Perspex fixed onto hanging basket brackets, with roller blinds pulled down around the sides. You can also spray with Bordeaux Mixture, or plant Avalon Pride, a new Peach variety that doesn't get Peach Leaf Curl very badly.
Q. What could I plant for colour, scent and structure to replace a Privet hedge that is 10ft high, 5ft wide and 60ft long.
A. A British native hedge of Rosa Rugosa, Crataegus Prunifolia, Sloe, Viburnum or Guelder Roses are advised, but will need maintenance just like the Privet. You could cut the existing Privet right back to the stumps and let it grow back to the desired size.
Q. Could the panel recommend any white flowered herbaceous perennials to grow beneath a holly hedge?
A. Campanula Alternifolia 'Alba', Wood Anemones and Digitalis Purpurea 'Albiflora' (perennial Foxgloves) are all recommended. Alternatively, the Sillybum Marianum milk thistle has white-marked leaves, while the Onopordon thistle is a grayish white colour.
Q. My two Prunus trees suffered from dieback over the summer. Can you advise?
A. There is some staining in evidence in the plant tissue below the bark which suggests bacterial canker. This can be tackled either by improving growing conditions or by removing the trees altogether.
Q. My Saffron Crocus bulbs, brought three years ago, are producing leaves but not flowers. Why not?
A. Move the bulbs in their pot into a greenhouse or other protected area to help them get started and protect them from any slugs!
Q. I'd like to create a small pond close to the house. How can I prevent this from becoming home to mosquitoes?
A. Place the pond so that it overlaps with as many different habitats as possible, which will encourage the wildlife. To discourage mosquitoes, plant and gravel right up to the water level and do not allow any mud.
Q. How can you encourage hens to lay on shredded paper?
A. Hens tend to prefer barley straw. If they really don't like the nest box, there may be mites or fleas, which can be treated with various products.
FRI 15:45 Student Stories (b01phm23)
Carrel 16 - Fifth Floor - Ussher Library
Three stories about contemporary student life written by students. What is modern student life really like? Parties and Love and Lectures? Debts and daytime telly? Self-doubt and self-discovery? These stories, offering a snapshot of student life illustrate it is all this and more.
Carrel 16 - Fifth Floor - Ussher Library
By Gerald Murphy
It's the day of the Trinity College Ball in Dublin and Brendan has a plan. He'll spend the day studying for his Economics and Business exams in the library and then crash the ball in the evening to meet up with Helen, the girl he's trying to impress. But when his revision doesn't go quite as planned and he gets locked in, Brendan discovers an escape route out of more than just the library.
Gerald Murphy holds an MA in Playwriting from Trinity College Dublin as well as a Diploma in Film and TV Project Development from UCLA. His primary degree was in Marketing. He has written several plays including the RTE PJ O'Connor Award winning radio play Stranger in the Night and Take Me Away, winner of the Edinburgh Fringe First Award and the Stewart Parker Award. Gerald teaches scriptwriting at BCFE in Dublin and in 2012 co-founded Figure 8 Films with Orla Murphy.
Produced by Heather Larmour.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b01phm25)
An American General, a legendary radio producer, a former Times editor, a British composer, a cricket commentator
Matthew Bannister on
Norman Schwarzkopf, the American General nicknamed "Stormin' Norman" who led the international force which re-took Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's invading Iraqi army. We speak to his British counterpart Sir Peter de la Billiere
Charles Chilton, the legendary BBC Radio producer who gave us the serial "Journey Into Space". His friend David Jacobs pays tribute.
Lord Rees Mogg the former editor of the Times and newspaper columnist. We hear from his successor Sir Harold Evans and his son Jacob.
Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, the composer who wrote film, jazz and classical scores
And Christopher Martin Jenkins, much loved cricket commentator and writer who had a difficult relationship with technology.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (b01phn0y)
The Parable of the Ox
Tim Harford tells us what a 'guess the weight of the ox' competition tells us about a bloated and dysfunctional financial system. It features two noted economics writers: James Surowiecki of the New Yorker and John Kay of the Financial Times and a brand new composition from the New Radiophonic Workshop.
Dr James Grime brings a real-live enigma machine into the studio and we ask how you measure which is the greatest racehorse of all time.
FRI 17:00 PM (b01phn10)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b01phdzg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b01phn12)
Series 79
Episode 3
The News Quiz (Sandi Toksvig & Jeremy Hardy) take on The Now Show (Steve Punt & Hugh Dennis) in the ultimate topical smackdown. Hosted by Rory Bremner.
Produced by Lyndsay Fenner.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b01phn14)
As Jill and Lynda prepare the catering for Bob Pullen's funeral, they discuss Clive's re-arrest for breaching the conditions of his licence. Lynda comments on Joe's smart, suited appearance. Joe points out that Bob had said he could have any of his clothes that took his fancy.
The issue of Bob's Will arises. Jill's not found anything in his bungalow, and Joe's emphatic that he hasn't seen anything either. Joe uses every opportunity to remind people that he's now officially the oldest man in the village.
Lynda thanks Kenton for his input into the hugely successful Christmas show, although his methods were not conventional. Kenton is close to dropping Jill in it, but she denies having any knowledge of Kenton's interventions, and doesn't want Lynda to find out otherwise.
Peggy and Lilian are not having a very harmonious time in Whitby, with Peggy exhibiting too much energy for Lilian's liking. Peggy insists on climbing the 199 steps to the abbey.
Lilian is less than impressed, as she later tells Paul in a secret phone call. When Peggy walks in, Lilian over-reacts. Paul assures her she sounded fine but Lilian's not convinced and fears Peggy will put two and two together.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b01phn16)
Haim, Mr Selfridge, The Imposter, theatre ticket pricing
Haim - the Los Angeles guitar trio of sisters - were announced this morning as the winners of the BBC Sound of 2013. Over 200 influential music experts, DJs, bloggers and music critics created a shortlist of 15 artists as their favourite new acts for the year ahead, and chose Haim as the winners, following in the footsteps of Adele, Ellie Goulding and Michael Kiwanuka. On the line from Los Angeles Haim give their response to the news.
Mr Selfridge is ITV's new Sunday night drama - telling the story of the man behind the Oxford Street store and how it began in 1909. It stars the American actor Jeremy Piven in the title role and is written by Andrew Davies. The BBC's Economics Editor, Stephanie Flanders, reviews it.
The Imposter was one of the best reviewed films of last year and the most popular documentary in British cinemas. The remarkable story of a Frenchman who assumes the identity of a missing American teenager is released on DVD next week and is reviewed by Sandra Hebron.
Ten years after the National Theatre introduced their Travelex sponsored £10 ticket scheme, theatres are experimenting with ticketing initiatives to attract new audiences and ensure the maximum return in austere times. Dominic Hill from the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Trina Jones from the Rep Theatre in Birmingham and Josie Rourke from The Donmar Warehouse in London discuss the importance of getting the ticket price right.
Producer Stephen Hughes.
FRI 19:45 The Cazalets (b01phm1n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Archive on 4 (b01hdp9g)
The Great Listener
Tony Parker was a ground-breaking writer and oral historian - the master of the tape-recorded interview. Whether talking to convicted murderers, the homeless, impotent men or unmarried mothers, his enigmatic quiet empathy meant that people opened up to him with immense honesty and trust. He was the Great Listener.
The result was a unique and expansive body of work, in which he shaped these real-life stories into compelling thematic narratives. By the time of his death in 1996, he had published scores of books, made documentaries for radio and television, and pioneered the genre of verbatim drama.
Although his work was always based on real people in real places, Parker gave all his interviewees and their locations pseudonyms, and he scrupulously destroyed all traces of the interviews-the tapes and the transcripts-once the books were published.
Alan Dein traces the story of Tony Parker through the archive that remains and along the way tries to get behind the pseudonyms and obfuscation and track down some of Tony Parker's interviewees to find out what it was like to open up to the Great Listener.
Producer: Martin Williams.
FRI 21:00 It's Fun, But Is It Theatre? (b01j5fwn)
You may find yourself conducting a bank robbery, being dragged into a dark corner by an opera singer, feel the tickle of cobwebs run over your face in the dark, or stand two feet away from a woman who has just been raped. Immersive, site specific, site-responsive, installation - but definitely not for the faint-hearted - the interactive trend in the 21st century theatrical scene has been gathering pace and popularity.
Companies such as Punchdrunk, YouMeBumBumTrain, dreamthinkspeak, Sound and Fury and Artichoke have wowed audiences, selling out tickets, or filling city centres with spectators, wherever they have popped up, and in some cases that means in warehouses, streets or abandoned basements.
Sarah Hemming, theatre critic for the Financial Times screws her courage to the sticking point and embarks on a series of theatrical experiences, to help you decide whether you too might enjoy this type of theatre trip: the sort that doesn't involve a stage, a programme, an ice cream at the interval - oh, or a seat. Experiences can range from Lucien Bourjeily's re- enactment of imprisonment in a Syrian detention centre - "we promise you will be released at the end" ,to a magical storytelling moment by a cosy library fireplace - but is it theatre?
Talking to Felix Barrett, creator of Punchdrunk; Tristan Sharps of dreamthinkspeak; Nicky Webb from Artichoke; Sound and Fury's Dan Jones, and experiencing the full force of the improvisation medley that is YouMeBumBumTrain, Sarah boldly goes beyond the fourth wall.
Appearing for the defence, Guardian critic, Lyn Gardner, and for the prosecution Whatsonstage critic Michael Coveney.
Producer: Sara Jane Hall
(Repeat).
FRI 21:30 The Value of Culture (b01phm1j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
FRI 21:58 Weather (b01phdzj)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b01phn47)
Church to drop opposition to gay bishops but only if they declare celibacy; closing the door on US tax evasion by targeting Swiss banks; and are we losing trust in UK institutions with Carolyn Quinn.
FRI 22:45 Daphne Du Maurier (b01phn49)
Frenchman's Creek
Episode 10
Part adventure, part romance, and set in Cornwall, Daphne Du Maurier's novel tells the powerful love story between Lady Dona and the French pirate Aubery.
Episode 10
With just hours to go before he is hanged, Dona and William conspire to spring the Frenchman from his prison. But will their plan succeed?
Read by Adjoa Andoh
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b01phgjs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 The History Plays (b01dhs1h)
A History of Blair in 9 1/2 Voices
Last in Nigel Smith's series of plays set at key moments in the last five decades.
A History of Tony Blair in 9 1/2 voices stars Jon Culshaw as Tony Blair, lost in the winding corridors of the BBC the day after his resignation. He finds himself sharing a room with Sue (Fiona Allen), a struggling impressionist who assumes he is a Tony Blair lookalike. Blair enjoys the opportunity to talk about himself in the third person, and to show off a few impressions of his own.
A darkly comic but thoughtful exploration of what makes Blair tick, the play gives a compelling explanation for what may have lain behind Blair's early political successes and what prompted his unwavering commitment to the war in Iraq.
Written and directed by Nigel Smith
Produced by Gareth Edwards.
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 Musical
18:15 MON (b01phfmv)
15 Minute Musical
18:15 TUE (b01phhb1)
A Point of View
08:50 SUN (b01pglsb)
A Tale of Two Sittings
11:00 WED (b01phhyc)
Afternoon Reading
00:30 SUN (b011j8zn)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b01pgq4j)
Archive on 4
20:00 FRI (b01hdp9g)
Belle de Jour's History of Anon
13:45 MON (b01phf7d)
Belle de Jour's History of Anon
13:45 TUE (b01phg8c)
Belle de Jour's History of Anon
13:45 WED (b01phhym)
Belle de Jour's History of Anon
13:45 THU (b01phktn)
Belle de Jour's History of Anon
13:45 FRI (b01phm1x)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (b01pgqcc)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (b01pgqcc)
Bellydancing and the Blues
15:30 SAT (b01pg3qt)
Ben Goldacre's Bad Evidence
20:00 TUE (b01phhb9)
Beyond Belief
16:30 MON (b01phf89)
Births, Deaths and Marriages
18:30 THU (b01jxvnz)
Book of the Week
00:30 SAT (b01pgjy7)
Book of the Week
09:45 MON (b01phf4f)
Book of the Week
00:30 TUE (b01phf4f)
Book of the Week
09:45 TUE (b01pkkky)
Book of the Week
00:30 WED (b01pkkky)
Book of the Week
09:45 WED (b01pkkr7)
Book of the Week
00:30 THU (b01pkkr7)
Book of the Week
09:45 THU (b01pk8cv)
Book of the Week
00:30 FRI (b01pk8cv)
Book of the Week
09:45 FRI (b01pk8fn)
Brain of Britain
23:00 SAT (b01pgq4l)
Brain of Britain
15:00 MON (b01phf7j)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (b01ph5b1)
Clare in the Community
11:30 WED (b01phhyf)
Classic Serial
21:00 SAT (b01pf6f7)
Classic Serial
15:00 SUN (b01ph7fc)
Correspondents' Look Ahead
13:10 SAT (b01pgg83)
Crossing Continents
20:30 MON (b01pg5p2)
Crossing Continents
11:00 THU (b01phktd)
Daphne Du Maurier
22:45 MON (b01phfq9)
Daphne Du Maurier
22:45 TUE (b01phhbh)
Daphne Du Maurier
22:45 WED (b01phjbd)
Daphne Du Maurier
22:45 THU (b01phlgs)
Daphne Du Maurier
22:45 FRI (b01phn49)
Desert Island Discs
11:15 SUN (b01ph5b5)
Dr Inkblot
15:30 WED (b01l0kch)
Drama
14:15 MON (b01phf7g)
Drama
14:15 TUE (b011p607)
Drama
14:15 WED (b01phj10)
Drama
14:15 THU (b01phktq)
Drama
14:15 FRI (b01phm1z)
Enid Blyton - The Magic Faraway Tree
11:30 MON (b01phf4m)
Every Day in Every Way
20:30 SUN (b01mqq6f)
Face the Facts
12:30 WED (b01pj2s6)
Fairy Tales Retold by Sara Maitland
19:45 SUN (b01phdqk)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (b01pgmgp)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (b01phf2c)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (b01phfsr)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (b01phhy1)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (b01phkt2)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (b01phm1d)
Forgetting a Revolutionary: Lawrence Durrell at 100
11:30 THU (b01phktg)
Four Thought
05:45 SUN (b01pg54z)
Four Thought
20:45 WED (b01phjb8)
From Fact to Fiction
19:00 SAT (b01pgq31)
From Fact to Fiction
17:40 SUN (b01pgq31)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (b01pgnbp)
Front Row
19:15 MON (b01phfn1)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (b01phhb7)
Front Row
19:15 WED (b01phjb4)
Front Row
19:15 THU (b01phlgj)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (b01phn16)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (b01pgll5)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (b01phm21)
Great Lives
16:30 TUE (b01phgjs)
Great Lives
23:00 FRI (b01phgjs)
Hardeep's Sunday Lunch
13:30 SUN (b01ph7f4)
Heresy
23:00 TUE (b017mv2b)
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
12:00 SUN (b01pfv8y)
I'm Suzy and I'm a Phobic
21:00 WED (b01lv7y0)
I'm a Lumberjack
21:00 TUE (b01mqmgj)
I've Never Seen Star Wars
18:30 TUE (b01phhb3)
In Business
21:30 SUN (b01pgh6t)
In Business
20:30 THU (b01phlgn)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (b01phhbc)
It's Fun, But Is It Theatre?
21:00 FRI (b01j5fwn)
Jazz Is Dead
11:30 TUE (b01phg6m)
Just William - Live!
19:15 SUN (b01ph83g)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (b01phm25)
Lives in a Landscape
15:30 TUE (b01n1qxw)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (b01pgq2z)
Mark Steel's in Town
18:30 WED (b01phjb0)
Material World
21:00 MON (b01pgh5x)
Material World
16:30 THU (b01phlgb)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (b01pglxr)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (b01pgq6d)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (b01phds6)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (b01phfsp)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (b01phdwd)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (b01phdxs)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (b01phdz2)
Money Box Live
15:00 WED (b01phj12)
Money Box
12:00 SAT (b01pgnbr)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (b01pgnbr)
More or Less
20:00 SUN (b01pglrw)
More or Less
16:30 FRI (b01phn0y)
Musical Migrants
00:17 WED (b015zs0x)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (b01pgly0)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (b01pgq6n)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (b01phdsg)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (b01phdv3)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (b01phdwn)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (b01phdy1)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (b01phdzb)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (b01pgq6q)
News Review of the Year
22:00 SUN (b01phdqp)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (b01pgly2)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (b01pgq6v)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (b01pgq6z)
News and Weather
22:00 SAT (b01pglyl)
News
13:00 SAT (b01pglyb)
Northern Ireland: Who Are We Now?
20:00 MON (b01phfn3)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (b01ph59s)
Open Book
16:00 SUN (b01ph7ff)
Open Book
15:30 THU (b01ph7ff)
Open Country
06:07 SAT (b01pgh27)
Open Country
15:00 THU (b01phkts)
PM
17:00 SAT (b01pgq2x)
PM
17:00 MON (b01phf8c)
PM
17:00 TUE (b01phgkt)
PM
17:00 WED (b01phj43)
PM
17:00 THU (b01phlgd)
PM
17:00 FRI (b01phn10)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (b01ph7fp)
Pick of the Week
12:00 TUE (b01ph7fp)
Pick of the Year
19:15 SAT (b01pfxhz)
Poetry Please
23:30 SAT (b01pf7kf)
Poetry Please
16:30 SUN (b01ph7fh)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (b01pgmgk)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (b01px5vf)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (b01px5v3)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (b01px5v5)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (b01px5v7)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (b01px5v9)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:55 SUN (b01ph59x)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:26 SUN (b01ph59x)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (b01ph59x)
Roger, the Eagle Has Landed
16:00 MON (b01phf7l)
Sarah Millican's Support Group
23:00 WED (b010twf6)
Saturday Drama
14:30 SAT (b01pgnbt)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (b01pgnbh)
Saving Species
11:00 TUE (b01phft2)
Saving Species
21:00 THU (b01phft2)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (b01pglxw)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (b01pgq6j)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (b01phdsb)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (b01phdtz)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (b01phdwj)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (b01phdxx)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (b01phdz6)
Shakespeare Is German
10:30 SAT (b01pgnbk)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (b01pglxt)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (b01pglxy)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (b01pglyd)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (b01pgq6g)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (b01pgq6l)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (b01pgq73)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (b01phds8)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (b01phdsd)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (b01phdtx)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (b01phdv1)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (b01phdwg)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (b01phdwl)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (b01phdxv)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (b01phdxz)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (b01phdz4)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (b01phdz8)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (b01pglyj)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (b01pgq77)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (b01phdsn)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (b01phdvh)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (b01phdws)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (b01phdy5)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (b01phdzg)
Slippered Pantaloons
11:30 FRI (b01jqfk6)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b01ph59q)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (b01ph59q)
Stephen Fry on the Phone
00:15 SAT (b017chq0)
Stephen Fry on the Phone
00:15 SUN (b017cjmn)
Stephen Fry on the Phone
00:15 TUE (b017clwx)
Student Stories
15:45 FRI (b01phm23)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (b01ph59z)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (b01ph59v)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (b01ph5b3)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (b01ph7lh)
The Archers
14:00 MON (b01ph7lh)
The Archers
19:00 MON (b01phfmz)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (b01phfmz)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (b01phhb5)
The Archers
14:00 WED (b01phhb5)
The Archers
19:00 WED (b01phjb2)
The Archers
14:00 THU (b01phjb2)
The Archers
19:00 THU (b01phlgg)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (b01phlgg)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (b01phn14)
The Cazalets
10:45 MON (b01phf4k)
The Cazalets
19:45 MON (b01phf4k)
The Cazalets
10:45 TUE (b01phft0)
The Cazalets
19:45 TUE (b01phft0)
The Cazalets
10:45 WED (b01phhy9)
The Cazalets
19:45 WED (b01phhy9)
The Cazalets
10:45 THU (b01phktb)
The Cazalets
19:45 THU (b01phktb)
The Cazalets
10:45 FRI (b01phm1n)
The Cazalets
19:45 FRI (b01phm1n)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (b01pgh5v)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (b01phlg8)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (b01ph7f0)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (b01ph7f0)
The Forum
11:00 SAT (b01pgnbm)
The History Plays
23:30 MON (b01cmfh1)
The History Plays
23:30 TUE (b01cdvb7)
The History Plays
23:30 WED (b01cw5p1)
The History Plays
23:30 THU (b01d1403)
The History Plays
23:30 FRI (b01dhs1h)
The Hobbit, the Musical
11:00 MON (b01ld15z)
The Kitchen Cabinet
15:00 TUE (b01phgjn)
The Left to Die Boat
17:00 SUN (b01pnn8d)
The Listening Project
14:00 SAT (b01p7hdz)
The Listening Project
14:45 SUN (b01ph7f7)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (b01phj2m)
The News Quiz
12:30 SAT (b01pgls4)
The News Quiz
18:30 FRI (b01phn12)
The Report
20:00 THU (b01phlgl)
The Silent Epidemic
11:00 FRI (b01phm1q)
The Simon Day Show
23:00 THU (b0112ydl)
The Unbelievable Truth
18:30 MON (b01phfmx)
The Value of Culture
09:00 MON (b01phf4c)
The Value of Culture
21:30 MON (b01phf4c)
The Value of Culture
09:00 TUE (b01phfsw)
The Value of Culture
21:30 TUE (b01phfsw)
The Value of Culture
09:00 WED (b01phhy5)
The Value of Culture
21:30 WED (b01phhy5)
The Value of Culture
09:00 THU (b01phkt6)
The Value of Culture
21:30 THU (b01phkt6)
The Value of Culture
09:00 FRI (b01phm1j)
The Value of Culture
21:30 FRI (b01phm1j)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (b01ph7f2)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (b01phfq7)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (b01phhbf)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (b01phjbb)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (b01phlgq)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (b01phn47)
Thinking Allowed
00:15 MON (b01pg54j)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (b01phj21)
Today
07:00 SAT (b01pgnbf)
Today
06:00 MON (b01phf2f)
Today
06:00 TUE (b01phfst)
Today
06:00 WED (b01phhy3)
Today
06:00 THU (b01phkt4)
Today
06:00 FRI (b01phm1g)
Unreliable Evidence
22:15 SAT (b01pg54x)
Unreliable Evidence
20:00 WED (b01phjb6)
Weather
06:04 SAT (b01pgly4)
Weather
06:57 SAT (b01pgly6)
Weather
12:57 SAT (b01pgly8)
Weather
17:57 SAT (b01pglyg)
Weather
06:57 SUN (b01pgq6s)
Weather
07:57 SUN (b01pgq6x)
Weather
12:57 SUN (b01pgq71)
Weather
17:57 SUN (b01pgq75)
Weather
05:57 MON (b01phdsj)
Weather
12:57 MON (b01phdsl)
Weather
21:58 MON (b01phdss)
Weather
12:57 TUE (b01phdv5)
Weather
21:58 TUE (b01phdvk)
Weather
12:57 WED (b01phdwq)
Weather
21:58 WED (b01phdwx)
Weather
12:57 THU (b01phdy3)
Weather
21:58 THU (b01phdy7)
Weather
12:57 FRI (b01phdzd)
Weather
21:58 FRI (b01phdzj)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (b01pgq2v)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (b01phf4h)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (b01phfsy)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (b01phhy7)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (b01phkt8)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (b01phm1l)
Word of Mouth
23:00 MON (b01pfxj1)
Word of Mouth
16:00 TUE (b01phgjq)
World at One
13:00 MON (b01phf4r)
World at One
13:00 TUE (b01phg6p)
World at One
13:00 WED (b01phhyk)
World at One
13:00 THU (b01phktl)
World at One
13:00 FRI (b01phm1v)
You and Yours
12:00 MON (b01phf4p)
You and Yours
12:00 WED (b01phhyh)
You and Yours
12:00 THU (b01phktj)
You and Yours
12:00 FRI (b01phm1s)
iPM
05:45 SAT (b01pgmgm)
iPM
17:30 SAT (b01pgmgm)