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

Radio-Lists Home Now on R4 Contact

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



SATURDAY 19 MAY 2018

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b0b2gswg)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b0b3mdc8)
The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time, Episode 5

Just what goes into the making of a book? Keith Houston journeys to China and Germany to discover the history of the printing press - and the birth of the modern book.

This is an exploration behind the elements that go into the creation of one of life's most powerful and precious objects - 'The Book'. From the creation of papyrus, parchment and paper to the history of the illuminated manuscript and finally the actual writing of the book itself. This is a delightful dip into the long and often surprising history of one of the world's most important information technologies.

Written by Keith Houston
Read by Deborah Findlay
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gswj)

The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b2gswl)

SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gswn)

The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b0b2gswq)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0b2jc97)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Richard Chartres, Dean of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal.


SAT 05:45 iPM (b0b2gsws)
Hello, is it me you're looking for?

We hear from listeners taking a second chance on love.
Jilly Cooper reads our Your News bulletin plus we hear from a listener in Jersey who was so frustrated by a local problem she decided to stand in the general election there this week.
Presented by Luke Jones and Eddie Mair. Produced by Kate Collins.
Email: ipm@bbc.co.uk. Twitter: @BBCiPM.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b0b2gswv)

The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (b0b2mgj2)
Series 39, Hembury Fort, Honiton

A chaotic and lively dog-walk on Hembury Fort near Honiton in Devon kicks off the new series. Nigel, the rebellious Golden Doodle, upstages Clare Balding and guests.

Clare's human companions are Amy, Jenny, and Anna. They met at the school-gate and formed a strong bond that has helped them through many health challenges. Jenny's thyroid problems led unexpectedly to her launching a successful dog-walking business.

They take Clare on one of their regular walks, across Hembury Fort near Honiton, and explain what friendship through walking means to them.

Produced in Bristol by Karen Gregor.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b0b2gswx)

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b0b2gswz)

The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b0b39pfx)

News and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b0b2gsx1)

Extraordinary stories, unusual people and a sideways look at the world.


SAT 10:30 The News Quiz (b0b2mrxt)
Series 96, 18/05/2018

A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Miles Jupp. With panellists Jeremy Hardy, Zoe Lyons, Simon Evans and journalist Francis Wheen.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b0b39pg5)

A look behind the scenes at Westminster.


SAT 11:30 The Royal Wedding (b0b39pgf)

Live coverage of the marriage of HRH Prince Harry of Wales to Meghan Markle.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b0b2gsx7)

The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b0b2gsx9)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b0b2mrxy)
Lindsey German, Rachel Johnson, David Lammy MP, Jacob Rees Mogg MP

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Weston Museum in Weston Super Mare, Somerset, with the Convenor of Stop The War Coalition Lindsey German, columnist and commentator Rachel Johnson, the Labour MP David Lammy and the conservative MP Jacob Rees Mogg who is chairman of the European Research Group.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b0b2gsxc)

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


SAT 14:30 Drama (b0b39pgr)
Inspector Chen Novels, Enigma of China

Poet and gourmand, Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Bureau is called in to oversee the investigation into the death of the Director of The Shanghai Development Committee while under house arrest. He has to negotiate the power of the Party, an internet campaign and a new potential romance. Dramatised by John Harvey.

Director: David Hunter

"Enigma of China" is the eighth of Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen novels, all 9 of which have been dramatised for BBC Radio 4. They have sold over 1million copies and been translated into 20 languages.
"Witty and thrilling" The Daily Telegraph
"A welcome alternative to Scandi-noir" The Observer.


SAT 15:30 Money Box (b0b39ph0)
TSB woes continue

Nearly a month after TSB first reported a system meltdown, Money Box listeners say they are still experiencing problems. We speak to the chair of the Treasury Committee, Nicky Morgan.

Some pension providers are making widows and other beneficiaries take pension money as cash, rather than as a pension fund. And that means the cash amount will be taxable, and may later be subject to inheritance tax. We speak to retired account Michael Veale, who found himself involved in a case on behalf of the widow of a family friend, and Fiona Tait, technical director with Intelligent Pensions.

The General Data Protection Regulation - or GDPR - begins next week. We speak to worried members of the Upper Kingston Allotment Association, and Annabel Kaye from the consultancy KoffeeKlatch.

And finally, we have an update on the collapsed inheritance planning firm Universal Wealth. Specialist lawyer Stephen Lawson from FDR Law gives some advice on how to go about changing a trustee.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b0b2gsxf)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Conservationist Sacha Dench. Domestic abuse and young women. Feminist Germaine Greer.

Conservationist Sacha Dench tells us about her long distance flight following the migration of the endangered Bewick Swans, for which she was awarded the Britannia Trophy. Photo Credit WWT

Why is there still a gulf between how hard you work and what you can achieve in your career if you are a Black and Minority Ethnic woman?

Feminist and author Germaine Greer talks about the revised edition of The Change, Women Aging and the Menopause, which she first published 20 years ago.

The campaign to increase the maximum amount of time you can store your eggs if you freeze them for "social" rather than medical reasons.

As the latest ONS Crime Survey reveals that young women in their mid to late teens are in the age group most likely to experience domestic abuse, we hear from three young women now in their twenties about what happened to them in their first serious relationships.

Plus the Grammy award winning US singer Rita Coolidge discusses her 50 year career and her new album and Sophia Hilton owner of Not Another Salon in Brick Lane in London on the explosion of creative and colourful hair trends.

Presenter; Jenni Murray
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor: Beverley Purcell.


SAT 17:00 PM (b0b2gsxh)
Saturday PM

Caroline Wyatt with the day's news.


SAT 17:30 iPM (b0b2gsws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:45 today]


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b0b2gsxk)

The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b0b2gsxm)

The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b2gsxp)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b0b2gsxr)
Hugh Grant, Alfred Molina, Peter Brathwaite, Birds of Chicago, Fatoumata Diawara, Sara Cox, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Sara Cox are joined by Hugh Grant, Alfred Molina and Peter Brathwaite for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Birds of Chicago and Fatoumata Diawara.

Producer: Debbie Kilbride.


SAT 19:00 Profile (b0b39qk4)
Donald Glover

Series of profiles of people who are currently making headlines.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b0b2gsxt)
Red, On Chesil Beach, A Very English Scandal, The Aviator, Teeth at The Wellcome

Alfred Molina plays artist Mark Rothko in Red at London's Haymarket Theatre
Ian McEwan has adapted his own novel On Chesil Beach for the big screen, starring Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle as newlyweds whose wedding night nuptials are complicated by memories and misunderstandings
The story of the scandal of 1970s Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe and his apparent homosexual affair with male model Norman Scott is now a TV series starring Hugh Grant. A Very English Scandal is written by Russell T Davis and directed by Stephen Frears.
The Aviator by Russian author Eugene Vodolazkin has been translated into 14 languages and won a slew of literary prizes; how old is the central character? Does his extraordinary memory have something to do with cryogenic suspension?
There's a new exhibition at The Welcome Collection in London looking at all things dental- will it set our reviewers' teeth on edge or make them smile?

Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Blake Morrison, Elizabeth Day and Charlotte Mullins. The producer is Oliver Jones.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b0b39r1q)
Commuterville

It is 175 years since the word "commuter" was used for the first time. (The word does not in fact describe a traveller, it describes a transaction: regular travellers on the railroad into Manhattan were given the opportunity to "commute" their individual tickets into a season pass. Ever since, commuters have been both travellers and revenue stream.)
Today our great cities inhale and exhale millions of commuters, who start their journey in the darkness of winter mornings in the suburbs, resurface blearily in the heart of the city and return to long tucked-in children in darkness.
It wasn't meant to be like this. Matthew Sweet looks at our imagined world of fantasy journeys and asks if driverless cars, monorails, or high speed transport systems might deliver them in the future.

Producer Mark Rickards.


SAT 21:00 Drama (b0b2h03y)
Love Henry James: The American, Episode 2

Love Henry James: The American Ep2/2
Dramatised by Lavinia Murray

Humour and heartache collide in this early James novel. Christopher Newman, an American and self-made millionaire businessmen is in Paris and newly engaged to aristocrat Claire de Cintre. A dark mystery shrouds the family, and when Claire's mother and brother betray Newman most cruelly, he's intent on revenge.

Produced and directed by Pauline Harris.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b0b2gsxw)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 FutureProofing (b0b2kpm6)
Mental Health

How can we protect and improve our mental health in future? FutureProofing explores how we might achieve healthier minds, and whether far greater understanding of the way our brains work will be enough to treat mental illness and enhance mental health in the 21st century.
In Silicon Valley, presenters Timandra Harkness and Leo Johnson discover the cutting edge technology that aims to revolutionize diagnosis and treatment. They learn about the prospect of mind control and pervasive tracking to monitor how well millions of people are functioning mentally in future. And they find out why our understanding of and attitudes towards mental health must change significantly, if we are to meet the challenge of what appears to be an explosion of mental ill health around the world.

Producer: Jonathan Brunert.


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (b0b2j6mc)
Heat 12, 2018

(12/17)
Russell Davies meets the last four of the contenders in the 2018 tournament hoping to win a place in the semi-finals which begin next week. This week's contest comes from the north of England and features four keen northern quiz players. They are:

Rob Cruise, a primary school teacher from Liverpool
Clive Dunning, a teacher from Stockton-on-Tees
Tony Quinn, a former broadcast systems engineer from Liverpool
Brian Thompson, a retired teacher, also from Liverpool.

The questions range widely as ever, from history to sport, from chemistry to cinema and from maths to music. If the scores are high enough a runner-up still stands a chance of capturing a semi-final place too, as well as the winner, at this late stage.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


SAT 23:30 Tongue and Talk: The Dialect Poets (b0b2hprv)
North West

A three part series exploring dialect poetry in different parts of England.

In this first programme, actor and writer Catherine Harvey returns to her roots in north west England to see if the dialect poetry of the cotton mills of 19th Century Lancashire is still alive today.

The Lancashire dialect poets were once household names and their writings articulated the voices of cotton weavers and mill workers in Victorian industrial Lancashire with a mixture of humour and pathos. Catherine Harvey says, "The vivid dialect remains with me, not as something quaintly archaic but present now in the way I speak and write, their voices resonating in the language heard around the north west today."

Later in the series, writer James Walker unearths the dialect poetry of the Nottinghamshire miners who penned their verse underground and children's writer Kirsty McKay offers a snapshot of dialect poetry in Northumberland today.

A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4.



SUNDAY 20 MAY 2018

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b0b39ts8)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Short Works (b0b2mrc9)
Series 1, A Hint of Heather

A Hint Of Heather by Hannah Silva.

As she prepares to buy her first house, Heather plans her colour scheme with a perfectionist's eye.

Hannah Silva is a poet, playwright and performer. Her latest solo show Schlock! splices Fifty Shades of Grey with a novel by Kathy Acker, celebrating 'the slipperiness of words, reinventing them so that none of them are safe' (The Guardian). Silva has been shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award and has had three radio plays recognised in the Best Single Drama category at the BBC Audio Drama Awards. Her debut sound poetry record 'Talk in a bit' will be released in May 2018. 'A Hint Of Heather' is her first short story for radio.

Writer: Hannah Silva
Reader: Hattie Morahan
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b39tsd)

The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b39tsh)

SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b39tsk)

The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b0b39tsm)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b0b3b4lv)
St Leonard's Church, Streatham

Bells on Sunday comes from St. Leonard's Church in Streatham. Dating from about 1350, St Leonard's tower is the oldest structure in this part of London. In 1785 a ring of 6 bells cast by Mears of Whitechapel was installed. The present 8 bells with a tenor weighing twelve and three quarter hundredweight tuned to G, were cast and installed by the Whitechapel Foundry in 1981, following a fire. We hear them ringing part of a peal of Horton's Four Spliced Surprise Major.


SUN 05:45 Profile (b0b39qk4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b0b39tsp)

The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b0b39tsr)
The Lungs

The poet Michael Symmons Roberts completes his trilogy of programmes reflecting on parts of the human anatomy. After hearts and eyes, he focuses this time on our lungs and the fragile breath they bring.

He explains, "As a bodily metaphor, breath is one of the most pervasive and subtle we have and, for me, it's always been one of the most potent."

Reflecting on childhood memories of his grandad's asthma and emphysema and his own encounter with double pneumonia as a teenager, Michael has built an understanding of the breath as a gift and something not to be taken for granted. Breathing is also central to spiritual practices as in the traditional use of the Jesus prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God" as we breathe in, and the second part, "have mercy on me, a sinner", as we breathe out".

Through the poetry of Keats, Mark O'Brien and Adrienne Rich and the music of The Hollies, Florence and the Machine and Puccini, Michael concludes that "breathing is a delicate matter. And if breath is what we receive from our creator, it is in some sense the gift of life itself."

Presenter: Michael Symmons Roberts
Producer: Michael Wakelin
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (b0b3b4lx)
Future Food: Heritage Harvest

Lucy Taylor visits John Letts, an academic-turned-arable farmer who's growing ancient grains to turn into heritage flours on a farm near Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire.

John believes his model of growing a diverse mix of hardy, traditional wheat varieties can help with crop resilience, pest control, soil health, nutrition and flavour. Now he's hoping to help rebuild grain economies in communities across the country, with his UK Heritage Grain Alliance - but how easy will that be?

This is the first in a special series of three programmes, profiling the finalists in the 'Farming Today Future Food Award' category in the 2018 BBC Food and Farming Awards.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b0b39tst)

The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b0b39tsw)

The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b0b39tsy)
Manchester Bomb Anniversary, Chilean Bishops Resignation, New Stornoway Mosque

Sunday morning religious news and current affairs programme.


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (b0b3b4lz)
Missing People

Jason Watkins makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Missing People.

Registered Charity Number: in England and Wales (1020419) and in Scotland (SC047419)
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 'Missing People'.
- Cheques should be made payable to 'Missing People'.


SUN 07:57 Weather (b0b39tt0)

The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b0b39tt2)

The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b0b3b4m1)
Thy Kingdom Come

What do we hope for when we pray "Thy Kingdom Come" and how does prayerful engagement with the Holy Spirit help us encounter God from day to day? That's a question the Archbishop of Canterbury has been calling the worldwide church to reflect on in the days between Ascension and Pentecost.

As Christians celebrate Pentecost, when God sent his Holy Spirit to the Church, our service of Holy Communion is from Down Cathedral in Downpatrick. The service is led by Dean Henry Hull, the preacher is the Rev Adrian Dorrian and the music is led by the Cathedral Choir, directed by Michael McCracken.

Readings
Acts 2:1-14
John 16: 5-15.


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (b0b2mry0)
Ireland's Abortion Referendum - A Personal View

Sarah Dunant gives a personal view on Ireland's abortion referendum.

She remembers one of her first jobs after university - working in a Pregnancy Advisory Service in London as a counsellor - and seeing many young women from the Republic of Ireland who'd come to England seeking an abortion.

And the day, some years later, when she went back there, that time as a client.


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b0b3b4m3)
Simon Barnes Tweet of the Day Takeover - Week 2

For his second week at the helm of the Tweet of the Day archive, sports writer and avid bird watcher Simon Barnes introduces more seasonal offerings from the back catalogue.

Producer Maggie Ayre.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b0b39tt4)

Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b0b39tt6)

Shula is left reeling, and Lily's secret is revealed.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b0b3b4m5)
Dr Sue Black

Dr. Sue Black is a computer scientist, academic and social entrepreneur. She was instrumental in saving Bletchley Park, the home of vital codebreaking during the second world war. Currently an honorary professor at UCL, she founded BCS Women for women in science and the social enterprise Tech Mums, which teaches parents about computing. She is also on an advisory board for the government's digital services.

Born in Fareham, Hampshire, she was 12 when her mother died of a brain haemorrhage. She left school and home at the earliest legal age, 16, and by the age of 20 she was the mother of three children. She returned to education by taking a maths access course at night school which led to a degree in computing from South Bank University in 1993. She gained a PhD in software engineering in 2001 and became a lecturer. She was Head of Department of Computing Science at the University of Westminster before leaving in 2012 to become a technology evangelist.

In 2016 She was awarded the Order of the British Empire for services to for services to technology.

Presenter: Kirsty Young
Producer: Cathy Drysdale.


SUN 12:00 News Summary (b0b39tt8)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (b0b2j7r4)
Series 81, Episode 1

Just A Minute is back for its 81st series and kicks off with a cracking line-up: Paul Merton, Shelia Hancock, Fern Britton and Graham Norton..

The panel have to talk on a given subject for sixty seconds without repetition, hesitation or deviation. Why does Paul think there are too many cooks? What does Shelia have to say about the quiet carriage, does Graham like jam, has Fern swam the English Channel, and did Nicholas really admit to wearing fishnet stockings?

Hayley Sterling blows the whistle and it was produced by Matt Stronge.

Just A Minute is a BBC Studios production.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b0b3b4m7)
Food Stories From Syria (3)

Europe's migrant crisis is far from over. Already in 2018, the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) estimate that more than 24, 475 people have arrived in Europe by sea. 609 people are dead or missing since January*. The conflict in Syria is now into its 7th year.

With an ongoing backdrop of war and violence, and more people arriving into Europe from Syria and elsewhere, Sheila Dillon wants to hear how people fleeing the crisis are living, eating and using food to tell the stories of the journeys they have made. In summer 2017, she travelled to Greece to speak to people living the migrant crisis every day.

In Greece, Sheila spends a day with a man who since arriving in the country has volunteered all his time to coordinating a vast network of volunteers distributing food to thousands of migrants and refugees in Northern Greece. She travels to refugee camps, meeting people distributing and receiving the food donations which supplement any support payments.

In a remote, coastal refugee camp, she meets a teenager with his mind firmly set on travelling to the UK to reunite his family with his father. Sheila hears how the family cook and eat every day, how they found food during their journey to Greece, and asks whether the family ever make it to the UK.

And in London, Sheila meets a chef from Damascus who has found a way back to cooking the food he was once famous for in his own city. She hears how he is spreading the message and raising money for people who have stayed in war-torn Syria.

Presented by Sheila Dillon
Produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury

* UNHCR figure last updated 7th May 2018.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b0b39ttb)

The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b0b39ttd)

Global news and analysis.


SUN 13:30 From Our Home Correspondent (b0b3b4m9)

In the latest programme of the monthly series, Mishal Husain introduces dispatches from journalists and writers around the United Kingdom that reflect the range of contemporary life in the country.

Gabriel Gatehouse reflects on the lot of the reluctant courting correspondent come a royal wedding; Sarah Smith considers where the latest vote on Brexit at Holyrood leaves the Scottish First Minister as she weighs her options on advancing the SNP's principal objective; Martin Bashir assesses the Archbishop of Canterbury's lonely repentance at the Independent Inquiry into Child Abuse; Caitlin Sneddon visits an isle made famous by a girl's adventures which is now bereft of high school-age children; and Martin Vennard considers what connects a Redcar cinema and petrified forest.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b0b2mrc7)
Southwell

Eric Robson and his panel are in Southwell, Nottinghamshire. Bunny Guinness, Christine Walkden and Matthew Wilson answer this week's questions.

Eric makes a pilgrimage to the world's original Bramley Apple tree while the panellists help audience members with queries about compost, planting a Wisteria close to a house, and unresponsive bluebell bulbs.

They also advise on getting rid of ivy, lily beetles and ground elder. Quite the clear out!

And on the weekend of the Royal Wedding, floral designer Jonathan Moseley gives a masterclass on wedding flowers - dos and don'ts and the symbolism of different plants in a bouquet.

Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b0b3b4mf)
Omnibus - Support When Needed

Fi Glover introduces conversations about midwifery, breast feeding, and teaching children with special needs in the Omnibus edition of the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Marya Burgess.


SUN 15:00 Drama (b0b3bb2c)
A Tale of Two Cities: Aleppo and London, 2011/2012

Charles Dickens' iconic story of love, revolution and redemption, updated and set in contemporary Aleppo and London.

Dickens' original novel is a powerful portrayal of personal sacrifice set against the turbulent backdrop of political change. As resonant today as it was then, the redemption of flawed humanity is at the heart of award winning writer Ayeesha Menon's bold reworking of A Tale of Two Cities.

The story of a chance resemblance between a feckless lawyer and a troubled exile, both in love with the same woman, is updated to modern-day London and war-torn Syria. However, in this modern version, the driving forces are two women - British Syrian journalist Lina Mahmoud and her nemesis, Taghreed Daffar.

It's a classic tale reimagined as a provocative and moving drama for today.

Episode 1: 2011/2012
It's the Arab Spring and peaceful protests in Syria lead to a release of political prisoners. When Dr Mahmoud is freed after 30 years, he is sheltered by Taghreed and Emad Daffar, and brought to the UK by his old friend Jarvis Lorry and the daughter he has never met, foreign correspondent Lina. Back in London, Jarvis persuades his nephew Sid Carton, a flawed but brilliant advocate, to represent Syrian émigré doctor Shwan Dahkurdi against terrorism charges. When Lina and Shwan meet, they are immediately attracted. But Dr Mahmoud's release has set in train a series of events that none of them can escape.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, adapted for radio by Ayeesha Menon
Development concept written by Silas Parry
Sound design by Eloise Whitmore
Broadcast Assistant: Jan Shepherd

Produced by Gill Parry
Directed by Polly Thomas

Producer for Goldhawk Productions: Emma Hearn
Executive Producer: John Dryden

A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 16:02 Open Book (b0b3bb2f)
Anthony Horowitz

As he publishes Forever and A Day, a new James Bond novel which includes original material by Ian Fleming, Anthony Horowitz talks about the qualities of Fleming's writing and what it's like to follow in the spy master's footsteps.

We take a look at the life of Hernando Colon, son of Christopher Columbus who attempted to create a universal library, and discuss three very different novels which explore Romanian literary culture.

And Conn Iggulden, author of the Empire series of historical novels and The Dangerous Book for Boys, tells us about the unusual book of poetry that he'd never lend.


SUN 16:30 Tongue and Talk: The Dialect Poets (b0b3bb2h)
East Midlands

Writer James Walker unearths the dialect poetry of the Nottinghamshire miners who penned their verse underground in the county where he was born and bred.

Through the humour of poems like Miner's Dream and Pity Pony, James explores a language used almost exclusively by miners and finds retired pitmen still reciting pit talk poetry in pubs and other venues across Nottinghamshire. He says: 'these men cry regularly at this poetry. Big retired pit men getting all emotional. It's quite an experience.'

As part of the programme, James visits the former home of famous Nottinghamshire novelist and poet DH Lawrence where he meets mining historian and former miner David Amos. He also talks to Natalie Braber, Associate Professor at Nottingham Trent University about her research into pit talk and dialects, language and identity.

James hears some of the poems penned underground, translates the dialect and tries to understand what made so many miners turn to poetry. He also discovers how dialect pit poetry is being kept alive by forming the lyrics to new folk music.

Meanwhile part of the programme explores the Nottinghamshire dialect more widely including the use of the greeting 'duck' There's also a performance by Nottinghamshire dialect poet Bridie Squires about the local word 'mardy'.

A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 17:00 Present at the Creation (b0b2j8xn)

Jonathan Freedland recalls the extraordinary day in 1948 when Israel declared its independence.

On May 14 1948, a few hundred people crammed into the Tel Aviv Museum of Art to hear a proclamation that would change the course of history - and alter the fate of two peoples competing over a single, much-promised land. That document was the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel.

The consequences of that act would be fateful, starting with the 1948 war that followed within days, an event revered as the War of Independence by Israelis and lamented as the Nakba, or catastrophe, by Palestinians.

Jonathan meets the last two surviving eye-witnesses of the declaration ceremony and gets a rare glimpse of the original document itself as he tells the story of that day in May. It was a day of near-chaotic improvisation and rush as the founders of Israel scrambled to declare their new state - one official had to flag down a passing car to get the parchment scroll to the ceremony on time. Even the name of the new country was only decided in the final hours, the choice of Israel rather than Zion or Judea coming as a surprise to a waiting world.

Hearing from a range of voices - including Palestinian foreign minister Nabil Sha'ath and acclaimed Israeli novelist Amos Oz, both children on the day of the declaration - this is the riveting, unexpectedly human story of frantic taxi rides, smudged documents and last-minute decisions that lie behind one of the most momentous events of the last century.

Audio excerpts from of the recording of the ceremony of the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel courtesy of Baruch Salzman.

Written and presented by Jonathan Freedland
Producer: Sarah Peters
Researcher: Jonathan Cummings
Executive Producer: Iain Chambers
An Open Audio and Tuning Fork production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 17:40 Profile (b0b39qk4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b0b39ttg)

The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b0b39ttj)

The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b39ttl)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b0b39ttn)
Antonia Quirke

Antonia Quirke chooses her BBC Radio highlights.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b0b3bb2k)

Elizabeth jumps to conclusions, and Jim makes a decision.


SUN 19:15 Stand-Up Specials (b0b3bcsp)
Geoff Norcott: Right Leaning But Well Meaning

Geoff Norcott is working class, had two disabled parents, votes Tory and voted Leave. How did he end up a comedian?

In this stand up show, Geoff introduces us to his family, his early career as a teacher and how he ended up on Question Time.

He has a starring role in The Mash Report on BBC 2, has done a national tour and appeared on Live at the Apollo, Edinburgh Nights, Comedy Bigmouths, and The Wright Stuff, as well as Question Time - twice. Geoff has also found himself in demand as a social commentator on Radio 4's Today programme, Daily Politics on BBC1, Victoria Derbyshire on BBC 2 and Sky News' All Out Politics.

He writes for national publications with articles appearing in The Sunday Telegraph, The Independent and The New Statesman. He writes regularly for other comedians including Sarah Millican and Katherine Ryan. Geoff was nominated for Best New Show at the Leicester Comedy Festival and an has Operational Services Medal for five frontline tours entertaining the troops in Afghanistan.

With Geoff Norcott, Leanne Everitt and Barry Castagnola.
Written by Geoff Norcott with additional material by Stephen Grant and Barry Castagnola.

Produced by Caroline Raphael
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 19:45 Life at Absolute Zero (b0b3bcsr)
Series 3, Speed Kills

Lynne Truss observes the inhabitants of Meridian Cliffs, a small wind-battered town on the south coast of England, where a white van is causing consternation among the local speed watchers.

Meanwhile, Hugh Velvey finds peace after the arson attack on his carpets business.

Written by Lynne Truss
Directed by Kate McAll

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:00 More or Less (b0b2mrcf)
Child Poverty, Progress 8, How green is grass?

Working families in poverty
Last week, the TUC made headlines with a new report it had published, claiming more 1 million more children from working families are living in poverty than they were in 2010. But is this because a lot more people are working today than ten years ago? Tim Harford speaks to Jonathan Cribb from the Institute for Fiscal Studies about how we define poverty, and whether things are getting worse or better

Progress 8
School league tables in England used to rank schools by the proportion of pupils who managed to achieve five A* to C grades in their GCSE's. There was an obvious problem with that: schools with lots of middle class kids might do well on the league tables, even if the actual teaching wasn't so great. And brilliant schools in deprived areas might be undervalued. So in 2016 the system was changed - instead league tables are now arranged by a measure called Progress 8. It's meant to be a fairer way to assess things. But one listener got in touch to ask - how does it work? Is it better?

How green is grass?
A listener wants to know whether a garden product can really make you grass 6 times greener so we'll be exploring the greenness of grass. Can you put a numeric value on how green a colour is? Is it possible to tell when something is six times greener than baseline with the human eye, and is there a maximum green to which all lawns should aspire?

Royal Wedding economics
In the run up to the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, media outlets and newspapers have been musing over how much money the wedding will bring to the UK economy. We speak to Federica Cocco of the Financial Times who doesn't think there will be much impact at all.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Charlotte McDonald
Editor: Richard Vadon

(Photo credit: Getty Images).


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b0b2mrcc)
Baroness Jowell, Will Alsop, Tom Wolfe, Dennis Nilsen

Matthew Bannister on

Baroness Jowell - the former Labour Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell - who led the campaign to bring the Olympic Games to London and supported the survivors of the 7/7 bombings.

Tom Wolfe, author of The Right Stuff and Bonfire of the Vanities and a pioneer of using literary techniques to tell factual stories.

Dennis Nilsen, who killed up to fifteen young men at his home in North London before dismembering their bodies. Kate Adie recalls covering the story for the BBC.

And Will Alsop, the maverick architect who won the Stirling Prize for designing the Peckham Library in South London.

Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Neil George.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b0b39ph0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b0b3b4lz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 In Business (b0b2mgjd)
Putting the Fizz Back into Catalonia's Cava

Why Spain's sparkling fizz, Cava, is seeking to re-invent itself. If you think of sparkling wine what probably comes to mind is popping corks and Champagne. But what about Cava from Spain? In terms of exports Cava is as big as Champagne, and it is made in the same expensive, time-consuming way. Yet its image in recent years has suffered and it's now generally thought of as a cheap, less popular alternative to the likes of Prosecco. Most Cava comes from Catalonia, that region in Spain which has been beset by political problems and calls for independence. For In Business, John Murphy explores how Cava has become mixed up in Catalonia's troubled politics, how it is trying to boost its image and how it's seeking to re-establish itself as a very special bottle of fizz.
Producer: Estelle Doyle.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (b0b39ttq)

Weekly political discussion and analysis with MPs, experts and commentators.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b0b2mgj4)
Saoirse Ronan

With Francine Stock.

Saoirse Ronan discusses her role in On Chesil Beach, as a young bride whose wedding night goes disastrously wrong with unforeseen consequences, and explains why Ian McEwan didn't mind her ditching some of his dialogue, even though he wrote both the novel and the screenplay.

Critic Tim Robey and film buyer Clare Binns report on the classics and calamities they've witnessed at the Cannes Film Festival this week.

The ever-controversial A to Z of film-makers ends this week with Z, appropriately enough. And Francine has another odd couple to choose between - the director of Hollywood blockbusters and a sixth generation Chinese neo-realist known as the poet of globalisation.


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b0b39tsr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 21 MAY 2018

MON 00:00 Midnight News (b0b39twm)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (b0b2kpm0)
Marx and Marxism

Sociological discussion programme. May 2018 sees the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx's birth. Laurie Taylor explores the philosopher's ideas and legacy.


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b0b3b4lv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b39twq)

The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b39tws)

MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b39twv)

The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b0b39twx)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0b4gx9g)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Richard Chartres, Dean of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b0b39twz)

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


MON 05:56 Weather (b0b39tx1)

The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03wpzmk)
Chiffchaff

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

Bill Oddie presents the chiffchaff. Chiffchaff are small olive warblers which sing their name as they flit around hunting for insects in woods, marshes and scrubby places. Chiffchaffs are increasing in the UK and the secret of their success is their ability to weather our winters. Many stay in the milder south and south-west of England where the insects are more active.


MON 06:00 Today (b0b39tx3)

News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (b0b39tx5)
Dark Satanic Mills

Giant factories are at the centre of Joshua Freeman's history of mass production. From the textile mills in England that powered the Industrial Revolution to the car plants of 20th century America and today's colossal sweat shops in Asia, Freeman tells Amol Rajan how factories have reflected both the hopes and fears of social change.

The poems in Jane Commane's collection, Assembly Line, are set in a Midlands where ghosts haunt the deserted factory floor and the landscape is littered with 'heartsick towns'.

The architecture critic Rowan Moore looks at the changing landscape of work in the 21st century, from huge impersonal distribution centres to the pleasure palaces of tech giants.

The economist Mariana Mazzucato is calling for a reform of capitalism, to replace taking with making. She argues that the global economy has become a parasitic system in which value-extraction is more highly rewarded than value-creation.

Producer: Katy Hickman.


MON 09:45 Climate Change and Me (b0b3c3sh)

Five scientists, working in different parts of the world, bear witness to some of the dramatic changes to our planet that have occurred in their lifetimes, as the global climate warms.

1. Marine biologist and underwater diver, Professor Callum Roberts of the University of York, has seen coral reefs that were once multi-coloured and teeming with life reduced to grey, lifeless underwater landscapes with devastating consequences for marine bio-diversity. Just 0.1% of the ocean life is coral reefs but they support more than a quarter of all the species that live in the sea.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0b39tx7)

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b3c3sk)
Wuthering Heights, Hindley

This is award winning writer, Rachel Joyce's final adaptation from the Bronte canon. Emily's only novel. Forbidden trysts, family warfare, revenge and passion on the Yorkshire moors.
Heathcliff has written a letter to Cathy but will Nelly deliver it?

Adapted by Rachel Joyce
Produced and Directed by Tracey Neale.


MON 11:00 The Untold (b0b3c42w)
Pushing the Envelope

Grace Dent follows Alan, the postman who dreams of making it as a professional actor. He has landed a role in a hit stage play, but he will have to overcome his dyslexia in order to succeed.

Alan has worked as a postman in Liverpool for years, but he's now ready to pursue his true passion of a career in acting. Things have gotten off to a promising start as he has been cast in a leading role in a professional stage play. The play follows the story of the band Joy Division and is a celebrated production with a huge fan base. This could be Alan's chance to establish himself in the world he has always wanted to join.

A winning performance could be Alan's chance to make it, but it won't be easy. Alan's dyslexia presents a challenge to his day job of delivering letters. It makes memorising an entire script a difficult task, and Alan has just a few weeks to do so. It's the performance of a lifetime, and the pressure is on to be ready for opening night. Will he be able to impress an audience of critics and industry figures who could turn his dream into a reality?

Producer: Sam Peach
Researcher: Tabitha Konstantine.


MON 11:30 The Break (b0b3c42y)
Series 2, Van Crazy

Jeff and Andy (Philip Jackson & Tom Palmer) borrow a van from Frank (Mark Benton) setting them on the road to ruin - or rather, a nude beach, A&E and a search for some drip trays.

An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:00 News Summary (b0b39tx9)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 Witness (b0b4gw3q)
China's Barefoot Doctors

In 1968 Chairman Mao officially launched a scheme to provide health care to the rural masses. He ordered basic medical training for thousands of young people and sent them out to work in China's villages. They were known as the 'barefoot doctors'. Lucy Burns has been speaking to Gordon Liu who became a barefoot doctor in Sichuan province after leaving secondary school.


MON 12:15 You and Yours (b0b39txc)
TSB Fraud, Car Dealerships, Restaurant Success

News and discussion of consumer affairs.


MON 12:57 Weather (b0b39txf)

The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (b0b39txh)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


MON 13:45 The Questionnaire (b0b3c76n)
Series 1, Education & Aspirations

Alan Dein presents a new series in which he asks several generations of five families from across the UK revealing questions about every aspect of their lives.

From Bedlington in Northumbria to Tonbridge in Kent, every family faces the same searching questions. Today, Alan explores the importance of education and ambition across the generations. Among those in the hot seat, 20 year old maths prodigy Caleb Thomas from Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, his father Ian and grandmother Barbara.

Alan's questions are drawn from a survey conducted by the University of Essex in the 1980s which interviewed 100 families across the country.

Producers: Laurence Grissell & Paul Kobrak.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b0b3bb2k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b0b3c76q)
From Marginal to Mainstream

It started as an eight-day beginners' theatre workshop run by Caryne Chapman Clark for women who were newly rescued victims of trafficking. Ten women from nine different countries. They didn't know each other. They could barely speak English. Just a few basic theatre skills to give them confidence so they could look each other in the eye.

Who could have known that this was to be the start of something?

The Women/Marginal Voices:

Gloria
Alice
Teresa
India

Pieces conceived and written by Caryne Chapman Clark in collaboration with Marginal Voices

Music:
Chances Are - Jamie Catto
Mama - Sianed Jones

Voice-Overs for 'Letters to Oprah' and 'Black Dress' by Hazel Holder

With thanks to Fuel Theatre

Associate producer: Caryne Chapman Clark
Producer: Karen Rose

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (b0b3c76s)
Semi-Final 1, 2018

(13/17)
The first of this year's four semi-final contests features questions on topics ranging from Greek mythology to botany, theatre history, music, classic science fiction and sport. At stake is a place in the 2018 Final and a real chance for the winner of being named the 65th BBC Brain of Britain.

As is traditional, the semi-final contenders comprise the twelve heat winners this season, alongside the top-scoring runners-up across the series. Today they are:
Daniel Adler, an IT consultant from Surrey
Jack Bennett, a student from Lancaster
Graham Cox, a business development manager from Greater Manchester
Rob Cruise, a primary school teacher from Liverpool.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b0b3b4m7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 With Great Pleasure (b0b3c76v)
Sabrina Mahfouz

Sabrina Mahfouz, British Egyptian poet, playwright, performer and writer, has been called a modern Renaissance woman. She reveals more about her life through her favourite pieces of writing, by authors as diverse as Debbie Tucker Green, Jeffrey Boakye, Laura Dockrill, Allan Ahlberg, Anthony Anaxagorou and Euripides. Recorded in front of an audience at the BBC Radio Theatre with reader Ntonga Mwanza.
Producer Beth O'Dea.


MON 16:30 The Digital Human (b0b3c76x)
Series 14, Friction

It's the life we're told we want, where we just shout at a device and our needs are met as quickly as the supply chain allows. Aleks Krotoski explores frictionless digital living.

But is there value in friction? Aleks hears from someone who's life depends on it, mountaineer Andy Kirkpatrick. He has a reputation for stacking the odds against himself as much as possible; long routes, often climbed alone in the worst of conditions. Back on the ground Andy also needs friction to not get complacent, accept others views without question, to keep moving forward.

Without friction we risk falling prey to what economist Umair Haque describes as the infantilisation economy. One where we are diminished by being able to have our every need met by Amazon's Alexa. And the cost isn't just to us but also to the army of digital serfs peddling about in all weathers with those trademark boxes on their backs. Its a future that was foreseen as far back as the late 19th century by the likes of Nietzsche in his descriptions of the 'last men' a humanity living the most vanilla of existences without challenge or ambition to change.

Nothing sums this up better than the food replacement industry. No time to shop, cook, chew? Get everything you need nutritionally in a drink like Soylent or Huel - all in the name of efficiency. Its a world that fascinates anthropologist Jan English-Luek who for over 20 years has been observing trends in silicon valley.

Ultimately Aleks will ask what we're saving all this time and effort for and do we ever reap the benefits? Or does it just keep us where the digital world wants us, consuming in ever more efficient ways.

Producer: Peter McManus.


MON 17:00 PM (b0b39txk)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b39txp)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b0b3c76z)
Series 81, Episode 2

Just A Minute is back for its 81st series and this second episode features Paul Merton, Marcus Brigstocke, Rebecca Front and Gyles Brandreth.

As ever, the panel are tasked with talking on a given subject for sixty seconds without repetition, hesitation or deviation. This week, a subject that Gyles somewhat tenuously manages to link to this weekend's royal wedding, Rebecca talks sharks and there's a minor contretemps between Marcus and Paul about travelling to the moon.

Hayley Sterling blows the whistle and the producer is Richard Morris.

Just A Minute is a BBC Studios production.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b0b3c771)

Freddie's plan backfires, and Jennifer fears she has made things worse.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b0b39txy)
Ian McKellen, The Handmaid's Tale Season 2, Tishani Doshi

Arts news, interviews and reviews.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b3c3sk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 The Invention of... (b0b3c773)
The Netherlands, Orange Fever

Misha Glenny explores a pivot of Western history - the Netherlands.

"Chances are you think we're talking about Holland. But Holland's a province. Go back two centuries and this was a kingdom that included Belgium and Luxemburg. Before that it was the Austrian Netherlands; before that the Spanish Netherlands. And this region was rich!"

They call it the golden delta, where the Rhine and the Scheldt run into the chilly North Sea. Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels and Bruges are among European history's key centres of trade. Merchants, inventors, philosophers, outsiders - all flocked to the Netherlands. Benelux was the gap between Germany and France, and the home of the EU. But is this a country, and if so when did it begin?

From the team behind The Invention of Germany, the USA and Brazil. With contributions from Geert Mak, author of "In Europe: Travels Through the Twentieth Century"; Anne Goldgar, author of "Tulipmania", Judith Pollman of Leiden University; Maarten Prak of Utrecht University; and Ben Coates, author of "Why the Dutch are Different".

The presenter is Misha Glenny, the producer Miles Warde.


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b0b2m5yj)
Shades of Jewish in Israel

Israel gives all Jews the right to citizenship - but has it become less welcoming to African Jews?

Since its founding in 1948, after the horrors of the Holocaust, Israel has seen itself as a safe haven for Jews from anywhere in the world to come to escape persecution. But now that policy is under threat. As Jewish communities in Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya are finding, a debate has arisen about who is "Jewish enough" to qualify. David Baker investigates claims that decisions are being made not on the basis of ancestry or religious observance but on the colour of people's skin.

Producer: Simon Maybin
Presenter: David Baker.


MON 21:00 Plastic Fantastic (b0b2jg2m)
First Flush of Love

Plastic waste and pollution have become a global problem but is there any sign of a global solution? And how did we allow this to happen in the first place? Across three programmes, materials scientist and broadcaster, Professor Mark Miodownik, explores how we fell in love with plastic, why we've ended up with oceans of waste blighting the environment and what science and society can do about it.

Programme 1 - First Flush of Love

We may not be on speaking terms right now. But we do have a love affair with plastic, in fact it can be all consuming. Adaptable, lightweight, cheap and hygienic - fantastic plastics started to win our affection back in the late 19th century. Bakelite was an early plastic invented to replace expensive wood. Celluloid was one of the earliest plastics, failing to replace ivory in billiard balls, but revolutionising the world as movie film. Plastic really did change our world. Plastic radar insulation played a role in helping the Allied forces win the Second World War and after the conflict, factories start to churn out cheap, mass-produced goods in the new synthetic polymers. But some of the key virtues of plastic may now have paradoxically poisoned the relationship. Being virtually indestructible, has led to a build-up of toxic micro-plastic in the oceans and environment. We've grown to regard many plastics as cheap and disposable, we take it for granted, rely on it too much, value it too little and are too ready to cast it aside after one single use.


MON 21:30 Start the Week (b0b39tx5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (b0b39ty4)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0b3c775)
The Female Persuasion, Episode 6

Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student in Connecticut when she meets Faith Frank, a dazzlingly persuasive and charismatic activist who has been a pillar of the women's movement for decades. The meeting is made more resonant since she has just been the victim of a sexual assault on campus.

As Greer moves into her independent adult life Faith is to become her mentor figure, someone she looks up to and respects, until she is forced re-evaluate.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer is a book written before the recent seismic shift in American politics and the advent of the #MeToo movement, but it illuminates the complexities of what it is to be a young woman coming of age in the early decades of the 21st century. As well as the relationship between Greer and her role model, the story explores how a young man copes with devastating loss and attempts to rebuild his life, and poses searching questions about feminism and the painful realities of love and loyalty.

Writing in The New York Times Review Of Books, Lena Dunham described how "the novel ...deserves to be placed on shelves alongside such ornate modern novels beginning in college as A Little Life, The Secret History and The Marriage Plot... But when all is said and done, Wolitzer is an infinitely capable creator of human identities that are as real as the type on this page, and her love of her characters shines more brightly than any agenda."

Meg Wolitzer is author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking.

Written by Meg Wolitzer
Read by Tanya Moodie
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (b0b2jg2t)
How to talk like a Samaritan

Michael Rosen talks to Mark Harris and Darran Latham, who volunteer for the Samaritans, about the ways in which talking and listening can best be used to help people in crisis.

You can call Samaritans anytime, free to from any phone, on 116 123. People can also contact us via email: jo@samaritans.org or go to www.samaritans.org to find details of their nearest branch for face to face help.

Producer Beth O'Dea.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0b39ty6)

News from Westminster.



TUESDAY 22 MAY 2018

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b0b39v00)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Climate Change and Me (b0b3c3sh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b39v02)

The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b39v04)

TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b39v06)

The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b0b39v08)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0b4jw43)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Richard Chartres, Dean of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b0b39v0b)

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09h3t70)
Tara Robinson on the Treecreeper

While in Spain, theatre director Tara Robinson recalls seeing a treecreeper close on a tree while she and her partner were relaxing by the poolside.

Producer Andrew Dawes
Photograph Steve Balcombe.


TUE 06:00 Today (b0b39v0d)

News and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (b0b3cv9t)
Cat Hobaiter on communication in apes

Dr Cat Hobaiter spends much of her time in the rain forests of Africa studying the gestures of chimps. She tells Jim Al-Khalili about what she thinks the gestures mean.


TUE 09:30 One to One (b0b3cvdg)
Young Fathers

Bristol film maker Michael Jenkins became a father unexpectedly aged 18. He found it an overwhelming experience at first but eventually grew up and into the role of being a dedicated Dad to his sons who are now 11 and 6. He wanted to talk to other young men who became fathers at a young age to find out how they have dealt with the pressures of teen parenthood. Kevin Makwikila was just starting his second year at college and was planning to train to be an architect when he found out he was going to become a father. For him, there was never any doubt that he wanted to play an active role in his child's life, and now five years on, he is the sole carer for his son. Despite the difficulties he has faced, he loves being a Dad and cherishes the relationship he has with his son who's now seven.

Producer: Maggie Ayre.


TUE 09:45 Climate Change and Me (b0b3cvdj)

Five scientists, working in different parts of the world, bear witness to some of the dramatic changes to our planet that have occurred in their lifetimes, as the global climate warms.

2. Professor Sir John Lawton is an ecologist and Vice President of the RSPB. He has been bird-watching in the UK since he was a boy. He remembers bird populations that have now collapsed and has seen Mediterranean species that were once rare in the UK become commonplace: multiple canaries in the global climate coal-mine, he says.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0b39v0g)

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b3cvdl)
Wuthering Heights, Catherine

It's a dark time. The shadow of death lingers over the moors. Heathcliff is now the master of Wuthering Heights and is seeking revenge.


TUE 11:00 Plastic Fantastic (b0b3cvdn)
Things Start to Go Stale

Plastic waste has been a global crisis waiting to happen. To date it's estimated that around 8.3 billion tonnes of waste plastic exists. That's 25 Empire State Buildings or 1 billion elephants. Incredibly around half of this has been generated in just the last 14 years, despite mass production having begun in the 1950s. Events such as China's recent refusal to take any more "foreign rubbish" and Sir David Attenborough's graphic portrayal of the devastation that plastic waste is causing in our oceans, has prompted political and media discussion like never before. We are at a critical moment where, if we're to turn the tide on plastic pollution, it will require science and society to come together to create real change. But it won't be easy. One major area that needs an overhaul is recycling. In the UK only 14% of plastic collected is recycled. We, and the rest of Europe tend to burn our waste for energy, and plastic has a calorific value similar to that of coal. But proponents of the circular economy say we should never consider plastic as waste at all and we should think of it as 'Buried Sunshine' - a resource that needs conserving - by reusing and recycling again and again.

Picture: Rubbish on beach, Credit: Paul F Donald.


TUE 11:30 Instrument Makers (b0b3cvdq)
Series 1, More Power to Your Elbow

World-renowned musician Mike McGoldrick, with friends and fellow pipers Jim Horan and David Lim, reveal the extraordinarily painstaking processes involved in making a set of Uilleann Pipes.

Uilleann is the Gaelic word for elbow, as it's the elbow which powers the pipes' bellows. We hear how this Irish bagpipe works, and how the ability to slide, bend and lean into notes gives it unique powers of expression. At his Manchester workshop, David makes 160 different parts for each full set of pipes - everything apart from the leather bag and twelve screws.

We discover the minute detail and precision required to make the various instrument parts. Five home-made reamers are needed to create a tapered bore inside the wooden chanter, which has to be accurate to within a fraction of a millimetre. Months must be left between each adjustment to allow the wood to shrink and relax.

And what issues really matter to players of this instrument? The semi-crouch posture they adopt and how that affects the body, how travelling to humid climates can stop the instrument from working and, crucially, the quality of the delicate reed inside the chanter. According to Jim, when Uilleann Pipe players meet, they spend more time talking about reeds than actually playing music. "If your reed is going well, you know your mental health is okay as well because your outlook changes if you've got a good reed."

There's also a visit to a North West Uilleann Pipers meeting in Manchester to see how the next generation is being encouraged to take up the instrument. The organisation, run by Jim and David, facilitates workshops, one-to-one teaching and supplies sets of practice pipes to local children.

Produced by Kellie While
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:00 News Summary (b0b39v0j)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 Witness (b0b4jl9j)
Deaf University Protest

In 1988 a protest got underway at the world's only university for the deaf. Two thousand students occupied their campus at Gallaudet University in Washington DC in protest against the selection of a hearing person as the institution's new president. Their action caught the media's attention and helped change attitudes towards deaf people. Claire Bowes spoke to the man who became the first deaf President of Gallaudet, his name is I. King Jordan.


TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b0b39v0l)
Call You and Yours

Consumer phone-in.


TUE 12:56 Weather (b0b39v0n)

The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b0b39v0q)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


TUE 13:45 The Questionnaire (b0b3ttly)
Series 1, Money & Marriage

Alan Dein asks several generations of five families from across the UK revealing questions about money and marriage.

From Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales to Luton in Bedfordshire, every family faces the same searching questions. Today, Alan explores views on marriage and money across the generations. Among those in the hot seat, 73 year old Anna Stefani and her family who own a cafe and amusement arcade in Fleetwood on the Lancashire coast - and are struggling to cope with a downturn in business.

Producers: Laurence Grissell & Paul Kobrak.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b0b3c771)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b078y4td)
Julius Caesar, Episode 1

by William Shakespeare

Part One

A new production in three parts of Shakespeare's great political drama. Cassius persuades Brutus that Caesar's ambition is a threat to the republic and a conspiracy is formed.

Directed by Marc Beeby.


TUE 15:00 Short Cuts (b0b3cvr7)
Series 16, Afterwords

A dream-like journey, a man trying to prove he hasn't died and a reflection on a eulogy. Josie Long presents documentaries where words linger long after they're uttered.

Featuring the voices of the oral historian Studs Terkel, recorded a couple of years before he passed away, and the writer Julia Cooper, finding the words she wished she could offer her younger self.

A Taxi Stops
Produced by Rikke Houd

Afterwords
Featuring Jeremy Lee Bass
Produced by Andrea Rangecroft

Eulogy
Featuring Julia Cooper
Produced by Veronica Simmonds

Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (b0b3cvr9)
Disappearing Alps

The permafrost is thawing, the mountains are crumbling and the glaciers retreating. What will be left of the Alps? Peter Hadfield reports from Switzerland.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (b0b3cvrc)
Shop Names

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright look at the history behind and witty wordplay used in shop names.
Producer Beth O'Dea.


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b0b3cvrf)
Series 45, Suzy Klein on Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr was described by her studio as the most beautiful woman in the world. A recent film, called Bombshell, argued that she was a brilliant inventor as well. But what was going on behind that wonderful face? Suzy Klein, host of the BBC Proms, tells Matthew Parris that this was an intriguing woman who continually reinvented herself.
She left her native Austria before the Second World War but, despite a successful Hollywood career, what she really wanted was to be known for being clever. Recent newspaper headlines - including 'Sex Symbol by Day, Scientific Trailblazer by Night' - suggest her wishes may have finally come true. But Professor Hans-Joachim Braun isn't so sure. Film critic Antonia Quirke joins Matthew Parris in the studio to discuss a truly extraordinary life.

The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde.


TUE 17:00 PM (b0b39v0s)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b39v0v)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b0b3cvrh)
Series 3, Pest Control

It's "Pest Control to Milton Jones", as he becomes an expert in clearing vermin.

Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is "Help!". Each week, Milton and his trusty assistant Anton set out to help people and soon find they're embroiled in a new adventure. Because when you're close to the edge, then Milton can give you a push.

"Milton Jones is one of Britain's best gagsmiths with a flair for creating daft yet perfect one-liners" - The Guardian.

"King of the surreal one-liners" - The Times

"If you haven't caught up with Jones yet - do so!" - The Daily Mail

Written by Milton with James Cary (Bluestone 42, Miranda), and Dan Evans (who co-wrote Milton's Channel 4 show House Of Rooms), the man they call "Britain's funniest Milton," returns to the radio with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes.

The cast includes regulars Tom Goodman-Hill (Spamalot, Mr. Selfridge) as the ever-faithful Anton, Josie Lawrence and Ben Willbond (The Thick Of It).

With music by Guy Jackson

Produced and directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b0b3cvrk)

Emma receives an unexpected gesture, and Pip has a brainwave.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b0b39v0x)

Arts news, interviews and reviews.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b3cvdl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (b0b3cw3m)
The Lost Children of Marian Vale

During much of the 20th century unmarried women who became pregnant faced being condemned, stigmatised and shunned by their communities.

Across the Republic and Northern Ireland thousands of women and girls were sent to mother and baby homes to give birth in secret and then gave their babies over for adoption.

For some women, the homes which were mostly run by the Catholic Church, provided sanctuary and a chance for them to rebuild their lives.

But others have claimed they were subjected to human rights abuses which culminated in seeing their babies taken from them and adopted out without their consent.

File on 4 investigates one such former institution in Northern Ireland - Marian Vale in Newry - and hears concerns over the conditions and practices at the home which closed in 1984.

Now some of the children adopted from the home are in a race against time to find their birth mothers before they pass away. Some claim they face a trail of secrecy and obfuscation and there are growing calls for a public inquiry to provide answers about the extent of alleged forced adoption practices within Northern Ireland.

File on 4 asks whether enough is being done to provide answers for some women who went into Northern Ireland's mother and baby homes and for the babies they never saw again.

Reporter: Michael Buchanan
Producer: Ben Robinson
Editor: Gail Champion.


TUE 20:40 In Touch (b0b39v0z)

News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.


TUE 21:00 All in the Mind (b0b3cw3p)

Claudia Hammond presents a series that explores the limits and potential of the human mind.


TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (b0b3cv9t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b0b39v11)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0b3cw3r)
The Female Persuasion, Episode 7

Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student in Connecticut when she meets Faith Frank, a dazzlingly persuasive and charismatic activist who has been a pillar of the women's movement for decades. The meeting is made more resonant since she has just been the victim of a sexual assault on campus.

As Greer moves into her independent adult life Faith is to become her mentor figure, someone she looks up to and respects, until she is forced re-evaluate.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer is a book written before the recent seismic shift in American politics and the advent of the #MeToo movement, but it illuminates the complexities of what it is to be a young woman coming of age in the early decades of the 21st century. As well as the relationship between Greer and her role model, the story explores how a young man copes with devastating loss and attempts to rebuild his life, and poses searching questions about feminism and the painful realities of love and loyalty.

Writing in The New York Times Review Of Books, Lena Dunham described how "the novel ...deserves to be placed on shelves alongside such ornate modern novels beginning in college as A Little Life, The Secret History and The Marriage Plot... But when all is said and done, Wolitzer is an infinitely capable creator of human identities that are as real as the type on this page, and her love of her characters shines more brightly than any agenda."

Meg Wolitzer is author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking.

Written by Meg Wolitzer
Read by Tanya Moodie
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:00 Talking to Strangers (b070hrqj)

Comic monologues in which a range of characters find themselves engaging in that most un-British of activities: talking to a stranger.

Each piece is a character study: funny, frank, absurd, moving... Characters include a sex councillor who loves to draw, a spy who loves to share, a woman who likes to help too much ('I'm a serial helpist...'), a frustrated falconer, and a cheater who has to call her cheatee the morning after. And in this show, the listener themselves 'plays' the silent stranger in the piece...

Written and performed by Sally Phillips and Lily Bevan, with guest stars including Emma Thompson, Olivia Coleman, Jessica Hynes, Steve Evets, Sinead Matthews and Joel Fry.

Produced by Sam Bryant. A BBC Comedy Production.


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0b39v13)

News from Westminster.



WEDNESDAY 23 MAY 2018

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b0b39v34)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Climate Change and Me (b0b3cvdj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b39v36)

The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b39v38)

WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b39v3b)

The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b0b39v3d)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0b4jtjf)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Richard Chartres, Dean of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b0b39v3g)

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b04t0vhm)
Asian Koel

Michael Palin presents the Asian koel's arrival to an Indian orchard. This long-tailed glossy blue-black bird, is a well-known British harbinger of spring, and like its British counterpart, it is a cuckoo.

The koel's plaintive call is heard from late March until July around villages and in wooded countryside from Pakistan east to Indonesia and southern China. In India, it symbolises the birth of a new season, the flowering of fruit-trees, the bloom of romance and all that's good about spring. The koel's song can be heard in many Bollywood movies and has inspired poems and folk songs; it's even rumoured to help mangoes ripen faster.

This almost universal feel-good factor doesn't extend to its victims, because the koel is after all a cuckoo, and lays its eggs in other birds' nests. Asian Koels are parasitic on a wide range of birds, but in India especially, on House Crows and Jungle Crows.

Producer Andrew Dawes.


WED 06:00 Today (b0b39v3j)

Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 Only Artists (b0b3cw92)
Series 5, Sadie Clayton and Ron Arad

The fashion designer Sadie Clayton meets designer, artist and architect Ron Arad.

Sadie Clayton launched her eponymous brand in 2015, 2 years after graduating from Kingston University, and has gone on to show on the catwalks of London, Berlin and Shanghai. Her signature fabric is copper and her architectural designs have been worn by Gigi Hadid, Skin and Ellie Goulding, as well as being exhibited in art galleries around the world.

Ron Arad is an award-winning industrial designer, artist, and architect. He was born in Israel and went to the Jerusalem Academy of Art and later the Architectural Association in London. His career as a designer began in 1981 with the Rover chair, a recycled car seat anchored on a tubular steel frame, and he has gone on to design everything from furniture to eyewear to skyscrapers.

For Only Artists Ron Arad gives Sadie Clayton a tour of his studio in North London where they discuss serendipity, escaping the design label and what to do with two thousand plumbing saddles. The sketches they make of each other can be seen in the Gallery on the home page.

Producer: Katy Hickman.


WED 09:30 Classified Britain (b0b3cw94)
Series 1, South London Press, 19 June 1897

James Naughtie explores history through front page small ads. The South London Press of 19 June 1897, a few days ahead of Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, carries ads for an overnight sea trip to witness the review of the fleet at Spithead (food included, bar bill excepted), as well as columns of "buy to let" opportunities as the housing boom spread south of the river.

Front page news is a relatively late addition to the newspaper business. For most of their first couple of centuries, British newspapers carried classified ads rather than news on their front page. They transformed the hustle and bustle of the marketplace into newsprint, so you could take it home or to the inn to pore over at your leisure.

James Naughtie travels the country discovering how these front page ads give us a snapshot of time and place, exploring how they weave national and local life together - the heartbeat of history rolling daily or weekly off the presses.

The ads tell us what people were eating, drinking and wearing, what was on stage and what people were playing at home. They mark the mood of the time through notices for public meetings held to stoke up or damp down public fears of crime and political unrest. They are a record of the notices placed for houses and public buildings to be built, licenses applied for and subscriptions raised for publications and commemorations. They show the latest labour saving gadgets "trending" as technology arrived, and they track jobs and trades on the way up and down as the British Empire waxed and waned. The ever present ads for patent medicines record our most popular ailments.

Produced by John Forsyth
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 09:45 Climate Change and Me (b0b3d428)

Five scientists, working in different parts of the world, bear witness to some of the dramatic changes to our planet that have occurred in their lifetimes, as the global climate warms. They share their hopes and fears and report on some ingenious local solutions to rapidly changing conditions.

3. 3 million square kilometres of ice has been lost in the Arctic since 1979. Geographer, Professor Mary Edwards lived in Alaska for many years. She has witnessed a cruise ship navigating the Northwest Passage for the first time and seen villages in the Arctic disappear, as melting ice has led to a dramatic loss of landmass too.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0b39v3n)

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (b0b3d42b)
Wuthering Heights, Linton

With a heavy heart, Nelly, on Heathcliff's orders, has taken Linton to Wuthering Heights. Edgar promises Catherine that he will get him back. Only Heathcliff stands in his way but will Edgar dare challenge his enemy?


WED 10:55 The Listening Project (b0b3d42d)
Carolyn and Chris - Carrying On as Normal

Two members of staff at Chetham's School of Music reflect on the impact on their lives and on the children in their care when an IRA bomb exploded in Manchester on 15th June 1996. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

Producer: Marya Burgess.


WED 11:00 The Invention of... (b0b3c773)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]


WED 11:30 Ability (b0b3d42g)
Series 1, Bob persuades Matt to be the voice of a sex bot.

Matt is 25. He has cerebral palsy and can only speak via an app on his iPad. Everyone who cares about Matt knows that this isn't the defining thing about him. He is funny and clever and "up for stuff" - partly because he is keen to show that there's nothing he can't do, but also because, if he's honest, he's aware that he's less likely than other people to get the blame.

Now Matt's left home for the first time and moved in to share a flat with his best mate, Jess. But when Bob (Allan Mustafa) shows up as the new carer, the fun really starts. Bob is new to the job and, although willing, domestic duties are not really his forte. He's better at selling weed and dealing in knocked off iPads.

But he likes Matt and treats him like a real person. So, as far as Matt is concerned, Bob is here to stay.

Ability is the semi-autobiographical co-creation of Lee Ridley, otherwise known as Lost Voice Guy. Like his sitcom creation, Lee has cerebral palsy and can only speak via an app. Lost Voice Guy is - probably - the first stand up comedian to use a communication aid. He won the BBC New Comedy Award in 2014, has done three full Edinburgh shows and been tour support for Ross Noble, Patrick Kielty and Jason Cook. Lee has previously worked for Sunderland City Council's communications team, and the BBC in Newcastle and London as well, as various local newspapers.

Katherine Jakeways is the co-creator and co-writer of Ability. Katherine is a multi-award nominated writer. She has written North by Northamptonshire, Guilt Trip and All Those Women for BBC Radio 4 as well as numerous radio plays. She has also written for Crackanory and The Tracey Ullman Show for TV along with a BBC 1 pilot, Carol and Vinney.

A Funny Bones production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:00 News Summary (b0b39v3q)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:04 Witness (b0b4jldt)
The Rajneesh Poisoning Scandal

In the summer of 1984 disciples of an Indian guru clashed with locals in a small town in Oregon in the USA. The guru was the hugely popular Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh whose followers wore orange and believed in sexual experimentation. But in Oregon some of his disciples were eventually found guilty of poisoning hundreds of people. Dina Newman has been speaking to a local official from Oregon, and a former member of the Rajneesh commune there.


WED 12:15 You and Yours (b0b39v3s)

Consumer affairs programme.


WED 12:57 Weather (b0b39v3v)

The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b0b39v3x)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


WED 13:45 The Questionnaire (b0b3tvdt)
Series 1, Politics & Social Class

Alan Dein asks several generations of five families from across the UK revealing questions about politics and social class.

From Fleetwood in Lancashire to Tonbridge in Kent, every family faces the same searching questions. Today, Alan explores views on politics and class across the generations. Among those in the hot seat, child care providers Steven and Christine Beckwith from Bedlington in Northumbria, lifelong Labour voters who've recently turned their backs on the party.

Producers: Laurence Grissell & Paul Kobrak.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b0b3cvrk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b078z9c5)
Julius Caesar, Episode 2

by William Shakespeare

Part Two

The plot against Caesar reaches crisis point as the conspirators gather at the Capitol in Rome.

Directed by Marc Beeby.


WED 15:00 Money Box (b0b39v3z)
Money Box Live

Financial phone-in.


WED 15:30 All in the Mind (b0b3cw3p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b0b3d42j)

Sociological discussion programme, presented by Laurie Taylor.


WED 16:30 The Media Show (b0b39v41)

Topical programme about the fast-changing media world.


WED 17:00 PM (b0b39v43)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b39v45)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b3d42l)
Series 1, Border Patrol

Malawian Comedian Daliso Chaponda looks at the relationship between the UK and Africa.

The UK and Africa have had a long a complicated past. This series looks at the history of this relationship and Daliso is our relationship guidance counsellor, helping us navigate the rocky historical waters between the two places.

A Malawian comedian who grew up all over the world, Daliso straddles cultural divides. He will help us all better understand how to sort out our differences. Or not...

In this final episode, Daliso talks about the process of immigration.

Written and performed by Daliso Chaponda
The Other Guy... James Quinn
Theme tune by Lawi
Image by Steve Ullathorne

Production Coordinator... Beverly Tagg
Producer... Carl Cooper

This is a BBC Studios Production.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b0b3d42n)

Lily admits the truth, and Susan has a bone to pick.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b0b39v47)

Arts news, interviews and reviews.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b3d42b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:41 today]


WED 20:00 FutureProofing (b0b3d42q)
Fashion

Series that explores ideas that are set to shape our future.


WED 20:45 Four Thought (b0b3d42s)
Aesthetic Labour

Chris Warhurst reveals how good looking you are may determine whether you get a job.

Should looks be relevant to your employment prospects if you're a plumber or a shop assistant? As Director of the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick, Professor Chris Warhurst has spent much of his career examining trends in the labour market. He discusses whether 'aesthetic labour' is becoming an established form of discrimination in the work place and asks whether 'lookism' can be addressed in the law.

Producer: Peter Snowdon.


WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (b0b3cvr9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 Only Artists (b0b3cw92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b0b39v49)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0b3d42v)
The Female Persuasion, Episode 8

Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student in Connecticut when she meets Faith Frank, a dazzlingly persuasive and charismatic activist who has been a pillar of the women's movement for decades. The meeting is made more resonant since she has just been the victim of a sexual assault on campus.

As Greer moves into her independent adult life Faith is to become her mentor figure, someone she looks up to and respects, until she is forced re-evaluate.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer is a book written before the recent seismic shift in American politics and the advent of the #MeToo movement, but it illuminates the complexities of what it is to be a young woman coming of age in the early decades of the 21st century. As well as the relationship between Greer and her role model, the story explores how a young man copes with devastating loss and attempts to rebuild his life, and poses searching questions about feminism and the painful realities of love and loyalty.

Writing in The New York Times Review Of Books, Lena Dunham described how "the novel ...deserves to be placed on shelves alongside such ornate modern novels beginning in college as A Little Life, The Secret History and The Marriage Plot... But when all is said and done, Wolitzer is an infinitely capable creator of human identities that are as real as the type on this page, and her love of her characters shines more brightly than any agenda."

Meg Wolitzer is author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking.

Written by Meg Wolitzer
Read by Tanya Moodie
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:00 The John Moloney Show (b0b3d42x)
How I Became Bereaved

The Godfather of British stand-up comedy returns to the live stage with his trials of modern life and the tales of his much loved cat Edward.

Death comes to us all and is never felt more than by those that surround us. In this reflective and ultimately joyful episode, John contemplates his intimate feelings on the loss of a close friend.

The process of funerals, cremations, insurance and other formalities carry the bereaved along following the loss of a loved one. Of course, commercial compassion isn't always received as a sincere gesture. Certainly not by Mr Moloney.

To aid in his grief, John is presented with the opportunity for counselling, which goes as well as can be expected.

A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:15 Terry Alderton's All Crazy Now (b064z7h0)
Sizzle!

Thank goodness! No pole vaulting chickens this week, no honey bees, no guinea pig diving. Just cornflakes, Dave, sausages, a grave digger and Ed and the bear in an airport.

What could possibly go wrong?

Nothing could go wrong. It's not real. None of this is real. It's just Terry Alderton and a microphone. The microphone was real. Definitely a real microphone.

Written by and starring Terry Alderton. Additional material from Johnny Spurling, Boothby Graffoe, Richard Melvin, Julia Sutherland and Owen Parker.

Sound designed by Sean Kerwin.

Produced by Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0b39v4c)

News from Westminster.



THURSDAY 24 MAY 2018

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b0b39v69)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Climate Change and Me (b0b3d428)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b39v6c)

The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b39v6f)

THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b39v6h)

The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b0b39v6k)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0b4jy6j)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Richard Chartres, Dean of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b0b39v6m)

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378xj7)
Northern Wheatear

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

Michaela Strachan presents the northern wheatear. With their black masks, white bellies, apricot chests and grey backs, male wheatears are colourful companions on a hill walk. The birds you see in autumn may have come from as far as Greenland or Arctic Canada. They pass through the British Isles and twice a year many of them travel over 11,000 kilometres between Africa and the Arctic. It's one of the longest regular journeys made by any perching bird.


THU 06:00 Today (b0b39v6p)

Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b0b39v6r)
Margaret of Anjou

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most remarkable queens of the Middle Ages who took control when her husband, Henry VI, was incapable. Margaret of Anjou (1430-1482) wanted Henry to stay in power for the sake of their son, the heir to the throne, and her refusal to back down led to the great dynastic struggle of the Wars of the Roses.

The image above is from the Talbot Shrewsbury Book, showing John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, presenting Margaret with that book on her betrothal to Henry

With

Katherine Lewis

James Ross

and

Joanna Laynesmith

Producer: Simon Tillotson.


THU 09:45 Climate Change and Me (b0b3fkps)

Five eminent scientists describe the dramatic changes to the natural world that they have witnessed on the ground and tell how their eyes were opened to global climate change.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0b39v6t)

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b3fkpv)
Wuthering Heights, Nelly

Catherine discovers Linton lives at Wuthering Heights and begins to keep secrets. Nelly knows Heathcliff is the engineer of all this and is determined to stop him.


THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (b0b3fkpz)

Reports from writers and journalists around the world. Presented by Kate Adie.


THU 11:30 The Art of Now (b09w05z7)
Return to Catalonia

Anglo-Spanish artist Sonia Boue responds to the Catalan crisis and the Spanish Civil War by retracing her father's exile and exhibiting her work in Spain for the first time.

We chart her journey as she makes her artistic response and navigates her own family history, capturing the processes by which she unravels the complex emotions and memories the unrest in October 2017 revives within her, and exploring her Spanish identity.

In a loving tribute to her father, Sonia retraces his exile in reverse. In 1939, he fled over the Pyrenees to France as Franco's army advanced on Barcelona, never letting go of his grief at being forced from his homeland.

The programme is also a lament for the 500,000 Spaniards who left Spain as the Civil War drew to a close - and indeed for all exiles everywhere, including those like Sonia, for who it is a historical memory passed down to the next generation.

The silencing of Civil War history, first by Franco's dictatorship and then by the "pact of amnesia" which aided the transition to democracy in the 1970s, is a recurrent theme in Sonia's work. She discovers elements of her own history and her father's struggle which are new to her and confronts the very real fears that surface as she prepares to take her artistic practice to Spain for the first time.

It is something she feels she needs to do - and yet she identifies menacing undertows in the recent upheavals in Catalonia that threaten to silence her more than ever before.

An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:00 News Summary (b0b39v6w)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:04 Witness (b0b4jlt5)

Series looking at key events in history, featuring archive accounts from the people who were there.


THU 12:15 You and Yours (b0b39v6y)

Consumer affairs programme.


THU 12:57 Weather (b0b39v70)

The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b0b39v72)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


THU 13:45 The Questionnaire (b0b3tvng)
Series 1, Leisure Time

Alan Dein asks several generations of five families from across the UK revealing questions about what they do in their spare time.

From Luton in Kent to Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, every family faces the same searching questions. Today, Alan explores views on leisure time across the generations.

Producers: Laurence Grissell & Paul Kobrak.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b0b3d42n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b078zdcp)
Julius Caesar, Episode 3

by William Shakespeare

Part Three

Following the assassination of Caesar, Brutus and Cassius are forced to leave Rome. But the combined forces of Mark Antony and Octavius are hot on their heels.

Directed by Marc Beeby.


THU 15:00 Ramblings (b0b3fkqh)
Series 39, Reigate, Surrey

Today Clare is walking in Surrey with a group of asylum seekers who are former detainees of the Gatwick Immigration Removal Centres. Alongside them are volunteers from "Refugee Tales" which is a project run by the Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group; it involves monthly walks as well as an annual event which combines walking and storytelling. The idea, they say, is to "reclaim the landscape for the language of welcome". Over 50% of those held in Immigration Removal Centres are released back into the UK community though their cases may be unresolved, their living conditions precarious, and their future uncertain. These walks give the former detainees a chance to meet up with their friends, enjoy the countryside and - for just a few hours - forget their challenging and unknown future.

Today the group is in Reigate. The group will walk from the station to the top of Reigate Hill, then along the North Downs ridge where there are views towards Gatwick and the detention centres. They then work their way back along the Pilgrim's Way, and return to the station..

All photos by John Barrett

Producer: Karen Gregor.


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b0b3b4lz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (b0b3bb2f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:02 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b0b3fkqk)
This Woman's Work

With Francine Stock.

In another edition of This Woman's Work, Francine talks to two editors, Rebecca Lloyd and Emma E. Hickox, with vastly different experience of the industry. Rebecca is only just starting out, having began her working life as a sculptor, whereas Emma has edited over twenty movies and was born into film royalty. Her mum is the legendary film editor Anne V. Coates and her dad was cult director Douglas Hickox.


THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b0b39v74)

Adam Rutherford investigates the news in science and science in the news.


THU 17:00 PM (b0b39v76)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b39v78)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 Alone (b0b3fkqm)
Series 1, The Big Match

A sitcom, written by Moray Hunter and starring Angus Deayton, about five single, middle aged neighbours living in flats in a converted house in North London.

Mitch (Angus Deayton) is a widower and part-time therapist who is looking to put his life back together now that he is single and living - supposedly temporarily - with Will (Pearce Quigley), his younger, more volatile and unhappily divorced half-brother.

Elsewhere in the building are schoolteacher Ellie (Abigail Cruttenden) who is shy, nervous and desperately missing her ex-boyfriend, overly honest, frustrated actress Louisa (Kate Isitt), and socially inept IT nerd Morris (Bennett Arron).

In The Big Match, Mitch has plans to watch the Australian tennis final on his own - but no-one else quite got the memo and they all turn up to watch the match too. Unfortunately for Mitch, Will is trying to avoid working, Ellie is struggling with her Facebook reaction to a death, Morris is hungry and Louisa needs to find a hot date in a hurry.

Cast:
Mitch: Angus Deayton
Ellie: Abigail Cruttenden
Will: Pearce Quigley
Louisa: Kate Isitt
Morris: Bennett Arron
Tom (Chief Fire Officer): Saul Boyer

An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b0b3fkqp)

Brian tries to make things right, and Adam drums up support.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b0b39v7b)

Arts news, interviews and reviews.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b3fkpv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (b0b3fl1s)

Series looking at important issues in the news. Presented by David Aaronovitch.


THU 20:30 In Business (b0b3fl1v)
How Much Is Your Rubbish Worth?

When you throw away rubbish, it can create an environmental problem - or a business opportunity.

Your old newspapers, tin cans and plastic bottles are someone else's valuable harvest. Just like gold, steel, sugar or coffee, rubbish is traded all over the world as a commodity. If it can be recycled, it's worth money.

Until recently, countries vied to recycle the waste of others. But now one of the main players - China - says it doesn't want foreign rubbish anymore. That has sent this multi-billion dollar industry into turmoil and is forcing it to invent new solutions. Ruth Alexander reports.

Producer: Tony Bonsignore.


THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b0b39v74)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b0b39v6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b0b39v7d)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0b3fl1x)
The Female Persuasion, Episode 9

Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student in Connecticut when she meets Faith Frank, a dazzlingly persuasive and charismatic activist who has been a pillar of the women's movement for decades. The meeting is made more resonant since she has just been the victim of a sexual assault on campus.

As Greer moves into her independent adult life Faith is to become her mentor figure, someone she looks up to and respects, until she is forced re-evaluate.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer is a book written before the recent seismic shift in American politics and the advent of the #MeToo movement, but it illuminates the complexities of what it is to be a young woman coming of age in the early decades of the 21st century. As well as the relationship between Greer and her role model, the story explores how a young man copes with devastating loss and attempts to rebuild his life, and poses searching questions about feminism and the painful realities of love and loyalty.

Writing in The New York Times Review Of Books, Lena Dunham described how "the novel ...deserves to be placed on shelves alongside such ornate modern novels beginning in college as A Little Life, The Secret History and The Marriage Plot... But when all is said and done, Wolitzer is an infinitely capable creator of human identities that are as real as the type on this page, and her love of her characters shines more brightly than any agenda."

Meg Wolitzer is author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking.

Written by Meg Wolitzer
Read by Tanya Moodie
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:00 John Finnemore's Double Acts (b06nrzqw)
Series 1, English for Pony-Lovers

In a small town in Germany, Lorna is about to give Elke an English lesson.

Rebecca Front and Beth Mullen star in the fifth of six two-handers, written by Cabin Pressure's John Finnemore

Written by John Finnemore
Produced by David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0b39v7g)

News from Westminster.



FRIDAY 25 MAY 2018

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b0b39v99)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Climate Change and Me (b0b3fkps)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b0b39v9c)

The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b0b39v9f)

FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b0b39v9h)

The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b0b39v9k)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b0b4jzld)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Bishop Richard Chartres, Dean of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b0b39v9m)

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b08spdww)
David Lindo on the Osprey

Osprey and Wormwood Scrubs are not usually words you expect to read in the same sentence, but Urban Birder David Lindo has seen one on his birdwatching patch next to the prison. His mantra is to look up and around in the city as there are more varieties of bird to be seen than you might imagine.

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.


FRI 06:00 Today (b0b39v9p)

Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b0b3b4m5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Climate Change and Me (b0b3ftj9)

Five eminent scientists describe the dramatic changes to the natural world that they have witnessed on the ground and tell how their eyes were opened to global climate change.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b0b39v9r)

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b3ftjc)
Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff

After setting a trap, Heathcliff has imprisoned Catherine and Nelly at Wuthering Heights. A haunted Heathcliff seems determined to wreak revenge to the bitter end.


FRI 11:00 Parole: A Calculated Risk (b0b3ftjf)

Rex Bloomstein goes inside the parole system to reveal how decisions are made regarding the release of prisoners, including those convicted of violent offences.

Gerald is an armed robber who has wielded guns and knives during a lifetime of crime. He's spent more than half his life in prison, and is serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence for aggravated burglary. A drug and alcohol addict, he cannot be released until a parole panel decides he is no longer likely to commit a serious violent offence. His solicitor says the upcoming parole hearing at Brixton Prison is the "last chance saloon" for her client.

Rex Bloomstein has been given an extraordinary level of access to record Gerald's hearing, along with those of several other prisoners.

He meets the prisoners ahead of their crucial hearings and listens-in on the entire process as parole panels interrogate prisoners and witnesses. The panels discuss evidence from prison staff, probation workers and psychologists, arriving at their conclusions and explaining their decisions - to release or not to release. The consequences of getting it wrong, weigh heavily on them. For the prisoners, the tension leads to tears and anger.

Every year, the Parole Board releases thousands of prisoners, including those convicted of the most serious violent offences, such as murder, rape and arson. In two programmes, Rex Bloomstein talks to Parole Board chief executive Martin Jones, and former chair Nick Hardwick who resigned after the High Court quashed a parole panel's decision to release serial sex offender John Warboys.

Is the Parole Board sufficiently accountable, transparent and effective? Senior parole panel member Judge Jeremy Roberts considers how the way he and his colleagues make decisions might have to change in the wake of the Warboys case.

Producer: Brian King and Rex Bloomstein
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 11:30 Victoria Wood - From Soup to Nuts (b0b3ftjj)
...To Nuts

The second part of a look back at Victoria Wood's stand-up and songs with her own archives and tapes, including never-heard-before material. Presented by Rebecca Front.

With unprecedented access to Victoria Wood's own boxes of battered cassette tapes, this programme is a shameless chance to hear some wonderful stand-up comedy, characters and songs, mixed with a look back at what made her so funny and so universally loved.

Presented by Rebecca Front

With thanks to:
Libby Gregory
Lucy Ansbro
Phil McIntyre Entertainments

Executive Producer: Geoff Posner
Produced by David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:00 News Summary (b0b39v9t)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:04 Witness (b0b4jm14)
Canadian Indigenous Protest

Throughout the summer of 1990 the authorities in Canada found themselves in a standoff with indigenous people over the question of land rights. The Oka crisis, as it became known, started when a small group of Mohawk protesters in Quebec attempted to block plans for a golf course on an ancient burial ground. Rebecca Kesby has been speaking to one of the indigenous protestors.


FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b0b39v9w)

Consumer news and issues.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b0b39v9y)

The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b0b39vb0)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


FRI 13:45 The Questionnaire (b0b3tw4g)
Series 1, The Future

Alan Dein asks several generations of five families from across the UK revealing questions about the future.

From Tonbridge in Kent to Bedlington in Northumbria, every family faces the same searching questions. Today, Alan explores how different generations see the future.

Producers: Laurence Grissell & Paul Kobrak.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b0b3fkqp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b0b3ftsb)
Polyonymous

By DC Jackson and David Ireland.

Fast-paced and adult-themed comic drama about culture, kidnapping and conception.

Starring Amelia Bullmore, Ria Zmitrowicz, Kevin Guthrie and Gabriel Quigley.

Directed by Kirsty Williams.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b0b3fz45)
Chelsea Flower Show: Correspondence Edition

Peter Gibbs hosts a correspondence edition from the Chelsea Flower Show. Matthew Wilson, Pippa Greenwood and Bunny Guinness answer the questions form the postbag.

Produced by Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:45 Short Works (b0b3fz47)
Series 1, A Century of Results

It's the summer of 1999 and expectation rides high for Jasmine on GCSE results day. That is, until her boyfriend receives some results of his own.

A short story for radio, written and read by award-winning poet, playwright and writer Sabrina Mahfouz.
Produced in Bristol by Becky Ripley.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b0b3fz49)

Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died.


FRI 16:30 More or Less (b0b3fz4c)

Investigating the numbers in the news.


FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b0b3fz4f)
Mary and Keith - Second Time Around

A couple reflect on what made their marriage fail and what brought them back together for another try. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

Producer: Marya Burgess.


FRI 17:00 PM (b0b39vb2)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b0b39vb4)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (b0b3fz4h)
Series 96, 25/05/2018

A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Miles Jupp.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b0b3fz4k)

Alistair plans his future, and Joe asks a favour.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b0b39vb6)

News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b0b3ftjc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (b0b3g001)
Damian Hinds MP, Paul Mason, Jane Moore, Lisa Nandy MP

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from the Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House, London, with the Education Secretary Damian Hinds MP, the author and economist Paul Mason, Sun journalist Jane Moore and the Labour MP Lisa Nandy.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b0b3g003)
Summer in the Movies

A weekly reflection on a topical issue.


FRI 21:00 Chinese Characters (b0b3g007)
Omnibus 4

An omnibus edition of Professor Rana Mitter's audio portraits of figures who have shaped the arc of Chinese history. He starts with the Empress dowager Cixi who rose to power behind the scenes in China's late 19th century imperial court, and became one of the most powerful women ever to exercise authority in the empire. His second subject is not one person, but millions of them - the hard-working, hard-living factory girls behind China's industrial revolution. Chairman Mao is arguably the most famous Chinese, after Confucius. In the 1920s, he was just a library assistant. Yet by the end of his life, he would rule a fifth of all humanity. Mao Zedong was the man, above all others, who made modern China. Bruce Lee was the first global Chinese film star with an influence which spread across the globe. Not through ideology or revolution: but thanks to the fastest fists in East Asia. His early death has only added to his mystique. Professor Mitter final character is Deng Xiaoping. He was Mao's lieutenant who was purged twice but ultimately rose to the very top. He enabled China's economic miracle to happen, but crushed pro-democracy protests with ferocity in 1989.

Presenter: Rana Mitter
Producer: Ben Crighton
Researcher: Elizabeth Smith Rosser.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b0b39vb8)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b0b3g009)
The Female Persuasion, Episode 10

Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student in Connecticut when she meets Faith Frank, a dazzlingly persuasive and charismatic activist who has been a pillar of the women's movement for decades. The meeting is made more resonant since she has just been the victim of a sexual assault on campus.

As Greer moves into her independent adult life Faith is to become her mentor figure, someone she looks up to and respects, until she is forced re-evaluate.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer is a book written before the recent seismic shift in American politics and the advent of the #MeToo movement, but it illuminates the complexities of what it is to be a young woman coming of age in the early decades of the 21st century. As well as the relationship between Greer and her role model, the story explores how a young man copes with devastating loss and attempts to rebuild his life, and poses searching questions about feminism and the painful realities of love and loyalty.

Writing in The New York Times Review Of Books, Lena Dunham described how "the novel ...deserves to be placed on shelves alongside such ornate modern novels beginning in college as A Little Life, The Secret History and The Marriage Plot... But when all is said and done, Wolitzer is an infinitely capable creator of human identities that are as real as the type on this page, and her love of her characters shines more brightly than any agenda."

Meg Wolitzer is author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking.

Written by Meg Wolitzer
Read by Tanya Moodie
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 23:00 Woman's Hour (b0b3g00c)
Late Night Woman's Hour

Intimate late-night conversation with Lauren Laverne and guests.


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (b0b39vbb)

News from Westminster.


FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b0b3g00f)
Janet and Vicki - The Single Mums' Mansion

Friends who shared a home after their respective partners left, find time and friendship have helped. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

Producer: Marya Burgess.




LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 MON (b0b3c3sk)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 MON (b0b3c3sk)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 TUE (b0b3cvdl)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 TUE (b0b3cvdl)

15 Minute Drama 10:41 WED (b0b3d42b)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 WED (b0b3d42b)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 THU (b0b3fkpv)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 THU (b0b3fkpv)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 FRI (b0b3ftjc)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 FRI (b0b3ftjc)

A Point of View 08:48 SUN (b0b2mry0)

A Point of View 20:50 FRI (b0b3g003)

Ability 11:30 WED (b0b3d42g)

All in the Mind 21:00 TUE (b0b3cw3p)

All in the Mind 15:30 WED (b0b3cw3p)

Alone 18:30 THU (b0b3fkqm)

Any Answers? 14:00 SAT (b0b2gsxc)

Any Questions? 13:10 SAT (b0b2mrxy)

Any Questions? 20:00 FRI (b0b3g001)

Archive on 4 20:00 SAT (b0b39r1q)

BBC Inside Science 16:30 THU (b0b39v74)

BBC Inside Science 21:00 THU (b0b39v74)

Bells on Sunday 05:43 SUN (b0b3b4lv)

Bells on Sunday 00:45 MON (b0b3b4lv)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 MON (b0b3c775)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 TUE (b0b3cw3r)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 WED (b0b3d42v)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 THU (b0b3fl1x)

Book at Bedtime 22:45 FRI (b0b3g009)

Book of the Week 00:30 SAT (b0b3mdc8)

Brain of Britain 23:00 SAT (b0b2j6mc)

Brain of Britain 15:00 MON (b0b3c76s)

Broadcasting House 09:00 SUN (b0b39tt4)

Chinese Characters 21:00 FRI (b0b3g007)

Classified Britain 09:30 WED (b0b3cw94)

Climate Change and Me 09:45 MON (b0b3c3sh)

Climate Change and Me 00:30 TUE (b0b3c3sh)

Climate Change and Me 09:45 TUE (b0b3cvdj)

Climate Change and Me 00:30 WED (b0b3cvdj)

Climate Change and Me 09:45 WED (b0b3d428)

Climate Change and Me 00:30 THU (b0b3d428)

Climate Change and Me 09:45 THU (b0b3fkps)

Climate Change and Me 00:30 FRI (b0b3fkps)

Climate Change and Me 09:45 FRI (b0b3ftj9)

Costing the Earth 15:30 TUE (b0b3cvr9)

Costing the Earth 21:00 WED (b0b3cvr9)

Crossing Continents 20:30 MON (b0b2m5yj)

Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere 18:30 WED (b0b3d42l)

Desert Island Discs 11:15 SUN (b0b3b4m5)

Desert Island Discs 09:00 FRI (b0b3b4m5)

Drama 14:30 SAT (b0b39pgr)

Drama 21:00 SAT (b0b2h03y)

Drama 15:00 SUN (b0b3bb2c)

Drama 14:15 MON (b0b3c76q)

Drama 14:15 TUE (b078y4td)

Drama 14:15 WED (b078z9c5)

Drama 14:15 THU (b078zdcp)

Drama 14:15 FRI (b0b3ftsb)

Farming Today 06:30 SAT (b0b2gswx)

Farming Today 05:45 MON (b0b39twz)

Farming Today 05:45 TUE (b0b39v0b)

Farming Today 05:45 WED (b0b39v3g)

Farming Today 05:45 THU (b0b39v6m)

Farming Today 05:45 FRI (b0b39v9m)

File on 4 20:00 TUE (b0b3cw3m)

Four Thought 20:45 WED (b0b3d42s)

From Our Home Correspondent 13:30 SUN (b0b3b4m9)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:00 THU (b0b3fkpz)

Front Row 19:15 MON (b0b39txy)

Front Row 19:15 TUE (b0b39v0x)

Front Row 19:15 WED (b0b39v47)

Front Row 19:15 THU (b0b39v7b)

Front Row 19:15 FRI (b0b39vb6)

FutureProofing 22:15 SAT (b0b2kpm6)

FutureProofing 20:00 WED (b0b3d42q)

Gardeners' Question Time 14:00 SUN (b0b2mrc7)

Gardeners' Question Time 15:00 FRI (b0b3fz45)

Great Lives 16:30 TUE (b0b3cvrf)

In Business 21:30 SUN (b0b2mgjd)

In Business 20:30 THU (b0b3fl1v)

In Our Time 09:00 THU (b0b39v6r)

In Our Time 21:30 THU (b0b39v6r)

In Touch 20:40 TUE (b0b39v0z)

Instrument Makers 11:30 TUE (b0b3cvdq)

John Finnemore's Double Acts 23:00 THU (b06nrzqw)

Just a Minute 12:04 SUN (b0b2j7r4)

Just a Minute 18:30 MON (b0b3c76z)

Last Word 20:30 SUN (b0b2mrcc)

Last Word 16:00 FRI (b0b3fz49)

Life at Absolute Zero 19:45 SUN (b0b3bcsr)

Loose Ends 18:15 SAT (b0b2gsxr)

Midnight News 00:00 SAT (b0b2gswg)

Midnight News 00:00 SUN (b0b39ts8)

Midnight News 00:00 MON (b0b39twm)

Midnight News 00:00 TUE (b0b39v00)

Midnight News 00:00 WED (b0b39v34)

Midnight News 00:00 THU (b0b39v69)

Midnight News 00:00 FRI (b0b39v99)

Money Box 15:30 SAT (b0b39ph0)

Money Box 21:00 SUN (b0b39ph0)

Money Box 15:00 WED (b0b39v3z)

More or Less 20:00 SUN (b0b2mrcf)

More or Less 16:30 FRI (b0b3fz4c)

News Briefing 05:30 SAT (b0b2gswq)

News Briefing 05:30 SUN (b0b39tsm)

News Briefing 05:30 MON (b0b39twx)

News Briefing 05:30 TUE (b0b39v08)

News Briefing 05:30 WED (b0b39v3d)

News Briefing 05:30 THU (b0b39v6k)

News Briefing 05:30 FRI (b0b39v9k)

News Headlines 06:00 SUN (b0b39tsp)

News Summary 12:00 SUN (b0b39tt8)

News Summary 12:00 MON (b0b39tx9)

News Summary 12:00 TUE (b0b39v0j)

News Summary 12:00 WED (b0b39v3q)

News Summary 12:00 THU (b0b39v6w)

News Summary 12:00 FRI (b0b39v9t)

News and Papers 06:00 SAT (b0b2gswv)

News and Papers 07:00 SUN (b0b39tsw)

News and Papers 08:00 SUN (b0b39tt2)

News and Weather 22:00 SAT (b0b2gsxw)

News 13:00 SAT (b0b2gsx9)

On Your Farm 06:35 SUN (b0b3b4lx)

One to One 09:30 TUE (b0b3cvdg)

Only Artists 09:00 WED (b0b3cw92)

Only Artists 21:30 WED (b0b3cw92)

Open Book 16:02 SUN (b0b3bb2f)

Open Book 15:30 THU (b0b3bb2f)

PM 17:00 SAT (b0b2gsxh)

PM 17:00 MON (b0b39txk)

PM 17:00 TUE (b0b39v0s)

PM 17:00 WED (b0b39v43)

PM 17:00 THU (b0b39v76)

PM 17:00 FRI (b0b39vb2)

Parole: A Calculated Risk 11:00 FRI (b0b3ftjf)

Pick of the Week 18:15 SUN (b0b39ttn)

Plastic Fantastic 21:00 MON (b0b2jg2m)

Plastic Fantastic 11:00 TUE (b0b3cvdn)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 SAT (b0b2jc97)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 MON (b0b4gx9g)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 TUE (b0b4jw43)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 WED (b0b4jtjf)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 THU (b0b4jy6j)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 FRI (b0b4jzld)

Present at the Creation 17:00 SUN (b0b2j8xn)

Profile 19:00 SAT (b0b39qk4)

Profile 05:45 SUN (b0b39qk4)

Profile 17:40 SUN (b0b39qk4)

Radio 4 Appeal 07:54 SUN (b0b3b4lz)

Radio 4 Appeal 21:26 SUN (b0b3b4lz)

Radio 4 Appeal 15:27 THU (b0b3b4lz)

Ramblings 06:07 SAT (b0b2mgj2)

Ramblings 15:00 THU (b0b3fkqh)

Saturday Live 09:00 SAT (b0b2gsx1)

Saturday Review 19:15 SAT (b0b2gsxt)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SAT (b0b2gswl)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SUN (b0b39tsh)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 MON (b0b39tws)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 TUE (b0b39v04)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 WED (b0b39v38)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 THU (b0b39v6f)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 FRI (b0b39v9f)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SAT (b0b2gswj)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SAT (b0b2gswn)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SAT (b0b2gsxk)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SUN (b0b39tsd)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SUN (b0b39tsk)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SUN (b0b39ttg)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 MON (b0b39twq)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 MON (b0b39twv)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 TUE (b0b39v02)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 TUE (b0b39v06)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 WED (b0b39v36)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 WED (b0b39v3b)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 THU (b0b39v6c)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 THU (b0b39v6h)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 FRI (b0b39v9c)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 FRI (b0b39v9h)

Short Cuts 15:00 TUE (b0b3cvr7)

Short Works 00:30 SUN (b0b2mrc9)

Short Works 15:45 FRI (b0b3fz47)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SAT (b0b2gsxp)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SUN (b0b39ttl)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 MON (b0b39txp)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 TUE (b0b39v0v)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 WED (b0b39v45)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 THU (b0b39v78)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 FRI (b0b39vb4)

Something Understood 06:05 SUN (b0b39tsr)

Something Understood 23:30 SUN (b0b39tsr)

Stand-Up Specials 19:15 SUN (b0b3bcsp)

Start the Week 09:00 MON (b0b39tx5)

Start the Week 21:30 MON (b0b39tx5)

Sunday Worship 08:10 SUN (b0b3b4m1)

Sunday 07:10 SUN (b0b39tsy)

Talking to Strangers 23:00 TUE (b070hrqj)

Terry Alderton's All Crazy Now 23:15 WED (b064z7h0)

Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! 18:30 TUE (b0b3cvrh)

The Archers Omnibus 10:00 SUN (b0b39tt6)

The Archers 19:00 SUN (b0b3bb2k)

The Archers 14:00 MON (b0b3bb2k)

The Archers 19:00 MON (b0b3c771)

The Archers 14:00 TUE (b0b3c771)

The Archers 19:00 TUE (b0b3cvrk)

The Archers 14:00 WED (b0b3cvrk)

The Archers 19:00 WED (b0b3d42n)

The Archers 14:00 THU (b0b3d42n)

The Archers 19:00 THU (b0b3fkqp)

The Archers 14:00 FRI (b0b3fkqp)

The Archers 19:00 FRI (b0b3fz4k)

The Art of Now 11:30 THU (b09w05z7)

The Break 11:30 MON (b0b3c42y)

The Briefing Room 20:00 THU (b0b3fl1s)

The Digital Human 16:30 MON (b0b3c76x)

The Film Programme 23:00 SUN (b0b2mgj4)

The Film Programme 16:00 THU (b0b3fkqk)

The Food Programme 12:32 SUN (b0b3b4m7)

The Food Programme 15:30 MON (b0b3b4m7)

The Invention of... 20:00 MON (b0b3c773)

The Invention of... 11:00 WED (b0b3c773)

The John Moloney Show 23:00 WED (b0b3d42x)

The Life Scientific 09:00 TUE (b0b3cv9t)

The Life Scientific 21:30 TUE (b0b3cv9t)

The Listening Project 14:45 SUN (b0b3b4mf)

The Listening Project 10:55 WED (b0b3d42d)

The Listening Project 16:55 FRI (b0b3fz4f)

The Listening Project 23:55 FRI (b0b3g00f)

The Media Show 16:30 WED (b0b39v41)

The News Quiz 10:30 SAT (b0b2mrxt)

The News Quiz 18:30 FRI (b0b3fz4h)

The Questionnaire 13:45 MON (b0b3c76n)

The Questionnaire 13:45 TUE (b0b3ttly)

The Questionnaire 13:45 WED (b0b3tvdt)

The Questionnaire 13:45 THU (b0b3tvng)

The Questionnaire 13:45 FRI (b0b3tw4g)

The Royal Wedding 11:30 SAT (b0b39pgf)

The Untold 11:00 MON (b0b3c42w)

The Week in Westminster 11:00 SAT (b0b39pg5)

The World This Weekend 13:00 SUN (b0b39ttd)

The World Tonight 22:00 MON (b0b39ty4)

The World Tonight 22:00 TUE (b0b39v11)

The World Tonight 22:00 WED (b0b39v49)

The World Tonight 22:00 THU (b0b39v7d)

The World Tonight 22:00 FRI (b0b39vb8)

Thinking Allowed 00:15 MON (b0b2kpm0)

Thinking Allowed 16:00 WED (b0b3d42j)

Today in Parliament 23:30 MON (b0b39ty6)

Today in Parliament 23:30 TUE (b0b39v13)

Today in Parliament 23:30 WED (b0b39v4c)

Today in Parliament 23:30 THU (b0b39v7g)

Today in Parliament 23:30 FRI (b0b39vbb)

Today 07:00 SAT (b0b39pfx)

Today 06:00 MON (b0b39tx3)

Today 06:00 TUE (b0b39v0d)

Today 06:00 WED (b0b39v3j)

Today 06:00 THU (b0b39v6p)

Today 06:00 FRI (b0b39v9p)

Tongue and Talk: The Dialect Poets 23:30 SAT (b0b2hprv)

Tongue and Talk: The Dialect Poets 16:30 SUN (b0b3bb2h)

Tweet of the Day 08:58 SUN (b0b3b4m3)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 MON (b03wpzmk)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 TUE (b09h3t70)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 WED (b04t0vhm)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 THU (b0378xj7)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 FRI (b08spdww)

Victoria Wood - From Soup to Nuts 11:30 FRI (b0b3ftjj)

Weather 06:57 SAT (b0b2gswz)

Weather 12:57 SAT (b0b2gsx7)

Weather 17:57 SAT (b0b2gsxm)

Weather 06:57 SUN (b0b39tst)

Weather 07:57 SUN (b0b39tt0)

Weather 12:57 SUN (b0b39ttb)

Weather 17:57 SUN (b0b39ttj)

Weather 05:56 MON (b0b39tx1)

Weather 12:57 MON (b0b39txf)

Weather 12:56 TUE (b0b39v0n)

Weather 12:57 WED (b0b39v3v)

Weather 12:57 THU (b0b39v70)

Weather 12:57 FRI (b0b39v9y)

Westminster Hour 22:00 SUN (b0b39ttq)

With Great Pleasure 16:00 MON (b0b3c76v)

Witness 12:04 MON (b0b4gw3q)

Witness 12:04 TUE (b0b4jl9j)

Witness 12:04 WED (b0b4jldt)

Witness 12:04 THU (b0b4jlt5)

Witness 12:04 FRI (b0b4jm14)

Woman's Hour 16:00 SAT (b0b2gsxf)

Woman's Hour 10:00 MON (b0b39tx7)

Woman's Hour 10:00 TUE (b0b39v0g)

Woman's Hour 10:00 WED (b0b39v3n)

Woman's Hour 10:00 THU (b0b39v6t)

Woman's Hour 10:00 FRI (b0b39v9r)

Woman's Hour 23:00 FRI (b0b3g00c)

Word of Mouth 23:00 MON (b0b2jg2t)

Word of Mouth 16:00 TUE (b0b3cvrc)

World at One 13:00 MON (b0b39txh)

World at One 13:00 TUE (b0b39v0q)

World at One 13:00 WED (b0b39v3x)

World at One 13:00 THU (b0b39v72)

World at One 13:00 FRI (b0b39vb0)

You and Yours 12:15 MON (b0b39txc)

You and Yours 12:15 TUE (b0b39v0l)

You and Yours 12:15 WED (b0b39v3s)

You and Yours 12:15 THU (b0b39v6y)

You and Yours 12:15 FRI (b0b39v9w)

iPM 05:45 SAT (b0b2gsws)

iPM 17:30 SAT (b0b2gsws)