The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Farming Today reports from the Semex Dairy Conference in Glasgow, where discussion among farmers centred on a decision by First Milk to defer milk payment for two weeks. It comes during difficult times for the dairy industry, which is facing global overproduction coinciding with a fall in demand.
The leader of the farmers' campaign group Farmers for Action, David Handley, says he'll give up dairy unless the industry rallies in the next six months.
Later today MEPs will vote on new rules which will give member states the power to ban or permit the cultivation of genetically modified crops in their own countries. GM crops can currently only be grown in the EU under strict regulations. And only one crop - an insect-resistant maize - is actually grown. The compromise means individual countries will have the final say, taking some power away from Europe. It comes after several years of discussions over how to solve the GM question.
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Liz Bonnin presents the black-footed albatross of Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Two dusky-brown birds point their bills skywards to cement their lifelong relationship, these are black-footed albatrosses are plighting their troth in a former theatre of war. At only a few square kilometres in size, the island of Midway is roughly half way between North America and Japan. Once it was at the heart of the Battle of Midway during World War Two, but today it forms part of a Wildlife Refuge run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is home to white laysan albatross and the darker Black footed Albatross. Around 25,000 pairs of Black-foots breed here. Each pair's single chick is fed on regurgitated offal for six months, after which it learns to fly and then can be vulnerable to human activity on the airbase. But careful management of both species of albatrosses near the airstrip has reduced the number of casualties to a minimum.
Including from 0830 a special Democracy Day edition of BBC Radio 4's Public Philosopher in which Professor Michael Sandel goes inside the Palace of Westminster to explore the nature and limits of democracy, challenging an audience of MPs, Peers and the public to apply some critical thinking to what democracy really means.
Is our democracy working? Today there's a real sense of our traditional democratic system fracturing - but is this because it's failing, or is it because it's doing exactly what we want it to?
In 'Can Democracy Work?', the BBC's Political Editor Nick Robinson questions top politicians, those seeking power around the UK and direct action campaigners, as well as testing public opinion, to find out what we really want from our democracy and whether it can deliver.
In episode one, Nick examines whether we actually want as much democracy as we have.
In two (repeated) interviews for One to One, broadcaster Adrian Goldberg - who is married to a British Asian woman - explores the topic of mixed marriage.
The dry facts, from the Office of National Statistics, state that "Nearly 1 in 10 people living in as a couple were in an inter-ethnic relationship in 2011".*
Now Adrian brings this statistic to life as he meets two people who married outside their own faith or cultural background, across different decades.
In this first programme he meets Tara Bariana. Tara arrived in England from India in the 1960s and was, in his words, an illiterate 13 year old who couldn't speak English. He was expected to marry a Punjabi girl, but went against his family's wishes when he met and fell in love with Beryl, the daughter of a Baptist minister. Adrian hears Tara's story, and finds out what happened next.
With a case of Wernicke’s aphasia - neurologist Dr Allan H Ropper and his co-writer Brian D Burrell take us behind the scenes at the Harvard Medical School's neurology unit.
"In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," says Ropper, "Alice jumps into a rabbit hole and finds herself in a bizarre realm where everything bears little relation to the outside world. It is a place where, as the Red Queen mentions to Alice, it helps to believe six impossible things before breakfast. I have no need to believe six impossible things before breakfast because I know that on any given day I will be confronted with six improbable things before lunch..."
Freedom of Expression and the Ban on the Burqa in France; Debbie Wiseman and the Score for Wolf Hall
Jane Garvey explores freedom of expression and the ban on the burqa in France with Myriam Francois-Cerrah and Tehmina Kazi; Kate Gross died of cancer on Christmas morning, leaving five-year-old twin boys. Her mother, Jean, joins Jane to talk about Kate and her book, Late Fragments; Composer Debbie Wiseman talks about the score she has written for the highly anticipated adaptation of Wolf Hall, based on Hilary Mantel's novels. A new EU ruling means that parents in Britain will be able to request up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave until their child's 18th birthday (it was previously until their child's fifth birthday).
So are teen years a time when parental support is needed more? And how understanding are workplaces of requests for leave or flexible working from parents of older children?
Dramatisation of Jonathan Franzen's sparkling 2001 novel about the tribulations of a dysfunctional Midwestern family, starring Richard Schiff (The West Wing), Richard Laing and Roslyn Hill. Dramatised by Marcy Kahan.
Episode 7: The Axon Road Show - Gary Lambert is determined to buy significant shares in the biotech company that has bought his father's patent for a measly sum. He takes his sister, Denise, along for moral support. But all does not go according to plan...
The Corrections was awarded the National Book Award in 2001, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. It was included in TIME magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923.
Jonathan Franzen is the author of four novels (Freedom, The Corrections, Strong Motion, and The Twenty-Seventh City), two collections of essays (Farther Away, How to Be Alone), a personal history (The Discomfort Zone).
Marcy Kahan is a playwright and radio dramatist. Recent radio work includes two series of Lunch for BBC Radio 4 (starring Claire Skinner and Stephen Mangan) and Mr Bridger's Orphan. Theatre work includes 20 Cigarettes (Soho Theatre) and the stage version of When Harry Met Sally (Theatre Royal Haymarket).
The world has lost so much wildlife some conservationists think half the earth should be set aside for nature to ensure the world can continue to provide all the services we need such as clean water, unpolluted air and soils, healthy food and so on. But one recent study shows that 50% of wildlife has disappeared in the last 40 years. As human population grows and pressure on resources increases many feel there needs to be a bold plan to ensure we can share the planet with other forms of life so that they and us can continue. One proposition is called Half Earth - make half of the earth just for nature. The vision is for a meandering network of nature corridors that open out into huge parks set aside for wildlife. In a special programme from the Natural History Museum in London Monty Don and a panel of experts in subjects ranging from conservation science to urban planning and economics discuss whether this could work?
June 1948. The Empire Windrush docks at Tilbury carrying 492 West Indian "citizens of the British Empire". Newsreel footage captures forever the suited new arrivals waiting to alight. As the reporter introduces one young man as "their spokesman", a gently smiling Aldwyn Roberts sings a Calypso he wrote on the the voyage, 'London is the place for me, London, this lovely city...'
Aldwyn Roberts was 26 years old and already well known in Trinidad as Calypso star Lord Kitchener. He lived in England for almost 15 years, married a girl in Manchester, was celebrated by glamorous upper class English society and became the voice of a generation of Caribbean immigrants far from home.
Poet and musician Anthony Joseph also left Trinidad for London in his twenties and has always felt a powerful connection to Kitch. He spoke to him just once, when he saw Kitch standing alone for a moment at Carnival in Trinidad. Now, fifteen years after Kitchener's death Anthony Joseph tries to get to the heart of the man behind the famous footage.
How did the world begin? In the Old Testament it all starts with an act of God, but where did God come from?
Dr Jessica Frazier, lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Kent and fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies wants to know how different cultures deal with this most fundamental of questions.
Hindus can choose from a menu of options, followers of Chinese Taoism are comfortable with the idea that we come from chaos, a potent force of creativity that continues to pulse through the life of the Universe.
With the help of Ram Aithal from Birmingham's Shri Venkateswara Hindu Temple and the renowned science fiction writer Ursula K Le Guin, Jessica asks if the wonder of the great Creation myths can increase our understanding. Can they help us make sense of the data that modern science is gathering from the beginning of time?
This is part of a week of programmes exploring the beginnings of the Universe.
Was your cancer diagnosed at the first possible opportunity? Currently, around 25% of cancer diagnoses are made too late. NHS England is to trial a scheme where people who are worried that they might have cancer will be be allowed to bypass the GP - and refer themselves on for tests. It's hoped it will speed up diagnosis and lead to better survival rates. You & Yours wants to know whether it would have helped you? Please email your experiences to YouandYours@bbc.co.uk.
For answers, support or just a chat, call the Macmillan Support Line free (Monday to Friday,
2. Valley. When Brett Westwood began a wildlife diary at the age of 15, little did he think that he'd still be writing notes, nearly 40 years later about the same local patch in North Worcestershire.
In this series Brett returns, diaries in hand, to different areas of his local patch and compares notes from the past with the landscape and wildlife of today. There are genuine shocks and revelations.
In this programme, Brett visits the valley. Since Brett started visiting his local patch, the landscape here has been changed more radically than any other area in the patch, not as a result of management, but of nature taking its course. The valley is a sandstone dip between two horse pastures and its steep sides have deterred any cropping or grazing. As a teenager, this is where Brett soaked in the scents of basil and thyme which carpeted the banks. Young hawthorn saplings attracted whinchats and tree pipits. Turtle doves nested here in summer. Knowing that if the hawthorns became too vigorous they would shade out the ground cover and become too dense for the whinchats, Brett did a little judicial pruning from time to time - but it was a battle he lost. Today the hawthorn cover is complete and many rare flowers have been shaded out. Ash and birch trees have grown up and the whinchats, tree pipits and cuckoos have gone. Instead fieldfares and redwings roost in the thorns in winter and in summer chiffchaffs and blackcaps are commoner than ever. Ravens and Buzzards are often heard overhead. And on one winter's eve he had an unforgettable close-encounter with a sparrowhawk.
The series underlines the importance of keeping a diary as a valuable document of change which is measurable from decade to decade. Wildlife sound recordist: Chris Watson, Producer: Sarah Blunt.
When Greg's partner Anna becomes ill and needs constant care Greg flourishes as her carer and becomes intoxicated by her dependency. Greg's apparent overwhelming love for his partner, his deepening desire to feel needed takes him to the limit in their relationship.
The Human Zoo is a place to learn about the one subject that never fails to fascinate - ourselves. Are people led by the head or by the heart? How rational are we? And how do we perceive the world?
There's a curious blend of intriguing experiments to discover our biases and judgements, explorations and examples taken from what's in the news to what we do in the kitchen, and it's all driven by a large slice of curiosity.
Michael Blastland presents. Nick Chater, Professor of Behavioural Science at Warwick University, is the experimenter-in-chief, and Timandra Harkness the resident reporter.
In the first programme of the new series, the team will be exploring declinism: what's the psychology of thinking that things get worse?
Philip Pullman and Michael Rosen talk in depth about language, writing and imagination. They share examples from their own work, discuss the books that influenced them and share who they think they are writing for. Produced by Beth O'Dea.
Michael Dobbs champions the life of Guy Burgess - journalist, diplomat and spy. Between 1935 and 1951, Guy Burgess worked for a Conservative MP, the BBC, MI6 and the Foreign Office. Brilliant, flamboyant and apparently shambolic, he also shot like an arrow to the heart of the Establishment and secretly and systematically betrayed its secrets to the KGB. Matthew Parris chairs as Michael explains why he believes that Guy Burgess was a Great Life. Burgess’s biographer Stewart Purvis, who uncovered the only known audio recording of Guy Burgess, is the expert witness.
Marcus Brigstocke persuades his guests to try new experiences: things they really ought to have done by now. Some experiences are loved, some are loathed, in this show all about embracing the new.
This week, Rebecca Front, a self-confessed scaredy cat, is persuaded to take her first ride on a motorbike and read her first book about science. But how much of it did she understand?
Emma wants a no-frills, second hand dress for her wedding. Susan shares with Clarrie her horror at the idea of Emma wearing 'cast offs'. They offer to make the dress for Emma - she can design it herself and choose the fabric. Emma's delighted.
Johnny's keen to get outside and keep busy, asking Pat to give Tony his love. Meanwhile, Tom shares with Pat that Roy isn't coping well at all. Tom feels guilty for not being there sooner, especially as Roy was so supportive after Kirsty. Pat tells Tom not to give up on Roy. Tom also tells Pat about his concern over the state of the shop. Pat offers to have a word with Helen.
Tom goes out to join Johnny, who says he's not letting Tony's accident get to him. Tom carefully brings up the subject of dyslexia - Johnny seems to struggle with his writing. Pat reports back from the hospital - Tony's simply bored waiting for a bed to become free in Felpersham. Tom comes back to Jonny with some coloured paper, which he gets Johnny to read from - and he seems to do ok. Johnny's resistant when Tom mentions seeking help from the college's Learning Support Team, but Tom persists, saying that asking for help is not a sign of weakness - he knows himself.
Hilary Mantel's Tudor novel-turned-stage-play Wolf Hall makes its transition to TV starring Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis. Sarah Crompton reviews the six-part adaptation.
Michael Boyd, former artistic director of the RSC, discusses directing opera for the first time, with his production of Monteverdi's Orfeo at the Roundhouse in London.
Matt Thorne reviews new film Whiplash, about a big band drummer and his difficult relationship with his controlling instructor Fletcher, played by J K Simmons who won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor this week.
Stuart Murdoch of Glaswegian band Belle and Sebastian, former winners of the Best Newcomer Brit Award, discusses the literary influences on new album Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance.
New Government figures show the UK's creative industries add £8.8 million pounds an hour to the economy - something to celebrate or a cause for concern? Jan Dalley of the Financial Times assesses the data.
With serious assaults at a record high, File on 4 investigates the growing tension within Britain's prisons.
In the first of a new series, BBC Home Affairs correspondent Danny Shaw meets recently released prisoners and families of those inside to hear about their safety fears.
And he talks to the Prison Officers Association about their concerns for the frontline members who they say are facing unprecedented levels of pressure and danger in a "chaotic" system.
The Howard League for Penal Reform has used Ministry of Justice figures to calculate that around 40% of prison officer jobs have been cut - leaving inmates spending longer locked in their cells and less time preparing for their release.
Lawyers and campaigners tell File on 4 that overcrowding and gang activity are adding to a "toxic mix" of problems leading to instability and tension.
Twenty five years after the prison system was shaken by a series of riots centring on Strangeways in Manchester, is a new crisis starting to unfold?
Peter White meets Ted Ellerton. He lost his sight overnight, whilst still working as a driver. Ted is now nearly 90 and lives alone in a small village near Sheffield. He's highly organised and we hear how he carries out everyday tasks like him cooking and sorting his washing.
Tony Shearman travels to Cornwall to find out about acoustic target shooting, one of the most popular sports for blind and partially-sighted people.
Dr Mark Porter talks to leading experts about treating alcohol dependence with a pill and whether the required counselling services are available to make it work.
And Mark finds out the state of his arteries when he has a new blood test to predict his risk of heart attack. Plus what does the evidence tell us about how often to visit the dentist?
On a sultry afternoon in the summer of 1936, a woman accidentally interrupts an attempted murder in a London hotel room. Nina Land, a West End actress, faces a dilemma. She's not supposed to be at the hotel in the first place, and certainly not with a married man - the celebrated portrait artist, Stephen Wyley - but once it becomes apparent that she may have seen the face of the man dubbed 'the Tie-Pin Killer' she realises that another woman's life could be at stake.
Jimmy Erskine is the raffish doyen of theatre critics who fears that his star is fading. Age and drink are catching up with him and, in his late-night escapades with young men, he walks a tightrope that may snap at any moment. He has depended for years on his loyal and longsuffering secretary Tom, who has a secret of his own to protect. Tom's chance encounter with Madeleine Farewell, a lonely young woman haunted by premonitions of catastrophe, closes the circle - it was Madeleine who narrowly escaped the killer's stranglehold that afternoon and now she walks the streets in terror of him finding her again.
Curtain Call is a poignant comedy of manners, and a tragedy of mistaken intentions. From the glittering murk of Soho's demi-monde to the grease paint and ghost-lights of theatreland, the story plunges on through smoky clubrooms, street corners where thuggish Blackshirts linger and tawdry rooming houses.
A young woman is found strangled near Russell Square. Nina needs to meet Stephen urgently.
One of the most popular radio sitcoms of the past ten years bows out with a special double episode. In this second and concluding part, as the crew embark on a race against time, just what is Gerti's secret? And will it be happy ever after for Carolyn and Herc?
With the show titles running alphabetically from the first ever episode - "Abu Dhabi" through to this double finale "Zurich" - the cast and crew of MJN Air discover that whether it's choosing an ice-cream flavour, putting a princess in a van or remembering your grandmother's name, no job is too small, but many, many jobs are too difficult.
Starring Stephanie Cole as Carolyn Knapp-Shappey, Roger Allam as 1st Officer Douglas Richardson, Benedict Cumberbatch as Captain Martin Crieff and John Finnemore as Arthur Shappey.
WEDNESDAY 14 JANUARY 2015
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b04xkg1r)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b04xp15c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04xkg1t)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04xkg1w)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04xkg1y)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b04xkg20)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04y9g6f)
A reflection and prayer with Richard Hill.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b04xp63s)
GM Crops, Pesticides, UK Dairy Crisis
In a historic debate at the European Parliament, MEPs voted in favour of legislation which will allow individual EU Member States to ban, or allow, the cultivation of GM crops in their country. However as Farming Today hears it is still unclear what opportunities this vote will bring for UK farmers.
And as crops develop resistance to certain chemicals, an alternative to pesticides is being offered in Africa, by using natural predators and pathogens. Anna Hill speaks to Louise Labuschagne, who farms in Kenya, about the use of biological control agents.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Lucy Bickerton.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0ptz)
Adelie Penguin
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Liz Bonnin presents the adelie penguin on a windswept Antarctic shore. A huddle of braying shapes on a windswept shore in Antarctica reveals itself to be a rookery of Adelie Penguins. These medium sized penguins whose white eye-ring gives them an expression of permanent astonishment were discovered in 1840 and named after the land which French explorer Jules Dumont d'-Urville named in honour of his wife Adele. They make a rudimentary nest of pebbles (sometimes pinched from a neighbour) from which their eggs hatch on ice-free shores in December, Antarctica's warmest month, when temperatures reach a sizzling minus two degrees. In March the adult penguins follow the growing pack ice north as it forms, feeding at its edge on a rich diet of krill, small fish and crustaceans. But as climate change raises ocean temperatures, the ice edge forms further south nearer to some of the breeding colonies, reducing the distance penguins have to walk to and from open water. But, if ice fails to form in the north of the penguin's range it can affect their breeding success, and at one research station breeding numbers have dropped by nearly two thirds.
WED 06:00 Today (b04xp63v)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b04xp63x)
Paul McKenna, Jonathan Church, Judy Joo, Rear Admiral Kit Layman
Libby Purves meets hypnotist and self-help writer Paul McKenna; theatre director Jonathan Church; chef Judy Joo and Rear Admiral Kit Layman.
Judy Joo is a Korean-American chef. Her new TV series, Korean Food Made Simple, explores South Korea's food markets, culinary traditions and street food. Judy graduated in engineering and worked in New York's financial district before enrolling at the French Culinary Institute. Based in London, she has worked at Claridges, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck. Korean Food Made Simple is broadcast on Food Network UK.
Rear Admiral Kit Layman's new book, The Wager Disaster, pieces together the shipwreck of HMS Wager in 1741. Using eyewitness accounts and diary entries, he tells the story of this little-known nautical tragedy involving murder, starvation, mutiny and an epic open boat voyage of 2500 miles through hostile seas. During his 35-year career, Rear Admiral Layman commanded a variety of ships including HMS Argonaut during the Falklands conflict and the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible. The Wager Disaster - Mayhem, Mutiny and Murder in the South Seas is published by Uniform Press.
Jonathan Church is artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre. He is currently directing Penelope Wilton in Taken at Midnight which tells the story of young Jewish lawyer, Hans Litten, who subpoenaed Adolf Hitler in 1931. Jonathan, who learnt his trade backstage as an assistant electrician and stage manager, recently directed Singin' in the Rain; The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. Taken at Midnight is at Theatre Royal Haymarket, London.
Paul McKenna is a hypnotist and self-help author. His new book, The 3 Things that will Change Your Destiny Today, aims to enable readers to take control of their lives and make decisions. A former radio presenter, Paul has hosted self-improvement television shows and seminars about hypnosis, weight loss and motivation. The 3 Things that will Change Your Destiny Today is published by Bantam Press.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b04xrj7r)
Reaching down the Rabbit Hole
Episode 3
A look at transient global amnesia - as neurologist Dr Allan H Ropper and his co-writer Brian D Burrell take us behind the scenes at the Harvard Medical School's neurology unit.
"In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," says Ropper, "Alice jumps into a rabbit hole and finds herself in a bizarre realm where everything bears little relation to the outside world. It is a place where, as the Red Queen mentions to Alice, it helps to believe six impossible things before breakfast. I have no need to believe six impossible things before breakfast because I know that on any given day I will be confronted with six improbable things before lunch..."
Read by Colin Stinton
Written by Dr Allan H Ropper and Brian D Burrell
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in January 2015.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04xrj7w)
The Saudi women held for driving; Gender and careers after university
Two women's rights campaigners tried to drive into Saudi Arabia last year and we get the latest on their situation from Rothna Begum, Woman's Rights Researcher at Human Rights Watch for the Middle East and North Africa. Research shows that more men than women leave University for a graduate level job, we ask why? And, the end of a relationship is difficult, but is it worse when the partner you thought was heterosexual leaves you for a same sex relationship? And, after getting advice from Indian self reliant groups, we hear about the Scottish women who have started a business.
WED 10:40 15 Minute Drama (b04xrj82)
The Corrections
At Sea
Dramatisation of Jonathan Franzen's darkly comic 2001 novel about the tribulations of a dysfunctional Midwestern family, starring Richard Schiff (The West Wing), Maggie Steed, Colin Stinton and Julian Rhind-Tutt. Dramatised by Marcy Kahan.
Episode 8: At Sea - Alfred and Enid Lambert, a Midwestern couple in their seventies, are on board a cruise ship in the North Atlantic. Enid is determined to enjoy this long-awaited holiday, but Alfred's behaviour is increasingly unpredictable.
Directed by Emma Harding
The Corrections was awarded the National Book Award in 2001, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. It was included in TIME magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923.
Jonathan Franzen is the author of four novels (Freedom, The Corrections, Strong Motion, and The Twenty-Seventh City), two collections of essays (Farther Away, How to Be Alone), a personal history (The Discomfort Zone).
Marcy Kahan is a playwright and radio dramatist. Recent radio work includes two series of Lunch for BBC Radio 4 (starring Claire Skinner and Stephen Mangan) and Mr Bridger's Orphan. Theatre work includes 20 Cigarettes (Soho Theatre) and the stage version of When Harry Met Sally (Theatre Royal Haymarket).
WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b04xrj8b)
Eilidh and Alisdair - He'll Always Be Older
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between a father and daughter remembering the tragic accidental death of their son/brother and how they have dealt with it.
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. Most of the unedited 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 learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
WED 11:00 Mein Kampf: Publish or Burn? (b04xrj8j)
Everyone's heard of it. Few may have read it, or have any idea of its remarkable publishing history. For all its bizarre style and bombast, Mein Kampf was Hitler's broadest statement of his aims and beliefs. Had the world understood its meaning, it's been claimed, the Nazi catastrophe might have been averted.
It's a book that made Hitler rich and its ability to make money after his death has continued to pose sensitive problems. For the last 70 years the Bavarian authorities have effectively banned its republication in German through their control of the copyright. But this year, 2015, Mein Kampf's copyright expires. So what happens next?
Chris Bowlby has been investigating Mein Kampf's strange history and future, both in Germany and beyond. He hears of its strange popularity in India and the intriguing story of its translation into English.
Producer: John Murphy.
WED 11:30 The Rivals (b04xrj8n)
Series 3
Seven, Seven, Seven - City
Based on a short story by Julius Chambers
Dramatised by Chris Harrald
Inspector Lestrade was made to look a fool in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Now he is writing his memoirs and has a chance to get his own back, with tales of Holmes' rivals. He starts with gifted amateur sleuth Mrs Edith Marchmont, trying to stop a murder plot overheard on a crossed telephone line.
Directed by Liz Webb
Episode by Chris Harrald inspired by the short story 'Seven Seven Seven City' by Julius Chambers: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600421.txt.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b04xkg22)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 A History of Ideas (b04xrj8s)
Astronomer Carole Mundell on the Big Bang
What put the Bang in the Big Bang?
On the 7th of November 1919 an announcement was made to the great and good of the Royal Society. Photographs from the observations of a solar eclipse had just arrived in London. The images provided the proof of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.
The astronomer, Carole Mundell explains the significance of that moment and charts the steps that led from there to the generally accepted idea of the origin of our Universe in the energetic burst of the Big Bang.
But what caused the Big Bang and what came before it? Answering one fundamental question immediately threw up the next. With the help of the mathematician, physicist and philosopher of science, Sir Roger Penrose, Carole aims to find out if those are questions mankind can ever answer.
This is part of a week of programmes examining the origins of the Universe.
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b04xrj8x)
Legal Aid for Inquests, New Car Fraud, Eon Price Drop
Should families whose relatives die in care or custody get legal aid for Inquests
The gym for people who don't like gyms
Why the difference between theft and fraud could matter for people who buy a car from someone they don't know
How insulation can be bad for your house and your health
Will other energy suppliers follow EoN's price drop?
Addison Lee fail in bus line bid
Ministry of Justice on Legal aid and inquests.
WED 12:57 Weather (b04xkg24)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b04xrj91)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Martha Kearney.
WED 13:45 The Diaries of Brett Westwood (b04xrj95)
Sewage
3. Sewage. When Brett Westwood began a wildlife diary at the age of 15, little did he think that he'd still be writing notes, nearly 40 years later about the same local patch in North Worcestershire.
In this series Brett returns, diaries in hand, to different areas of his local patch and compares notes from the past with the landscape and wildlife of today. There are genuine shocks and revelations.
In this programme, Brett visits a farm at Whittington. When he was a teenager, sewage was pumped out onto an area of about a square mile where cattle were grazed. In icy winters the fields did not freeze owing to the warmth provided by the sewage and the life breeding in it! Unusual for the West Midlands in winter, a regular flock of up to 200 curlews were joined by a pink-footed goose, pintails, wigeon, and in winter 1976 two spotted redshanks. These waders are very rare inland in winter and Brett, as a novice bird watcher at the time wasn't believed by the traditional and older birders. However once the record was accepted by the West Midlands Bird Club, the record spurred Brett on and his passion for wildlife and bird watching continues to this day. The old methods of spreading sewage stopped in the 1980s and the curlew flocks have gone but Brett still visits the area, and in recent years has been rewarded with sightings of barn owls and buzzards.
The series underlines the importance of keeping a diary like Brett's not just for personal notes but as a valuable document of change which is measurable from decade to decade.
Wildlife sound recordist: Chris Watson, Producer: Sarah Blunt.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b04xp4wz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b04xrjsg)
Take Me To...
Take Me to Hope Street
by Lizzie Nunnery.
The first in a series of geographically inspired dramas is a wintry ghost story set along Hope Street in Liverpool.
Nina is a university researcher and tour guide who lives and works on Liverpool's iconic Hope Street. She loves the layers of history all around her. However, after a personal tragedy, Nina starts to find herself haunted by the city she loves in a dark and unsettling way.
Directed by Abigail le Fleming
With thanks to the staff and pupils at Our Lady's Bishop Eton Primary School, Liverpool.
The Writer
Lizzie Nunnery is an award-winning playwright.
The Swallowing Dark, produced by the Liverpool Everyman and Theatre 503, was a finalist for The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and past work includes the critically acclaimed Intemperance, produced by the Everyman, and Unprotected, which was awarded the Amnesty International Award for Freedom of Expression.
She is currently working on an adaptation for the Liverpool Everyman and collaborating with the Royal Exchange as part of their new 'Exchange Hub' initiative and writing an original commission with Box of Tricks theatre company.
Lizzie also writes extensively for radio. She has penned numerous original dramas for Radio 4 including Anna's War, a 5-parter based on true events in the life of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, and her latest family drama The Sum, aired in July 2014.
She is also a successful singer-songwriter.
WED 15:00 Money Box Live (b04xrl8c)
Credit Cards, Loans and Debt
Looking for a cheaper credit card, personal loan, help with borrowing costs or your credit report? Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now.
Editors note: During the programme it was said that an Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) remains on your Credit File for 6 years from the settlement date, when in fact it remains for 6 years from the date the IVA began, providing that the individual meets all of their payments for the full duration of the IVA.
Demand for credit cards, loans and other unsecured lending in December was the highest it's been since 2007, according to the latest Bank of England survey.
While lenders say the rise is driven by a greater consumer appetite for risk and looser credit scoring, debt charities report that many households are borrowing to pay monthly bills. In December StepChange Scotland raised concerns about people struggling with council tax arrears and payday loans.
If you want to pay less interest on your credit card you might want to consider switching to one with 0% interest. How long do these deals last for and what are the fees?
Maybe you're considering a loan? Where are the cheapest interest rates and how can you make sure you pay your loan off on time?
Are there any fees and restrictions lurking in the small print? Do you understand the jargon?
If you feel that your borrowing is too expensive who can help to reduce costs or negotiate with your creditors?
How do you repair a damaged credit report or make sure that the information held about you is right?
Whatever your question about borrowing Paul Lewis and guests will be waiting for your call. Joining Paul will be:
Kevin Mountford, Moneysupermarket.
Liz McVey, Debt Advisor, StepChange Scotland.
Terry Donohoe, Debt Advisor, Step Change.
Laura Barrett, Equifax.
Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk now. Standard geographic call charges apply.
WED 15:30 Inside Health (b04xp4x7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b04xrl8f)
Living Apart Relationships - Grading Universities
Grading universities - The rights and wrongs of the Research Excellence Framework. The REF is the most recent in a series of national assessments of research in British universities. But how reliable and fair are these assessments? Do they give the taxpayer value for money, as is hoped by their advocates? And will they lead to the best and most innovative research in the future? Laurie Taylor asks the questions. He's joined by the former Minister for Higher Education and Conservative MP, David Willets, and by Derek Sayer, Professor of History at the University of Lancaster and author of a recent book which argues that the REF isn't fit for purpose.
Also, living apart together. Sasha Roseneil, co-author of a Europe wide study, examines why a growing number of couples choose to live separately.
Producer: Torquil Macleod.
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b04xrl8h)
Publishing Charlie Hebdo Images, Newsbeat's Editor, Channel 4's Diversity Plan.
Whether to publish pictures of Charlie Hebdo's latest cover has raised questions for broadcasters and newspaper titles. This week's edition of the French satirical magazine shows a cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed holding a "Je suis Charlie" sign. Decision makers have had to make a call about whether the image warrants publication because of its news value, or decide not to publish because of the offence it may cause. Steve Hewlett talks to Emma Tucker, deputy editor of The Times, which published a series of Charlie Hebdo images on the day following the attack last week, and Kevin Maguire, Associate Editor of the Mirror, which hasn't printed the cover, about the dilemmas editors face.
As Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra's news service, Newsbeat is specifically targeted at younger audiences. However, like much of radio, it's facing a decline in listening hours, and with the rising success of the likes of Vice and Buzzfeed attracting the youth market, the competition is getting fiercer. Steve Hewlett talks to Editor Louisa Compton about the digital methods she's implementing to get young people engaged with news coverage, and whether the BBC, constrained by defined editorial guidelines, can offer the content young people are now wanting.
Channel 4 has just published its plan for boosting diversity. 20 per cent of all its staff will be black, Asian or minority ethnic by 2020, up from 15 percent currently. In addition, 6 percent of the workforce will be disabled and 6 percent lesbian, gay bisexual or transgender. And there are new commissioning guidelines for programme makers. Steve hears from Ralph Lee Deputy Chief Creative Officer at Channel 4 about the impact their charter will actually have on and off screen.
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
WED 17:00 PM (b04yjx6g)
PM at
5pm- Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04xkg26)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 What Does the K Stand For? (b04xrl8k)
Series 2
Balham's Got Talent
Who’s got talent?
Stephen K Amos's sitcom about growing up black, gay and funny in 1980s south London.
Written by Jonathan Harvey with Stephen K Amos.
Stephen K Amos … Stephen K Amos
Young Stephen … Shaquille Ali-Yebuah
Stephanie Amos … Fatou Sohna
Virginia Amos … Ellen Thomas
Vincent Amos … Don Gilet
Miss Bliss … Michelle Butterly
Jayson Jackson … Frankie Wilson
Mary ... Nadia Kamil
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2015.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b04xrl8m)
Kate's delighted to be accepted by Felpersham University onto the International Development course. She hopes Phoebe will join her to celebrate, raving about a new juice bar and pointing out the shoddy state of Ambridge Organics.
Jennifer's busy working on the SAVE campaign and planning the jumble sale. Kate scornfully says social media is a far more effective fundraising tool. Jennifer's pleased that the photo with the Plough turned out so well and now features on the village website - she just hopes the Echo will print it.
Jennifer wonders why neither she nor Kate have been able to speak to Nolly on Skype recently. Kate evades the issue, saying that Sipho sends his love
Pip and David visit a robotic milking parlour. Ruth's worry has been how to combine robotic milking with their paddock system. Pip suggests that the set up they're viewing today does that, and also tries to reassure Ruth about her other worry - that cows should be out on grass for as long as possible. To go with this approach, rather than the herringbone parlour they saw earlier, would cost extra money - that's fine, surely, says Pip.
With good news about the slurry tank - Steve and Ros at Hadley Haugh can meet half the cost - David eventually agrees to invest in robotic milkers. Pip's thrilled.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b04xrl8p)
Bradley Cooper, Adventures of the Black Square, Islamic art, Paula Hawkins
Bradley Cooper talks to Samira Ahmed about playing US Navy SEAL Chris Kyle in Clint Eastwood's new film American Sniper.
Iwona Blazwick, curator of a new exhibition Adventures of the Black Square, explains how abstraction has reflected politics and society across the globe from Malevich's painting of a single black square in 1915 to the present.
Novelist Paula Hawkins discusses her new thriller The Girl on the Train, about a commuter who puts herself in danger when she gets involved in something she sees out of the window of the carriage.
With the controversy surrounding the cover of this week's French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Dr Sussan Babaie from the Courtauld Institute of Art considers the history of images of the Prophet Muhammad in the tradition of Islamic art.
Producer Rebecca Armstrong.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b04xrj82)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:40 today]
WED 20:00 Unreliable Evidence (b04xrl8r)
Good Samaritan Law
Clive Anderson and guests ask why Britain, unlike many other countries in the world, has no general law which requires people to behave like good Samaritans, punishing those who fail to help others in trouble.
Under French law, a person who endangers the life or health of another by failing to assist in some way faces imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of 75,000 euros. In the UK there would be no liability whatsoever. We can walk past a drowning baby with legal impunity.
Our common law system in the UK does not generally impose liability for pure omissions - failures to act. There is no general duty of care owed by one person to prevent harm occurring to another. However, a duty of care can arise, for example, once someone attempts to rescue a drowning child if they inadvertently make things worse.
So is British law both failing to make people behave as good Samaritans and punishing them if they do? What needs to change?
The panel includes former law lord, Lord Hoffmann, and distinguished academic lawyer Andrew Ashworth who have polarised views on the issue. Andrew Ashworth calls for the introduction of a general good Samaritan law, arguing that our current law is untidy and unprincipled. Lord Hoffmann suggests such a law would be unnecessary and inappropriate.
With leading barrister Peter Cooke and French law expert Catherine Elliott, the panel examines the arguments for and against a law imposing a duty of rescue.
Producer: Brian King
An Above The Title production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 20:45 David Baddiel Tries to Understand (b04xrl8t)
Series 1
Cryptic Crosswords
Continuing his new series where he tries to make sense of apparently puzzling matters, David Baddiel seeks to understand something which is meant to be puzzling: cryptic crosswords.
David gets help from a crossword champion and and also from a leading compiler who sets him a special crossword. Can he put his learning into practice and complete it?
Producer: Giles Edwards.
WED 21:00 Becoming Myself: Gender Identity (b04tlqzt)
Trans Men
A revealing series which goes inside the Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic in Hammersmith, London - the largest and oldest in the world - to explore the condition of gender dysphoria - a sense of distress caused by a disjunction between biological sex and gender identity.
With growing mainstream discussion prompted by high-profile transgender people like boxing promoter Frank Maloney, WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning and model Andrej Pejic, gender dysphoria is fast becoming more visible. Indeed there has been a steady rise in the numbers of referrals to Gender Identity Clinics across the country and patient numbers at Charing Cross have doubled in the last five years.
This series follows a group of transgender patients pursuing treatment for gender dysphoria in order to 'become themselves'. In the first programme we meet Freddie, Mitchell and Blade, who were raised female and are seeking treatment as trans men. The second programme centres on trans women Bethany, Emma and Tanya, who are making the opposite journey.
We also hear from the psychiatrists, endocrinologists and surgeons as they meet and assess the patients on a day-to-day basis. Their treatment decisions have the potential to transform the lives of their patients, but these irrevocable changes are not made lightly.
Narrator: Adjoa Andoh
Produced by Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 21:30 Midweek (b04xp63x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b04xrnlv)
Yemen-based branch of al-Qaeda says it ordered last week's attack on Charlie Hebdo.
Extremists said the killings were "vengeance" for insults against the prophet Muhammad.
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04xrnlx)
Curtain Call
Episode 3
On a sultry afternoon in the summer of 1936, a woman accidentally interrupts an attempted murder in a London hotel room. Nina Land, a West End actress, faces a dilemma. She's not supposed to be at the hotel in the first place, and certainly not with a married man - the celebrated portrait artist, Stephen Wyley - but once it becomes apparent that she may have seen the face of the man dubbed 'the Tie-Pin Killer' she realises that another woman's life could be at stake.
Jimmy Erskine is the raffish doyen of theatre critics who fears that his star is fading. Age and drink are catching up with him and, in his late-night escapades with young men, he walks a tightrope that may snap at any moment. He has depended for years on his loyal and longsuffering secretary Tom, who has a secret of his own to protect. Tom's chance encounter with Madeleine Farewell, a lonely young woman haunted by premonitions of catastrophe, closes the circle - it was Madeleine who narrowly escaped the killer's stranglehold that afternoon and now she walks the streets in terror of him finding her again.
Curtain Call is a poignant comedy of manners, and a tragedy of mistaken intentions. From the glittering murk of Soho's demi-monde to the grease paint and ghost-lights of theatreland, the story plunges on through smoky clubrooms, street corners where thuggish Blackshirts linger and tawdry rooming houses.
Episode 3:
We meet a renowned theatre critic, and learn more of the life of failed shopgirl, Madeleine Farewell.
Read by Nancy Carroll
Abridged, directed and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:00 Roger McGough's Other Half (b04xrnlz)
Episode 2
Roger McGough is joined by Helen Atkinson-Wood, Philip Jackson and Richie Webb in a hilarious and surreal new sketch show for BBC Radio 4. With sketches about Fandom, Fatherhood and 17th Century France, you'll hear his familiar voice in a whole new light. Expect merriment and melancholy in equal measures, and a whisker of witty wordplay too. Produced by Victoria Lloyd.
WED 23:15 Love in Recovery (b04xrnm1)
Series 1
Julie
The lives of five very different recovering alcoholics.
Set entirely at their weekly meetings, we hear them get to know each other, learn to hate each other, argue, moan, laugh, fall apart, fall in love and, most importantly, tell their stories.
Comedy drama by Pete Jackson, set in Alcoholics Anonymous. Starring Sue Johnston, John Hannah, Eddie Marsan, Rebecca Front, Paul Kaye and Julia Deakin.
In this episode, Julie's husband comes back to her after six years and it's up to the rest of the group to pick up the pieces.
Julie ...... Sue Johnston
Marion ...... Julia Deakin
Fiona ...... Rebecca Front
Simon ...... John Hannah
Danno ...... Paul Kaye
Andy ...... Eddie Marsan
There are funny stories, sad stories, stories of small victories and milestones, stories of loss, stories of hope, and stories that you really shouldn't laugh at - but still do. Along with the storyteller.
Writer Pete Jackson is a recovering alcoholic and has spent time with Alcoholics Anonymous. It was there he found, as many people do, support from the unlikeliest group of disparate souls, all banded together due to one common bond. As well as offering the support he needed throughout a difficult time, AA also offered a weekly, sometimes daily, dose of hilarity, upset, heartbreak and friendship.
Director: Ben Worsfield
A Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2014.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b04xrnm3)
David Cameron and Ed Miliband accuse each other of "running scared" over election TV debates, as they clash at Prime Minister's Questions.
Mr Miliband calls the Prime Minister's refusal to take part unless the Green Party was involved a "pathetic excuse". Mr Cameron says the Labour leader was "chickening" out of facing the Greens and all "national parties" must be represented.
In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, says "innocent lives will be put at risk" unless the authorities are better able to track the online communications of suspected terrorists.
Labour calls for fast-track legislation to give the energy regulator, Ofgem, the power to cut energy bills .
And MPs hear that the number of A&E visits in England soared by more than 400,000 in 2014.
Susan Hulme and team report on today's events in Parliament.
THURSDAY 15 JANUARY 2015
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b04xkg2y)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b04xrj7r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04xkg32)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04xkg34)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04xkg36)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b04xkg38)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04y9gdg)
A reflection and prayer with Richard Hill.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b04xrv9j)
Badger Research, Pesticides, Scottish Salmon
New research on tackling bovine TB: whether it's better to cull badgers or to increase the testing of cows. Charlotte Smith hears from Professor Matthew Evans of Queen Mary University of London whose computer modelling of the variables suggests that increased TB testing of cows could substantially reduce incidents of TB.
All this week Farming Today is looking into the use of pesticides. Today, Anna Hill hears about new developments in the manufacture of crop sprayers, that deliver the pesticides in the field.
As the salmon fishing season on the River Tay gets underway, Andrew Anderson of BBC Scotland tells Charlotte why anglers will be forced to return any they catch to the river following the introduction of a new statutory conservation policy.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Mark Smalley.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0qpk)
Trumpeter Swan
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Liz Bonnin presents the sonorous trumpeter swan of North America. Across an Alaskan wilderness powerful sounds and calls emanate from the largest and heaviest of all wildfowl, the pure white trumpeter swan. With a wingspan of up to 250 cm, the biggest male trumpeter swan on record weighed over 17 kilogrammes, heavier than mute swans. They breed on shallow ponds and lakes in the wilder parts of north west and central North America. Hunted for feathers and skins, they were once one of the most threatened birds on the continent, with only 69 birds known in the United States, although populations hung on in Alaska and Canada. Since then trumpeters have been protected by law and populations have recovered in many areas. Alaska and Canada remain strongholds and today reintroductions are returning this musical bird to their former range in the USA.
THU 06:00 Today (b04xrv9l)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b04xrv9n)
Bruegel's The Fight Between Carnival and Lent
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Pieter Bruegel the Elder's painting of 1559, 'The Fight Between Carnival And Lent'. Created in Antwerp at a time of religious tension between Catholics and Protestants, the painting is rich in detail and seems ripe for interpretation. But Bruegel is notoriously difficult to interpret. His art seems to reject the preoccupations of the Italian Renaissance, drawing instead on techniques associated with the new technology of the 16th century, print. Was Bruegel using his art to comment on the controversies of his day? If so, what comment was he making?
CONTRIBUTORS
Louise Milne, Lecturer in Visual Culture in the School of Art at the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Napier University
Jeanne Nuechterlein, Senior Lecturer in the Department of History of Art, University of York
Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History and Head of the School of History at Queen Mary, University of London
Producer: Luke Mulhall.
THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b04xrv9q)
Reaching down the Rabbit Hole
Episode 4
Looking at signs versus symptoms, neurologist Dr Allan H Ropper and his co-writer Brian D Burrell take us behind the scenes at the Harvard Medical School's neurology unit.
"In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," says Ropper, "Alice jumps into a rabbit hole and finds herself in a bizarre realm where everything bears little relation to the outside world. It is a place where, as the Red Queen mentions to Alice, it helps to believe six impossible things before breakfast. I have no need to believe six impossible things before breakfast because I know that on any given day I will be confronted with six improbable things before lunch..."
Read by Colin Stinton
Written by Dr Allan H Ropper and Brian D Burrell
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in January 2015.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04xrv9s)
Reese Witherspoon and Cheryl Strayed
Hollywood star Reese Witherspoon and novelist Cheryl Strayed on working together on the film Wild.
Comedian Josie Long talks to Jenni Murray about her UK tour, Cara Josephine, which steers away from Josie's long-standing political comedy, and is instead an introspective piece based on her family and romantic relationships. Dr Laura King from Leeds University discusses her book Family Men, Fatherhood and Masculinity in Britain, 1914-1960, which investigates the role of the father in the 20th century and charts the evolution of the 'family man.' The latest trends in online dating according to Charly Lester, global head of dating for Time Out and the founder of the UK Dating Awards, and Robyn Exton, founder of Dattch.com, a dating app for lesbians. Female potential US Republican presidential candidates according to Stacy Hilliard, Republican party commentator.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b04xrv9v)
The Corrections
The Married Man
Dramatisation of Jonathan Franzen's darkly comic 2001 novel about the tribulations of a dysfunctional Midwestern family, starring Richard Schiff (The West Wing), Maggie Steed, Colin Stinton and Roslyn Hill. Dramatised by Marcy Kahan.
Episode 9: The Married Man: The teenage Denise Lambert forms a relationship with a married man.
Directed by Emma Harding
The Corrections was awarded the National Book Award in 2001, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. It was included in TIME magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923.
Jonathan Franzen is the author of four novels (Freedom, The Corrections, Strong Motion, and The Twenty-Seventh City), two collections of essays (Farther Away, How to Be Alone), a personal history (The Discomfort Zone).
Marcy Kahan is a playwright and radio dramatist. Recent radio work includes two series of Lunch for BBC Radio 4 (starring Claire Skinner and Stephen Mangan) and Mr Bridger's Orphan. Theatre work includes 20 Cigarettes (Soho Theatre) and the stage version of When Harry Met Sally (Theatre Royal Haymarket).
THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b04xrv9x)
Greece: The Rubber Glove Rebellion
The cleaners whose protest has captured the imagination of those opposed to the harsh austerity programme in Greece. Mostly middle-aged or nearing retirement, they have refused to go quietly. The women have kept up a day and night vigil outside the Finance Ministry in Athens, taken the government to court and resisted attempts by the riot police to remove them by force. They've challenged representatives from the International Monetary Fund and raised their red rubber gloves in a clenched fist at the European Parliament. Some say they represent the plight of many women and the poorly paid, others that they are being manipulated by the left. Maria Margaronis hears the women's stories and asks what makes them so determined.
Producer: Mark Savage.
THU 11:30 The Single Life (b04xrv9z)
Second-hand shops are littered with tatty old 7 inch records that were self-made by bands. Mark Hodkinson, who was in one of those bands, buys a handful of the singles and tracks down the people involved. What happened to the dreams and ideals of people who created a lasting plastic monument to their youth? And how is the experience of making and packaging a 7 inch single different from the modern practice of up-loading a file to a website.
The DIY single took commitment and ingenuity. Hopeful bands would scrape together money to record, press, package and distribute their music in the hope of fame, fortune or at least an appearance on the radio. Now, the bargain bins of second-hand shops are full of these records and each one marks a significant milestone in someone's career. But a stepping-stone to where?
Mark Hodkinson, now a journalist, learns how people coped with the disappointment of failure and how they continue to try and satisfy their creative desires. He meets a saxophonist who once supported Adam Ant and now is a designer for a computer gaming company; a bassist who went on to marry a Bond villain; a guitarist who still hopes to make it big; and a singer who did make it big, and id still selling records 30 years later.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b04xkg3b)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 A History of Ideas (b04xscq0)
Theologian Giles Fraser on Thomas Aquinas
If the universe exists what caused it to be? Theologian Giles Fraser examines the brilliant medieval scholar St. Thomas Aquinas' and his argument for God as the first cause of everything.
It's part of a powerful body of ideas arguing for the logical necessity of the existence of God. But Giles also wonders how valuable these kinds of 'cosmological arguments' are for us today.
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b04xrvb3)
Care Homes, Ex-Council Flats, Consumer Champions
How councils and companies broker care deals for people with disabilities.
Why the new pensions bonds caused the official website to crash
Mr Small goes into battle with nPower - the saga continues.
Why people are struggling to get a mortgage deal on an ex-council flat.
Could domestic heating oil be the cheapest way to heat your house at the moment?
And Kelvin MacKenzie tells us why he's becoming a consumer champion.
PRESENTER WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER PETE WILSON.
THU 13:00 World at One (b04xrvb5)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Martha Kearney.
THU 13:45 The Diaries of Brett Westwood (b04xrvb7)
Woodland
4. Woodland. When Brett Westwood began a wildlife diary at the age of 15, little did he think that he'd still be writing notes, nearly 40 years later about the same local patch in North Worcestershire.
The diaries mirror the often undreamt of changes which have taken place across the UK over the last 40 years. In this series Brett returns, diaries in hand, to different areas of his local patch and compares notes from the past with the landscape and wildlife of today. There are genuine shocks and revelations.
Fairy Glen is a small natural woodland in Brett's patch carpeted with bluebells in spring. This was once oak has become a sycamore wood. However it's now a great place to spot warblers; chaffinches and bramblings feeding on aphids in spring, and during his visit Brett watches a pair of Nuthatches bringing back food for their young to their nest hole in the trunk of a tree. A second area of woodland which Brett visits - is a relatively new small plantation - but the species have been well chosen and Brett scans the skies above for buzzards. These he finds flying high above a third area of woodland in his local patch which was bought by the Woodland Trust and is much frequented by walkers and dogs. But for Brett - the attraction is the buzzards soaring over the canopy, which have returned and bred in the area since the 1990s. There are ravens too - another bird which Brett would never have dreamed of seeing when he was a teenager on his local patch.
The series underlines the importance of keeping a diary like Brett's not just for personal notes but as a valuable document of change which is measurable from decade to decade.
Wildlife sound recordist: Chris Watson, Producer: Sarah Blunt.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b04xrl8m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama (b04xrvb9)
Take Me To...
Take Me to Victoria Park
By Alan Harris
The second in a series of geographically inspired dramas is a crime thriller set around Cardiff's Victoria Park.
When Jen and Gail break out of prison, they head for South Wales. But life in the Welsh capital has its challenges. As Gail drags Jen further into a murky world of crime, Jen finds she's more of a prisoner than ever before. Her only sanctuary is the park.
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru/Wales Production
The Writer
Welsh writer Alan Harris has extensive experience in theatre and opera. With National Theatre Wales his work includes A Good Night Out in the Valleys (2010) and The Opportunity of Efficiency (2013). With the Welsh National Opera - The Journey (2010) and The Hidden Valley (under commission). On radio, his plays include Radio 3's The Goldfarmer (2010), and for Radio 4 The Lighthouse (2011) and Wolf (2012).
Alan lives in Victoria Park, Cardiff.
THU 15:00 Open Country (b04xrvbc)
The Purbeck Clay Mines
Helen Mark explores the clay mining history of Dorset's picturesque Isle of Purbeck.
Purbeck may look like an unspoilt rural holiday destination, but in reality it is an area steeped in industrial heritage - dictated by the clay mining industry which began as far back as Roman times and took flight when Sir Walter Raleigh bought tobacco to England and created a demand for clay pipes. The landscape is sculpted by traces of this industry and tales from the days of picking clay out by candle light are still shared by mining communities to this day but in the 21st century it's diggers and trucks that do the hard labour that ensures Purbeck's clay goes worldwide.
Featuring interviews with author Chris Legg, Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum Chairman Peter Sills, Learning & Interpretation Officer at Purbeck Corfe Castle Pam White, former Mines Manager Norman Vye, retired Mines Forman Mickey White and Chris Cleaves, Safety Director UK Ceramics & UK Ball Clays GM.
Produced By Nicola Humphries.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b04xkypb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:55 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b04xmwz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b04xrvbf)
Nick Hornby on Wild; JK Simmons and Damien Chazelle on Whiplash
With Francine Stock.
Arsenal fan Nick Hornby reveals what appealed to him about Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild, about her 1000 mile hike through mid America, and why he was never tempted to try the walk himself.
Jazz drumming is the unlikely subject for a movie, but Whiplash has won numerous awards in festivals across the world. Its director Damien Chazelle and star J.K. Simmons discuss the film's theme of how music teaching can turn into bullying.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b04xrwhc)
International Year of Soils
This year is the Food and Agriculture Organisation's International Year of Soils.
Adam Rutherford, ably assisted by Manchester University's Richard Bardgett, takes a look at new research seeking to further our understanding of soil behaviour that determines much of our existence.
A handful of soil contains many tens of thousands of different species of microbial life, all competing to the death with each other for nutrients and resources. Yet most of those species are very poorly understood, because hitherto scientists have only been able to grow a small percentage of them in the lab.
Last week's announcement of a new class of antibiotic - teixobactin - owes a lot to soil; Two buckets of it from the back garden of one of the researchers.
Kim Lewis of Northeastern University in the US describes the new technique that could open up the whole biodiversity of a clump of soil to future medicines.
Meanwhile, Monsanto, Novozyme and Morrone Bio in the US are just some of the big agricultural corporations exploring what useful microbes could be spread on seeds and crops to increase yields and reduce the needs for fertilizers.
Soils, apart from feeding us and helping us fight disease, also have a crucial regulatory role in our climate.
Sue Nelson reports on a new soil moisture monitoring network being set up in the UK that uses cosmic rays to measure the water content. The Cosmic-ray Soil Moisture Observing System, COSMOS-UK, is being set up by the CEH, based out of Edinburgh.
On a global scale, soils are a hugely important reservoir of carbon. Iain Hartley of the University of Exeter talks about the vast amounts of carbon - more than all the carbon in all the trees and air - held in frozen soils in the far northern reaches of the earth. If these vast plains of permafrost were to melt in a warming world, the positive feedback loop caused by the resulting methane and CO2 released could be a bigger problem than many of our climate models allow for.
But could we manage the soils beneath our feet better?
David Manning of Newcastle University suggests that minerals could be added to brownfield (urban) soils to help them capture and sequester staggering amounts of CO2 from the air to help us offset anthropogenic emissions.
Producer Adrian Washbourne.
THU 17:00 PM (b04xrwhf)
PM at
5pm- Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04xkg3g)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Bridget Christie Minds the Gap (b04xrwhh)
Series 2
Ethical Filing
Bridget Christie's taken her activism to a whole new level. Well, sort of.
Multi-award winning series about modern feminism.
Bridget thought that she'd be able to put her feet up after her last series, she expected it to bomb. Sadly it was a huge success. But it's OK, because actually she's solved the feminist struggle all by herself.
She's assisted by token man, Fred MacAulay.
Written by Bridget Christie.
Producers: Alison Vernon-Smith and Alexandra Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2015.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b04xrwhk)
Jennifer's outraged by a blatant propaganda piece on Justin Elliot in the Echo. There's no mention of SAVE or what Lynda and Jim uncovered at the LEP event. Kenton wonders why Shula's still pursuing the SAVE campaign - she and Kenton are benefitting from Justin, so isn't she a hypocrite?
Jolene and Kenton are promoting their Burns Night supper. Fallon will be managing the Valentines Day events this year, to avoid a repeat of last year's rival events. As Kenton and Jolene plan to help Fallon with her business, Jolene prompts Kenton to speak to Lilian about selling her shares of the Bull.
Home from holiday, Lilian makes a shock discovery and calls PC Burns. The safe is wide open and valuable paintings have been taken. There's no sign of Matt, just a very short note that PC Burns finds, which reads "Sorry, Pusscat". Lilian's sure there's an explanation and just needs to contact Matt. She asks Burns not to mention this to anyone. Jennifer arrives and Lilian covers for the fact that PC Burns is there, making up a story about the burglar alarm, and saying she forget that Matt was taking the paintings for valuation. Lilian declines Jennifer's offer to stay for a cup of tea - she needs to lie down.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b04xrwhm)
Oscar Nominations Special
John Wilson reports on the nominations for this year's Oscars which were announced today.
Including interviews with British nominees Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones and Rosamund Pike as well as analysis from critic Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and predictions for which films and actors will triumph on the night.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b04xrv9v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b04xrwhp)
CIA Torture: What Did Britain Know?
Shortly before Christmas the Intelligence Committee of the United States Senate published an extraordinary and explosive document, universally referred to as the Torture Report, accusing the CIA of brutality in its treatment of prisoners detained in what George W. Bush had called the "War on Terror".
The report debunks the CIA's claims that its "enhanced interrogation techniques" produced important intelligence. These techniques include practices such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and sexual humiliation. The simple message for many who've read the report: torture doesn't work.
What was published represents a fraction of the Senate's findings after an investigation lasting more than five years. The 600 or so pages now available online are merely a summary of the full 6,700 page report that remains classified. And much of the 600 pages is illegible, because of redactions in the form of thick, black lines, some of which were demanded by Britain's intelligence services.
In The Report this week Simon Cox asks to what extent Britain's intelligence services were complicit in the mistreatment of prisoners; and why Britain has been dragging its heels in carrying out its own investigation into allegations of mistreatment.
He traces the history of British investigations: a discredited investigation by the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) in 2007 on extraordinary rendition from which it was later discovered that the intelligence services withheld information; the promise by David Cameron of a judge-led inquiry in 2010, which was subsequently scrapped; and handing back of the torture enquiry to the ISC, which Mr Cameron himself had said was not the appropriate body to carry out this investigation.
Simon will also look what appears to be a consistent tactic of successive British governments to avoid embarrassing details coming to light by claiming that publication would damage relations with the United States, or damage national security. It's a claim rejected by human rights agencies who defend alleged victims of torture, as well as by senior politicians. "National security often just means national embarrassment," says one.
Contributors to the programme include a man who claims he was illegally rendered with British complicity; a member of the judge-led inquiry into torture that was subsequently scrapped; and members of the ISC, now charged with carrying out an investigation.
The alleged abuse is historical. But it acquired contemporary resonance last week when it was reported that one of the alleged perpetrators of the Paris murders had been radicalised by the images of detainees being tortured by US operatives at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Producer: Tim Mansell.
THU 20:30 In Business (b04xrwhr)
Money Making
Peter Day explores the future of money and asks how "cashless" we may become. With the arrival of internet based digital currencies such as bitcoin and payments via mobile phones, he looks at whether the banks will still have a role to play.
Producer: Caroline Bayley.
THU 21:02 BBC Inside Science (b04xrwhc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b04xrv9n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b04xrzdc)
Two suspected Islamists killed in a police raid in the Belgian town of Verviers.
Authorities say men were on the verge of committing a major terrorist attack after returning from Syria.
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04xrzdf)
Curtain Call
Episode 4
On a sultry afternoon in the summer of 1936, a woman accidentally interrupts an attempted murder in a London hotel room. Nina Land, a West End actress, faces a dilemma. She's not supposed to be at the hotel in the first place, and certainly not with a married man - the celebrated portrait artist, Stephen Wyley - but once it becomes apparent that she may have seen the face of the man dubbed 'the Tie-Pin Killer' she realises that another woman's life could be at stake.
Jimmy Erskine is the raffish doyen of theatre critics who fears that his star is fading. Age and drink are catching up with him and, in his late-night escapades with young men, he walks a tightrope that may snap at any moment. He has depended for years on his loyal and longsuffering secretary Tom, who has a secret of his own to protect. Tom's chance encounter with Madeleine Farewell, a lonely young woman haunted by premonitions of catastrophe, closes the circle - it was Madeleine who narrowly escaped the killer's stranglehold that afternoon and now she walks the streets in terror of him finding her again.
Curtain Call is a poignant comedy of manners, and a tragedy of mistaken intentions. From the glittering murk of Soho's demi-monde to the grease paint and ghost-lights of theatreland, the story plunges on through smoky clubrooms, street corners where thuggish Blackshirts linger and tawdry rooming houses.
Episode 4:
Paths cross and feelings deepen.
Read by Nancy Carroll
Abridged, directed and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:00 Colin Hoult's Carnival of Monsters (b04xrzdh)
Series 2
Episode 2
Enter the Carnival of Monsters, a bizarre and hilarious world of sketches, stories and characters, presented by the sinister Ringmaster.
A host of characters are the exhibits at the Carnival - all played by Colin himself.
Meet such monstrous yet strangely familiar oddities as: Wannabe Hollywood screenwriter Andy Parker; Anna Mann - outrageous star of such forgotten silver screen hits such as 'Rogue Baker', 'Who's For Turkish Delight' and 'A Bowl For My Bottom'; and a host of other characters from acid jazz obsessives, to mask workshop coordinators.
Writers Guild Award-winner Colin Hoult is best known for his highly acclaimed starring roles in Paul Whitehouse's 'Nurse', 'Being Human', Rickey Gervais' 'Life's Too Short' and 'Derek', and 'Russell Howard's Good News', as well as his many hit shows at the Edinburgh Festival. He has also appeared and written for a number of Radio 4 series including 'The Headset Set' and 'Colin and Fergus' Digi-Radio'.
Producer: Sam Bryant.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2015.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b04xrzdk)
Sean Curran reports on a row over mobile phone reception. There's a plea for people infected with contaminated blood. And why the United States doesn't care for haggis.
Editor; Peter Mulligan.
FRIDAY 16 JANUARY 2015
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b04xkg4g)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b04xrv9q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b04xkg4j)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b04xkg4m)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b04xkg4q)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b04xkg4s)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b04y9kc8)
A reflection and prayer with Richard Hill.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b04xs49p)
First Milk, Rural fuel, Pesticides
The future of the dairy co-operative First Milk has been in question since the business announced a delay to its payment to farmers, and an increase in farmer contributions, in order to avoid increased borrowing. When First Milk's chairman, Sir Jim Paice, met farmers in Pembrokeshire, he assured them that the business is still solvent and does have a long-term future. We hear why.
A European consultation on 'endocrine disruptors' ends today. They are chemicals which have an effect on the functioning of the hormonal system of humans or animals, and include some pesticides. Depending on the conclusions of the consultation, farmers say up to forty products could be taken off the market. Charlotte Smith talks to a campaigner who believes the current system doesn't offer rural residents adequate protection from harmful chemicals.
And some of the UK's most rural communities could be entitled to tax break on fuel, under a government scheme. The idea, which got European Commission approval yesterday, could mean a reduction of up to five pence a litre for people living in selected areas of Cumbria, Devon, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, and the Highlands of Scotland. Charlotte asks Defra minister Dan Rogerson how it would work.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Emma Campbell.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0rd4)
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Liz Bonnin presents the raucous calling sulphur-crested cockatoo from Australia. It is with somewhat heavy irony that with its loud, jarring calls, the sulphur crested cockatoo is also known as the "Australian nightingale". These large white parrots with their formidable curved beaks and long yellow crests which they fan out when excited are familiar aviary birds. One of the reasons that they're popular as cage birds is that they can mimic the human voice and can live to a great age. A bird known as Cocky Bennett from Sydney lived until he was a hundred years old, although by the time he died in the early 1900s he was completely bald, and was then stuffed for posterity. In its native forests of Australia and New Guinea, those far-carrying calls are perfect for keeping cockatoo flocks together. They're highly intelligent birds and when they feed, at least one will act as a sentinel ready to sound the alarm in case of danger. So well-known is this behaviour that in Australia, someone asked to keep a lookout during illegal gambling sessions is sometimes known as a "cockatoo" or "cocky".
FRI 06:00 Today (b04y55r6)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b04xmqd6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b04xs49r)
Reaching down the Rabbit Hole
Episode 5
Emphasising the importance of neurology - Dr Allan H Ropper and his co-writer Brian D Burrell conclude their behind the scenes look at the Harvard Medical School's neurology unit.
"In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," says Ropper, "Alice jumps into a rabbit hole and finds herself in a bizarre realm where everything bears little relation to the outside world. It is a place where, as the Red Queen mentions to Alice, it helps to believe six impossible things before breakfast. I have no need to believe six impossible things before breakfast because I know that on any given day I will be confronted with six improbable things before lunch..."
Concluded by Colin Stinton.
Written by Dr Allan H Ropper and Brian D Burrell
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in January 2015.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b04y539w)
Woman in Broadcasting, Illegal Sperm Donors, Anti-Semitism in the UK
Radio 4's Out of the Ordinary has found online groups where women are looking for cheap or 'free' donors, and 'super donors', men fiercely proud of their apparent fertility, who are in competition to see who can father the most children. Jenni speaks to Juliet Tizzard, Director of Strategy at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority about the current regulations governing sperm donation, and Erika Tranfield who runs an online sperm donor site.
Why are there still not enough women in News and Current Affairs broadcasting? Jenni speaks to the chair of the Lords Communications Committee, Lord Best.
The biggest study into the lives of older lesbians in Britain has been carried out by Dr Jane Traies from Brighton. She carried out the research for a PhD she undertook after retiring from her job as a head teacher. Jane contacted nearly 400 women from all over Britain. They ranged in age from sixty to ninety and the interviews were carried out over a two year period. Some of the women interviewed by Jane were recorded, she shares some of the recordings with Woman's Hour and tells Jenni about her research.
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b04xs49t)
The Corrections
The Generator
Dramatisation of Jonathan Franzen's darkly comic 2001 novel about the tribulations of a dysfunctional Midwestern family, starring Richard Schiff (The West Wing), Maggie Steed, Colin Stinton and Roslyn Hill. Dramatised by Marcy Kahan.
Episode 10: The Generator - When acclaimed chef, Denise Lambert, is head-hunted by a multi-millionaire entrepreneur, her romantic life becomes increasingly complicated.
Directed by Emma Harding
The Corrections was awarded the National Book Award in 2001, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. It was included in TIME magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923.
Jonathan Franzen is the author of four novels (Freedom, The Corrections, Strong Motion, and The Twenty-Seventh City), two collections of essays (Farther Away, How to Be Alone), a personal history (The Discomfort Zone).
Marcy Kahan is a playwright and radio dramatist. Recent radio work includes two series of Lunch for BBC Radio 4 (starring Claire Skinner and Stephen Mangan) and Mr Bridger's Orphan. Theatre work includes 20 Cigarettes (Soho Theatre) and the stage version of When Harry Met Sally (Theatre Royal Haymarket).
FRI 11:00 MCAT: The Scourge of the Valleys (b04xs49w)
Five years since the stimulant MCAT crossed from legal high to Class B substance, award-winning writer Rachel Trezise visits the South Wales Valleys to witness the trail of distruction left by this drug, and finds out what's next for the teens who took it looking for a good time.
Producer: Claire Hill.
FRI 11:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b03q9w0n)
Series 5
St Davids
Mark Steel returns to Radio 4 for a fifth series of the award winning show that travels around the country, researching the history, heritage and culture of six towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness, and does a bespoke evening of comedy in each one.
As every high street slowly morphs into a replica of the next, Mark Steel's in Town celebrates the parochial, the local and the unusual. From Corby's rivalry with Kettering to the word you can't say in Portland, the show has taken in the idiosyncrasies of towns up and down the country, from Kirkwall to Penzance, from Holyhead to Bungay.
This edition comes from St Davids, Pembrokeshire, which is technically a city - with the emphasis on the technically. He discusses lifeboats, art and wildlife, and discovers that in this sleepy coastal community, they are sometimes very rude but sometimes very, very friendly. Almost too friendly. But only if you're into that sort of thing. From January 2014.
Written and performed by ... Mark Steel
Additional material by ... Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator ... Trudi Stevens
Producer ... Ed Morrish.
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b04xkg4v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 A History of Ideas (b04xrvb1)
Historian Justin Champion on William Whiston's Comet Theory
Historian Justin Champion on Early Modern Comet Theory
Those who watched in awe as the space craft Philae bounced its way onto a comet last November should hold a candle for William Whiston. Back in 1696 this British theologian, mathematician and acolyte of Isaac Newton published a book called 'A new theory of the earth'. In it he argued that comets were responsible for the origins of the earth and life upon it. This was what Philae was tasked to help us find out when it dotted down on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Not only does this feel like a coup for early modern farsightedness it also reminds us that much of early science was not built in opposition to Christianity but in order to justify it. Whiston's investigation of the natural world (like those of his peers) was designed to show how the biblical account of creation was true.
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b04y539y)
GoodGym, Bank Fraud, Air Pollution
How some criminals set up online banking in the name a 94-year-old woman who doesn't even have a computer. Should the bank return the hundred thousand pounds she lost? You and Yours investigates.
As police incidents involving legal highs soar, Peter White find outs about the city of Lincoln's plan to be the first to ban them.
Is your New Year fitness flagging? Would altruism give you a boost? We try out goodgym, a not for profit company that organises workouts with a good deed on the side. Does it work?
www.goodgym.org
And as air pollution levels in London have already breached limits set for the entire year, we ask what it will take to get some action and how we got to be so dependent on diesel in the first place?
FRI 12:57 Weather (b04xkg4x)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b04y53b0)
Analysis of current affairs reports, presented by Mark Mardell.
FRI 13:45 The Diaries of Brett Westwood (b04xs4b0)
Canal
5. Canal .
When Brett Westwood began a wildlife diary at the age of 15, little did he think that he'd still be writing notes, nearly 40 years later about the same local patch in North Worcestershire.
From those early days, when birding was done by bicycle, Brett's wildlife diaries have developed into a record which is anything but parochial. They mirror the often undreamt of changes which have taken place across the UK over the last 40 years. In this series Brett returns, diaries in hand, to different areas of his local patch and compares notes from the past with the landscape and wildlife of today. There are genuine shocks and revelations.
The River Stour has its source in the industrial Black Country and flows through Brett's local patch on its way to the Severn, about 9 miles away. Today, although it is polluted, the river is far clearer than in years gone by, thanks to rigorous controls on pollutants. With their absence, fish have returned and damselflies such as the white-legged damsel which is sensitive to pollution, skim across the surface. During his visit for the programme, Brett is thrilled to see a Beautiful Demoiselle for the first time here; a species which signifies that the water is less polluted than in the past. Last year Brett heard the what he's convinced was the 'plop' of a water vole and saw footprints in the riverside mud for the first time in fifteen years. With mink now well-established, could these water voles survive?
The series underlines the importance of keeping a diary like Brett's not just for personal notes but as a valuable document of change which is measurable from decade to decade.
Wildlife sound recordist: Chris Watson, Producer: Sarah Blunt.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b04xrwhk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b04xs4b2)
Take Me To...
Take Me to the Necropolis
By Oliver Emanuel.
The third in a series of geographically inspired dramas takes us on a darkly comic journey through Glasgow's infamous Necropolis.
Alice and Sasha are celebrating their graduation when Alice takes Sasha on a secret trip to a graveyard. Sasha is not impressed. But, after they've downed a bottle of bubbly and smoked a joint, they find themselves in the middle of a surreal space where imaginary boys and dead people talk to them and something even more sinister can penetrate their mind...
Also featuring the voices of Pearl Appleby, Amy Conachan, Sara Short, Michael Collins, Phillip Laing, Lorn MacDonald, Lorne McFadyen and Hamish Riddle from the Scottish Royal Conservatoire
Directed by Kirsty Williams.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b04xs4b4)
North Cumbria
Eric Robson hosts the horticultural panel programme from North Cumbria. Pippa Greenwood, Christine Walkden and Matthew Wilson join him to answer questions from the audience.
Produced by Darby Dorras
Assistant Producer: Claire Crofton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Irish International (b04xs4b6)
More Credible Than the Truth by Philip Ó Ceallaigh
Three original stories from current, cutting edge Irish writers, Nick Laird, Philip Ó Ceallaigh and Robert McLaim Wilson, who have chosen to leave Ireland and make their homes in New York, Bucharest and Paris who each give their own unique take on being an Irishman living and writing abroad.
Writer ..... Philip Ó Ceallaigh
Reader ..... Declan Conlon
Producer ..... Jenny Thompson.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b04y53fh)
Ray McFall, Richard Meade, Joan Benesh, Frank Atkinson and Brian Clemens
Matthew Bannister on
Ray McFall, the former accountant who ran the Cavern Club in Liverpool and booked the Beatles more than 200 times.
Richard Meade who won both team and individual eventing Gold medals at the Olympics.
Joan Benesh, who perfected the system for noting down complex dance moves in ballet.
Frank Atkinson who founded and ran the Beamish open air museum in County Durham.
And Brian Clemens the screenwriter best known for creating the Avengers and the Professionals.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (b04y53fk)
How big are the Conservatives' planned cuts?
The Conservatives' plans to achieve a budget surplus by 2019-20 have led to near universal acknowledgment that big reductions in spending would be required. However, David Cameron said government spending would only need to be reduced by 1% per year. So, how big are the cuts? Tim Harford asks Gemma Tetlow of the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
In the wake of the Paris killings, an imam in Paris told the BBC that 95% of terrorism victims around the world are Muslim. Is that true? More or Less speaks to Erin Miller of the Global Terrorism Database.
The reported death toll of the Boko Haram attack in Baga, Nigeria, this month has ranged from 150 to more than 2000 people. More or Less speaks to Julian Rademeyer of Africa Check, who's been trying to get to the truth.
Which are the world's worst boardgames? Oliver Roeder, a senior writer for the website FiveThirtyEight, has done a statistical analysis of player reviews to answer this question. He's also been looking at which are considered to be the best. Tim Harford challenges Oliver to a transatlantic game of Snakes and Ladders.
And the coverage of the Living Planet Index and its claim that species populations have dropped 50% in the last 40 years aroused much suspicion among More or Less listeners. The team looks at what the figure means and how it was calculated.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Ruth Alexander.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b04xs4b8)
Sophia and Amber - Eating and Not Eating
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between friends who are dedicated to promoting understanding of anorexia, after one of them got through it with the help of the other.
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. Most of the unedited 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 learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRI 17:00 PM (b04y53b2)
PM at
5pm- Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b04xkg4z)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b04xs4bb)
Series 45
Episode 2
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand-up and sketches. Featuring Mitch Benn, Pippa Evans, Jon Holmes and Tez Ilyas.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b04xs4bd)
Fallon and Harrison blissfully wake up together and stay warm in bed as it seems the heating's broken. Harrison impresses Fallon with an idea for a 1940s themed Valentines Night celebration. Mike and Vicky could run some dance classes.
Tony's happy to finally be moving from Birmingham to the Orthopaedic ward at Felpersham. Pat hopes to be back at work next week, which will free Helen up a bit. Helen opens up about problems at the shop. She also tells Pat about Rob's letter from the CMS. Helen worries about asking Rob to take the paternity test - he'll think she doesn't trust him. But Pat feels that it's the only way to be free of Jess.
Rob's outraged by another letter from the CMS. To prove that he's not the father, he will have to take the test. Helen carefully suggests that he should, to finally get Jess off their backs. But Rob refuses to dance to Jess's tune.
Pat calls round to to drop off a veg box and tell distracted Lilian about Tony. Lilian tells her that Matt's on a business trip. PC Burns checks on Lilian. She knows that Matt has done a runner and cleaned out their accounts. He must have planned it months ago. She's not giving up on Matt, though - she'll find him and they'll sort this out together.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b04xs4bj)
Russell T Davies, PJ Harvey, The Eichmann Show
Russell T Davies, acclaimed television writer with successes including Queer as Folk and Dr Who, talks about his upcoming gay multi-platform drama Cucumber, Banana and Tofu.
John visits London's Somerset House where P J Harvey is recording her new album in a glass box and inviting the public to watch. Commissioned by Artangel, 'Recording in Progress' aims to give visitors a glimpse of the labour that goes into making a studio album. Writer and critic Kate Mossman gives her verdict on the results.
Walking the Tightrope at Theatre Delicatessen in London is a new set of 5 minute plays and debates on the theme of censorship in the arts. Cressida Brown, the director, and playwright Ryan Craig talk to John Wilson about controversial content.
BBC 2 drama The Eichmann Show recreates the true story of the televised trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust, in 1961. Martin Freeman plays Milton Fruchtman, as TV producer who hired blacklisted director Leo Hurwitz, played by Anthony LaPaglia, to capture Eichmann's trial in the first global television event. Ryan Gilbey reviews.
Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Sarah Johnson.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b04xs49t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b04xs4bl)
Norman Baker MP, Sadiq Khan MP, Dia Chakravarty and Francis Maude MP
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Barnham in West Sussex with the former Home Office Minister Norman Baker MP, Political Director of the Tax Payers Alliance Dia Chakravarty, Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan MP and Francis Maude MP Minister for the Cabinet Office.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b04xs4bn)
Language and Listening
AL Kennedy reflects on the importance of learning languages and listening to one another. "More words give me more paths to and from the hearts of others, more points of view - I don't think that's a bad thing."
Producer: Sheila Cook.
FRI 21:00 A History of Ideas (b04xs4bq)
Omnibus
How Did Everything Begin?
A new history of ideas presented by Melvyn Bragg but told in many voices.
Melvyn is joined by four guests with different backgrounds to discuss a really big question. This week he's asking How did everything begin?
Helping him answer it are Cosmologist Carole Mundell, Historian Justin Champion, theologian Giles Fraser and Creation myth Expert, Jessica Frazier.
For the rest of the week Carole, Giles, Justin and Jessica will take us further into the history of ideas about origins with programmes of their own. Between them they will examine early modern comet theory, Thomas Aquinas, The big Bang and Hindu Creation myths.
In this omnibus edition all five programmes from the week are presented together.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b04xkg51)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b04y53b4)
Swiss central bank scraps exchange rate controls.
Several brokerage firms around the world have made large losses
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b04xs4bs)
Curtain Call
Episode 5
On a sultry afternoon in the summer of 1936, a woman accidentally interrupts an attempted murder in a London hotel room. Nina Land, a West End actress, faces a dilemma. She's not supposed to be at the hotel in the first place, and certainly not with a married man - the celebrated portrait artist, Stephen Wyley - but once it becomes apparent that she may have seen the face of the man dubbed 'the Tie-Pin Killer' she realises that another woman's life could be at stake.
Jimmy Erskine is the raffish doyen of theatre critics who fears that his star is fading. Age and drink are catching up with him and, in his late-night escapades with young men, he walks a tightrope that may snap at any moment. He has depended for years on his loyal and longsuffering secretary Tom, who has a secret of his own to protect. Tom's chance encounter with Madeleine Farewell, a lonely young woman haunted by premonitions of catastrophe, closes the circle - it was Madeleine who narrowly escaped the killer's stranglehold that afternoon and now she walks the streets in terror of him finding her again.
Curtain Call is a poignant comedy of manners, and a tragedy of mistaken intentions. From the glittering murk of Soho's demi-monde to the grease paint and ghost-lights of theatreland, the story plunges on through smoky clubrooms, street corners where thuggish Blackshirts linger and tawdry rooming houses.
Read by Nancy Carroll
Abridged, directed and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b04xp4wq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b04xs4bv)
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b04xs4bx)
John and Fiona - A Second Chance
Fi Glover with a conversation between a father and daughter, both musicians, reflecting on the turn of events that led her to exchange her career as a dancer for one as a singer.
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. Most of the unedited 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 learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 MON (b04xnczl)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 MON (b04xnczl)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 TUE (b04xp15h)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 TUE (b04xp15h)
15 Minute Drama
10:40 WED (b04xrj82)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 WED (b04xrj82)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 THU (b04xrv9v)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 THU (b04xrv9v)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 FRI (b04xs49t)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 FRI (b04xs49t)
A History of Ideas
12:04 MON (b04xnczs)
A History of Ideas
12:04 TUE (b04xp4w8)
A History of Ideas
12:04 WED (b04xrj8s)
A History of Ideas
12:04 THU (b04xscq0)
A History of Ideas
12:04 FRI (b04xrvb1)
A History of Ideas
21:00 FRI (b04xs4bq)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (b04wwwc8)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (b04xs4bn)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (b04xjfxy)
Any Questions?
13:10 SAT (b04wwwc6)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (b04xs4bl)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b03bpv42)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (b04xrwhc)
BBC Inside Science
21:02 THU (b04xrwhc)
Becoming Myself: Gender Identity
21:00 WED (b04tlqzt)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (b050hhct)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (b050hhct)
Beyond Belief
16:30 MON (b04xnd07)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 MON (b04xndg2)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 TUE (b04xp4xc)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 WED (b04xrnlx)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 THU (b04xrzdf)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 FRI (b04xs4bs)
Book of the Week
00:30 SAT (b04wwtsj)
Book of the Week
09:45 MON (b04xn7cq)
Book of the Week
00:30 TUE (b04xn7cq)
Book of the Week
09:45 TUE (b04xp15c)
Book of the Week
00:30 WED (b04xp15c)
Book of the Week
09:45 WED (b04xrj7r)
Book of the Week
00:30 THU (b04xrj7r)
Book of the Week
09:45 THU (b04xrv9q)
Book of the Week
00:30 FRI (b04xrv9q)
Book of the Week
09:45 FRI (b04xs49r)
Brain of Britain
23:00 SAT (b04wtgjv)
Brain of Britain
15:00 MON (b04xnd03)
Bridget Christie Minds the Gap
18:30 THU (b04xrwhh)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (b04xkypg)
Cabin Pressure
23:00 TUE (b04vf959)
Can Democracy Work?
09:00 TUE (b04xp157)
Can Democracy Work?
21:30 TUE (b04xp157)
Colin Hoult's Carnival of Monsters
23:00 THU (b04xrzdh)
Crossing Continents
20:30 MON (b04wwkhl)
Crossing Continents
11:00 THU (b04xrv9x)
David Baddiel Tries to Understand
05:45 SUN (b04wwgzc)
David Baddiel Tries to Understand
20:45 WED (b04xrl8t)
Desert Island Discs
11:15 SUN (b04xmqd6)
Desert Island Discs
09:00 FRI (b04xmqd6)
Drama
15:00 SUN (b04xmrnk)
Drama
14:15 TUE (b04xp4wj)
Drama
14:15 WED (b04xrjsg)
Drama
14:15 THU (b04xrvb9)
Drama
14:15 FRI (b04xs4b2)
Everyone a Rembrandt
16:00 MON (b04xnd05)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (b04xjbjs)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (b04xn7cj)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (b04xp153)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (b04xp63s)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (b04xrv9j)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (b04xs49p)
Fear and Loathing in Harrogate
16:30 SUN (b04xmwz6)
File on 4
20:00 TUE (b04xp4x3)
From Fact to Fiction
19:00 SAT (b04xjfy6)
From Fact to Fiction
17:40 SUN (b04xjfy6)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (b04wrqh2)
Front Row
19:15 MON (b04xnd0h)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (b04xp4x1)
Front Row
19:15 WED (b04xrl8p)
Front Row
19:15 THU (b04xrwhm)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (b04xs4bj)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (b04wwtsy)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (b04xs4b4)
Great Lives
16:30 TUE (b04xp4wq)
Great Lives
23:00 FRI (b04xp4wq)
I've Never Seen Star Wars
18:30 TUE (b04xp4wx)
In Business
21:30 SUN (b04wwqcr)
In Business
20:30 THU (b04xrwhr)
In Our Time
09:00 THU (b04xrv9n)
In Our Time
21:30 THU (b04xrv9n)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (b04xp4x5)
India's Beats: The Hungry Generation
23:30 SAT (b04ws24p)
Inside Health
21:00 TUE (b04xp4x7)
Inside Health
15:30 WED (b04xp4x7)
Irish International
15:45 FRI (b04xs4b6)
Kitch!
11:30 TUE (b04xp15m)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (b04xf1d1)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (b04y53fh)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (b04xjfy4)
Love in Recovery
23:15 WED (b04xrnm1)
MCAT: The Scourge of the Valleys
11:00 FRI (b04xs49w)
Mark Steel's in Town
11:30 FRI (b03q9w0n)
Mein Kampf: Publish or Burn?
11:00 WED (b04xrj8j)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (b04wrqgk)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (b04xkfww)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (b04xkfyr)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (b04xkg06)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (b04xkg1r)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (b04xkg2y)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (b04xkg4g)
Midweek
09:00 WED (b04xp63x)
Midweek
21:30 WED (b04xp63x)
Mindfulness: Panacea or Fad?
13:30 SUN (b04xmqdd)
Money Box Live
15:00 WED (b04xrl8c)
Money Box
12:04 SAT (b04xjcn2)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (b04xjcn2)
More or Less
20:00 SUN (b04xf1d5)
More or Less
16:30 FRI (b04y53fk)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (b04wrqgt)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (b04xkfx4)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (b04xkfz0)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (b04xkg0g)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (b04xkg20)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (b04xkg38)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (b04xkg4s)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (b04xkfx6)
News Summary
12:00 SAT (b04wrqh4)
News Summary
12:00 SUN (b04xkfxj)
News Summary
12:00 MON (b04xkfz4)
News Summary
12:00 TUE (b04xkg0j)
News Summary
12:00 WED (b04xkg22)
News Summary
12:00 THU (b04xkg3b)
News Summary
12:00 FRI (b04xkg4v)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (b04wrqgw)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (b04xkfxb)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (b04xkfxg)
News and Weather
22:00 SAT (b04wrqhj)
News
13:00 SAT (b04wrqh8)
Olive Wars
20:00 MON (b04tcl5w)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (b04xkyp6)
One to One
09:30 TUE (b04xp159)
Open Book
16:00 SUN (b04xmwz2)
Open Book
15:30 THU (b04xmwz2)
Open Country
06:07 SAT (b04wwmcc)
Open Country
15:00 THU (b04xrvbc)
PM
17:00 SAT (b04xjfy2)
PM
17:00 MON (b04xnd09)
PM
17:00 TUE (b04xp4ws)
PM
17:00 WED (b04yjx6g)
PM
17:00 THU (b04xrwhf)
PM
17:00 FRI (b04y53b2)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (b04xmwzb)
Pilgrim by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
14:15 MON (b04xnd01)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (b04wwwkz)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (b04y9cby)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (b04y9dqx)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (b04y9g6f)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (b04y9gdg)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (b04y9kc8)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:55 SUN (b04xkypb)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:26 SUN (b04xkypb)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (b04xkypb)
Roger McGough's Other Half
23:00 WED (b04xrnlz)
Sasha's Song
15:30 SAT (b04wtzz5)
Saturday Drama
14:30 SAT (b03kp47b)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (b04xjcmw)
Saturday Review
19:15 SAT (b04xjfzk)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (b04wrqgp)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (b04xkfx0)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (b04xkfyw)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (b04xkg0b)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (b04xkg1w)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (b04xkg34)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (b04xkg4m)
Shared Planet
21:00 MON (b04wtzz3)
Shared Planet
11:00 TUE (b04xp15k)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (b04wrqgm)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (b04wrqgr)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (b04wrqhb)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (b04xkfwy)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (b04xkfx2)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (b04xkfxn)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (b04xkfyt)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (b04xkfyy)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (b04xkg08)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (b04xkg0d)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (b04xkg1t)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (b04xkg1y)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (b04xkg32)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (b04xkg36)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (b04xkg4j)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (b04xkg4q)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (b04wrqhg)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (b04xkfxs)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (b04xkfz8)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (b04xkg0s)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (b04xkg26)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (b04xkg3g)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (b04xkg4z)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b04xkgsv)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (b04xkgsv)
Start the Week
09:00 MON (b04xn7cn)
Start the Week
21:30 MON (b04xn7cn)
Subway
19:45 SUN (b04xmwzl)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (b04xkypd)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (b04xkyp8)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (b04xkyt1)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (b04xmwzg)
The Archers
14:00 MON (b04xmwzg)
The Archers
19:00 MON (b04xnd0f)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (b04xnd0f)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (b04xp4wz)
The Archers
14:00 WED (b04xp4wz)
The Archers
19:00 WED (b04xrl8m)
The Archers
14:00 THU (b04xrl8m)
The Archers
19:00 THU (b04xrwhk)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (b04xrwhk)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (b04xs4bd)
The Best Laid Plans
11:30 MON (b04xnczq)
The City on the Couch
17:00 SUN (b04wth5g)
The Diaries of Brett Westwood
13:45 MON (b04xnczz)
The Diaries of Brett Westwood
13:45 TUE (b04xp4wg)
The Diaries of Brett Westwood
13:45 WED (b04xrj95)
The Diaries of Brett Westwood
13:45 THU (b04xrvb7)
The Diaries of Brett Westwood
13:45 FRI (b04xs4b0)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (b04wwn6n)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (b04xrvbf)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (b04xmqd8)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (b04xmqd8)
The Human Zoo
15:30 TUE (b04xp4wl)
The Kitchen Cabinet
10:30 SAT (b04xjcmy)
The Kitchen Cabinet
15:00 TUE (b04xjcmy)
The Listening Project
14:45 SUN (b04xmqrg)
The Listening Project
10:55 WED (b04xrj8b)
The Listening Project
16:55 FRI (b04xs4b8)
The Listening Project
23:55 FRI (b04xs4bx)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (b04xrl8h)
The Now Show
12:30 SAT (b04wwvnq)
The Now Show
18:30 FRI (b04xs4bb)
The Report
20:00 THU (b04xrwhp)
The Rest is History
19:15 SUN (b04wrycv)
The Rivals
11:30 WED (b04xrj8n)
The Secretaries of Juliet
11:00 MON (b04xnczn)
The Showman's Parson: Tales from the Memoirs of the Rev Thomas Horne
00:30 SUN (b03wh36q)
The Single Life
11:30 THU (b04xrv9z)
The Unbelievable Truth
12:04 SUN (b04wth58)
The Unbelievable Truth
18:30 MON (b04xnd0c)
The Week in Westminster
11:00 SAT (b04xjcn0)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (b04xmqdb)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (b04xndg0)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (b04xp4x9)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (b04xrnlv)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (b04xrzdc)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (b04y53b4)
Thinking Allowed
00:15 MON (b04wwdz1)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (b04xrl8f)
Today in Parliament
23:30 MON (b04xnfv4)
Today in Parliament
23:30 TUE (b04xp4xf)
Today in Parliament
23:30 WED (b04xrnm3)
Today in Parliament
23:30 THU (b04xrzdk)
Today in Parliament
23:30 FRI (b04xs4bv)
Today
07:00 SAT (b04xjcmt)
Today
06:00 MON (b04xn7cl)
Today
06:00 TUE (b04xp155)
Today
06:00 WED (b04xp63v)
Today
06:00 THU (b04xrv9l)
Today
06:00 FRI (b04y55r6)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (b04t0nw9)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b04t0pjx)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b04t0pm9)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b04t0ptz)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b04t0qpk)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b04t0rd4)
Unreliable Evidence
22:15 SAT (b04wwgz9)
Unreliable Evidence
20:00 WED (b04xrl8r)
War and Peace
21:00 SAT (b04w82wf)
Weather
06:04 SAT (b04wrqgy)
Weather
06:57 SAT (b04wrqh0)
Weather
12:57 SAT (b04wrqh6)
Weather
17:57 SAT (b04wrqhd)
Weather
06:57 SUN (b04xkfx8)
Weather
07:57 SUN (b04xkfxd)
Weather
12:57 SUN (b04xkfxl)
Weather
17:57 SUN (b04xkfxq)
Weather
05:56 MON (b04xkfz2)
Weather
12:57 MON (b04xkfz6)
Weather
12:57 TUE (b04xkg0m)
Weather
21:58 TUE (b04xkg0v)
Weather
12:57 WED (b04xkg24)
Weather
12:57 FRI (b04xkg4x)
Weather
21:58 FRI (b04xkg51)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (b04xmxjk)
What Does the K Stand For?
18:30 WED (b04xrl8k)
What the Papers Say
22:45 SUN (b04xmxrz)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (b04xjfy0)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (b04xn99p)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (b04xp15f)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (b04xrj7w)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (b04xrv9s)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (b04y539w)
Word of Mouth
23:00 MON (b04wtzzk)
Word of Mouth
16:00 TUE (b04xp4wn)
World at One
13:00 MON (b04xnczx)
World at One
13:00 TUE (b04xp4wd)
World at One
13:00 WED (b04xrj91)
World at One
13:00 THU (b04xrvb5)
World at One
13:00 FRI (b04y53b0)
You and Yours
12:15 MON (b04xnczv)
You and Yours
12:15 TUE (b04xp4wb)
You and Yours
12:15 WED (b04xrj8x)
You and Yours
12:15 THU (b04xrvb3)
You and Yours
12:15 FRI (b04y539y)
iPM
05:45 SAT (b04wwwl1)
iPM
17:30 SAT (b04wwwl1)