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: BBC RADIO 4
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC Radio 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Naoki reveals how, as a child, he used to dream of a version of himself without autism. In his imagination, if he could be as others were, all would be well in his world. Now, though he still yearns to pass as an 'ordinary' person, to walk through the world without being noticed and watched all the time, he has come to see that dream as a childhood illusion, and his autism as part of his true self.
While as a child he often wanted to vanish, now, as a young adult, Naoki feels happiest at the centre of his family. Even if he can't express his pleasure externally, these are his moments of greatest joy and belonging.
Written by Naoki Higashida
Translated by David Mitchell and KA Yoshida
Read by Matthew Beard, and introduced by David Mitchell
Abridged by Robin Brooks
Produced by Allegra McIlroy.
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The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Anna Magnusson.
A doctor describes working in the last functioning hospital in Baghdad during the US invasion.
iPM is the news programme that starts with its listeners. Email ipm@bbc.co.uk. Twitter: @BBCiPM. Presented by Luke Jones and Eddie Mair. Produced by Emma Close.
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
Helen Mark is in Perthshire to climb Ben Lawers above Loch Tay for a better view of the southern Highlands. Scotland's 10th highest Munro, it's home to rare alpine wildflowers, and loved by walkers. The landscape's been shaped by centuries of grazing, first by cattle and in more recent times by sheep. Helen visits the sites of the old shielings, the summer dwellings used by farming families after driving their livestock up for the pastures.
Back down at loch level, Helen visits the locality's annual Kenmore Highland Games, and finds out what a crannog is. Visiting the Scottish Crannog Centre she learns why these ancient fortified dwellings were built over the lochs, on wooden piles.
Up on Ben Lawers overlooking Loch Tay Helen also finds out about the ancient 'cup and ring' markings engraved on boulders long before even the crannogs were built. We might not know their purpose, but that doesn't stop us from guessing.
Producer: Mark Smalley.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
The latest weather forecast.
News and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Feargal Sharkey talks about his journey from Undertone to executive.
Josette Simon tells us about her career as an actor and current role as Cleopatra at the RSC Stratford.
Cat Irving is Human Remains Conservator at Surgeons' Hall Museums which are part of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
Hugh Thomson describes his journey across England accompanied by Jethro, his mule. (One Man and a Mule by Hugh Thomson is out now).
Richard and Emily Gottfried have played their way around more than 740 crazy golf courses all over Britain.
Poet John Cooper Clarke chooses his Inheritance Tracks:
The Spaniard Who Blighted My Life by Bing Crosby & Al Jolson and What's So Funny About Peace, Love And Understanding? by Nick Lowe.
Jay Rayner is at the Dash Arts Dacha in Shoreditch. Zoe Laughlin, Andi Oliver, Tim Anderson and Olia Hercules are the culinary panellists answering questions from the audience.
This week, they discuss Russian food culture, pickling vegetables and dumplings. And they help one audience member deal with his obsession with spicy sauces.
Producer: Miranda Hinkley
Assistant Producer: Hester Cant
Food consultant: Anna Colquhoun
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
Steve Richards weighs the fates of the main party leaders as Parliament breaks up for the summer. What lies ahead for the Conservatives and Theresa May and for Labour and Jeremy Corbyn? And how rocky is the road to Brexit? With Paul Waugh, Helen Lewis and Peter Oborne.
The editor is Peter Mulligan.
Reports from writers and journalists around the world. Presented by Kate Adie.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
From January next year businesses will be banned from charging extra when customers pay by credit or debit card. The new rules will also apply to local councils and government agencies like the DVLA. The fees are also commonly applied by airlines. James Daley, founder of the consumer group Fairer Finance and Julia Lo Bue-Said Managing Director of the Advantage Travel Partnership discuss.
The government has announced its decision to phase in the state pension age rise to 68 between 2037 and 2039, seven years earlier than planned. The law will have to be changed in order to bring the rise forward which won't happen until the next review of the state pension age takes place in 2023. Hugh Nolan, President of the Society of Pension Professionals, and an actuary, examines the life expectancy issues which shape pension policy.
The panel that advises the Financial Conduct Authority on consumer issues says it's time for industry regulators to stop telling financial services customers to shop around and switch bank accounts in order to get better deals. Guest Sue Lewis, Chair of the Financial Services Consumer Panel explains why that measure is not working and also suggests alternative ways for regulators and authorities to drive competition in a way that works more effectively for consumers.
Tax rule changes are causing errors with HMRC's Self Assessment software. It's resulted in incorrect calculations for a small number of taxpayers who have certain income combinations including dividends and savings interest. Tina Riches, National Tax Partner with Smith & Williamson outlines the error and what people who think it applies to them should do.
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Tony Bonsignore
Producer: Charmaine Cozier
Editor: Emma Rippon.
Recorded the day before transmission, the satirical sketch show remains as sharp and topical as ever. Impressions and caricatures are the charming couriers of explosively satirical truth-bombs.
The series is written by Private Eye writers Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain, together with Tom Coles, Ed Amsden, Sarah Campbell, Laurence Howarth, James Bugg, Laura Major, Max Davis, Jack Bernhardt and others.
The series stars Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis MacLeod, Debra Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey.
A BBC Studios Production.
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The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Ed Stourton presents political debate from Wedmore in Somerset with a panel including the cross bench peer and consitutional expert Lord Hennessy, businessman Chris Ormrod from the Ministry of Cake, the Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry and the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers MP.
Listeners have their say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?
William Goldman's dark sequel to Marathon Man, dramatised by Stephen Keyworth.
The western world is gearing up for war until Scylla, an infamous American spy, is brought out of hiding and sent on a brutal mission to keep the peace.
Starring Tom Burke and Jack Lowden.
Directed by Kirsty Williams.
Love it or loathe it, the power ballad is the musical genre that never went away. Superfan and ex-Communard Rev. Richard Coles dusts off his song writing skills and goes back to the 1980s to explore an era of inflated emotions, big production and even bigger hair.
Power ballads hit their height in the 1980s - a time of excess and strife - when big music budgets, huge concert arenas and new synthesiser technology made it possible and necessary for these massive tunes to be constructed. They still permeate popular culture from TV talent shows, to Disney films, to musicals like The Bodyguard and Bat Out of Hell. There's even a club, now in its eleventh year, which plays back-to-back power ballads to a sing-along crowd who know every word of every Whitney, Meatloaf, Celine and Bonnie hit.
But can Richard write a new power ballad to rival 'Total Eclipse of The Heart' and set the world singing with lighters aloft? With help from 'the man who invented the eighties', record producer Trevor Horn and singer Lynda Hayes, nothing's gonna stop him now.
Is going on holiday with another family ever a good idea? We discuss what works and why it can go wrong.
Polly Neate has been the Chief Executive of Women's Aid for the last five years. Friday was her last day in that role. She talked about her time in the women's charity sector and how she believes attitudes towards domestic abuse have changed since she started.
Jodie Whittaker has been cast as the first female Dr Who. So what impact has her casting made on fans of the programme? Joanne Harris the author of Doctor Who: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Time Traveller and Kezia Newson the co-founder of the blog thetimeladies.com discuss.
Is there enough awareness around the different types of contraception and their impact they can have on mental health and relationships? Three young women Helena, Jeya and Oloni share their contraception experiences.
We Cook The Perfect Smoked Aubergine Salad with Dina Mousawi and Itab Azzam who worked with Syrian women in the Middle East and Europe to collect ideas for their book Syria: Recipes from Home.
Sylvia Brownrigg's new novel Pages for Her is a sequel to her 2001 book Pages for You and touches on the themes of motherhood and bisexuality. She discusses why she decided to write the sequel now.
The writer Ada Calhoun author of 'Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give' discusses what makes a successful marriage and how to cope with the boring bits.
Presented by Jenni Murray
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor: Erin Riley
Reporter: Henrietta Harrison.
Full coverage of the day's news.
What is the best way of cutting costs and transforming a business? Bosses often have to prune their operations - either to reinvest the cash to grow the business in other directions or because costs have got out of control. But can cuts go too far and damage an organisation? It was reported that British Airways' computer meltdown earlier this year was caused in part because the company had moved too quickly to make efficiency savings. It now faces paying its customers millions of pounds in compensation. Evan Davis and panel discuss the good, bad and the ugly of cost cutting and business transformation.
Guests:
Ashley Almanza, Chief Executive of G4S
Gavin Oldham, founder of Share Radio
Marco Amitrano, head of consulting at accountants, PWC.
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The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Clive Anderson and Tom Allen are joined by Jonathan Lynn, Gemma Whelan, Bruce Welch and Jayde Adams for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from This Is The Kit and Nick Heyward.
Producer: Sukey Firth.
Series of profiles of people who are currently making headlines.
Christopher Nolan's film Dunkirk dramatises the many acts of heroism and horror of the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of soldiers during World War 2 from French beaches. Many critics are talking about Oscars, will our reviewers agree?
The newest production of Much Ado About Nothing at London's Globe Theatre sets the story during the armed struggles of the Mexican Revolution.
Sarah Winman's novel Tin Man is a love story between two boys and a woman who changes their love and their lives; it's about relationships, loss and kindness
The first posthumous exhibition of the work of Rose Finn-Kelcey at Modern Art Oxford takes a selective look at the breadth of her work over several decades.
The BBC's LGBTQ season marking the 50th anniversary of The Sexual Offences Act, presents Against the Law starring Daniel Mays as Peter Wildeblood, one the defendants in the 1954 Montagu case.
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Lisa Appignanesi, Paul Morley and Alex Clark. The producer is Oliver Jones.
It's time to travel down the rabbit hole of truth as American satirist Joe Queenan explores a murky world of fake news, prejudice and alternative facts.
"Recent politics have shown that the truth is no fun," he explains. "It's like a vegetable your mother makes you eat. Yes it may be nourishing, but it tastes terrible."
With archive contributions from Donald Trump, Doris Lessing, Jeremy Corbyn, Peter Mandelson and Theresa May; plus new interviews with Mark Borkowski, Edith Hall and Julian Baggini, author of a Short History of Truth.
This is Joe Queenan's follow up to previous editions on Blame, Shame, Irony and Anger.
The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde.
by John le Carré
3/3. As the MI6 manhunt closes in on Magnus Pym he attempts to solve the mystery of what - or who - created his talent for deception. Was it the betrayal and lies of his con man father, Rick? Or the man who recruited him to MI6 - Jack Brotherhood? Or was it Axel, the Czech agent he has known since his teens? All of them have marked his life in some way. Dramatised by Robert Forrest.
Other parts are played by the cast.
Director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.
A long-running legal battle between Ofsted and the Al-Hijrah Islamic state school in Birmingham has reached the Court of Appeal. The principle at stake is whether segregating boys and girls - for all classes, breaks and trips - amounts to unlawful sex discrimination in a mixed-sex setting. Ofsted's lawyers argue that it is "a kind of apartheid", leaving girls "unprepared for life in modern Britain". The school maintains that gender segregation is one of its defining characteristics and that the policy is clear - parents can make an informed choice. The case is based on the Equality Act, which means the implications of the ruling will be far-reaching and will apply to all schools, not just state schools. Should gender segregation be allowed in co-educational faith schools? If it is as abhorrent as segregating children according to their race, why is the great British tradition of single-sex education not the subject of similar scrutiny? The case also raises wider moral concerns about what we as a society will allow to go on in faith schools, whether they are publicly-funded or not. Is the promotion of one dominant world view - taught as "truth" - desirable? Are faith schools a vital component of multiculturalism or a threat to it? Should a truly integrated society be judged on the diversity within its schools, lest they become cultural or religious ghettos? To do away with faith-based education entirely would be to do away with some of the best and most over-subscribed schools in the country. Would that be a price worth paying for a more cohesive society, or a monstrous display of religious intolerance? The morality of faith schools.
Witnesses are Afua Hirsch, Prof Anthony O'Hear, Iram Ramzan and Asad Zaman.
Producer: Dan Tierney.
(3/13)
Today's contest comes from Salford, with competitors from Liverpool and Hull convening to answer Paul Gambaccini's questions on all aspects of music. From opera to folk, from musical comedy to rap, everything is fair game. As always, the players will be asked to answer specialist questions on a subject of which they've had no prior warning - with a list of just five to choose from.
The winner will take another of the places in the 2017 semi-finals later in the summer.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
The first edition of a new globe-trotting poetry series. Poet Helen Mort explores exciting voices from around the world. This week, she hears poetry in Arabic, German and Spanish while thinking about the phrase 'Bodies in Motion': seeing how movement, through space and time, filters through the work of some very different poets.
Helen Mort travels to Paris to meet Syrian poet Golan Haji. He's drawn inspiration from many sources, including Bill Viola's video art and a pet ram. Being multilingual, for him, every piece of writing is an act of translation. They meet up with veteran American poet and translator Marilyn Hacker, to hear her version of a Haji poem and talk about the friendship struck up through this translation partnership.
A journey to the centre of the Earth; watching the Berlin Wall fall on a badly tuned TV; and a futuristic German language, have all inspired poems by the compelling German poet and performer, Ulrike Almut Sandig. She tells Helen Mort about her early political 'guerrilla poetry' project, 'eyemail', which found her pasting poems onto lampposts, and its live performance equivalent, which she calls, 'earmail'.
Exploring the fascinating process of translating a poem into another language, Helen Mort takes part in a poetry translation workshop at the Poetry Translation Centre in London. In this case, the original Spanish language poem is by Cuban poet Legna Rodriguez, about her experience of moving from Cuba to Miami. Progressing from the line-by-line literal translation towards a version made collectively, involves discussions on cliché and idioms - and on nuances of the noun 'sofa bed'!
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
A young man goes to volunteer with a refugee rescue mission in the Mediterranean, leaving behind the complications of his own life in the UK. An original short work for radio, written and read by Anthony Anaxagorou.
Anthony Anaxagorou is an award-winning poet, short story writer, publisher and poetry educator. He has published several volumes of poems and essays, a spoken word EP and a collection of short stories whilst having also written for theatre. He was a judge for the 2016 BBC Young Writers Award and is currently the poet in residence at several London schools where he teaches poetry and creative writing. He founded Out-Spoken Live in 2012 and Out-Spoken Press in 2013.
Produced by Mair Bosworth
Written and performed by Anthony Anaxagorou
Music - Tareek 3treet by Yousef Kekhia.
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The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
This week's Bells on Sunday comes from St. Edward's, Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire. The tower has a ring of eight bells. The tenor, weighing twenty seven and three quarter hundredweight, is tuned to D. We hear them here ringing now, 'Gloucestershire Triples'.
The latest national and international news.
Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand examines the many ways we measure time and its effect on us.
Over the course of the programme, Shoshana draws upon a wide range of sources, from Albert Einstein who argued that the separation between past and present is simply an illusion, to the poetry of the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma who urges us to live only in the moment.
With the help of Gustav Holst's The Planets, we revisit the moment of creation, when time and space were born. Shoshana notes that, while modern scientists theorise that time was created alongside the universe during the Big Bang, a similar claim was made centuries before in the Bible. Scripture doesn't state this explicitly, but the Bible uses the same Hebrew word, "olam", to describe both time and space - suggesting linguistically that they are similar phenomena. In general, "olam" refers to the physical universe, but it also can mean "forever" or "eternity." Shoshana explains that, whether one believes that the world was created through Divine Speech or a Big Bang, both science and the Bible agree that time and space are one.
For Shoshana, Joni Mitchell's Circle Game offers us valuable insight into the circular patterns that appear with the passage of time, while Gilbert and Sullivan playfully note the failings of our attempt to number our days using the Gregorian calendar. The poetry of Rabindranath Tagore reminds us that lost time is never truly lost, whereas John Milton advises us to square off against time by placing our faith in the divine.
Presenter: Shoshana Boyd Gelfand
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.
Caviar, one of the world's most expensive and luxurious foods comes from the eggs, or roe, of the sturgeon. Traditionally it's harvested from fish in the Black Sea or the Caspian Sea - but now a father and son team from Yorkshire are harvesting sustainable caviar at their farm near Leeds.
John and Mark Addy have decades of experience in aquaculture and for the last six years they've been developing a way of producing sustainable caviar, meaning the fish the eggs come from don't die in the production process. Instead of killing the fish or performing caesarean sections on them which usually ends in fatalities, the Addys stimulate ovulation naturally by altering the warmth of the water and the light levels in the poly-tunnels their 82 fish are kept in. The business was born out of Mark's concern at the severely diminishing world stock of sturgeon, described by the IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature) as "more critically endangered than any other group of species".
Caz Graham goes along to hear how this gastronomic delicacy is putting down roots in the north of England.
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The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
Sunday morning religious news and current affairs programme, presented by Edward Stourton.
Carol Vorderman makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of United World Schools.
Registered Charity Number 1129537
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 'United World Schools'.
- Cheques should be made payable to 'United World Schools'.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
From the first chapter of Genesis when God said "Let there be light", the word light occurs and recurs throughout the Bible where it is often contrasted with darkness. The service explores the rich imagery of light and how this may direct our thinking and our living.
From St Patrick's Church, Donegall Street in Belfast.
Led by Father Eugene O'Neill Preacher: Father Michael McGinnity
Genesis 1.1-5
Ephesians 5.8-14
Matthew 5.14-16
With Cappella Caeciliana, directed by Donal McCrisken.
Be thou my vision (Irish traditional)
O radiant dawn (MacMillan)
Lead kindly light (Sandon)
Thou knowest Lord (Purcell)
O Nata Lux de Lumine (Tallis)
Love divine (Hyfrydol)
Organist: Stephen Hamill.
Adam Gopnik reflects on why he turned to marijuana to relieve his pain during a recent bout of shingles.
His 17 year old daughter was horrified.
But Adam concludes that wise drug policy accepts the existence of intoxicants and says "this tale of unshaven debauchery" has made him realise, for the first time, how much his own "hyper disciplined, driven life" had taken out of him.
Producer: Adele Armstrong.
RSPB Yorkshire staff are reflecting on birds all this week for Tweet of the Day. First, volunteer Steve Vickers recalls childhood memories of the eider duck.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Tom Bonnett.
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.
Eddie comes up with a plan, and Matt is keen to impress.
Kirsty Young's castaway is Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Chief Executive of Virgin Money. She is currently the government's Women in Finance Champion. She worked for Fred Goodwin at RBS just prior to the financial crisis before returning to Virgin Money in 2007. A mother of one, she endured many miscarriages and has written about her experience of post-natal depression following her daughter's birth.
An only child, she was brought up first in the Midlands, then in East Anglia. She was one of very few girls to attend a newly co-educational boys' school where she was bullied. Following a year spent working in an unemployment office she went to Royal Holloway College in London where she met her future husband, Ash, to whom she's been married for 33 years. Earlier this year she published her autobiography.
Producer: Cathy Drysdale.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
The antidote to panel games pays a return visit to the Victoria Theatre in Halifax. Old-timers Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Susan Calman and John Finnemore with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell attempts piano accompaniment. Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Studios production.
This week, Sheila Dillon is in Greece to speak to farmers and food producers about how they are carving new lives for themselves out of the financial crisis.
Greeks have now lived through seven years of austerity after the most catastrophic European financial crisis in modern times. Unemployment is above 23%, higher than anywhere in the EU. Amongst the under 25's the figure is more than 46%. Life is tough in Greece.
But food and farming tell a more uplifting story. Employment in food production and farming is up. Many young people left their former lives in the cities and moved back to the countryside to start farms and food start-ups.
Now, Sheila Dillon takes a trip from Greece's second city Thessaloniki in the north, to the capital, Athens to meet food producers and farmers in Greece. She asks how they are surviving, and whether food and farming might help Greece in it's recovery. She asks senior advisor in the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Professor Charalambos Kasimis, what the Government are doing to help Greece's newest farmers. And finds that part of the story involves a failed UK crowd-funding campaign to pay off the Greek national debt.
Presented by Sheila Dillon.
Produced by Clare Salisbury.
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In the latest programme, Mishal Husain introduces dispatches from journalists and writers around the United Kingdom that reflect the range of contemporary life in the country. This edition includes Adrian Goldberg's reflections from Birmingham on the demise of a long-standing ornament of civic pride: Hall Green greyhound stadium and we discover how communities living in the area surrounding Grenfell Tower are responding to the aftermath of last month's fire. We also hear from Jersey as childhood resident, Christine Finn, returns to the island and stays at Haut de la Garenne, once a notorious children's home and now an activity and accommodation centre. Former children's television presenter, Ayo Akinwolere, considers how "Blue Peter" shaped his career and Garry Owen of BBC Radio Cymru Wales visits Swansea to hear about the alarming increase in deaths caused by drug misuse and what might be done to reverse it.
Producer Simon Coates.
In the latest programme, Mishal Husain introduces dispatches from journalists and writers around the United Kingdom that reflect the range of contemporary life in the country. This edition includes Adrian Goldberg's reflections from Birmingham on the demise of a long-standing ornament of civic pride: Hall Green greyhound stadium and we discover how communities living in the area surrounding Grenfell Tower are responding to the aftermath of last month's fire. We also hear from Jersey as childhood resident, Christine Finn, returns to the island and stays at Haut de la Garenne, once a notorious children's home and now an activity and accommodation centre. Former children's television presenter, Ayo Akinwolere, considers how "Blue Peter" shaped his career and Garry Owen of BBC Radio Cymru Wales visits Swansea to hear about the alarming increase in deaths caused by drug misuse and what might be done to reverse it.
Producer Simon Coates.
Eric Robson hosts this week's programme from the Jurassic Coast, with Anne Swithinbank, Bob Flowerdew and Bunny Guinness.
The panel of experts offer horticultural advice to audience members struggling with growing sweet potatoes and miserable-looking Monkey Puzzle trees, and they suggest evergreen hedging plants.
They also discuss winter-flowing Hawthorns, what to do about a Chafer grub infestation and how to eradicate Jerusalem Artichokes.
Chris Beardshaw makes a very special visit to the home and garden of national treasure Mary Berry.
Produced by Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
Fi Glover introduces conversations about possible burn out from challenging injustice, breaking the mould of veganism, and living with Coeliac Disease 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.
D H Lawrence's The Gypsy
Drama inspired by D H Lawrence's The Virgin and the Gypsy. Handsome gypsy Joe and his family arrive in the small countryside village of Papplewick one summer looking for work. It isn't long before Joe is drawn to the local Rector's daughter. A tale of desire and repression set during interwar England.
Written by Dan Allum
Directed by Charlotte Riches.
Mariella Frostrup talks to South African born writer Fiona Melrose about her new novel Johannesburg. Set on the day of Nelson Mandela's death, it brings together characters who together give voice to the city on a day of tension and history.
We also mark the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality with a look at transgender characters in fiction with Kaite Welsh.
Novelist Susan Hill reveals the Book She'd Never Lend, and we hear about a new American museum devoted to writing.
The second edition of a new globe-trotting poetry series. Poet Helen Mort explores exciting voices from around the world. This week, she hears poems in Persian, Spanish, German and Chinese - and in translation - all inspired by the everyday objects and people around them. She considers how through the observing eye of poetry, the ordinary becomes extraordinary.
Tea bags, mushrooms and mosquitoes have all inspired German poet Jan Wagner. His poems give surprising perspectives on the most commonplace objects - they are witty, compassionate and novel. Wagner reads from his collection Self-Portrait with a Swarm of Bees, and talks about the process of translation between German and English.
Nicknamed the Poet of Objects in his native Iran, Iraj Ziayi writes about ordinary household items - chairs, slippers - with heightened intensity. In his poem Six Green Polish Chairs, a collection of childhood memories are triggered by the sight of a particular shade of green. Alireza Abiz translates from the Persian.
Helen Mort travels to Oxford to speak to Theophilus Kwek. Kwek is a young poet and translator from Singapore, whose version of Moving House by Malayan-born poet Wong Yoon Wah, recently won second place in the Stephen Spender prize for poetry in translation. Moving House explores the ordinary details of a house move, with a fascinating personal and political subtext.
Finally, there's poetry by Oscar Cruz, direct from the streets of Santiago de Cuba. Speaking to Cruz's translator Serafina Vick, Helen Mort learns about his mission to bring the everyday life and language of his city - in all its frank reality - into his poems. Muy caliente!
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
What happens when your teenage son is targeted by abusers?
File on 4 tells one family's story of fighting the authorities to get support and justice after a 13 year old boy was aggressively groomed by scores of men, aged from their 20s to their 50s. It is a shocking story of opportunities missed, meaning the boy endured assaults by multiple men for years. We look at the impact of that sustained abuse on him and his parents, who were desperately trying to shield him from harm. He says he was dismissed, and even blamed by authorities responsible for protecting him.
Why were they so let down? And have the police been slow to get to grips with cases of child sexual exploitation when they involve boys?
One safeguarding expert tells the programme: "Policy is not matching practice on the ground. It was completely missed that this boy was a child. We need to lift the lid on what is going on when the victims are boys."
Are boys on the radar of authorities or are they grooming's hidden victims?
Reporter: Alys Harte
Producer: Sally Chesworth.
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The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
This week in Pick of the Week we take a trip back to 1960's America, a time when hippies were dropping acid and preaching love and peace; the Black Panthers were advocating an armed revolution and Geoff Boycott? He was playing cricket in New York. We hear from David Blunkett about his home of Sheffield, and the first female Musical Director of the CBSO in Birmingham.
Justin's mind is made up, and Alice recruits Pip.
Comedy is at its most powerful when it takes on our darkest fears and hardest times, and transforms them into laughter. Julia Sutherland looks into the corners of fellow stand up comedians' lives - performers who have chosen to share their deeply personal stories on stage to give a voice to issues otherwise overlooked. They have overcome their troubles and empowered themselves and many others to laugh at the things you're not supposed to laugh at.
Through comedy, Julia shows that sometimes it's OK not to be OK.
In this first episode, Julia meets Janey Godley. Brought up in near-Dickensian squalor in the tough East End of Glasgow, Janey has faced sexual abuse, murder within the family, violence, sectarianism and more. She has coped with everything her life has thrown at her by turning each challenge and tragedy into hilarious stand-up comedy. Her own empowerment has given a voice to thousands of others by shattering taboos and breaking emotional shackles.
Julia also meets Heather Ross, who has toured the world with her show Rape is Real and Everywhere. Through her stand up she has touched the lives of thousands of people who have had similar experiences, and has found relief in sharing her candid account and extremely dark humour. This is a very personal story told from a unique point of view.
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4.
As part of their final Media Degree assessment at NUC in Northern Ireland, three final year university students - Natalie Driver, JJ Collins and Vic Grant - decide to make a podcast about a cold case which happened in Colecastle fourteen years ago. On Saturday April 26th 2003, Toby Ellis was minding his four month old nephew, Derek Ellis. He nipped into his local newsagents and left the pram outside on the street. He claimed he left the child for no longer than two minutes. During this time, the baby was abducted and six days later the infant's body was discovered buried in a nearby wooded area, Mountfort. Cause of death, a blow to the head. No one was ever charged with the murder and the case has remained on-going.
The first episode of Hiding Out is a podcast hosted by one of the students, Natalie; she reveals she is currently in hiding fearing for her safety. Having published their first podcast on The Murder at Colecastle, her fellow student Vic had received a call from someone who had heard the podcast claiming they had new evidence about the day the child was abducted. Vic and JJ met with the source. That was 3 days ago and no one has seen or heard from either Vic or JJ since... The only contact Natalie has received is a text sent from her classmate JJ's phone which reads "We're watching you. Stop this now." Natalie knows their disappearance is clearly linked to digging into the murder of Derek Ellis. If she finds them, she may finally find the truth of what happened in Colecastle. Natalie's nightly podcasts of 'Hiding Out' are attracting more and more interest - #whereisnatalie and #findvicandjj are rife with speculation. Are these three students actually in danger? Or - as their media lecturer believes - is this all an elaborate media hoax?
Gerard Stembridge ..... Writer
Gemma McMullan ..... Series Producer & Director.
As parliament starts the summer recess, the BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith looks back at a tumultuous few months in Westminster, talking with Roger Bolton about the challenges of working under intense scrutiny and accusations of bias from MPs and on social media.
This week, the BBC released its annual report, including the names and wage brackets of 96 of its on-air talent who are all paid over 150 thousand pounds a year. Licence fee payers give us their thoughts on presenter pay.
In last week's programme, we discussed listener complaints about an exceptionally graphic story in Bridget Kendall's Cold War: Stories from the Big Freeze. To make sense of the discussion, Feedback chose to re-broadcast the clip. Were we right to do so? Listeners share their differing views on the issue.
Finally, Roger continues his series of Open Mic interviews with prominent BBC presenters. This week, he's joined by Clive Anderson of Loose Ends and Unreliable Evidence. Has Clive's notoriously sharp-edged humour mellowed over time?
Producer: Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC radio 4.
Matthew Bannister on
Chuck Blazer who embezzled millions of dollars from the international football organisation FIFA, then turned whistle blower to incriminate his former colleagues.
Maryam Mirzakhani, the Iranian mathematician who became the first woman to win the prestigious Fields Medal.
The architect Bryan Avery who designed the drama school RADA and the London Imax cinema.
Peter McHugh, the former Fleet Street journalist who helped to turn round the fortunes of TV-am and then became director of programmes at GMTV.
And Martin Landau the versatile Hollywood actor who won an Oscar for playing Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton's film Ed Wood.
Producer: Neil George.
An extended interview with the political theorist who argues that liberal democracy is in grave danger. Ngaire Woods, dean of the Blavatnik School at Oxford, speaks to Harvard scholar Yascha Mounk. He says that across a wide sample of countries in North America and Western Europe, citizens of mature democracies have become markedly less satisfied with their form of government and surprisingly open to nondemocratic alternatives. "A serious democratic disconnect has emerged. If it widens even further, it may begin to challenge the stability of seemingly consolidated democracies."
Producer: Jim Frank
(Image: Yascha Mounk. Credit: Steffen Jaenicke).
Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.
With Francine Stock.
The director of Inception, Christopher Nolan tells Francine Stock about his first war movie, Dunkirk, and why it's his most experimental film to date.
Bryan Fogel explains how his film Icarus helped to expose the truth about Russia's involvement in doping in sports.
Comedian Rosemary Fletcher wonders why her gay best friends have never measured up to Rupert Everett in My Best Friend's Wedding, in her series Rosemary Versus The Rom-Com.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
International Express - the New York City Transit Authority 7 subway line runs through a highly diverse series of ethnic and immigrant neighborhoods in Queens. It's a microcosm of the urban, New York experience, in which individuals from a variety of cultures and classes are forced to interact and get along. William Kornblum, professor of sociology emeritus at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, talks to Laurie Taylor about the everyday reality of integrated mass transit. They're joined by the British writer, Iain Sinclair and the geographer, Melissa Butcher.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Anna Magnusson.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
Writer Eleanor Matthews recalls how the magpie came into her life at a time of change for Tweet of the Day.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Eliza Lomas.
News and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Mariella Frostrup is joined by Cristina Odone from the London-based international think tank the Legatum Institute; Stephen Scott, professor of Child Health and Behaviour at King's College London; Stella Duffy, co-Director of Fun Palaces, which campaigns for culture at the heart of community; and Katharine Hill, UK Director of the charity Care for the Family. They discuss the neurological preconditions for being happy - nature versus nurture; whether happy parents make happy children and the role of parenting classes; and the importance of the mental well-being of the next generation.
Producer: Mohini Patel.
Morten Stroksnes and his friend Hugo are in pursuit of the elusive Greenland shark, but it's not easy to find in the seas off northern Norway.
The Lofoten archipelago, just north of the Arctic Circle, is a place of unsurpassed beauty. The skyline spikes with dramatic peaks; the radiant greens and purples of the Northern Lights follow summers where the sun never sets. It's a place of small villages, where the art of fishing, though evolving, is still practiced in traditional ways.
Beneath the great depths surrounding these islands lurks the infamous Greenland shark. Shark Drunk is the true story of two friends, the author and the artist Hugo Aasjord, as they embark on a wild pursuit of the famed creature - all from a tiny rubber boat.
Winner of the Norwegian Brage Prize 2015
Winner of the Norwegian Critics' Prize for Literature 2015
Winner of the Norwegian Reine Ord Prize at Lofoten International Literature Festival 2016
Morten Stroksnes is a Norwegian historian, journalist, photographer, and writer. He has written reportage, essays, portraits, and columns and reviews for most major Norwegian newspapers and magazines. He has published four critically acclaimed books of literary reportage and contributed to several others.
Written by Morten Stroksnes , translated by Tiina Nunnally
Read by Adrian Scarborough
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
by Marcy Kahan
Directed by Sally Avens
Old flatmates Bill and Bella return for a final series of the award winning platonic romantic comedy.
Bella has returned from her honeymoon on safari where it turns out she had more to worry about than the man eating animals.
Amir is twenty five and can't work - he has a rare neurological condition and is waiting for surgery to correct foot deformities. His doctors agree, but the Government does not and he has six weeks to appeal the decision denying him disability related payments.
It was all a far cry from the life Amir imagined when he left school and set out to follow his Dad's advice: get a job, start saving and put together enough money to buy a house. He started down that path, working for Morrison's and later for Next. But as his health deteriorated he was forced to give up his job and last October he claimed disability related support.
He has Charcot Marie Tooth disease, a progressive condition which he hopes will be alleviated by reconstructive surgery on his feet. His GP, Dr Anne-Marie Killeen, agrees that he is too ill to work and has supplied medical evidence showing that he can't walk far and frequently falls. His GP says he should qualify for the additional payments that would help him with his mobility and give him the support he needs.
The Department of Work and Pensions says that during a period of sickness it tailors work-related activity to specific circumstances and Amir is on an extended sick note until August 8th. This means he does not have to apply for, or take up, work. For his part, Amir thinks this is not good enough and he can not cope without the money he and his GP believe his disability should entitle him to.
Susan (Susan Calman) and Fiona (Ashley Jensen) are grown up sisters who live together. But that's all they have in common. Written by Susan Calman, Sisters tackles the painfully funny world of the love/hate relationship you can never escape.
When their brother Cliff, who they very rarely speak to, announces he's coming to stay, the sisters start to speculate about the reason for his visit. The favourite theory on their shortlist is that he's finally come out. But what he reveals is altogether more surprising and they enlist Blake's help in getting to the truth of the matter.
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Aditya Chakrabortty investigates five words that made the modern world.
These are the strange, sometimes amusing but true tales by which the reigning ideas of our time came to be the words you hear on the Today programme, on other news programmes and late-night current affairs discussions. What do words like 'narrative' and 'transparency', bandied around by politicians and experts, actually mean?
In this series, find out where these terms came from, how have they changed and how are they shaping our world in this unexpected journey from a simple word to an expose of modern life.
Today - when and why did 'narrative' become so important? On hand to find out how telling stories beyond the world of fiction became so important are former New Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell, story guru Robert McKee, cognitive linguist George Lakoff, Professor of Accounting and Political Economy at Manchester Business School Karel Williams, and Clifford Soffield from the Oxford English Dictionary.
Produced by Eve Streeter
A Greenpoint production for BBC Radio 4.
They call it "shrinkflation"-- We'll look at new findings on why our chocolate bars are getting smaller.
The landlords getting around tax changes by flipping from "buy to let" to "holiday lets".
And would you ditch your shampoo and let your hair's natural oils do the job? We'll hear from people who have.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
The story of the 1993 Waco siege and the lasting impact on those who survived.
In the mid 1980s, a young British theology student named Livingstone Fagan met an American preacher named David Koresh. Impressed by him, Livingstone visited Koresh and his followers, known as the Branch Davidians, at Mount Carmel, a commune on the outskirts of Waco, Texas.
Over the years, the authorities came to believe that Koresh may be abusing children there, and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms suspected he was trading guns illegally.
The ATF decided to arrest David Koresh and search the compound. But the secret got out. Although the ATF realised that the element of surprise had gone, it was too late to stop - decisions had been made on both sides.
Presenter: Cole Moreton
Producer: Jonathan Mayo
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.
By Sarah Wooley
"Making money is art, and working is art and good business is the best art." - Andy Warhol
Set in New York in the heady days of Studio 54, in the late 1970s and early 80s, "Fifteen Minutes" looks at the later period in Andy Warhol's life when he was painting portraits to commission and running 'Interview' magazine. Young editor, Bob Colacello has the bright idea of hiring the ageing Truman Capote to do celebrity interviews. In exchange for his monthly column, Capote would be gifted a portrait. And so began one of the most complicated and explosive of collaborations.
A BBC Scotland production directed by Gaynor Macfarlane.
(4/13)
Which film composer's music accompanies Matthew Bourne's new touring production of the ballet The Red Shoes? And in which famously cryptic song lyric of the 1960s do old men play Chinese chequers by the trees?
The competitors in today's contest have no idea what questions await them, but they can be sure they will cover the widest possible range of music. They will also face the notorious specialist round, in which they have to pick from a list of five topics on which to answer individual questions - with no prior notice of what the topics are going to be.
Today's winner goes through to the semi-finals in September.
Producer: Paul Bajoria.
A three part series marking the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of sex between men through the Sexual Offences Act of 1967. Simon Callow presents an exploration of 100 years of queer life in Britain seen through the lens of the arts.
The series has been produced in partnership with Tate Britain and their landmark exhibition Queer British Art 1861-1967. Simon's guide throughout the series is exhibition curator Clare Barlow.
In this second episode, Simon is joined by the novelist Sarah Waters, the director and playwright Neil Bartlett, and leading queer historians, biographers and critics.
He heads into the heart of London's Theatreland to reveal that, despite homosexuality being illegal, in the century leading up to the Sexual Offences Act, performers in theatres and music halls across Britain endlessly and inventively explored sexuality, gender and difference. Simon's passion for British theatre shines through as he demonstrates the cunning ways playwrights smuggled queer characters onto the stage, evading the censors by using coded stage directions that hinted to directors that a character was supposed to be gay.
We also celebrate the music hall, a riotous space where queer performers could be far more bold - embodying queerness whilst attracting huge audiences across the UK. Simon also pays a trip to the Parliamentary Archives to leaf through an extraordinary document that tells the story of the secret queer language of Polari which flourished in Britain's theatres in the 19th century.
Artists and performers featured include Oscar Wilde, Noel Coward, Douglas Byng, Danny La Rue and Vesta Tilley.
Presenter: Simon Callow
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.
Will Insects Inherit the Earth?
Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined on stage by comedian Dave Gorman, zoologist Tim Cockerill and forensic entomologist Amoret Whitaker. They'll be discovering the joy of creepy crawlies, why the flea is the ultimate master of Darwinian evolution, and whether those pesky cockroaches will really have the last laugh if we are unlucky enough to be wiped out by a nuclear explosion. They'll be discovering how and why insects have been by far the most successful group of organisms during the history of life on planet earth, and why we simply couldn't do without them.
Producer: Alexandra Feachem.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
The godfather of all panel shows pays a visit to the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham. Regulars Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Jeremy Hardy and Jan Ravens with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell accompanies on the piano. Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Studios production.
Matt receives a warning, and Shula is offered an alternative.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
It was perhaps one of the most surprising election results of modern times. In 'The Inside Story of Election 17', Anne McElvoy goes behind the scenes to talk to key figures from Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, and find out what really went on in May and June. What happened to the predicted Tory landslide? Why did the LibDems fail to make a breakthrough? Where did the UKIP vote disappear to? How did Jeremy Corbyn recover from the worst approval ratings of any party leader ever? And was it the students "what won it"? Contributors include: David Davis MP, Emily Thornberry MP, Manuel Cortes, Rosie Duffield MP, Sir Julian Brazier, Lord Tim Razzall and Chris Brannigan.
Producer: Adam Bowen.
Has the initial success of the minimum wage meant politicians have extended the policy to damaging levels? All the major political parties agree: the measure has been a success, and in the 2017 election all promised substantial rises in the rate by 2020. The Conservatives are aiming for a £9 national living wage by the end of the decade, and not to be outdone, Labour promised £10 for all but the under-18s. Paul Johnson, director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, asks why left and right have both adopted this once controversial policy. And could the current bidding war of big increases undermine the positive effects it has had over its eighteen-year history?
Producer: Kate Lamble.
It's given us our oldest stories, made England a green and pleasant land, and has even helped shape our brains. Natural Histories investigates our obsession with grass. Humans evolved in the grasslands and the major food crops (all grasses) have made us what we are. Thousands of years later it even gives suburban man an energy and a purpose through the summer. Though not Brett Westwood, who leads us through haymeadows, wheatfields and across garden lawns to Wembley stadium in his quest to appreciate a neatly manicured piece of turf. With poetry by Philip Larkin and John Clare, and music by Beethoven, Thomas Morley and Wilson Pickett. Plus the sound of author Tim Dee, the Honda rotary mower, grass expert Howard Thomas, artists Ackroyd and Harvey, Oxford gardener Simon Bagnall, historian Oliver Cox and groundsman Karl Standley.
Produced by Melvin Rickarby.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
1988. Frank owns a music shop. It is jam-packed with records of every speed, size and genre. Classical, jazz, punk - as long as it's vinyl he sells it. Day after day Frank finds his customers the music they need. Then into his life walks Ilse Brauchmann.
Ilse asks Frank to teach her about music. His instinct is to turn and run. And yet he is drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with her pea-green coat and her eyes as black as vinyl. But Ilse is not what she seems. And Frank has old wounds that threaten to re-open and a past he will never leave behind ...
Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and has been translated into 34 languages.
She is the award-winning writer of over 30 original afternoon plays and classic adaptations for BBC Radio 4.
Writer ..... Rachel Joyce
Abridger ..... Rachel Joyce
Reader ..... Rachel Joyce
Producer ..... Michael Shannon
Exec Producer ..... Gemma McMullan.
Poets grapple with their origins in the second episode of Blast, Radio 4's new alternative poetry series featuring the best new poetry and spoken word performance.
Radio 4's poet-in-residence Daljit Nagra pays a visit to Bradford Literature Festival and to Herefordshire, for the 21st annual Ledbury Poetry Festival, to meet poets writing about difficult fathers and absent mothers, upbringings and lost parents.
Wayne Holloway-Smith on failing to lift heavy objects on his dad's building site. Miriam Nash on growing up across two houses and the difficulty of saying where you're 'from'. Roy McFarlane on growing up in the Black Country and finding out - at the age of 14 - that he was adopted. Raymond Antrobus on trying to come to terms with losing his father. And Lebanese poet Zeina Hashem-Beck on correcting her mother's broken English.
Produced by Mair Bosworth and Hana Walker-Brown.
The much-loved actress and writer Maureen Lipman shares some of her most treasured poems and literary extracts with an audience at Arnolfini on Bristol's waterfront. She shares key moments from her performing career, pays homage to Joyce Grenfell, and includes a work by her late husband, the screenwriter Jack Rosenthal. She is joined on stage by Oliver Cotton.
Producer: Mark Smalley.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Anna Magnusson.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
Photographer and Gaelic broadcaster Cailean Maclean recalls an encounter with a great skua, or bonxie on St Kilda for Tweet of the Day.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Maggie Ayre.
News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Choreographer Crystal Pite and the Royal Ballet reveal the making of Flight Pattern, Crystal's moving debut with the company.
Flight Pattern is a moving and profound response to the international refugee crisis, set to the first movement of Henryk Górecki's Sympony no. 3, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. It received 5-star reviews when it premiered in the spring.
Such is the vast repertoire of the Royal Opera House, Flight Pattern was scheduled for very few performances in its first run. But, for two months this year, Crystal brilliantly described her working process to Radio 4. It's extremely rare for the Royal Ballet to allow access to the making of an artwork to this degree, and Crystal's openness was exceptional.
Crystal illuminates her process, her insights, her doubts. The programme accompanies her as she turns her early vision into a dance work for a major international stage - her dance phrase-making and her particular movement style, the challenge of working out how to dance to such powerful music (especially to the soprano's lament) and how to convey the experience of refugees. We hear costume fittings, the arrival of the set design and conjure up the power of light and shadow on stage.
Other speakers include Kevin O'Hare, the Director of the Royal Ballet, and Music Director Koen Kessels. Kristen McNally and Calvin Richardson, two young dancers, describe the impact of Crystal, a creative presence who flew in from Vancouver to make such a wrenching barefoot dance.
Recorded and produced by Frances Byrnes.
A Rockethouse production for BBC Radio 4.
Morten Stroksnes and his friend Hugo are in pursuit of the elusive Greenland shark, but how do you actually get shark drunk?
The Lofoten archipelago, just north of the Arctic Circle, is a place of unsurpassed beauty. The skyline spikes with dramatic peaks; the radiant greens and purples of the Northern Lights follow summers where the sun never sets. It's a place of small villages, where the art of fishing, though evolving, is still practiced in traditional ways.
Beneath the great depths surrounding these islands lurks the infamous Greenland shark. Shark Drunk is the true story of two friends, the author and the artist Hugo Aasjord, as they embark on a wild pursuit of the famed creature - all from a tiny rubber boat.
Winner of the Norwegian Brage Prize 2015
Winner of the Norwegian Critics' Prize for Literature 2015
Winner of the Norwegian Reine Ord Prize at Lofoten International Literature Festival 2016
Morten Stroksnes is a Norwegian historian, journalist, photographer, and writer. He has written reportage, essays, portraits, and columns and reviews for most major Norwegian newspapers and magazines. He has published four critically acclaimed books of literary reportage and contributed to several others.
Written by Morten Stroksnes , translated by Tiina Nunnally
Read by Adrian Scarborough
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
by Marcy Kahan
Directed by Sally Avens
Bella is worried about Guy's political apathy whilst Bill is worrying about his inability to finish his book before he reaches 50.
The final series of the platonic romantic comedy.
Whilst we might take them for granted, Aristotle described them as the Intestines of the earth and Charles Darwin recognised their importance when he wrote "It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures". As Brett Westwood discovers these 'ecosystem engineers' play a vital role in aerating our soils, aiding drainage, clearing up pollutants and if you're a Gippsland giant and measure up to 3m in length, making themselves heard from below ground! They have also wormed their way into our literature, charmed our culture and burrowed into our language. Producer: Sarah Blunt.
The sound of music flying through the air, carried on the tails of pigeons.
"I knew it was a noise maker, but it was the only thing in the museum that I had no idea what it might sound like. Because it works in a way no other instrument does. No other instrument physically moves around you in space, flying overhead, and that seemed like magic".
Inspired by the Chinese pigeon whistles in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, Nathaniel Robin Mann decided he wanted to revive the ancient art of pigeon whistling, a tradition possibly thuosands of years old, in which tiny flutes are attached to pigeons in flight. His experience with birds, however, was limited and he needed a bird expert.
"None of the pigeon racers wanted to get involved in a music project. Then someone said, 'Well, there's this guy in Nottingham who has a loft made of an old hutch that he straps to the back of his scooter. They call him Pigeon Pete.'"
Enter Pete Petravicius, Nottinghamshire ex-miner and steeplejack. A life-long passion for pigeons makes him the perfect trainer to teach the birds how to fly with their unusual musical attachments.
We follow Nathan and Pigeon Pete as their friendship, and their understanding of the pigeon whistles grow. From the gloomth of the Pitt Rivers Museum, to the creation of a modern day 3D-printed whistle for Pete's pigeons.
Finally, we hear a pigeon's flight described in sound across the sky, creating a haunting, undulating chord cloud, accompanied by Nathan's hypnotic voice, singing songs he has discovered about pigeon culture.
Producer: Sara Jane Hall
About the presenters:
Nathaniel Mann is a composer, singer and performer. As Sound & Music's Embedded Composer in Residence at the Pitt Rivers Museum and Oxford Contemporary Music, he discovered the world of Pigeon Whistles, and started to explore their potential, supported by PRSF, a foundation helping new musicians make new work.
His eclectic projects chart diverse worlds of sound and culture, from bronze foundries and popcorn, to donkeys and Trafalgar Square - each has found a voice through Mann's work.
Pete Petravicius is unique in that he is the only man in the UK who trains his birds to return to a mobile pigeon loft. The birds can thus travel across the country, flying in formation and returning to their small motor home/coop. He's also an ex-miner and terrific raconteur who loves his Birmingham Rollers.
The Pigeons are cared for in strict accordance to guidelines and regulations laid out by the DEFRA & the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA). The use of Pigeon Whistles has been deemed as not causing stress or harm to the birds by independent animal welfare advisors and Pigeon Fancing experts.
3D Pigeon Whistles modeled and printed by Joe Banner at Printrite, Nottinghamshire.
About the music :
The Pigeon Bell
Words/Music: Mann - after poems by Mei Yaochen (1002-1060) & Zhang Xian (990-1078) - as translated by Wang Shixiang
The Pigeon
Words: Trad. Music: Mann
Adapted from 19th Century Broadside Ballad "The Pigeon" Found in Bodleian Library's collections Shelfmark: Harding B 21(14)
The Pigeon Chase
After 'Uke Uke' - Fox Chase - as sung by Dee Hicks of the Cumberland Plateau
Words: Mann / Music: Trad.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Aditya Chakrabortty investigates five words that made the modern world.
These are the strange, sometimes amusing but true tales by which the reigning ideas of our time came to be the words you hear on the Today programme, on other news programmes and late-night current affairs discussions. What do words like 'narrative' and 'transparency', bandied around by politicians and experts, actually mean?
In this series, find out where these terms came from, how have they changed and how are they shaping our world in this unexpected journey from a simple word to an expose of modern life.
Today, Aditya looks at 'shareholder value', a term which is both cause and alibi for so much of how our businesses behave. Contributors include Wall Street ethnographer Karen Ho, chief executive in company turnarounds Steve Francis, Professor of Accounting at Queen Mary University London Sukhdev Johal, and Clifford Soffield from the Oxford English Dictionary.
Produced by Eve Streeter
A Greenpoint production for BBC Radio 4.
Consumer phone-in.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
The story of the 1993 Waco siege and the lasting impact on those who survived.
It's February 1993. More than a hundred men, women and children are living in a compound called Mount Carmel, outside Waco, Texas. They are followers of a man called David Koresh, who says he is a prophet sent by God and the end of the world is coming.
But the authorities believe Koresh is stockpiling guns illegally. They decide to act.
Presenter: Cole Moreton
Producer: Jonathan Mayo
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.
by Phil Porter
A tale of two wheels. Why do we cycle and why do we cheat? Widowed father Tony and teenage daughter Jodie's relationship is navigated on the road.
Director: David Hunter.
Helen Castor takes the hot seat for the programme which shows why history matters.
Today, testimony about coming out before the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967 and what we know about the lives of gay people in Victoria's Britain.
Iszi Lawrence discovers that the 'gig' economy was widespread in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. And Tom Holland is on Tyneside to celebrate the history of a building which played host to an almost forgotten intellectual revolution.
Producer: Nick Patrick
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
Watford or Harvey Nichols - where is home for the 'Queen of Shops'?
Award winning interviewers and journalists Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson meet well known people to explore the geography of their childhood. In this episode, Mary Portas takes Alice and Rachel back to her home town of Watford where she grew up.
Mary shows them the department store, the theatre and the streets she knew so well, and shows them how they shaped her - and her politics and entrepreneurial outlook. And she says she only really found home when she made it to Knightsbridge and the glamour of the Harvey Nichols' shop windows.
Producer: Chris Ledgard.
Author John Niven and beauty journalist Sali Hughes talk about books they love with Harriett Gilbert. John's is the brilliant but unknown Karoo by Oscar-winning writer Steve Tesich, Sali picks Heartburn by Nora Ephron, which she says has helped her through hard times, and Harriett recommends Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand by popular French (female) crime writer Fred Vargas.
Producer Beth O'Dea.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
The globetrotting, trash-picking, aisle-rolling storyteller is back on Radio 4 with more words of wit and wisdom. This week, some selected sections from a 'style' essay, Buddy, Can You Spare a Tie?, and A Modest Proposal, David's take on the subject of same sex marriage..
With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America's pre-eminent humour writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that he is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today.
David Sedaris's first book, Barrel Fever (1994), which included The SantaLand Diaries. was a critical and commercial success, as were his follow-up efforts, Naked (1997), Holidays on Ice (1997) and Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000). He became known for his bitingly funny recollections of his youth, family life and travels, making semi-celebrities out of his parents and siblings.
David Sedaris has been nominated for three Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word and Best Comedy Album. A feature film adaptation of his story C.O.G. was released after a premier at the Sundance Film Festival (2013). He has been a contributor to BBC Radio 4 since 1996.
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4.
Jill wants to be heard, and Roy is adamant action must be taken.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
Prevent is the government's policy designed to nip extremism in the bud - and it has proved highly controversial. The former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, David Anderson QC, explores the origins of the strategy, its original purpose, and how it has evolved over the past decade.
The public dialogue played out in the press and among politicians is often critical of Prevent - but how does that compare to its implementation and impact on the ground? David Anderson meets Prevent professionals to learn about how the strategy works in practice and discusses with teachers their legal duty to report suspected extremist behaviour among students.
He speaks to the police about Prevent's role in countering extremist behaviour and learns more about the growing focus on tackling Far Right extremism. Yet critics claim the policy continues to unfairly target British Muslims, and has brought a whole community under suspicion.
The programme hears from critics within the Muslim community and those unfairly accused of extremist behaviour - as well as British Muslims who support the policy too.
Yet for a policy which has been so widely discussed and debated, we still know little about it - so why has the government been so reluctant to release information? And what impact has this secrecy had on public perception and understanding of Prevent?
Producer: Richard Fenton-Smith.
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Dr Mark Porter presents a series that aims to demystify perplexing health issues.
Choreographer Crystal Pite and the Royal Ballet reveal the making of Flight Pattern, Crystal's moving debut with the company.
Flight Pattern is a moving and profound response to the international refugee crisis, set to the first movement of Henryk Górecki's Sympony no. 3, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. It received 5-star reviews when it premiered in the spring.
Such is the vast repertoire of the Royal Opera House, Flight Pattern was scheduled for very few performances in its first run. But, for two months this year, Crystal brilliantly described her working process to Radio 4. It's extremely rare for the Royal Ballet to allow access to the making of an artwork to this degree, and Crystal's openness was exceptional.
Crystal illuminates her process, her insights, her doubts. The programme accompanies her as she turns her early vision into a dance work for a major international stage - her dance phrase-making and her particular movement style, the challenge of working out how to dance to such powerful music (especially to the soprano's lament) and how to convey the experience of refugees. We hear costume fittings, the arrival of the set design and conjure up the power of light and shadow on stage.
Other speakers include Kevin O'Hare, the Director of the Royal Ballet, and Music Director Koen Kessels. Kristen McNally and Calvin Richardson, two young dancers, describe the impact of Crystal, a creative presence who flew in from Vancouver to make such a wrenching barefoot dance.
Recorded and produced by Frances Byrnes.
A Rockethouse production for BBC Radio 4.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
1988. Frank owns a music shop. It is jam-packed with records of every speed, size and genre. Classical, jazz, punk - as long as it's vinyl he sells it. Day after day Frank finds his customers the music they need. Then into his life walks Ilse Brauchmann.
Ilse asks Frank to teach her about music. His instinct is to turn and run. And yet he is drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with her pea-green coat and her eyes as black as vinyl. But Ilse is not what she seems. And Frank has old wounds that threaten to re-open and a past he will never leave behind ...
Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and has been translated into 34 languages.
She is the award-winning writer of over 30 original afternoon plays and classic adaptations for BBC Radio 4.
Writer ..... Rachel Joyce
Abridger ..... Rachel Joyce
Reader ..... Rachel Joyce
Producer ..... Michael Shannon
Exec Producer ..... Gemma McMullan.
TV presenter Terry Christian presents his favourite and funniest writing - read by comedian Andew Maxwell and actress Sally Lindsay - to the audience at the BBC Radio Theatre. Confessions of an Irish Rebel by Brendan Behan brings his Dublin-born dad's voice back to him, and memories of growing up in Manchester with Irish parents. John Cooper Clarke's poetry, Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse and The Big Man by William McIlvanney also mean a lot to him. His lifelong love of reading was originally sparked by Just William by Richmal Crompton - against the odds..
Producer Beth O'Dea.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Anna Magnusson.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
Craig Hartley revels in a near miss encounter with a green woodpecker while cycling along a lane for Tweet of the Day.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Tom Bonnett.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Two artists discuss creative questions.
Ivan Hewett examines a chord from Beethoven's Eroica Symphony to test the idea that harmony is a reflection of history. He's joined by Beethoven expert John Suchet and writer and historian Professor Andrew Roberts who has special interest in Napoleon.
Music is never created in isolation - it's conceived in relation to what's going on around a composer in terms of personal and historical events, new technologies, new ideas and artistic endeavours in other fields. In this series, Ivan Hewett is looking at five very different chords which amply demonstrate the concept that harmony is a reflection of history.
Each programme is a bite size portion of rich musical and historical investigation - and each chord has had far reaching influence on other music and is emblematic of its era.
Beethoven's Eroica Chord of 1804 is the climax of the composer's attempt to capture the fervour of revolution. Strident trumpets scream out above the orchestra, forming a clash of harmony that no-one could mistake as anything but a great musical rallying cry for freedom.
Ivan Hewett is a writer on music for the Daily Telegraph, broadcaster on BBC Radio 3, and teacher at the Royal College of Music.
Producer: Rosie Boulton
A Monty Funk production for BBC Radio 4.
All that could shatter the eerie peace of a becalmed sea-fishing trip is the appearance of the Greenland shark - or of something larger.
The Lofoten archipelago, just north of the Arctic Circle, is a place of unsurpassed beauty. The skyline spikes with dramatic peaks; the radiant greens and purples of the Northern Lights follow summers where the sun never sets. It's a place of small villages, where the art of fishing, though evolving, is still practiced in traditional ways.
Beneath the great depths surrounding these islands lurks the infamous Greenland shark. Shark Drunk is the true story of two friends, the author Morten Stroksnes and his friend, the artist Hugo Aasjord, as they embark on a wild pursuit of the famed creature - all from a tiny rubber boat.
Winner of the Norwegian Brage Prize 2015
Winner of the Norwegian Critics' Prize for Literature 2015
Winner of the Norwegian Reine Ord Prize at Lofoten International Literature Festival 2016
Morten Stroksnes is a Norwegian historian, journalist, photographer, and writer. He has written reportage, essays, portraits, and columns and reviews for most major Norwegian newspapers and magazines. He has published four critically acclaimed books of literary reportage and contributed to several others.
Written by Morten Stroksnes , translated by Tiina Nunnally
Read by Adrian Scarborough
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
by Marcy Kahan
Directed by Sally Avens
A dinner party at Bella's leaves both her and Bill falling short in the gladiatorial contest of name-dropping anecdotes in which the other guests partake.
The final series of the platonic romantic comedy.
Friends reflect on how much more independence they had than their children have now. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
A second series of the sitcom about three women who meet during cancer treatment and start going to salsa class together to maintain their friendship. As they adjust to life after cancer they realise that they've all changed. This second series begins as Jill has left her husband and son to live at her new boyfriends' parent's house, Camille is planning a huge life change and Chippy has a new live-in wannabe step-father in the shape of Gordon from their salsa class.
In the first episode Camille is still with Marco and reveals their plan to start a new life together, Jill is struggling with jealousy and living with Tim's parents, Chippy discovers what Tinder can bring and Gordon takes advantage of the opportunities his new salsa role offers.
The series is not about cancer, but about life after cancer, how you cope the changes in your outlook, your desires and your expectations. It's also about how other people cope with the change in you.
Written by Kay Stonham
Produced and directed by Alison Vernon-Smith.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Aditya Chakrabortty investigates five words that made the modern world.
These are the strange, sometimes amusing but true tales by which the reigning ideas of our time came to be the words you hear on the Today programme, on other news programmes and late-night current affairs discussions. What do words like 'narrative' and 'transparency', bandied around by politicians and experts, actually mean?
In this series, find out where these terms came from, how have they changed and how are they shaping our world in this unexpected journey from a simple word to an expose of modern life.
Today - when and why did 'diversity' become predominant, and what story does this word tell about us? On hand to chart its rise and what the consequences have been are Heidi Mirza, Professor of Race, Faith and Culture at Goldsmith's College, University of London; Avtah Brah, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Birkbeck University; Trevor Phillips, former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission; and Clifford Soffield from the Oxford English Dictionary.
Produced by Eve Streeter
A Greenpoint production for BBC Radio 4.
Consumer affairs programme.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
The story of the 1993 Waco siege and the lasting impact on those who survived.
It's Sunday 28th February 1993. A raid on a compound named Mount Carmel on the outskirts of Waco, Texas by government agents is going tragically wrong.
Inside are more than a hundred men, women and children who call themselves the Branch Davidians - followers of David Koresh, who says he is a prophet sent by God, and the end of the world is coming.
Presenter: Cole Moreton
Producer: Jonathan Mayo
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.
Arthur Miller would have been 100 years old on October 17th this year. To mark the centenary BBC Radio 4, LA Theatre Works, and a stellar American cast have come together to produce four new dramas by Mike Walker and Jonathan Holloway.
As a writer Miller felt that to create a character, you had to understand how family, circumstances and events had shaped that character. 'The fish is in the water and the water is in the fish', as he famously put it. These specially commissioned plays recreate some of the experiences that shaped Miller himself, throwing light on how he would become one of the most influential playwrights in American literature.
1. Beginnings
Arthur Miller is born in New York on the 17th of October 1915 to a prosperous family in the clothing business. A poor school student, he loves making things with wood and dreams of becoming a crooner. But when the stock market crashes and the Millers face ruin, Arthur contemplates a different future. By Mike Walker.
Producer for LA Theatre Works: Susan Loewenberg
Associate Producers: Anna Lyse Erikson and Myke D Wysekopf
Sound by Mark Holden, Wes Dewberry, and Catherine Robinson
A BBC/Cymru Wales and LA Theatre Works Co-Production, directed by Kate McAll
LA Theatre Works is a non-profit audio drama company based in Los Angeles that records classic and contemporary plays. They have been collaborating with the BBC for nearly 30 years, beginning with a production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible that starred Richard Dreyfuss and Stacey Keach.
Financial phone-in.
Sociological discussion programme, presented by Laurie Taylor.
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Chain Reaction is Radio 4's long running hostless chat show where last week's interviewee becomes this week's interviewer.
In the second episode of the series co-creator and star of The League of Gentlemen, Psychoville and Inside No.9 Reece Shearsmith talks to one half of comedy double-act Vic & Bob, creators of Shooting Stars and House of Fools, Bob Mortimer.
Producer ... Charlie Perkins.
Lynda worries about the fete, and Harrison has a difficult question to ask.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk. With Claire Fox, Giles Fraser, Mona Siddiqui and Tim Stanley.
Talks with a personal dimension.
Fi Glover takes a personal look at a growing trend - egg freezing offered as a corporate work benefit. She speaks to women who have done it, as well as doctors and employers.
Freezing eggs seems the ultimate in planning a family and a career - and Fi Glover considered it when she was living in the US almost a decade ago. Back then it was still a niche technology. Now a growing number of companies, including Apple and Facebook, are offering it as a benefit and some UK tech companies are also discussing the option.
Fi speaks to women who have frozen their eggs - both privately and through a company scheme. She follows the experience of Brigitte Adams, a marketing executive who froze her eggs at 39 and is about to have one of them fertilized and implanted at 44. Brigitte explains how the marketing of egg freezing took the fear out of it, but she has words of warning for women considering this route. We also hear from a former employee who froze her eggs via the company's benefit scheme.
Professor Geeta Nargund is an expert in reproductive medicine and the Director of Europe's largest private fertility clinic. She explains why she views egg freezing as the second wave of emancipation for women - after the contraceptive pill.
However critics suggest that employer-funded egg freezing sends a clear message that the corporate preference is for women to delay childbearing. And Obstetrician Susan Bewley believes encouraging women to freeze their eggs is making a risky and unreliable option seem desirable and routine.
Producer Sarah Cuddon
A Testbed production for BBC Radio 4.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
1988. Frank owns a music shop. It is jam-packed with records of every speed, size and genre. Classical, jazz, punk - as long as it's vinyl he sells it. Day after day Frank finds his customers the music they need. Then into his life walks Ilse Brauchmann.
Ilse asks Frank to teach her about music. His instinct is to turn and run. And yet he is drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with her pea-green coat and her eyes as black as vinyl. But Ilse is not what she seems. And Frank has old wounds that threaten to re-open and a past he will never leave behind ...
Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and has been translated into 34 languages.
She is the award-winning writer of over 30 original afternoon plays and classic adaptations for BBC Radio 4.
Writer ..... Rachel Joyce
Abridger ..... Rachel Joyce
Reader ..... Rachel Joyce
Producer ..... Michael Shannon
Exec Producer ..... Gemma McMullan.
Comedy drama by Pete Jackson, set in Alcoholics Anonymous and inspired by his own road to recovery. Starring Sue Johnston, John Hannah, Eddie Marsan, Rebecca Front, Paul Kaye and Julia Deakin.
The programme follows the lives of five very different recovering alcoholics. Set entirely at their weekly meetings, we hear them get to know each other, learn to hate each other, argue, moan, laugh, fall apart, fall in love and, most importantly, tell their stories.
There are funny stories, sad stories, stories of small victories and milestones, stories of loss, stories of hope, and stories that you really shouldn't laugh at - but still do. Along with the storyteller.
In this third episode, Simon (John Hannah) surprises everyone when he tells his story of being a war correspondent in the line of fire.
Writer Pete Jackson is a recovering alcoholic and has spent time with Alcoholics Anonymous. It was there he found, as many people do, support from the unlikeliest group of disparate souls, all banded together due to one common bond. As well as offering the support he needed throughout a difficult time, AA also offered a weekly, sometimes daily, dose of hilarity, upset, heartbreak and friendship.
Written and created by Pete Jackson
Produced and Directed by Ben Worsfield
A Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4.
by Jenny Éclair
Jenny Éclair plays a single mother who will stop at nothing to give her son the best education and future. But might she have gone too far?
Producer ..... Sally Avens.
Journalist and author John Harris welcomes you into his home as he rummages through his shelves and digs in his record collection for music by The Jam and poetry from The Mersey Sound. Settle down with John and reader Pippa Haywood as they present writing on Fleet Street from Michael Frayn and take you on a Rural Ride to the Country with the writing of William Cobbett and Philip Larkin via a stop-off in suburbia and a tour of Orwellian socialism.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Anna Magnusson.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
Paul Brook recalls a long awaited for encounter with a black tern near Leeds for Tweet of the Day.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Maggie Ayre.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Jonathan Freedland compares cyber-attacks today with the Great Siege of Dover Castle in 1216 during which the French used new offensive techniques to try to seize the English throne.
In 1216, Prince Louis of France's near-successful bid for the English throne climaxed in Dover, where his forces used a multitude of techniques in a major assault on the castle - including digging beneath the castle gate and use of the trebuchet to attempt to breach the walls. Jonathan draws on this medieval example to discuss cyber security in the 21st century context.
Joining Jonathan at Dover Castle are medieval historian Marc Morris; General Sir Richard Barrons, former Commander Joint Forces Command, one of the six Chiefs of Staff leading the UK Armed Forces until April 2016; Kenneth Cukier of The Economist; and Sara Perez, ethical hacker at SensePost. Readings are by Hugh Simon who played MI5 Data Analyst Malcolm Wyn-Jones in the popular BBC TV series Spooks.
Producer: Laurence Grissell.
Mark Steel is obsessed with sport. Obsessed! And he's certain there's a strong link between sport and stand-up comedy - risk taking, dealing with a hostile crowd, performance anxiety. In this programme he muses on his theory with the snooker player known as 'The Entertainer', John Parrott.
For this series of three programmes, he also meets sports psychologist and former figure skater, Dr. Faye Didymus; and also the former Premiership and England footballer Graeme Le Saux.
You can hear extra bits from both interviews on the podcasts, just go to the Radio 4 website.
Produced in Bristol by Karen Gregor.
Morten Stroksnes and his friend Hugo are in pursuit of the elusive Greenland shark, but it's not easy to find in the seas off northern Norway. The winter fishing season is underway for the speciality Norwegian cod or skrei, but the weather turns bad at sea and thoughts move to storms and shipwrecks.
The Lofoten archipelago, just north of the Arctic Circle, is a place of unsurpassed beauty. The skyline spikes with dramatic peaks; the radiant greens and purples of the Northern Lights follow summers where the sun never sets. It's a place of small villages, where the art of fishing, though evolving, is still practiced in traditional ways.
Beneath the great depths surrounding these islands lurks the infamous Greenland shark. Shark Drunk is the true story of two friends, the author and the artist Hugo Aasjord, as they embark on a wild pursuit of the famed creature - all from a tiny rubber boat.
Winner of the Norwegian Brage Prize 2015
Winner of the Norwegian Critics' Prize for Literature 2015
Winner of the Norwegian Reine Ord Prize at Lofoten International Literature Festival 2016
Morten Stroksnes is a Norwegian historian, journalist, photographer, and writer. He has written reportage, essays, portraits, and columns and reviews for most major Norwegian newspapers and magazines. He has published four critically acclaimed books of literary reportage and contributed to several others.
Written by Morten Stroksnes , translated by Tiina Nunnally
Read by Adrian Scarborough
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
by Marcy Kahan
Directed by Sally Avens
The final series of the award winning platonic romantic comedy.
Bill and Bella go for celebratory tapas and find the consumption of pulpo a la plancha and the sangria lead inexorably to matters of the heart.
Pakistan is at a crossroads when it comes to gender identity. Kami calls herself Pakistan's first transgender supermodel. She's championing a new transgender identity in a country where there's a strict cultural code for people like her. It's the long established culture of the 'the third gender', also known as Khwaja Sira or Hijra. The community are celebrated as 'Gods chosen people' by many Pakistanis. But the reality is that many Hijras experience discrimination in daily life and complain that basic access to jobs, welfare and familial support is denied. For Kami and others like her this is no longer acceptable. Yet many Hijra's shun the new transgender identity and believe it is alien to the established culture of the region. In their view, the very notion of a 'transgender woman' is wrong and could threaten the systems and structures that have provided support for Khwaja Siras for centuries. For Crossing Continents Mobeen Azhar meets Kami and Mani, one of the few openly transgender men in the country, and talks to Khwaja Sira sex workers, dancers and even aspiring politicians. Inside Trans Pakistan explores the tension between the emerging transgender identity in Pakistan and the established 'third gender' culture.
Witty, wise and the best women in literature. So why doesn't Henry James inspire the widespread devotion that Jane Austen and the Brontës bask in? Sarah Churchwell is on a mission to solve that mystery and turn readers on to the limitless charms of the Father of the modern novel.
With the help of 'Brooklyn' and 'House of Names' author, Colm TóibÃn and literary biographer Hermione Lee, Sarah will showcase the very best of his work and prove that James isn't just an 'important' novelist but a thoroughly enjoyable read.
As an American who travelled through Europe and took up British citizenship during the First World War, James was well-placed to chronicle the shifting relationships between the continents. Americans, by turns naïve or arrogant, clash time and again with stubborn Brits and wily Continentals. In an age of Trump and Brexit his penetrating gaze and snarky asides are needed more than ever.
But it's Henry's women that keep bringing film-makers and fans to his work. No male novelist before or since has spent an entire career faithfully placing himself within the consciousness of women. Alone amongst the great men of Victorian and Edwardian literature he assumed that a woman could feel as he did and experience the same powerful drive to act. Those wishes, however, are again and again thwarted by the constraints of society and the moral sense of his characters.
As a curtain-raiser to a season of Henry James dramas on BBC Radio Four Sarah Churchwell reassesses those great characters and offers up their magnetic attraction and fatal flaws for the new audience that he so richly deserves.
Producer: Alasdair Cross.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Aditya Chakrabortty investigates five words that made the modern world.
These are the strange, sometimes amusing but true tales by which the reigning ideas of our time came to be the words you hear on the Today programme, on other news programmes and late-night current affairs discussions. What do words like 'narrative' and 'transparency', bandied around by politicians and experts, actually mean?
In this series, find out where these terms came from, how have they changed and how are they shaping our world in this unexpected journey from a simple word to an expose of modern life.
Today, Aditya considers the origins and impact of 'populism'. On hand to unravel the history and consequences of a word that is arguably defining our times are the so-called Godfather of Populism, former US presidential candidate Pat Buchanan; Jan-Werner Müller, a political theorist based at Princeton University and author of What is Populism?; Karel Williams, Professor of Accounting and Political Economy at Manchester Business School; and Clifford Soffield from the Oxford English Dictionary.
Produced by Eve Streeter
A Greenpoint production for BBC Radio 4.
Consumer affairs programme.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
The story of the 1993 Waco siege and the lasting impact on those who survived.
It's March 1993. The FBI is surrounding a compound called Mount Carmel just outside the town of Waco, Texas. There are more than a hundred men, women and children inside who call themselves the Branch Davidians, followers of David Koresh, who believes he's a new messiah.
Both sides are heavily armed. Negotiations are failing.
Presenter: Cole Moreton
Producer: Jonathan Mayo
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.
by Emma Spurgin Hussey
Orkney, 1944, and clerk George finds common ground with Italian POW Giorgio as they build the famous sea defences.
Pianist ..... Neil Brand
Director: David Hunter.
Leathers, green beard, a Harley and pension: guest presenter Paul Murphy meets some of the people behind the longest running bike night in the UK.
Lincolnshire's roads are long, straight (Roman) and quiet, perfect for motorbikes. Every week between March and October, about a thousand of them ride out in the county for a pub supper and a cup of tea. It's a sight you don't easily forget.
Graham Sugdon started Lincolnshire Bike Nights in 1989 when his hair and beard were long and black. He's a third generation biker and hopes he'll be riding into his eighties, like his Dad, Bernard. Frustrated by the 'No Bikers' signs at venues, Graham set out to persuade landlords that bikers could be good customers. Twenty-eight years later he's still organising weekly 'rides out'. It is about landscape - the pleasures of experiencing it at speed.
Steve Smith, landlord of the Ferry House Inn in the Trent-side village of Burton upon Stather, always looks forward to bike night. These customers may have tattoos, ZZ top-style hair and green beards, but they're unfailingly polite, their bikes are immaculate and they don't drink and drive. These leather-clad cruisers appreciate a nice bit of landscape.
Presenter...Paul Murphy
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.
Antonia Quirke talks to director James Ivory about Howard's End, as it's about to be re-released in cinemas, and his working relationship with producer Ismail Merchant that spawned dozens of movies including A Room With A View, The Remains Of The Day and Maurice.
Antonia learns the secret art and craft of ADR (or Automated Dialogue Replacement), as she joins a group of actors as they over-dub crowd scenes in a costume drama. And finds out why you can't just say "rhubarb".
Pasquale Iannone discusses the extraordinary personal and professional relationship between Sophia Loren and producer Carlo Ponti that lasted four decades.
Adam Rutherford explores the science that is changing our world.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
"The most exciting new comedy duo working today" - David Walliams
Their hugely successful second series won critical acclaim and a slew of awards. Now double-act The Pin are back with more of their trademark offbeat nonsense.
In this episode, in a bid to diversify, Alex and Ben are attempting to enter the world of high finance...
"One of the smartest, punchiest new comedy duos to have appeared in a while...had me laughing out loud on my own in an empty room" The Guardian
"Exquisitely silly and very funny...makes you feel as though you might be hearing the next Mitchell and Webb" The Times
"Genuine moments of hilarity and a real breath of comedic fresh air" RadioTimes
Written and performed by Ben Ashenden and Alex Owen.
Featuring Liam Williams.
Produced by Sam Bryant.
A BBC Studios Production.
Clarrie gets ready to host, and Oliver expresses his thanks.
Arts news, interviews and reviews.
Series looking at important issues in the news. Presented by David Aaronovitch.
Evan Davis presents the business magazine.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
1988. Frank owns a music shop. It is jam-packed with records of every speed, size and genre. Classical, jazz, punk - as long as it's vinyl he sells it. Day after day Frank finds his customers the music they need. Then into his life walks Ilse Brauchmann.
Ilse asks Frank to teach her about music. His instinct is to turn and run. And yet he is drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with her pea-green coat and her eyes as black as vinyl. But Ilse is not what she seems. And Frank has old wounds that threaten to re-open and a past he will never leave behind ...
Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and has been translated into 34 languages.
She is the award-winning writer of over 30 original afternoon plays and classic adaptations for BBC Radio 4.
Writer ..... Rachel Joyce
Abridger ..... Rachel Joyce
Reader ..... Rachel Joyce
Producer ..... Michael Shannon
Exec Producer ..... Gemma McMullan.
World-renowned opera singer Sir Willard White has an ingenious plan to solve the boys' money woes. They must travel to the lost city of Atlantis in pursuit of a legendary precious metal.
Join critically-acclaimed sketch trio, Daphne, as they pull out all the stops in a dazzling array of peculiar characters, whacky scenarios, dodgy remarks, curious observations, minor altercations and major peacemaking - served on a bed of catchy little numbers with a live nine-piece band.
Written by and starring: Jason Forbes, Phil Wang & George Fouracres
with Celeste Dring, Will Seaward and Sir Willard White
The Daphne theme was composed by Jeff Carpenter
Original music composed by Pippa Cleary
Orchestrator: Simon Nathan
The Daphnettes were the London Musical Theatre Orchestra:
Musical Director - Freddie Tapner
Violin - Debs White
Cello - Nick Squires
Trumpet - Michael Maddocks
Trombone - Elliot Pooley
Tenor Sax - Joe Atkin Reeves
Drum Kit - Ben Hartley
Percussion - Ben Burton
Piano - Jon Ranger
Bass - Jack Cherry
The Production Coordinator was Hayley Sterling
It was produced by Matt Stronge and was a BBC Studios production.
Tim Smit, founder of the Eden Project chooses his favourite pieces of writing which include the moving letters between staff and gardeners from the Lost Gardens of Heligan during World War 1, poetry by Emily Dickinson and extracts of great speeches by Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy read for him by actors Anna Chancellor and Toby Jones.
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Spiritual reflection to start the day with writer and broadcaster, Anna Magnusson.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
Paul Brook recalls that at the age of eight the redwing ignited his love of birds and birdwatching for Tweet of the Day.
Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.
Producer Maggie Ayre.
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Morten Stroksnes and his friend Hugo are in pursuit of the elusive Greenland shark. Now it's spring, and the hunt is on again after a setback with the engine. The intrepid fishermen set out with renewed energy and some rather pungent bait.
The Lofoten archipelago, just north of the Arctic Circle, is a place of unsurpassed beauty. The skyline spikes with dramatic peaks; the radiant greens and purples of the Northern Lights follow summers where the sun never sets. It's a place of small villages, where the art of fishing, though evolving, is still practiced in traditional ways.
Beneath the great depths surrounding these islands lurks the infamous Greenland shark. Shark Drunk is the true story of two friends, the author and the artist Hugo Aasjord, as they embark on a wild pursuit of the famed creature - all from a tiny rubber boat.
Winner of the Norwegian Brage Prize 2015
Winner of the Norwegian Critics' Prize for Literature 2015
Winner of the Norwegian Reine Ord Prize at Lofoten International Literature Festival 2016
Morten Stroksnes is a Norwegian historian, journalist, photographer, and writer. He has written reportage, essays, portraits, and columns and reviews for most major Norwegian newspapers and magazines. He has published four critically acclaimed books of literary reportage and contributed to several others.
Written by Morten Stroksnes , translated by Tiina Nunnally
Read by Adrian Scarborough
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.
by Marcy Kahan
Bill and Bella find themselves ordering room-service in a hotel room.
The final episode of the award winning romantic comedy.
The story of one neighbourhood in Aleppo, and how it changed the lives of two Syrians caught up in the war.
Zahed Tajeddin is a sculptor and archaeologist whose family have lived in Aleppo for generations. He owned a beautiful medieval courtyard house in a neighbourhood called Judaydah, part of the city's historic centre. But Zahed was forced to abandon his house in 2012, when Judaydah became a battleground between government forces and rebel fighters. He makes the emotional and dangerous journey to see whether his home survived the conflict.
Abu Ahmed is a pharmacist who set up Judaydah's only medical centre. He stayed in Aleppo throughout the conflict, giving first aid, medicines and comfort to the local residents. He was one of the last people to flee rebel-held Aleppo after the government advance in December 2016.
Presented by Kanishk Tharoor
Produced by Maryam Maruf
With thanks to Elyse Semerdjian, Mustafa Abu Sneineh, Mehdi Musawi, Dr Hatem and Emily Webb.
Image credit: Zahed Tajeddin.
To Hull and Back is the eagerly anticipated sitcom from BBC New Comedy Award winner Lucy Beaumont.
Sophie still lives at home with her mum in Hull. They make a living doing car boot sales at the weekend. Except they don't really make a living because her mum can't bear to get rid of any of their junk. Plus, they don't have a car. As their house gets more cluttered, Sophie feels more trapped.
"Crying in the Chapel"
Songs of Praise are paying a visit to Hull. Sophie sees this as an opportunity to start a successful singing career but neglected plumbing and a painting of Elvis at The Last Supper make an impossible task even more difficult.
Writer ... Lucy Beaumont
Producer ... Carl Cooper
This is a BBC Radio Comedy Production.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Aditya Chakrabortty investigates five words that made the modern world.
These are the strange, sometimes amusing but true tales by which the reigning ideas of our time came to be the words you hear on the Today programme, on other news programmes and late-night current affairs discussions. What do words like 'narrative' and 'transparency', bandied around by politicians and experts, actually mean?
In this series, find out where these terms came from, how have they changed and how are they shaping our world in this unexpected journey from a simple word to an expose of modern life.
Today - how did 'transparency' become part of our everyday language, and whatever happened to Bagehot's dictum not to let daylight in on magic? On hand with the history and analysis are Christopher Hood, Visiting Professor at the Blavatnik School of Government; Paul Hilder, co-founder of openDemocracy and Crowdpac; sociologist Dr Leopold Ringel from the University of Bielefeld; and Clifford Soffield from the Oxford English Dictionary.
Produced by Eve Streeter
A Greenpoint production for BBC Radio 4.
Consumer news and issues.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs.
The story of the 1993 Waco siege and the lasting impact on those who survived.
It's April 19th 1993. The FBI is surrounding the Mount Carmel compound just outside Waco, Texas. There are more than a hundred men, women and children inside who call themselves the Branch Davidians, followers of David Koresh, who believes he is a new messiah.
The siege is entering its 51st day and the FBI has had enough of talking.
Presenter: Cole Moreton
Producer: Jonathan Mayo
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.
By Edson Burton.
Mack has an illicit delivery to make and the clock is ticking. But his mission begins to unravel when he runs into Deacon, a fierce and enigmatic old drifter. Starring Don Warrington and Ashley Thomas.
Mack is offered a 'job' by his former boxing trainer Jimmy. It seems easy - all he has to do is deliver a car to an address outside Swindon by midnight. But when Mack asks what he's delivering, Jimmy tells him the less he knows the better. 'Oh and don't look in the boot.'
Then Mack hits an old man with the car and he's forced to take him to hospital. But who exactly is the old man crumpled on Mack's back seat? He says his name is Deacon; he looks like a tramp, but speaks with words wise beyond this world. And he might just be about to change Mack's life, forever.
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.
Horticultural panel programme.
In Sarah Hall's specially commissioned short story for Radio 4, a local eccentric has a strange effect on a rural town in America's Northwest. Who was the totemic figure who walked and walked the bridges of Snake Canyon? And why did he do it?
Sarah Hall is a highly acclaimed and award-winning British novelist, whose works include: Haweswater (which won the 2003 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Novel, a Society of Authors Betty Trask Award), The Electric Michelangelo (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize) and Wolf Border (winner of the James Tait Memorial Prize). Her short story, Mrs Fox won the BBC National Shorts Story Award in 2014.
Produced by Justine Willett.
Read by Jamie Parker: an acclaimed British actor, who came to prominence as part of the original cast of Alan Bennett's The History Boys. He recently won a Best Actor Olivier Award for his role as Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died.
Radio 4's forum for audience comment.
Long-standing members of the club remember past fund-raising exploits, including wheelie-bin and hobby-horse races. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
This week, the Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his new curator, the brilliant Romesh Ranganathan welcome a high-powered media executive who was persuaded by none other than Joan Rivers to become a stand-up comedian, Cally Beaton; the wonderfully funny comedy actor from Smack The Pony, I'm Alan Partridge, Green Wing and Miranda, Sally Phillips; and consultant in cellular pathology at Peterborough City Hospital and president of the Royal College of Pathologists, Suzy Lishman.
This week, the Museum's Guest Committee offer as exhibits the entire population of the Netherlands; Richard III's foot bones; and a knitted tea-cosy to cover the entire Museum.
The show was researched by Anne Miller of QI and Mike Turner.
The production coordinator was Tamara Shilham.
The producers were Richard Turner and James Harkin.
It was a BBC Studios Production.
Lilian pulls rank, and Ed wants to lend his support.
News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.
Ed Stourton presents political debate from Whiteparish Memorial Hall near Salisbury with a panel including Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade and Shadow Minister for International Climate Change Barry Gardiner MP, the journalist Julia Hartley Brewer, the new Liberal Democrat MP for Bath Wera Hobhouse, and the Minister for Climate Change and Industry Claire Perry MP.
A reflection on a topical issue.
In the first five programmes looking at 1917, Dan Snow explores the events of the year through the recollections of those who were there. As the fighting became more and more desperate, in the air, on the Western Front - even below ground in extensive mining operations - the morale of those being sent into battle was at times becoming dangerously low.
Morale was never worse in the Royal Flying Corps than in spring 1917, which became known as 'Bloody April'. Germany had the upper hand at this point of the war in the air, with superior tactics, training, and technology. Crisis enveloped the French Army from May onwards, as mutiny took hold among their long-suffering troops. Dan also looks at the extraordinary feats of military engineering - and deadly human cost - involved in exploding 20 huge mines at the Messines Ridge. Soldiers and officers speak about the issue of rank and class in the British Army of 1917, by which time many of the ex-public school officers had been wiped out. And there are conflicting versions of events when it comes to the British mutiny at Etaples in September, but Officer Jim Davies, at the centre of the action on the bridge between the army camp and the town, tells his story.
Voices of the First World War is made in partnership between the BBC and the Imperial War Museums.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
1988. Frank owns a music shop. It is jam-packed with records of every speed, size and genre. Classical, jazz, punk - as long as it's vinyl he sells it. Day after day Frank finds his customers the music they need. Then into his life walks Ilse Brauchmann.
Ilse asks Frank to teach her about music. His instinct is to turn and run. And yet he is drawn to this strangely still, mysterious woman with her pea-green coat and her eyes as black as vinyl. But Ilse is not what she seems. And Frank has old wounds that threaten to re-open and a past he will never leave behind ...
Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Perfect and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and has been translated into 34 languages.
She is the award-winning writer of over 30 original afternoon plays and classic adaptations for BBC Radio 4.
Writer ..... Rachel Joyce
Abridger ..... Rachel Joyce
Reader ..... Rachel Joyce
Producer ..... Michael Shannon
Exec Producer ..... Gemma McMullan.
What does it mean to be an activist? From Greenham Common, to the Miner's Strike, to the Women's March, female activists have always had the power to shape the course of public debate. This month on Late Night Woman's Hour Lauren Laverne discusses activism's joys and tough choices with four women whose lives have been shaped - and threatened - by their activism.
Nimko Ali underwent FGM aged seven and spent years trying to make sense of what was done to her, before a chance encounter brought her into contact with pioneering anti-FGM campaigner Efua Dorkenoo. Nimko went on to found the charity Daughters of Eve, which has raised awareness of the threat to young girls from FGM and aims to put a stop to the practice worldwide.
Julie Bindel was fifteen and growing up in the North East of England when she became aware of the press coverage of the crimes committed by Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe. Her outrage at the portrayal of Sutcliffe's victims sparked a life of activism, and Julie later went on to set up the Justice For Women charity, which campaigns on behalf of women who fight back against, or kill, violent men.
Nicky Sadler was at the forefront of the Countryside Alliance's campaign to defend fox-hunting and involved in demonstrations such as the 400-000 strong 'Liberty and Livelihood' march in 2002, while still in her early twenties.
Mona Eltahawy is a feminist and pro-democracy activist. In 2011 she was involved in protests against the Egyptian government and was arrested by police during demonstrations in Tahrir Square. She was imprisoned and assaulted, but believes that her media profile secured her eventual release and that privileged activists should take the greatest risks.
Brothers who ran a Derry department store recall the havoc wrought when the navy came to town, and the mutual support among shopkeepers during the Troubles. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
Producer: Marya Burgess.