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 27 AUGUST 2016

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b07pd52l)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b07q3ct6)
Wish Lanterns, Episode 5

The stories of young Chinese lives, particularly those young people born under the one-child policy of the 1980s, as they seek to negotiate the expectations of those around them and their own inner desires for self-fulfilment.

There are approximately 322 million Chinese aged between 16 and 30 - a group larger than the population of the USA and destined to have an unprecedented influence on global affairs in the coming years. The one-child policy has led to a generation of only children. There is intense competition for education and jobs, and a tug-of-war between cultural change and tradition, nationalism and the lures of the West.

Dahai is a military child and a would be rebel, Fred is a daughter of the Party, Snail the son of a farming family and Xiaoxiao grew up in the far north and longed to travel south. All were infants when the tanks rolled through Beijing in 1989 and none really know much about their country's recent past. But the way China develops in the future is very much something that will affect their lives - and their behaviour and decisions will affect ours.

In today's episode we rejoin the cohort in 2014 as they approach or turn 30 years old. Stable employment continues to preoccupy them , as does the question of when and how to start a family.

Written by Alec Ash
Read by David Seddon
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07pd52n)
The latest shipping forecast.

SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07pd52q)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.

SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07pd52s)
The latest shipping forecast.

SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b07pd52v)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07pjnsb)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with The Rev John McLuckie of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh.

SAT 05:45 iPM (b07pjnsd)
"I wanted to explode." Women with binge eating disorder share their secret stories as iPM visits a unique therapy group. Reporter Becky Milligan goes to see listener Zoe Hepburn who brings patients together to explore the roots of what makes them eat to incredible excess. For advice on binge eating disorder: https://www.b-eat.co.uk/.

SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b07pd52x)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.

SAT 06:04 Weather (b07pd52z)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 06:07 Open Country (b07pj89s)
Helen Baxendale visits Belper in Derbyshire

Guest presenter Helen Baxendale visits Belper in Derbyshire, to explore the landscape for traces of the town's industrial past. Belper is part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (as designated by UNESCO in 2001), so she expected to find the river-power and the ironstone that made the town a perfect site for Jedediah Strutt to locate his mills in the eighteenth century. More surprising is the vibrant artistic scene and a large helping of community spirit whose roots can be traced back over to Strutt.

Helen also explores a nature reserve that bears the scars of industry, with rivers dredged to feed the mills, flood plains damned and built up and a former landfill site that looks as wild as the rest of the reserve. Closer scrutiny suggests that local flora and fauna are less willing to make their home on the former rubbish tip, even though it is entirely covered in soil and vegetation and doesn't appear to leach into the surrounding environment.

Helen Baxendale is an actress best known for her roles in Cuckoo, Cold Feet and Friends. She also has a keen interest in the environment and family roots in Derbyshire.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b07pd531)
Farming Today This Week: Harvest 2016

Caz Graham is on a mixed arable farm in East Yorkshire to report on the progress of this year's harvest. After a wet spring, how are the UK's crops ripening? And what impact will the weak Pound, and a poor harvest in parts of Europe have on exports? She meets farmer Paul Temple whose wheat is still wet following a late August rain storm that's stopped all harvesting. What are his prospects as the combine stands idly in the shed?
Sally Challoner reports from a farm in Hampshire where the harvest is in full swing, and learns about modern day combine harvesters and what role technology now plays. And Anna Hill has been out harvesting peas in Lincolnshire.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Sally Challoner.

SAT 06:57 Weather (b07pd533)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 07:00 Today (b07q1zbk)
News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b07pd535)
Ralf Little

Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined by Ralf Little. He first came to our attention as Antony in The Royle Family and has now produced the 'mockumentary' series Borderline. He reveals why he swapped medical school for acting and what it was like to play football with Zinedine Zidane.
JP Devlin meets Fergus Anckorn, a former British soldier, he was the youngest member of the Magic Circle and now, at the age of 97, he is its oldest member.
Joanna Cannon advises people to 'dare to fail'. Having left school with one O Level, she worked in various jobs from cleaning kennels to pizza delivery, but ended up studying medicine, becoming a psychiatrist and writing her first book 'The Trouble With Goats and Sheep'.
Jonathan Scott grew up in Berkshire, but has spent the past 40 years living in Kenya. He started out as a novice safari guide in the Maasai Mara Reserve and went on to become a wildlife artist, photographer and author. He describes his fascination for leopards and filming for the popular BBC series 'Big Cat Diary'.
RJ Mitte rose to fame as Walter White Jr in the US hit series Breaking Bad. Like his character, RJ has cerebral palsy. He is now one of the presenters for Channel 4's Paralympics coverage which begin on 7 September.
Ade Edmondson shares his Inheritance Tracks - The Song of the Weather performed by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann; and Jazz, Delicious Hot, Disgusting Cold by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.

Borderline is on Channel 5, Tuesday nights at 10pm.
Jonathan Scott's memoir, The Big Cat Man - an Autobiography is published by Bradt travel guides.
Ade Edmondson can be seen in the 4 part series One Of Us which continues on BBC 1 at 9am on Tuesdays.

Produced by Louise Corley and Annette Wells.
Editor: Karen Dalziel.

SAT 10:30 Jane Garvey's Bottom Gear (b07q1zbm)
Jane Garvey considers her relationship with cars.

Driving a 1980s Fiat Panda with motoring journalist Suzi Perry, discussing the state of her own car with her local mechanic, trying to buy a new one from one of the growing number of women working in car showrooms and riding with racing driver Susie Wolff, Jane reflects on the macho world of alloy wheels and pin-up calendars and wonders whether she'll ever be able to talk the torque.

To aid the journey, she listens to some of the classic driving songs and talks to the writer of one them, 2-4-6-8 Motorway, Tom Robinson.

A Trevor Dann's Company production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 11:00 The Forum (b07q1zbp)
The Element of Surprise

Think about your life and you might realise how much you try to control what happens each day and how little you leave to chance. That might be a defence against the kind of bad surprises no one wants, but is it also depriving you of the spirit of life itself?

Bridget Kendall is joined by three guests who are open to the idea of surprise in art, science and everyday life: author Yann Martel who delighted people with his surprising story of a boy and a tiger together on a lifeboat in Life of Pi, and says all real art is about surprise; social scientist and former president of the European Research Council, Professor Helga Nowotny, who says a sense of surprise is at the heart of scientific discovery; and psychologist-turned-surprisologist Tania Luna who says she has learned to relish the magic of surprise in life and now advises companies on how to deal with uncertainty and change.

And if you are wanting to know what the sound was at the end of the programme: it was excited chimpanzees, much like the one in the photo above. An animal that features strongly in Yann Martel's latest book, The High Mountains of Portugal.

Photo: A 15 month old chimpanzee opens a present (Getty Images).

SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b07pd537)
Kate Adie introduces dispatches from writers and correspondents around the world. This week: lawlessness in the Philippines, early warning of a putative coup in the Maldives, drugs problems in Punjab and in US suburbia; and improving medical care in Romania.

SAT 12:00 News Summary (b07pd539)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 12:04 Online Criminals Stole My Confidence (b07q1zvr)
Simon Read explores the psychological impact on people who fall victim to fraudsters. He talks to people who've suffered emotional distress from what has become the UK's fastest growing crime. And he hears how their families have also been affected.

Last year 660,000 fraud incidents were officially reported but the recent crime survey for England and Wales suggested there were more than 5 million frauds last year and half of those were committed online. This suggests a lot of victims aren't contacting the police - perhaps out of embarrassment or shame.

Simon talks to psychologists who provide insight into the type of people who are likely to fall victim to fraud and they discuss coping strategies and the importance of seeking help.

Britain's top fraud police officer explains the difficult in trying to police online crime and explains what is being done to try and tackle this epidemic.

If you've been affected been any of the issues raised in this programme there is support available -

People living in England and Wales can call Victim Support on 0808 1689111
People living in Scotland can call Victim Support Scotland on 0345 603 9213
People living on Northern Ireland can go to http://www.victimsupportni.co.uk/ for further information.

Presenter: Simon Read
Producer: Ben Carter
Editor: Andrew Smith.

SAT 12:30 The Museum of Curiosity (b07pjn84)
Series 9, Colgan, Ramirez, Frankopan

This week, the Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Noel Fielding welcome:

Dr Janina Ramirez, art historian and TV presenter. Janina is Course Director for the Undergraduate Certificate in History of Art at the University of Oxford. He presenter credits include Treasures of the Anglo-Saxons; The Viking Sagas; Britain's Most Fragile Treasure; The Private Lives of Medieval Kings. Her latest book is The Private Lives of the Saints: Power, Passion and Politics in Anglo-Saxon England.

Peter Frankopan, Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College, Oxford and Director of the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Guardian, and contributed to many TV and Radio documentaries. His latest book The Silk Roads: A New History of the World was named The Daily Telegraph's History Book of the Year 2015.

Jenny Colgan, a novelist who writes romantic comedies, sci-fi and children's books. Her first novel Amanda's Wedding was published in 1999, and she has written 26 more since then. In 2013 she won the Romantic Novel of the Year award for Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams. Her audio play The Time Reaver - starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate will be released in August 2016.

This week, the Museum's Guest Committee appreciate a medieval polymath nun who created her own language; a collection of food additives from the 1970s; and an infinite number of colours that exist only in the mind and all with the same name.

The show was researched by Mike Turner and Anne Miller of QI.

The producers were Richard Turner and James Harkin.

It was a BBC Studios Production.

SAT 12:57 Weather (b07pd53c)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 13:00 News (b07pd53f)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b07pjn8x)
John Hayes MP, Cat Smith MP, Sophie Walker, Toby Young

Ed Stourton presents political debate and discussion from the BBC Philharmonic Studio in Salford with Transport Minister John Hayes MP, Labour Shadow Cabinet Minister Cat Smith MP, the leader of the Women's Equality Party Sophie Walker, and the journalist Toby Young.

SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b07pd53h)
Any Answers after the Saturday broadcast of Any Questions? Lines open at 1230
Call 03700 100 444. Email any.answers@bbc.co.uk. Tweet, #BBCAQ. Follow us @bbcanyquestions.
Presented by Sheila McClennon.

SAT 14:30 Drama (b07q232z)
Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

Robert Rigby's dramatisation of Alan Sillitoe's landmark short story set in the late 1950s.

Borstal boy Smith remembers his crimes and plots his future as he runs, training for the national cross-country event. The governor is desperate for the kudos of victory, telling Smith that hard work and athletic success will turn him into an honest man.

At only 17 years-old, Smith is a genuinely angry young man. His life is already a battle between them and us. There are the In-laws, as he terms the law-abiding, property owning majority, and the Out-laws, the substantial minority who have no stake in the system.

First published in 1959, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is uncompromisingly tough, at times bleakly comic, and always totally unsentimental.

Sound Design: David Chilton
Spot Effects: Alison McKenzie
Production Manager: Sarah Tombling
Director: Carl Prekopp
Producer: Lucinda Mason Brown

A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 15:30 Sweet Mother KD (b07pgvjn)
Laura Barton sorts through myth and misdirection to tell the story of Karen Dalton, the folk world's answer to Billie Holiday.

Karen Dalton was a mesmerising singer, the queen of Greenwich Village. Playing 12-string guitar or long-neck banjo, she sang blues, folk, country, pop, Motown - re-making each song in her own inimitable, heartbreaking style. She was never known as a songwriter in her lifetime, but rather as an interpreter of other people's songs. Dalton's sometime harmonica player Bob Dylan wrote in his memoir, "my favourite singer was Karen Dalton... she had a voice like Billie Holiday's and played the guitar like Jimmy Reed and went all the way with it."

She went all the way with it. Karen Dalton went so far that it seems not many people were prepared to follow and her life story is peppered with gaps and sadness, a catalogue of tall tales left in her wake. She was married and divorced twice, with two children, while still in her teens. Some say she was half-Cherokee, that she kidnapped one of her own children and ran away to New York City. Some say that she had to be tricked into recording her first album, and that her missing teeth came at the hands of a jealous lover. Some say she was homeless, penniless and that she died of AIDS on the New York streets. That particular detail happens not to be true, but what is certain is that she was a powerful singer and performer who - whether through disinterest on her part, lousy timing, bad luck or bad habits - never really realised her potential.

The mysteries that surround her life may be part of the reason for a recent resurgence of interest in Karen Dalton. In the last few years, several CDs of reissued and previously unreleased material have appeared.

But there's been another, more illuminating, if bitter-sweet, reinvention as well.

After Karen Dalton's death, her papers came into the possession of her friend Peter Walker. Contained in these folders, among the transcriptions of traditional songs, mementoes, doodles and fragments, are a number of original poems and songs that shed a new light on a performer previously only known for giving heart-breaking voice to other people's material.

Featuring Sharon Van Etten, Dan Hankin, Josh Rosenthal, Peter Stampfel and Peter Walker.

More information about the Remembering Mountains project here: http://www.tompkinssquare.com/

Producer: Martin Williams.

SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b07pd53k)
Jenna Coleman as young Queen Victoria

The former Doctor Who star Jenna Coleman talks about her new leading role as young Queen Victoria.

Fashion historian Amber Butchart and journalist and author Yasmin Alibhai Brown discuss the ban on the burkini in operation in some coastal towns in France .

Period tracker apps are helping women monitor their dates, bleeding length and fertile window but at what cost? We take a look at them with the technology journalist Cara McGoogan and the CEO of the app Clue Ida Tin.

A new film " Bad Moms " depicts a mother reaching breaking point and rebelling against the 'perfect' mums of the school PTA - but what makes a bad mum? . Helen Thorn and Ellie Gibson from the 'Scummy Mummies' podcast discuss.

More needs to be done to support young gay, lesbian and bisexual people when they come out. So says Matthew Todd, the Editor of Attitude Magazine and author of a new book Straight Jacket : How to be Gay and Happy. So how can parents and the wider community support them.

Plus women and their relationships are often at the heart of Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's films. Film critics Karen Krizanovich and Maria Delgado discuss if Almodovar can be described as a 'feminist director'?

And the Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero performs an improvised piece just for Woman's Hour.

Presented by Jane Garvey
Producer; Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor: Beverley Purcell.

SAT 17:00 PM (b07pd53m)
Saturday PM

Full coverage of the day's news.

SAT 17:30 iPM (b07pjnsd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:45 today]

SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b07pd53p)
The latest shipping forecast.

SAT 17:57 Weather (b07pd53r)
The latest weather forecast.

SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07pd53t)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b07q2331)
Clive Anderson, Scottee, Satish Kumar, Noma Dumezweni, Sadie Frost, Gregory Porter

Clive Anderson and Scottee are joined by Satish Kumar, Noma Dumezweni and Sadie Frost for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Gregory Porter.

Producer: Sukey Firth.

SAT 19:00 Profile (b07q2335)
Seumas Milne

Last October Seumas Milne, a Winchester- and Oxford-educated left-winger, was granted unpaid leave from his position at The Guardian to enter the world of political spin as executive director of strategy and communications in Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party.

The appointment wasn't without controversy. Milne has been labelled a Stalinist by David Cameron, caused division at The Guardian for chairing an event with President Putin and is an outspoken supporter of Hamas. Jeremy Corbyn has chosen a hard-left thinker as his right-hand man.

As the Labour Party hustings come to a close this week, Adam Fleming speaks to friends and colleagues to find out about the man who's at the heart of the Corbyn project.

Producer: Smita Patel.

SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b07pd53y)
Groundhog Day, Almodovar, The Night Of..., Peter Ho Davies, Oxford Modern Art

Tim Minchin's latest musical Groundhog Day is his follow-up to the best-selling triumph of Matilda. Based on the hit film, will this also be a hit?
Pedro Almodovar's 20th film, Julieta, is based on 3 short stories by Alice Munro. It was intended as his English language debut to star Meryl Streep.
HBO's new TV-noir series The Night Of... tells the story of a Pakistani-American who - after a night of drug-fuelled sex - awakes to discover a corpse and is accused of the murder.
Peter Ho Davies' novel The Fortunes tells 4 tales of Chinese-Americans through the 20th and 21st centuries
Kaleidoscope: It's Me To The World, is the newest exhibition at Modern Art Oxford. Celebrating 50 years of contemporary art, performance and experimental visual culture
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are David Hepworth, Kit Davis and Susan Jeffreys. The producer is Oliver Jones.

SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b04stc6c)
Singing Together

Jarvis Cocker sets out on a musical journey to trace the history of Singing Together, the long-running BBC Schools radio programme which got generations of children singing. He uncovers the stories of those who made the programme, listened as children, and used it in their classrooms. Together they remember Monday mornings at 11am, when pupils up and down the country opened their song books and gathered round as teachers wheeled out their classroom radios.

He delves into the archive to uncover the origins of the programme, hearing the first presenter, Herbert Wiseman, describe how he started the series at the outbreak of the Second World War as a way of reaching out to children at a time when many had been evacuated. Wartime teacher Brenda Jenkins, who used Singing Together with her class of evacuees, remembers how 'singing always helped'

Jarvis explores the power of singing to bringing people together. He also uncovers the origins of the folk songs used in the programme and traces how it changed though the 1960s and 70's, opening up to musical traditions from around the world. He reflects on the impact of the long running series - which gave many their first introduction to folk heritage- with award winning musician Eliza Carthy.

And he asks why recordings of this hugely popular series were not preserved for posterity. Only a handful of episodes survive in the BBC archive but, with the help of a small community of collectors, he sets out to find some of the missing episodes.

Producer: Ruth Evans
Editor: David Ross.

SAT 21:00 Drama (b07pdd80)
Reading Europe - Greece: The Final Reckoning, Episode 2

It's 2008, just prior to the Greek elections that will bring Tsipris to power, and a serial killer calling himself The National Tax Collector continues to pick off Athens' wealthy elite with seeming impunity.

The mounting numbers of victims dumped at the city's most historical sites is putting Inspector Kostas Jaritos of the Athens Police under growing political pressure. To make matter worse, Jaritos is a man with problems and past of his own to worry about. And those problems are about to get a whole lot worse.

The killer has somehow found out about Jaritos' role with the military police under the fascist junta in the 1970s and is about to use this knowledge to devastating effect.

Written by Petros Markaris, one of Greece's most popular writers.

Written by Petros Markaris
Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan

A Big Fish Radio production for Radio 4.

SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b07pd540)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.

SAT 22:15 What Point Prison? The Debate (b07pj2pk)
Stephen Sackur chairs a debate about the role of prison in the 21st century, at the Galleries of Justice Museum in Nottingham.

Is incarceration still fit for purpose in a digital age? Are there other ways to punish and rehabilitate people? Or, despite a rising prison population and major overcrowding, are we simply not tough enough? Should we instead be building more jails and sending out a clear message to would-be criminals?

The Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales, Peter Clarke said recently that our prisons had become "unacceptably violent and dangerous places" and that the spread of psychoactive substances, often referred to as legal highs, was a having a "dramatic and destabilising effect".

How we treat the people we put behind bars is an age old debate, but it's also one facing new challenges - from technological change to concerns about cost.

Stephen Sackur hears from decision makers, experts and an invited audience with direct experience of prison and criminal justice. He asks which - if any of the alternatives to prison used in other parts of the world should be considered in the UK. From house arrest and boot camps to naming and shaming and diversion, how effective would they be here?


Produced by Ashley Byrne
A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 23:00 Counterpoint (b07pf6ws)
Series 30, Semi-Final 1, 2016

(10/13)
Paul Gambaccini welcomes the first three semi-finalists of the 2016 series to the Radio Theatre in London. The pace really hots up now, as the competitors are all heat winners and will all be keen to secure a place in the series Final in September.

The range of their musical knowledge will be put to the test as Paul asks them to identify (among other things) a Beethoven symphony, a piece of English brass band music and a recent Mark Ronson remix - along with an unexpected version of 'Stand By Me'.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.

SAT 23:30 Poetry Please (b07pdd84)
Elizabeth Bishop and Jorge Luis Borges

Roger McGough opens a caixa de sol, a box of sun, and presents a selection of poems by Elizabeth Bishop, Jorge Luis Borges and others from Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. The readers are Barbara Flynn and Tom Courtenay. Producer: Tim Dee.


SUNDAY 28 AUGUST 2016

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b07q2cxz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

SUN 00:30 Stories from the Southern Cross (b04bryz5)
Orbiting

Stories from the Southern Cross consists of three new pieces of writing produced in collaboration with the first Australia New Zealand Literature Festival. Each story represents a new voice from the Antipodes - a place at once very familiar, but in fact quite different.

The series depicts a world of aggressive ennui, of suburban sprawl battling with a voracious bush and extreme weather, of taboos and generations colliding as old, White Australia comes to terms with another generation of migration.

In this third story, Sophie lives in a world of extremes, clinging to friendships and partners in a town battling the encroaching bush and bone-dry weather; in a community prone to frantic enjoyment and sudden violence and at all times vulnerable to the threat of bush fires.

Narrator: Linda Taimre

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

SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07q2cy1)
The latest shipping forecast.

SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07q2cy3)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service. BBC Radio 4 resumes at 5.20am.

SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07q2cy5)
The latest shipping forecast.

SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b07q2cy7)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b07q2gbl)
Manchester Cathedral

Time now for Bells on Sunday, which this week comes from Manchester Cathedral. The Grade one listed building was - during World War Two - the most damaged English Cathedral after Coventry. The interior retains amongst other fittings, a magnificent set of choir stalls complete with misericords dating back to the early Sixteenth Century. The tower contains a peal of 10 bells cast by the Croydon Foundry of Gillett and Johnson. The tenor, cast in 1925, weighs 27 and three quarters hundredweight and is tuned to F. We hear them now ringing Bristol Surprise Royal.

SUN 05:45 Profile (b07q2335)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]

SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b07q2cy9)
The latest national and international news.

SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b07q2gbn)
God Loves a Drunk

Award winning poet Imtiaz Dharker examines the phenomenon of divine intoxication - being drunk on God.

It's an experience which causes an uncontainable release of energy and intoxication, one that has inspired writers for centuries. Imtiaz explains "Before I ever tasted it I understood the metaphor of wine and its powerful spell. It was in the Urdu poetry my parents listened to, the ghazals and Hindustani film songs with the recurring theme of 'nasha', intoxicating love."

Intoxication, especially when brought about by something as pure as love, offers us the chance to lose ourselves, to communicate with an elusive beyond. The imagery of intoxication flows through cultures, enriching art, songs and poetry. Drunkenness it transpires is not always frowned upon. At Purim, Jews are instructed to become inebriated, in memory of their deliverance through Esther. Dionysus offers liberation through wine, a release into exuberant fertility, music and dance.

Imtiaz draws upon the work of the 14th century Persian poet Hafiz and the Sufi poets who, despite being Muslims, used the metaphor of wine, taverns and heavenly barmaids to suggest a longing for God. Music featured includes Joni Mitchell, Jacques Brel and Richard Thompson.

Presenter: Imtiaz Dharker
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 06:35 The Living World (b07q2gbq)
Night with the Owls

Chris Packham relives programmes from The Living World archives.

The countryside at night was once the preserve of the poacher or gamekeeper, expertly tracking their quarry by the light of the moon, and a lifetime of local knowledge. Those skills are much in evident in this programme from 1997, when Lionel Kelleway joins Chris Sperring from the Hawk and Owl Trust in the West Country.

As the light fades, their quest is to see, or should that be hear the four owls possible in the Somerset countryside in summer, the tawny owl, little owl, barn owl plus the cryptic and elusive long eared owl. As the night gathers they begin with the most often heard sound of the night, the Twit Twoo of the tawny owl, but will they manage to hear a long eared owl before dawn? With just 2000 pairs of Long Eared Owl in Britain could it be a task too far even with skill and patience high up on the Mendip Hills.

Producer Andrew Dawes.

SUN 06:57 Weather (b07q2cyc)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b07q2cyf)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.

SUN 07:10 Sunday (b07q2cyh)
Cultural genocide; Greenbelt festival; Handel in Italy

Religious and ethical news.

SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (b07q2gbs)
Children's Liver Disease Foundation

Louise Tubman, a mother and beneficiary of the charity Children's Liver Disease Foundation, makes the Radio 4 Appeal on their behalf.
Registered Charity No 1067331
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal. (That's the whole address. Please do not write anything else on the front of the envelope). Mark the back of the envelope 'Children's Liver Disease Foundation'
- Cheques should be made payable to 'Children's Liver Disease Foundation'.

SUN 07:57 Weather (b07q2cyk)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b07q2cym)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.

SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b07q2gbv)
Reflections on Deep Time

Live from Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh, marking the Festival, with the Minister, The Rev Richard Frazer, and the Rev Lezley Stewart.
This year's Edinburgh International Festival opened with an event based on the concept of 'Deep Time'. It's a quote from one of the fathers of geology, James Hutton, who is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. During the 18th century, when the Christian world still thought the Biblical account of the earth's age was accurate, he gazed at the rocks of the city's Salisbury Crags and reflected that in them he saw no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end. Science continually enlarges the frontiers of what we know to be true, and challenges faith; Greyfriars' centuries-old traditions of living the Gospel in its city centre setting, of artistic exploration and intellectual engagement, give the service its theme - the holding together of faith and reason.
Greyfriars Kirk Choir is directed by Henry Wallace and accompanied by organist, Peter Backhouse.
Hymns: Great God of every shining constellation (Highwood)
Lord of all being, throned afar (Ombersley)
Christ triumphant, ever reigning (Guiting Power)
Anthems: My Eyes for Beauty Pine (Howells)
Send Forth Thy Light (Balakirev)
Producer: Mo McCullough.

SUN 08:48 A Point of View (b07pjn8z)
Every Dog Has His Day

Tom Shakespeare - a new dog owner - reflects on what dogs can teach us about contentment.

Remembering his childhood obsession with the Peanuts cartoon, he quotes Snoopy "My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm Happy. I can't figure it out. What am I doing right?"

Dogs, writes Tom, have a much greater capacity for contentment than people and we can all learn from this.

Producer: Adele Armstrong.

SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qk9b)
Bluethroat

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

Brett Westwood presents the bluethroat. This is a fine songbird and a sprightly robin-sized bird with a dazzling sapphire bib. Your best chance of seeing one is in autumn when they pass through the north or east coast on migration.

SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b07q2cyp)
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.

SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b07q2cyt)
Rob has got some news for Henry, and Kaz is feeling powerless.

SUN 11:15 The Reunion (b07q2h8v)
The Glastonbury Festival

Billed acts bailed out, naked hippies horrified locals, and Hells Angels provided the security. But even then, Michael Eavis knew that the first Glastonbury Festival, held at his dairy farm in Pilton in 1970, was the start of something that would change his life. Sue MacGregor reunites key players from the early days of the festival.

Now Glastonbury is a British institution and the biggest festival of its kind in the world. It's a rite of passage for any self-respecting teenage music fan and the acme of many musicians' careers.

At the first Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival, The Kinks were booked to headline but cancelled in disgust after reading that they were to appear at "a mini festival". Eavis was delighted when a band called T Rex stepped in to replace them. But a disappointing turn-out left him in the red.

Winston Churchill's debutant turned peacenik granddaughter bankrolled the 1971 "Glastonbury Fayre". Her entourage of Notting Hill hippies lent it a glamorous air, although the organisers still lost money!

Acts in 1971, included Melanie, veteran of Woodstock and the Isle of Wight festivals, the incendiary Arthur Brown whose dark and theatrical stage act countered the hippies' peace and love aesthetic, and flautist Jessica Stanley Clarke's prog band Marsupilami. Jessica's home in Pilton became the negotiating ground between festival organisers and incensed villagers. Jessica, now Jekka McVicar, is an organic herb grower recently appointed vice-president of the Royal Horticultural Society.

Arthur, Jekka and Melanie are reunited with Michael Eavis and Chris Church, who bunked off school to go to the early festivals.

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

SUN 12:00 News Summary (b07q2cyx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (b07pfc38)
Series 76, Episode 3

Nicholas Parsons and guests return for the 76th series of the panel show where participants must try to speak for 60 seconds without hesitation, deviation or repetition. No repetition? That's no small order after nearly 50 years.

This is a very special episode coming from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and features the following guests: Paul Merton, Janey Godley, Nish Kumar and Marcus Brigstocke.

Hayley Sterling blows the whistle.

Produced by Matt Stronge.

It is a BBC Studios production.

SUN 12:32 Food Programme (b07q2h8x)
Whisky Britannia: The Drinks Menu

With 20 million casks lying in storage maturing, Scotch whisky looks set to hold its strong place in the world market for decades to come. It's the third biggest industry in Scotland, contributing £3.3 billion to the economy per year. But the landscape is changing - both within Scotland and across the UK. Recent years have seen dozens of new distilleries opening in Scotland and also in Wales, Northern Ireland and England. Sheila Dillon celebrates 'Whisky Britannia' to discover who exactly is choosing to start distilling whisky, how you perfect your craft and flavour and become distinctive in such a busy marketplace. Do these new brands have anything to offer which the established companies haven't tried?

Reporter and whisky lover Rachel McCormack also uncovers the secrets of perfecting a blend, and trying to please a foreign market who may also mix it with coconut or green tea. Whisky writer and expert Dave Broom shares some of the extraordinary things he's seen but warns many markets from Iceland to Japan are keen to get a taste of the action too.

Presented by Sheila Dillon
Produced by Anne-Marie Bullock.

SUN 12:57 Weather (b07q2cyz)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b07q2cz1)
Global news and analysis.

SUN 13:30 From Our Home Correspondent (b07q2h8z)
In the latest programme of the new monthly series, Mishal Husain introduces dispatches from journalists and writers around the United Kingdom that reflect the range of contemporary life in the country. This edition features pieces on the theme of far-reaching change but begins with Jane Labous on the trail of an elusive, Pied Piper-like figure on the Dorset beaches near Poole. Then Chris Page reflects on the thirtysomethings who are making their mark in Northern Ireland politics; Sarah Smith draws attention to a quiet revolution in attitudes and behaviour that's been taking place in Scottish public life; Bob Walker in Nottingham has been pondering the unexpected moments of recognition that can come amid the difficult changes caused by the onset of dementia; and Tim Dee in Bristol explains the dramatic effect of reintroducing a once-rare bird of prey to the English countryside.

Producer Simon Coates.

SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b07pjkhy)
Nottinghamshire

Eric Robson and the panel are in Nottinghamshire. Bob Flowerdew, Anne Swithinbank and Pippa Greenwood provide the answers to this week's horticultural queries.

Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b06np7nv)
Omnibus - Sons of Ten Years and Under

Fi Glover with three conversations between parents and their sons, about having a disabled twin, having a disabled father, and the joys of Lego, all in the Omnibus edition 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 (b07q2r4v)
New Grub Street, Episode 1

New Grub Street by George Gissing. Dramatised by Christopher Douglas.
Episode 1
Edwin Reardon is a serious novelist striving for recognition in a literary world that's dumbing rapidly down. His younger, confident friend Jasper Milvain believes the only purpose of writing is to make big bucks. Neither approach has brought them much success. Radio 4's Ed Reardon and Jaz Milvain are loosely based on characters from this Victorian novel. And in this satiric dramatisation George Gissing is played by Christopher Douglas.

Director/Producer Gary Brown

Free schooling, which followed the Education Act of 1807 helped to create a newly literate working class. This created a demand for popular fiction and sensational journalism. Thus a gulf opened up between 'Literature' and the mass market as embodied by writers Edwin Reardon and Jasper Milvain.

SUN 16:00 Open Book (b07q2kr8)
Crime Writing: Val McDermid, Abir Mukherjee and Lucy Ribchester

Mariella Frostrup investigates crime writing from the heart of the Edinburgh Festival. Crime today ranges from psychological thrillers to so-called Cosy Crime whodunnits. With more choice than ever before, why are writers still drawn to expanding and re-inventing the genre and what's its appeal for readers?

Mariella is joined by doyenne of the genre, Val McDermid, who publishes her thirtieth novel Out of Bounds this month. Her cold case investigator DCI Karen Pirie returns with gusto to discover the truth behind complex questions of family and identity. Also on stage are two relative newcomers in the field. Lucy Ribchester whose novel The Amber Shadows is a thrilling, mystery adventure set in the secret world of Bletchley Park and Abir Mukherjee's A Rising Man takes us to steamy Calcutta at the time of the British Raj.

SUN 16:30 Poetry Please (b07q2krb)
Jack Clemo at 100

Roger McGough listens to a series of poems by the remarkable Cornish poet Jack Clemo who was born 100 years ago. A devout and singular poet, Clemo grew up in the raw and brutal landscape of the china-clay pits of Cornwall. He was deeply affected by where he was from. Deaf from an early age, and later blind as well, he wrote an extraordinary physical yet religious verse that is like nothing and no one else. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and Clemo's biographer, Luke Thompson, pick and read their favourite poems and Jim Causley sings some. Producer: Tim Dee.

SUN 17:00 How We Voted Brexit (b07pgw3k)
The EU Referendum is the biggest democratic decision Britain has faced in a generation - but how were voters swayed into choosing Remain or Leave?

Anne McElvoy speaks to leading figures from across the campaigns to reveal some of the strategic decisions made on the campaign trail, which ultimately led to the momentous result.

Producer: Richard Fenton-Smith
Researcher: Beth Sagar-Fenton.

SUN 17:40 Profile (b07q2335)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]

SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b07q2cz3)
The latest shipping forecast.

SUN 17:57 Weather (b07q2cz5)
The latest weather forecast.

SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07q2cz7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b07q2krd)
Benjamin Zephaniah

Benjamin Zephaniah chooses his BBC Radio highlights.

SUN 19:00 The Archers (b07q2krg)
It is a busy day at the cricket, and Ian and Rob come toe to toe.

SUN 19:15 Sketchorama (b047c7x4)
Series 3, Episode 1

Tom Tuck presents the pick of the best live sketch groups currently performing on the UK comedy circuit - featuring three up and coming groups in character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.

In this programme:
Casual Violence
A comedy collective featuring Luke Booys, Greg Cranness, Dave Arrondelle, Alex Whyman, Ben Champion and writer James Hamilton. Their most recent show, House of Nostril, had sell out runs at the Soho Theatre and the Lowry in Salford Quays, following the show's success at the Edinburgh Fringe 2013. They won a ThreeWeeks Editor's Choice Award in 2011 for their show Choose Death, and their writer James Hamilton was nominated for the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality in 2011 and 2012.

Croft and Pearce
Hannah Croft and Fiona Pearce met at school and, in a radical bid to break free from a quiet, cerebral existence in the Home Counties, they both went to study at Oxford University. Desperate to be chatted up by men from mainland Europe, Hannah studied French and Italian. Desperate not to be, Fiona studied English. Fiona went on to train on the three year acting course at Central School of Speech and Drama. Eager to be like Fiona, Hannah also studied acting for three years, at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since then they have enjoyed three successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Beasts
Three refined gentlemen of comedy - Owen Roberts, James McNicholas and Ciarán Dowd. After a sell-out second Edinburgh show, these monstrously funny sketchmen are all set for greater success.

Producer: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 19:45 There Is No-one in the Lab but Mice (b07q2r50)
What happens when scientists around the world suddenly down tools?

Written by Tania Hershman, who is the author of two story collections, My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions, and The White Road and Other Stories. Her award-winning short stories and poetry have been widely published in print and online and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and 4. Tania is founder and curator of ShortStops, celebrating short story activity across the UK and Ireland. She is a Royal Literary Fund fellow at the faculties of science at Bristol University.

Written and Read by Tania Hershman
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.

SUN 20:00 More or Less (b07pjkj5)
Gender Pay Gap

The "gender pay gap"
This topic has been in the news this week after the Institute for Fiscal Studies published research showing women end up 33% worse off than their male counterparts after they have children. But earlier in the summer, Fraser Nelson wrote in the Telegraph that the pay gap is "no longer an issue" for women born after 1975. Can both assessments be true? And could the label "gender pay gap" be hindering our understanding of what really lies behind the numbers?

The cost of a hospital
If a politician or commentator wants to underline just how wasteful a piece of expenditure is, a common strategy is to compare it to the number of hospitals you could build instead. Of course, hospitals are positive things - we all want more, right? But just how much is a hospital? Is it really a useful unit of measurement? We speak to health economist John Appleby.

Corbyn Facts
As Labour members begin voting on the party leadership, we investigate some of the claims made on the "Corbyn Facts" website set up by Jeremy Corbyn's campaign. Did he really give 122 speeches on the EU referendum during the campaign? Were this year's local election results as good as Labour's best performance under Ed Miliband? We look at what the numbers tell us.

Death Penalty abolition
Statistics suggest that officially about half of the countries in the world have abolished Capital Punishment, and a further 52 have stopped its use in practice. But we tell the story behind the numbers and show why the picture is more complicated. We speak to Parvais Jabbar, co-director of the Death Penalty Project.

The Holiday Desk of Good News
This week we outline a handful of statistics to make everyone feel better about the UK and their holidays.

SUN 20:30 Last Word (b07pjkj2)
Sir Antony Jay, Donald Henderson, Tom Cholmondeley, Patsy Wright-Warren CBE, Lord Rix

Julian Worricker on....

The co-writer of 'Yes Minister' and 'Yes Prime Minister' - Sir Antony Jay....

Donald Henderson, American epidemiologist, who led the WHO's campaign to eradicate smallpox....

The aristocrat Tom Cholmondeley, who divided opinion in his native Kenya after he shot dead two black men on his ranch....

Nursing leader, Patsy Wright-Warren, who went on to travel the world for the Ryder-Cheshire Foundation.....

and the entertainer and actor, Brian Rix, who was one of the country's leading campaigners for people with learning disabilities.

Producer: Neil George.

SUN 21:00 Online Criminals Stole My Confidence (b07q1zvr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]

SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b07q2gbs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]

SUN 21:30 In Business (b07pjbb0)
Supportive Partner = Success at Work

According to Sheryl Sandberg - Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and one of the most powerful people in the world - the most important career choice you'll make as a woman is who you choose to be your life partner. Whilst men tend to assume they can have it all - a great career AND a great family - women don't. And she puts that down to the uneven division of labour in the home. She claims in households where both parents work full time, women do twice the amount of house work and three times the amount of childcare. She says that she and her late husband were '50/50' and that has played a huge part in her success. How many of us can claim the same?

The numbers of working mothers in the UK are at record levels with 70% of women with dependent children now part of the workforce. But those who work still earn less overall and enjoy lower status than their male counterparts, especially after having children. Evidence also shows that those who do forge the most successful careers are largely child-free.

So how easy is it to have a successful career if you are female and also a mother? Peter Day asks a range of women how they have done it, about the compromises they have they made and what have they learnt that they can pass on to future generations.

Presenter: Peter Day
Producer: Alex Lewis
Editor: Penny Murphy.

SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b07q2czc)
Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.

SUN 23:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b07pwyhw)
Series 3, Cops, Dumpster Diving and Mental Illness

True stories told live in the USA: Meg Bowles introduces stories about grief, opportunity, motherhood and love under strain.

The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.

The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.

Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart-breaking.

The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange.

SUN 23:50 A Point of View (b07pjn8z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:48 today]


MONDAY 29 AUGUST 2016

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b07q2d1v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

MON 00:15 Swansong (b076b35d)
Her heart it played
like well worn strings;
in her eyes
the sadness sings;
of one who was destined
for better things

Hana Walker-Brown's grandma was kept alive for seven hours in order for her family to rush to the hospital to say their goodbyes. One moment, alive like few 86 year olds; the next, parked in the one-way ward, a holding bay between this life and the next.

Swansong is a meditation on memory and loss, acceptance and death, with real life stories, imagined ones and the sounds and silences that weave our worlds together.

As Hana sat with her family waiting for the final moment, grief already upon them, her grandma lay in her own time and place - memories flooding in and around the reality of her situation, like a rolodex, flicking through years, moments, experiences in which she'd found happiness, sadness, weakness and strength. Content with death, after a life well-lived.

Comprising interviews with those who witnessed these final moments and audio captured by Hana with her grandma over the years, this feature blurs the lines between fact and fiction to take the listener through the precious final moments before passing to the other side.

Produced by Hana Walker-Brown
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b07q2gbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]

MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07q2d1y)
The latest shipping forecast.

MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07q2d20)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07q2d22)
The latest shipping forecast.

MON 05:30 News Briefing (b07q2d24)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07tlnt6)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with The Rev John McLuckie of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh.

MON 05:45 Farming Today (b07q2d2f)
Farming's Patron Saint

Anna Hill joins the faithful on pilgrimage in Norfolk tracing the life of the patron saint of farming who died 1000 years ago. She asks if agriculture needs a figure head like St Walstan today as questions why his story of hard work and dedication isn't better known. Walking through the country lanes she meets the people inspired by his life and legacy and talks to both Anglican and Catholic Bishops about his appeal across the Christian church.

MON 05:56 Weather (b07q2d2m)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.

MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qk0c)
Green Sandpiper

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

Brett Westwood presents the Green Sandpiper; a bird with a wonderful yodelling call and the heart-stopping suddenness with which it leaps up from its feeding place and dashes off. The birds that visit the UK are often from Scandinavia, where they nest high up in a fir-tree. When the chicks hatch they tumble unharmed from the nest and are escorted to safe feeding places by their parents.

MON 06:00 Today (b07q2d2q)
News and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

MON 09:00 The Matter of the North (b07q3gjw)
The Origins of the North

In this 10 part series Melvyn Bragg brings all his passion and knowledge to a subject that has enthralled and fascinated him throughout his life - the pivotal role of England's North in the shaping of modern Britain. As he traces the ebb and flow of Northern power he examines how this relatively small geographical area has had a profound effect of every part of the globe - its ideas and inventions, sport and music.

Melvyn Bragg begins the series atop Hadrian's Wall looking down onto the North of England. Programme One begins as the Roman Empire loses it grip on the area. Melvyn returns to the seaside town of Maryport in Cumbria - which he visited as a boy - and which displays an extensive collection of Roman military altar stones. Melvyn travels to Lindisfarne or Holy Island off the coast of Northumbria which became a crucial centre for the spread of Christianity coming from the west - and was to play no small part in shaping the fortunes of Northumbria and its Anglian royal family. Melvyn goes to Whitby in North Yorkshire - home of the great Abbey and its remarkable Abbess St Hilda and discusses the power well-born women could wield in the early church. He discusses the Northumbrian King Ecgfrith, one of the most powerful men of his day, who laid the basis for what was to be one of the great Renaissance moments in western civilisation. Professor Nick Higham's biography 'Ecgfrith' (Paul Watkins Publishing) recounts how he was killed in a battle against the Picts in Scotland. Melvyn asks what might have happened if Ecgfrith had won - the answer is that Scotland as we know it today may have never existed and the capital of Britain could well have been in the North, possibly in York.

Contributors:
Judi Dench
Michael Parkinson
Joan Bakewell
Ian McMillan
Professor Nick Higham, University of Manchester
Professor Ian Haynes, Newcastle University
Professor Katy Cubitt, University of York

Producer: Faith Lawrence.

MON 09:30 Our Man in Greeneland (b07q2tnz)
Monsieur Quixote

To complement BBC Radio 4's season of Graham Greene dramas, Madrid correspondent Guy Hedgecoe follows Graham Greene's travels around post-Franco Spain in the late 1970s. Greene's frequent trips to Spain, and his travels around the country with his great friend, the priest Father Duran, were to inspire his novel Monsieur Quixote, recently dramatized on BBC Radio 4.

Readings by James Lailey
Produced by Emma Harding.

MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b07q2tp1)
Shrinking Violets, Episode 1

Joe Moran has spent his life trying to get to grips with his shyness. In this Field Guide to Shyness, he explores the hidden world of reticence, navigating the myriad ways scientists and thinkers have tried to explain and cure shyness, and uncovering the fascinating stories of the men and women who were 'of the violet persuasion'.

"It feels like coming late to a party when everyone else is about three beers in and entering that state that allows them to have fluent exchanges that settle on some pre-agreed theme as if by magic."

Darwin referred to shyness as an "odd state of mind". It has no obvious benefit to our species, so why is it so pervasive, not only in humans but in other creatures - from the Virginia opossum to salamander larvae?

Read by Nigel Planer
Written by Joe Moran
Abridged and produced by Hannah Marshall
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b07q2d2s)
Underwear: What do we wear and who is it for?

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b07q2tp3)
Blood and Milk, Episode 6

by Gregory Evans

Meg believes that she has saved her dairy from the clutches of gangster Moses Lipski but now other troubles are brewing that threaten both Meg and her family.

Directed by Marc Beeby.

MON 11:00 The Plastic Revolution: 50 Years of the Credit Card (b07gcxd1)
The remarkable story of how a six page document and an investment of just £20,000 became the first steps on a road that changed British society forever.

In 1966, the UK saw the introduction of the credit card, and customers could start to buy with money they had yet to earn. This idea would gather momentum and not just sweep away post-war austerity, but help create a culture that has led to UK average credit card and loan debt standing at over 25% of income.

In the autumn of 1965, Derek Wilde of Barclays came back from California, having licensed the rights to use Bank Of America's credit card software for a trifling £20,000. He sold the concept of a credit card to his board with just a six page document, and claimed he could introduce the card in six months. This audacious idea had no business plan or market research. They didn't pilot the scheme, and didn't even have a computer capable of handling the business.

At first, everyone else hated the idea. The retailers didn't want the bother, consumers complained about being sent cards they didn't want, and the branch bank managers certainly didn't like it as decisions about who was allowed to have a card and how much credit they were to be given were taken at the Barclaycard HQ in Northampton.

Instead of an army of risk averse branch managers, a centralised decision making process became subject to pressures to increase profits - leading to an ever greater need to lend.

Interviewees include Amer Sajed, the CEO of Barclaycard, and Joanna Elson of the Money Advice Trust charity.

Presenter: Kamal Ahmed, BBC Business Editor.
Producer: David Morley
A Bite Media production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 11:30 The Rest Is History (b04vd88y)
Series 1, Episode 2

A new, six-part comedy discussion show hosted by Frank Skinner.

Frank loves history, but just doesn't know much of it, so he's devised The Rest Is History to find out more about it.

Along with his historian in residence, Dr Kate Williams, each episode sees Frank joined by a selection of celebrity guests, who will help him navigate his way through the annals of time, picking out and chewing over the funniest, oddest, and most interesting moments in history.

Frank's guests in this edition of the programme are Victoria Coren Mitchell and Andy Zaltzman.

Produced by Dan Schreiber and Justin Pollard
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 12:00 News Summary (b07q2d2v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

MON 12:04 Home Front (b07kcj5j)
29 August 1916 - Alec Poole

On this day in 1916, Paul von Hindenberg became German Chief of Staff, and in Folkestone, Alec Poole's loyalties are stretched.

Written by Shaun McKenna
Directed by Allegra McIlroy.

MON 12:15 You and Yours (b07q2d30)
Terrorism vs Tourism

Terrorists are increasingly targeting tourist resorts and destination cities. In today's You & Yours we report on the human impact of terror attacks and the long-term affect on the countries they target.

New research commissioned by You & Yours shows to what extent passenger numbers travelling to British holiday destinations, including France, Tunisia, Turkey, and Egypt have been affected by attacks over the last two years. Olivier Javier from Forward Keys analyses the airport arrivals data.

France is one of those most visited countries in the world, but after two years of attacks we analyse whether tourists are now wary of making trips to the country. We also speak to a British survivor of the Bataclan Theatre attack in Paris.

The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the only country to advise against all but essential travel to Tunisia. We travel to the country and find out how this advice is affecting Tunisian businesses and the country's economy. The Tunisian government insists Tunisia is safe for European tourists, but we investigate why the security situation in the country is more complicated than it seems.

The United Nations is advising governments to not have travel bans in place as it gives the terrorists what they want. Taleb Rifai, the UN's General Secretary for World Travel says the UK government should lift the ban on travel to Tunisia, and says the current advice could jeopardise Tunisia's new democracy and destroy its economy.

MON 12:57 Weather (b07q2d32)
The latest weather forecast.

MON 13:00 World at One (b07q2d34)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

MON 13:45 Nature's Great Invaders (b07q2zxh)
Grey Squirrel

Telling the stories of non-native invasive species and our complicated attitudes to them and with an uncertain political future how do we police our ecological borders?

The grey squirrel is considered one of the worlds greatest natural invaders. It's been on UK shores for over a hundred years and it's two million strong population dwarfs that of our native red squirrel. It is maligned by many, but does the grey squirrel deserve its reputation as an unstoppable invader? Derek Mooney intends to find out.

MON 14:00 The Archers (b07q2krg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]

MON 14:15 Drama (b07q31y5)
Mr Trollope and the Labours of Hercules

In 1858, Anthony Trollope arrived in Jamaica to re-organise the West Indian Postal service. Using the book he wrote about his experiences, Jamaican-born writer Patricia Cumper imagines what really happened during his eventful stay in the island...



Produced and directed by Marion Nancarrow.

MON 15:00 Counterpoint (b07q31y7)
Series 30, Semi-Final 2, 2016

(11/13)
The second semi-final of Counterpoint 2016 features another three competitors who've won through from the heats stage. Paul Gambaccini asks the questions, requiring a knowledge ranging from symphonic poems to no.1 pop albums of 2016. As always, the competitors also have to pick a special topic on which to answer an individual round of questions, with no prior warning of the categories. The winner will return in two weeks' time in the grand Final at the BBC Proms.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.

MON 15:30 Food Programme (b07q2h8x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]

MON 16:00 My Muse (b07q31y9)
Lemn Sissay on Bob Marley

Lemn's reverence for Bob Marley is rooted in his own childhood in care, his feeling that both Marley and himself were born as outsiders. Lemn Sissay was fostered up until the age of 12, but was then abandoned by that family and placed him in care. A series of children's homes followed. Lemn didn't know any black people, but the music of Bob Marley gave him a sense of hope and of identity. As an adult Lemn traced his birth parents - both were from Ethiopia, a place of deep spiritual significance to Bob Marley.

For Lemn, Marley seemed to cross all boundaries speaking to people around the world, whatever colour they were, with a message of self-empowerment, through the new sound of reggae music, which he played a great hand in creating. As Lemn says - a muse inspires urgency. 'What must be written, must be written'.

Lemn speaks with the poet and reggae star Linton Kwesi Johnson, to the photographer Denis Morris who's taken some of the most iconic pictures of Bob Marley. Lemn meets Chris Salewicz, author of Bob Marley, The Untold Story and two people from his, past Adele Jones who knew him as a young burgeoning poet and Linden - the man Lemn credits with introducing him to Marley all those years ago.

Producer: Nicola Swords, Radio Production North, Salford.

MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b07q31yc)
Hair

A person's hair is one of the few visible indicators we might have about their religion. A long beard, for example, can be a powerful symbol of devotion for many Muslims, Jews and Christians. In Orthodox Jewish communities, married women wear a wig or hat rather than expose their hair in public. Sikhs consider hair to be so special that it can't ever be cut. Some of these practices are based on rules written in texts from long ago. So what is their relevance today? Why do some communities continue to hold on these rituals? Are they on the increase or in decline in British society?

Ernie Rea discusses the connection between hair and religious belief with Dr Christopher Oldstone-Moore, author of "Of Beards and Men: The Revealing History of Facial Hair"' Dr Jasjit Singh, an expert in religious and cultural identity from the University of Leeds; and Rabbi Dr Barbara Borts, a Reform Rabbi and expert on women and Judaism.

Producer: Dan Tierney
Series producer: Amanda Hancox.

MON 17:00 PM (b07q2d39)
Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.

MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07q2d3c)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b07q3328)
Series 76, Episode 4

Nicholas Parsons and guests return for the 76th series of the panel show where participants must try to speak for 60 seconds without hesitation, deviation or repetition. No repetition? That's no small order after nearly 50 years.

This is a very special episode coming from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and features the following guests: Paul Merton, Fred MacAulay, Pippa Evans and Marcus Brigstocke.

Hayley Sterling blows the whistle.

Produced by Matt Stronge.

It is a BBC Studios production.

Hayley Sterling blows the whistle.

Produced by Matt Stronge.

MON 19:00 The Archers (b07q332b)
Anna makes a last attempt, and Richard has a wonderful evening.

MON 19:15 Front Row (b07q2d3f)
Poldark screenwriter Debbie Horsfield, 150 years of HG Wells, punk activist Joe Corré

Will Aidan Turner take his shirt off again? Will his character escape conviction for murder and wrecking? As Poldark returns for a second series, screenwriter Debbie Horsfield answers those questions and explains how sometimes historical accuracy has to be abandoned to keep in the bodice ripping aspect that audiences love.

150 years since his birth, cultural historian Fern Riddell and sci-fi writer Simon Guerrier discuss the contemporary appeal of H.G. Wells and his impact on social reform.

Plus activist and fashion entrepreneur Joe Corré explains why he's planning a bonfire of punk memorabilia and Front Row meets Antarctic artist in residence Lucy Carty.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Jack Soper.

MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b07q2tp3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

MON 20:00 Rethinking Clink (b07rg516)
Episode 2

Jacqui Smith examines the history of postwar prison reform.

In May, the government has promised "the biggest shake-up of prisons since Victorian times" in England and Wales. "For too long we have left our prisons to fester," said David Cameron. "So today, we start the long-overdue, long-needed change that our prisons need." But Mr Cameron was neither the first nor the last to promise major changes in the penal system. Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith goes back to basics to examine prison reform in England Wales since the 1950s.

The immediate post-war years saw a continuation of the pre-war liberal reforms, with flogging abolished in 1948, for example. But from the late 1950s onwards, concern about crime led politicians to enact harsher sentences and the prison population rose sharply. The key question now is whether the pendulum of public opinion has swung decisively away from a punitive model towards that of rehabilitation.

Produced by Arlene Gregorius.

MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b07pj822)
Protesting in Putin's Russia

After the last elections in Russia, mass protests against vote-rigging led to clashes in the centre of Moscow. The events on Bolotnaya Square were the biggest challenge President Putin has ever faced to his rule. Four years on, several demonstrators are still serving long prison sentences, the laws on protesting have been tightened and the arrests continue. As Russia gears up for parliamentary elections in September, Sarah Rainsford talks to some of those caught up in the Bolotnaya protests, and asks what their stories tell us about Putin's Russia today.
Producer: Mark Savage.

MON 21:00 Natural Histories (b07pgvjl)
Camel

Brett Westwood follows the route trodden by the camel, from being a revered subject of Arabic eulogies to being reviled by Europeans - and now being ridden by tiny robot jockeys.

MON 21:30 The Matter of the North (b07q3gjw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

MON 21:58 Weather (b07q2d3h)
The latest weather forecast.

MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b07q2d3k)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b07q375d)
Paradise Lodge, Episode 1

Leicestershire, 1977.

Craving independence, frustrated with her dysfunctional family and fed up with not being able to afford branded shampoo, 15-year-old Lizzie Vogel takes a job at Paradise Lodge, a nursing home for the elderly.

She soon learns the ways of the 'comfort round' and gets used to the scheming of her eccentric co-workers, but finds herself distracted by thoughts of 'erotic handholding' with her friend Miranda's boyfriend, Mike Yu.

When a new old people's home threatens to poach all their patients, Paradise Lodge must fight for survival. And as Lizzie gets increasingly drawn in to keeping the crumbling home afloat, her job threatens to impact her schoolwork and she must choose which path to take.

A wise, moving and funny new coming-of-age novel from Nina Stibbe, the bestselling author of 'Love, Nina'.

Read by Alice Lowe
Produced by Mair Bosworth.

MON 23:00 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.

MON 23:30 Shared Experience (b07bbyj6)
Series 5, The Fall

Imagine you're out walking, enjoying the outdoors and beautiful scenery... and then you fall. Down a cliff, off a mountain, into a crevice, into water. Three people whose lives changed forever following 'the fall' discuss the experience with Fi Glover in the new series of Shared Experience

Producer: Maggie Ayre.


TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2016

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b07q2d5g)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b07q2tp1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]

TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07q2d5j)
The latest shipping forecast.

TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07q2d5l)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07q2d5n)
The latest shipping forecast.

TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b07q2d5q)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07tlntn)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with The Rev John McLuckie of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh.

TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b07q2d5s)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Emily Hughes.

TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b038qk0y)
Wood Sandpiper

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

Brett Westwood presents the Wood Sandpiper. Wood Sandpipers are elegant waders and just a handful of pairs breed in the UK, in wooded marshes and remote bogs of Northern Scotland. There's a chance to see them when they break their migration journey south at inland pools and marshes here. Listen out for their cheerful call that has been described as sounding like an old penny-whistle.

TUE 06:00 Today (b07q8y2h)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

TUE 09:00 The Matter of the North (b07q76b9)
The Glories of Northumbria

Episode Two features the glories of the glittering Northumbrian Renaissance. Melvyn begins with the Ruthwell Cross - now in Scotland - it is possible that it is inscribed with the world's oldest surviving text of English poetry - it has been described as one of the greatest art works of the Middle Ages. Melvyn travels to Jarrow to tell the story of Bede, known as the father of English History and author or The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, one of the most important books of the age. As well as writing history Bede was also one of the first people to describe the relationship between the moon and the tides. Melvyn crosses the causeway to Holy Island where the Lindisfarne Gospels were created and visits the British Library where they are preserved. The man who made the Gospels was an artist and a scientist, inventing the pencil 300 years before it was in common use. Melvyn ends in Durham Cathedral alongside the shrines of Bede and St Cuthbert - the latter occupying a special place in the hearts of local people who refer to him simply as Cuddy.

Contributors
Dr Chris Jones, University of St Andrews
Professor Nick Higham, University of Manchester
Claire Breay, British Library
Professor Michelle Brown, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Revd Canon Rosalind Brown, Durham Cathedral
Professor Richard Gameson, Durham University

Producer: Faith Lawrence.

TUE 09:30 Natural History Heroes (b06fnw13)
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

The development of the microscope unlocked the tiny and enchanting world of microorganisms. Antony van Leeuwenhoek, a draper with an interest in the natural world spent 50 years making his own lenses and developing unique techniques to light and view his subjects. Leeuwenhoek's descriptions of the movements and appearance of the organisms he observed, some of which he scraped from his teeth, are remarkably accurate given that the single lens he viewed them through was tiny itself - only 1mm in diameter. He was the first person to see a red blood corpuscle, bacteria and sperm. His observations led to the conclusion that fertilisation occurred at the point that an individual sperm cell penetrates the egg. With lenses that were almost microscopic in size themselves Leeuwenhoek opened up a miniature world captivating and disturbing the public in equal measure. Scientist Andrew Parker explains why the father of microbiology is his Natural History Hero.

Produced by Ellie Sans.

TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b07q7jky)
Shrinking Violets, Episode 2

Joe Moran has spent his life trying to get to grips with his shyness. In this Field Guide to Shyness, he explores the hidden world of reticence, navigating the myriad ways scientists and thinkers have tried to explain and cure shyness, and uncovering the fascinating stories of the men and women who were 'of the violet persuasion'.

"It feels like coming late to a party when everyone else is about three beers in and entering that state that allows them to have fluent exchanges that settle on some pre-agreed theme as if by magic."

In a culture where it's good to talk, where workplaces favour collaboration and talking things out, what place is there for people like King George VI, Prime Minister Clement Attlee, and Moran himself, who are tongue tied by shyness? And do stammerers get a kind hearing that's not always granted to those who are merely unwilling or incoherent speakers?

Read by Nigel Planer
Written by Joe Moran
Abridged and produced by Hannah Marshall
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b07q2d5v)
Natalie Bennett, Bridget Jones, Making underwear, Women and the Russian Revolution, are young people having less sex?

On Friday the Green Party announces who will stand as their next leader, almost four years to the day since their outgoing leader Natalie Bennett took over. She joins Jane to discuss the highs and lows of her time as party leader, what it was like sharing a platform with the party leaders during last year's General Election, and why Parliament should encourage flexible working.

Making Underwear. Sarah Swadling has been to South Wales Valleys to visit the 50 employees, mostly women, at AJM Sewing. It's the only remaining factory in an area where lingerie production used to employ tens of thousands. Now that the big brands have left, what kind of work is keeping this company in business?

Surprising foreign eyewitnesses re-tell the story of the Russian Revolution in historian Helen Rappaport's new book. They include Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragette leader who went to Petrograd in 1917 to inspect the Women's Death Battalion and got caught up in events and an English nurse who had survived the sinking of the Titanic. Helen Rappaport joins Jane to discuss their accounts.

It is twenty years since Helen Fielding's novel Bridget Jones's Diary was published. Written in the form of a personal diary, it chronicled the life of a thirty something single woman who writes about romantic relationships, her job, weight, alcohol and cigarettes. So how realistic was she to young single women back in the 1990s and does she have anything to say to that generation today? Jane is joined by writer and comedian Viv Groskop and writer and journalist Hattie Crisell.

And An American study says young people born after 1980 are having LESS sex than the previous generations. The claim was published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour by three American universities. Here in the UK, research by the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles shows a similar pattern. So what is going on with Britain's youth, and their approach to sex? Jane speaks to sex blogger, Girl On The Net and journalist Daisy Buchanan

Presenter: Jane Garvey
Producer: Caroline Donne.

TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b07q7jl0)
Blood and Milk, Episode 7

by Gregory Evans

With her business in serious trouble Meg finds out who's been sleeping in the dairy's yard and recruits an unexpected ally. Thriller set in 1890s Whitechapel.

Directed by Marc Beeby.

TUE 11:00 Natural Histories (b07q7jl2)
Spider

Brett Westwood blows away the cobwebs to reveal tales of spiders as objects of fear, merciless femmes fatales and tricksters too. Featuring interviews with the Natural History Museum's spider curator Jan Beccaloni, naturalist Rosemary Winnall, president of Buglife and writer Germaine Greer and tarantula keeper Gemma Wright. Readings Brian Protheroe. Producer: Tom Bonnett.

TUE 11:30 Things Called Jazz That Are Not Jazz (b07q7lzc)
There's a Jazz apple, Jazz aftershave, Jazz car, Jazz spreadsheet software, even a range of non-alcoholic beer called Jazz. Why are so many things called Jazz that are not Jazz?

Documentary maker and failed jazz musician Russell Finch has an unusual hobby. He collects examples of Things Called Jazz That Are Not Jazz.

There are more than you'd think. The UK intellectual property office lists over 290 trademarks for things called jazz - everything from jazz garlic to jazz wigs to a jazz wettable powder biofungicide. Russell has been documenting some of his stranger discoveries on a blog. He insists it almost went viral once.

But it's made him curious why are so many completely unrelated objects named after this one music genre? Even more mysterious, why are they named after a type of music that - it pains him to admit - not many people actually like?

Along the way he finds out the surprising origins of the word, the reason some musicians find it offensive, and why jazz is not a good name for food.
With comedian Stewart Lee, singer Gwyneth Herbert and musician Nicholas Payton.

Presented by Russell Finch

Contributors:
Stewart Lee - Comedian
Greg Rowland - Commercial Semiotican
Mark Laver - Historian
Gwyneth Herbert - Singer
Lauren M Scott - Marketing Manager
Tom Perchard - Historian
Nicholas Payton - Musician
Gerald Cohen - Etymologist

Produced by Peggy Sutton and Russell Finch
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 12:00 News Summary (b07q2d5x)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

TUE 12:04 Home Front (b07kcj5p)
30 August 1916 - Esme Macknade

On this day in 1916, Turkey declared war on Rumania and Russia, and a new arrival at the Grahams' fractures Esme's peace of mind.

Written by Shaun McKenna
Directed by Allegra McIlroy.

TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b07q2d61)
Call You and Yours: how has terrorism at home or abroad affected your holiday plans?

Terrorism is at the top of the agenda at the moment, after high profile attacks in Paris, Nice and Tunisia. We'd like to know if it's made a difference to how you live your life. Perhaps you've changed your destination - or had second thoughts about taking your family abroad.
We'd also like to hear from you if you work in the tourism industry, tell us how has terrorism affected business.
E-mail us - youandyours@bbc.co.uk. Remember to give us a phone number so we can call you back.

TUE 12:57 Weather (b07q2d63)
The latest weather forecast.

TUE 13:00 World at One (b07q2d65)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

TUE 13:45 Nature's Great Invaders (b07q7yl6)
Japanese Knotweed

Telling the stories of non-native invasive species and our complicated attitudes to them and with an uncertain political future how do we police our ecological borders?
Japanese knotweed evolved to grow on the slopes of Japanese volcanoes. It's harsh home makes it a thug of a plant outside it's natural range with a seemingly magical ability grow in the most unlikely places. In the more than 100 years since a few female specimens were brought to UK shores as an ornamental garden plant it has spread across the country and is now probably the most hated plant in the UK. But is it really the Great Invader we believe it to be? Derek Mooney intends to find out.

TUE 14:00 The Archers (b07q332b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]

TUE 14:15 Tracks (b07q7yl8)
The Bridge of Varolius

The fourth in a major new nine-part conspiracy thriller, starring Romola Garai. Written by Matthew Broughton

Determined to discover who's responsible for the plane crash, Helen continues her search for her father. But when child services become involved, new information points Helen in the direction of the Iraq war.

How is Florian connected to the little boy in the coma? And have Helen and Freddy been chasing the wrong lead?

Tracks: A story in nine parts about life, death and the human brain.

Original music by Stu Barker

Directed in Wales by Helen Perry.

TUE 15:00 Making History (b07q7ylb)
Helen Castor is joined by Professor Ted Vallance from the University of Roehampton and Dr Alex Woolf from the University of St Andrews.

On the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, Dr Tom Charlton heads to St Paul's to learn how preparatory work by Sir Christopher Wren and the storage of printers manuscripts fuelled the inferno. Afterwards, the building lay in ruins and accusations flew freely - many suspecting the destruction of the historic church was the work of Catholics. After an outbreak of the plague and war with the Dutch, these were difficult times for Charles II and the restored monarchy.

Tom Holland visits Glasgow where archaeologists are working on the newly discovered ruins of what they believe to be a twelfth century bishop's palace. The find is shedding more light on the history of the kingdom of Strathclyde, which stretched from the Clyde into modern Cumbria and played a part in fighting Athelstan's attempts to bring all of Britain under his rule in the tenth century. The English king of Wessex and Mercia won the battle against the Scottish kingdoms but was only successful in creating what we now know as England. Alex Woolf explains how long it took for Scotland to become a political entity.

Also, Al Murray nominates Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery for the Making History plinth and Tiffany Watt Smith unpacks the history of anger.

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

TUE 15:30 Recycled Radio (b06kdxsd)
Series 4, Outer Space

Gerald Scarfe is your starship captain on a bumpy ride through the Cosmos, joining broadcasters old and new in a search for intelligent life. Brian Cox and Melvyn Bragg compete to explain the sheer bigness of the Universe. Is it like a fried egg or a packet of Maltesers? Then there's the vital question of the first alien contact. Apparently Earth will be safer if we pretend we're out.

Wise words, sound advice and a distinct lack of Vogon poetry as we chop, loop, scratch, mix and mash a century of space broadcasting.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

TUE 16:00 Glad to Be Grey (b071x87c)
Professor Mary Beard is a distinguished Cambridge Classical scholar with a string of highly-regarded books on Ancient Rome to her name, so it's slightly irksome to her that she is almost better known for her long grey hair.

In this highly-authored Radio Four documentary, Mary Beard investigates a growing reluctance to embrace grey hair.

Starting in the Mayfair salon of "hair colourist to the stars", Jo Hansford, she's informed that her hair is "dreadful" and given a personal consultation by Jo herself about how and why she should colour it.

In favour of choice and the fun of colouring hair, (she has always hankered after pink streaks), Mary is particularly disturbed by the pressures in society for women to conceal their age.

It's not just about women, though. Mary has recently come to recognise that far more men now colour their hair, but why won't any of them talk to her about it? Eventually, fellow Cambridge Classicist, Professor Simon Goldhill, agrees to "come out" on air. In defending his use of colour and challenging Mary's own choice, he gives her a philosophical run for her money.

Ultimately, Mary has to admit the paradox of making a radio programme about grey hair, so she turns to a surprise, high-profile television presenter to learn more about the pressures on women in the public sphere to colour their hair.

Concluding that ageism may be the new "glass ceiling", Mary insists upon the right to be both an "enfant terrible" and also an "eminence grise".

The all-grey production team consists of production coordinator Anne Smith and producer Beaty Rubens.

TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b07q87sm)
Series 40, Tony Hawks on Marshall Rosenberg

Marshall Rosenberg was the stern faced creator of nonviolent communication, a man who spent his life finding ways to eradicate hate. Often armed only with his trademark giraffe and jackal puppets, Rosenberg toured the world teaching a new way of speaking. Language was key, but to discover the meaning of the puppets you'll have to tune in. Championing Marshall Rosenberg is the comedian and author Tony Hawks, author of Round Ireland with a Fridge and a regular radio guest on shows including I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. A sceptical Matthew Parris presents while David Baker of the London School of Life fills in the biographical gaps.

The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde.

TUE 17:00 PM (b07q2d67)
Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.

TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07q2d69)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

TUE 18:30 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b07q8st0)
Series 2, Possessions

New series from multi-award winning Mark Watson. Assisted and impeded in equal measure by henchmen Sam Simmons and Will Adamsdale, he revives his quest to make some sort of sense of life, against the backdrop of a world that has, in recent times, come to seem even more peculiar than usual.

The tenacious trio take on some of human life's central topics - family, spirituality, Scandinavia. Watson peddles his unique, high-octane stand-up while Simmons and Adamsdale chip in with interjections which include (but are not limited to) music, shopping lists, life advice, stunts, avant-garde offerings and divvy interactions.

Expect big laughs, controlled chaos and an attempt to answer the one question none of us can quite escape from - what exactly is going on?

This week, the theme is possessions. We spend a lot of life accruing stuff. Does it really make us happy? Would we be better off throwing it all in the river? Is there a middle ground where we can throw most of it in the lake, but keep our car because it's useful?

Mark Watson is a multi-award winning comedian, including the inaugural If.Comedy Panel Prize 2006. He is assisted by Sam Simmons, winner of Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award 2015, and Will Adamsdale who won the Perrier Comedy Award in 2004.

Produced by Lianne Coop
An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 19:00 The Archers (b07q8st2)
Shula lets it all pour out, and Freddie surveys his surroundings.

TUE 19:15 Front Row (b07q2d6c)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b07q7jl0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

TUE 20:00 Cities from the Ashes (b07q8st4)
Much of London was destroyed in the Great Fire and again in the Blitz. How did the city respond, and are there lessons for ever-growing cities today? London's response to the two crises of the Great Fire and the Blitz was very different. How should an ever-expanding London today deal with the challenges to cities?

Nicholas Kenyon, Director of the Barbican Centre, marks the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London with a look at how London recovered from two major disasters. He explores the issues with architects Lord Richard Rogers and Eric Parry; Professor of Urban Studies at the LSE, Ricky Burdett; Meriel Jeater, Curator of the Museum of London's Fire Fire! exhibition; Peter Larkham, Professor of Planning at Birmingham City University; Design Historian and Public Space Consultant Sarah Gaventa; architecture critic and author of Slow Burn City, Rowan Moore, and Creative Cities exponent, Charles Landry.

Producer: Marya Burgess.

TUE 20:40 In Touch (b07q2d6f)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.

TUE 21:00 Why Become a Doctor? (b07q8x6k)
A Matter of Life and Death

In the third and final part of our series looking at the experience of being a junior doctor we look at the social and legal pressures on doctors. Complaints against the medical profession are now far more common than they used to be. In some cases doctors may face legal action, including manslaughter charges. Coupled with this, being a doctor is a high stress occupation and doctors are especially bad at dealing with their own health issues. Societal changes over recent decades have had an impact on the status of doctors. In the past patients didn't question the doctors' decisions, but now, with the increasing spread of medical knowledge and complexity of the way modern medicine is delivered, we have higher expectations.

For junior doctors in the profession now, just how do they cope with all these differing pressures and still give their best for patients? Consultant anaesthetist Dr Kevin Fong, a doctor for nearly 20 years, investigates.

TUE 21:30 The Matter of the North (b07q76b9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

TUE 21:58 Weather (b07q2d6h)
The latest weather forecast.

TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b07q2d6k)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b07q8x6m)
Paradise Lodge, Episode 2

Leicestershire, 1977.

Craving independence, frustrated with her dysfunctional family and fed up with not being able to afford branded shampoo, 15-year-old Lizzie Vogel takes a job at Paradise Lodge, a nursing home for the elderly.

She soon learns the ways of the 'comfort round' and gets used to the scheming of her eccentric co-workers, but finds herself distracted by thoughts of 'erotic handholding' with her friend Miranda's boyfriend, Mike Yu.

When a new old people's home threatens to poach all their patients, Paradise Lodge must fight for survival. And as Lizzie gets increasingly drawn in to keeping the crumbling home afloat, her job threatens to impact her schoolwork and she must choose which path to take.

A wise, moving and funny new coming-of-age novel from Nina Stibbe, the bestselling author of 'Love, Nina'.

Read by Alice Lowe
Produced by Mair Bosworth.

TUE 23:00 Couples (b07q8x6p)
Episode 2

Semi-improvised character comedy written and performed by Julia Davis and Marc Wootton. The duo portray a series of couples in therapy with the renowned therapist Dr Tanya Ray-Harding, as played by Vicki Pepperdine.

In this second episode, Dr Tanya meets American therapy-addicts Trudi and Brandon.

Written and Performed by Julia Davis and Marc Wootton
With Vicki Pepperdine

Produced by Ashley Blaker
A Black Hat production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 23:30 Shared Experience (b07bzdbx)
Series 5, Don't call us Barry Poppins. We're stay-at-home dads

There's nothing heroic about a man giving up work to look after the children while his wife goes out to work, say Sam, Richard and Josh, and yet as these three Dads tell Fi Glover, people often perceive them as being somehow remarkable for electing to be the primary carer. House husband or Barry Poppins are two terms that annoy them. Why wouldn't any man want to spend time with his children given the choice? Does 'providing for your children' have to mean sitting in an office for 8 hours a day? They discuss the highs and lows and differences of being a stay-at-home-Dad with candour and humour.

Producer: Maggie Ayre.


WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2016

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b07q2d8s)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b07q7jky)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]

WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07q2d8w)
The latest shipping forecast.

WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07q2d8y)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07q2d90)
The latest shipping forecast.

WED 05:30 News Briefing (b07q2d92)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07tlq7v)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with The Rev John McLuckie of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh.

WED 05:45 Farming Today (b07q2d94)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Fiona Clampin.

WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378xwb)
Spotted Redshank

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

Michaela Strachan presents the spotted redshank. Spotted Redshanks are elegant long-legged waders which don't breed in the UK but pass through in spring and autumn on journeys between their summer home in Scandinavia and their wintering grounds in southern Europe and Africa.

WED 06:00 Today (b07q8xl0)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

WED 09:00 The Matter of the North (b07q94w1)
Invasion: Vikings and Normans

In programme 3 Melvyn Bragg tells the stories of two sets of Vikings who left a permanent mark on the North of England - the Scandinavians who came from the East and the Norsemen who had alchemised into Normans, and came from the South. The Vikings shaped the English language and it is suggested that the key to their linguistic imprint on the North is likely to have been down to Viking women, as well as men, settling in this region, passing the language onto their children. Evidence of Viking presence persists today: scree, fell, gable, gill, tarns, rake, horse, house, husband, wife and egg. All Norse words. Melvyn visits the Gosforth Cross, which blends Anglo Saxon Christianity with Pagan Norse mythology. The cross is unique. There's no other like it anywhere in the world. The North then became victim to their distant cousins the Normans, who swept northwards with savage force, laying waste to much of it - the infamous harrying of the north. The increasing power of London and the south began to take real shape and the north looked to the Scottish Kings, in some cases preferring Scots rule to that of the distant southern monarchs.

Contributors
Professor Judith Jesch, University of Nottingham
Dr Matthew Townend, University of York
Professor Nick Higham, University of Manchester
Professor Keith Stringer, Lancaster University
Bill Lloyd

Producer: Faith Lawrence.

WED 09:30 Prime Ministers' Props (b07qbcb0)
Sir Alec Douglas-Home's Matchsticks

Professor Sir David Cannadine explores political fame and image by looking at how an object or prop, whether chosen deliberately or otherwise, can come to define a political leader - from Winston Churchill's cigar and siren suit to Margaret Thatcher's handbag.

Sir David looks at the significance of these props of power - what they mean and what they become, and what happens when, almost inevitably, Prime Ministers lose control of their image and their props take on a hostile meaning, very different from their original intentions.

The aristocratic Sir Alec Douglas-Home appeared removed both from the majority of the British people and, to some extent, the modern world itself. He showed the depth of his inexperience when he casually commented to a reporter that he used matchsticks to help him understand economic problems. "When I have to read economic documents I have to have a box of matches and start moving them into position to simplify and illustrate the points to myself."

It was a gift for Leader of the Opposition, Harold Wilson, who used the matchstick comment to goad and embarrass the Conservative Prime Minister at every opportunity. The matchsticks came to define Sir Alec's inadequacies as leader and, when it came to problem-solving, his ultimately successful opponent Wilson was more familiar with slide rules than matchsticks.

Home's premiership was the second briefest of the twentieth century, lasting just two days short of a year. Who knows what would have happened if Sir Alec hadn't made that careless matchstick comment.

A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b07qbcb2)
Shrinking Violets, Episode 3

Joe Moran has spent his life trying to get to grips with his shyness. In this Field Guide to Shyness, he explores the hidden world of reticence, navigating the myriad ways scientists and thinkers have tried to explain and cure shyness, and uncovering the fascinating stories of the men and women who were 'of the violet persuasion'.

"It feels like coming late to a party when everyone else is about three beers in and entering that state that allows them to have fluent exchanges that settle on some pre-agreed theme as if by magic."

The autistic scientist and writer Temple Grandin has suggested that the very first cave paintings might have been created 40,000 years ago by "some Asperger sitting in the back of a cave". Psychiatrist Lorna Wing felt that having some autistic traits might be an essential ingredient of the creative life. Moran explores the artistic worlds of the staggeringly shy LS Lowry - Mr Lowry as he preferred to be known - and the grumpily solitary Alfred Wainwright, and asks could the origins of art itself lie in our capacity for introversion, the need to make strategic retreats from social life in order to make sense of our experiences?

Read by Nigel Planer
Written by Joe Moran
Abridged and produced by Hannah Marshall
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b07q2d96)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b07qbcb4)
Blood and Milk, Episode 8

by Gregory Evans

Meg's problems multiply when her would-be brother-in-law, the creepy Madog Prys, comes to London - and gangster boss Moses Lipski makes an unwelcome return.

Directed by Marc Beeby.

WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b06yfyqt)
Eamonn and Roisin - Two Parents, Two Homes

Fi Glover introduces a father seeking assurance from his 18 year old daughter that growing up in two homes has not been a damaging experience - another conversation 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 Brexit: The Leavocrats (b07qbcb6)
Lord Gus O'Donnell, the former head of the British Civil Service, returns to Whitehall to find out how his ex-colleagues are gearing up to take on what's been described as the Service's greatest challenge since the Second World War - making Brexit happen.

He goes behind the scenes at the newly formed Department for Exiting the European Union to hear directly from those charged with unpicking the thousands of pieces of legislation built up over 40 years in the EU - legislation which has a huge impact on our everyday lives.

Amongst others, he talks to the Department's Secretary of State David Davis and to the usually unseen and unheard civil servants, like his successor Sir Jeremy Heywood and Dexit's Permanent Secretary Olly Robbins.

He also talks to banks and retailers about how our often maligned bureaucrats will play a key role in shaping the future of UK PLC.

Producer: Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 11:30 Josh Howie's Losing It (b07qbcb8)
The Letter

Stand-up comic Josh comes to terms with the impending birth of his first child.

In this second episode, Josh and his wife Monique go to the hospital to attend their twenty week scan. Unfortunately Monique has forgotten the appointment letter, which is the only thing Josh can now think about.

Written by Josh Howie
Produced by Ashley Blaker

A Black Hat production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 12:00 News Summary (b07q2d98)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

WED 12:04 Home Front (b07kcj61)
31 August 1916 - Juliet Argent

On this day in 1916, the Battle of Verdun finally came to a close, and in Folkestone, Juliet Cavendish's marriage is on fragile ground.

Written by Shaun McKenna
Directed by Allegra McIlroy.

WED 12:15 You and Yours (b07q2d9f)
Consumer affairs programme.

WED 12:57 Weather (b07q2d9h)
The latest weather forecast.

WED 13:00 World at One (b07q2d9k)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

WED 13:45 Nature's Great Invaders (b07qbcbb)
Harlequin Ladybird

Telling the stories of non-native invasive species and our complicated attitudes to them and with an uncertain political future how do we police our ecological borders? In the 10 years since the harlequin ladybird first hopped across the English Channel it's spread has been scrutinised by an army of scientists and amateur naturalists. It's rapid colonisation has given it the unfortunate title of the worlds fastest invader. Derek Mooney talks to ladybird expert Dr. Helen Roy to find out how this little beetle came to be a great invader.

WED 14:00 The Archers (b07q8st2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]

WED 14:15 Afternoon Drama (b04jjz3q)
Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

by Charlotte Bogard Macleod

What are the odds on the earnest statistician Liam meeting the impulsive photographer Sadie? What are the chances of starting a family? A tale of love, surrogacy and statistics.

Director: David Hunter.

WED 15:00 Online Criminals Stole My Confidence (b07q1zvr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]

WED 15:30 Science Stories (b07c2t9d)
Series 3, Chaucer's Astrolabe - The Medieval GPS

Philip Ball tells the story of Chaucer's Astrolabe and why the famed poet came to write the world's first scientific instruction manual. In the Middle Ages, no self respecting astronomer would be without an Astrolabe, a pocket sized device for working out the movements of the planets and stars. So how did a poet come to write the first user booklet? This story shows Chaucer in a new light: as a pre-eminent astronomer, and offers a new key to unlocking his most famous literary works.

WED 16:00 Yusra: Swim for Your Life (b07qbcbj)
Episode 1

The extraordinary journey of eighteen-year-old refugee Yusra Mardini, who fled war-torn Syria last year. During the crossing from Turkey to Lesbos, Yusra and her sister helped to save their fellow passengers when the engine of their crammed dinghy stopped working. Swimming together they dragged the boat to safety. The sisters then made their way across Europe, evading capture by the authorities, travelling through Greece, Serbia and Hungary to get to Germany. It was there that Yusra was selected as one of the ten athletes to form the refugee Olympic team to compete as a swimmer in Rio.

This is a Czech Radio/BBC Co-Production. Czech Radio reporter, Magdalena Sodomková, first met Yusra in Serbia last year, and has since followed her journey through Europe and accompanied her on her latest adventure in Brazil.

Producer: Clare Walker.

WED 16:30 The Media Show (b07q2d9m)
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world.

WED 17:00 PM (b07q2d9p)
Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.

WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07q2d9r)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

WED 18:30 To Hull and Back (b07qbcbl)
Series 2, Where Do You Think You're Going?

Lucy Beaumont stars as the daughter trying to escape her overbearing mother played by Maureen Lipman in the second series of this warm hearted sitcom set in Hull.

"It's like a cross between a Victoria Wood Sketch and a Mike Leigh film". Radio Times

Episode 4 - Where Do You Think You're Going?

In the last episode of this series, Sophie thinks that she'll finally get to meet her Auntie Pamela and her mother gets a job at Humber Helpline, to prove to Sophie that she's the kind one of the two sisters.

Writer ..... Lucy Beaumont
Producer ..... Carl Cooper
Production Co-ordinator ..... Sophie Richardson

This is a BBC Studios Production.

WED 19:00 The Archers (b07qbcbn)
Tom realises he has got his work cut out, and Ian makes up for lost time.

WED 19:15 Front Row (b07q2d9t)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b07qbcb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:41 today]

WED 20:00 Unreliable Evidence (b07qbcbq)
In the first of a new series, Clive Anderson hosts a lively discussion about how the law addresses the conflicting interests of humans and animals.

In the wake of attempts by lawyers in the US to create "legal personhood" for chimpanzees, guaranteeing them a right to freedom, Unreliable Evidence asks if animals have enough protection in law - as pets, in the food industry, in medical trials and in the entertainment and sports worlds. Ten years after the Animal Welfare Act was introduced, is the law in this area working, and is it now time to introduce animal rights, along broadly the same lines as human rights?

Clive's guests include animal welfare lawyers, including the US attorney Steve Wise who is spearheading attempts to break down what he describes as the wall between those who have rights and those who don't, and lawyers who act for the Countryside Alliance, farmers, the meat industry and even for a lion-tamer.

The programme considers how well the law reflects growing scientific understanding of animal intelligence and their ability to suffer, whether the law strikes the right balance between the interests of animals and the commercial interests which humans have in animals, and if future generations might look back at how we treat animals today in much the same way as we now view slavery.

And what would be the consequences for society if there were major changes in law? Would the legal floodgates open if courts accepted that certain higher apes should be granted similar rights to humans?

Other programmes in the series look at the Law and Violence, The Legal Implications of Brexit and the Law and Prisoners.

Producer: Brian King
An Above The Title production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 20:45 Four Thought (b07qbcbs)
Are Pornographers Anti-Sex?

Melissa Raphael argues that if people are shocked by contemporary pornography it's not because they are prudes but because, on the contrary, they actually enjoy sex. Pornography, she says, gets its thrill not from sex itself, which it finds monotonous, even disgusting, but from its own acts of transgression. Ironically, she argues, "while pornography has intensified its onslaught against sex, religious attitudes to sex have got ever more celebratory".

Producer: Sheila Cook.

WED 21:00 A River of Steel (b07qbcbv)
This is a powerful and immersive story of water, from its wild beginnings across landscape and time to the grinding stones and workshops of Sheffield's traditional blade grinders; master craftsmen called 'little mesters'. Sheffield whose name is derived from the River Sheaf stands at the confluence of five rivers; the Don, Sheaf, Rivelin, Loxley and Porter. The rivers powered the water mills and the grindstones which were used to sharpen steel blades on which Sheffield's reputation was born. The heyday of the cutlery industry was in the 1800s and whilst the future of Sheffield's steel production remains uncertain, the rivers are a powerful reminder of its industrial past and the communities it supported. Narrator Chris Watson. Producer Sarah Blunt.

WED 21:30 The Matter of the North (b07q94w1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

WED 21:58 Weather (b07q2d9w)
The latest weather forecast.

WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b07q2d9y)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b07qbcbx)
Paradise Lodge, Episode 3

Leicestershire, 1977.

Craving independence, frustrated with her dysfunctional family and fed up with not being able to afford branded shampoo, 15-year-old Lizzie Vogel takes a job at Paradise Lodge, a nursing home for the elderly.

She soon learns the ways of the 'comfort round' and gets used to the scheming of her eccentric co-workers, but finds herself distracted by thoughts of 'erotic handholding' with her friend Miranda's boyfriend, Mike Yu.

When a new old people's home threatens to poach all their patients, Paradise Lodge must fight for survival. And as Lizzie gets increasingly drawn in to keeping the crumbling home afloat, her job threatens to impact her schoolwork and she must choose which path to take.

A wise, moving and funny new coming-of-age novel from Nina Stibbe, the bestselling author of 'Love, Nina'.

Read by Alice Lowe
Produced by Mair Bosworth.

WED 23:00 Angela Barnes: You Can't Take It with You (b07qbcbz)
Episode 4

Super-sharp everywoman Angela Barnes tackles life and love - and, with the help of an audience, packs herself a fantasy coffin.

Remembering her larger-than-life father - a gregarious character, sex shop manager, naturist, and a big fan of caravans and pranks - Angela celebrates his 'carpe diem' approach to life, and his favourite motto, You Can't Take It With You.

When her father died very suddenly in 2008, Angela and her family proved him wrong and stuffed his coffin with sentimental keepsakes for his final journey.

In this series, Angela does the very same thing and asks her loved ones to nominate objects that they would choose to send on with her as mementoes of their time together, which she keeps in a suitcase full of memories, acting as prompts for contemplative, heart-warming and captivating comedy.

Angela Barnes is a vivacious, critically acclaimed stand-up comic from Maidstone, Kent. After a career in health and social care, at aged 33 she decided to pursue a long held ambition and give comedy a go. Within a couple of years, Angela and her witty worldview had won the 2011 BBC New Comedy Award by a public vote, secured a weekly star slot in Channel 4's Stand Up For The Week and appeared on numerous radio and television shows including Loose Ends, The Now Show and writing credits on her beloved The News Quiz (BBC Radio 4), Russell Kane's Whistle Stop Tour (BBC Radio 2), Mock The Week (BBC 2) and Russell Howard's Good News (BBC 3).

An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 23:15 Tez Talks (b07qbcc1)
Values

Breakthrough comedian Tez Ilyas presents a show for everyone interested in - or interested in becoming - a British Muslim. Everything you need to know is here - the do's, don'ts, and avoid-or-you'll-be-arresteds. Simultaneously a hilarious, joyous celebration of British-Muslim life - and a subversive, thoughtful satire on society's attitudes to Islam.

In this episode, Tez looks at 'British Values'. Recent legislation means we're all obliged to know about British Values to avoid the path to extremism... but what are British Values? Who decides them? And does Benidorm hold the answer? Tez explains all...

About Tez
Blackburn-born Tez Ilyas started performing comedy in 2010 and has appeared in eight competition finals including the BBC New Comedy Award and Leicester Mercury New Comedian of the Year. He has recently appeared on the Now Show on Radio 4, as well as having performances on BBC1, BBC 3, E4, and BBC iPlayer, following his hugely critically-acclaimed debut Edinburgh show.

Producer: Sam Bryant
A BBC Studios Production.

WED 23:30 Shared Experience (b07dlxmg)
Series 5, Scammed

What happens when you become the victim of a sophisticated scam that leaves you thousands of pounds out of pocket? Leaving aside the financial implications, Fi Glover hears how three people who would not seem likely targets for such fraudsters have been left with feelings of shame after the event.

Producer: Maggie Ayre.


THURSDAY 01 SEPTEMBER 2016

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b07q2ddn)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b07qbcb2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]

THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07q2ddt)
The latest shipping forecast.

THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07q2ddx)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07q2df1)
The latest shipping forecast.

THU 05:30 News Briefing (b07q2df5)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07tlrld)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with The Rev John McLuckie of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh.

THU 05:45 Farming Today (b07q2df7)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.

THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03x45q5)
Ruff

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

Bill Oddie presents the ruff. The glory of the ruff lies in its extravagant courtship displays. For most of the year these waders look similar to our other long-legged water-birds such as redshanks or sandpipers but in the breeding season the males sprout a multi-coloured ruff. The impressive ruffs of feathers come in infinite variety, black, white, ginger, or a mixture of these. The males gather at traditional spring leks with the aim of winning one or more mates.

THU 06:00 Today (b07qbfvr)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

THU 09:00 The Matter of the North (b07qbfvt)
The Rebellious Tongues of the North

Episode Four is the story of rebellion and dissent in the north - and the way northern dialect is beginning to be marginalised and even mocked. Melvyn Bragg begins at Clifford's Tower in York, site of a Norman fortress built to keep the north under control. It was also the site centuries later, where Robert Aske - one of the leaders of The Pilgrimage of Grace (a great Catholic Rebellion) was executed. It's in York that St Margaret Clitherow was tortured to death. Melvyn goes to Riveaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire and finds evidence that the monks were on the brink of producing high quality cast iron and even blast furnaces. If the Reformation hadn't happened could the Industrial Revolution have begun here hundreds of years earlier? Melvyn examines how the south is coming to view the north - and its dialect. There is an idea that northern kinds of English are less prestigious. An idea that persists. Melvyn discusses this with Joan Bakewell. The poet Simon Armitage celebrates the speech patterns of the medieval poetic masterpiece 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' and Melvyn meets Dame Judi Dench who remembers her time performing the York Mystery Plays.

Contributors
Jonnie Robinson, British Library
Joan Bakewell
Simon Armitage
Judi Dench
Toby Gordon
Natalie McCaul, Yorkshire Museum
Dr Sarah Bastow, University of Huddersfield
Susan Harrison, English Heritage
Prof Andy Wood, Durham University

Producer: Faith Lawrence.

THU 09:30 Natural History Heroes (b06d8jrd)
Dorothea Bate

When Dorothea Bate turned up at the Natural History Museum in late 1890's London and demanded a job she would have been unaware of the tremendous legacy her work would leave. Her boldness led Dorothea to the Mediterranean looking for the bones of extinct mammals, finding many species of tiny elephants and hippos. She would later become the first female scientist to be employed by the museum. We delve into the palaeontology department at the Natural History Museum to reveal the bones Dorothea unearthed - some which turned out to not be elephants after all and Tori explains why Dorothea Bate is one of her Natural History Heroes.

THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b07qbfvw)
Shrinking Violets, Episode 4

Joe Moran has spent his life trying to get to grips with his shyness. In this Field Guide to Shyness, he explores the hidden world of reticence, navigating the myriad ways scientists and thinkers have tried to explain and cure shyness, and uncovering the fascinating stories of the men and women who were 'of the violet persuasion'.

"It feels like coming late to a party when everyone else is about three beers in and entering that state that allows them to have fluent exchanges that settle on some pre-agreed theme as if by magic."

Early 20th century working class British culture valued shyness in its men. But by the 1960s this natural reserve no longer fitted with our confident, post-war view of ourselves as a nation. Could the swinging 60s sweep away our shyness? It was now seen as a disability it was everyone's duty to overcome. And yet, two decades later, indie music made stars out of paralysingly shy men like Steven Morrissey. Moran explores our ambiguous War on Shyness.

Read by Nigel Planer
Written by Joe Moran
Abridged and produced by Hannah Marshall
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.

THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b07q2dff)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b07qbfvy)
Blood and Milk, Episode 9

by Gregory Evans

Violence has come to the dairy. Meg nurses the badly beaten Samuel while Annie unearths some potentially useful information about the predatory Iolo Jones. Thriller set in 1890s Whitechapel.

Directed by Marc Beeby.

THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b07qbfxv)
Addicted in Suburbia

The United States is in the throes of a heroin and opiate epidemic. For Crossing Continents, India Rakusen travels to Lorain County, in the state of Ohio, where addiction has become part of everyday life. West of the city of Cleveland, Avon Lake is a wealthy suburb - its large, expensive properties back onto the shores of Lake Eerie, and wild deer frolic on neat lawns. But behind this façade, there is a crisis. Many families have felt the damaging impact of addiction. And across Lorain County, opiates - pharmaceutical and street heroin - have killed twice as many people in the first six months of 2016 alone, as died in the whole of 2015.

Producer Linda Pressly.

THU 11:30 Taking Art to the People (b06mccpr)
Michael Symmons Roberts on the extraordinary vision of Thomas Horsfall, who set out to transform the lives of those in the poorest parts of 19th Century Manchester through art.

Manchester in the 19th Century was the archetypal industrial city, creating huge amounts of wealth but also containing areas where workers and their families faced living conditions that would have been unimaginable before the Second World War.

Among the very poorest areas was Ancoats and the idea of creating an Art Museum there in a bid to transform the lives of those living nearby was, for its time, extremely radical. But that's what philanthropist Thomas Horsfall did, even though his mentor John Ruskin advised him not to bother, believing Manchester to be too far gone on its road to an industrial dystopia. Horsfall soldiered on regardless and not only created the Museum, allowing locals the chance to see prints by the likes of J.M.W. Turner, but also successfully campaigned to change the law to allow children to leave school premises in order to visit galleries, museums and places of historical interest as part of their education.

As Michael Symmons Roberts discovers, the Museum lasted into the middle of the 20th Century, when post-war planners with a zeal for modernity razed it to the ground.

Now though, a new arts project based in the same area is using the spirit of Horsefall and his vision as the inspiration for a scheme aimed at transforming the lives of young people with mental health issues through their contact and participation in art. Michael meets some of those involved and also explores the city's current museums and archives to find clues about the life and work of the neglected visionary, Thomas Horsfall.

A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4.

THU 12:00 News Summary (b07q2dfk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

THU 12:04 Home Front (b07kcjrs)
1 September 1916 - Dorothea Winwood

On this day in 1916, Bertrand Russell received notice restricting his access to military areas, and Ralph Winwood returns home to a limited welcome.

Written by Shaun McKenna
Directed by Allegra McIlroy.

THU 12:15 You and Yours (b07q2dfr)
Consumer affairs programme.

THU 12:57 Weather (b07q2dft)
The latest weather forecast.

THU 13:00 World at One (b07q2dg0)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

THU 13:45 Nature's Great Invaders (b07qbl5m)
Ring-necked Parakeet

Telling the stories of non-native invasive species and our complicated attitudes to them and with an uncertain political future how do we police our ecological borders?In many parts of the world including its native range the ring-necked parakeet is considered an invasive species. In the UK we still think of it as either an exotic curiosity or local nuisance. Should we be worried or continue to welcome this unlikely addition to British bird life?

THU 14:00 The Archers (b07qbcbn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]

THU 14:15 Afternoon Drama (b048nkcp)
Hatch, Match and Dispatch, Time and Tide

Hatch, Match and Dispatch: Time and Tide by David Hodgson
Another drama in a series of linked plays that start in a Register Office and end in either a birth, a marriage or a death. Teddy is on his stag night. He wakes up naked and handcuffed to a lamp post. So far, so normal. But then he realises that something very weird has occurred which makes him question everything.

Director/Producer Gary Brown.

THU 15:00 Open Country (b07qbl5p)
Hoylake: Green Belt and Greens

A new golf resort has been proposed for Hoylake in Wirral. Helen Mark explores how this will affect the local green belt and the birdlife and wildlife that live there. She also finds out what benefits developments like this can bring to an area including trade, jobs and international profile, and how these considerations are weighed up against the rules which protect England's fourteen green belts.

Producer: Toby Field.

THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b07q2gbs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]

THU 15:30 Open Book (b07q2kr8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]

THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b07qbst8)
The Choir That Sang Elvish

With Antonia Quirke.

Antonia meets London Voices, the choir that supply the voices to the soundtracks of blockbusters such as The Lord Of The Rings, Spectre and Iron Man 2.

Poet Don Paterson concludes his series on great movie speeches with James Stewart telling Katherine Hepburn that she has "fires banked down inside" in The Philadelphia Story.

THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b07q2dg8)
Adam Rutherford explores the science that is changing our world.

THU 17:00 PM (b07q2dgg)
Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.

THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07q2dgl)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

THU 18:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b07qbstb)
Series 4, Big Tom and the Hendersons

Episode 2 - Big Tom and The Hendersons. Dad tries to fight off an unwanted invasion while Granny turns to smuggling.

Series 4 of Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups presents another hilarious helping of down-the-line adventures from Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated Tom. Listen in on Tom's weekly phone calls home to his Mum, Dad and Gran in Sheffield and get a glimpse into the triumphs and tribulations of the Wrigglesworth clan in all its dysfunctional glory.

Starring Tom Wrigglesworth, Paul Copley, Kate Anthony, Elizabeth Bennett and Ed Kear.

Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle with additional material by Miles Jupp.

Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.

THU 19:00 The Archers (b07qbstd)
Brian gives Adam a heads up, and Elizabeth needs more time.

THU 19:15 Front Row (b07q2dgn)
Arts news, interviews and reviews.

THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b07qbfvy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (b07qbstg)
David Aaronovitch looks at important issues in the news.

THU 20:30 In Business (b07qbstj)
Has 3D printing lived up to the hype?

Peter Day takes a close look at the progress of 3D printing in manufacturing 5 years on from the first programme he made about this new way of making things. Back then there was much hype and excitement about its potential to revolutionise traditional manufacturing. From aircraft parts to cartilage in knees, Peter discovers 3D printing's current range and uses and asks whether it's really lived up to its early promise.

Producer: Caroline Bayley.

THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b07q2dg8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]

THU 21:30 The Matter of the North (b07qbfvt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

THU 21:58 Weather (b07q2dgv)
The latest weather forecast.

THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b07q2dgx)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b07qbstn)
Paradise Lodge, Episode 4

Leicestershire, 1977.

Craving independence, frustrated with her dysfunctional family and fed up with not being able to afford branded shampoo, 15-year-old Lizzie Vogel takes a job at Paradise Lodge, a nursing home for the elderly.

She soon learns the ways of the 'comfort round' and gets used to the scheming of her eccentric co-workers, but finds herself distracted by thoughts of 'erotic handholding' with her friend Miranda's boyfriend, Mike Yu.

When a new old people's home threatens to poach all their patients, Paradise Lodge must fight for survival. And as Lizzie gets increasingly drawn in to keeping the crumbling home afloat, her job threatens to impact her schoolwork and she must choose which path to take.

A wise, moving and funny new coming-of-age novel from Nina Stibbe, the bestselling author of 'Love, Nina'.

Read by Alice Lowe
Produced by Mair Bosworth.

THU 23:00 Heresy (b021480y)
Series 9, Episode 4

Victoria Coren Mitchell presents another edition of the show which dares to commit heresy.

Her guests this week are newspaper columnist Julia Hartley-Brewer, the Rev. Richard Coles and food critic, television presenter and novelist Giles Coren.

Producers: Victoria Coren Mitchell and Daisy Knight
An Avalon Television production for BBC Radio 4.

THU 23:30 Shared Experience (b07cvlm8)
Series 5, Not What We Were Expecting

Three parents discuss how they've readjusted to life with a child with learning difficulties

Producer: Maggie Ayre.


FRIDAY 02 SEPTEMBER 2016

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b07q2dmj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.

FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b07qbfvw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]

FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b07q2dmm)
The latest shipping forecast.

FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b07q2dmp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.

FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b07q2dmr)
The latest shipping forecast.

FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b07q2dmw)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.

FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b07tlspr)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with The Rev John McLuckie of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh.

FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b07q2dn0)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Mark Smalley.

FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378t34)
Ringed Plover

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

Michaela Strachan presents the ringed plover. Camouflage is crucial to ringed plovers because they lay their eggs among the pebbles and shingle of the open beach. To protect her young from a predator, the Ringed Plover will stumble away from the nest while dragging one wing on the ground.

FRI 06:00 Today (b07tlsd7)
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

FRI 09:00 The Matter of the North (b07qc3g3)
Lakes and Moors: The Power of Northern Landscapes

Northern landscapes take centre stage in Episode Five as Melvyn Bragg celebrates the fells, lakes and moors that he loves. He meets mountaineer Chris Bonington in North Cumbria and goes on to see how, over the last 200 years the North has provided inspiration for great writers, some of the greatest in the language - Wordsworth, Coleridge, the Brontës - and painters, Ruskin and Turner. The landscape inspired Coleridge, and he came up with the word mountaineering and he's believed to be the first man to climb every peak in the Lake District. Melvyn visits the home of William and Dorothy Wordsworth at Dove Cottage in the Lake District. The area around Coniston water was home to John Ruskin. The poet Ted Hughes, lived in Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire...and Melvyn says that it's impossible to think northern moorland without bringing to mind the way the Brontës have inscribed themselves on the landscape.

Contributors
Professor Simon Bainbridge, Lancaster University
Professor Sally Bushell, Lancaster University
Chris Bonington
Howard Hull, Brantwood, Ruskin's House
Julian Cooper
Simon Armitage
Syima Aslam, Bradford Literature Festival
Irna Qureshi, Bradford Literature Festival

Producer: Faith Lawrence.

FRI 09:30 Natural History Heroes (b06d9blc)
Allan Octavian Hume

Allan Octavian Hume donated the largest single collection of birds to the Natural History museum - around 80,000 items all collected during his time working for the East Indian Company and the British Raj in India. He spent 20 years recording and documenting all the birds of India only for the manuscript to be destroyed just before his return to England. So profound was his frustration that Hume gave up ornithology altogether and turned his attention to botany, founding the South London Botanical Institute which encouraged the ordinary working person to make a contribution to science. Curator of birds at the Natural History Museum Robert Prys Jones takes us into the Natural history Museum bird collection to explain why ornithologist and botanist Allan Octavian Hume is his Natural History Hero.

FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b07qc3g5)
Shrinking Violets, Episode 5

Joe Moran has spent his life trying to get to grips with his shyness. In this Field Guide to Shyness, he explores the hidden world of reticence, navigating the myriad ways scientists and thinkers have tried to explain and cure shyness, and uncovering the fascinating stories of the men and women who were 'of the violet persuasion'.

"It feels like coming late to a party when everyone else is about three beers in and entering that state that allows them to have fluent exchanges that settle on some pre-agreed theme as if by magic."

In 1993, a drug initially intended as an antidepressant, Paxil, was marketed in the US as alleviating social anxiety disorder. Since then, many other drugs, like Prozac and Zoloft, have been rebranded as treating social anxiety. But when does shyness become pathological?

Read by Nigel Planer
Written by Joe Moran
Abridged and produced by Hannah Marshall
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.

FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b07q2dn4)
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.

FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b07qc3g7)
Blood and Milk, Episode 10

by Gregory Evans

Things come to a head when Meg makes an offer to predatory dairyman Iolo Jones and Annie confronts the creepy Madog Prys. Last in the series.

Directed by Marc Beeby.

FRI 11:00 Sushi Marriages (b07qc3g9)
When a Sunni and a Shia Muslim in Britain tie the knot, this is sometimes jokingly referred to as a "Sushi" marriage. Such marriages are not uncommon, but international political events including the wars in Syria and Iraq have led many Muslims in the UK to identify more strongly with their own branch of Islam, and young people who fall in love across the divide face increasing resistance from their families and communities.

Zubeida Malik meets three Sushi couples to find out how strongly the differences are playing themselves out within their marriages and families.

Ahmed, a Shia from a British-Iraqi background, and Rabia, a Sunni from a Pakistani family, almost saw their marriage torpedoed before it had even taken place - by a Sunni relative who believed such a union to be Islamically forbidden.

Farzana, a Sunni, was so horrified when she first saw her husband Shabbir flagellate himself with chains during a Shia mourning ritual that she fainted on the spot. Whereas Sabina and Uzair, a young couple with a new baby, are taking refuge in the perception that they are both Muslims and that they have far more in common than separates them.

International politics, some of the couples say, does play a role in their relationship - and at a Muslim marriage event, very few of the single hopefuls are willing to marry someone from outside their own branch of Islam.

And yet, says Shia husband Shabbir, Sushi marriages can have a positive effect on community cohesion - once you have both kinds of Muslim in the family, he feels, you are far more likely to hold your peace.


A CTVC production for BBC Radio 4.

FRI 11:30 Start/Stop (b07qc3gc)
Series 3, Friends

Start/Stop is a sitcom by Jack Docherty about three marriages in various states of disrepair.

Barney and Cathy have been married for ages and it shows, Evan and Fiona's marriage is one big, noisy argument and David is old enough to be Alice's father.

Start/Stop follows the story of these three couples as they try to make the best of their marriages and friendships, and the characters are able to stop the action, explain themselves to the audience and start it all up again.

This week: 'Friends'.

Barney is being suspiciously nice to Cathy. Fiona wants Evan to invest in her new business but Evan thinks it will be a disaster. And David is trying not to be so controlling.

Written by: Jack Docherty
Producer: Claire Jones

A BBC Studio Production.

FRI 12:00 News Summary (b07q2dn6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

FRI 12:04 Home Front (b07kckg4)
2 September 1916 - Hilary Pearce

On this day in 1916, two cases of the plague were confirmed in Hull, and in Folkestone, a rumour begins to take hold.

Written by Shaun McKenna
Directed by Allegra McIlroy.

FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b07q2dnd)
Consumer news and issues.

FRI 12:57 Weather (b07q2dng)
The latest weather forecast.

FRI 13:00 World at One (b07q2dnl)
Analysis of news and current affairs.

FRI 13:45 Nature's Great Invaders (b07qc3gf)
Ash Dieback Fungus

Telling the stories of non-native invasive species and our complicated attitudes to them. When trees infected with the ash-dieback fungus were first recorded in the UK in early 2012 there was widespread alarm. Four and a half years later are we closer to knowing what the final toll will be on our ash trees and with an uncertain political future how do we limit the risks posed by other invisible invaders?

FRI 14:00 The Archers (b07qbstd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]

FRI 14:15 Drama (b07qc92k)
Lost in Glencoe

Paul McGann stars in Maggie Ayre's drama documentary telling the story of her relation Peter, who disappeared without trace in Glencoe more than sixty years ago, leaving an empty tent and supplies, and a rift in the family that has rippled down the generations. It's a story of mystery, intrigue and family fallout. Maggie goes in search of the man and talks to the relatives and friends he left behind set against a narration from the man himself written by Richard Monks

Producer: Maggie Ayre.

FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b07qc92r)
Moving House Special

Eric Robson hosts a Moving House edition of the horticultural panel programme from Matthew Wilson's house in Rutland. Anne Swithinbank and Pippa Greenwood join Eric and Matthew to answer the questions.

Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

FRI 15:45 The Consultant (b07qc934)
A funny and moving short story by the writer and director Annie Griffin.

As she sits on the plane home, after a torrid fortnight's holiday in Spain, a young Scottish woman plans a new dream future for herself, far beyond the boundaries of her current life in Bathgate.

Annie Griffin is based in Edinburgh. Her work includes The Book Group TV series and the feature film Festival. She has directed several seasons of Fresh Meat for Channel 4 as well as the recent BBC3 comedy series Together.

Read by Stephanie McGregor.

Written by Annie Griffin.

Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.

FRI 16:00 Last Word (b07tlv1m)
Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died.

FRI 16:30 More or Less (b07qc93b)
Series that investigates the numbers in the news.

FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b06ycwr2)
Graham and Natalie - It's Just a Piece of Paper

Fi Glover introduces a conversation between a couple who have never married; they reflect on the reasons why not, and whether or not their children will eventually tie the knot - 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 (b07q2dnv)
Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.

FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b07q2dnx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

FRI 18:30 The Museum of Curiosity (b07qc93g)
Series 9, Brown, Birkwood, Monbiot

Craig Brown, critic and satirist, best known for his parodies in Private Eye. In The Independent on Sunday he is Wallace Arnold, he's Bel Littlejohn in The Guardian, and he has a diary in Private Eye under a number of topical guises. As well as writing comedy shows such as Norman Ormal for TV, Craig has a regular column in The Daily Telegraph, and his books include The Little Book of Chaos, The Marsh Marlowe Letters and The Hounding of John Thomas.

Katie Birkwood, the rare books and special collections librarian at the Royal College of Physicians, London, where she's worked for three years and recently curated a hugely popular exhibition on the life and book collection of John Dee. Katie regularly contributes to the journal Library & Information History, and has published on topics as diverse as the 16th century manuscripts collector Robert Cotton; the 17th archbishop James Ussher; depictions of venereal disease in early printed books, and the 20th century astronomer Fred Hoyle.

George Monbiot, a journalist best known for his environmental activism. His celebrated Guardian columns are syndicated all over the world, and he is the author of the bestselling books Captive State, The Age of Consent, as well as the investigative travel books Poisoned Arrows, Amazon Watershed and No Man's Land. His investigations in Africa, Asia, and the Americas have led to him to be declared persona non grata in seven countries, sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment in Indonesia, shot at, beaten up by military police, shipwrecked and stung into a coma.

This week, the Museum's Guest Committee appreciate a mythical hotel from another age; a book that was stolen from the greatest library of the Tudor age; and the greatest bear that ever lived.

The show was researched by Mike Turner and Anne Miller of QI.
The producers were Richard Turner and James Harkin.
It was a BBC Studios Production.

FRI 19:00 The Archers (b07qc93j)
Helen tries her best, and Eddie is on a hiding to nothing.

FRI 19:15 Front Row (b07q2dp0)
News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.

FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b07qc3g7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]

FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b07qc93l)
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate and discussion from Lydney in Gloucestershire.

FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b07qc93n)
Parliament Roadshow

Tom Shakespeare argues that the upcoming refurbishment work on the Palace of Westminster provides a perfect opportunity for taking it out of London.

"My vision is of the Houses of Parliament as a travelling caravan, a charabanc of power, spending a year here and a year there throughout our United Kingdom".

He says it would enable our leaders to see at first hand what they are legislating about and who they are legislating for.

He quotes Cromwell at the sacking of the Rump Parliament in 1653: "You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go"!

Producer: Adele Armstrong.

FRI 21:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b07kcj63)
29 August - 2 September 1916

In the week in 1916 when the Battle of Verdun finally came to a close, emotions are volatile in Folkestone.

Written by Shaun McKenna
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole

Story-led by Katie Hims
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.

FRI 21:58 Weather (b07q2dpb)
The latest weather forecast.

FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b07q2dpd)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.

FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b07qc93q)
Paradise Lodge, Episode 5

Leicestershire, 1977.

Craving independence, frustrated with her dysfunctional family and fed up with not being able to afford branded shampoo, 15-year-old Lizzie Vogel takes a job at Paradise Lodge, a nursing home for the elderly.

She soon learns the ways of the 'comfort round' and gets used to the scheming of her eccentric co-workers, but finds herself distracted by thoughts of 'erotic handholding' with her friend Miranda's boyfriend, Mike Yu.

When a new old people's home threatens to poach all their patients, Paradise Lodge must fight for survival. And as Lizzie gets increasingly drawn in to keeping the crumbling home afloat, her job threatens to impact her schoolwork and she must choose which path to take.

A wise, moving and funny new coming-of-age novel from Nina Stibbe, the bestselling author of 'Love, Nina'.

Read by Alice Lowe
Produced by Mair Bosworth.

FRI 23:00 The Matter of the North (b07qc3g3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

FRI 23:30 Great Lives (b07q87sm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]

FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b06yfypr)
James and Victoria - The Step-Parent

Fi Glover introduces a conversations between half siblings, who reflect on the arrival of step-parents, and the conflicting loyalties they felt as children - 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.