The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Poverty in Britain: Laurie Taylor talks to Joanna Mack, Learning and Teaching producer at the Open University, about the largest ever survey of UK levels of economic and social deprivation. Her co-authored book, 'Breadline Britain..' claims that poverty is at an all time high.
Also, claimants who reject work. Andrew Dunn, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at Lincoln University, has conducted research which suggests that some unemployed people turn down 'undesirable' work, thus choosing to remain in financial hardship.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson.
The Bubb family from Shropshire grow potatoes and petals. Their biodegradable wedding confetti business began when their granny sold dried flowers at a Women's Institute market. It's now a big business and the Bubbs grow delphiniums, cornflowers and marigolds alongside the Maris Pipers. Wake up and smell the roses!
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about the British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Wildlife Sound Recordist, Chris Watson, presents the Pink-Footed Goose. To see and hear a skein of pink-footed geese as they fly from their roost on coastal mudflats to feed inland is a stirring experience. In winter the British Isles hosts well over half the global population of pinkfeet.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Start the Week is at the Hay Festival for a discussion about what has made homo sapiens so successful. The historian Yuval Noah Harari looks back a hundred thousand years ago when at least six human species inhabited the earth and explores why only one came to dominate. Science was a key breakthrough and Beth Shapiro pushes at the limits of knowledge with her book on how to clone a mammoth. The writer Colm Tóibín reveals how much he owes past writers in his introduction to the enigmatic American poet, Elizabeth Bishop, while Owen Sheers explores the themes of loss and redemption in his latest novel.
Where exactly do the North Sea and the English Channel merge, and what did Noel Coward get up to at St. Margaret's?
Tom Fort's maritime journey takes us from the White Cliffs to Lands' End. About 675 miles in all.
Abridged in five parts by Katrin Williams.
Life post-Parliament: Glenda Jackson who made her decision to stand down a couple of years ago, and Jo Swinson and Mary Macleod who both lost their seats in the midst of the drama of the recent election, on life after the 2015 General Election.
Three years since she gave up her Commons seat, ex-MP, Louise Mensch gives advice on how to cope with the change. Journalists Gaby Hinsliff and Isabel Hardman reflect on the impact on UK politics of the loss of notable women MPs such as Anne Begg, Jo Swinson, Esther McVey and Lynne Featherstone.
On May 7th Tania Mathias won her Twickenham seat from Vince Cable. She talks to Jane about how her experience as a doctor is influencing her hopes and fears for her new role in national politic. And commentary throughout the programme comes from BBC political editor Allegra Stratton.
Sally drops a bombshell on her husband of over 20 years, Joe – she wants a divorce.
Her mind is made up. Joe is shocked and angry. How can they remain friends?
Can divorce really be amicable? Sally and Joe are about to find out. Starring Con O’Neill and Christine Bottomley.
Written by Mark Davies Markham, Amicable tracks the five-month journey from marriage to separation.
As more and more marriages end in divorce, the whys and wherefores become lost in the what next. When children are involved, many parents strive to remain on good terms. But is this really possible, when one partner has told the other the relationship is over? And do any of us have the overwhelming right to individual happiness, once we are parents?
Sally wants an amicable divorce from her husband Joe. A man she calls her best friend. He goes into shock, denial, panic, fear, resistance, acknowledgment, acceptance then liberation.
Mark Davies Markham's story is developed out of interviews with real people, like his previous series Missing and Just a Girl.
Art critic Louisa Buck lifts the lid on Painting By Number kits, the 'How To Craze' that swept the world in the 1950's, and promised to turn 'Everyman into a Rembrandt'. The pretension was laughed at by the art establishment, but appreciated by the millions of amateur artists who loved them. The anodyne subject matter of seascapes, landscapes, clowns and kittens, were all given a flat treatment with a simple palette and in the process created an instantly recognisable aesthetic. This was plundered for ironic effect by Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst who saw in Painting By Number a way to critique the relationship between art and taste, and art and mechanical reproduction. Louisa speaks to Dan Robbins in America who did more than anybody else to create the PBN template, as well as collectors, museum curators, and artists inspired by the complex inter-relationships between it, and Pop and Conceptual Art. To some eyes PBN represented all that was crass about post-war American Culture, a pandering to the lowest common denominator, mechanistic, and devoid of artistic merit, to others it empowered generations of ordinary people to pick up a brush and dare to paint. In the process teaching them to look and opening the door onto an artistic world they would otherwise have been denied access to. Painting by Number might have had its heyday, but even in this digital age the attraction of a gentler pastime that doesn't require batteries continues to appeal to a new generation of adherents. Louisa Buck didn't get a PBN kit for Christmas, because her parents thought it wasn't the done thing, now forty years later she sets out to lay that ghost to rest, and prove that PBN is anything but child's play.
Father Tregarthan enlists the help of an unlikely source to help him with his irreligious parishioners.
1930s comedy set on the Scilly island of St. Martin's, just before the Second World War.
Frank Gunwallow ..... Joseph Kloska
Tommy Trenear ..... Stuart Fox
Tregarthan ..... Peter Marinker
Ben Trenear ..... Alex Palmer
Morwenna-May ..... Alex Tregear
Signor Di Bicci ..... Sam Dale
Reggie Pender ..... Christopher William Hill
Director ..... Mary Peate
Season 4 of Radio 4's epic drama series set in Great War Britain, first broadcast exactly a hundred years after it is set. In the first episode of Season 4, Ivy is shocked at how much and how quickly Folkestone has changed.
We look at cold calls - or more specifically cold calls from a company promising to stop people getting cold calls in the first place.
What makes a show-home? We go to a new development to find out what style tips are used to make a new home more appealing.
Car-clocking is making a comeback and apparently it's all down to personal leases.
We go out on the road with a one-man delivery firm who hopes to help indoor markets stay in touch with the big supermarkets.
And as it's a Bank Holiday, we unearth the facts and figures behind out spending habits in the garden.
Rigorous analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.
By turns warrior, prisoner of war, court poet and passionate Sufi devotee, Amir Khusro was above all a quick-witted literary survivor. And his ability to write for all manner of patrons and audiences, added to his faith in Sufism, would help his words endure for 700 years. Sunil Khilnani tells the story of the man who called himself 'The Parrot of India'.
After a career as a soldier, Khusro gained fame in the royal courts of Delhi where poets improvised and extemporised for their patrons, competing with each other in a kind of medieval poetry slam. But despite being the most admired court poet of his time, he eventually suffered burnout and turned for spiritual strength to the great Sufi Muslim saint Nizamuddin Auliya. From then on his poetry focussed on the ideal of Sufi devotion, a merging of identity between master and follower.
Sunil Khilnani visits old Delhi and Khusro's tomb where his songs, passed down through 700 years of oral tradition, are still performed. Those songs have also come to live in the unconscious of millions of Indians through their use in cinema. Javed Akhtar, one of the great song-writers of Indian cinema, pays tribute to his 13th century predecessor.
The founding fathers of modern India made Amir Khusro a mascot of cultural harmony. Sunil Khilnani explores the life of a Sufi Muslim who has become the embodiment of the nation's unofficial motto: 'Unity in Diversity'.
Meticulously based on unit war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of TOMMIES traces one real day at war, exactly 100 years ago.
Through it all, we follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers, from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army. They are the cogs in an immense machine, one which connects situations across the whole theatre of the war, over four long years.
Today Mickey Bliss is in London, taking time out from signals training at Aldershot to look up an old friend who might finance his much-needed overhearing device. But he also encounters someone much closer.
A quiz show hosted by Steve Punt where a team of three University students take on a team of three of their professors.
Coming this week from Aston University, The 3rd Degree is a funny, lively and dynamic quiz show aimed at cultivating the next generation of Radio 4 listeners while delighting the current ones.
The Specialist Subjects in this episode are Law, Psychology and Computer Science and the questions range from Wile E Coyote and manslaughter to tennis balls, stamp-collecting and the Treaty of Westphalia.
The show is recorded on location at a different University each week, and it pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in a genuinely original and fresh take on an academic quiz. Being a Radio 4 programme, it of course meets the most stringent standards of academic rigour - but with lots of facts and jokes thrown in for good measure.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the 'Highbrow and Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and One Direction.
The host, Steve Punt, although best known as a satirist on The Now Show also delights in all facets of knowledge, not just in the Humanities (his educational background) but in the sciences as well. He has made a number of documentaries for Radio 4, including The Poet Unwound - The History Of The Spleen, as well as a half-hour comedy for Radio 4's Big Bang Day set in the Large Hadron Collider, called The Genuine Particle.
Rome's famous landmark the Piazza di Spagna has a secret British history that still reverberates today. Novelist Matthew Kneale discovers the hidden Ghetto Inglese.
Piazza di Spagna was once the heart of the English Quarter. Today it's famous for its luxury boutiques, and for the Spanish Steps. Thronged with tourists photographing each other, it's alive with noise and colour and Italian style. You'd never notice the British influence of the past. But away from the gleaming shop fronts of Prada and the like, the English speaking community still quietly clings on.
The imposing building which towers above Versace belongs to the oldest English speaking order of nuns ever to be established in Rome. The Mater Dei were once a thriving community of nuns, teaching British girls in the school they founded on the premises. Today, there are only five sisters left. Their life of prayer and meditation continues, in stark contrast to the consumerist bustle outside their walls.
Matthew Kneale goes beneath the surface trappings of this famous landmark to meet the Piazza's discreet 21st century Anglophones. Those who came before them speak to us from across the centuries through the vivid impressions they recorded in letters and notes and Matthew retraces their footsteps across the ancient stones.
As we accompany him we learn that, while the square may have been named after the C17th Spanish embassy to the Holy See and briefly have been considered Spanish territory, it can be argued that it is to the English language's great writers and artists that it owes much of its eternal appeal.
Last year Pope Francis, addressing the European Parliament , pleaded for a rediscovery of the ideals of humanism centred on respect for the dignity of the human person. He said, "A Europe which is no longer open to the transcendent dimension of life is a Europe which risks losing its own soul and that "humanistic spirit" which it still loves and defends." The Pope was clearly trying to reclaim the humanist tradition from atheism. But was he waging a futile battle? Is humanism by its very nature opposed to religious belief?
Joining Ernie to discuss Humanism are Stephen Law from the Centre for Enquiry and author of "A very short Introduction to Humanism; Nick Spencer Co-author of "The Case for Christian Humanism;" and Marilyn Mason, former Education Officer for the British Humanist Association.
Nicholas Parsons hosts the perennially popular panel game in which guests Paul Merton, Alun Cochrane, Susan Calman and Gyles Brandreth attempt to talk for 60 seconds with no hesitation, repetition or deviation on such diverse topics as Nelson's Column and Alice in Wonderland.
Produced by Victoria Lloyd.
Charlie interviews the staff at Berrow Farm staff but no one seems to know anything about the culvert being deliberately blocked. Charlie's annoyed that he can't talk to Stefan, and criticises Rob for releasing Stefan to spend time with his family. Charlie's unimpressed when Rob dismisses the 'wild goose chase' - reminding Rob he nearly died in that culvert. Rob's keen to be informed when someone can actually substantiate the anonymous claim about a Berrow Farm employee interfering with the culvert.
Kenton's critical of David and Ruth for avoiding being at the single wicket today - it's clearly just to avoid him.
It's the Single Wicket competition today and Kenton's doing the commentary. Toby feels confident. Bert's umpiring and Tony's scoring. Jolene thinks Toby might be a hit with the ladies.
Kenton looks forward to the FA cup final on Saturday - hopefully some good business at the Bull. But the big screen is on the blink.
Rob beats Adam in the first semi- final. Toby beats Tom in the other.
In a close final, Rob defeats Toby who's gracious in defeat. Toby thought he'd lose to Kate and talks about what fun it would be to 'take her on'. Handing a trophy full of beer to Rob, Toby leads the drinking - to much cheering.
As a new production of As You Like It opens at the Globe Theatre in London, Michelle Terry talks about taking on the role of Rosalind, arguably Shakespeare's meatiest female role. Actors Niamh Cusack and Juliet Stevenson who've played her in the past also describe the pleasures and challenges of playing her.
Timbuktu was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars and depicts what happens to one family when the city is overrun by fanatical jihadis. Channel 4 News' International Editor Lindsey Hilsum reviews.
As the Hay Festival gets under way, Front Row takes a look at how literary festivals have multiplied in recent years. Are they all economically sustainable? Kirsty asks Peter Florence, director of the Hay Festival; Fiona Razvi of the Wimbledon Bookfest, and bestselling Chocolat author Joanne Harris.
Step into the cinema and you might feel you've stepped back in time - re-makes of films from the 1980s including Mad Max, Poltergeist, Ghostbusters and Terminator are currently showing or due to hit our screens soon. Adam Smith muses on why so many movies from the 1980s, not known as a great decade for classic cinema, are having a revival.
David Aaronovitch of The Times traces the powerful intellectual influences behind what he sees as one of the most important cultural shifts of the past 40 years: from a society in which accusations of sexual abuse were wrongly ignored to one in which the falsely accused were crushed by a system where the mantra was "victims must be believed".
In the first of two programmes, Aaronovitch will examine the role played by unproven psychoanalytic theories which, from the 1980s, spread from the world of therapists in Canada and the USA to social work, medicine and then to law enforcement in Britain.
From the NSPCC to academia it was believed that children were being sexually abused in group Satanic rituals, which involved murder and animal sacrifice. The programme will explore how these bizarre ideas took hold, how they were related to mistaken psychotherapeutic practices, and how they resonate still.
The programme will look at the influences of four books which played a key role in influencing the intellectual and cultural climate. These are Sybil, Michelle Remembers, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and The Courage to Heal.
Rosie Waterhouse - Investigative Journalist; Head of MA in investigative journalism at City University
Sue Hampson - Former counsellor, and now Director of Safe to Say Trauma Informed Training and Consultancy
Roma Hart - Former Multiple Personality Disorder patient, who has retracted claims she was abused in childhood.
Is our desire to wage war something uniquely human or can its origins be traced much further back in our evolutionary past?
To suggest that warfare is a regular feature of human civilization would be to state the obvious. But just how deeply rooted is our desire to kill others of our species? Is lethal aggression a fixed part of our genetic code, something that has evolved from a common ancestor - and something therefore that has adaptive value? Or is warfare - and more generally, a predilection for lethal violence something that has emerged much more recently in human history? No longer the preserve of historians and philosophers, the question, as Geoff Watts discovers, is now argued over fiercely by anthropologists and biologists.
(Photo: Chimpanzee. Credit: Getty Images)
Meeting to discuss government's plans to renegotiate Britain's membership of the EU.
The wolves are ready for their release into the enclosure on the Earl's estate and Rachel is about to give birth.
Sarah Hall's novel is a compelling story about personal, political and environmental boundaries: about power, land, family and love. At its heart is Rachel Caine, tough, defensive, an expert on wolves, and long estranged from her home county of Cumbria. Now she has returned to supervise a project to re-introduce wolves to England for the first time in 500 years. Like the wolves she protects and champions, she has been wary of human connections.
Set against the dramatic and artfully evoked backdrop of the Lakeland fells, The Wolf Border explores issues of vested power and re-wilding, and of family and motherhood.
Michael Rosen and guests perform songs, poems and stories about food. With Writer Tania Hershman, singer Simon Panrucker and Cook Barny Haughton. All in front of a family audience at the Food Connections Festival in Bristol.
Have you ever wondered what the words raspberry, syllabub or toffee have in common? Did you know that pickle is a Dutch word but tomato, chocolate and chilli come from the Aztecs?
Join broadcaster and children's writer Michael Rosen on an adventure into language and food as he discovers how our favourite (and least favourite) dishes got their names in Radio 4's Word of Mouth programme. He'll be joined onstage by writers and singers to entertain us with poems, songs and stories and he'll be working with local schools to find out what makes the children of Bristol go 'yum' and 'yuk'.
Martha Lane Fox explores how musicians use the internet to create and distribute their work as network speeds increase.
Twenty years ago, we connected to and disconnected from the internet with dial-up modems. With broadband technology, the internet is always there. And better connection speeds don't just mean we can download music and movies faster. They're creating new opportunities for musicians to collaborate and make music online.
Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir features singers from countries as diverse as Syria and Cuba.
Former 10CC musician Kevin Godley wants to democratise the music business with his Whole World Band App that allows anyone to make music with musicians anywhere on the planet - even with Ronnie Wood.
Musicians at Edinburgh Napier University and the Royal College of Music in London are using new technology on high-speed research networks that allows them to play together with musicians in other countries in real-time. The Young Vic want to use similar technology to stage an international three-centre performance. New York's Metropolitan Opera say the technology will revolutionise opera performance.
And Ian O'Connell from Musion, the company that brought the late rapper Tupac Shakur back to life at the Coachella festival, talks about how faster networks and hologram technology mean music concerts of the future will be a whole new experience.
TUESDAY 26 MAY 2015
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b05vrhsz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
TUE 00:30 Tom Fort - Channel Shore (b05vwpwb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b05vrht2)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b05vrht4)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b05vrht6)
The latest shipping forecast.
TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b05vrht8)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b05wpyxr)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b05vx7z4)
Fracking, Shooting, Agricultural Shows, English Wine
Plans have been submitted to carry out fracking for shale gas under an area of Yorkshire. It's the first application in the county - and could well result in the first commercial fracking in the UK since 2011. This is because the company behind it - Third Energy - has already carried out test drilling and has the infrastructure in place.
We also find out how English sparkling wine is competing with producers from other parts of the world. English wine production amounts to more than 6 million bottles - and sparkling wine makes up two thirds of that.
Presented by Anna Hill and produced in Bristol by Sally Challoner.
TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03bkf9f)
Bearded Tit
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about the British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Wildlife Sound Recordist, Chris Watson, presents the Bearded Tit. Bearded Tit live in reed-beds, eat mainly reed-seeds in winter and build their nests using reed leaves and flower-heads. The males do have a flamboyant black moustache which would be the envy of any Chinese mandarin.
TUE 06:00 Today (b05vx8q7)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 Soul Music (b03jb1w1)
Series 17
Strange Fruit
"Southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the root..." Billie Holiday's famous song expresses the horror and anguish of those communities subjected to a campaign of lynching in the American South. Soul Music hears the stories of people whose relatives were lynched by white racists and of the various forms of grief, anger and reconciliation that have followed. These include the cousin of teenager Emmett Till, whose killing in 1955 for whistling at a white woman, added powerful impetus to the civil rights movement.
Despite its association with the deep south, the song was actually composed in 1930's New York by a Jewish schoolteacher, Abel Meeropol. Meeropol adopted the children of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg after they were executed in 1953 as Soviet spies. One of those children, Robert, talks of his adopted father's humanity and his belief that the Rosenberg's were killed in a 'state sanctioned lynching by the American government'. For him, Strange Fruit is a comforting reminder of his adopted father's passionate belief in justice and compassion.
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
TUE 09:30 Witness (b05vx8q9)
Australia's Rabbit Plague
Rabbits were introduced to Australia for sport in the 19th century. By the 1950s they posed a serious threat to Australia's agricultural economy. Hear from one farmer who took part in the battle to bring the alien species under control.
TUE 09:45 Tom Fort - Channel Shore (b05vx8qc)
Episode 2
Wandering the 'shabby end' of the Royal Parade in Eastbourne, which houses the fishing fleet, the author is reminded of his own fishing exploits. This involved prawn-hunting.
Tom Fort's maritime journey takes us from the White Cliffs to Lands' End. About 675 miles in all.
Read by Jonathan Coy
Abridged by Katrin Williams.
Producer: Duncan Minshull
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b05vx8qf)
Rock Star Amanda Palmer on the Art of Asking
American performer Amanda Palmer gave a TED talk in 2013 entitled the Art of Asking She has since expanded it into a book of the same name. She draws on her own personal experiences in life and as a performer to explore what it means to ask.
Labour leadership candidate Mary Creagh the MP for Wakefield on why she wants to be the next Leader of the the Party.
What can you do if your child is overweight? At what point do you decide their weight is a problem? And how should it best be tackled?
Plus money and relationships, Relate Ambassador, Anjula Mutanda, on how to achieve financial harmony.
And live music from 4 Girls 4 Harps.
Presented by Jane Garvey.
Producer Beverley Purcell.
TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b05vx9vw)
Amicable
Episode 2
Sally accuses Joe of having been unfaithful. They both make sure their daughter are okay, despite their growing anger with each other about how they have ended up in this place.
Can divorce really be amicable? Sally and Joe are finding out. Starring Con ONeill and Christine Bottomley, written by Mark Davies Markham.
As more and more marriages end in divorce, the whys and wherefores become lost in the what next. When children are involved, many parents strive to remain on good terms. But is this really possible, when one partner has told the other the relationship is over? And do any of us have the overwhelming right to individual happiness, once we are parents?
Sally wants an amicable divorce from her husband Joe. A man she calls her best friend. He goes into shock, denial, panic, fear, resistance, acknowledgment, acceptance then liberation.
Amicable tracks the five month journey from marriage to separation.
Mark Davies Markham's story is developed out of interviews with real people, like his previous series Missing and Just a Girl.
Sally........................Christine Bottomley
Joe............................Con O'Neill
Director..............................Polly Thomas
Sound designer....................Cathy Robinson
Production Co-ordinator..........Eleri McAuliffe
A BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
TUE 11:00 The Business of Genetic Ancestry (b05vy4kb)
A DNA test can help you find your long lost parents and allow you to build your family tree, but when it comes to our deep ancestry, the story is a lot more uncertain, despite what commercial testing companies may claim.
Dr Adam Rutherford investigates what modern gene sequencing can (and can't) tell us with scientific certainty and separates the hype and hyperbole from the often complex picture presented by modern gene sequencing
At "the world's biggest family history show": Who Do You Think You Are? at the NEC in Birmingham, he talks to the super sleuths tracking down their ancestors and he hears the moving story of Helen and Julia, mother and daughter. Julia spent 20 years fulfilling a promise made when she was just ten years old... to find the identity of her mother's birth parents. Through DNA she found her mother's American GI father and discovered her four half siblings, despite the fact every single piece of information in the adoption file was wrong!
But when it comes to our deeper history, we have millions, even billions of ancestors, and from a mitochondrial DNA or Y chromosome DNA test, being told you're descended from the Romans, the Vikings, the Celts, or that you're a direct descendant of Charlemagne or Genghis Khan is both true, and meaningless. Some population geneticists have likened such story-telling to "genetic astrology".
Adam talks to Professor Mark Jobling from the University of Leicester, Professor Mark Thomas from University College London and to Debbie Kennett, author, blogger and member of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy, about the scientific lines they believe some genetic ancestry companies cross, when they provide people with stories about their ancient ancestors and their ancient genetic homelands.
Producer: Fiona Hill.
TUE 11:30 In Search of the Black Mozart (b05wdsnl)
Episode 1
Chi-chi Nwanoku has spent her career travelling and performing in concert halls the world over as the principal double bassist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. More recently, she's been on a personal journey seeking out the lives and careers of black classical musicians from the eighteenth century who like her, played and composed music at the highest levels. In some cases, slivers of their lives are on record but you have to be quite determined to find out.
Chi-chi puts the record straight and with the help of some of the finest musical researchers around, she brings to the fore the music and lives of musicians like violinist/composer Joseph Emidy, virtuoso violinist George Bridgetower and composer Joseph Bologne, aka Chevalier de St-George who not only met Mozart in his lifetime, but who was known by all those who heard his music as the 'Black Mozart'.
In today's programme she visits the British Library to find our more about Ignatius Sancho - someone who was born into slavery and ended up being the first person of colour in Britain to have the vote. Also of interest to Chi-chi are his musical compositions which are held at the British Library. Together with music curator, Nicolas Bell and Sancho expert Professor Brychhan Carey the three of them assess Sancho's musical ability and life.
In a more sinister turn of events, Chi-chi talks to Handel scholar, Dr. David Hunter who shares his research which reveals that Handel, whilst composing some of the most beautiful music around was an investor in slavery.
She also hears about the violinist and composer Joseph Emidy who became a musical star of Cornwall's music scene and meets up with one of his musical ancestors.
Producer: Sarah Taylor.
TUE 12:00 News Summary (b05vrhtf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 Home Front (b05vy4kh)
26 May 1915 - Josiah King
There's a new policeman in Folkestone, and he's determined to make his mark.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b05vy4kk)
Call You and Yours: Do you think it's time to ask cyclists to take a test before they're allowed on the roads?
On today's Call You and Yours we're talking about cycling. Do you think it's time to ask cyclists to take a test before they're allowed on the the roads? Should they have insurance like everyone else?
Perhaps you saw the figures from yesterday's road safety reports about major injuries to cyclists rising by a third in five years. What to you think - is it time to change the rules for cyclists?
Meanwhile Chris Boardman has called for stricter liability for motorists in accidents involving vulnerable road users, to protect pedestrians and cyclists.
Cyclist casualties have risen in recent years as the amount of cycling has increased. The latest figures show that over 19,000 cyclists were killed or injured in reported road accidents in 2013.
What's your experience on the pavement or road? Are you a cyclist who has been in an accident? Or are you a pedestrian or motorist who's been in an accident caused by a cyclist?
Email us with your stories youandyours@bbc.co.uk and join Winifred Robinson at 1215.
Producer: Maire Devine
Editor: Chas Watkin.
TUE 12:57 Weather (b05vrhtn)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 13:00 World at One (b05vy4km)
Rigorous analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.
TUE 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b05vy50d)
Kabir: Offender and Offendables
Today's subject is the low-caste weaver and poet who dared to upturn the social orthodoxies of 15th century India - and who still challenges us today. Sunil explores the life and poetic legacy of Kabir - a dissenter, a provoker and an abrasive debunker of humbug.
There are plenty of legends around the poet - for example that, after his death, his body transfigured into flowers so that he could be neither cremated by his Hindu followers s nor buried by Muslim devotees - but we actually know very little about Kabir's life. One of the few certain facts is that he lived in India's most sacred city, Varanasi. Sunil Khilnani finds himself in the poor neighbourhood of Bajardhia where low-caste Muslims still work today as weavers. Sitting in cramped rooms among men with little work, Sunil reflects on the man who described himself as 'a patient weaver's son' but who is actually one of the most impatient, acerbic, fed-up voices in the Indian cultural canon.
Kabir has become venerated across northern India as a saint, almost a god. Yet Sunil finds Kabir's name being invoked in secular circles too, for example the annual Jaipur Literary Festival, a 21st century haven for independent thinking. Here he meets the eminent poet Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, translator of Kabir's poems into modern idiom and an advocate for the poetic dissenter who wasn't afraid to offend the powerful.
Producer: Jeremy Grange
Original music composed by Talvin Singh.
TUE 14:00 The Archers (b05vx63c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama (b05vy5ns)
Stephen Wyatt - The Shadow of Dorian Gray
It's 1895, and Oscar Wilde has just been convicted of gross indecency. London is in a moral panic.
It's a dangerous time to be John Gray, the man rumoured to have inspired Wilde's scandalous novel 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'. Summoned to the Cafe Royal by a mysterious telegram, the whole course of John's life will have changed by the time the evening is over.
Written by Stephen Wyatt.
John Gray ... Blake Ritson
Lord Henry ... Nicholas Farrell
Andre Raffalovich ... Joshua McGuire
Waiter ... Chris Pavlo
The Voice of the Novel ... Mark Edel-Hunt
Director: Abigail le Fleming
Writer Stephen Wyatt has worked widely as a playwright in theatre, radio and TV. In 2008, his play, Memorials to the Missing, won the Tinniswood Award for best original radio script of 2007 as well as Silver in the Best Drama category of the 2008 Sony Radio Academy Awards. In 2012 he won the Tinniswood Award again for his play, Gerontius. He spent two years as Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at the University of Sussex and a further year as RLF Writing Fellow on Greenwich University's Maritime campus.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (b05vrd9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
TUE 15:30 Shared Experience (b05vy5nv)
Series 3
Episode 1
A new series of Shared Experience begins with a listener who responded after hearing the programme in which four mothers talked about the pain of leaving their children. Daniel got in touch wanting to talk about his own experience of being left by his mother at the age of ten. He talks to Fi Glover and meets Sam, the Mum from the original programme who left her daughter while she battled addiction. What takes place is a painfully honest discussion about the emotional damage Daniel and Sam's daughter suffered.
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b05vy6f0)
Non-Verbal Communication
Michael Rosen and Laura Wright sob, hum and buzz as they consider whether the sound of a word has any connection with its meaning. With guest Professor Steven Connor.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.
TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b05wc8wz)
Series 36
David Blunkett on Louis Braille
Matthew Parris hears why David Blunkett has chosen Louis Braille, the 18th century French boy who blinded himself in his father's workshop, as his great life - with the help of guest expert the RNIB's Kevin Carey.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
TUE 17:00 PM (b05vy6g9)
News interviews, context and analysis.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b05vrhvb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 18:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b05vy6ps)
Series 6
Melton Mowbray
'Melton Mowbray - Rural Capital of Food'
Mark visits the Leicestershire Town where he discovers that as well as being the home of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie and Stilton Cheese, it's also coincidentally, been officially ranked the most obese area of Leicestershire. He looks at the history of fox hunting in the area, meets several eccentric local residents including a crime fighting milk man and he tries to get to the bottom of who and what is the Melton Mowbray Town Estate, a mysterious organisation established in 1549.
Mark Steel's sixth 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 performs a bespoke evening of comedy for the local residents.
Written and performed by ... Mark Steel
Additional material by ... Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator ... Hayley Stirling
Producer ... Carl Cooper.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
TUE 19:00 The Archers (b05vy76y)
Rob proudly has his Single Wicket trophy on display and reports that he's accepted an offer to join the cricket team. Tom hopes that Rob will turn fortunes around. Meanwhile, Helen's hoping for news from the agents about any offers for the Organics shop.
Charlie hasn't got any answers about the blocked culvert - he can't get hold of Berrow worker Stefan and has no idea when Stefan will be back. It looks like that's the end of it.
Charlie presses Rob for news. Rob avoids giving Charlie Stefan's phone number, as he promised to only contact Stefan in an emergency. They discuss Open Farm Sunday - Rob proposes to find a good speaker to promote their new solar array and restore some good publicity. Rob asks Helen. She's surprised but touched and accepts.
Shula's worried about Christine, who's afraid to venture back to her cottage. Shula encourages Ruth for Open Farm Sunday in the face of competition from snazzier Berrow Farm. Shula has an idea to help Kenton and Jolene - Elizabeth agrees to club together to buy a new TV for the Bull, to show the FA Cup Final on Saturday. David agrees to go along with the plan. Shula feels it might just get David and Kenton talking again.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (b05vzxn2)
Simon Pegg in Man Up, Dennis Lehane, Occupy drama Temple
In his new film Man Up, Simon Pegg plays Jack, a divorcee who goes on a blind date, but a case of mistaken identity at the first meeting has unexpected consequences. Naomi Alderman reviews the rom-com directed by Ben Palmer, best known for The Inbetweeners.
The American novelist Dennis Lehane has had four Hollywood films adapted from his novels: Mystic River, Shutter Island, Gone, Baby Gone and The Drop. Lehane discusses his new novel, World Gone By, a noir tale of American gangsters set in Miami during World War II.
Playwright Steve Waters and director Howard Davies discuss Temple, a fictionalised telling of the Occupy movement's 2011 protest at St Paul's Cathedral. Simon Russell Beale stars as the Dean of St Paul's who resigned in October 2011 after criticism of the way the situation was handled by the Cathedral.
As a lock of Mozart's hair goes up for auction at Sotheby's, curator Ross McFarlane from the Wellcome Collection discusses our fascination with grisly mementoes and why museums and private collectors are interested in these relics.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Olivia Skinner.
TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b05vx9vw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
TUE 20:00 The Affordable Housing Crisis (b05vzysp)
The UK has a serious shortage of affordable homes. Lesley Curwen asks whether the current system - where councils do deals with developers to provide cheaper homes - is working.
Lesley examines three case studies - the huge redevelopment schemes at Earl's Court and on the Greenwich Peninsula, as well as a development in rural Suffolk. She asks whether developers are being allowed to duck their obligations to provide affordable homes as a condition of planning permission. Are councils too under-resourced and under-skilled to negotiate with large development companies?
And what of the commuted sum - where developers pay a fee in lieu of providing affordable housing? How is that working?
Lesley hears from New York where the new mayor has instituted a system that spells out what the city needs and wants, cutting the necessity for protracted negotiation.
Produced by Susan Marling
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (b05vzysr)
Composer Lloyd Coleman
Composer Lloyd Coleman and In Touch presenter Peter White duet on the piano and talk about how Lloyd's sight and hearing impairments have affected his ability to learn, play and compose music. Lloyd also explains what "integrated music" is - and gives a preview of the piece he has written for the British Paraorchestra and London Southbank Sinfonia.
TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b05vzyst)
Conspiracy theories, New MPs on mental health, Raw Sounds music project
Claudia Hammond talks to Chris French, Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths University of London about conspiracy theories. Are they really harmless, and why is it that some people believe in them but not others? She meets two newly elected MPs, Naz Shah from Bradford West and Johnny Mercer from Plymouth, to discuss their plans for mental health and how to get things done as a new back bench MP. Also in the programme, Claudia visits Raw Sounds' studio in Brixton, South London - an innovative music project where people with mental health problems can make and perform music with the help of professional music producers.
TUE 21:30 Soul Music (b03jb1w1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
TUE 21:58 Weather (b05vrhvg)
The latest weather forecast.
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b05vzzr6)
Offensive begins to drive IS militants out of Iraq's western province of Anbar.
Aim is to cut off IS fighters who'd recently occupied provincial capital, Ramadi.
TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b05vy8fd)
Sarah Hall - The Wolf Border
Episode 7
As the wolves settle into their new home, Rachel is adjusting to new demands and relationships too.
Sarah Hall's novel is a compelling story about personal, political and environmental boundaries: about power, land, family and love. At its heart is Rachel Caine, tough, defensive, an expert on wolves, and long estranged from her home county of Cumbria. Now she has returned to supervise a project to re-introduce wolves to England for the first time in 500 years. Like the wolves she protects and champions, she has been wary of human connections.
Set against the dramatic and artfully evoked backdrop of the Lakeland fells, The Wolf Border explores issues of vested power and re-wilding, and of family and motherhood.
Reader: Hattie Morahan
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
TUE 23:00 The John Moloney Show (b05vzzr8)
Series 1
Jokes for Pubs and Clubs
A number of one-liners, a story about the pub and a top tip to avoid trouble if you come home a little worse for wear.
John Moloney has been headlining comedy clubs all over the world. We've captured him at his very best performing in front of an appreciative audience at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh.
Written and performed by John Moloney.
Producer: Alan Lorraine
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2015.
TUE 23:15 Richard Marsh (b01rlrk1)
Love and Sweets
The Grand Canyon
Winner of Best Scripted Comedy in the BBC Audio Awards 2014, poet and playwright Richard Marsh fuses poetry and prose to tell the funny and poignant story of his honeymoon road trip across America with the girl of his dreams.
Richard and Siobhan have always wanted to drive across America, and they're doing it in style - in an old banger, covered from top to tail with their favourite sweets, on honeymoon. Their thrilling journey through the States takes them to gun clubs in West Virginia, dying docks in Baltimore, casinos in Las Vegas, moon-lit beaches by the Atlantic and a magnificent sight Richard's always dreamt of seeing - the Grand Canyon.
But it turns out America's quite big, and Siobhan's not very good at driving on the right - or asking for directions. It's a lot of hard miles, and they can't drive away from themselves. Is their new marriage strong enough to withstand all those hot, silent mornings - or has the honeymoon period come to an end more quickly than they thought?
Contains some explicit language.
Written and performed by Richard Marsh
Producer: Ben Worsfield
A Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:30 Arts Technologica (b05r3ssp)
Art
Martha Lane Fox explores how artists collaborate creatively online. In the age of the internet, who needs galleries?
Just twenty years ago, the internet was perceived as extraordinary and new. Now it is part of our daily routine. In the mid-90s, the early internet facilitated collaboration between international artists who wanted to challenge the structures of the traditional arts world. Twenty years later, how do artists use a more corporate and commercial internet? Is it a medium or a marketing tool? And what relationships do traditional galleries have with digital art? For some artists, the internet is a means of exploring and highlighting how digital technologies shape our lives.
Featuring artists and curators including James Bridle, Ben Vickers, Thomson and Craighead, Kate Genevieve and David OReilly.
Producer: Gill Davies
An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4.
WEDNESDAY 27 MAY 2015
WED 00:00 Midnight News (b05vrhx0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
WED 00:30 Tom Fort - Channel Shore (b05vx8qc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b05vrhx2)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b05vrhx4)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b05vrhx6)
The latest shipping forecast.
WED 05:30 News Briefing (b05vrhx8)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b05wpyy3)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (b05vzzs1)
Imminent Moves to Scrap the Hunting Bill?
With the State Opening of Parliament, are moves to scrap the hunting bill imminent?
The Control of Horses Act for England came into force yesterday to help combat the problem of fly grazing.
More from the big agricultural shows this half term.
Presented by Sybil Ruscoe and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03bkfhy)
Common Pheasant
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about the British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Wildlife Sound Recordist, Chris Watson, presents the Common Pheasant. The crowing of pheasants is a sound inseparable from most of the UK countryside yet these flamboyant birds were introduced into the UK. The pheasant's coppery plumage and red face-wattles, coupled with a tail that's as long again as its body, make the cock pheasant a strikingly beautiful bird.
WED 06:00 Today (b05vzzvn)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Midweek (b05vzzvq)
John Copley, Katherine Hooker, Peter Korn, Itay Talgam
Libby Purves meets opera director John Copley; fashion designer Katherine Hooker; furniture maker Peter Korn and conductor turned leadership teacher Itay Talgam.
Peter Korn is the founder and director of the Centre for Furniture Craftmanship, a woodworking and design school in Rockport, Maine. A furniture maker since 1974, his book, Why We Make Things And Why It Matters, is part memoir and part philosophical reflection about what it means to be a craftsman in a world of assembly line production. Why We Make Things And Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman is published by Square Peg.
John Copley is an opera director whose production of Puccini's La boheme is running at the Royal Opera House for the last time. This production was first staged in 1974 and has become The Royal Opera's longest-running production and its most-performed opera. John Copley's other productions for The Royal Opera have included Mozart's Da Ponte operas, Werther, Semele, Ariadne auf Naxos, Faust and Maria Stuarda. La boheme is at the Royal Opera House, London.
Itay Talgam is a former symphony orchestra conductor who trained under Leonard Bernstein and has conducted orchestras around the world including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, and the Leipzig Opera House. He now teaches leadership to organisations around the world. In his book, the Ignorant Maestro, he explores how the techniques of leading an orchestra can be applied to leadership in business, government and academia. The Ignorant Maestro - How Great Leaders Inspire Unpredictable Brilliance is published by Portfolio Penguin.
Katherine Hooker is a fashion designer who is best known for her fitted coats, jackets and waistcoats. Her clients include the Duchess of Cambridge, Yoko Ono and Meryl Streep. Her inspiration came from a coat she found when she was 18 in a Jerusalem flea market. When it wore out she had a pattern made up and found a clothing manufacturer to create a range which evolved into her classic braid coat design. Katherine Hooker, 19 Ashburnham Road, London, SW10 0PG.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
WED 09:45 Tom Fort - Channel Shore (b05vzzvs)
Episode 3
Once upon a time on Cogden Beach near Chesil, 'a mermaid was thrown up by the sea, thirteen feet long'.
Tom Fort's maritime journey takes us from the White Cliffs to Lands' End. About 675 miles in all.
Read by Jonathan Coy
Abridged by Katrin Williams.
Producer: Duncan Minshull
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b05vzzvv)
Allison Janney, Mona Eltahawy
Most famous for her role as CJ Cregg in The West Wing, actor, Allison Janney, talks about her new film, Spy. Writer, Mona Elathawy, explains why in her new book she urges the girls of the Middle East and North Africa to be immodest, rebel and disobey. Una Mullally discusses whether the yes vote to same-sex marriage in Ireland indicates a change in social attitudes. Alice Prochaska, Principal of Somerville College Oxford talks about her concerns around behaviour towards female students. And BBC political correspondent, Eleanor Garnier, looks at what to expect in the Queen's Speech.
Presenter: Jane Garvey
Producer: Kirsty Starkey.
WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b05vzzyb)
Amicable
Episode 3
Sally and Joe are still sharing the family home, carefully negotiating a new dynamic whilst sharing parenting, but both beginning to consider the possibility of seeing other people.
Can divorce really be amicable? Sally and Joe are finding out. Starring Con ONeill and Christine Bottomley, written by Mark Davies Markham.
As more and more marriages end in divorce, the whys and wherefores become lost in the what next. When children are involved, many parents strive to remain on good terms. But is this really possible, when one partner has told the other the relationship is over? And do any of us have the overwhelming right to individual happiness, once we are parents?
Sally wants an amicable divorce from her husband Joe. A man she calls her best friend. He goes into shock, denial, panic, fear, resistance, acknowledgment, acceptance then liberation.
Amicable tracks the five month journey from marriage to separation.
Mark Davies Markham's story is developed out of interviews with real people, like his previous series Missing and Just a Girl.
Sally........................Christine Bottomley
Joe............................Con O'Neill
Director..............................Polly Thomas
Sound designer....................Cathy Robinson
Production Co-ordinator..........Eleri McAuliffe
A BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
WED 10:56 The Listening Project (b05vzzyp)
Celia and MaryJane - Refusing to Be Segregated
Fi Glover with a conversation between a centenarian and her daughter who recall the stand the mother took against the unequal Rhodesian education system when she was a head teacher. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. 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 Britain's Underground Army (b05vzzyr)
Harry Parkes was approaching his 18th birthday in 1944. Like most young men he was expecting to be called up for service in one of the armed forces. Instead he received a letter informing him that he would be spending his national service years down a coal mine.
Coal powered everything at this time. And if the nation didn't have coal, it couldn't fight the war. Experienced miners had joined the army and by 1943 the UK was facing coal shortages.
Like almost 48,000 young men, Harry Parkes had been chosen at random - drawn from a hat they were told - in a scheme devised by the wartime coalition government's Minister for Labour, Ernest Bevin. They were Bevin Boys.
Most wanted to join the armed forces and felt they weren't valued as Bevin Boys. They wore no uniform and suffered taunts, wrongly assumed to be avoiding serving in the armed forces. It was a crushing disappointment. But it was also life-changing. They very often found themselves exposed to a way of life and a class of people they would never have had contact with otherwise.
The last Bevin Boys were demobbed in 1948. After their service they received no recognition, no medals and were excluded from wartime commemorations. It's only relatively recently - and after much campaigning - that Bevin Boys have been allowed to take part in Remembrance Day services.
In this programme Harry Parkes tells the story of his time as a Bevin Boy and the effect it had on his life, and introduces two other surviving Bevin Boys, who reflect on the different experiences and the ways that being a member of this underground army changed them for ever.
Featuring: Peter French, Harry Parkes and Geoff Rose.
Producer: Martin Williams
Music: Eclogue for piano and strings by Gerald Finzi
Northern Sinfonia / Howard Griffiths.
WED 11:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b05w000p)
Series 10
My Companion
In his continuing quest for somewhere to live, Ed finds himself living in an empty phoneshop, the occupation of which the council hopes will encourage the stakeholders to engage with their creativity. Far from enticing people in to attend 'slam poetry events' Ed has other things on his mind when he and his ex-wife Janet decide to attend the funeral of an old friend - together. Their children are not happy at this prospect, and neither is Elgar when he's left at a cattery called 'Southpaws'.
Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas.
Produced by Dawn Ellis.
Ed Reardon's Week is a BBC Radio Comedy production.
First broadcast on Radio 4 in 2015.
WED 12:00 News Summary (b05vrhxg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 Home Front (b05w0029)
27 May 1915 - Kitty Lumley
A cryptic parcel arrives for Kitty at the Wilsons.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
WED 12:15 You and Yours (b05w002c)
Disposable Income, Second-Hand Cars, Global Moving Systems
Families had an extra £17 a week to spend on treats last month compared with a year ago. The report compiled for Asda says that's 10% more than in April 2014 - and according to economists we may now be on the cusp of a big spend. So what will we spend our money on?
Citizens Advice says more people complain about problems with second hand cars in England and Wales than anything else. Winifred Robinson speaks to a man who was sold a Ford Focus with a new MOT, but which has had problems.
Plus the international removal company that closed up shop more than six months ago. When will its customers get their possessions back?
Presented by Winifred Robinson
Produced by Natalie Donovan.
WED 12:57 Weather (b05vrhxr)
The latest weather forecast.
WED 13:00 World at One (b05w002f)
Rigorous analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.
WED 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b05w002k)
Guru Nanak: The Discipline of Deeds
Today's Incarnation is a poet who established one of the great world religions: Guru Nanak, the 15th century founder of Sikhism.
Like the Buddha and Mahavira, the founder of the Jain religion, Nanak was a wanderer. He spent 25 years on the road and is said to have travelled as far as Mecca and the Himalayas. But, unlike his predecessors, when he had achieved enlightenment he returned to his homelands in the Punjab. He taught his disciples that, rather than renouncing the world and retreating from it, they must use their faith to change it from within. Nanak's 'disciplined worldliness' emphasised the importance of work and family.
He also instituted an idea which is practised in Sikh temples all over the world. Sunil Khilnani visits the Gurudwara Nanak Piao in Delhi as they serve the langar, a meal provided by volunteers to anyone who comes, regardless of status, sex or religion. Everybody eats together in an equalizing act, a dispelling of the taboos designed to protect caste boundaries.
Sunil explores the life of a man whose ideas were polemical and provocative. In announcing that "there is neither Hindu nor Muslim" Nanak wasn't proposing a harmonious blend of religions. Instead, he was rejecting other paths and creating an entirely new religion, one which now has around 30 million followers.
Producer: Jeremy Grange
Original music composed by Talvin Singh.
WED 14:00 The Archers (b05vy76y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama (b05w003g)
Sung
Sung by Jim Cartwright
A bittersweet drama which reunites the writer and star of 'The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'. Lorna is an alcoholic who lives alone in a down at heel flat. Then a young door to door salesman peddling stretch settee covers knocks on her door and discovers that she has a glamorous past.
Song & Lyrics by John O'Hara
Producer/Director Gary Brown
Jim Cartwright is a celebrated playwright. His plays include 'Road', 'The Rise and Fall of Little Voice" and "Two".
WED 15:00 Money Box (b05w003j)
Money Box Live: Self-Employment and Franchising
How do you make the most of self-employment? If you need to know about getting started, marketing, expanding or tax, Paul Lewis and guests will be ready with small business tips and advice. Call 03700 100 444 from
1pm to
3.30pm on Wednesday or e-mail questions to moneybox@bbc.co.uk now.
How do you turn a great idea into a successful business?
Where can you find advice about funding, setting up and marketing?
What tax, insurance and registration responsibilities are there?
Can you claim tax reliefs and allowances for your business?
Should you work as a sole trader or a partnership?
How does franchising work, what are the possibilities, responsibilities and risks?
What can you do if cash flow becomes a problem?
Or perhaps there's something we've missed, what's on your mind?
Ready to answer your questions will be:
Mike Cherry, Policy Director, Federation of Small Business.
Elaine Clark, Managing Director, CheapAccounting
Cathryn Hayes, Head of Business Support, The British Franchise Association.
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 All in the Mind (b05vzyst)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b05w3wfc)
The 'Happiness Industry' - The 'Wellness Syndrome'
The Happiness Industry: Laurie Taylor talks to Will Davies, Professor in Politics at Goldsmiths, University of London, who asks why policy makers have become increasingly focused on measuring happiness. Also, 'wellness syndrome': Andre Spicer, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at City University, argues that visions of positive social change have been replaced by a focus on individual well-being. They're joined by Laura Hyman, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Portsmouth. Revised repeat.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
WED 16:30 The Media Show (b05w3wff)
Trinity Mirror damages, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell, the BBC's Lyse Doucet on reporting religion
Sir Martin Sorrell is the most influential man in advertising. As the CEO of WPP, the world's largest advertising group, he is one of the world's most connected executives. After 30 years, WPP now embraces some of the best known names in advertising and PR - including Ogilvy and Mather, J Walter Thompson and Burson-Marstellar. Steve Hewlett talks to Sir Martin about the balance of power between traditional and digital media; how information about us online is informing creativity in advertising, and as he turns 70, what's next for him, and the advertising empire he has created.
The High Court has awarded damages totalling nearly £1.2m to eight people whose phones were hacked by some journalists Trinity Mirror newspaper group. Eight claimants -- including the actors Shane Ritchie and Shobna Gulati - were paid, 'very substantial' damages in the civil case against thr group. The largest amount was awarded to Sadie Frost who received damages of £260,250. Steve Hewlett talks to Hugh Tomlinson QC, lead counsel to victims of the News of the World phone hacking scandal, and Bob Satchwell, Executive Director of the Society of Editors, about the scale of damages and how this case might damage celebrity journalism.
On the day Lyse Doucet is presented with the Sanford St. Martin Award for her reporting of religious affairs, Steve meets the BBC's Chief International Correspondent. The Canadian born journalist began her career in West Africa in 1983 and has reported on conflicts in Iraq, Syria and across the Middle East on the Arab Spring. This award acknowledges her work in 'raising the profile of religion in the media.' What are the added challenges that reporting faith-based conflict brings to her role?
Producer: Katy Takatsuki.
WED 17:00 PM (b05w3wfh)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b05vrhxt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 18:30 Clare in the Community (b03sztry)
Series 9
Panic Room
Clare is forced to confront an old phobia after a regular home visit takes an unusual turn. Fortunately, Helen is on hand to help. Back in the office, Joan is left holding the babies.
Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.
A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.
Clare continually struggles to control both her professional and private life
In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden.
Clare ...... Sally Phillips
Brian ...... Alex Lowe
Nali ...... Nina Conti
Megan ...... Nina Conti
Ray ...... Richard Lumsden
Terry Dobson ...... Richard Lumsden
Helen ...... Liza Tarbuck
Libby ...... Sarah Kendall
Joan ...... Sarah Thom
Producer: Alexandra Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2014.
WED 19:00 The Archers (b05w3wfk)
Tony's looking forward to his holiday with Pat - they'll be cruising around the Mediterranean and Croatia. Tom asks Tony if there's something bothering him. No, says Tony, who reflects that it'll be the first time he's not around for the silaging. Tony's shocked that Helen's doing a presentation for Berrow Farm at Open Farm Sunday.
Ed and Emma are back from honeymoon and had a great time in Devon. They were delighted to discover that Will has cleared the garden for them - Will has been brilliant.
Lynda feels that Jim and Robert took the great bird race far too seriously. Robert's copy of Birds of Borsetshire has ended up back on the shelf.
To David's disappointment, Tom can't provide a hog roast for Brookfield at the OFS. Tom is already promised to Berrow Farm.
Christine's nervous about going back to Woodbine Cottage. David thinks it's a good idea though.
Kenton's angry at David for interfering in his life. David and the family have clubbed together to get a big screen TV for the Bull, in order to show the FA Cup final on Saturday. Stubborn Kenton relates to Ed and all farmers in that he and Jolene will not be beaten. They will overcome.
WED 19:15 Front Row (b05w3wfm)
Lenny Henry, Al Pacino in Danny Collins, Eileen Cooper, Library thefts
John Wilson meets Lenny Henry, who is having a busy year. For his new role in the third series of Kay Mellor's drama about the impact of winning the lottery - The Syndicate - he's had to stretch his acting muscles as he's taken on the part of a person with Asperger's Syndrome. He's preparing to appear in a new theatre production of Educating Rita, and the casting of Danny and the Human Zoo, the 90-minute drama he's written about his teenage years in 1970s Dudley, has just been announced.
Al Pacino returns to the big screen in Danny Collins, playing an ageing rock star whose life changes when he is given a letter written to him by John Lennon many years earlier, which he never received. Antonia Quirke reviews the film in which Pacino stars alongside Annette Bening and Christopher Plummer.
Artist Eileen Cooper, the first woman to be elected Keeper at the Royal Academy of Arts, discusses her new exhibition, Hide and Seek, and talks about the position of women in the art world.
The theft of rare books, maps and manuscripts from heritage libraries around the world is on the rise. Next month a British Library conference brings together experts to advise libraries on the problem and how to stop further vandalism. John Wilson speaks to art recovery expert Chris Marinello about how library thieves operate and what can be done to stop them.
Presenter John Wilson
Producer: Julian May.
WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b05vzzyb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:41 today]
WED 20:00 Unreliable Evidence (b05w3wkt)
The Law of the Road
Clive Anderson and a panel of legal experts discuss how changes to our traffic laws could reduce the numbers of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians killed or injured on the road.?
Our road traffic laws effectively offer everyone at the age of 17 the opportunity to take to the wheel of a car - even under the influence of a modest amount of alcohol. Our roads are governed by a complex set of rules and regulations which are often hard to understand - and even harder to enforce.
The discussion ranges across raising the legal driving age, lowering speed limits, imposing stricter penalties for drink-driving and other offences, and reversing the burden of proof for the most serious motoring offences.
Do the penalties available to magistrates and judges provide sufficient deterrent to breaking the laws of the road? And do the courts make sufficient distinction between motorists who flout the laws - violators - and those who merely make mistakes? Should a motorist who drives carelessly and collides with a pedestrian be punished more severely than one who collides with a tree?
Clive's guests are Sally Kyd Cunningham, professor of law at the University of Leicester who specialises in road traffic offences; Julian Hunt, former crown prosecutor and now a barrister who both defends and prosecutes in road traffic cases; Richard Monkhouse, chair of the Magistrates Association with over 18 years' experience as a lay justice; and Simeon Maskrey QC, barrister, Deputy High Court Judge, Recorder of the Crown Court and keen cyclist who admits that he's been known to break the law by jumping red lights in order to escape the attention of thundering lorries.
Producer: Brian King
An Above the Title production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 20:45 Four Thought (b05w3wl5)
Brian Lobel
Brian Lobel who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 20 says surviving cancer does not mean you have to be heroic.
"I thought there must be something for the other 50% or 20% or 90% who would rather watch a box set than run a marathon."
Presenter: Mark Coles
Producer: Sheila Cook.
WED 21:00 My Head (b05w3xpk)
Every year around a quarter of a million people suffer traumatic brain injury in the UK. James Piercy is one of those. On 30th January 2011. a nail pierced the tyre of the car he was travelling in. The car left the road and hit a tree.
This is the story of his injury and subsequent recovery. He meets the policeman who held his head and kept him breathing, the air ambulance team who rushed him to hospital and the surgeon who drilled a hole in his skull in the middle of the night.
James also takes a journey through our current understanding of the brain, and how studying injuries like James' are helping to shape the modern, very different, explanations of how our brains work.
Presented by James Piercy
Producer: Toby Murcott
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 21:30 Midweek (b05vzzvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b05w3x5g)
7 officials from football's governing body arrested in corruption investigation
FIFA's President, Sepp Blatter, says the organisation will "root out any misconduct".
WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b05w3x5j)
Sarah Hall - The Wolf Border
Episode 8
Crisis and Success - Rachel's brother reaches rock bottom while the birth of the pups ensures the survival of the wolf pack.
Sarah Hall's novel is a compelling story about personal and political borders, about power, land, family and love. At its heart is Rachel Caine, tough, untouchable, an expert on wolves, and long estranged from her home county of Cumbria and her fiery mother and lost brother. Like the wolves she protects and champions, she is wary of human connections, happy in the untamed wilderness.
Set against the dramatic and artfully drawn backdrops of the Lakeland fells, The Wolf Border explores issues of ownership and vested power, of re-wilding and of family bonds as Rachel discovers that she can choose, and change.
Reader: Hattie Morahan
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
WED 23:00 John Kearns (b05w3x5l)
Episode 2 - Half-Time
Passions flare and loyalty is tested at a football ground in London.
The second of four 14 minute vignettes in a series from John Kearns, the Winner of the Main Prize at the 2014 Edinburgh Comedy Festival, as well as the Best Newcomer Award in 2013.
Producer: Arnab Chanda
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
WED 23:15 Before They Were Famous (b05w3x5n)
Series 3
Episode 2
Ian Leslie presents the show that brings to light the often surprising, first literary attempts of the world's best known writers.
In this episode, we get a valuable insight into the origins of Henry Longfellow's poetic success - in the guise of a letter of complaint to a boiler repair company.
We also hear the troubled, adolescent Mary Shelley craft disturbing notes to accompany floral tributes, marvel at the deliciously spooky auction catalogue copy written by MR James, and hear a slightly disturbing Christmas cracker joke by Fredrik Ibsen.
Producer: Claire Broughton
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2015.
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b05w3x5q)
An EU referendum by the end of 2017 is among a packed programme of new laws in the first Conservative-only Queen's Speech in nearly two decades.
It also includes proposals for more free childcare, an income tax freeze and the right-to-buy for housing association tenants.
The measures were set out by the Queen during the State Opening of Parliament.
David Cameron said the 26-bill package provided "a clear vision of what our country can be. A country of security and opportunity".
The acting Labour leader, Harriet Harman, predicts the Conservatives will "make things worse" while setting the nations of the UK against each other.
And the SNP's Angus Robertson says his party will not rule out voting on England only laws.
But the Speaker tells SNP MPs to stop clapping after they applaud Mr Robertson's speech on a number of occasions.
Sean Curran and team report on today's events in Parliament.
THURSDAY 28 MAY 2015
THU 00:00 Midnight News (b05vrhyr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
THU 00:30 Tom Fort - Channel Shore (b05vzzvs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b05vrhyt)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b05vrhyw)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b05vrhyy)
The latest shipping forecast.
THU 05:30 News Briefing (b05vrhz0)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b05wpyyj)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (b05w3zl6)
The cost of rural litter, Scottish food exports, Staffordshire Show
The cost of litter in the countryside - a farmer from Kent tells us how a broken bottle lost him a contract worth thousands of pounds.
Scottish food exports are at a record high. They've broken through the £1.1 billion pound barrier for the first time in 2014.
And, how agricultural shows can help rural business start ups meet new customers.
Presented by Sybil Ruscoe and produced by Sarah Swadling.
THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03bkfmv)
Brambling
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about the British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Wildlife Sound Recordist, Chris Watson, presents the Brambling. Bramblings are the northern equivalent of the chaffinch and breed across huge areas of Scandinavia and Russia. In autumn they migrate south in search of seeds and are particularly fond of beech-mast. The largest recorded gathering of any living bird species in the world is of a flock of over 70 million bramblings at a roost in Switzerland in the winter of 1951.
THU 06:00 Today (b05w42wh)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b05w456c)
The Science of Glass
While glass items have been made for at least 5,000 years, scientists are yet to explain, conclusively, what happens when the substance it's made from moves from a molten state to its hard, transparent phase. It is said to be one of the great unsolved problems in physics. While apparently solid, the glass retains certain properties of a liquid. At times, ways of making glass have been highly confidential; in Venice in the Middle Ages, disclosure of manufacturing techniques was a capital offence. Despite the complexity and mystery of the science of glass, glass technology has continued to advance from sheet glass to crystal glass, optical glass and prisms, to float glasses, chemical glassware, fibre optics and metal glasses.
With:
Dame Athene Donald
Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge and Master of Churchill College, Cambridge
Jim Bennett
Former Director of the Museum of the History of Science at the University of Oxford and Keeper Emeritus at the Science Museum
Paul McMillan
Professor of Chemistry at University College London
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
THU 09:45 Tom Fort - Channel Shore (b05w456f)
Episode 4
At Slapton Ley there are musings on Pallas sand grouse, ship-wrecks, and 'Cornish sardines' - whose numbers turned the water black from Lands' End to Bigbury bay.
Tom Fort's maritime journey takes us from the White Cliffs to Lands' End. About 675 miles in all.
Read by Jonathan Coy
Abridged by Katrin Williams.
Producer: Duncan Minshull
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b05w456h)
Spare Rib Online, 2015 Power List, Wiki's Gender Gap?
What impact will the Fifa corruption scandal have on the Women's World Cup when it kicks off next month? The groundbreaking 1970s magazine Spare Rib is now available online - we hear what a new generation of feminists makes of it. It's reported that women make up less than 10% of those who edit Wikipedia - we discuss whether the gender gap influences the online encyclopedia's content. With the judging underway for the Woman's Hour 2015 Power List: Influencers, today we look at the way ideas are spread and how we are influenced by them. The role of mothers and their sons explored in Shakespeare's plays.
Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Anne Peacock.
THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b05w456k)
Amicable
Episode 4
As Joe's new relationship becomes more serious, Sally gets a grip on her own anger and finds renewed friendship with Joe.
Can divorce really be amicable? Sally and Joe are finding out. Starring Con ONeill and Christine Bottomley, written by Mark Davies Markham.
As more and more marriages end in divorce, the whys and wherefores become lost in the what next. When children are involved, many parents strive to remain on good terms. But is this really possible, when one partner has told the other the relationship is over? And do any of us have the overwhelming right to individual happiness, once we are parents?
Sally wants an amicable divorce from her husband Joe. A man she calls her best friend. He goes into shock, denial, panic, fear, resistance, acknowledgment, acceptance then liberation.
Amicable tracks the five month journey from marriage to separation.
Mark Davies Markham's story is developed out of interviews with real people, like his previous series Missing and Just a Girl.
Sally........................Christine Bottomley
Joe............................Con O'Neill
Director..............................Polly Thomas
Sound designer....................Cathy Robinson
Production Co-ordinator..........Eleri McAuliffe
A BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b05w456m)
The American Dream in Trouble
Talking points from around the globe. In this edition, the gulf between rich and poor in New York just goes on growing -- working hard doesn't seem enough any more, the next rung on the ladder increasingly appears to be out of reach; more shootings in the Somali capital Mogadishu - rebuilding may be proceeding there after two decades of civil war, but the security situation remains precarious; sixty thousand churches in Ghana, but some ministers seem more interested in making money than saving souls; thousands turn out for a free festival in Morocco where the aim of the musicians was to show that music and Islam can live together in harmony; and our correspondent spends the night in one of the oldest houses in the Faroe Islands. It was, she tells us, quite literally a door into the islands' past.
THU 11:30 Sarah Lucas at the Venice Biennale (b05w456p)
Alastair Sooke presents an intimate portrait of the artist Sarah Lucas as she prepares for the global art exhibition the Venice Biennale, with exclusive access to record with Lucas before the event.
Since rising to fame in the 1990s as one of the Young British Artists, Sarah Lucas is best known for her bawdy humour and sexual puns, in works such as Penis Nailed to a Board and Human Toilet Revisited. With fried eggs and melons in place of body parts and stuffed tights representing breasts, Lucas's art is by turns erotic, funny, disposable, glamorous and abject. But beyond the puns and the shock factor, Alastair reveals a depth and a seriousness to her work, as she tackles the big taboos of sex and gender, life and death.
With rare access to record with Sarah Lucas in her studio in the months leading up to the exhibition, we ask how an artist who rose to fame as anarchic, young and British, responds to the challenge over twenty years on of representing Britain in the grand setting of Venice.
Producer: Jo Wheeler
A Freewheel production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:00 News Summary (b05vrhz4)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 Home Front (b05w45k7)
28 May 1915 - Ralph Winwood
Reverend Winwood is finding his faith, and his resilience, tested.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
THU 12:15 You and Yours (b05w47hc)
Mortgage approvals, Deadly chickens, Mayor with learning disabilities
Tougher affordability rules applied by lenders led to 45% of mortgage applications being rejected last year
Rapeseed producers are poised for a bonanza after Europe's olive oil crop fails.
Selby in North Yorkshire appoints first Mayor in the UK with learning disabilities.
Three quarters of chicken sold in shops is infected with campylobacter, which is responsible for an estimated 280,000 cases of food poisoning and a hundred deaths each year in the UK. The Food Standards Agency issues a report following a year long study.
Just over ten per cent of the UK population haven't been online this year, according to the latest figures.
France has passed a law banning shops and restaurants from throwing away edible food - campaigners say they want the EU to adopt similar rules.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Kevin Mousley.
THU 12:57 Weather (b05vrhz8)
The latest weather forecast.
THU 13:00 World at One (b05w47hf)
Rigorous analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Martha Kearney.
THU 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b05w47hh)
Krishnadevaraya: Kingship Is Strange
Professor Sunil Khilnani, from the King's India Institute in London, visits Hampi in today's Karnataka, site of the sprawling capital of Krishnadevaraya, 16th-century warrior and self-doubting king. Krishnadevaraya lived in a brutal age and yet his writings show he was both learned and thoughtful, with an artistic temperament. He was a compulsive self-promoter whose presence is felt amongst the ruins at Hampi, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But it is in the Amuktamulyada, his long poetic work, that we hear his original voice which marks, says Professor Khilnani, "the emergence of an individual self, a subjective voice - centuries before the arrival of colonial ideas of the individual".
Produced by Mark Savage
Researcher: Manu Pillai
Editor: Hugh Levinson.
THU 14:00 The Archers (b05w3wfk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Stone (b05w47pv)
Series 5
Progress
The fourth drama in the crime series Stone created by Danny Brocklehurst.
In Progress by Alex Ganley when the proprietor of a rundown garden centre is murdered, DCI Stone wrestles to find a motive and his investigation leads him into dangerous territory.
Sound design by Steve Brooke
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
THU 15:00 Ramblings (b05w4dpr)
Series 30
Old Birds, Pegsdon Hills
Clare Balding walks in the Pegsdon Hills, Bedfordshire, with a group of female birders who call themselves the 'Old Birds'. The group initially bonded over their mutual love of nature, but also have many members who have been widowed, so find the gatherings a source of support as well as a way of exploring the local countryside.
Producer: Karen Gregor.
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b05vssql)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Open Book (b05vt6gh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b05w4j0w)
Film Set Britain
With Antonia Quirke.
The Film Programme gathers listeners' memories of the day that a film crew rolled into town or took over their street. Antonia Quirke hears from Mr Turner production designer Suzie Davies who transformed a land-locked house in Hertfordshire into the painter's Thames-side residence, by the simple expedient of digging up the garden and filling it with enough water to make it look like a river. And talks to the home's owner, Gloria Thompson, about what it was like to see your manicured lawn dug up.
Antonia also visits Lyme Regis, famously used in The French Lieutenant's Woman and Persuasion, and hears from a shop-keeper who kept the Victorian facade built by an art director twenty years after the crew had left the town. The final stop of the tour is Carnforth Station, the prime location of Brief Encounter, which welcomes thousands of visitors every year to their recreation of the famous refreshment room where Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard first met.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b05w4jcl)
Self-adapting robots, Artificial intelligence in medicine, Ageing healthily
We're becoming more reliant on robots to assist in hostile zones from extinguishing forest fires to bomb disposal to decontaminating nuclear facilities. But whereas humans can quickly adapt to injuries, current robots cannot 'think outside the box' to find a new behaviour when they get damaged. Tracey Logan speaks to computer scientist Jeff Clune who's developed a new way to allow robots to adapt to damage in less than two minutes. It will enable more robust, effective, autonomous robots, and may shed light on the principles that animals use to adapt to injury.
THU 17:00 PM (b05w4jcn)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b05vrhzb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Best Behaviour (b05w4jcq)
Episode 4
Holly Walsh presents the comedy panel show that defines modern etiquette.
This week's guests are comedians Sarah Pascoe, Romesh Ranganathan and Richard Herring, who are all seeking to supply the top tips for best behaviour in the 21st century.
The panel debates the social minefield of who is best suited to host a dinner party, and the correct rules for lane discipline in the swimming pool. There's also advice on a social conundrum asked by a member of the studio audience - 'What should I say when I answer the telephone?'.
Produced by Aled Evans
A Zeppotron production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 19:00 The Archers (b05w4jcs)
Charlie gets Adam to lend him his combine for Open Farm Sunday. Home Farm won't be doing an open day themselves. Justin Elliot's organising a party afterwards for everyone who helped. Charlie teases Adam about the Single Wicket - losing to Rob must have hurt.
Phoebe turns down Kate's offer to make up a mother-daughter team for the Young Farmers' treasure hunt on Friday. Kate's keen to avoid her coursework, but Phoebe points out that she (Phoebe) can't enter as she's organising the treasure hunt. Kate's annoyed at being left to look after Ruairi while Brian and Jennifer swan off to a hotel for their anniversary tomorrow. Adam suggests she help out on Sunday selling strawberries at Berrow Farm, but she makes an excuse about having a University deadline.
Christine takes a lot of persuading from Shula before finally venturing back to her home at Woodbine Cottage. The place has been looted and burgled - Chris has lost some precious sentimental items, including her mother's wedding ring and even George's old walking stick. Christine's devastated. Shula feels guilty for being so pushy. She had good intentions but bringing Christine back has made everything worse.
THU 19:15 Front Row (b05w4jdb)
Michael Craig-Martin's RA Summer Exhibition, Roger Waters and Nick Mason on Pink Floyd's Heritage Plaque
The artist Michael Craig-Martin shows John Wilson around the installation of this year's Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy in London which he's curating, and fellow Academician Tom Phillips discusses his Humument project, an artwork 49 years in the making.
Pink Floyd's Roger Waters and Nick Mason unveil the new Heritage Plaque at the Regent Street Polytechnic - now the University of Westminster - to commemorate where the band first formed 50 years ago.
The Olivier- and BAFTA-winning playwright debbie tucker green and actress Nadine Marshall discuss Second Coming, their new film also starring Idris Elba, about a woman who becomes pregnant under mysterious circumstances.
Darren Henley, the new Chief Executive of Arts Council England, discusses his plans to make a 'significant shift' in allocation of funding for the arts outside London.
Presenter John Wilson
Producer Jerome Weatherald.
THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b05w456k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Report (b05w4jxh)
When GPs should say no
The Academy of Royal Medical Colleges believes there is evidence that many patients are over-medicalised; given treatments that do not help alleviate a range of commonplace conditions. In some cases they may even do harm. Adrian Goldberg explores what patients expect from a medical consultation, how they might work better and why some doctors find it hard to just say no. As scientific progress makes more treatments possible, have we confused what is on offer with what might do us the most good?
Producer: Rosamund Jones.
THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b05w4jxk)
Productivity
Why is UK productivity lower than in many other countries?
Evan Davis begins a new series of The Bottom Line by looking at the productivity problem. The programme asks what productivity really means and how different sectors go about measuring it.
Evan hears from three chief executives in three different sectors: manufacturing; advertising and health. How can productivity be measured and improved in these diverse sectors? How, for example, should the productivity of a doctor or nurse be measured?
Guests:
Dame Julie Moore, Chief Executive of University Hospitals Birmingham
Brian Holliday Managing Director, Managing Director for Siemens Digital Factory UK
James Murphy, Founder and Chief Executive of Adam and Eve DDB Advertising
Producer: Jim Frank.
THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b05w4jcl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 today]
THU 21:30 In Our Time (b05w456c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b05w4jzp)
Blatter says he cannot be held responsible for corruption
FIFA boss says scandal has cast a long shadow but he cannot monitor all individuals
THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b05w4jzr)
Sarah Hall - The Wolf Border
Episode 9
There are tensions in the air - and then comes the news that Rachel has feared and she must risk all.
Sarah Hall's novel is a compelling story about personal and political borders, about power, land, family and love. At its heart is Rachel Caine, tough, untouchable, an expert on wolves, and long estranged from her home county of Cumbria and her fiery mother and lost brother. Like the wolves she protects and champions, she is wary of human connections, happy in the untamed wilderness.
Set against the dramatic and artfully drawn backdrops of the Lakeland fells, The Wolf Border explores issues of ownership and vested power, of re-wilding and of family bonds as Rachel discovers that she can choose, and change.
Reader: Hattie Morahan
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
THU 23:00 Two Episodes of Mash (b01mx27s)
Series 2
Episode 4
Diane, Joe and David have to do 30 minutes of community service as punishment for their crimes against radio.
Look out for an animation of their Fishing Sketch by Tom Rourke on the BBC Radio 4 Extra website.
A mix of silly, surreal sketches and banter starring Diane Morgan and Joe Wilkinson.
With:
David O'Doherty
Paul Harry Allen
Bobbie Pryor
Gary Newman
Aled Jones.
Producer: Clair Wordsworth.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2012.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b05w4jzt)
Susan Hulme and the BBC parliamentary team report from Westminster.
FRIDAY 29 MAY 2015
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b05vrj0g)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
FRI 00:30 Tom Fort - Channel Shore (b05w456f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b05vrj0k)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b05vrj0m)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b05vrj0p)
The latest shipping forecast.
FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b05vrj0r)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b05wpyz9)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster Anna Magnusson.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b05w82fw)
Secretary of State, Campylobacter, TTIP, Litter
Secretary of State for the environment Elizabeth Truss says we need to grow more, buy more and sell more British Food. She tells Sarah Swadling that they are hoping to open up more exports to parts of the world like the USA and Beef. She also announces that the government is planning to crack down on fly tipping and littering
MEPs on the International Trade committee have given the thumbs up to a draft version of the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership - better known as the TTIP. Labour MEP Jude Kirton Darling is on the European Trade committee. She tells Sybil Ruscoe that if its passed, TTIP will be one of the most important trade deals in history, and negotiations at this stage are crucial to get a good deal for British Farmers
73% of fresh chickens being sold in supermarkets across the UK are contaminated with campylobacter. That's according to the latest results from the Food Standards Agency - the government body responsible for food safety. Kevin Hargin from the FSA tells Farming Today that despite rising levels of campylobacter,
he's confident that figures will fall over the next 12 months.
Listeners have been getting in touch with the programme to tell us about the litter they witness in the countryside. Today Michael Cobb and Derek Fearnside tell the programme what they've witnessed.
Presenter Sybil Ruscoe. Producer Ruth Sanderson.
FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03bkfw4)
Grey Plover
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about the British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Wildlife Sound Recordist, Chris Watson, presents the Grey Plover. The call of the grey plover across the shimmering mud-flats of an autumn estuary is a haunting sound. They feed out on open mudflats using the "run, stop, peck" method....a quick run towards any worms or shellfish which they spot with those big eyes, stop, then a slight lean forward to pick it up.
FRI 06:00 Today (b05w84zf)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b05vstzl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:16 on Sunday]
FRI 09:45 Tom Fort - Channel Shore (b05w84zh)
Episode 5
The Looes. Then Lizard Point. Then Lands' End, where a cream tea is enjoyed, but the place itself?
The end of Tom Fort's maritime journey taking us from the White Cliffs to Lands' End. About 675 miles in all.
Concluded by Jonathan Coy
Abridged by Katrin Williams.
Producer: Duncan Minshull
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b05w84zk)
The roller coaster of IVF and how you make the decision to stop if it isn't working
Approx 550-western women have joined Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, the youngest aged just 13 years old. But is the idea that young women are joining to become 'jihadi brides' a myth ?
Why agriculture needs more women. Drawing the line - the roller coaster of IVF and how you make the decision to stop if it isn't working.
Plus Sophia Burley who founded the charity "Women on the Front Line" to help make a difference to the lives of women involved in prostitution.
And tackling sexual abuse on campus., why the University of the West of England is trialling a Bystander Intervention Initiative, course for first year students. The government is recommending the course to universities across the UK, but should all new students have to take part?
FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b05w84zm)
Amicable
Episode 5
As Sally prepares for a family party to celebrate Joe's birthday, he admits to having a new girlfriend. The divorcing couple finally arrive at a shared sense of acceptance of their new relationship.
Can divorce really be amicable? Sally and Joe finally find out. Starring Con ONeill and Christine Bottomley, written by Mark Davies Markham.
As more and more marriages end in divorce, the whys and wherefores become lost in the what next. When children are involved, many parents strive to remain on good terms. But is this really possible, when one partner has told the other the relationship is over? And do any of us have the overwhelming right to individual happiness, once we are parents?
Sally wants an amicable divorce from her husband Joe. A man she calls her best friend. He goes into shock, denial, panic, fear, resistance, acknowledgment, acceptance then liberation.
Amicable tracks the five month journey from marriage to separation.
Conclusion of Mark Davies Markham's story developed out of interviews with real people, like his previous series Missing and Just a Girl.
Sally........................Christine Bottomley
Joe............................Con O'Neill
Director..............................Polly Thomas
Sound designer....................Cathy Robinson
Production Co-ordinator..........Eleri McAuliffe
A BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
FRI 11:00 Drawing the Line: When IVF Doesn't Work (b05w85g1)
Around 50,000 women go for IVF treatment in a year. For them and their partners it offers the hope of having a baby where natural means have failed. But, on average, only 25% of cycles result in a live birth. So what happens to the couples and individuals in the other 75% of cases that haven't worked?
With many fertility treatments now on offer and statistics on clinics' success rates available, couples often feel they should try everything possible to increase their chances of having a baby. Yet when IVF keeps failing, the cost and sense of grief with each cycle can be overwhelming. But, how do you choose to stop when, in theory, the next cycle could result in that long-dreamed of baby?
The world of IVF has been called 'a market in hope' by Lisa Jardine, ex-chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, who says extensive media coverage of the successes makes us believe it's possible for everyone - but in reality people should be informed of its potential to deliver grief and a sense of failure as well as success.
Charlotte Smith talks to those who've experienced repeated IVF failure, and asks them at what point they made the decision to say 'enough is enough' and how that impacted on their lives and relationships.
Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced in Bristol by Anne-Marie Bullock.
FRI 11:30 Gloomsbury (b05w8dmy)
Series 3
All Very Hush Hush
A security breach at the foreign office means Henry sees spies everywhere at Sizzlinghurst. His paranoia is fuelled by Vera's procession of clandestine visitors.
When Henry decides to work from home, his wife - the novelist and gardener Vera Sackcloth-Vest - is forced to rearrange her secret liaison with Venus Traduces lest Henry should discover her betrayal.
But Henry has more pressing matters to attend to. His boss from the foreign office is coming down for a secret meeting to discuss a breach of security at Sizzlinghurst and, as a result, Henry can't stop seeing spies round every corner. His paranoia is fuelled by the arrival of a journalist and a photographer from that hotbed of Bolshevism, the Observer newspaper, who have come to interview Vera, and by the unexpected visit of Ginny Fox and her Socialist husband, Lionel, who have come to do research for Ginny's new novel on the Foreign Office.
Everyone appears to be asking intrusive questions and Henry becomes very, very twitchy - especially when he discovers that the interviewer is the working class genius DH Lollipop and the photographer his occasional squeeze, Venus Traduces.
Now Henry feels properly betrayed and only Vera denouncing Venus in public can assuage his jealous rage.
MIRIAM MARGOLYES AS VERA SACKCLOTH-VEST
ALISON STEADMAN AS GINNY FOX/MRS GOSLING
NIGEL PLANER AS GOSLING/LIONEL FOX
MORWENNA BANKS AS VENUS TRADUCES
JONATHAN COY AS HENRY MICKLETON
JOHN SESSIONS AS DH LOLLIPOP
Producer: Jamie Rix
A Little Brother production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:00 News Summary (b05vrj0w)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Home Front (b05w8dn0)
29 May 1915 - Hilary Pearce
Hilary Pearce is making his quiet way up in the world.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b05w8dn2)
Charity Fundraising, Faulty Airbags, DIY Faux Pas, Letting Fees
Consumer affairs programme.
FRI 12:57 Weather (b05vrj0y)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 13:00 World at One (b05w8dn4)
Rigorous analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Shaun Ley.
FRI 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b05w8dn6)
Mirabai: I Go the Other Way
Sunil Khilnani tells the story of Mirabai, the 16th century mystic poet who is one of India's most revered saints. Mirabai was born into a conservative warrior caste in Rajastan but rejected traditional family life and became a wandering religious singer devoted to the Hindu god Krishna. "All this, of course, was scandalous behaviour," says Professor Sunil Khilnani "But Mira proved herself ungovernable in her spiritual zeal". Mirabai composed up to a hundred songs or bhajans which have been passed down through the centuries by oral tradition. Others have been added in her name over the centuries. Today some see Mirabai as a potent symbol of feminism and self-transformation, others as a passionate religious inspiration.
With field recordings by Parita Mukta and readings by Sheenu Das
Produced by Mark Savage
Researcher: Manu Pillai
Listeners can catch up with the series and see the list of remarkable Indians featured on the Radio 4 website.
FRI 14:00 The Archers (b05w4jcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Drama (b05w8dn8)
Time for One More Question
Glyn Maxwell's comedy drama recorded on location at Hay Festival 2015.
1988 - the first year of the Hay Festival - arrogant schoolboy Roland hears teenage literary hopeful Melanie Carlow read her poem at a New Poets event - and he asks her a 'Terrible Question'. She's distraught and he's thrown out.
2015 - Melanie Carlow is now an award winning poet, Roland's an unemployed poet. He hears her on the radio saying that for 27 years she's tried to answer that schoolboy's 'Terrible Question'. It made her the writer she is. So he gets on a coach to Hay-on-Wye to ask his question again...
Love is put through the toughest Q and A in this comedy of festival manners.
With Glyn Maxwell, Ian McMillan and Simon Armitage as themselves and Peter Florence as Norman Florence.
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b05w8dnb)
Newcastle
Eric Robson chairs the programme from Newcastle. Bob Flowerdew, Bunny Guinness and Matthew Wilson answer questions from a local audience.
Produced by Darby Dorras
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:45 Wish You Weren't Here... (b05w8dnd)
The Last Person
Jack is relieved that his fifth book launch is going well, until an unexpected guest brings a pang of conscience and unwelcome memories of past plagiarism.
A stranger, a mystery and an old friend all make us ‘wish you weren’t here’!
Dermot Bolger's tale of literary fraud read by Richard Lumsden
Wish You Weren’t Here is a series of three original short stories by award-winning writers about that awkward person you’d rather not meet…
Director ..... Jenny Thompson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (b05w8dng)
Raymond Gosling, Eileen Gray, Sir Duncan Watson, Denys Darlow, Grace Lee Whitney
Matthew Bannister on
Raymond Gosling, who played a crucial role in the discovery of DNA.
Eileen Gray, who fought tirelessly to gain recognition for women's cycling
Sir Duncan Watson, the blind lawyer who campaigned for more blind people to be involved in running the RNIB.
Denys Darlow, the conductor, composer and organist who founded the Tilford Bach festival and the London Handel Festival.
And Grace Lee Whitney the actress who played Captain Kirk's glamorous assistant in the early episodes of Star Trek.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (b05w8dnj)
Seven-day NHS
Seven Day NHS.
As a commitment appears in the Queen's Speech to introduce a 'truly seven day-a-week NHS' we look at David Cameron's assertion that mortality rates are 16% higher for people admitted on a Sunday over those admitted on a Wednesday. And is seven day working really about saving lives.
Productivity?
We're told we have a productivity problem in the UK. What is it, how is it measured and why is it so low in the UK compared to other economies. We get an economist to explain the answers to a listener.
Animal Slaughter
How many animals are killed each day for food? One claim suggested it was half a billion worldwide, which sounds like a lot to us. Are we really pigging out to such an extent? Are we all so hungry we could all eat a horse? Or is this just a load of bull?
John Nash
The mathematician and scientist, Nobel Laureate and subject of the film a beautiful mind was killed in car accident earlier this month. We look at why he was so important to game theory with the economist Peyton Young.
FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b05w8dnl)
Ndaizivei and Sekai - Being Strong
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between a young woman born in the UK and her grandmother, about the strength she showed when living under white rule in Rhodesia. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. 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 (b05w8dnn)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b05vrj10)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b05w8dnq)
Series 87
Episode 3
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig, with regular panellist Jeremy Hardy and guests Francis Wheen, Helen Zaltzman and Rebecca Front.
Produced by Lyndsay Fenner.
A BBC Radio Comedy Production.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (b05w8dns)
Jolene and Kenton discuss Christine and Woodbine cottage - how could those robbers do what they did? Bitter Kenton says no doubt 'Saint David' will come to the rescue. David and Pip also discuss the robbery - Pip's Gran's wedding ring was taken.
Kenton buys a giant widescreen TV for the Bull in order to show the football. Jolene worries about his spending on more than one credit card - they need to consolidate their debt. Kenton persuades Jolene that the spending is necessary - they could lose a lot of business if they don't show the Cup final.
The hay's looking good to David and Pip - they should get a good crop this year. Pip has a second interview for the Technical Manager job. She has also invited Toby and Rex to the Young Farmers' social. Pip shows David the Estate website - there's a big ad for all Berrow Farm's Open Farm Sunday events. Worried David still hopes that Brookfield's showing will be a success.
Lilian goes along with Lynda to a dog rescue centre, where they hope to find Scruff. But Lynda's sad to discover it isn't. Lynda sadly accepts that Scruff has gone and is never coming back.
FRI 19:15 Front Row (b05w8dnv)
Hay Festival debate: Are we publishing too many books?
With the Hay Literary Festival in full swing, Front Row asks the question "Do we publish too many books?"
In front of a live audience, Samira and the panel discuss some of the pressing issues that face the publsihing industry today: has the emergence of digital books diluted the quality and undermined the value of books? Is self publishing a route to new and exciting authors or a path to derivative mediocrity? With so many authors, is it possible to make a living as a writer and are the writers who do make it representative of the diversity of modern Britain?
Taking part: Philip Jones editor of the trade journal The Bookseller, Crystal Mahey-Morgan Digital Sales and Marketing Director at Zed Books, Alexandra Pringle, the group editor in chief of Bloomsbury and Ali Sparks author of 41 books for children.
FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b05w84zm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b05wn7sk)
Greg Clark MP, Caroline Flint MP, Julia Hartley-Brewer, George Monbiot
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Ratton School in Eastbourne, with the secretary of state for communities and local government Greg Clark MP, shadow secretary of state for energy and climate change Caroline Flint MP, journalist and broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer, and Guardian columnist and environmental campaigner George Monbiot.
FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b05w8dnz)
In Praise of Courtesy
AL Kennedy takes the recent death of a friend - the screenwriter Gill Dennis - as her starting point in an exploration of courtesy. "When courtesy walks into a room," she writes, "it seems to turn a light on". She contrasts this with a striking example of discourtesy she encountered on a train journey.
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
FRI 21:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b05w8dp1)
25-29 May 1915 (Season 4 start)
The first omnibus edition of Season 4 of Radio 4's epic drama series set in Great War Britain. The Canadians have arrived in Folkestone, and so have the profiteers.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Consultant Historian: Professor Maggie Andrews
Music: Matthew Strachan
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.
FRI 21:58 Weather (b05vrj13)
The latest weather forecast.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b05w8dp3)
Sepp Blatter re-elected FIFA President
Blatter defies corruption scandal to win a fifth term as head of world football
FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b05w8dp5)
Sarah Hall - The Wolf Border
Episode 10
The chase extends northwards and a new future beckons...
Sarah Hall's novel is a compelling story about personal and political borders, about power, land, family and love. At its heart is Rachel Caine, tough, untouchable, an expert on wolves, and long estranged from her home county of Cumbria and her fiery mother and lost brother. Like the wolves she protects and champions, she is wary of human connections, happy in the untamed wilderness.
Set against the dramatic and artfully drawn backdrops of the Lakeland fells, The Wolf Border explores issues of ownership and vested power, of re-wilding and of family bonds as Rachel discovers that she can choose, and change.
Concluded by Hattie Morahan
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
FRI 23:00 Great Lives (b05wc8wz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b05y60ds)
News from Westminster.
FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b05w8dp7)
Christine and Sheila – Living Without Roots
Fi Glover introduces a conversations between sisters who came to Lancashire from Rhodesia in their teens, reflecting on the impact this displacement has had on their lives. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. 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 (b05vwt1r)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 MON (b05vwt1r)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 TUE (b05vx9vw)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 TUE (b05vx9vw)
15 Minute Drama
10:41 WED (b05vzzyb)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 WED (b05vzzyb)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 THU (b05w456k)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 THU (b05w456k)
15 Minute Drama
10:45 FRI (b05w84zm)
15 Minute Drama
19:45 FRI (b05w84zm)
A Point of View
08:48 SUN (b05vhlcd)
A Point of View
20:50 FRI (b05w8dnz)
All in the Mind
21:00 TUE (b05vzyst)
All in the Mind
15:30 WED (b05vzyst)
Analysis
20:30 MON (b05vx63j)
Any Answers?
14:00 SAT (b05vrd9k)
Any Questions?
13:10 SAT (b05vhlcb)
Any Questions?
20:00 FRI (b05wn7sk)
Archive on 4
20:00 SAT (b05vrg7c)
Arts Technologica
23:30 MON (b05qfsll)
Arts Technologica
23:30 TUE (b05r3ssp)
BBC Inside Science
16:30 THU (b05w4jcl)
BBC Inside Science
21:00 THU (b05w4jcl)
Before They Were Famous
23:15 WED (b05w3x5n)
Bells on Sunday
05:43 SUN (b05vssqb)
Bells on Sunday
00:45 MON (b05vssqb)
Best Behaviour
18:30 THU (b05w4jcq)
Beyond Belief
16:30 MON (b05vx635)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 MON (b05vy8dq)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 TUE (b05vy8fd)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 WED (b05w3x5j)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 THU (b05w4jzr)
Book at Bedtime
22:45 FRI (b05w8dp5)
Britain's Underground Army
11:00 WED (b05vzzyr)
Broadcasting House
09:00 SUN (b05vstxg)
Clare in the Community
18:30 WED (b03sztry)
Desert Island Discs
11:16 SUN (b05vstzl)
Desert Island Discs
09:00 FRI (b05vstzl)
Drama
14:30 SAT (b05vrg6z)
Drama
21:00 SAT (b05v6gn1)
Drama
15:00 SUN (b05vsyz1)
Drama
14:15 TUE (b05vy5ns)
Drama
14:15 WED (b05w003g)
Drama
14:15 FRI (b05w8dn8)
Drawing the Line: When IVF Doesn't Work
11:00 FRI (b05w85g1)
Ed Reardon's Week
11:30 WED (b05w000p)
Everyone a Rembrandt
11:00 MON (b04xnd05)
Farming Today
06:30 SAT (b05vrd95)
Farming Today
05:45 MON (b05vwpw4)
Farming Today
05:45 TUE (b05vx7z4)
Farming Today
05:45 WED (b05vzzs1)
Farming Today
05:45 THU (b05w3zl6)
Farming Today
05:45 FRI (b05w82fw)
File on 4
17:00 SUN (b05vcyvk)
Four Thought
20:45 WED (b05w3wl5)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:30 SAT (b05v6ggn)
From Our Own Correspondent
11:00 THU (b05w456m)
Front Row
19:15 MON (b05vx63f)
Front Row
19:15 TUE (b05vzxn2)
Front Row
19:15 WED (b05w3wfm)
Front Row
19:15 THU (b05w4jdb)
Front Row
19:15 FRI (b05w8dnv)
Gardeners' Question Time
14:00 SUN (b05vhkbq)
Gardeners' Question Time
15:00 FRI (b05w8dnb)
Gloomsbury
11:30 FRI (b05w8dmy)
Go West
00:30 SUN (b01rl1y5)
Great Lives
16:30 TUE (b05wc8wz)
Great Lives
23:00 FRI (b05wc8wz)
Home Front - Omnibus
21:00 FRI (b05w8dp1)
Home Front
12:04 MON (b05vx1bl)
Home Front
12:04 TUE (b05vy4kh)
Home Front
12:04 WED (b05w0029)
Home Front
12:04 THU (b05w45k7)
Home Front
12:04 FRI (b05w8dn0)
In Business
21:30 SUN (b05vfk87)
In Our Time
09:00 THU (b05w456c)
In Our Time
21:30 THU (b05w456c)
In Search of the Black Mozart
11:30 TUE (b05wdsnl)
In Touch
20:40 TUE (b05vzysr)
Incarnations: India in 50 Lives
13:45 MON (b05vx1bs)
Incarnations: India in 50 Lives
13:45 TUE (b05vy50d)
Incarnations: India in 50 Lives
13:45 WED (b05w002k)
Incarnations: India in 50 Lives
13:45 THU (b05w47hh)
Incarnations: India in 50 Lives
13:45 FRI (b05w8dn6)
John Kearns
23:00 WED (b05w3x5l)
Just a Minute
12:04 SUN (b05v7tl2)
Just a Minute
18:30 MON (b05vx639)
Last Word
20:30 SUN (b05vhkby)
Last Word
16:00 FRI (b05w8dng)
Loose Ends
18:15 SAT (b05vrg75)
Mark Steel's in Town
18:30 TUE (b05vy6ps)
Midnight News
00:00 SAT (b05v6gg4)
Midnight News
00:00 SUN (b05vrhjg)
Midnight News
00:00 MON (b05vrhpw)
Midnight News
00:00 TUE (b05vrhsz)
Midnight News
00:00 WED (b05vrhx0)
Midnight News
00:00 THU (b05vrhyr)
Midnight News
00:00 FRI (b05vrj0g)
Midweek
09:00 WED (b05vzzvq)
Midweek
21:30 WED (b05vzzvq)
Money Box
12:04 SAT (b05vrd9h)
Money Box
21:00 SUN (b05vrd9h)
Money Box
15:00 WED (b05w003j)
More or Less
20:00 SUN (b05vhkc0)
More or Less
16:30 FRI (b05w8dnj)
My Head
21:00 WED (b05w3xpk)
News Briefing
05:30 SAT (b05v6ggd)
News Briefing
05:30 SUN (b05vrhjq)
News Briefing
05:30 MON (b05vrhq4)
News Briefing
05:30 TUE (b05vrht8)
News Briefing
05:30 WED (b05vrhx8)
News Briefing
05:30 THU (b05vrhz0)
News Briefing
05:30 FRI (b05vrj0r)
News Headlines
06:00 SUN (b05vrhjs)
News Summary
12:00 SAT (b05v6ggq)
News Summary
12:00 SUN (b05vrhk3)
News Summary
12:00 MON (b05vrhqf)
News Summary
12:00 TUE (b05vrhtf)
News Summary
12:00 WED (b05vrhxg)
News Summary
12:00 THU (b05vrhz4)
News Summary
12:00 FRI (b05vrj0w)
News and Papers
06:00 SAT (b05v6ggg)
News and Papers
07:00 SUN (b05vrhjx)
News and Papers
08:00 SUN (b05vrhk1)
News and Weather
22:00 SAT (b05v6gh4)
News
13:00 SAT (b05v6ggv)
On Your Farm
06:35 SUN (b05vssqg)
On the Rocks
11:30 MON (b05vwtsk)
Open Book
16:00 SUN (b05vt6gh)
Open Book
15:30 THU (b05vt6gh)
PM
17:00 SAT (b05vrg73)
PM
17:00 MON (b05vx637)
PM
17:00 TUE (b05vy6g9)
PM
17:00 WED (b05w3wfh)
PM
17:00 THU (b05w4jcn)
PM
17:00 FRI (b05w8dnn)
Pick of the Week
18:15 SUN (b05vt6gm)
Poetry Please
23:30 SAT (b05v6gn5)
Poetry Please
16:30 SUN (b05vt6gk)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 SAT (b05vhlm3)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 MON (b05wpyxh)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 TUE (b05wpyxr)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 WED (b05wpyy3)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 THU (b05wpyyj)
Prayer for the Day
05:43 FRI (b05wpyz9)
Profile
19:00 SAT (b05vrg77)
Profile
05:45 SUN (b05vrg77)
Profile
17:40 SUN (b05vrg77)
Radio 4 Appeal
07:54 SUN (b05vssql)
Radio 4 Appeal
21:26 SUN (b05vssql)
Radio 4 Appeal
15:27 THU (b05vssql)
Ramblings
06:07 SAT (b05vfgcb)
Ramblings
15:00 THU (b05w4dpr)
Richard Marsh
23:15 TUE (b01rlrk1)
Sarah Lucas at the Venice Biennale
11:30 THU (b05w456p)
Saturday Live
09:00 SAT (b05vrd99)
Saturday Review
19:15 SAT (b05vrg79)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SAT (b05v6gg8)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 SUN (b05vrhjl)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 MON (b05vrhq0)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 TUE (b05vrht4)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 WED (b05vrhx4)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 THU (b05vrhyw)
Selection of BBC World Service Programmes
01:00 FRI (b05vrj0m)
Shared Experience
15:30 TUE (b05vy5nv)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SAT (b05v6gg6)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SAT (b05v6ggb)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SAT (b05v6ggy)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 SUN (b05vrhjj)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 SUN (b05vrhjn)
Shipping Forecast
17:54 SUN (b05vrhkp)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 MON (b05vrhpy)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 MON (b05vrhq2)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 TUE (b05vrht2)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 TUE (b05vrht6)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 WED (b05vrhx2)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 WED (b05vrhx6)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 THU (b05vrhyt)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 THU (b05vrhyy)
Shipping Forecast
00:48 FRI (b05vrj0k)
Shipping Forecast
05:20 FRI (b05vrj0p)
Shorts
19:45 SUN (b05vt88k)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SAT (b05v6gh2)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 SUN (b05vrhkt)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 MON (b05vrhqm)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 TUE (b05vrhvb)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 WED (b05vrhxt)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 THU (b05vrhzb)
Six O'Clock News
18:00 FRI (b05vrj10)
Something Understood
06:05 SUN (b05vssqd)
Something Understood
23:30 SUN (b05vssqd)
Soul Music
09:00 TUE (b03jb1w1)
Soul Music
21:30 TUE (b03jb1w1)
Start the Week
09:00 MON (b05vwpw8)
Start the Week
21:30 MON (b05vwpw8)
Steve Boggan - Gold Fever
00:30 SAT (b05vj0r4)
Stone
14:15 THU (b05w47pv)
Sunday Worship
08:10 SUN (b05vssqn)
Sunday
07:10 SUN (b05vssqj)
The 3rd Degree
23:00 SAT (b05v7tjp)
The 3rd Degree
15:00 MON (b05vx4dx)
The Affordable Housing Crisis
20:00 TUE (b05vzysp)
The Archers Omnibus
10:00 SUN (b05vstxj)
The Archers
19:00 SUN (b05vt6gp)
The Archers
14:00 MON (b05vt6gp)
The Archers
19:00 MON (b05vx63c)
The Archers
14:00 TUE (b05vx63c)
The Archers
19:00 TUE (b05vy76y)
The Archers
14:00 WED (b05vy76y)
The Archers
19:00 WED (b05w3wfk)
The Archers
14:00 THU (b05w3wfk)
The Archers
19:00 THU (b05w4jcs)
The Archers
14:00 FRI (b05w4jcs)
The Archers
19:00 FRI (b05w8dns)
The Bottom Line
20:30 THU (b05w4jxk)
The Business of Genetic Ancestry
11:00 TUE (b05vy4kb)
The Film Programme
23:00 SUN (b05vfjtf)
The Film Programme
16:00 THU (b05w4j0w)
The Food Programme
12:32 SUN (b05vsv6y)
The Food Programme
15:30 MON (b05vsv6y)
The Ghetto Inglese
16:00 MON (b05vx4dz)
The John Moloney Show
23:00 TUE (b05vzzr8)
The Kitchen Cabinet
10:30 SAT (b05vrd9c)
The Kitchen Cabinet
15:00 TUE (b05vrd9c)
The Listening Project
14:45 SUN (b05vsvhq)
The Listening Project
10:56 WED (b05vzzyp)
The Listening Project
16:55 FRI (b05w8dnl)
The Listening Project
23:55 FRI (b05w8dp7)
The Media Show
16:30 WED (b05w3wff)
The News Quiz
12:30 SAT (b05vhkv8)
The News Quiz
18:30 FRI (b05w8dnq)
The Origins of War
21:00 MON (b05v7tnr)
The Report
20:00 THU (b05w4jxh)
The Rivals
19:15 SUN (b03b2g2b)
The Week in Westminster
11:00 SAT (b05vrd9f)
The World This Weekend
13:00 SUN (b05vsv70)
The World Tonight
22:00 MON (b05vx6p8)
The World Tonight
22:00 TUE (b05vzzr6)
The World Tonight
22:00 WED (b05w3x5g)
The World Tonight
22:00 THU (b05w4jzp)
The World Tonight
22:00 FRI (b05w8dp3)
Thinking Allowed
00:15 MON (b05vct5z)
Thinking Allowed
16:00 WED (b05w3wfc)
Today in Parliament
23:30 WED (b05w3x5q)
Today in Parliament
23:30 THU (b05w4jzt)
Today in Parliament
23:30 FRI (b05y60ds)
Today
07:00 SAT (b05vrd97)
Today
06:00 MON (b05vwpw6)
Today
06:00 TUE (b05vx8q7)
Today
06:00 WED (b05vzzvn)
Today
06:00 THU (b05w42wh)
Today
06:00 FRI (b05w84zf)
Tom Fort - Channel Shore
09:45 MON (b05vwpwb)
Tom Fort - Channel Shore
00:30 TUE (b05vwpwb)
Tom Fort - Channel Shore
09:45 TUE (b05vx8qc)
Tom Fort - Channel Shore
00:30 WED (b05vx8qc)
Tom Fort - Channel Shore
09:45 WED (b05vzzvs)
Tom Fort - Channel Shore
00:30 THU (b05vzzvs)
Tom Fort - Channel Shore
09:45 THU (b05w456f)
Tom Fort - Channel Shore
00:30 FRI (b05w456f)
Tom Fort - Channel Shore
09:45 FRI (b05w84zh)
Tommies
14:15 MON (b05vx1bv)
Tweet of the Day
08:58 SUN (b038qk7c)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 MON (b03bkdpz)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 TUE (b03bkf9f)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 WED (b03bkfhy)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 THU (b03bkfmv)
Tweet of the Day
05:58 FRI (b03bkfw4)
Two Episodes of Mash
23:00 THU (b01mx27s)
Unreliable Evidence
22:15 SAT (b05vds5s)
Unreliable Evidence
20:00 WED (b05w3wkt)
Weather
06:04 SAT (b05v6ggj)
Weather
06:57 SAT (b05v6ggl)
Weather
12:57 SAT (b05v6ggs)
Weather
17:57 SAT (b05v6gh0)
Weather
06:57 SUN (b05vrhjv)
Weather
07:57 SUN (b05vrhjz)
Weather
12:57 SUN (b05vrhk5)
Weather
17:57 SUN (b05vrhkr)
Weather
05:56 MON (b05vrhq8)
Weather
12:57 MON (b05vrhqh)
Weather
21:58 MON (b05vrhqr)
Weather
12:57 TUE (b05vrhtn)
Weather
21:58 TUE (b05vrhvg)
Weather
12:57 WED (b05vrhxr)
Weather
12:57 THU (b05vrhz8)
Weather
12:57 FRI (b05vrj0y)
Weather
21:58 FRI (b05vrj13)
Westminster Hour
22:00 SUN (b05vt8cp)
What the Papers Say
22:45 SUN (b05vt8cr)
Wish You Weren't Here...
15:45 FRI (b05w8dnd)
Witness
09:30 TUE (b05vx8q9)
Woman's Hour
16:00 SAT (b05vrg71)
Woman's Hour
10:00 MON (b05vwt1p)
Woman's Hour
10:00 TUE (b05vx8qf)
Woman's Hour
10:00 WED (b05vzzvv)
Woman's Hour
10:00 THU (b05w456h)
Woman's Hour
10:00 FRI (b05w84zk)
Word of Mouth
23:00 MON (b05v7tr3)
Word of Mouth
16:00 TUE (b05vy6f0)
World at One
13:00 MON (b05vx1bq)
World at One
13:00 TUE (b05vy4km)
World at One
13:00 WED (b05w002f)
World at One
13:00 THU (b05w47hf)
World at One
13:00 FRI (b05w8dn4)
You and Yours
12:15 MON (b05vx1bn)
You and Yours
12:15 TUE (b05vy4kk)
You and Yours
12:15 WED (b05w002c)
You and Yours
12:15 THU (b05w47hc)
You and Yours
12:15 FRI (b05w8dn2)
Young, British and Imam-in-Training
13:30 SUN (b05symn5)
Young, British and Imam-in-Training
20:00 MON (b05symn5)
iPM
05:45 SAT (b05vhlm5)
iPM
17:30 SAT (b05vhlm5)