The BBC has announced that it has a sustainable plan for the future of the BBC Singers, in association with The VOCES8 Foundation.
The threat to reduce the staff of the three English orchestras by 20% has not been lifted, but it is being reconsidered.
See the BBC press release here.

Radio-Lists Home Now on R4 Contact

RADIO-LISTS: BBC RADIO 4
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC Radio 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/



SATURDAY 12 MARCH 2016

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b072hm3l)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b072n8dv)
Seamus Heaney's Aeneid Book VI

Episode 5

Seamus Heaney was working on a translation of book VI of Virgil's Aeneid in the last months of his life .

Ian McKellen reads the poet's posthumously published final work in which Aeneas travels into the underworld to meet the spirit of his father. It's a story that had captivated Seamus Heaney from his schooldays. But the work took on a special significance for him after the death of his own father, becoming a touchstone to which he would return as an adult. His noble and moving translation of Book VI bears the fruit of a lifetime's concentration upon it: he began translating passages in the 1980s, and was finalising the work right up to the summer of his death.

Given the themes of the posthumously released Book VI, there is added poignancy in this final gift to his readers - a work which marks the end of Heaney's poetic journey.

Then as her fit passed away and her raving went quiet,
Heroic Aeneas began: 'No ordeal, O Sibyl, no new
Test can dismay me, for I have foreseen
And foresuffered all. But one thing I pray for
Especially: since here the gate opens, they say,
To the King of the Underworld's realms, and here
In these shadowy marshes the Acheron floods
To the surface, vouchsafe me one look,
One face-to-face meeting with my dear father.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b072hm3r)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b072hm3t)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b072hm46)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b072hm4r)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b072n96g)
A short reflection and prayer with Richard Hill.


SAT 05:45 iPM (b072n96l)
Is cannabis bad for you?

Professor Sir Robin Murray explains the links between cannabis and psychosis, whether it can treat schizophrenia and if it's less dangerous than alcohol and smoking.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b072hm4x)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SAT 06:04 Weather (b072hm4z)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (b072n5xk)
Series 32

Trent, Dorset

Clare joins a lively primary school walking club as they ramble through the Dorset countryside. Pupils, teachers, local farmers and parents join the group which has been helping to draw the local community together for twelve years. Starting at a farm near the school, Trent Young's C of E near Sherborne, they walk on footpaths and over private farmland - made accessible by the farmers who help lead the walk - learning about the countryside as they go.

Producer: Karen Gregor.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b072zjpc)
Farming Today This Week: Land Access and Rights of Way

Sybil Ruscoe climbs Black Hill in the Malvern Hills with walkers and a mountain biker to discuss land access and rights of way, hearing how the balance is struck between their needs and those of landowners.

She meets Chairman of the Herefordshire Ramblers and the Disabled Ramblers group, Arthur Lee, mountain biker James Richards, Derek and Sandra Starkey of the Malvern Walking Festival, and Beck Baker, who's the Community and Conservation Officer with the Malvern Hills Conservators, who own and manage the hills.

Presented by Sybil Ruscoe and produced by Mark Smalley.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b072hm54)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b072zjpf)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b072zjph)
Anita Dobson

Anita Dobson's acting career spans more than forty years. She found fame in the 1980s playing pub landlady Angie Watts in EastEnders. She has starred in television, film and theatre productions as diverse as Hamlet, Follies and London Road. She talks about her career and growing up in the East End.

Alastair Humphreys is an adventurer who has cycled around the world and walked a lap of the M25. He pioneered the concept of micro-adventures (adventures close to home) but has now turned his attention to 'grand adventures'. He explains how adventures great or small are within everyone's grasp.

Fifty years ago, a group of boys from the Kettering Grammar School Satellite Tracking Group discovered a new and undiscovered soviet space launch site. To celebrate, Leicester's National Space Centre is holding an exhibition. Mike Sinnett, a former pupil talks about the discovery and how it catapulted the boys into the media spotlight.

Bookshop owner Stephen Foster has a licence to fill shelves. He has provided books for film sets such as James Bond's 'Spectre' and 'Skyfall', 'The Danish Girl' and 'Mr Holmes'. He talks about his love for old and rare books and explains how he chooses the books to fit the character's personality.

The inheritance tracks of the actress Rachael Stirling who chose Bob Dylan's 'Lay Lady Lay' and Ella Fitzgerald's 'Too Darn Hot'.

Kate Recordon has been finding out about how the interaction with our dogs can be life-changing.

Anita Dobson is in conversation at St James theatre, London on 20th March at 3pm.
Alastair Humphreys book 'Grand Adventures' is out now.
Rachael Stirling stars in 'The Winter's Tale' at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London.

Producer: Dianne McGregor
Editor: Karen Dalziel.


SAT 10:30 Laura Barton's Notes from a Musical Island (b072zjpk)
Series 1

Put a Donk on It!

The music writer Laura Barton visits four corners of Britain and listens closely to the music found in different landscapes.

Crossing into Lancashire through the Upper Calder Valley, Laura visits the Great Bride Stones with musician and cultural geographer Rob St John, who's attuned to the unique sound qualities of this rural-industrial landscape.

Then she visits the Queen Street Mill Museum in Burnley and meets Colin, a weaver of fifty years and lover of elegiac Vaughan Williams, and listens to the loom-inspired music of Chaines.

She musically unpicks the origins of Donk, a high bpm (beats per minute) dance style unique to the North-West, with Tony Sabanskis of The Blackout Crew, and attends a band practice of a former colliery brass band, a more traditional musical emblem that flourishes still in post-industrial Haydock.

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


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b072zjpm)
Paul Waugh of The Huffington Post looks behind the scenes at Westminster.
The government is defeated in the Commons over plans to increase Sunday Trading, the Labour leader pleads for party loyalty, and the monarch gets dragged into the Brexit row. Plus International Women's' Day - has it passed its sell-by date?
The Editor is Marie Jessel.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b072hm5f)
Stuck in Turkey

Turkey and the EU are hammering out a deal that would turn Turkey into the gatekeeper of Europe, to stop undocumented migrants from reaching the West. But will the refugees agree to stay in Turkey, or try to reach the EU by any means possible?

They have lost limbs, parents, homes, and favourite dolls. But not their bravery and spirit. We meet the children who have been affected by the five years of war in Syria. If you're an American, your annual tax return form 1040 has an instruction booklet that's over 100 pages long. Luckily, help is at hand, not just from accountants, but also from specially trained volunteers, like our correspondent. We go on a pilgrimage to the holy city of the Mourides brotherhood in Senegal, where offering hospitality is such an honour, that some believers ask people at the bus stop if they'd come and be their guest. And Paris fashion - for those with no interest in sartorial trends. Was it the universe that pushed our correspondent to brush up on his 'overcast shell hems', and 'poodle cloth'?


SAT 12:00 News Summary (b072hm5s)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (b072hm5y)
Rising Water Charges

We reveal the areas where water customers refuse to pay a penny extra to help the less well-off. Ruth Alexander finds out why, and investigates why the only tariff where people pay no standing charge is being withdrawn.

FairFuelUK wrote to the Chancellor this week urging him to cut fuel duty. Another letter to land on his desk was from Saga urging him to do the opposite - to increase fuel duty but to abolish vehicle excise duty. Saga's Paul Green and FairFuelUK founder Howard Cox discuss what George Osborne should do with fuel duty in Wednesday's budget.

Would you give up some of your salary in return for non-cash benefits like childcare vouchers, extra pension contributions or the chance to buy a bike? More and more people are, and concern is growing at the treasury about salary sacrifice schemes.

And could plans to increase competition among gas and electricity suppliers actually make it harder to find the best deal? At the moment comparison websites have to show you every deal on offer but the Competitions and Markets Authority wants to change that. In future websites may be able to hide deals from suppliers who don't pay them a commission.

Presenter:Paul Lewis
Reporter:Ruth Alexander
Producer:Joe Kent
Editor:Andrew Smith.


SAT 12:30 The Now Show (b072n8fq)
Series 48

Episode 2

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by Suzi Ruffell, Jon Holmes, Mitch Benn and Jessica Ransom to present the week in news through stand-up and sketches.

This week the gang explore the binary nature of news reporting and discuss the implications of a future dominated by Artificial Intelligence with Dr Nick Hawes of Birmingham University.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b072hm62)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b072hm64)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b072n8fv)
Peter Davis, Kate Hoey MP, Norman Lamb MP, Anna Soubry MP

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Spalding Grammar School in Lincolnshire, with a panel including the Lincolnshire businessman Peter Davis, Labour MP Kate Hoey, former Care Minister and Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb MP and the Small Business Minister Anna Soubry MP.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b072hm6f)
Would leaving the EU hurt or help Britain? What level of migration should we have? Should we legalise cannabis?

Listeners have their say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Drama (b072zkst)
Wide Sargasso Sea

Set against the sumptuous backdrop of 19th century Jamaica, Jean Rhys's stirring prequel to Jane Eyre envisages the life of the first Mrs Rochester before she became the 'mad woman in the attic.'

A new version by multi-award winning writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz

Sold in to marriage with a dashing young Englishman, Creole heiress Antoinette Cosway senses danger. But how could anyone have predicted the devastating future that awaited her. As their honeymoon becomes infected by vicious rumours, her new husband’s paranoia begins to grow. The cultural divide between them increases and his desire to turn her into the perfect Victorian wife ultimately becomes a battle for her soul. Until eventually Antoinette is torn from her home, stripped of her identity and transformed into the ghoulish Bertha Rochester.

Antoinette Cosway ….. Lara Rossi
Edward Rochester ….. Trystan Gravelle
Christophine ….. Martina Laird
Young Antoinette ….. Eleanor Worthington-Cox
Amelie ….. Alexandria Riley
Grace Poole ….. Jaimi Barbakoff
Annette ….. Sirine Saba
Mr Mason ….. Don Gilet
Tia ….. Emily Burnett
Richard Mason ….. Eric Kofi Abrefa

Original score composed and performed by Lucy Rivers with guitar by Dan Lawrence.

Directed by Helen Perry
A BBC Cymru/Wales Production

Winner of the WH Smith Literary Award in 1967 and named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels, Wide Sargasso Sea holds its own as a beautiful work on human frailty and oppression.


SAT 15:30 Turntable Tales (b072jfcr)
Berliner to Gramophone

In the first of two programmes telling the story of the record-playing turntable, Colleen Murphy spins through its early history and the dramatic take-up of this new technology in Edwardian society. It was an enthusiasm as spectacular as the computer's rise at the end of the same century and its impact on the music industry was profound.

Colleen talks to John Liffen of the Science Museum and Christopher Proudfoot of the British Phonograph and Gramophone Society about the earliest machines arriving from the United States by way of the German Emigre inventor Emile Berliner. She finds out why the HMV (His Master's Voice) image wasn't initially created for the Gramophone at all, and most important of all she gets to hear the sound qualities of the machines that developed in the first two decades of the 20th century.

As the Gramophone company took hold the potential for preserving singers, performers, speech makers but above all music was eagerly realised. Colleen discovers that by the outbreak of the First World War some forty percent of households had some sort of Gramophone, however primitive, and not surprisingly, travelling versions went with the troops to the bunkers behind the front lines.

That capacity to bridge the performer with the audience when the two were hundreds of miles apart was the great miracle of the early years and allowed the easy spread of musical styles from Ragtime to Jazz to the first superstars of the Turntable world - the Opera stars. And yet, as ever, it was popular culture that dominated the market and drove sales.

She also touches on the new opportunities for the Blues and Ragime musicians of African-American society to be heard beyond their geographical centres in the Southern States, and the preservation of performances which would go on to inspire British Rhythm and blues half a century later.

And Antiques Roadshow expert Paul Atterbury talks about the Gramophone as a blend of home furnishing and status symbol and why what appear to be exotic survivors of the period are actual part of a massive number of machines that were on sale from bike shops to music emporia.

Producer: Tom Alban.

Photo: Camilo Fuentealba


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b072hm74)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Uzo Aduba, Caitlin Moran, Carrie Underwood

Uzo Aduba, two time EMMY award winning actress and star of Orange is the New Black, talks about her latest role in the theatre production 'The Maids'.

According to the latest figures by the Mental Health Foundation, Black and Minority Ethnic groups are more likely to be diagnosed with mental health problems and more likely to be admitted to hospital. We hear from the CEO of the Mental Health Foundation Jenny Edwards and from Jacqui Dyer who has suffered from long term depression and is the vice chair of the Mental Health Taskforce.

Journalist Caitlin Moran discusses her decision to get political with her book Moranifesto.

The multiple Grammy award winning US country music star Carrie Underwood talks about her music career and performs a song from her latest album Storyteller.

For the BBC School Report, Shantavia describes her life as a young carer looking after her mother who has diabetes.

Pakistan's top female squash player, Maria Toorpakai tells us why she dressed as a boy from the age of four and the difficulties of being born in a highly conservative tribal area of Pakistan.

Professor Clara Greed on what the provision of toilets can tell us about the true position of women in society.

Professor Edith Morley became the first female professor at an English university when she was appointed professor of English Language at Reading University in 1908. Barbara Morris the Editor of Edith Morley's Memoir Before and After tells us about her and we hear from Professor Alison Donnell on her similar role today.


SAT 17:00 PM (b072hm76)
Saturday PM

Full coverage of the day's news.


SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (b072n66d)
Horse Racing

Horse racing is the second most popular spectator sport in the UK but it is also a business. Presenter Evan Davis and guests discuss who makes the money: the horse owners, the jockeys, the race courses or the bookmakers?

Guests:

Simon Bazalgette, Chief Executive, The Jockey Club

Rachel Hood, Director, The Horsemen's Group

Ciaran O'Brien, Group Communications Director, William Hill bookmakers

Producer: Julie Ball.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b072hm7c)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b072hm7v)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b072hm87)
French unions have cast fresh doubt on plans -- by EDF -- to build a new nuclear power station in the UK, calling for the project to be delayed by up to three years.

The UN refugee agency has condemned video footage apparently showing Turkish coastguards beating the side of a boat carrying migrants to Greece.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b072zlxv)
Clive Anderson, Nikki Bedi, Lianne La Havas, Rob Brydon, Alexei Sayle, Spencer Jones, Rebecca Ryan, Motown the Musical

Clive Anderson and Nikki Bedi are joined by Rob Brydon, Alexei Sayle, Spencer Jones and Rebecca Ryan for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Lianne La Havas and 'The Supremes' of Motown The Musical.

Producer: Sukey Firth.


SAT 19:00 Profile (b072zlxx)
Ted Cruz

Senator Ted Cruz is a hardliner, even by the standards of his native Texas: anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, in favour of the death penalty and fiercely opposed to gun control. But in the race to be the next US president, some believe he has the best chance of beating Donald Trump to the Republican nomination. Son of a Cuban immigrant - and a virtual unknown three years ago - the 'anyone-but-Trump' candidate's ascent through Republican ranks has been as stratospheric as his style is divisive. With the 2016 American election looming, we profile a man who, as a teenager, used to tour the Deep South reciting the US Constitution by heart. Making his name as a hot shot young lawyer, Senator Cruz helped George W. Bush reach the White House by winning a court battle over the infamous Florida election recount. And as a rookie politician, he made headlines with a marathon 21-hour filibuster featuring children's stories by Dr Seuss.

We hear from early backers and political opponents, those who shared Ted Cruz's school days and witnessed his early legal triumphs. With make-or-break Republican primaries coming thick and fast - and Super Tuesday having transformed the competition - how has a politician with almost as many enemies on his own side as among the Democrats come within sight of the White House? What impact has his Christian faith had on his politics? And can Senator Cruz become - as he dreamed as a teenager - the most powerful man in the world?


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b072hm89)
Motown the Musical, Anomalisa, Giorgione, Eileen, Art of Scandinavia

Motown, The Musical - with one of the best pop songbooks to draw on; how could this stage show fail?
Charlie Kaufman's latest film is a stop-motion tale of loneliness, isolation and the possibility of redemptive love: Anomalisa
In The Age of Giorgione at London's Royal Academy, examines the development of The Venetian Renaissance, through works by Giorgione and his contemporaries such as Titian and Durer
The central character of Ottessa Moshfegh's novel Eileen is a lonely self-loathing secretary at a boy's prison, looking after her alcoholic father. And then along comes hope...
Art of Scandinavia on BBC4: Andrew Graham Dixon looks at the art of Denmark, Norway and Sweden
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Lisa Appignanesi, Rowan Pelling and Elizabeth Day. The producer is Oliver Jones.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b072zn42)
The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band: Anarchy Must Be Organised

2016 saw the fiftieth anniversary of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band going “professional” – kick-starting the chaos with a performance on the bastion of psychedelia and avant-garde: Blue Peter.

The legendary Neil Innes looks back at the influence and influences of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and the collision of art, humour, music, language and anarchy that permeated the band’s career.

Archive interviews and performances accompany new interviews with Legs Larry Smith, Rodney Slater, Vernon Dudley Bowhay Nowell, Sam Spoons, and Bob Kerr and contributions from friends and fans including Terry Gilliam, Adrian Edmondson, Kevin Eldon, Diane Morgan, Rick Wakeman and Stephen Fry.

Neil Innes died in December 2019 at the age of 75.

Producer: Laura Grimshaw

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.


SAT 21:00 Drama (b072htqt)
Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell

Episode 1

Sylvia Dobson's cousin, Philip, lives for her, he loves her totally but Sylvia is in love with seafaring whaler, Charlie Kinraid.

Set in 1790s Yorkshire.- the time of the Napoleonic wars. It takes place in Monkshaven (ie.Whitby).

The Press Gangs were always lurking when the whale boats were returning from Greenland with their cargo. They intercepted the boats, seized the men and pressed them into service with the Royal Navy to fight the French.

Elizabeth Gaskell last (completed) novel dramatised by Ellen Dryden

Elizabeth Gaskell ...... Barbara Flynn
Sylvia ...... Jodie Comer
Philip ...... Graeme Hawley
Charlie Kinraid ...... Chris Connel
Bell ...... Siobhan Finneran
Daniel ..... Paul Copley
Kester/Donkin ...... Jonathan Keeble
Molly ...... Nichola Burley
Mrs. Corney ....... Olwen May

Director: Pauline Harris

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b072hm8j)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (b072mz5r)
Is Science Morally Neutral?

In 1816, when Mary Shelley sat down to write her Gothic novel Frankenstein, it was a time of social, political and scientific upheaval. It has given us the archetypal image of the mad scientist single-mindedly pursing his grotesque experiments whatever the cost. "Frankenstein Science" has even become its own category, especially beloved by tabloid headline writers. 200 years on and the pace of scientific development has increased exponentially; the fact that Shelley's Frankenstein still has such a hold reflects the powerful role science plays in modern life and also, perhaps, the fear that we don't understand it or know how to control it. Now the head of the Science Council has said that scientists need their own version of the Hippocratic Oath and a regulation system of ethical standards and principles similar to doctors. Would more control give us better, more ethical scientists, or just restrain creativity and academic freedom? If we control scientists more closely, is there a case for arguing that we should exercise more control over the research they carry out? Is science morally neutral? Is it just the choices about how to apply scientific knowledge that are truly moral? In a world where advances in science have the power to profoundly change our lives and the lives of future generations, can scientists still rely on that distinction? This week scientists are meeting in America to discuss the controversial "gain-of-function" research on highly infectious viruses such as avian flu. Do we need more moral, ethical and democratically accountable oversight of research? Chaired by Michael Buerk with Giles Fraser, Claire Fox, Mathew Taylor and Michael Portillo. Witnesses are Belinda Phipps, Prof Terence Kealey, Prof Andy Stirling and Bryan Roberts.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b072j34f)
Heat 9, 2016

(9/17)
The quest for the 63rd BBC Brain of Britain reaches heat nine, with Russell Davies in the question master's chair and four contestants from the Home Counties and the West Midlands.

What name for a type of seafarer or pirate is thought to derive from a Caribbean word meaning 'to dry meat on a barbecue'? Which was the first western to win an Oscar for Best Picture?

The contestants face these and many other tough teasers on their way to a possible semi-final place. A Brain of Britain listener also stands a chance of being a winner by providing fiendish questions with which to try and 'Beat the Brains'.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


SAT 23:30 Poetry Please (b072htxz)
Women Poets

Roger McGough presents a selection of poetry written by women including Charlotte Mew, Wendy Cope and Kathleen Jamie. Maya Angelou reads her own work in a recording from the archives. Other readers are Lucy Black and Fiona Shaw. Producer Sally Heaven.



SUNDAY 13 MARCH 2016

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b0735pzf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Modern Welsh Voices (b03mclqk)
Snowstorm

Snowstorm by Niall Griffiths

Perry and his elderly mother are snowed in, isolated in the hills of the Welsh countryside. As the last of the firewood burns, Perry's mother is determined to force her layabout son to go and fetch supplies.

The third of five original stories by writers from Wales.

Read by Eiry Thomas
Directed by James Robinson

A BBC Cymru Wales Production.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0735pzh)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0735pzk)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0735pzm)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b0735pzp)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b0735xtf)
The Church of the Holy Cross in Woodchurch on the Wirral

From the Church of the Holy Cross in Woodchurch on the Wirral. The present bells were recast in 1971 from the old peal of 6 by the Whitechapel Foundry. The tenor weighs three and three quarter hundred-weight and is tuned to D. The Woodchurch bells are one of the lightest peals in the UK, this week ringing 'Cambridge Surprise Major'.


SUN 05:45 Lent Talks (b072mz5t)
The Garden

Madeleine takes a night-time walk along the River Lea and the "edgelands" of the Hackney Marshes in east London as she reflects on Jesus' last night in the garden of Gethsemane for "Lent in the Landscape" a series of talks from six writers on different aspects of the passion story. Producer: Phil Pegum.


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b0735pzr)
The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b0735xth)
I Sat Down and Wept

Samira Ahmed explores the ambiguous power of tears in myth and music.

Weeping is a pivotal act in cultures across the world and throughout history.

The Israelites recalling the promised land by the River Euphrates; Niobe condemned to eternal mourning for her lost children, transformed into a rocky waterfall; Picasso's Dora Marr transformed into the iconic weeping woman, the embodiment of suffering in wartime; King Lear railing against his treacherous tears that "un -man him".

Writers, theologians, scientists, psychologists have been fascinated for centuries by tears and what they reveal about human emotion and human experience.

Tears are paradoxical - they are produced by laughter and by sadness, are understood as both a sign of weakness and of strength and, perhaps most confusingly, are used as evidence of the veracity of an experience or of the falseness of a witness, who weeps 'crocodile tears'.

Weeping is powerful, endlessly fascinating to many, but still not fully understood.

Samira Ahmed considers some for the ways tears have been represented in culture, music and religion. She discusses masculinity, politics and tears with poet Andrew McMillan. She explores different culturally acceptable ways of grieving. In the wake of public displays of mourning for public figures, such as Princess Diana and David Bowie, has the UK moved from having a stiff upper lip to a teary eye?

The programme includes writing by Lewis Carroll, John Donne and William Shakespeare, poetry by Grace Nichols and Les Murray, and music by Nick Cave, and Debussy.

The readers were Rachel Atkins and Peter Marinker

Producer: Lucy Dichmont
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b0735xtk)
Sutherland Crofter

Helen Mark travels to the far north-west of Scotland to meet crofters Martin and Mary Mackay and the shepherd who takes care of their flock as well as the rest of the sheep in the sheep-stock club, Janet Roberts. Oh, and they're all sheep-dog mad.

Martin's family have been crofters since the Highland clearances, making a partial living off the tiny strips of land between their house and the cliffs, in the village of Durness in Sutherland. But Martin's sheep range over thousands of acres of uncultivatable land over towards Cape Wrath, where thousand foot cliffs attract tourists every year. These sheep are part of the sheep-stock club Martin belongs to. They employ three shepherds, including Janet Roberts, who regularly walks for nine hours over mountains, bogs and moors when she's gathering in the sheep.

Both Martin and Janet love their sheepdogs and, somewhat unusually, treat them as pets as well as working companions. Mary hosts visitors from all over the world in her bed and breakfast visitors, some of whom send Christmas cards to the dogs every year. They are particularly fond of the retired sheepdog, Shep, who enjoys watching television, particularly the programmes featuring sheepdog trials that Mary records for him to watch. He's also fond of 'Countryfiile' apparently, as well as gaelic music.

Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b0735pzt)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b0735pzy)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b0735xtm)
How to remember the Easter Rising, Methodist Conscientious objectors, Religious freedom in India

Religious and ethical news.


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (b0735xtp)
KIDS

Author David Mitchell presents The Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of KIDS
Registered Charity No 275936
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, mark the back of the envelope 'KIDS'
- Cheques should be made payable to 'KIDS'.


SUN 07:57 Weather (b0735q00)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b0735q02)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b0735xtr)
Lent Pilgrimage 5: Living with Uncertainty

On Passion Sunday, an exploration of living with uncertainty as we pilgrim through Lent. On this Passion Sunday the Bishop of Connor, the Right Rev. Alan Abernethy considers how we can live with unanswered questions and find hope during those times of separation and alienation that are common to us all. Led by the Rev Brian Lacey.

Isaiah 43.16-21
St Mark 14.32-42
Praise to the holiest in the height (Chorus Angelorum)
Psalm 126
Ah! Holy Jesu, how hast thou offended (Herzliebster Jesu)
How bright those glorious spirits shine (Beatitudo)
God so loved the world (Chilcott)

With the Priory Singers directed by Robert Thompson. From St Peter's Church, Belfast. Producer: Bert Tosh
A link to this year's Lent resources from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland can be found on the Sunday Worship web pages.


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (b072n8fx)
Human Hybrids

Adam Gopnik deplores the fashion for attacking so-called "cultural expropriation" as in the recent fuss over American students wearing sombreros at a Mexican theme party.

"Cultural mixing - the hybridization of hats, if you like - is the rule of civilisation not some new intrusion within our own. Healthy civilisations have always been mongrelized, cosmopolitan, hybrid, corrupted and expropriated and mixed.".


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b03wphhd)
Blackbird (Spring)

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Bill Oddie presents the blackbird. Blackbirds are thrushes and the brown female often has a few speckles on her throat to prove it. Velvety, black and shiny, the males sport an eye-ring as yellow as a spring daffodil and a bill glowing like a buttercup. Happily blackbirds aren't doing too badly. There's so many of them that their territories often overlap so that where one song leaves off, another song begins.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b0735q04)
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Jonny Dymond.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b0735y60)
Please see daily episodes for a detailed synopsis.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b0735y62)
Yinka Shonibare

Kirsty Young's castaway is the artist Yinka Shonibare MBE.

His work has populated museums around the globe, with a vivid, subversive and often tragi-comic presence; exploring themes of cultural identity, post colonialism and the impact of globalisation. A Turner Prize nominee in 2004, he has exhibited at the Venice Biennial and internationally.

His 'Nelson's Ship in a Bottle' became his first public art commission when it was one of the art works chosen for the Fourth Plinth in London's Trafalgar Square.

Born in London, his parents moved the family back to Nigeria when he was three. Later he returned to Britain to finish his education but his plans to study art were brutally interrupted when he was 19 contracted the disease, Transverse Myelitis, which attacked his central nervous system and rendered him paralysed from the neck down. He had three years of intensive rehabilitation before beginning again at art school.

He went on to study at Goldsmiths and was part of the Young British Artist generation.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.


SUN 12:00 News Summary (b0735q06)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (b072j3g2)
Series 74

Episode 3

Stephen Fry, Jenny Eclair, Josie Lawrence and Nish Kumar join host Nicholas Parsons to play Britain's longest running and best loved panel game. Topics tackled without deviation, hesitation or repetition include Salvador Dali, The Great Fire of London and The Easter Bunny.

Produced by Victoria Lloyd.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b073655s)
Ferment

Fermentation is one of our oldest methods for preserving food. All around the world people have been transforming food with the help of microbes for thousands of years. The problem is, this simple method has had an identity crisis. We tend either see it as a fashionable fad, or a strange science. But there are people who want things to change. So in this programme Sheila Dillon meets 'The fermenters'. Ukranian food writer and chef Olia Hercules, who grew up with fermented foods; Roopa Gulati, using fermentation to explore her Indian heritage; entrepreneur Deborah Carr, whose fermentation business is going from strength to strength; and seasonal chef Tom Hunt who is putting seasonal ferments back on his restaurant menu. In 2016, It's time to rethink fermentation.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b0735q08)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b0735q0b)
Global news and analysis.


SUN 13:30 The Day the Refugees Came (b073655v)
Michael Palin tells the story of the little Somerset town of Wincanton and the group of refugees that its Postmaster, GP and Parish Priest rescued from war ravaged Bosnia at the height of the Balkan Wars.

Producers: Alasdair Cross and Lisa Lipman.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b072n8f9)
Northamptonshire

Eric Robson hosts the horticultural panel programme from Northamptonshire. Chris Beardshaw, Anne Swithinbank and Matthew Wilson answer questions from an audience of local gardeners.

The panellists also share their topical tips for the coming weekend and Matthew Wilson goes on a quest to mend his grandfather's dung fork.

Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b073655x)
Sunday Omnibus: Jason and Kim

Fi Glover introduces three clips from a conversation between an employer and a disabled employee, about how her job in the company has changed both their outlooks. in the Omnibus of 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.


SUN 15:00 Drama (b0736566)
Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell

Episode 2

Sylvia marries Philip, believing Charlie to be dead. But chaos descends when Charlie returns, and Sylvia discovers Philip has lied to her.

Set in Yorkshire in the 1790's - the time of the Napoleonic wars, in Monkshaven (ie.Whitby), during the time of the Press Gangs, who intercepted the fishing boats, seized the men and pressed them into service with the Royal Navy to fight the French.

Conclusion of Elizabeth Gaskell last (completed) novel

Elizabeth Gaskell ..... Barbara Flynn
Sylvia ...... Jodie Comer
Philip ........ Graeme Hawley
Bell ....... Siobhan Finneran
Daniel ...... Paul Copley
Charlie ...... Chris Connell
Kester/Duncan ....... Jonathan Keeble
Molly ..... Nichola Burley
Hester/Mrs Kinraid ..... Verity Henry

Dramatised by Ellen Dryden

Director: Pauline Harris

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.


SUN 16:00 Open Book (b0736568)
Javier Marias on Thus Bad Begins

Mariella Frostrup talks to award winning Spanish novelist Javier Marias whose latest book Thus Bad Begins explores an intimate, even suffocating, relationship between a film maker, his wife and a family friend all observed by the film maker's assistant. It's a novel about secrets, betrayal and deceit and the author talks about why this murky, shadowy world interests and inspires him.
Also on the programme writers Tash Aw and Chris Abani discuss what happened when they were asked to compose essays about their own faces and Dr Sarah Dillon turns her expert close reading eye on to a disturbing extract from J M Coetzee's acclaimed novel Disgrace.


SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (b073656b)
George Mackay Brown

Roger McGough with a programme dedicated to the Orkney poet and prose writer George Mackay Brown, who died twenty years ago this year. He wrote poems full of wonderful imagery, capturing the life and characters of those islands. Reader John Mackay. Producer Sally Heaven.


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (b072n9s7)
UK Asylum: A Systems Failure?

As more and more migrants seek asylum in the UK, is the system for processing their applications reaching breaking point? Allan Urry investigates the impact of a drastic reduction in the numbers of courts hearing cases. At the same time, appeals are going up and key rulings against Home Office decisions to return people to other countries are also piling on the pressure.
With Europe now bracing itself for a fresh wave of refugees fleeing conflict, why is it taking so long and costing so much to decide who should be granted asylum here?
Reporter: Allan Urry Producer: David Lewis.


SUN 17:40 Profile (b072zlxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b0735q0d)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b0735q0g)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0735q0j)
Reports say a large explosion in the centre of the Turkish capital Ankara has killed at least 25 people.

Gunmen have attacked a beach resort in the west African state of Ivory Coast killing at least 5 people.

In the first electoral test of Germany's refugee policy -- the anti-immigration party, the AFD -- appears to have made big gains.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b073656d)
Stewart Henderson

Who would have thought it?.....Snow White as a Biblical epic, honest...

Also, we're introduced to the defiant stories of a Russian absurdist writer during

the Stalin era. There's an art outrage as hugely expensive works are incinerated

in a warehouse fire, and we join Gandhi on a pacifist pilgrimage against British

rule. Plus, another rebel attracts admiration, Ken Dodd taking on the much

refreshed ranks of The Glasgow Empire...What a cast list that can be heard on Stewart Henderson's pick of the best of BBC Radio this week.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b073656g)
Bert has completed work on the egg-mobile. As they tow the construction by tractor, Pip confides in Toby that recently she has had trouble connecting with Matthew. Toby takes the opportunity to suggest that Matthew is being pursued by other women. They set up the egg-mobile on the pasture at Hollowtree, and then erect electric netting. Afterwards they head to The Bull, discussing the awkward set-up of Kenton, Jolene and Jolene's ex all working together. Toby reckons "Matthew the magic milker has found another comely dairymaid". He urges Rex to seize his chance.
Carol admires the egg-mobile and says it looks like "The Good Life meets Doctor Who". Later, Carol and Bert have a chat in Bert's garden. Bert is annoyed that Lynda is marking a year since the Ambridge flood with her garden when it is not her responsibility. Talking of the flood, Bert remembers Rob as a "hero", but Carol is less convinced, and says he is "not my sort of man". They decide that if anyone's garden should commemorate the flood, it should be Bert's.


SUN 19:15 Wordaholics (b01s6c9z)
Series 2

Episode 4

Gyles Brandreth chairs the word-obsessed comedy panel show.

Katy Brand and Alex Horne compete with Richard Herring and Natalie Haynes for wordy supremacy.

Richard Herring decides to reclaim the word 'middle class' and tries to decipher the 16th century phrase 'a mare's nest'. Team-mate Natalie Haynes tries to get rid of the word 'decimate' and despite being a vegetarian works out what the very meaty cookery term 'barding' means.

Alex Horne comes up with the correct definition for the Victorian phrase 'a scraping castle' and asks to take the word 'a' out of the dictionary. Meanwhile, Katy Brand takes a guess at what the unit of measurement 'the Warhol' is and reveals that her favourite word is 'plop'.

Writers: Jon Hunter and James Kettle.

Producer: Claire Jones

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2013.


SUN 19:45 Reader, I Married Him (b07369s9)
Reader, I Freed Him

To celebrate the bicentenary of Charlotte Bronte's birth three writers provide their own take on the famous ending to Jane Eyre, 'Reader, I Married Him'.

Philip Hensher sends Jane into the capitalist clamour of nineteenth-century Manchester, Isy Suttie has her do battle with the ghost of Bertha and Elizabeth Kuti introduces an extra gothic twist with the appearance of another famous Victorian novelist...

Writer ..... Isy Suttie
Reader ..... Isy Suttie
Producer ..... Jenny Thompson.


SUN 20:00 Feedback (b072n8fk)
US Elections, In Tune

Roger Bolton asks if the BBC has had too much coverage of the US Presidential election - and if it is anti Donald Trump.

The long process of selecting the next President of the United States is well underway, and some listeners are already bored stiff, while others are concerned that BBC reporters have lost their objectivity when it comes to unlikely Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. Roger Bolton puts listeners' concerns and questions to the BBC North America editor Jon Sopel.

It's the second year of the scheme to let female composers take over the Radio 3 airwaves on International Women's Day. After tremendous listener response last year, Feedback goes behind the scenes at a live broadcast of the afternoon programme, In Tune, from the Southbank Centre. Why has Radio 3 made such an effort to mark the day? What do these live extravaganzas aim to bring to the listener at home?

Phil Pegum, producer on the BBC's Lent Talks, and Cristina Odone who recently recorded her talk at the Tower of London, join Roger Bolton to discuss making Christian programming appeal to non-Christians and the challenges of recording on location.

Finally, foul ups on PM and Saturday Live have listeners asking whether technical standards at the BBC are slipping.

Producer: Kate Dixon
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b072n8fh)
George Martin, Nancy Reagan, Ray Tomlinson, Gillian Avery

Reeta Chakrabarti on

Sir George Martin, the legendary music producer who oversaw the Beatles' phenomenal success.
Nancy Reagan, the US First Lady, who went from actor to political wife, to campaigner against drug abuse.
Ray Tomlinson, one of the pioneers of the internet, and a founder of the email system.
And Gillian Avery, historian and award-winning author of children's literature.


SUN 21:02 Money Box (b072hm5y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b0735xtp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 Analysis (b0736vv8)
Power to the People?

Will devolution bring back the power to England's cities and regions that they once had? And, if so, will all local authorities fare equally? Michael Robinson explores the history of local government and asks if old freedoms are now set to return under the new deal promised by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne.

Producer : Rosamund Jones.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b0735q0n)
Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.


SUN 22:45 What the Papers Say (b07366yl)
Dennis Sewell of The Spectator analyses how the newspapers are covering the big stories.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b072n5xm)
Anomalisa, The Witch, Women in Love

With Antonia Quirke.

Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson discuss their stop-motion comedy Anomalisa, how they made a love scene with puppets and why it took 6 months.

Cinematographer Billy Williams recalls the tensions behind the scenes of the notorious naked wrestling bout between Oliver Reed and Alan Bates in Women In Love.

Director Robert Eggers reveals the difficulties of working with a goat on his supernatural horror The Witch, and why ravens are better actors.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b0735xth)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 14 MARCH 2016

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b0735q2m)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b072my2m)
Small towns, Patient rescue and resuscitation

Small towns: Laurie Taylor talks to Steve Hanson, Associate Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Lincoln, and author of an ethnographic study of Todmorden in 'austere' times. Dr Hanson returned to his home town, on the border of Lancashire and Yorkshire, to immerse himself in the life and times of a place which has almost halved since its industrial heyday. He finds micro worlds that never encounter each other, debunking the myth that people in small towns all know each other's business. They're joined by Katherine Tyler, Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Exeter.

Rescuing 'acute' patients: what happens when patients in a hospital ward become acutely unwell? Nicola Mackintosh, Research Fellow at Kings College, London, interviewed doctors, nurses, health care assistants and managers at two UK hospitals, in order to explore the practice of 'rescue' and patient safety on the front line.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b0735xtf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0735q2r)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0735q2w)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0735q30)
The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b0735q34)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0736pk5)
A short reflection and prayer with Richard Hill.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b0736pk7)
David Cameron on Brexit; Animal Feed; Farm Cats

The Prime Minister has been telling Farming Today why he thinks the UK's membership of the European Union is important for farmers. David Cameron spoke to us during a visit to a sheep and beef farm in Denbighshire. He's urging voters to remain in the EU, and claims British farmers stand to lose millions in available export markets if we leave. He also promised support for UK farmers if the vote goes in favour of a British exit.

All this week, we're looking at what's fed to farm animals. The UK animal feed industry is worth nearly four and a half billion pounds to the economy, with businesses producing around 11 million tonnes of animal feed every year. Sybil Ruscoe hears from Professor Liam Sinclair, a specialist in sheep and cattle nutrition.

And farm cats - part pet, part predator. We find out about the history of the farm cat.

Presented by Sybil Ruscoe and produced by Emma Campbell.


MON 05:56 Weather (b0735q3b)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03tht7c)
Skylark

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

John Aitchison tells the story of the skylark. No other UK bird is capable of sustaining such a loud and complex song while hovering high above the ground, rapidly beating its wings to stay aloft. Some songs can last 20 minutes or more and their performance is likely to be as much a territorial display as an exhibition of the male's physical fitness to impress a female.


MON 06:00 Today (b0736pk9)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b0736pkc)
The Easter Rising: 100 Years On

On Start the Week Tom Sutcliffe looks back a hundred years to Easter Rising of 1916. Ruth Dudley Edwards explores the lives of Ireland's founding fathers and questions how they should be remembered, while Heather Jones places this historical moment in the context of the Great War. David Rieff praises forgetting in his study of the uses and abuses of historical memory, and its often pernicious influence on the present. And the Irish commentator Fintan O'Toole examines the present fortunes of a country once famed as the Celtic Tiger.
Producer: Katy Hickman.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b0736pkf)
Henning Mankell - Quicksand

Episode 1

Henning Mankell was creator of Wallander, the fictional detective. His posthumous essays, translated by Laurie Thompson with Marlaine Delargy, and abridged by Katrin Williams, refer to his illness and explore much more besides:

An unexpected car accident, diagnosis, then rich recollections of his school-days, which includes a life-changing revelation..

Reader Tim Pigott-Smith

Producer Duncan Minshull.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0735q3q)
Victoria Pendleton, Feeding elderly people, Sex educator Emily Nagoski

There is no such thing as a sex drive, according to American sex educator, Emily Nagoski. Nagoski joins Jane to explain and advise on women's sexuality as described in her book, Come As You Are.

BBC1 documentary Behind Closed Door follows three cases of male on female domestic violence as they are dealt with by the Thames Valley Police Domestic Abuse Teams. Jane speaks to the director of the documentary and a detective superintendent from the Domestic Abuse Team.

Getting elderly relatives to eat can be stressful and time consuming for the carer. Lesley Carter of the Malnutrition Task Force and Kathryn, a listener who cares for her mother with dementia, join Jane.

Olympic gold-medal winning cyclist Victoria Pendleton has swapped one saddle for another and will be riding in one of jump racing's biggest annual events, the Cheltenham Festival.

Journalist Kholoud Waleed talks about her work running an underground newspaper in Syria that has led to an international award in recognition of her courage and determination.

Presenter: Jane Garvey
Producer: Lucinda Montefiore.


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0736pkh)
Charlotte Bronte in Babylon

Episode 1

Charlotte Brontë in Babylon by Charlotte Cory

Episode One

Drama charting five momentous visits Charlotte Brontë made to London. After being accused of deceit by the publisher of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë and her sister Anne, leave Haworth and rush down to London to put the matter right.

Directed by Charlotte Riches
Produced by Susan Roberts

Charlotte Brontë made 5 trips down to London in the course of her momentous, shortlived but meteoric literary career. These trips chart the story of her relationship with her young publisher (and his watchful, horrified Mama), Charlotte's wide-eyed enthusiasm at visiting the place of her childhood dreams at long last and being lionized as a writer by readers. We see her difficult relationships with other authors and critics - and then the gradual disillusionment setting in as this intense, painfully honest and gauche Yorkshire novelist gradually acquires self knowledge and a clear-eyed view of the cruel and shallow fashionable literary world she had long aspired to be part of.


MON 11:00 The Untold (b06yr7gs)
The Gold Man

Grace Dent presents a new series documenting the untold stories of 21st century Britain.

Today she follows the Gold Man of Farnworth market as he tries to save his business. John Hill is a gold trader who set up a stall at a traditional market, in Farnworth near Bolton, six years ago. He is a big character who isn't afraid to fight for what he believes in. John turned his back on an IT career to run his own stall and has led the battle to keep the traditional market going but now the local Council has written to John and his fellow traders to tell them their time is up: February 26th is their last day. John has consistently come up with alternative plans to keep the market going but, right now, it looks as if he will be the last man fighting. He needs a new site to keep his tribe of traders together but that means getting the council's permission and the other traders on side. Grace Dent wants to know if John can persuade them to go with him as he searches for hope, even at the 11th hour.

Producer: Karen Gregor.


MON 11:30 Dot (b0736pkk)
Series 1

Eenie Meenie Miney... Spy!

Dot and the gals are tasked with an important mission, to monitor the Russian Ambassador, Comrade Pavlenti Lavovich. But Lavovich seems more interested in singing sensation, Harriet Pertly.

Comic adventures with Dot and the gals from personnel in the rollicking wartime comedy by Ed Harris.

Dot ..... Fenella Woolgar
Myrtle ..... Kate O'Flynn
Millicent ..... Jane Slavin
Peabody ..... David Acton
Comrade Pavlenti Lavovich ..... Nick Underwood
Miss Harriet Pertly ..... Scarlett Brookes
Bomber Johnson ..... Sean Baker

Director: Jessica Mitic

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.


MON 12:00 News Summary (b0735q3v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 Syrian Voices (b0736s56)
Lyse Doucet talks to those who have survived - or are surviving - the conflict in Syria.

Five years ago, protests in Syria as part of the Arab Spring, were put down with violence by the Syrian Government. The mass protests quickly became an armed rebellion, with increasing sectarian involvement. As the conflict escalated, other countries became involved with Russia commencing air strikes in September 2015, and areas of the country becoming strongholds of so-called Islamic State militants.

The Syrian conflict has changed people's lives irrevocably and, in this series of interviews, they reflect on the situation in which they find themselves.

Episode 1: Sam has stayed in his home city of Deraa and believes the Government is doing its best to support the Syrian people. He studies English Literature, even though many of his teachers, and his fellow students, have left the country. He finds solace in his books, reading Hamlet and writing poetry. At night, he often listens to music to drown out the sounds of warfare around him.

Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:15 You and Yours (b0735q3z)
London Eye Hospital, Holiday cancellation charges

In August 2014 You and Yours reported on an exciting development from the private London Eye Hospital, a new lens using a similar technology to Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope. The iolAMD lens could be inserted into eyes with a smaller incision. But our listener Harvey Marshall has been less than impressed with the results and he wants the £25,000 cost of the procedure back. We talk to the surgeon Bobby Qureshi about Mr Marshall's treatment - and ask him why the Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint about an advert for the procedure.

We'll also be looking at the charges you often have to pay if you cancel a package holiday. Companies are only supposed to take money which accurately reflects how much they've lost on the transaction - so what happens when they manage to sell the cancelled holiday on to someone else? Our reporter Jon Douglas has been investigating.

We'll hear from a doctor who took on a cold caller who tried to gain access to his computer by claiming it was being used to view illegal pornography.

And in some parts of Britain you'll soon be able to protest about parking tickets online - we speak to the man behind the technology.


MON 12:57 Weather (b0735q43)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b0736wr1)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


MON 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b0736s58)
Bhimrao Ambedkar: Building Palaces on Dung Heaps

Professor Sunil Khilnani, from the King's India Institute, looks at the life of Bhimrao Ambedkar, champion of the community previously known as 'untouchables' whom he renamed as Dalits. Ambedkar, who was a Dalit himself and fought against caste discrimination. His face can be found on posters, paintings and coloured tiles in tens of millions of Dalit homes. To Indian schoolchildren, he is the man who wrote the country's constitution; and to India's politicians he is a public emblem of how far India has come in addressing the blight of caste. "Both readings simultaneously exaggerate and ghettoize Ambedkar's contribution," says Professor Khilnani. "He was a sophisticated, long-sighted Constitutional collaborator whose interests extended past caste to the very structure and psychology of Indian democracy."
Producer: Mark Savage.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b073656g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b0736vtt)
My Life and Other Stories

My Life and Other Stories
by Merryn Glover

What happens when someone falls in love with a version of you that is all made up?
When Kevin joins Jilly's writing course by mistake, he tangles them both in a mess of tall tales and twisting fortunes. Literary licence and love collide in this romantic comedy.

Instead of attending the first class of a new Book-keeping course, Kevin gets his dates muddled and finds himself in "Life Writing". The lovely tutor, Jilly, is thrilled by his last-minute addition because without him there wouldn't be enough participants. He is so captivated by her and so loathe to disappoint the others - Gus, Diane, Marta and Faye - that he stays. Desperate to impress Jilly and to hide the 'boring' reality of his life he invents a more bohemian upbringing as makes his contribution to the class. But he's not the only one who is not quite telling the truth!
Starring John Kielty as Kevin and Shonagh Price as Jilly.

Producer/director: David Ian Neville.


MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (b0736vtw)
Heat 10, 2016

(10/17)
Russell Davies puts four more would-be Brains of Britain through the toughest of general knowledge tests, at the Radio Theatre in London.

Why is the chemical element argon so named? In which TV series did the heroes have to defeat the lumbering Cybernauts, even before the Cybermen made their first appearance in Dr Who? Who, according to the title of the play in which they feature, were Bob Acres and Captain Jack Absolute?

The winner today will win a place in the semi-finals in a few week's time, but there could be a chance for a runner-up to go through too, if any of them scores highly enough to be one of the top scorers of the series.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b073655s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 The Actors' Gang on the Outside (b0736vty)
We followed actor Tim Robbins' work with prisoners on the inside of LA's tough prison system in the acclaimed Radio 4 documentary The Actor's Gang. Three of the actors who we heard in the first documentary have now been released.
In the Actor's Gang on the Outside, Rajesh Mirchandani catches up with them to hear their stories. Has taking part in the The Actor's Gang Prison Project helped them turn their lives around and has the acting course had any long term effects on helping with their rehabilitation and adapting to life outside prison?
This promises to be a compellingly gritty portrait of crime, second chances and the power of drama.


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b0736vv0)
Mercy

Pope Francis has declared 2016 a "Holy Year of Mercy" and described it as "a privileged moment, so that the church may learn to choose only that which pleases God most"; that is forgiveness and mercy. What exactly do we mean by mercy? Why has the Pope singled it out as the virtue we need the most to build a better society? If it is a central theme in the great religious traditions, how are we to apply it in everyday life? Ernie Rea and guests discuss the nature of mercy.

Producer: Dan Tierney
Series producer: Amanda Hancox.


MON 17:00 PM (b0735q4f)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0735q4k)
President Putin orders his forces to start withdrawal from Syria


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b0736vv2)
Series 74

Episode 4

Graham Norton, Rufus Hound, Paul Merton and Pam Ayres join host Nicholas Parsons, and attempt to speak without repetition, deviation or hesitation. Produced by Victoria Lloyd.

On the cards today Copernicus, The Rat Pack, and Toast.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b0736vv4)
A Grundy heads off to college - which Eddie compares to "a mule in a discotheque". Eddie and Joe are busy building the shepherd's hut for Lynda's garden. Joe lets slip to Eddie about his upcoming barn dance birthday party, which was supposed to be a surprise. They discuss Lynda's weight, in reference to the narrow fold-down bed they are building. When Lynda joins them, they talk over her ambitious plans for the themed garden. They also ask her how much she weighs.
Helen sleepwalks into Henry's room. Rob claims Henry was terrified by it and he embellishes, claiming that she was looming over Henry and saying abusive things. Rob prevents Helen from apologising to Henry. Instead, he brings forward her appointment with the psychiatrist. The psychiatrist offers Helen anti-depressants and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, but there is a waiting list for the latter. Rob says this prescription is a sign of how serious things are. Helen doesn't want to take pills while she is pregnant. Helen grovels to Rob for putting him in this difficult situation.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b0735q4p)
Composer Peter Maxwell Davies, singer Iggy Pop, novelist Jim Powell

James MacMillan pays tribute to Peter Maxwell Davies, who has died aged 81, and John Wilson revisits an interview the composer gave him a decade ago.

Jim Powell talks about his new novel Trading Futures which begins tonight as Radio 4's Book at Bedtime. A mid-life crisis about a former city trader, this short book blends elements of King Lear and Reggie Perrin.

John Wilson talks rock and roll survivor, Iggy Pop about his latest and, the geront terrible hints, last album, Post Pop Depression. John hears about Iggy's ambition, how he worked with David Bowie and what he now describes as his baritone voice.

Producer: Julian May.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0736pkh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 Life inside 'Islamic State' (b074b4xv)
Ever since so-called Islamic State took full control of the city of Raqqa in north eastern Syria little has been known about day-to-day life there. Having declared it the capital of their self-proclaimed Capital, IS are determined to keep things that way. The penalty for speaking to the western media is beheading and at least 10 activists or journalists have lost their lives in this awful way. Few people now dare to talk.
In addition IS forbids people in Raqqa from leaving the city without permission, so the only way out for many to get out is to put themselves in the hands of local people smuggling groups. To complete the isolation of people there, IS has introduced much tougher controls over local internet cafes, tightened monitoring of mobile phone networks and even banned the sale of televisions.
But over the last year Today Programme Correspondent Mike Thomson has managed to make intermittent contact with a small anti-IS activist group in Raqqa called Al-Sharqiya 24, whose members are determined to speak out. He initially carried short interviews from London with a couple of their members. These were broadcast on Radio 4's Today programme and this gave us all a glimpse of what is happening there on the ground.
But the outside world was still left without much idea of what day-to-day life was like in Raqqa. So one of the group's members agreed to write a series of personal diaries for the BBC about life for him and his family and friends there. What followed is an extraordinary and at time chilling insight into how so called Islamic State's brutality and injustices permeate just about every level of life in their now infamous capital.
In order to protect the identity of the diarist. As well as his friends, family and fellow activists, all names and some other details have been changed.
Mohammed, which is not his real name, takes us from life in what had been a relatively peaceful city, in the first two years of the war, to the takeover by so-called Islamic State. He reveals that within days women were being stopped in the street by IS fighters for failing to completely cover their bodies, while men, rather bizarrely, were ordered to always keep their trousers above ankle length. Both genders would be flogged, fined or made to attend compulsory Sharia classes for breaking such rules.
IS brutality, our diarist tells us, soon gets very much worse. He passes a woman accused of adultery being stoned in the street and men alleged to have talked to foreign journalists or to have links with IS's enemies, being beheaded. He himself is subjected to forty lashes after cursing out loud on witnessing one of these public executions.
Mohammed recounts how one day a friend came into the shop he works in and advised him to take a different route home that night, saying there was something he did not want him to see. Unable to resist his curiosity, Mohammed says he ignored this warning and took his normal way home, only to discover the beheaded body of an activist friend on public display.
We learn how ever increasing taxes imposed by IS are pushing food prices beyond the reach of many ordinary people in Raqqa and that many shops have been forced to close because so much of the population are too afraid to walk the streets. Mohammed tells us that IS has even banned shops from selling televisions in order to limit what they know about life outside the city. Smoking has also been forbidden.
We also hear of the air strikes that have killed so many in Raqqa. From bombing by President Assad's forces prior to IS's takeover of the city which killed his father, to the ongoing ones by Russia that continue to cause panic, alarm and loss of life.
Getting the diaries out of Raqqa was often a heart-stopping experience. For days on end calls to try and contact our diarist and his group would go unanswered. The BBC team often wondered if he and many others had been caught by IS. It was a horrible feeling. On one occasion there was news that two anti-IS activists who had managed to get over the border into Turkey had been beheaded. Mike and his colleagues feared at first that one of them might be our diarist. Fortunately, we did manage to contact him the following day.
What makes somebody speak out in the way Mohammed has, knowing that he is putting at risk the lives of almost ever he holds dear by doing so?
From his diaries the answer to that question soon becomes very clear. Having seen friends and relatives butchered, the life of his community shattered and the local economy ruined by these notorious extremists, our courageous diarist believes he's fighting back by telling the BBC what is happening to his beloved city.


MON 20:30 Analysis (b072j3g6)
The End of Free

Andrew Brown of The Guardian asks if the dramatic rise of ad-blocking software will undermine the commercial model behind most free news on the internet. He finds an industry in deep concern over the "Ad-blockalypse" - with these new programmes meaning that advertisers may refuse to continue to subsidise online news providers if consumers are now no longer seeing their online adverts. Can the industry persuade people to pay for what was previously available at no charge? And if not, can commercial online news services survive?
Producer: Katie Inman.


MON 21:00 Saving Science from the Scientists (b072jdqm)
Episode 1

Is science quite as scientific as it's supposed to be?

After years of covering science in the news, Alok Jha began to wonder whether science is as rigorous as it should be, and in this two-part series, he will try to find out.

Many of us might be forgiven for assuming that the pursuit of scientific knowledge is a precise and controlled process, one that involves detailed experiments, careful analysis, peer review and demonstrable evidence. But what if it's not as simple as that?

Scientists are human beings after all, so what if they are prone to the same weaknesses, failings and uncertainties as everyone else? And what would that mean for their findings?

Alok delves into dodgy data, questionable practices and genuine ambiguity to ask if human decision making is impeding scientific progress, and if anything can be done about it.

Along the way he hears from academics who think almost all science is wrong, scientists who think the system is in crisis and those who say error and uncertainty are actually an integral part of science's creative process. He'll also talk to a former professor caught out after going to the ultimate extreme - faking his data - to find out what drives someone to betray their entire field.

Producer: Faizal Farook.


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b0736pkc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:58 Weather (b0735q4y)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b0735q52)
Russia announces Syria pull-out

As Russia announces it is to withdraw its military from Syria we examine what 'mission accomplished' means for Putin with Lyse Doucet in Damascus. Also Orcadian musician Alasdair Nicolson on his friend Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. And Paddy Hill, one of the 'Birmingham Six', on his troubles since being released 25 years ago.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0736wr3)
Trading Futures

Episode 1

Matthew Oxenhay has spent most of his life taking risks. Trading futures in the City has earned him a large house in Barnet equipped with a loving wife and two grown-up children to whom he is an embarrassment.

Seizing on his 60th birthday party as an opportunity to deliver some rather crushing home truths to his assembled loved ones, it seems as though Matthew might have hit rock bottom.

The truth, however, is that he has some way to go yet .

Jim Powell's short novel is a miniature tragi-comedy, blending elements of King Lear and Reggie Perrin. Mordant wit accompanies a spiralling mania with flashes of brilliant perception. Love and hope battle with a fear of change and the perilous appeal of an ending.

Author : Jim Powell
Reader : Toby Jones
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:00 Outsourced Radio (b07375cb)
"Welcome to Outsourced Radio, broadcasting in a new financial age. We are a crack team of radio professionals, but now you have the chance to make content for us. We can pay you but not very much, because that's how outsourcing works. So if you are smart and have something amazing to say, then contact us today. This is our very first programme, and the theme is something you'll all understand - money! So send us your ideas today."

Outsourced Radio has contributions from all round the world, including a skip diver looking for free food; a Jamaican DJ on why money doesn't bring love; and a pregnant woman in Boston explaining why she plans to to give away half her income this year. Plus the running philosophical thoughts of two little boys.

Mesmerising radio, from the makers of Recycled Radio .... only cheaper.

The producer is Miles Warde.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0736vvb)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster on calls for a leak inquiry and fury over welfare cuts.



TUESDAY 15 MARCH 2016

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b0735q8k)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b0736pkf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0735q8m)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0735q8r)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0735q8t)
The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b0735q8w)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07378c9)
A short reflection and prayer with Richard Hill.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b07378cc)
Owen Paterson on Brexit, Emergency aid from Brussels, GM-free peas

A new emergency package for farmers is announced in Brussels.
Former Defra secretary Owen Paterson describes why he thinks farmers would be better off out of the EU.
Scientists at the John Innes Centre are developing a GM-free feed alternative from a wild pea.

Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03thsbj)
Dunnock

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

John Aitchison presents the dunnock. You'll often see dunnocks, or hedge sparrows, as they were once called, shuffling around under a bird table or at the bottom of a hedge. They're inconspicuous birds being mostly brown with a greyish neck and breast. They aren't, as you might imagine, closely related to sparrows, many of their nearest relatives are birds of mountainous regions in Europe and Asia.


TUE 06:00 Today (b074b8r4)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (b07378cf)
Helen Sharman on being an astronaut

Before Helen Sharman replied to a rather unusual radio advertisement her life was, in many ways, quite ordinary. She was working as a chemist in a sweet factory, creating and testing flavours. Much to her surprise, her application to be an astronaut was successful and two years later, following an intense 18 month training course at a military base just outside Moscow, she was selected for Project Juno, the 1991 mission to the Soviet space station, MIR. And so became the first British astronaut. On the 25th anniversary of this historic mission, Helen talks to Jim about her life before MIR; some of the less glamorous aspects of being in space; and the difficult process of coming down to earth.
Producer: Anna Buckley.


TUE 09:30 One to One (b07378ch)
Mark Lawson talks to Rachel Cusk

Mark Lawson has a problem. He is writing a memoir but he's always had the habit, when writing or broadcasting, of avoiding the first person pronoun. This rather puts him at odds with modern culture where journalists and presenters are urged to use the one-letter vertical word. Bloggers, Vloggers and Tweeters lay their lives on-line, and autobiography is an ever more crowded literary form. So, in his series of One to One, Mark takes the opportunity to discuss self-revelation with artists who - in various ways - have taken themselves as their subject matter. Here he talks to writer and novelist Rachel Cusk who found herself branded, 'the worst mother in Britain' for writing candidly about her experience of motherhood.
Producer Lucy Lunt.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b07378cm)
Henning Mankell - Quicksand

Episode 2

Henning Mankell was creator of Wallander, the fictional detective. His posthumous essays, translated by Laurie Thompson with Marlaine Delargy, and abridged by Katrin Williams, refer to his illness and explore much more besides:

One day at school, struggling with Latin, he decides to up sticks and make for Paris. With no French, no money and a vague address to head for. But it's certainly an adventure..

Reader Tim Pigott-Smith

Producer Duncan Minshull.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0735q8y)
Alternative Sentencing for Women Offenders Ten Years After Corston Research

David Cameron has announced plans for what he referred to as the 'wholesale reform' of prisons; the first Prime Minster to make a speech solely about prisons in twenty years. We hear from Minister Caroline Dinenage, with responsibility for women prisons. What does this mean for women offenders and the prisons they end up in? Does the closure of Holloway Prison in North London herald a new approach to women offenders? A decade after Baroness Jean Corston's investigation and gain of cross party support for the introduction of alternative sentencing for women we look at how much progress has been made. You can hear about Jane's recent visit to Styal Prison for women and Stockport Women's Centre to hear their opinions and Jane will be joined by Baroness Corston and Juliet Lyon, the director of the Prison Reform Trust.


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b07378cp)
Charlotte Bronte in Babylon

Episode 2

Charlotte Brontë in Babylon by Charlotte Cory

Episode Two

Drama charting five momentous visits Charlotte Brontë made to London. After the death of her brother and sisters, Charlotte Brontë returns to London to face the critics of her second novel Shirley.

Directed by Charlotte Riches
Produced by Susan Roberts

Charlotte Brontë made 5 trips down to London in the course of her momentous, shortlived but meteoric literary career. These trips chart the story of her relationship with her young publisher (and his watchful, horrified Mama), Charlotte's wide-eyed enthusiasm at visiting the place of her childhood dreams at long last and being lionized as a writer by readers. We see her difficult relationships with other authors and critics - and then the gradual disillusionment setting in as this intense, painfully honest and gauche Yorkshire novelist gradually acquires self knowledge and a clear-eyed view of the cruel and shallow fashionable literary world she had long aspired to be part of.


TUE 11:00 Saving Science from the Scientists (b07378cr)
Episode 2

Is science quite as scientific as it's supposed to be? ITV Science Correspondent Alok Jha takes a look at how science research is really carried out, to find out if it is really as rigorous as scientists would like us to think.

In the second and concluding part of this series, Alok looks at the practices and cultures undermining the integrity of scientific research.

Are scientists being pushed into shortcuts and unethical behaviour by the competitiveness of their field?

Producer: Faizal Farook.


TUE 11:30 Turntable Tales (b07378ct)
Turntablists and Turntable Survival

In the second part of her history of the Record Turntable DJ and broadcaster Colleen Murphy brings the story up to the present. After the war there was a steady improvement in the quality of Turntables and their attendant amps and speakers but the biggest step was the introduction of small, self-contained units that allowed teenagers to find and refine their musical tastes in the relative seclusion of their bedrooms.

Colleen also tracks the recent rise in Turntable sales and visits a surviving and now thriving niche producer, Nottingham Analogue, to see how they go about creating the perfect Deck.

But there's been another revolution in the Turntable story which began on a very particular day in 1975 when DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore, with the help of his mother, developed the 'scratch'. Colleen chats to Grand Wizzard about his scratching discovery and the Turntablism which developed from it. She also hears from JFB, the UK DJ who's a three times British DMC Turntablist champion and the master of a myriad of scratching techniques.
As well as their own DJ world, of which Colleen is a part, the likes of JFB have also inspired classical compositions using Turntables. Gabriel Prokofiev talks to her about his concerto that's now on a list of pieces recommended for Secondary Schools.

It was the DJ's who, back in the nineties helped sustain the production of vinyl. Now it's the audiophiles who lead the charge. Turntable sales have turned a corner and the Turntable Tale is very far from over.

In searching for the magic of what the Turntable is, can be and has been, Colleen hears again from the Antiques Roadshow's Paul Atterbury about a memorable moment during his time on the show involving an old, wind-up Gramophone.

Producer: Tom Alban.


TUE 12:00 News Summary (b0735q90)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 Syrian Voices (b07378cw)
Lyse Doucet talks to those who have survived - or are surviving - the conflict in Syria.

Five years ago, protests in Syria as part of the Arab Spring, were put down with violence by the Syrian Government. The mass protests quickly became an armed rebellion, with increasing sectarian involvement. As the conflict escalated, other countries became involved with Russia commencing air strikes in September 2015, and areas of the country becoming strongholds of so-called Islamic State militants.

The Syrian conflict has changed people's lives irrevocably and, in this series of interviews, they reflect on the situation in which they find themselves.

Episode 2: Alia lives in a rural area which is in the hands of rebel forces. Her son joined up to fight the regime, but was killed. His body was brought back to the village. "Even though he had died twelve hours earlier, he was still bleeding," she says, "that is how I know he was a martyr."

Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b0735q92)
Call You and Yours: What do you think causes eating disorders?

Eating disorders - we'd like to know what you believe is the cause.
The phone number to call (when the programme is on-air) is 03 700 100 444. You can email us - youandyours@bbc.co.uk
On Sunday, Joan Bakewell apologised for suggesting that the rise in anorexia among teenagers could be a sign of 'narcissism' and 'over-introspection'.
What do you think causes eating disorders? Winifred Robinson hosts.


TUE 12:57 Weather (b0735q97)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b074bqzm)
The government is promising to invest millions in England's railways. But most of the money will go to London. We speak to Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin.

A Labour party activist has been suspended for a second time following accusations of anti-Semitism. We speak to an MP who believes the party leadership needs to take a firmer public stance against anti-Semitism.

Russian warplanes have arrived home from Syria after President Putin's decision to withdraw most of his forces. We ask a member of the Syrian Opposition whether this represents a step towards peace.


TUE 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b07378cy)
Raj Kapoor: The Politics of Love

Professor Sunil Khilnani, from the King's India Institute, looks at the life of the celebrated actor and movie director Raj Kapoor who attracted a huge following well before the term 'Bollywood' became known. Kapoor started making films, just as India became independent in 1947. Back then, the medium was more than mere entertainment. In a country where the literacy rate was 12 per cent, film was also a crucial medium of education and exposure. "Kapoor brought romance, sexuality, song and soul to Indian socialism," says Professor Khilnani.
Producer: Mark Savage.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b0736vv4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b03vdfy9)
When the Laughter Stops

Rhakeele sees a return to Africa for a tour of her and husband Musondi's stand-up act as a chance to reignite their careers and their marriage. He's not as keen. And it turns out he may be right - as they find themselves caught in a culture clash which threatens everything, including their freedom.

by Sibusiso Mamba, co-created with Daliso Chaponda, with additional material by Ava Vidal

Director: Marion Nancarrow

Real-life stand up comedians Daliso Chaponda and Ava Vidal play married couple Musondi and Rhakeele in this new play which Sibusiso Mamba co-created with Daliso, with additional material by Ava. Rhakeele has a secret desire to go back to the country she was born in - in Africa, but for husband Musondi who has never lived there, it initially holds no attraction. Once there, however, the differences between life in the UK and life in Africa become polarised and they find themselves in direct opposition, using what they do best - stand up - to prove which of them is the stronger. But unwittingly they're making a tense situation in a country Rhakeele no longer understands far worse than they could ever realise and putting their closest friends in jeopardy.


TUE 15:00 Making History (b07378d1)
Helen Castor and guests discuss the stories that are Making History

Helen Castor is joined by Dr Jane Hamlett from Royal Holloway University of London and the critic and writer Kate Maltby.

Tom Holland travels to Thetford, the ancient capital of East Anglia, to hear evidence that the Iceni were speaking a form of English in the years before the Romans arrived. Dr Daphne Nash Briggs and Dr Sam Newton have examined coins of the period to reveal that the people of Norfolk had as strong a relationship with the Continent as they did with the rest of Britain - and, as well as speaking the Celtic Brittonic language, would also have conversed with their trading partners in the Germanic languages that would eventually become English. If true, this thesis completely changes our ideas that our language came with the Anglo-Saxons after the Romans left these shores.

We travel to Liverpool to try out some Victorian jokes. Its all part of research being carried out by Dr Bob Nicholson at Edge Hill University. Stand-up comic Iszi Lawrence finds out more.

This week's favourite year is 1453, put forward by Dr Rory Cox from St Andrews University.

Producer: Nick Patrick
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (b07378d3)
The Environment after Exit

From Roman Snails and Great Crested Newts in East Anglia to the lemon sole of the English Channel and the wind turbines of Fife, European legislation has a significant impact on the look and health of our wildlife and landscape.

Tom Heap examines the potential impact on the British environment of an exit from the European Union.

Produced by Alasdair Cross and Robin Markwell.


TUE 16:00 Law in Action (b07378d5)
The End of Legal Highs?

Joshua Rozenberg with the legal magazine programme featuring reports and discussion.

On today's programme, will new legislation deal effectively with the problem of so-called legal highs? Or will it just drive the issue further underground?

In a rare interview, Joshua talks to the Chief Coroner for England and Wales. Does the inquest system need reform?

And we hear from departing Director of Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti.

Producers: Jim Frank and Ben Crighton.


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (b07378d7)
Dame Evelyn Glennie and Sarah Churchwell

Dame Evelyn Glennie and Professor Sarah Churchwell discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert.

Internationally renowned percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie's rather surprising choice of a good read is Napoleon Hill's best-selling self-improvement book 'Think and Grow Rich' . First published in 1937, it's a classic of the genre and still has wide appeal to the book-buying public.

Sarah Churchwell is a journalist and academic, Professor of American Literature at the University of East Anglia. She recommends Henry James' classic 'The Ambassadors'. A darkly comic story about the seductive charms of Europe and learning to 'live all you can', it's one of James' best-loved novels.

Harriett's choice is 'Curious' by the comic actress Rebecca Front. It's a collection of beautifully-observed stories about life's absurdities, funny, thoughtful and touching.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.


TUE 17:00 PM (b0735q9c)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0735q9f)
Government wants to make all schools in England independent from council control


TUE 18:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b05y0m0p)
Series 10

The New Thirty

Ed is facing a milestone in his life as he's about to turn 60. As he reflects on his life he decides that things aren't half bad. He finally has a bed to lay his head on, his cat is in rude health and he is leading a busy and fulfilling literary life. However, as with all things Ed, this state of equanimity can't last and after a curious encounter with Jeremy Paxman Ed decides to make some changes.

Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas
Produced by Dawn Ellis

Ed Reardon's Week is a BBC Radio Comedy production.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b07378d9)
Brian gets irritated with Lilian using his kitchen table as her desk. Lilian is in the thick of a series of property dealings, but Brian is busy too, with a board meeting to attend.
Lynda walks Jennifer through her plans for the garden. They discuss the centrepiece: the stone that will read "Resurgam". Brian joins them and reports that he has been reinstated as the Chair of the Borchester Land board. Lynda announces they are looking for a celebrity guest to reopen the Village Hall. Lynda also reports Justin will be taking part in her pageant play, so Brian agrees too. Jennifer warns Brian to watch out for the wily Justin. The first reading is held at St Stephen's for "England's Pleasant Land". Jim calls Linda out on the political content of the play.
Ruth and Pip begin a dry run of the milking, worried that the new cows will kick off. Pip laments that it is going to take forever. Jill reports she is going to help out with the pageant behind the scenes. Ruth tells Jill that Pip and Matthew are feeling the strain of long distance. Pip later admits to Jill that she and Matthew might not weather this storm.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b0735q9h)
Antonio Pappano, Marguerite reviewed, Photographer Paul Strand

Marguerite is a satirical comedy set in 1921 France, about a tone-deaf would-be opera diva who thinks she can sing. Music broadcaster Petroc Trelawny reviews.

Antonio Pappano discusses conducting Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov for the first time, in a new production at the Royal Opera House with Bryn Terfel as the troubled Russian Tsar.

The death of Anita Brookner has been announced. Front Row pays tribute to the Booker Prize winning novelist who was best known for exploring themes of social isolation through her female protagonists.

The first major retrospective of the American artist and photographer Paul Strand (1890-1976) in the UK for over 40 years opens at the V&A in London this week. Photographer Eamonn McCabe, The Guardian's former picture editor, gives his response to Paul Strand: Photography and Film for the 20th Century, which charts Strand's 60-year career and includes his abstract and documentary photography.

Presenter : Kirsty Lang
Producer : Dymphna Flynn.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b07378cp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b07378dc)
Tennis: The Italian Files

Two months ago a File on 4 investigation into match-fixing in tennis made headlines around the world.
The programme revealed how tennis authorities had received repeated alerts in the past decade about 16 players, all of whom have been in the top 50.
It also questioned the effectiveness of the sport's watchdog, the Tennis Integrity Unit.
Now, in a follow up programme, Simon Cox reveals new allegations of corruption and further evidence of the involvement of gambling syndicates in trying to influence the outcome of matches.
Officials from the governing bodies of tennis have already been interviewed by MPs about the findings of the original programme. They have also appointed a prominent London barrister to head an independent review into anti-corruption policies and practices.
Reporter: Simon Cox Producer: Paul Grant.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b0735q9k)
Talking newspapers, Accessible computer games

Peter White speaks to the RNIB about the closure of its talking newspaper and magazine service in Heathfield, East Sussex. We explore the world of accessible computer gaming with listener Daisy and her family.

Plus, audience feedback on last week's School Report programme produced by 14 year-old reporter Kelsey.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Anna Bailey
Editor: Karen Dalziel.


TUE 21:00 Inside Health (b0735q9m)
Asthma, Visual snow, Confounding factors

Why asthma is both over diagnosed and undertreated. Professor Mike Thomas and GP Dr Margaret McCartney discuss this apparent contradiction and look behind recent headlines that half a million children in the UK could be taking asthma medicines they don't need. A new study finds that putting doctors under pressure or being a difficult patient may backfire, inducing them to make diagnostic errors. With scarlet fever and measles in the news, Margaret McCartney gives a quick guide on the key symptoms as both diseases have a characteristic rash. A listener has emailed to ask about visual snow, a condition where your vision is like an untuned TV set. World expert, Professor Peter Goadsby explains the latest understanding of visual snow, and says that even 15 years ago it hadn't been universally accepted as a condition. Plus the first in the latest Inside Language series with Margaret and Dr Carl Heneghan of Oxford University. This week, they discuss confounding factors and why they matter to your health.


TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (b07378cf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 21:58 Weather (b0735q9p)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b0735q9r)
Trump hopes to take a lead on US Mega Tuesday

We discuss how angry conservatives and angry liberals are re-shaping US politics; Pope Francis confirms Mother Teresa is going to become a saint; and tips for the unwary - Australian business people get advice on handling the Chinese, their country's most valuable customers.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b074cdqy)
Trading Futures

Episode 2

Sacked from his job but maintaining the fiction of work, sixty year old Matthew encounters an old friend as he whiles away an afternoon at Tate Modern.

Anna, it's the girl - well, woman now - he fell for in 1967. The girl who asked him to go to Europe with her, the one who got away.

But Matthew isn't sure that he should level with her and confess that they have met before. Maybe he deserves a bit of inside information. He also deserves a glass of wine.

As Matthew contemplates the unending horrors of retirement, his mind lures him back to a past when the future he was gambling on seemed full of promise and excitement.

Jim Powell's short novel is a miniature tragi-comedy, blending elements of King Lear and Reggie Perrin. Mordant wit accompanies a spiralling mania with flashes of brilliant perception. Love and hope battle with a fear of change and the perilous appeal of an ending.

Author : Jim Powell
Reader : Toby Jones
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:00 Love in Recovery (b07378df)
Series 2

Starting Over

Second series of the award-nominated comedy drama by Pete Jackson, set in Alcoholics Anonymous and inspired by his own road to recovery. Starring Sue Johnston, John Hannah, Eddie Marsan, Rebecca Front, Paul Kaye and Julia Deakin.

It follows the lives of five very different recovering alcoholics. Taking place entirely at their weekly meetings, we hear them moan, argue, laugh, fall apart, fall in love and - most importantly - tell their stories.

In this first episode, Fiona has a problem she thinks only Danno can solve. But Danno has his own problems - and he's on the run.

Marion ...... Julia Deakin
Fiona ...... Rebecca Front
Simon ...... John Hannah
Julie ...... Sue Johnston
Danno ...... Paul Kaye
Andy ...... Eddie Marsan

Writer Pete Jackson is a recovering alcoholic and has spent time in Alcoholics Anonymous. It was there he found support from the unlikeliest group of disparate souls - with one common bond. As well as offering the support he needed throughout a difficult time, AA also offered a weekly, sometimes daily, dose of hilarity, upset, heartbreak and friendship.

There are lots of different kinds of AA meetings. Love in Recovery is about meetings where people tell their stories. There are funny stories, sad stories, stories of small victories and milestones, stories of loss, stories of hope, and those stories that you really shouldn't laugh at - but still do, along with the storyteller.

Written and created by Pete Jackson.

Producer/Director: Ben Worsfield

A Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in March 2016.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b07378dh)
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster as MPs respond to Russia's decision to pull out of Syria and the Commons debates new surveillance powers.



WEDNESDAY 16 MARCH 2016

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b0735qc2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b07378cm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0735qc4)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0735qc6)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0735qc8)
The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b0735qcb)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0738hlm)
A short reflection and prayer with Richard Hill.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b0738hlp)
Scottish land reform, Sheep farming ambassadors, In praise of pigswill, Tick-borne disease

The latest on Scottish land reform, which is voted on by MSPs at Holyrood today. It has been estimated that half of the privately-owned land in Scotland is controlled by just 432 people. However, that could be set to change. If passed, it could transform the countryside for farming and rural businesses. Andrew Kerr, BBC Scotland's Political Correspondent explains the background to the vote.

The National Sheep Association is trying to regenerate an interest in sheep farming by offering training opportunities to young up-and-coming sheep farmers. Called the Next Generation Ambassador programme, 12 young people have been chosen to represent the industry in the 2016 scheme. Nancy Nicolson meets one of them in Aberdeenshire.

A tick-borne disease has been detected in dogs for the first time in the UK. A fourth case of babesia, a potentially life-threatening disease in dogs, and which can cause serious illness in cattle - has been found in Essex which appears to be a hot spot. Scientists at the University at Bristol have conducted a major study, collecting more than six thousand ticks over the past year. Professor Richard Wall tells Beatrice Fenton why new populations of ticks entering the UK carrying a variety of diseases continue to be a concern.

In praise of pigswill: while pigs are history's oldest food waste recyclers, the use of pigswill in the EU has been forbidden since 2002, after the UK's foot and mouth outbreak the previous year. Erasmus Zu Ermgassen, who's a vet at the University of Cambridge, argues that pigswill can be an efficient and safe way to feed animals and stop waste if heat-treated as in Japan and South Korea.

Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Mark Smalley.


WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03x46sm)
Treecreeper

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

Bill Oddie presents the treecreeper. Treecreepers are common woodland birds but because their high-pitched almost whispering song, is often drowned out by the dawn chorus, they're often overlooked. The first glimpse may be a silhouette, its belly close to the bark, braced by stiff tail feathers. It has a curved, tweezer-like bill with with which it delicately probes for hidden insects and spiders deep in the crevices of the bark.


WED 06:00 Today (b07413d6)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 Midweek (b0738hlr)
Fay Weldon, Richard Hines, John Hessler, Ed Zephyr

Libby Purves meets Richard Hines whose story inspired the novel A Kestral for a Knave; novelist Fay Weldon; cartographer John Hessler and actor Ed Zephyr.

John Hessler is a specialist in modern cartography at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. He is the founder of the Scaling Lab, a geographical and mathematical collective that uses the theory of complex networks to study geographical and network phenomenon and he has written on data visualization, map design and the foundations of geographical information systems (GIS). He is consulting editor of MAP: Exploring the World which brings together over 300 maps from the birth of cartography to digital maps of the 21st century. MAP: Exploring the World is published by Phaidon.

Ed Zephyr is an actor who attended a transgender acting course at London's Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Drawing on his own experiences of transitioning, he is involved in media outreach activities promoting diversity in the arts. He is taking part in BFI Flare - the BFI's LGBT film festival in London.

Richard Hines has worked as a teacher, documentary filmmaker and lecturer. His book, No Way But Gentlenesse, tells how his boyhood love of hawking turned his life around. Richard's story inspired the 1968 novel A Kestrel for a Knave written by his elder brother Barry about a young boy's relationship with a kestrel. The book became the film Kes, directed by Ken Loach. No Way But Gentlenesse - A memoir of how Kes, my Kestrel, Changed My Life is published by Bloomsbury.

Fay Weldon started out as an advertising copywriter before becoming a writer. She is the author of 34 books including The Life and Loves of a She Devil and The Cloning of Joanna May. Her new novel, Before the War, is a tale of love, death and aristocracy in inter-war London. Fay Weldon is professor of creative writing at Bath Spa University. In 2001 she was awarded a CBE for services to literature. Before the War is published by Head of Zeus.

Producer: Paula McGinley.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b0738hlt)
Henning Mankell - Quicksand

Episode 3

Henning Mankell was creator of Wallander, the fictional detective. His posthumous essays, translated by Laurie Thompson with Marlaine Delargy, and abridged by Katrin Williams, refer to his illness and explore much more besides:

The author is travelling through Spain and stops off in Salamanca. Eating alone at a restaurant, he witnesses the strange and spontaneous behaviour of a waiter. It's food for thought..

Reader Tim Pigott-Smith

Producer Duncan Minshull.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0738hlw)
What do you do if your baby is crying and won't sleep

What do you do when your baby won't go to sleep? We speak to parenting expert Sarah Ockwell-Smith, and Professor in Developmental Psychopathology University of Reading, Lynne Murray about the techniques available to help parents and how to find what works best for you and your baby.

Following a screening of a documentary Behind Closed Doors - about domestic violence, which followed three cases of male on female domestic violence and their interaction with the Thames Valley Police Domestic Abuse Teams - we discussed the reality of the process for victims. Today, we look at the convictions and sentencing. How are the decisions made and why do they vary so much.'s there such a variety in the length of time with June Venters QC, and Dr Jane Monckton-Smith, a former police officer and a specialist in criminology and domestic homicide at the University of Gloucestershire.

From the Rachel cut in Friends to Robin Wright's look in the House of Cards . We talk about great TV hair and how it translates from the screen to our local salon with BAFTA winning Hair and makeup designer Catherine Scoble and Director of Hair at the Francesco group, Anya Dellicompagni

Fear of the dentist, dreaming about losing teeth and tooth brushing as a symbol of love and care, Psychotherapist Philippa Perry on what our teeth represent for us and what selfies might be doing to our self image.


WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b0738hly)
Charlotte Bronte in Babylon

Episode 3

Charlotte Brontë in Babylon by Charlotte Cory

Episode Three

Drama charting five momentous visits Charlotte Brontë made to London as a published author. When Charlotte Brontë's publisher George takes her on a whirlwind tour of London, she begins to question if pleasure is replacing business in their relationship.

Directed by Charlotte Riches
Produced by Susan Roberts

Charlotte Brontë made 5 trips down to London in the course of her momentous, shortlived but meteoric literary career. These trips chart the story of her relationship with her young publisher (and his watchful, horrified Mama), Charlotte's wide-eyed enthusiasm at visiting the place of her childhood dreams at long last and being lionized as a writer by readers. We see her difficult relationships with other authors and critics - and then the gradual disillusionment setting in as this intense, painfully honest and gauche Yorkshire novelist gradually acquires self knowledge and a clear-eyed view of the cruel and shallow fashionable literary world she had long aspired to be part of.


WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b0738hm0)
Callum and Adam – The Guilty Pleasure of Computer Gaming

Fi Glover introduces a conversation between computer gamers who admit to being selfish and non-productive, but can still find positive reasons to continue. 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 Out of the Ordinary (b0738hm2)
Series 4

Mindfulness and Madness

Jolyon Jenkins investigates whether meditation could do you more harm than good. Mindfulness is being promoted to everyone as a kind of mental detox, but he speaks to people have had disturbing experiences, including being hospitalised and sectioned under the mental health act after going on meditation retreats.

Even less extreme forms of meditation have proved challenging for some people; rather than being a liberating experience, they find their sense of identity and grasp on reality dissolving as they meditate. These problems are well known in some spiritual traditions where they are seen as necessary milestones on the road to enlightenment. But western medicine seems keen to take on board the supposed benefits of meditation without understanding the risks.

Presenter/producer: Jolyon Jenkins.


WED 11:30 A Charles Paris Mystery (b0738j25)
A Decent Interval

Episode 2

Charles is playing The Ghost and the Gravedigger in Hamlet.

But when the reality TV star playing the young Dane is badly injured he begins to suspect that the accident may have been deliberate and other members of the cast may be in danger.

Bill Nighy stars as Simon Brett's bit part actor cum amateur sleuth, Charles Paris.

Charles ...... Bill Nighy
Frances ...... Suzanne Burden
Maurice ...... Jon Glover
Geraldine ...... Amelia Bullmore
Milly ...... Rebecca Hamilton
Sam ...... George Watkins
Ned ...... Brian Protheroe
Tony ...... Ewan Bailey
Will ...... Caolan McCarthy
Katrina ...... Katie Redford
Doug ...... Richard Pepple

Adapted from the novel by Jeremy Front.

Director: Sally Avens

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.


WED 12:00 News Summary (b0735qcd)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:04 Syrian Voices (b0738j27)
Lyse Doucet talks to those who have survived - or are surviving - the conflict in Syria.

Five years ago, protests in Syria as part of the Arab Spring, were put down with violence by the Syrian Government. The mass protests quickly became an armed rebellion, with increasing sectarian involvement. As the conflict escalated, other countries became involved with Russia commencing air strikes in September 2015, and areas of the country becoming strongholds of so-called Islamic State militants.

The Syrian conflict has changed people's lives irrevocably and, in this series of interviews, they reflect on the situation in which they find themselves.

Episode 3: Khadija Kamara came to Britain to escape civil war in Sierra Leone. Her son Ibrahim was just a week old when she had to flee from her village as the bullets flew around her. In 2014, without her knowledge, he travelled to Syria and joined an Islamic terrorist group. A few months later he became the first British jihadi to be killed in Syria when a US drone strike targeted the house where he was staying.

Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:15 Budget 2016 (b073bg88)
Full coverage of George Osborne's 8th budget since he became Chancellor presented by Martha Kearney. We hear from the BBC's experts and get reaction from the influential think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies. We talk to politicians from the main parties and a personal finance expert explains what it all means for you.


WED 13:56 Weather (b0735qcj)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b07378d9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b0738k6q)
Positive Affect

by Daniel Davies

Kelly is unemployed; she's also cripplingly shy - a combination that makes everyday difficulties hard enough, never mind the madness of job interviews, work programmes and the threat of sanctions.

Directed by Marc Beeby.


WED 15:00 Money Box (b0738k6s)
Money Box Live: The Budget 2016

Budget 2016. Paul Lewis and a panel of experts look at the detail of the Chancellor's speech and what impact it may have on your personal finances. George Osborne has already ruled out making major changes to pension tax relief. So what will he do to bring in more revenue to cut the deficit?

E mail moneybox@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. Or ring the programme. 03 700 100 444. Lines are open from 1pm on Wednesday.


WED 15:30 The Listening Project (b0709v4p)
Women and Community

Fi Glover introduces conversations between women in Derry, Barry and Grantham about community action, public office and life skills in the Omnibus of 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 15:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b0738jwb)
Sheikh Abdullah: Chains of Gold

Sunil Khilnani explores the life of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, the Lion of Kashmir.

Born in Srinagar as a burden, Abdullah's father died before he was born. Dispossessed of their share of family property, Abdullah and his two elder brothers were expected to make the cheap cotton shawls on which their extended, devout family depended. But the young boy discovered he had a gift, for reciting the Koran, which allowed him to get out of darning. Eventually, it would help him see more of the world than his shabby corner of Srinagar.

But his legacy today is an ambivalent one. For many he stands as the primary, powerful advocate of Kashmiri self-rule, who sacrificed his own freedom time after time in his attempts to secure representation and rights for his people. For others, especially younger Kashmiris today, he's the man who sold Kashmir out to India, first in the late-1940s and then again in the 1970s, in exchange for personal power.

Producer: Martin Williams.


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b0738k6v)
Philanthropy - Charity

Philanthropy & charitable giving: Is there such a thing as a free gift? Laurie Taylor talks to Linsey McGoey, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Essex and author of a study of contemporary philanthropy. The amount of money placed in philanthropic trusts helps make the charitable sector one of the fastest growing global industries. Is this a new 'golden age' of giving which promises to replace the role of government as provider of social welfare? What are the potential conflicts between good deeds and hard profit? They're joined by Tom Hughes Hallett, philanthropist and Non Executive Chair of the Marshall Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Also, John Mohan, Professor of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham, discusses his British study into the logic of charity in 'hard times'.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.


WED 16:30 The Media Show (b0735qcl)
Maria Eagle, Sir Joseph Pilling, Balancing journalism and security services

Andrea Catherwood is joined by Maria Eagle, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport. The Garston and Halewood MP gives her first interview to the Media Show since being appointed as Labour's Shadow Culture Secretary in January 2016. With BBC Charter Renewal gathering pace and responses to Sir David Clementi's recommendations for BBC regulation and governance emerging from the Government and the BBC, how would Maria Eagle safeguard BBC independence?

Sir Joseph Pilling, former permanent secretary at the Northern Ireland Office, has recently been appointed as the independent reviewer of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). IPSO has been strongly criticised by the Hacked Off campaigning group and victims of phone hacking - and only some national newspapers have signed up to it. Sir Joseph has been appointed by the watchdog to conduct an external review of how well or otherwise it is operating, and he tells us how he plans to do it.

Yesterday the Investigatory Powers Bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has voiced serious concerns about the legislation, saying the bill endangers press freedom and offers no protection for sources or whistleblowers. To consider the implications of the proposed digital surveillance legislation for investigative journalism, protection of sources and journalists' safety, Andrea is joined by Professor Sir David Omand, former Director of GCHQ & Pia Sarma, Editorial Legal Director for The Times newspaper.

Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Paul Waters.


WED 17:00 PM (b0735qcn)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0735qcq)
Osborne delivers gloomy Budget forecast

The Chancellor warns of 'storm clouds gathering' as he produces Budget for the 'next generation'


WED 18:30 Chain Reaction (b0738kq0)
Series 11

Victoria Coren-Mitchell interviews Sandi Toksvig

Writer and presenter Victoria Coren-Mitchell asks the questions to comedian and writer, Sandi Toksvig about her long career in broadcasting, her foray into politics and gets some advice on how to behave when you're staying at the Icelandic Prime Minister's house.

Chain Reaction is the long running hostless chat show where this week's interviewee becomes next week's interviewer.

Victoria Coren-Mitchell is a columnist for The Observer and GQ amongst other publications and has presented myriad documentaries on subjects as varied as The Bohemians and Mary Poppins. As well as a prolific writing career, she keeps order on the popular and fiendishly difficult television quiz, 'Only Connect'. She is also well-known as one of the world's top professional poker players and has achieved huge success at the card table.

Sandi Toksvig is a prolific writer and broadcaster who chaired the News Quiz on BBC Radio 4 for nine years and over 220 episodes. In 2015 she was a founder member of the Women's Equality Party and was named new host of the long-running BBC TV series, QI.

Producer: Richard Morris

A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in March 2016.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b0738kq2)
Shula bumps into Richard while he is out for a jog. Seeing that he is health conscious, she tells him about the Fairbothers' pastured egg business. Richard and Shula go for a coffee and talk over family matters.
Rob stops Helen from helping to serve Shula at the shop. Shula reports that Jim has a major role in "England's Pleasant Land". Rob decides Helen going to see the pageant would not be good for her right now. When Rob finds out Tom has agreed to stock the Fairbrothers' pastured eggs, he is put out that he wasn't informed. Rob implies that Tom's commercial judgement is skewed.
Helen decides to go and see Kirsty, and Rob tells her not to be long. Helen avoids mention of Kirsty in front of Rob. Fallon asks Helen if she is going to Eddie's barn dance. This is the first Helen has heard of it, but Rob was told. Rob cuts short Helen and Kirsty's chat, and takes her home just as Pat is passing. Pat is worried that Helen is avoiding her, and Rob tells her that Helen has been prescribed anti-depressants.
That night, Rob gets into bed and comments that Helen is cold. He says he knows a way to warm her up.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b0735qcs)
Jane Horrocks, High-Rise, Russia and the Arts, Remembering Sylvia Anderson

In If You Kiss Me, Kiss Me, opening at the Young Vic, Jane Horrocks and a band of musicians and dancers reinterpret a selection of hits from some of the Northern male artists of the 1970s and 80s. Jane and her director, Aletta Collins, talk about how they put the show together.

High-Rise is a dystopian thriller based on JG Ballard's 1975 novel, starring Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons. Mark Eccleston reviews.

'Russia and the Arts: The Age of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky' explores how Russian portraiture enjoyed a golden age between the late 1860s and the First World War. While Tolstoy was publishing Anna Karenina and Tchaikovsky was taking Russian music to new heights, Russian art was developing a new self-confidence. Curator Dr Rosalind Blakesley shows us round this new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

Sylvia Anderson, the co-creator of Thunderbirds, has died aged 88. She invented the show with her late husband back in the Sixties and also voiced the character of Lady Penelope. Mary Turner, who created the puppets, and David Graham, the voice of Parker, remember the puppeteer and television producer who worked in the industry for more than fifty years.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Angie Nehring.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0738hly)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:41 today]


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (b0738kq4)
Morality and the EU Referendum

Claim and counter claim in the EU referendum debate have filled the air waves and packed the papers and there are still 14 weeks left to the actual vote. The atmosphere is already highly charged and the political stakes couldn't be much higher. The way we vote on June 23rd will have profound implications for generations to come. We've heard a lot about the political and economic arguments that we should consider when casting that vote, but what are the moral considerations? Is preserving our national cultural identity behind strict border controls a moral priority? Do we have a wider duty as good citizens of Europe and the world? Is fear of immigration and fear of an uncertain economic future a defendable moral position? Is it a moral argument to say our choice should be a utilitarian calculation of where we personally and as a nation will be financially better off? Is sovereignty the moral trump card? Morality and the EU referendum. Chaired by Michael Buerk with Melanie Phillips, Michael Portillo, Matthew Taylor and Anne McElvoy. Witnesses are Anthony O'Hear, Kirsty Hughes, Brian Denny and Sebastian Farquhar.


WED 20:45 Lent Talks (b0738kq6)
The Execution - The Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, at the Tower of London

In the fifth edition of "Lent in the Landscape", a series of talks on different perspectives of the passion story, Cristina Odone visits the Chapel Royal of Saint Peter Ad Vincula at the Tower of London. She reflects on the figure of Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the foot of the cross as her son is crucified. Producer: Phil Pegum.


WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b07378d3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 Midweek (b0738hlr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b0735qcv)
Latest on the Budget

Latest on the Budget; Ritula Shah reports on Brits living in Germany, and what can the Republicans now do to stop Trump?


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b074cdvh)
Trading Futures

Episode 3

In the months following his sixtieth birthday party, Matthew Oxenhay has lost his job and - by chance - met a woman he was in love with before he went to university. His former boss Rupert has offered him the use of his old office and found a few intern-like jobs for him to do, while he negotiates the transition from work to retirement.

Matthew has still not told his wife, Judy, that he is no longer employed in trading futures in the City. In any case, the world of finance is in imploding turmoil.

Neither does Matthew confess to Anna that they have met before. Nevertheless, he sets off to visit her with some notion of romance in mind.

Jim Powell's short novel is a miniature tragi-comedy, blending elements of King Lear and Reggie Perrin. Mordant wit accompanies a spiralling mania with flashes of brilliant perception. Love and hope battle with a fear of change and the perilous appeal of an ending.

Author : Jim Powell
Reader : Toby Jones
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:00 The Croft & Pearce Show (b0738kr6)
Episode 2

A sketch show from award-winning duo Croft and Pearce, rising stars of the UK comedy scene.

These Edinburgh Fringe favourites were the breakout hit of BBC Radio 4's Sketchorama and have performed sell-out shows in London, New York and around the UK.

Packed with sharply observed characters, this debut from writer-performers Hannah Croft and Fiona Pearce is not to be missed.

In the second episode, a failed novelist is unable to hide her bitterness when confronted with an old friend’s success, maths teacher Miss Trent falls hopelessly and publicly in love with a new member of staff, and an IT manager is baffled at the technical ineptitude of his colleague.

Written and performed by Hannah Croft and Fiona Pearce
Producer: Liz Anstee
A CPL production for BBC Radio 4


WED 23:15 History Retweeted (b03wq2j5)
The Great Pyramid

The programme that sends us back in time as we hear people from the past comment on a series of major world events, in less than 140 characters.

In The Great Pyramid - the Nile turns into video streams, order your pet mummification online, and find out how Pharaoh Khufu built that great feat of mankind while maintaining a hashtag game with his followers?

Turning statuses into sounds, History Retweeted transports us to timelines gone by, feeding hashtags, trolls and trending topics into moments from history.

Featuring the voices of Tim Barnes and Simon Berry, Wayne Forester and Annabelle Llewellyn,
Peter Temple and Jelly Macintosh. With Lucy Beaumont as the voice of The Computer.

Written by Tim Barnes and Simon Berry

Produced by Sally Harrison
A Woolyback production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0738kst)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster as the Chancellor George Osborne unveils a sugar tax on Budget Day. Also: Prime Minister's Question Time on Libya and air quality, and the Justice Secretary Michael Gove on prison reform. Editor: Rachel Byrne.



THURSDAY 17 MARCH 2016

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b0735qg2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b0738hlt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0735qg4)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0735qg6)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0735qg9)
The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b0735qgd)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0739j7w)
A short reflection and prayer with Richard Hill.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b0739j7y)
Sugar Beet Farmer Responds to the Sugar Levy, Growing Veg on Martian Soil, Sprouting Seeds for Chickens

Not such sweet news for sugar beet farmers as George Osborne taxes sugary soft drinks. Lincolnshire farmer Andrew Worth says he may have to come out of growing sugar beet altogether.

Could the fantasy of growing plants on Mars become a reality? Scientists at Vacheningen University in Holland think so.
They've been growing peas and tomatoes in Martian-type soil. Ecologist Wieger Wamelink explains.

As part of our look at animal feed innovations, today we hear about how farmers are increasingly looking at ways to cut down the use of additives and concentrates, because they are expensive and less sustainable. Beatrice Fenton visits the Innovative Farmers network, part of the Duchy Future Farming programme, which has set up a field trial to see whether sprouting seeds and pulses grown indoors might be an alternative feed for hens.

Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Mark Smalley.


THU 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.


THU 06:00 Today (b0739j81)
News and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b0739rfg)
Bedlam

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the early years of Bedlam, the name commonly used for the London hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem outside Bishopsgate, described in 1450 by the Lord Mayor of London as a place where may "be found many men that be fallen out of their wit. And full honestly they be kept in that place; and some be restored onto their wit and health again. And some be abiding therein for ever." As Bethlem, or Bedlam, it became a tourist attraction in the 17th Century at its new site in Moorfields and, for its relatively small size, made a significant impression on public attitudes to mental illness. The illustration, above, is from the eighth and final part of Hogarth's 'A Rake's Progress' (1732-3), where Bedlam is the last stage in the decline and fall of a young spendthrift,Tom Rakewell.

With

Hilary Marland
Professor of History at the University of Warwick

Justin Champion
Professor of the History of Early Modern Ideas at Royal Holloway, University of London and President of the Historical Association

And

Jonathan Andrews
Reader in the History of Psychiatry at Newcastle University

Producer: Simon Tillotson.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b0739pg9)
Henning Mankell - Quicksand

Episode 4

Henning Mankell was creator of Wallander, the fictional detective. His posthumous essays, translated by Laurie Thompson with Marlaine Delargy, and abridged by Katrin Williams, refer to his illness and explore much more besides:

The author explains his long-standing interest in cave paintings and what they tell us now. He also witnesses a search for fresh water within saltwater - which again, tells us something new..

Reader Tim Pigott-Smith

Producer Duncan Minshull.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0739pgc)
Exercise fads, Syrian refugees, Sophie Sabbage, Marian Clayden

From aerobics to candlelit cycling, how to negotiate exercise fads to find a form of fitness training which will work for you - Professor Jean Williams and personal trainer Faya Nilsson discuss.

Sophie Sabbage's new book The Cancer Whisperer builds on her own experience and aims to help other people to take control of their treatment.

Angela Robson reports on the Syrian refugee women making their home in Lebanon.

Janet Todd is an academic and a renowned author of books on women writers and the depiction of women in literature. Now she has written her first novel 'A Man of Genius'.

This month, the Fashion and Textile Museum is exhibiting a retrospective of the works of the British-born designer Marian Clayden. Curator and textile historian, Mary Schoeser, joins us to talk about Marian's work .

Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Eleanor Garland.


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0739pgf)
Charlotte Bronte in Babylon

Episode 4

Charlotte Brontë in Babylon by Charlotte Cory

Episode Four

Drama charting five momentous visits Charlotte Brontë made to London. Charlotte Brontë arrives in London excited to see her publisher George again and keen to take things further. George's Mama however, seems determined to keep the pair apart.

Directed by Charlotte Riches
Produced by Susan Roberts

Charlotte Brontë made 5 trips down to London in the course of her momentous, shortlived but meteoric literary career. These trips chart the story of her relationship with her young publisher (and his watchful, horrified Mama), Charlotte's wide-eyed enthusiasm at visiting the place of her childhood dreams at long last and being lionized as a writer by readers. We see her difficult relationships with other authors and critics - and then the gradual disillusionment setting in as this intense, painfully honest and gauche Yorkshire novelist gradually acquires self knowledge and a clear-eyed view of the cruel and shallow fashionable literary world she had long aspired to be part of.


THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b0735qgg)
No Way to Macedonia

Refugees stuck in Greece keep trying to cross into Macedonia even though the border is now closed. One man has got through the fence, and then been taken back, fourteen times. In the meantime, new Syrian refugees keep arriving at the other end of Greece, on the island of Lesbos. We hear about hopes that a Basque pro-independence leader newly released from prison can bring about real peace in his region, and not just a permanent ceasefire.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and in drought-stricken eastern Kenya, cattle herders feel they have no option but to let their animals graze in game reserves. Who says Americans haven't been able to go to Cuba legally? In Florida's Key West, we hear how despite the embargo, some US citizens have been doing it for decades, without breaking the law. And if you fall for a money-making scam of a boy begging near the rock-carved churches of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia, don't feel too bad.....


THU 11:30 Setting the Past Free (b0739pgh)
Part I, Mark Lawson explores the retellings of one of the most controversial stories to emerge from the Holocaust

For some Rudolf Kastner is a hero, for others a traitor. Mark Lawson explores the cultural retellings of a story that began in Nazi occupied Hungary in 1944. At the time Kastner, a lawyer and a journalist, was deputy chairman of the Relief and Rescue Committee. His negotiations with Adolf Eichmann, the man responsible for the deportation and extermination of the Jewish communities in Europe, saved Jewish lives but did he pay for them with other Jewish lives?

This question has been the subject of court trials, books, poetry, documentaries, television dramas, and plays - each one retelling Kastner's story from a new perspective. Two of those cultural retellings, one in the UK - the 1987 play Perdition, and the other in Israel - the 1994 television drama The Kastner Trial, managed to make headlines of their own.

And still the retellings continue with one of Israel's most celebrated playwrights, Motti Lerner, in the process of writing a new version of Kastner's story. The new play will be staged at Israel's National Theatre in 2017, thirty years after Jim Allen's play, Perdition, led to one of the most incendiary episodes in British theatre history.

In part 1, Mark Lawson talks to those outside Israel - including the film director Ken Loach, the historian Professor Derborah Lipstadt, and the theatre critic Michael Billington - who have wrestled with Kastner's story and the issues it raises.

Presenter - Mark Lawson

Interviewed Guest - Dr Yaacov Lozowick

Interviewed Guest - Ken Loach

Interviewed Guest - Michael Billington

Interviewed Guest - Professor Deborah Lipstadt

Interviewed Guest - Gaylen Ross

Translator - Rotem Carmeli

Actor - Cokey Falkow

Producer - Ekene Akalawu.


THU 12:00 News Summary (b0735qgj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:04 Syrian Voices (b0739pgm)
Lyse Doucet talks to those who have survived - or are surviving - the conflict in Syria.

Five years ago, protests in Syria as part of the Arab Spring, were put down with violence by the Syrian Government. The mass protests quickly became an armed rebellion, with increasing sectarian involvement. As the conflict escalated, other countries became involved with Russia commencing air strikes in September 2015, and areas of the country becoming strongholds of so-called Islamic State militants.

The Syrian conflict has changed people's lives irrevocably and, in this series of interviews, they reflect on the situation in which they find themselves.

Episode 4: Prof. Dr. Maamoun Abdulkarim is the Director General for Antiquities and Museums in Syria. He's in charge of a staff of around 2500, many of them are his former students who are now volunteers. As the five year conflict continues, they've been doing their best to protect Syria's collections of artefacts, and historic sites.

Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:15 You and Yours (b0735qgn)
Palliative care, Used rings, Older apprentices

Eye specialists say hundreds of patients suffer irreversible sight loss every year in England because services are overstretched and under-resourced. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists, says the NHS is struggling to keep up because of increased demand, caused by more eye disease in an ageing population, requiring long term care.

The price of mobile phone contracts is falling. There are loads of new sim-only deals on the market - where you just buy a sim card and use it with a phone you'd bought separately. The phone companies are trying to outdo each other to scoop up thousands of customers who may leave Three now that its withdrawn a really popular tariff.

There has been a shift in palliative care from Hospices to care in the community. This new model of care identifies a terminally ill person within a Community network and along with the service delivery organisations and policy makers, enables provision of end of life care that enhances value and meaning for patients and communities alike

If you thought that an apprenticeship is only for school leavers think again. The fastest-growing age group among those in the Government's on-the-job training scheme - intended to help school leavers are the over 55's age group. We hear from a graduate of the Barclay's over 50's apprentice scheme about how it has changed her life.

A study has revealed that people trying to sell on their pre-loved engagement rings could face even more misery, especially if they've been honest about the rings history. Rings listed as being the result of a divorce or break up often don't sell or sell for much lower than the asking price. Is another bride's cast-off bad luck? Or a bargain?

Producer: Maire Devine
Editor: Chas Watkin.


THU 12:57 Weather (b0735qgq)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b0739pgp)
News presented by Martha Kearney including changes to disability benefits, expansion of academy schools in England and the death of TV magician Paul Daniels.


THU 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b0739pgr)
Krishna Menon: Sombre Porcupine

Professor Sunil Khinani, from the King's India Institute in London, looks at the life of Krishna Menon, the abrasive Indian diplomat and statesman who invented the concept of non-alignment. He was one of the most reviled figures of the Cold War era. The Americans regarded Menon as a "mischief maker"; the British thought he was in bed with the Soviets while the Soviets thought he was a lackey of the British; and the Chinese resented his attempts to school them in international affairs. The diplomat, who was the voice of India's foreign policy for almost two decades, pursued an agenda which deeply unsettled the superpowers. But, says Professor Khilnani, "Menon's approach helped give India an influential voice at the global diplomatic table, dominated by the big four powers."
Producer: Mark Savage
Music: Talvin Singh.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b0738kq2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b0739rfj)
The Strange Vanishing of Julian Quark

By Tom Wainwright

After reneging on all of his election pledges, newly-elected Prime Minister Julian Quark is alarmed to discover that his right ear is missing. And that's just the start of it. It seems that there's a correlation between his dishonesty and the continual disappearance of body parts. As his own physical being diminishes so do his chances of halting the curse.

Director: Sasha Yevtushenko.


THU 15:00 Ramblings (b0739rfm)
Series 32

Oxfordshire: In Memory of Catherine

Clare Balding joins a group of women in Oxfordshire, who meet every year to remember their friend Catherine, who died of breast cancer at forty-five. Some in the group knew each other before Catherine's death; others have met, and become good friends since. There are her friends from her school days, her book club and from her career as a nurse. Catherine would have been fifty this year and her daughter Sarah now sixteen explains how she has derived comfort from helping to raise money for research into the disease and by getting together with her mother's friends to share memories while walking together.
Producer Lucy Lunt.


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b0735xtp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (b0736568)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b0739rfp)
Ben Wheatley on High-Rise

With Antonia Quirke.

Director Ben Wheatley discusses his adaptation of J.G. Ballard's dystopian satire High-Rise and why he's literally terrified of the 70s. Producer Jeremy Thomas explains why it's taken him 40 years to get the novel to the screen.

Special effects pioneer Roy Pace explains how he made the world turn backwards in Superman using a globe he bought in Woolworths.

Antonia attends the Into Film awards ceremony for young film-makers and hears from judge Michael Sheen.


THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b0735qgs)
Recovering lost memories, Storks eat junk food, Oldest pine fossil, Spring flowering

Research in Nature this week shows that lost memories in mice can be rescued by reactivating a group of memory cells in the brain called 'engram' cells. The team suggests that their research might prove useful for Alzheimer's patients in the future. Professor John Hardy, neuroscientist at University College London and Dr Prerana Shrestha from the Center for Neural Science at New York University discuss the work with Tracey.

The migrating white stork is well-known in folklore as the bringer of babies. In recent years, large numbers of them have decided to stop flying to Africa for winter, and live all year round, feasting on food from landfills in Portugal. Dr Aldina Franco from the University of East Anglia has been studying these birds and talks to Tracey about these adapting birds.

A scientist at Royal Holloway University in London has discovered the oldest-known fossil of a pine tree. Howard Falcon-Lang discovered the fossils in Nova Scotia, Canada, and brought some back to his office. 5 years later, he dissolved a sample of what looked like charcoal in acid and discovered charred pine twigs. These date back 140 million years to a time when fires raged across large tracts of land. Reporter Roland Pease visits his lab to look at the samples close up. The research suggests the tree's evolution was shaped in the fiery landscape of the Cretaceous, where oxygen levels were much higher than today, fuelling intense and frequent wildfires.

UK Gardeners may have noticed summer flowers blooming at unusual times this winter. Tracey meets up with seed scientist Steve Penfield and crop geneticist Judith Irwin in a greenhouse at the John Innes Centre. They explain how seeds and flowering times are affected temperature changes.


THU 17:00 PM (b0735qgv)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0735qgx)
The Institute for Fiscal Studies says the figures set out by the Chancellor in his Budget will lead to lower wages and living standards, and result in austerity being extended into the next parliament. But George Osborne has insisted he will 'hold the course' and meet his target of reaching a surplus before the next election.


THU 18:30 Hal (b04p5vl1)
Series 1

Career

Comedian Hal Cruttenden stars as a stay at home father who is having a mid-life crisis.

Written by Hal Cruttenden and Dominic Holland.

WIth Dominic Holland, Ronni Ancona, Ed Byrne, Anna Crilly, Jonathan Kydd, Gavin Webster, Dominic Frisby, Samuel Caseley, Lucy Robbins and Emily Robbins.

Hal stars as himself, married to Sam and father to two lovely girls. The problem is that, as Sam's career blossoms internationally and daughters Lilly and Molly grow up and are no longer dependent on their loving and caring father, Hal feels restless.

So, with the help of his ever unreliable mates Doug, Fergus and Barry, Hal decides to try new things in his life. But, inevitably, things don't go to plan!

Further challenges come from Hal's now deceased father, who was a true adventurer and all-round hero (something his son sadly is not) and is starting to appear to Hal at the most inopportune times to give unwelcome advice.

In this opening episode, Hal is arranging a special romantic getaway for Sam with some difficulty, Lilly and Molly are becoming almost strangers to Hal, his friend Fergus thinks he's finally found love, and Hal is forced to replace Sam in making a talk at the girls' school as Sam has to go on a work trip abroad.

Producer: Paul Russell

An Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in November 2014.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b0739rfs)
Ruth and David are delighted to see five easy and healthy births overnight from their new herd! They are yet to see if the new farming methods will make them money, but so far, so good. Pip reports Rex has offered to lend a hand clearing the barn for Eddie's party. Pip is not looking forward to the barn dance, saying she isn't in the dancing mood. Pip asks her parents if she can be spared for a couple of weeks so that she can go and see Matthew.
Rob tells Helen to have a relaxing day. As soon as he leaves, she falls into a state of panic, just as Kirsty calls. Helen confides in Kirsty that she feels as if she is going mad, and that she seems to be upsetting everyone. Helen admits that Rob hit her. Kirsty begs Helen to open up and eventually, she does.
Rob and Ursula have gone to visit a prospective boarding school for Henry - Rob's old school. On the way back from the school, Rob fears a "feminised" upbringing for Henry. He thanks Ursula for everything she has done, but says she can go home soon. Rob resolves to bring Helen round about his plans for Henry.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b0735qgz)
The Painkiller, Follow the Money, Maylis de Kerangal, The Gloaming

Kirsty Lang talks to Sean Foley, director of The Painkiller, a farce that reveals Kenneth Branagh's skills as a physical, comic actor and Rob Brydon's as a dramatic actor.

Alison Graham reviews Follow The Money, a new Danish TV crime drama from Borgen co-creator Jeppe Gjervig Gram.

The French author Maylis de Kerangal has been longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize for her novel, Mend The Living. Set over the period of 24 hours, it deals with the difficult issue of organ donation, exploring it from the perspectives of many of those involved.

And Front Row celebrates St Patrick's Day with the Irish - and American - supergroup, The Gloaming.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0739pgf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 Law in Action (b07378d5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]


THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (b0739rfv)
Lonely at the Top?

Many senior executives now employ personal coaches to help them through their toughest business challenges. Coaches can provide confidential, independent support for senior managers who find life lonely at the top. But shouldn't the boss be capable of making decisions on his or her own? And are coaches sometimes the hidden power behind the senior executive throne?

Guests:

Gavin Patterson, CEO of BT Group

Melanie Richards, Vice Chairman and Partner of KPMG UK

Jonathan Bowman-Perks, Coach and Mentor

Producer: Ruth Edwards.


THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b0735qgs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b0739rfg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b0735qh1)
Referendum Views from Twinned Towns

Ritula Shah in Freiburg and Carolyn Quinn in Guildford

What does Germany think of the EU Referendum ?

And voters in Surrey prepare for a momentous decision on June 23rd


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b074cf38)
Trading Futures

Episode 4

Anna is uncertain what to make of Matthew. Matthew is not quite sure what he wants. As his world begins to whirl in unnerving ways, he struggles to make a decision about his future while grappling with what he understands of his past.

Jim Powell's short novel is a miniature tragi-comedy blending elements of King Lear and Reggie Perrin. Mordant wit accompanies a spiralling mania with flashes of brilliant perception. Love and hope battle with a fear of change and the perilous appeal of an ending.

Author : Jim Powell
Reader : Toby Jones
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:00 Small Scenes (b0739rfy)
Series 3

Episode 3

Award-winning sketch series starring Daniel Rigby, Mike Wozniak, Cariad Lloyd, Henry Paker and Jessica Ransom. Featuring more overblown, melodramatic scenes from modern life, such as a man who can't get enough towels, a saxophonist who is tortured by his inability to play the solo from Baker Street and a late night visit from a charity burglar.

Written by Benjamin Partridge, Henry Paker and Mike Wozniak, with additional material from the cast.

Produced by Simon Mayhew-Archer.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0739rg1)
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster where the Budget remains the focus in the both the Commons and the Lords with arguments over education and controversial welfare changes.
And MPs are told that an inquiry into child abuse in care homes in North Wales, that was accused of exposing only a fraction of the abuse carried out, has been cleared by a new review.



FRIDAY 18 MARCH 2016

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b0735qjf)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b0739pg9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0735qjh)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0735qjk)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0735qjm)
The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b0735qjp)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b074cgty)
A short reflection and prayer with Richard Hill.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b0739w6g)
Scottish Land Reform

Members of the Scottish Parliament have voted through the historic Land Reform Bill, part of which aims to give farm tenants more security. The reforms were passed by 102 votes to 14. But some landlords say the reforms could in fact lead to fewer farm tenancies being made available in future, because they will have so little say over what happens to their land.
And we find out what makes good sileage as part of our look at the important subject of livestock feed all this week.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Sally Challoner.


FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03mztnb)
Crossbill

Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.

David Attenborough presents the story of the Crossbill. Crossbills are large finches that specialise in eating conifer seeds. To break into the pine or larch cones, they've evolved powerful bills with crossed tips which help the birds prise off the woody scales of each cone. Crossbills breed very early in the year and incubating birds sometimes have snow on their backs.


FRI 06:00 Today (b073qzj7)
Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b0735y62)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b073b18m)
Henning Mankell - Quicksand

Episode 5

Henning Mankell was creator of Wallander, the fictional detective. His posthumous essays, translated by Laurie Thompson with Marlaine Delargy, and abridged by Katrin Williams, refer to his illness and explore much more besides:

He was a novelist, who also ran a theatre in Maputo, Mozambique. One of his 'happiest times' was staging a Greek drama, performed by local people. It all began in October 1992..

Reader Tim Pigott-Smith

Producer Duncan Minshull.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b073b18r)
Christianity and debate on abortion, Women in Ireland's Easter Uprising, Tampon tax

Personal perspectives from two women who share a Christian faith but hold opposing views on abortion. Anti-abortion campaigner Isabel Vaughan-Spruce talks to us at a prayer vigil she organised outside one abortion provider's clinic, one of a number held during the season of Lent by the group '40 Days for Life'. Hannah Brown describes herself as Christian as well as pro-choice, and explains how she reconciles the two positions.

Are the days of the so-called tampon tax numbered after David Cameron's latest talks in Brussels? We talk to Labour MP Paula Sherriff about proposals that could see VAT scrapped on all sanitary products.

On the 100th anniversary of Ireland's Easter Uprising, we hear the often 'forgotten' history of women who took up arms to fight in the rebellion, and women's place in Irish politics then and today with guests Professor Mary McAuliffe of University College, Dublin, and Senia Paseta, Professor of Modern History at St Hugh's College, Oxford University.

The play 'The Truth' is an uncomfortable comedy looking at infidelity, hypocrisy, disillusionment and betrayal through the story of two couples. Actor Frances O'Connor who portrays the character Alice, joins presenter and author Cherry Healey to discuss truth, lies and infidelity in relationships.

Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Anne Peacock.


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b073b18t)
Charlotte Bronte in Babylon

Episode 5

Charlotte Brontë in Babylon by Charlotte Cory

Episode Five

Drama charting five momentous visits Charlotte Brontë made to London. Charlotte Brontë arrives to an awkward reception in the Smith household. It seems her hosts are not at all pleased with their depiction in Charlotte's new novel Villette.

Directed by Charlotte Riches
Produced by Susan Roberts

Charlotte Brontë made 5 trips down to London in the course of her momentous, shortlived but meteoric literary career. These trips chart the story of her relationship with her young publisher (and his watchful, horrified Mama), Charlotte's wide-eyed enthusiasm at visiting the place of her childhood dreams at long last and being lionized as a writer by readers. We see her difficult relationships with other authors and critics - and then the gradual disillusionment setting in as this intense, painfully honest and gauche Yorkshire novelist gradually acquires self knowledge and a clear-eyed view of the cruel and shallow fashionable literary world she had long aspired to be part of.


FRI 11:00 The Easter Rising 1916 (b073b5c6)
'Could You Not Just Wait?'

In 1916 a United Kingdom engulfed in global conflict came under attack from within. A group of Irish nationalist rebels allied with Germany seized control of Dublin - then part of the UK. Among their number were several Protestants, radical Socialists, a Catholic mystic, Patrick Pearse, and a hardened veteran of Fenian struggle, Tom Clarke. Men and women, teachers, actors, poets. Their main aim was an Irish Republic and they saw 'England's difficulty as Ireland's opportunity'.

The first blow of their rebellion fell on Easter Monday, outside the gates of Dublin Castle, the symbol of British rule, on a bank holiday when many in authority were at the races. The long reach of British intelligence had failed to foresee such tumultuous events in its own backyard. As the rebels tried to storm the castle gates, their first victim was an Irishman.

Their action, violent, daring, chaotic, would change the majority of Irish public opinion radically towards demanding full independence from British rule and push the North of Ireland's Unionists further towards partition. This was Britain's war within a war. The British authorities rapidly crushed the insurrection in six days, executing the leaders. But these actions rapidly transformed Irish public opinion: soon the dead leaders of the Uprising became martyrs, their Proclamation a bequest and a challenge for the new Irish state that would eventually emerge from yet more bloodshed. The wartime uprising became the foundational myth of today's Irish Republic. One hundred years on, the LSE's Heather Jones reassesses the events of the Rising in light of the opening of new archives and asks whether it was a necessary 'blood sacrifice' and why it had such a dramatic impact.

Producer
Mark Burman.


FRI 11:30 Dilemma (b03wpjg8)
Series 3

Episode 5

Sue Perkins puts Al Murray, Cerrie Burnell, Ben Goldacre and Danielle Ward through the moral and ethical wringer.

Dilemmas for the panellists include deciding between two distinct forms of environmentalism; being taken back to school and having a taxing time.

Devised by Danielle Ward.

Producer: Ed Morrish.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2014.


FRI 12:00 News Summary (b0735qjr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:04 Syrian Voices (b073b5c8)
Lyse Doucet talks to those who have survived - or are surviving - the conflict in Syria.

Five years ago, protests in Syria as part of the Arab Spring, were put down with violence by the Syrian Government. The mass protests quickly became an armed rebellion, with increasing sectarian involvement. As the conflict escalated, other countries became involved with Russia commencing air strikes in September 2015, and areas of the country becoming strongholds of so-called Islamic State militants.

The Syrian conflict has changed people's lives irrevocably and, in this series of interviews, they reflect on the situation in which they find themselves.

Episode 5: Abdul Halim Hariri is a musician and also runs one of Aleppo's best known arts and music organisations for young people. Throughout the conflict, and the destruction of his city, he has continued to play, teach and host cultural events. His home city is suffering, but like a mother dying of cancer, he says, she cannot be abandoned.

Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b0735qjt)
Abandoned rabbits, Fundraising regulator, Listeria

Consumer news and issues.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b0735qjw)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b0745xpn)
Is the Chancellor of the Exchequer about to U-Turn on disability benefit cuts? The senior Conservative bankbencher Sarah Wollaston tells us she expects so.

We assess what impact the changes would make if they go ahead and ask what it all might mean for George Osborne's leadership ambitions.

With Turkey and the EU locked in talks about the migrant crisis, the Turkish President has accused the European Union of hypocrisy. Some its leaders have accused him of blackmail. We hear the Turkish response.


FRI 13:45 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b073b5cb)
Subbulakshmi: Opening Rosebuds

Sunil Khilnani explores the life of south Indian singer MS Subbulakshmi.

Subbulakshmi's singing voice, striking from the start, would ultimately range three octaves. A perfectionist, she had the capacity to range across genres but narrowed over the years to what another connoisseur of her music has called a 'provokingly small' repertoire. In time, the ambitions of those who loved and profited from her combined with her gift to take her from the concert stage to film to the All-India Radio to near-official status as an icon of independent India.

But, as Professor Khilnani says, "what was required of Subbulakshmi, in moving from South Indian musical celebrity to national cultural symbol, is deeply uncomfortable when considered through the prism of contemporary feminism."

Producer: Martin Williams.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b0739rfs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b03s76cr)
Karma

Kulvinder Ghir and Shobu Kapoor star in Samina Baig's powerful new drama. When a shocking discovery is made outside a rural village in northern Rajasthan, an elderly couple are forced into the spotlight, confronted with a moral dilemma that is shaped by deeply embedded attitudes and customs.

Karma emerged from Samina Baig's long held interest in the position of women in India. The seed was sewn for this compelling and heartfelt drama when in 2012 the shocking rape of a 23 year old student on a bus in New Delhi provoked worldwide outrage and led women to take to India's streets to demand social and political change and the right to live in safety.

Samina Baig is an established writer with a track record in television and radio drama. Her radio plays include, Tall Stories, Husud (Jealousy) and Migrant Memory.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b073bb51)
Edible Garden Show

Peter Gibbs hosts the horticultural panel programme from the Edible Garden Show in Warwickshire.

Christine Walkden, Pippa Greenwood and James Wong are this week's panellists, answering audience questions on edible flowers, which varieties of strawberries can offer longer succession, how to get Cucamelons to fruit, and much more.

The panellists also take a turn around the show itself, speaking to stall-holders and guests at the event.

Produced by Darby Dorras
Assistant Producer: Hannah Newton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:45 First for Radio (b073bb53)
Series 3

The Wallets

A lad called Doon roams the streets and finds a bar. A spikey encounter ensues and some skulduggery. Then it's time to meet his Mum again..

Caolan McCarthy reads Colin Barrett's short story.

Readings of acclaimed novelists' first stories for radio.

Producer Duncan Minshull

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b073bb55)
Paul Daniels, Anita Brookner, Sylvia Anderson, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Cliff Michelmore

Matthew Bannister on

Cliff Michelmore who brought a relaxed informality to presenting TV programmes like Tonight and 24 Hours, without losing intelligence or authority.

Sylvia Anderson who - with her husband Gerry - produced TV puppet series like Thunderbirds and Stingray. She was also the voice of Lady Penelope.

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the composer and former Master of the Queen's Music who made his home in a remote part of Orkney.

The author Anita Brookner who won the Booker prize for her novel Hotel du Lac.

And the magician Paul Daniels,, whose catch phrase was "You'll like this - not a lot - but you'll like it.".


FRI 16:30 Feedback (b073bb57)
Desert Island discussion, Radio 2 country

Roger Bolton asks if Desert Island Discs allowed itself to become too political when it invited nuclear scientist Dame Sue Ion to be a castaway.

Dame Sue Ion has long been a campaigner for nuclear energy, and some listeners felt that the much loved Radio 4 stalwart Desert Island Discs was the wrong platform for her to talk about that political belief. Editor Rebecca Stratford joins Roger to discuss whether Kirsty Young should have posed stronger challenges to Dame Sue Ion on the subject, and how a programme dedicated to one interviewee can maintain impartiality.

A recent episode of Out of the Ordinary on the subject of so-called "Men Going Their Own Way", who claim to have thrown off the shackles of alleged female oppression, received a large listener response. Presenter Jolyon Jenkins discusses whether he dealt fairly with the men he interviewed.

And why has country music become so popular that Radio 2 has just organised a pop-up station devoted to it? In these times of cutbacks, how can the BBC afford it? Radio 2 controller Bob Shennan speaks to Roger about the future of country music on his network.

Finally, listeners respond to the technical issues raised in last week's programme - one gives Roger a telling off, while another suggests that it's when lines go dead that Radio 4 comes to life.

Producer: Kate Dixon
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b073bb59)
Jane and Bella - It's Never Your Fault

Fi Glover introduces a conversation between a teenager and her mother about the way the daughter gets harassed on the street and how unprepared they both were. 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 (b0735qjy)
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0735qk0)
The main suspect in the Paris attacks last November has been captured after being wounded in an anti-terror raid in Brussels.

EU leaders have reached a deal with Turkey to curb the flow of migrants trying to reach Europe.

Three policemen and a retired officer have been arrested in connection with allegations of fraud involving the Police Federation of England and Wales.


FRI 18:30 The Now Show (b073bb5c)
Series 48

Episode 3

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by Andy Zaltzman, Lucy Porter, Mitch Benn and Freya Parker to present the week in news through stand-up and sketches.

This week the gang take a look at the winners and losers from the Budget 2016, Andy Zaltzman makes an argument for sport to save us all, Lucy Porter lays out her plans to open an academy school and Steve and Hugh discuss how the impending EU referendum is viewed from across the English Channel with the UK Correspondent for De Spiegel magazine Christoph Scheuermann.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b073bb5f)
Kirsty calls a helpline about Helen. She tells them that Rob has slapped Helen. She says they initially seemed to be "a perfectly normal middle class couple". The helpline woman tells her that coercive control has recently been made a criminal offence. She asks Kirsty to pass the helpline number on to Helen, and encourages her to ring.
Eddie and Clarrie are feeding the pigs. Alf, Eddie's errant brother, arrives out of the blue for the party. Eddie is surprised. Alf apologises for his past transgressions, namely taking cash from William's money box. Eddie says that is all forgotten. Before the party, Joe, Alf and Clarrie start on the homebrew cider. They reminisce and talk about Ed's college course. George tells Alf that he heard Alf was a burglar. Alf tells him not to believe everything you hear.
Kirsty is helping out at the barn dance, but she's distracted. Wayne proves to be popular, especially after singing "The Prince of Grundys". Eddie makes a heartfelt speech about how happy he is to be back at Grange Farm. He has been given a second chance, and he has his family around him... including Alf. He dedicates the speech to Clarrie. Clarrie finds that money is missing from her purse. Kirsty leaves messages for Helen, while everyone else is enjoying the party. Alf and Eddie agree that money doesn't count, but family does. Eddie says right now he feels like a millionaire.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b0735qk2)
Jeremy Irons and Richard Eyre celebrate Bristol Old Vic's 250th, Disorder, 10 Cloverfield Lane

As Bristol Old Vic celebrates its 250th anniversary, Jeremy Irons, Lesley Manville, Richard Eyre and artistic director Tom Morris discuss their new production of Long Day's Journey Into Night and look back over the history of the theatre.

Director Alice Winocour and actor Matthias Schoenaerts talk to John Wilson about their new film Disorder, about a French Special Forces soldier coping with PTSD.

Tim Robey reviews the new thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane, about a woman who wakes up in a basement following a car accident and is told by the man who claims to have saved her that the world above them is too dangerous to venture out in.

Presenter John Wilson
Producer Jerome Weatherald.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b073b18t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b073bb5h)
Heather McGregor, Chuka Umunna MP, Mick Whelan, Nadhim Zahawi MP

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Sheffield Cathedral with a panel including Heather McGregor, better known as "Mrs Moneypenny" who has a weekly column with the Financial Times, the former Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna MP, the General Secretary of the train union ASLEF, Mick Whelan, and the Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b073bb5l)
Resolutions

Adam Gopnik struggles to keep his New Year's resolutions to find a "monastic moment" in the day to meditate and listen to good music.

"What gets in the way of our dream of practising detachment..is our daily practice of attachment, which may be the most human thing about us."

Producer: Sheila Cook.


FRI 21:00 Incarnations: India in 50 Lives (b073bb5n)
Incarnations: India in 50 Lives - Omnibus

Bhimrao Ambedkar, Raj Kapoor, Sheikh Abdullah, Krishna Menon, Subbalakshmi

Sunil Khilnani presents an omnibus edition of Incarnations: India in 50 Lives.


FRI 21:58 Weather (b0735qk4)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b0735qk6)
IDS resigns over cuts to disability benefits

We have reaction to the resignation of Iain Duncan-Smith from the government over cuts to disability benefits. Plus the anti-terror operation in Belgium in which November 2015 Paris attacks suspects are arrested. And the 94 year-old UK ex-pat taking the government to court because he's not able to vote in the EU referendum.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b074cfbp)
Trading Futures

Episode 5

The road unravels in front of Matthew Oxenhay. The decades of his retirement are upon him. He calls home and speaks to Judy.

Jim Powell's short novel is a miniature tragi-comedy blending elements of King Lear and Reggie Perrin. Mordant wit accompanies a spiralling mania with flashes of brilliant perception. Love and hope battle with a fear of change and the perilous appeal of an ending.

Author : Jim Powell
Reader : Toby Jones
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 23:00 A Good Read (b07378d7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b073qzj9)
Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster and looks at the arguments going on around the Chancellor's budget. He also hears from one Mp proposing the legalisation of cannabis.


FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b073bb5s)
Jason and Alice – Dungeons, Dragons and Daughters

Fi Glover introduces a conversation between a father and daughter about their shared interests during her childhood and the foundation they buuilt for their continued relationship. 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 (b0736pkh)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 MON (b0736pkh)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 TUE (b07378cp)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 TUE (b07378cp)

15 Minute Drama 10:41 WED (b0738hly)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 WED (b0738hly)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 THU (b0739pgf)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 THU (b0739pgf)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 FRI (b073b18t)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 FRI (b073b18t)

A Charles Paris Mystery 11:30 WED (b0738j25)

A Good Read 16:30 TUE (b07378d7)

A Good Read 23:00 FRI (b07378d7)

A Point of View 08:48 SUN (b072n8fx)

A Point of View 20:50 FRI (b073bb5l)

Analysis 21:30 SUN (b0736vv8)

Analysis 20:30 MON (b072j3g6)

Any Answers? 14:00 SAT (b072hm6f)

Any Questions? 13:10 SAT (b072n8fv)

Any Questions? 20:00 FRI (b073bb5h)

Archive on 4 20:00 SAT (b072zn42)

BBC Inside Science 16:30 THU (b0735qgs)

BBC Inside Science 21:00 THU (b0735qgs)

Bells on Sunday 05:43 SUN (b0735xtf)

Bells on Sunday 00:45 MON (b0735xtf)

Beyond Belief 16:30 MON (b0736vv0)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 MON (b0736wr3)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 TUE (b074cdqy)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 WED (b074cdvh)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 THU (b074cf38)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 FRI (b074cfbp)

Book of the Week 00:30 SAT (b072n8dv)

Book of the Week 09:45 MON (b0736pkf)

Book of the Week 00:30 TUE (b0736pkf)

Book of the Week 09:45 TUE (b07378cm)

Book of the Week 00:30 WED (b07378cm)

Book of the Week 09:45 WED (b0738hlt)

Book of the Week 00:30 THU (b0738hlt)

Book of the Week 09:45 THU (b0739pg9)

Book of the Week 00:30 FRI (b0739pg9)

Book of the Week 09:45 FRI (b073b18m)

Brain of Britain 23:00 SAT (b072j34f)

Brain of Britain 15:00 MON (b0736vtw)

Broadcasting House 09:00 SUN (b0735q04)

Budget 2016 12:15 WED (b073bg88)

Chain Reaction 18:30 WED (b0738kq0)

Costing the Earth 15:30 TUE (b07378d3)

Costing the Earth 21:00 WED (b07378d3)

Desert Island Discs 11:15 SUN (b0735y62)

Desert Island Discs 09:00 FRI (b0735y62)

Dilemma 11:30 FRI (b03wpjg8)

Dot 11:30 MON (b0736pkk)

Drama 14:30 SAT (b072zkst)

Drama 21:00 SAT (b072htqt)

Drama 15:00 SUN (b0736566)

Drama 14:15 MON (b0736vtt)

Drama 14:15 TUE (b03vdfy9)

Drama 14:15 WED (b0738k6q)

Drama 14:15 THU (b0739rfj)

Drama 14:15 FRI (b03s76cr)

Ed Reardon's Week 18:30 TUE (b05y0m0p)

Farming Today 06:30 SAT (b072zjpc)

Farming Today 05:45 MON (b0736pk7)

Farming Today 05:45 TUE (b07378cc)

Farming Today 05:45 WED (b0738hlp)

Farming Today 05:45 THU (b0739j7y)

Farming Today 05:45 FRI (b0739w6g)

Feedback 20:00 SUN (b072n8fk)

Feedback 16:30 FRI (b073bb57)

File on 4 17:00 SUN (b072n9s7)

File on 4 20:00 TUE (b07378dc)

First for Radio 15:45 FRI (b073bb53)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:30 SAT (b072hm5f)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:00 THU (b0735qgg)

Front Row 19:15 MON (b0735q4p)

Front Row 19:15 TUE (b0735q9h)

Front Row 19:15 WED (b0735qcs)

Front Row 19:15 THU (b0735qgz)

Front Row 19:15 FRI (b0735qk2)

Gardeners' Question Time 14:00 SUN (b072n8f9)

Gardeners' Question Time 15:00 FRI (b073bb51)

Hal 18:30 THU (b04p5vl1)

History Retweeted 23:15 WED (b03wq2j5)

In Our Time 09:00 THU (b0739rfg)

In Our Time 21:30 THU (b0739rfg)

In Touch 20:40 TUE (b0735q9k)

Incarnations: India in 50 Lives 13:45 MON (b0736s58)

Incarnations: India in 50 Lives 13:45 TUE (b07378cy)

Incarnations: India in 50 Lives 15:45 WED (b0738jwb)

Incarnations: India in 50 Lives 13:45 THU (b0739pgr)

Incarnations: India in 50 Lives 13:45 FRI (b073b5cb)

Incarnations: India in 50 Lives 21:00 FRI (b073bb5n)

Inside Health 21:00 TUE (b0735q9m)

Just a Minute 12:04 SUN (b072j3g2)

Just a Minute 18:30 MON (b0736vv2)

Last Word 20:30 SUN (b072n8fh)

Last Word 16:00 FRI (b073bb55)

Laura Barton's Notes from a Musical Island 10:30 SAT (b072zjpk)

Law in Action 16:00 TUE (b07378d5)

Law in Action 20:00 THU (b07378d5)

Lent Talks 05:45 SUN (b072mz5t)

Lent Talks 20:45 WED (b0738kq6)

Life inside 'Islamic State' 20:00 MON (b074b4xv)

Loose Ends 18:15 SAT (b072zlxv)

Love in Recovery 23:00 TUE (b07378df)

Making History 15:00 TUE (b07378d1)

Midnight News 00:00 SAT (b072hm3l)

Midnight News 00:00 SUN (b0735pzf)

Midnight News 00:00 MON (b0735q2m)

Midnight News 00:00 TUE (b0735q8k)

Midnight News 00:00 WED (b0735qc2)

Midnight News 00:00 THU (b0735qg2)

Midnight News 00:00 FRI (b0735qjf)

Midweek 09:00 WED (b0738hlr)

Midweek 21:30 WED (b0738hlr)

Modern Welsh Voices 00:30 SUN (b03mclqk)

Money Box 12:04 SAT (b072hm5y)

Money Box 21:02 SUN (b072hm5y)

Money Box 15:00 WED (b0738k6s)

Moral Maze 22:15 SAT (b072mz5r)

Moral Maze 20:00 WED (b0738kq4)

News Briefing 05:30 SAT (b072hm4r)

News Briefing 05:30 SUN (b0735pzp)

News Briefing 05:30 MON (b0735q34)

News Briefing 05:30 TUE (b0735q8w)

News Briefing 05:30 WED (b0735qcb)

News Briefing 05:30 THU (b0735qgd)

News Briefing 05:30 FRI (b0735qjp)

News Headlines 06:00 SUN (b0735pzr)

News Summary 12:00 SAT (b072hm5s)

News Summary 12:00 SUN (b0735q06)

News Summary 12:00 MON (b0735q3v)

News Summary 12:00 TUE (b0735q90)

News Summary 12:00 WED (b0735qcd)

News Summary 12:00 THU (b0735qgj)

News Summary 12:00 FRI (b0735qjr)

News and Papers 06:00 SAT (b072hm4x)

News and Papers 07:00 SUN (b0735pzy)

News and Papers 08:00 SUN (b0735q02)

News and Weather 22:00 SAT (b072hm8j)

News 13:00 SAT (b072hm64)

On Your Farm 06:35 SUN (b0735xtk)

One to One 09:30 TUE (b07378ch)

Open Book 16:00 SUN (b0736568)

Open Book 15:30 THU (b0736568)

Out of the Ordinary 11:00 WED (b0738hm2)

Outsourced Radio 23:00 MON (b07375cb)

PM 17:00 SAT (b072hm76)

PM 17:00 MON (b0735q4f)

PM 17:00 TUE (b0735q9c)

PM 17:00 WED (b0735qcn)

PM 17:00 THU (b0735qgv)

PM 17:00 FRI (b0735qjy)

Pick of the Week 18:15 SUN (b073656d)

Poetry Please 23:30 SAT (b072htxz)

Poetry Please 16:30 SUN (b073656b)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 SAT (b072n96g)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 MON (b0736pk5)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 TUE (b07378c9)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 WED (b0738hlm)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 THU (b0739j7w)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 FRI (b074cgty)

Profile 19:00 SAT (b072zlxx)

Profile 17:40 SUN (b072zlxx)

Radio 4 Appeal 07:54 SUN (b0735xtp)

Radio 4 Appeal 21:26 SUN (b0735xtp)

Radio 4 Appeal 15:27 THU (b0735xtp)

Ramblings 06:07 SAT (b072n5xk)

Ramblings 15:00 THU (b0739rfm)

Reader, I Married Him 19:45 SUN (b07369s9)

Saturday Live 09:00 SAT (b072zjph)

Saturday Review 19:15 SAT (b072hm89)

Saving Science from the Scientists 21:00 MON (b072jdqm)

Saving Science from the Scientists 11:00 TUE (b07378cr)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SAT (b072hm3t)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SUN (b0735pzk)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 MON (b0735q2w)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 TUE (b0735q8r)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 WED (b0735qc6)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 THU (b0735qg6)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 FRI (b0735qjk)

Setting the Past Free 11:30 THU (b0739pgh)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SAT (b072hm3r)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SAT (b072hm46)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SAT (b072hm7c)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SUN (b0735pzh)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SUN (b0735pzm)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SUN (b0735q0d)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 MON (b0735q2r)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 MON (b0735q30)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 TUE (b0735q8m)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 TUE (b0735q8t)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 WED (b0735qc4)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 WED (b0735qc8)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 THU (b0735qg4)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 THU (b0735qg9)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 FRI (b0735qjh)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 FRI (b0735qjm)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SAT (b072hm87)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SUN (b0735q0j)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 MON (b0735q4k)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 TUE (b0735q9f)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 WED (b0735qcq)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 THU (b0735qgx)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 FRI (b0735qk0)

Small Scenes 23:00 THU (b0739rfy)

Something Understood 06:05 SUN (b0735xth)

Something Understood 23:30 SUN (b0735xth)

Start the Week 09:00 MON (b0736pkc)

Start the Week 21:30 MON (b0736pkc)

Sunday Worship 08:10 SUN (b0735xtr)

Sunday 07:10 SUN (b0735xtm)

Syrian Voices 12:04 MON (b0736s56)

Syrian Voices 12:04 TUE (b07378cw)

Syrian Voices 12:04 WED (b0738j27)

Syrian Voices 12:04 THU (b0739pgm)

Syrian Voices 12:04 FRI (b073b5c8)

The Actors' Gang on the Outside 16:00 MON (b0736vty)

The Archers Omnibus 10:00 SUN (b0735y60)

The Archers 19:00 SUN (b073656g)

The Archers 14:00 MON (b073656g)

The Archers 19:00 MON (b0736vv4)

The Archers 14:00 TUE (b0736vv4)

The Archers 19:00 TUE (b07378d9)

The Archers 14:00 WED (b07378d9)

The Archers 19:00 WED (b0738kq2)

The Archers 14:00 THU (b0738kq2)

The Archers 19:00 THU (b0739rfs)

The Archers 14:00 FRI (b0739rfs)

The Archers 19:00 FRI (b073bb5f)

The Bottom Line 17:30 SAT (b072n66d)

The Bottom Line 20:30 THU (b0739rfv)

The Croft & Pearce Show 23:00 WED (b0738kr6)

The Day the Refugees Came 13:30 SUN (b073655v)

The Easter Rising 1916 11:00 FRI (b073b5c6)

The Film Programme 23:00 SUN (b072n5xm)

The Film Programme 16:00 THU (b0739rfp)

The Food Programme 12:32 SUN (b073655s)

The Food Programme 15:30 MON (b073655s)

The Life Scientific 09:00 TUE (b07378cf)

The Life Scientific 21:30 TUE (b07378cf)

The Listening Project 14:45 SUN (b073655x)

The Listening Project 10:55 WED (b0738hm0)

The Listening Project 15:30 WED (b0709v4p)

The Listening Project 16:55 FRI (b073bb59)

The Listening Project 23:55 FRI (b073bb5s)

The Media Show 16:30 WED (b0735qcl)

The Now Show 12:30 SAT (b072n8fq)

The Now Show 18:30 FRI (b073bb5c)

The Untold 11:00 MON (b06yr7gs)

The Week in Westminster 11:00 SAT (b072zjpm)

The World This Weekend 13:00 SUN (b0735q0b)

The World Tonight 22:00 MON (b0735q52)

The World Tonight 22:00 TUE (b0735q9r)

The World Tonight 22:00 WED (b0735qcv)

The World Tonight 22:00 THU (b0735qh1)

The World Tonight 22:00 FRI (b0735qk6)

Thinking Allowed 00:15 MON (b072my2m)

Thinking Allowed 16:00 WED (b0738k6v)

Today in Parliament 23:30 MON (b0736vvb)

Today in Parliament 23:30 TUE (b07378dh)

Today in Parliament 23:30 WED (b0738kst)

Today in Parliament 23:30 THU (b0739rg1)

Today in Parliament 23:30 FRI (b073qzj9)

Today 07:00 SAT (b072zjpf)

Today 06:00 MON (b0736pk9)

Today 06:00 TUE (b074b8r4)

Today 06:00 WED (b07413d6)

Today 06:00 THU (b0739j81)

Today 06:00 FRI (b073qzj7)

Turntable Tales 15:30 SAT (b072jfcr)

Turntable Tales 11:30 TUE (b07378ct)

Tweet of the Day 08:58 SUN (b03wphhd)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 MON (b03tht7c)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 TUE (b03thsbj)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 WED (b03x46sm)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 THU (b03bkfhy)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 FRI (b03mztnb)

Weather 06:04 SAT (b072hm4z)

Weather 06:57 SAT (b072hm54)

Weather 12:57 SAT (b072hm62)

Weather 17:57 SAT (b072hm7v)

Weather 06:57 SUN (b0735pzt)

Weather 07:57 SUN (b0735q00)

Weather 12:57 SUN (b0735q08)

Weather 17:57 SUN (b0735q0g)

Weather 05:56 MON (b0735q3b)

Weather 12:57 MON (b0735q43)

Weather 21:58 MON (b0735q4y)

Weather 12:57 TUE (b0735q97)

Weather 21:58 TUE (b0735q9p)

Weather 13:56 WED (b0735qcj)

Weather 12:57 THU (b0735qgq)

Weather 12:57 FRI (b0735qjw)

Weather 21:58 FRI (b0735qk4)

Westminster Hour 22:00 SUN (b0735q0n)

What the Papers Say 22:45 SUN (b07366yl)

Woman's Hour 16:00 SAT (b072hm74)

Woman's Hour 10:00 MON (b0735q3q)

Woman's Hour 10:00 TUE (b0735q8y)

Woman's Hour 10:00 WED (b0738hlw)

Woman's Hour 10:00 THU (b0739pgc)

Woman's Hour 10:00 FRI (b073b18r)

Wordaholics 19:15 SUN (b01s6c9z)

World at One 13:00 MON (b0736wr1)

World at One 13:00 TUE (b074bqzm)

World at One 13:00 THU (b0739pgp)

World at One 13:00 FRI (b0745xpn)

You and Yours 12:15 MON (b0735q3z)

You and Yours 12:15 TUE (b0735q92)

You and Yours 12:15 THU (b0735qgn)

You and Yours 12:15 FRI (b0735qjt)

iPM 05:45 SAT (b072n96l)