The BBC has announced that it has a sustainable plan for the future of the BBC Singers, in association with The VOCES8 Foundation.
The threat to reduce the staff of the three English orchestras by 20% has not been lifted, but it is being reconsidered.
See the BBC press release here.
RADIO-LISTS: BBC RADIO 4
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC Radio 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
In her new memoir Michelle Obama chronicles the life experiences that have shaped her.
Barack, Malia, Sasha and the author have moved to the White House. So.. dealing with the formalities, the security set-up, and how will the two daughters cope? Then after two months there is an eventful summit meeting in London and an audience with the Queen.
Reader Michelle Obama
Producer Duncan Minshull
(Photo credit: Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
The latest shipping forecast
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
Spiritual reflection to start the day with a director of Christian charity Foolproof Creative Arts, Fiona Stewart.
After suddenly losing her husband after 30 years of marriage, our listener Ann tells us about moving on.
iPM starts with your story. iPM@bbc,.co.uk
Presented by Luke Jones
Produced by Cat Farnsworth
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.
Ash trees are prolific in our landscapes and have long held an important place in our culture. Their long, straight trunks have been shaped into spears, wheels, oars and arrows amongst many other tools which have aided our evolution. The tree has also been revered for its healing powers in the past but today it is the ash itself which is in danger. Ash dieback was first found in the UK in 2012 and it is now found across the UK. Most of our ash trees will disappear from the landscape in the next few decades so in Kent, where the disease has already had a devastating impact, the 'Ash Project' has been set up to remember the tree and its cultural importance. Helen Mark visits to see 'Ashes to Ashes' a sculpture by Ackroyd and Harvey made from ash at White Horse Wood and finds out about attempts to save the ash trees which show signs of immunity in the hope that we might be able to return ash to our landscapes in the future.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
The latest weather forecast.
News headlines and sport.
Extraordinary stories, unusual people and a sideways look at the world.
One producer, one randomly generated postcode, and an unheard story unfolding in a corner of Britain we wouldn’t otherwise know about.
Earlier this year, producer Polly Weston discovered a random postcode generator on the internet. It sparked a radical idea. Maybe by randomly generating postcodes, and then going there, we'd find stories which are being overlooked - stories of national importance which we never would have noticed without stumbling into them.
Each week, a new postcode is randomly generated. This postcode becomes Polly's patch. Near or far, populated or not, this is the area where she must go to make the programme.
Week two takes us to a very remote area of Scotland, and a story which begins with a hand written sign that reads "A BRIDGE TOO FAR."
Producer/Presenter: Polly Weston
Exec Producer: Jolyon Jenkins
Anushka Asthana of the Guardian looks behind the scenes at Westminster.
The Editor is Marie Jessel.
Correspondents around the world tell their stories and examine news developments in their region
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Money Box reporter Dan Whitworth investigates complaints from customers of a small energy supplier, Outfox the Market, who suddenly found themselves facing huge increases to their direct debit payments. Outfox the Market emailed Anna and her husband Rob to say their direct debit amounts would be split, meaning they would pay much more during winter and less in summer. The couple are already around £200 in credit on their account so they decided to switch supplier. Outfox the Market say the direct debit change would average out over the year.
Following its administration deal with its lenders the pension fund of news publisher Johnston Press is being placed under Pension Protection Fund (PPF) rules. What happens if your pension passes to the PPF? Guest: Hilary Salt, Founder First Actuarial.
We hear from the man who ended up being reported to the police for fraud by his insurer after making a stolen jewellery claim following a burglary. Neil McFarlane, Group CEO with the specialist jewellery insurance broker T.H. March outlines what you should consider when insuring gems, rings and watches at home.
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Producer: Charmaine Cozier
Editor: Richard Vadon
Special guest host Lucy Porter presents the week via topical stand-up and sketches and looks at the latest news on the Brexit withdrawal bill, and looks at a round-up of the other stories this week.
Ivo Graham examines the recent tradition of Christmas adverts as events, and Sindhu Vee looks into the recent controversy around a film crew helping some penguins to safety. Jess Robinson brings up a festive song from Number 10.
Kieran Hodgson and Emma Sidi provide additional voices.
The show was written by Steve Punt and the cast with additional material from Madeleine Brettingham, Ed Amsden, Tom Coles, Joe Barnes, Laura Major and Mike Shephard.
The production coordinator was Sarah Sharpe and the producer was Matt Stronge.
It was a BBC Studios production.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Somerville College, Oxford, with a panel including the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Ken Clarke MP, the Labour backbench MP Stella Creasy, the political commentator Tim Montgomerie and Gisela Stuart who is Chair of Change Britain and the new Chair of Wilton Park, the executive branch of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which provides a global forum for strategic discussion.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?
By Franz Kafka
Adapted by Alan Harris.
A darkly comic updating of the classic tale.
Gregor Samsa's life is dominated by routine - the monotony of his busy commute, mindless call centre job and crowded tower block home is steadily taking its toll. Then one morning Gregor awakes to find himself transformed into a giant insect. As he attempts to master life with six legs, his family must also learn to live with his new look.
Writer Alan Harris gives Kafka's classic a modern twist with a darkly comic edge. Starring Tom Basden (W1A), Kenneth Collard (Cuckoo), Felicity Montagu (Alpha Papa), Emma Sidi (W1A) and Tim Key (Alpha Papa).
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.
Singer-songwriter Emma Lee Moss (aka Emmy the Great) returns to the playground to re-explore one of her earliest musical influences, the clapping game.
Emma finds the playground very much alive with song, new and old . So how is this seemingly old-fashioned pastime surviving in an age of YouTube and smart phones?
Emma speaks to children and researchers, as well as exploring the archive of amateur folklorist Iona Opie, to understand the secrets of the clapping game’s success since the 1950s.
How are songs created? How do they spread? How do they last generations? What makes them catchy? These are the fundamental questions at the heart of any songwriter’s profession and Emma thinks the answers lie with the overlooked songwriting prodigies of our time – children.
Listening to games from her own primary school in Hong Kong, to the playground songs of England and Iceland, Emma traces the global passage of clapping games and tries to unpick their craft. Could she learn from the creative process behind the clapping game? As children borrow lyrics and melody from adult culture to work into their games, Emma borrows from the playground – composing riffs and rhythms as she goes.
With contributions from Dr Kate Cowan, Dr John Potter, Professor Andrew Burn, Dan Jones (aka the Rhyme Collector), Una Margret Jonsdottir and Dr Julia Bishop.
Produced by Claire Crofton
A Boom Shakalaka Production for BBC Radio 4.
Highlights from the Woman's Hour week.Presented by Jenni Murray
Producer:Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor:Jane Thurlow
Full coverage of the day's news.
Has the #MeToo movement made businesses change the way they deal with sexual harassment and gender equality claims in the workplace? Does the law around non-disclosure agreements - often used to hush up this kind of behaviour - need to be changed? Evan Davis and guests discuss.
GUESTS
Samantha Mangwana, Employment Lawyer, Partner, CM Murray
Zelda Perkins, Campaigner and Theatrical Producer
Octavius Black, CEO and Co-founder, TheMindGym
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Sara Cox and guests with an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.
An insight into the character of an influential person making the news headlines
The Coen Brothers take on the Western movie in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Made with money from Netflix, is it REALLY a cinema release?
Hadestown is a musical that's stopping off at London's National Theatre on its way from Off-Broadway to Broadway. It sets the Greek myth of story of Orpheus and Eurydice in modern New Orleans (and the underworld of course!) and reimagines the sweeping ancient tale as a timeless allegory for today's world.
Chris Kraus wrote the bestseller I Love Dick and now follows it with Social Practices, a particular mix of biography, autobiography, fiction, criticism, and conversations among friends. How does it hold together as a single book?
There's an exhibition of work by French artist Fernand Leger just opened at Tate Liverpool
BBC2's Death and Nightingales is an adaptation of Eugene McCabe’s novel set in Fermanagh in 1885
Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Kate Bassett, Kit Davis and Kevin Jackson. The producer is Oliver Jones
Music writer and broadcaster Ann Powers explores Joni Mitchell’s impact on her fans and on songwriting.
"Even the songs of hers I’ve heard a thousand times can still give me the weird feeling that she knows me personally," she says.
In the month of Joni Mitchell’s 75th birthday, Ann Powers considers what it is about her music that speaks to people in this way. And how does this emotional connectedness square with an artist who has constantly shape-shifted, who is full of contradictions? She’s a master lyricist who dislikes most poetry. Her words challenged who women were supposed to be, who they could be, and yet she bristled against feminism. And when she’s had such a powerful effect on so many listeners, why has she only had one top 20 hit?
Through excerpts from live BBC recordings from the late 1960s and 70s, and the conversations Joni Mitchell recorded in the same period with broadcaster Malka Marom, we travel across a decade of her music. From the familiar territory of songs like Woodstock, we reach the wilder, exploratory sounds of her late 70s work, via some of her most critically acclaimed albums from earlier that decade - Blue, Court and Spark, The Hissing of Summer Lawns and Hejira.
Writers and critics Linda Grant, Sean O’Hagan, Jessica Hopper and Barney Hoskyns reflect on the rapid evolution of Joni Mitchell’s musical and lyrical approach, alongside the memories of some of those who’ve been closest to her -: songwriter and former lover Graham Nash, bassist and ex-husband Larry Klein, and longstanding friend Malka Marom.
With thanks to Malka Marom and the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library at the University of Toronto, for sharing clips Joni Mitchell’s conversation with Malka Marom.
Producer: Chris Elcombe
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4
1/3. By Patrick O’Brian. In 1812 Britain is at war with America and France. When Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr Stephen Maturin are forced to abandon ship in the South Atlantic they are picked up by the Royal Navy frigate, Java, in pursuit of an American heavy frigate, Constitution. But when the ships exchange fire the enemy proves superior. Jack and Stephen are taken as prisoners-of-war to Boston – where Stephen’s former lover, Diana Villiers, has become the mistress of an American diplomat.
Dramatised by Roger Danes.
Captain Jack Aubrey........................................DAVID ROBB
Doctor Stephen Maturin....................RICHARD DILLANE
Diana Villiers..........................................CANDIDA BENSON
Killick...................................................................JON GLOVER
Bonden......................................................................SAM DALE
Johnson......................................................STRUAN RODGER
Pontet-Canet.......................................NICK UNDERWOOD
Clapier.......................................................STEPHEN HOGAN
Jaheel Brenton...............................GERARD MCDERMOTT
Lt. Babbington.......................................................DON GILET
Captain Lambert...........................................SEAN MURRAY
Chads................................................LIAM LAU FERNANDEZ
Other parts are played by the cast.
Producer/director Bruce Young
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
Britain has been heavily criticised by the United Nations expert on extreme poverty and human rights, over what he describes as its “draconian” benefits sanctions. Philip Alston has taken a 12-day tour of some of the most deprived areas of the UK and he is not impressed with what he has seen. Quoting the philosopher Thomas Hobbes, he says that current government policies are condemning the most destitute to lives which are “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”. Poverty campaigners are hailing Professor Alston’s intervention, while others not only dispute his politically incendiary conclusions, but are furious that he has been allowed to advance them on behalf of the United Nations. Why shouldn’t an outside organisation be allowed to investigate poverty in Britain? This calls into question the wider purpose of the UN, which rose from the ashes of the Second World War. Is it living up to its founding mandate to make the world a better, more peaceful place? Supporters praise its commitment to the welfare of all of humanity, affirmed in statements like the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. They are happy to report that – globally – we’re winning the war on poverty and disease and we’re sending more boys and girls to school. But the UN also has its critics, who do not see it as a cohesive body with a unifying sense of moral purpose. They point out that the Security Council is deadlocked and impotent in the face of any major conflicts in which permanent members have a stake, and they see rising prosperity principally as an achievement of global capitalism. What, then, is the point of the United Nations and does it still have a moral role in the world?
Producer: Dan Tierney
Quote … Unquote, the popular humorous celebrity quotations quiz, returns for its 54th series.
In almost forty years, Nigel Rees has been joined by writers, actors, musicians, scientists and various comedy types. Kenneth Williams, Judi Dench, PD James, Larry Adler, Ian KcKellen, Peter Cook, Kingsley Amis, Peter Ustinov… have all graced the Quote Unquote stage.
Join Nigel as he quizzes a host of celebrity guests on the origins of sayings and well-known quotes, and gets the famous panel to share their favourite anecdotes and quotes.
Episode 3
Actress, writer and star of hit Radio 4 comedy Dead Ringers - Jan Ravens
Author of Brick Lane - Monica Ali
Broadcaster and former host of Going For Gold - Henry Kelly
Presenter ... Nigel Rees
Producer ... Simon Nicholls
Hundreds of people travel back and forth across the Irish border on the Belfast to Dublin train every day. For work and for pleasure, to explore and come home, to pass unimpeded through what may be about to become the only land frontier between the UK and Europe.
With Brexit coming down the tracks and continued uncertainty about the future nature of the border, poet Leontia Flynn is taking the train between the two cities and back again.
As Leontia's poetry mixes with the stories and voices of the people she meets, she soon discovers many of them are crossing a personal border of their own. The homeless man who takes the train for shelter. The cosplay fanatic who thinks a hard border might spell an end to his cross border comic-book conventions. The elderly woman who uses her time on the train to pray.
As Leontia thinks about her own identity as a Northern Irish poet in an ever shifting political landscape, she's crossing the border by rail, poetry and words.
Producer: Conor Garrett for BBC Northern Ireland
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
"We rested our backs on the trunk of the tree. At first I could only hear myself, chewing. But after a while I thought I heard it too". An original short work for radio about love, death and talking to trees, written and read by the novelist and poet S.K. Perry.
Sarah's debut novel Let Me Be Like Water was published this year in the UK and the US by Melville House. She is currently a PhD candidate at Manchester Metropolitan University, funded to write her next novel and to research depictions of sex in literary prose by the NWCDTP. Born in Croydon, Sarah's background is in campaigning, education, and gender equalities. She currently lives in Leeds.
Produced by Mair Bosworth
Written and performed by S.K. Perry
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
The latest shipping forecast
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
Bells on Sunday comes from the church of St Mary the Virgin, Bowdon in the diocese of Chester. A new peal of 8 bells was cast and hung in 1964 by John Taylor and company with a Tenor just 6 pounds over Eighteen Hundred weight, tuned to E. They’re regarded as a fine example of the Loughborough foundry’s output at that time.
We hear part of a quarter peal of Stedman Triples.
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.
As Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand watches the autumn leaves fall slowly from the trees she reflects on the vibrant colours of autumn and the season's spiritual resonance.
Shoshana explains that she has always been fascinated by the paradox at the heart of our relationship with the autumn. A celebration of the harvest is accompanied by the realisation that this joy is ephemeral. We know that winter is coming. Robert Frost's autumnal poem "After Apple Picking" refers to a post-harvest sleep which is suggestive both of winter and of death itself.
The Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot features a ritual in which dry willow branches are struck, causing their leaves to flutter to the ground mirroring the falling leaves of autumn which are celebrated as a vital part of the circle of life.
Chemistry reveals that the bright colours of autumn leaves are not the product of death and decay. In fact they exist dormant within the leaf throughout its entire life, but are only revealed towards the end when the leaf’s “work” is done. Shoshana likens this fact to adults who discover their true inner colours as they age.
Whilst for some the process of aging might lead to feelings of melancholy, as Shoshana approaches the autumn of her life, she's filled with a deep sense of release. She explains, "at a certain age, we can start to no longer care so much what others think of us. We can allow the true colours of our leaves to shine through a bit more because we have grown into our skin and have discovered what those colours are. And because, of course, we realise that if we don’t allow our colours to show now, there may not be a chance in the future."
Presenter: Shoshana Boyd Gelfand
Producer: Max O'Brien
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4
Ruth Sanderson meets Julia and David Bridger at Keyneston Mill in Dorset who make perfume with home-grown plants and flowers. The Bridgers were inspired to start a British perfume brand after visiting Grasse in France. They’ve turned Keyneston Mill, a 50-acre estate on the River Stour in Dorset, into the country’s largest botanical garden dedicated to aromatic and scented plants.
All the key ingredients of the perfumes are grown and distilled on-site to make the essential oils. The oils are then sent to a perfumer in France who helps the Bridgers make a range of fragrances. They experiment with plants not immediately associated with perfumery like yarrow and hyssop, and through trial and error they’ve also learnt to grow foreign ones, like vetiver, a native Indian grass. We hear about how the Bridgers started a perfume business from scratch and developed their unique signature scents from their Dorset-grown crops.
Producer: Sophie Anton
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
Sunday morning religious news and current affairs programme presented by Edward Stourton.
Volunteer nurse Kirstie Randall makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Mercy Ships.
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 ‘Mercy Ships’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Mercy Ships’.
Registered Charity Numbers: 1053055 (England & Wales), SC039743 (Scotland)
The latest weather forecast.
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.
Live from Glasgow University Chapel, presented by Anne Muir.
Reflecting Side By Side, a global faith movement of people working towards gender justice, in partnership with women around the world.
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and the start of the UN’s 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence.
Chapel Choir directed by Katy Cooper. Organist: Kevin Bowyer.
"For most of my adult life", writes Stella Tillyard, "I have had a template which I have used not only to understand myself but also to interpret the world around me. History has been my guide".
But today, she says, history appears inadequate "to describe the chaos that now seems to surround us".
Producer: Adele Armstrong
Although Carry Akroyd, who is is President of the John Clare Society, grew up in the countryside, as a child she was never shown or taught anything of the natural world around her.
It was not until adulthood that a revelatory moment occurred. Walking one day in Wicken Fen, that she heard an unfamiliar noise above her, which she discovered was the drumming flight of an overhead snipe, a bird whose long bill the peasant poet John Clare described as "...of rude unseemly length" .
Carry has chosen 5 episodes from the back catalogue to share with you, which you can hear Monday to Friday and in the Tweet of the Week Omnibus.
Producer Andrew Dawes
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.
Writer ..... Caroline Harrington
Director ..... Rosemary Watts
Editor ..... Jeremy Howe
Jill Archer ..... Patricia Greene
David Archer ..... Timothy Bentinck
Ben Archer ...... Ben Norris
Helen Archer ..... Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer ..... William Troughton
Brian Aldridge .... Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ..... Angela Piper
Harrison Burns ..... James Cartwright
Neil Carter ..... Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter ..... Charlotte Martin
Joe Grundy ..... Edward Kelsey
Eddie Grundy ..... Trevor Harrison
Will Grundy .... Philip Molloy
Emma Grundy .... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Shula Hebden Lloyd .... Judy Bennett
Kirsty Miller ..... Annabelle Dowler
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Lily Pargetter ..... Katie Redford
Johnny Philips .... Tom Gibbons
Lynda Snell ..... Carole Boyd
Oliver Sterling .... Michael Cochrane
Roy Tucker ..... Ian Peperrell
Hannah Riley ..... Helen Longworth
Lee ..... Ryan Early
Russ Jones..... Andonis James Anthony
Kate Atkinson won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award for her 1995 debut novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum, and has won the Costa Novel Award twice, for Life After Life in 2013 and for A God in Ruins two years later.
Born in York in 1951, she was the only child of a couple who ran a medical and surgical supplies shop. She began to write after she had failed her doctorate at Dundee University and had given birth to two daughters. She took on a wide range of jobs while writing short stories for women's magazines, and did not publish her first book until she was in her early 40s.
Her mid-career reinvention as a writer of detective fiction has seen her publish four novels starring her sleuth Jackson Brodie, with another one in the pipeline. She lives in Edinburgh, has two grown-up daughters, and two grandchildren.
Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Cathy Drysdale
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
The 70th series of Radio 4's multi award-winning ‘antidote to panel games’ promises more homespun wireless entertainment for the young at heart.
This week the programme pays a return visit to the Lighthouse concert hall in Poole where regulars Tim Brooke-Taylor and Barry Cryer are once again joined on the panel by Tony Hawks and John Finnemore, with Jack Dee in the chair. At the piano - Colin Sell.
Producer - Jon Naismith.
It is a BBC Studios production.
Food as part of a prescription for health and wellbeing. What has gone wrong with our diets in the UK and how are doctors and experts trying to redress the balance to get us well again. Sheila Dillon and a group of food, diet and medical experts continue the discussion with contributions from Dr Rangan Chatterjee, BBC's Doctor In The House, Professor Tim Spector author of the Diet Myth, Henry Dimbleby who drew up the School Food Plan and Dr Rupy Aujla, founder of the Dr's Kitchen.
The latest weather forecast.
Global news and analysis, presented by Mark Mardell.
How can art and science work together to help patients with heart disease better understand their illness and treatment? The artist, Sofie Layton and bioengineer, Giovanni Biglino worked with patients at Great Ormond Street to look inside themselves and reflect on the uniqueness of their bodies to discover the stories they carry inside their hearts. The heart holds a unique place in our bodies and lives so we meet Tahera, mother of Arif, one the patients who took part in this journey of discovery and an exploration of both his medical heart and poetic heart.
Producer Sarah Addezio
Peter Gibbs and the panel are in North Wiltshire. Anne Swithenbank, Bob Flowerdew and Chris Beardshaw answer the horticultural questions.
The panellists offer advice on growing globe artichokes, getting frangipani to flower, and generating offspring from an old mulberry tree.
Matt Biggs meets Dr David Wilkinson, a retired consultant anaesthetist, to learn about anaesthetics and how plants used to help ease pain.
Produced by: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett
A Somethin’ Else production for BBC Radio 4
Fi Glover introduces three conversations between young sisters who help to care for their mum; close friends who each care for children with Down's Syndrome; and mother and son remembering the highs and lows of looking after a father with Alzheimer’s.
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: Mohini Patel
2/3. Dramatisation of Patrick O’Brian's novel and its sequel, The Surgeon’s Mate. Jack, Stephen and Diana escape from Boston in a rowing boat with a cache of American intelligence papers and stolen diamonds. A Royal Navy frigate, HMS Shannon, on blockade duty outside the harbour, takes the fugitives on board. In the climactic naval battle of the War of 1812 HMS Shannon defeats the USS Chesapeake but at a heavy cost. At a ball in Nova Scotia to celebrate the great victory Jack has a dalliance with the amorous Amanda Smith before our heroes board a mail packet bound for London. But they are pursued by two American ships intent on recovering Diana, the papers and the priceless jewels.
Dramatised by Roger Danes.
Captain Jack Aubrey........................................DAVID ROBB
Doctor Stephen Maturin.....................RICHARD DILLANE
Diana Villiers.........................................CANDIDA BENSON
Captain Philip Broke...................................PETER FORBES
Pontet-Canet........................................NICK UNDERWOOD
Johnson.....................................................STRUAN RODGER
Amanda Smith...............................................EMMA HANDY
Major Beck.............................................................DON GILET
Admiral Colpoys...........................................TONY TURNER
Lt. Falkiner..........................................CAMERON PERCIVAL
Bartholomew......................................................LEWIS BRAY
Other parts are played by the cast.
Producer/director Bruce Young
Lee Child, author of the phenomenally successful Jack Reacher series, tells Mariella Frostrup why his famous creation continues to fascinate him.
Award-winning Australian crime writer Emma Viskic reflects on how her country's writers are using small town life as a way to explore hot topics like immigration and domestic violence.
Amer Anwar and Khurrum Rahman discuss why the West London areas of Southall and Hounslow make the perfect backdrops for their contemporary crime stories.
And in our Reading Clinic, best-selling thriller writer Erin Kelly provides crime fiction recommendations for a 14 year old listener.
The house where Emily Dickinson lived in Amherst, Massachusetts, is now The Emily Dickinson Museum. The museum has restored her bedroom, where she wrote most of her poetry, and they offer writing sessions for those who wish to spend an hour or two alone in Emily's Room.
In this programme we invite three very modern writers, Cheryl Strayed, Ocean Vuong and Sharon Olds to visit her room, to write, and to examine their writing through their own personal connections with Emily Dickinson's life and work.
For someone who has had such a huge impact on American poetry, Emily Dickinson lived a very small life. She published only a handful of poems in her lifetime, and as she grew older became a recluse who wore only white. Dubbed 'the myth of Amherst', her posthumous fame poses her as a puzzle to be solved. In visiting her room and meeting her on the page Cheryl, Sharon and Ocean reclaim her as a passionate, politically engaged writer whose work speaks powerfully to our present moment.
Cheryl Strayed is the author of four books and is best known for her memoir of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, 'Wild', which was turned into a film starring Reese Witherspoon. She also wrote the beloved advice column 'Dear Sugar', the best of which was collected into 'Tiny Beautiful Things'.
Ocean Vuong won the 2018 TS Eliot prize in 201 for his debut poetry collection 'Night Sky with Exit Wounds'. Born in Vietnam, Ocean has lived most of his life in Emily Dickinson's New England, and currently teaches at the University of Massachusetts, based in Amherst.
Sharon Olds is one of America's leading contemporary poets, the author of many collections of poetry and the recipient of many prizes, including the Pulitzer and the TS Eliot.
Producer: Jessica Treen
When secure training centres were launched nearly two decades ago they offered child offenders the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and get their lives back on track in a safe environment.
Today there are three units in England, Medway in Rochester, Oakhill in Milton Keynes and Rainsbrook in Rugby, which provide 30 hours of education a week as part of the rehabilitation process.
But the units have been dogged by serious concerns over the treatment of young people, including allegations of abuse, the inappropriate use of restraint and unsafe living conditions.
File on 4 investigates youth custody and reveals the scale of concern about life in secure training centres.
The Government has acknowledged there have been unacceptable levels of violence in youth custody and has recently announced a new generation of secure schools, which promise to equip young offenders with the skills to live successful, crime-free lives.
File on 4 asks whether these new facilities will be the long-term solution to turning young offenders' lives around.
Reporter: Simon Cox
Producer: Ben Robinson
Editor: Gail Champion
Photo Credit: Press Association
The latest shipping forecast.
The latest weather forecast.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Comedian and broadcaster Jake Yapp introduces a collection of fun combos this week – Vladimir Putin and food poisoning, letters from America and letters about Muslims, commercial radio and loads of blood, Donald Trump and an octopus, and a Beatle and a Meat Cleaver. Sounds like a party! With music from Billy Strayhorn, Chopin and Joni Mitchell.
The stress continues to pile on Lily and Ben has a confession to make
By Richard Katz, John Nicholson and Javier Marzan
In ancient Persia, the new Queen cheats death by captivating the King with stories. For almost three years, she's kept the executioners waiting and now they're taking matters into their own hands by hatching a plot to kidnap her.
In this new series the comedy troupe Peepolykus assume the roles of minor characters in great works of fiction and derail the plot of the book through their hapless buffoonery.
Cast:
Richard . . . . . Richard Katz
The King . . . . . Javier Marzan
John . . . . . John Nicholson
Hayley . . . . . Hayley Carmichael
Scheherazade . . . . . Sirine Saba
Grand Vizier . . . . . Sam Dale
Guards . . . . . Richard Pepple & George Watkins
Director . . . . . Sasha Yevtushenko
Twelve flights. Twelve travellers. Twelve stories.
In David Szalay's masterful short story series, twelve travellers circumnavigate the globe en route to see lovers, children, parents, brothers and sisters, or nobody at all. From London to Madrid, Dakar to Sao Paolo, Seattle to Hong Kong, and beyond, these are stories of lives in turmoil, each in some way touching the next.
Today: old wounds resurface when two brothers meet for a golfing weekend in Vietnam...
Writer: David Szalay
Reader: Emilio Doorgasingh
Producer: Justine Willett
Original Music: Kirsten Morrison
How should licence fees for the over-75s be funded? Roger Bolton talks to James Purnell, one of the most powerful men in BBC radio, as the Corporation launches a public consultation.
Roger also meets Baroness Warsi at the House of Lords. Frustrated by stereotypes of Muslim women, her recent BBC Radio 4 programme How to be a Muslim Woman has set out to change the conversation.
As the BBC’s Grenfell Tower Inquiry podcast marks its 100th edition, we hear from listeners and its editor, Jasper Corbett. He talks about where he draws the line on broadcasting distressing content and why day-by-day coverage of the Inquiry remains important.
And, as we approach midwinter, night-time radio listeners share their nocturnal habits and reveal the programmes that they turn to in the small hours.
Presenter: Roger Bolton
Producer: Alice Bloch
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
Pictured: William Goldman
Matthew Bannister on
William Goldman, the Hollywood screenwriter behind a string of hits including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All The President's Men and The Princess Bride.
John Large, the respected nuclear engineer who highlighted the safety risks facing the industry.
Richard Baker, the long serving BBC television newsreader who also presented classical music programmes, including the Proms, on radio.
Dr. Sarah Ntiro, the first woman in East Africa to get a university degree.
Patsy Rodgers who was known as the King of Tory - Ireland's most remote inhabited island.
Interviewed guest: Harlan Coben
Interviewed guest: Ellin Stein
Interviewed guest: Shaun Burnie
Interviewed guest: Andrew Baker
Interviewed guest: John Rendel
Interviewed guest: Rita Achiro
Producer: Neil George
Archive clips from: Nationwide, BBC One 04/12/80; Saturday Live, Radio 4 08/01/11; The Last King of Ireland, RTE 27/07/18; Marathon Man, directed by John Schlesinger, Paramount Pictures / Robert Evans Company 1976; Night Waves, Radio 3 26/11/92; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, directed by George Roy Hill, Twentieth Century Fox 1969; The Princess Bride, directed by Rob Reiner, Act III Communications 1987; 50th Anniversary of BBC Television News, BBC One 05/07/04; Midweek, Radio 4 15/06/83; Walton: Façade, London Sinfonietta, Radio 3 03/06/77; Up All Night, 5 Live, 12/04/11; File On Four: The Future Of Nuclear Energy, Radio 4 04/11/86.
What could cause a future financial crash? Ian Goldin, professor of globalisation and development at Oxford University, talks to some of the world's leading economists about whether we have learnt lessons from the 2008 financial crash and whether countries are now better prepared to meet the next crisis. Or are we condemned to another economic meltdown, perhaps even more severe, which would provide new fuel to the fires of populism? A decade ago, the world was taken by surprise. Will it be again? Featuring contributions from the IMF's Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, Lord Nick Stern, Professor Peter Piot, Pascal Lamy and Jeffrey Sachs.
Producer: Ben Carter
Preview of the week's politics with politicians, pundits and experts.
True stories told live in in the USA: Catherine Burns introduces stories from the road, rail, and the sky.
The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.
The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.
Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart-breaking.
The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
Maoism: the changing face of a revolutionary ideology. Julia Lovell, Professor in Modern Chinese History and Literature at Birkbeck, University of London explores the origins and development of global Maoism; Alpa Shah, Associate Professor in Anthropology at LSE, provides a glimpse into the lives of a group of Maoist guerrillas in modern day India and Dennis Tourish, Professor of Leadership and Organisation Studies at the University of Sussex, looks at Maoist organisations in the context of his research into political cults.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
The latest shipping forecast
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
Spiritual reflection to start the day with a director of Christian charity Foolproof Creative Arts, Fiona Stewart.
A report from the Food Standards Agency says budget cuts and an out of date approach to regulation are hampering their inspections... Those inspections should be checking that places are hygienic and that food is what it says it is and meets food safety and labelling rules. So what needs to change?
Also, we meet some children busy planting trees to form part of a new forest for young people in Derbyshire, and we kick of a week of programming about poultry with an overview of the industry.
Presented by Charlotte Smith. Produced by Heather Simons.
The latest weather forecast for farmers.
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Kate Humble presents the stock dove. Perhaps 'stock pigeon' would be a better name, because they're like slightly smaller versions of the woodpigeon. Unlike their bigger relatives they have no white marks on their wings or neck and are more blue-grey in colour. When they fly, they look dumpier ...stockier you might say. Unlike woodpigeons, stock doves haven't taken to a life in town and they're mainly birds of wooded farmland.
Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme; including Thought for the Day
The director Paulette Randall brings to the stage the ultimate tale of sacrifice in the pursuit of power: Doctor Faustus. She tells Andrew Marr how, in coveting fame, power and knowledge, he sells his soul to the devil. This bargain with the devil is one of the most iconic cultural motifs in the Western tradition.
The poet and writer Ann Wroe looks to another founding story of Christianity, that of St Francis of Assisi. Born into luxury he forsakes it all after hearing the voice of God commanding him to rebuild the Church and live in poverty. Wroe writes his life story in verse and see echoes of it all around her today.
The philosopher Julian Baggini sees such ancient stories as helping to explore and explain how people think in the West. But in his new book, How the World Thinks, he admits his own failures to learn about the stories and early philosophies which have come out of the East. Without them, he argues, you cannot understand the development of distinct cultures around the world.
The novelist and essayist Amit Chaudhuri has looked far and wide for his influences, from Nobel laureate Tagore and filmmaker Satyajit Ray to Cervantes’s Don Quixote. In The Origins of Dislike he explores the way writers understand their work both in antithesis to, and affinity with, past writers and movements from around the world.
Producer: Katy Hickman
A poignant, powerful autobiography in letters. Sylvia Plath's letters give us a privileged insight into her inner world, as a poet and as a person. This selection offers a fresh perspective on her as a writer as well as some stunning personal revelations.
This collection of the letters of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet cover the years 1956 and her marriage to the poet Ted Hughes to the final days leading to her death in 1963.
One of the most talented and beloved poets, Sylvia Plath continues to fascinate and inspire . The tragedy of her untimely death at age thirty, almost fifty-five years ago, has left much unknown about her creative and personal life. In this remarkable selection of correspondence , the full range of Plath’s ambitions, talents, fears, and inner world is revealed in her own powerful words.
The Letters of Sylvia Plath are read by Lydia Wilson and produced in Salford by Susan Roberts
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world
It's the late 1950's and Maya has moved to L.A. She receives an unexpected visit from singing legend Billie Holiday. Billie came back a further four times to spend her evenings with Maya and Maya's son Guy, shortly before she died.
Maya - Narrator - Adjoa Andoh
Maya - Pippa Bennett-Warner
Billie Holiday - Nina Sosanya
Guy - Will Romain
Wilkie - Steve Toussaint
Dramatised by Janice Okoh
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris
The town of Corby faces a rough-sleeping crisis, but the community is strongly divided over a proposed solution. Does a homeless shelter belong by the side of a care home?
Nicola is the manager of Corby's homelessness charity Nightlight. For several years they have been helping the growing number of homeless people in the small town by arranging temporary night shelters and paying visits to the homeless community in the woods.
The volunteers believe they have found what they need: an unused public building big enough for 35 guests. A permanent home and a warm place for the coming winter. Yet in other ways the site is not ideal, it lies just feet away from a care home and sheltered housing complex.
Despite this, Nicola and the other volunteers have decided to push on with obtaining planning permission to develop the building. They have faced stern opposition from a community of residents and relatives who fear a rise in crime, anti-social behaviour and a risk to their security.
Nicola has given up paid work in order focus full time succeeding in this application. If approved, they will be a considerable step closer to obtaining funding and employing full time staff, including herself, at the shelter. After months of consultation, the decision comes down to one council meeting and a vote of 8 councillors.
Both sides are seeking to protect the vulnerable, but whose voice will the council listen to?
Produced by Sam Peach
In this edition, Katherine Ryan turns interviewer and invites her chosen guest Sara Pascoe into the Chain Reaction hot seat.
Chain Reaction is the talk show with a twist where one week's interviewee becomes the next week's interviewer. John Cleese was first in the hot seat back in 1991 and since then, a procession of big names from the world of comedy and entertainment including Jennifer Saunders, Jarvis Cocker and Eddie Izzard have helped continue the chain.
Katherine Ryan is a Canadian stand-up star and presenter who is perhaps best known for her live stand-up work - 'Glam Role Model' and 'Kathbum' - as well as appearances on BBC2's Episodes and Taskmaster on Dave. As revealed in her chat with Joe Lycett in the last episode in the Chain, Katherine has a cat called Sara Pascoe and so her choice of interview guest for this week's episode was perhaps never in doubt.
Sara Pascoe (the human) is a comedian, writer and actor known for her acclaimed live shows - Sara Pascoe the Musical and Sara Pascoe vs History to name just two - as well as numerous high profile TV appearances on programmes ranging from Live at the Apollo, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and W1A. Her debut book Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body was released in 2016. In this programme Katherine and Sara, who both started stand-up in 2007, discuss insects, yoga, hip hop and everything in between.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production
Photo credit: Matt Stronge.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
A novel for Brexit Britain.
Beginning eight years ago on the outskirts of Birmingham and London, Jonathan Coe's new novel follows a Britain through a time of mind-boggling change. It paints a portrait of modern England up to Brexit: a country of nostalgia and delusion, of bewilderment and barely-suppressed rage.
Today: Cameron rolls the dice on the EU Referendum.
Writer: Jonathan Coe
Producer: Justine Willett
Reader: Jeff Rawle
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.
The latest weather forecast.
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
Can a public health service ever be truly loved if it always prioritises reducing mortality rates and waiting times over the seemingly trivial aspects of patient experience? Rory Sutherland continues his exploration of magical ideas that logical people will hate, with contributions from market researcher Ben Page, evolutionary biologist Nichola Raihani and economist Robin Hanson.
Produced by Michael Surcombe for BBC Wales
By Ben Lewis.
Lauren and Jamie would probably make a great couple. If only he wasn't dead...
A charmingly quirky comedy drama about an unwilling young psychic.
Starring Alexandra Roach and Kieran Hodgson.
Cast:
Lauren … Alexandra Roach
Jamie… Kieran Hodgson
Tim … Joseph Arkley
Jo … Karen Bartke
Celia … Elizabeth Bennett
Reginald … Dennis Herdman
Directed by Kirsty Williams.
Quote … Unquote, the popular humorous celebrity quotations quiz, returns for its 54th series.
In almost forty years, Nigel Rees has been joined by writers, actors, musicians, scientists and various comedy types. Kenneth Williams, Judi Dench, PD James, Larry Adler, Ian McKellen, Peter Cook, Kingsley Amis, Peter Ustinov… have all graced the Quote Unquote stage.
Join Nigel as he quizzes a host of celebrity guests on the origins of sayings and well-known quotes, and gets the famous panel to share their favourite anecdotes and quotes.
Episode 4
Award-winning writer of the Vicar of Dibley - Paul Mayhew-Archer
Broadcaster and author - Francine Stock
Comedian - Phil Wang
Presenter, Nigel Rees
Producer, Simon Nicholls
The Berlin-based Argentinian artist, Tomás Saraceno, trained as an architect. He was struck by the beauty of spider webs, their structural intricacy and began making them into sculptural works. Then he realised that every time a spider tugs a string as it spins a web, or moves along the silken strands, this causes vibrations. Using microphones and amplifiers it is possible to hear the tiny music they make. The different species create various sounds - bass, treble, percussion - and the result is an orchestra of arachnids.
On Air is Saraceno's latest and most ambitious exhibition. He has filled the Palais de Tokyo in Paris with extraordinary, beautifully lit spiders' webs, some connected to microphones so their occupant's movements echo round the gallery.
There is an African spider that spins large webs which lift in the wind and so they travel, gliding places new. This inspires Saraceno's light-weight sculptures that do the same, and an aeolian harp of spider silk, which sings in response to the turbulence caused by gallery visitors. In another piece, the amplified sound of a spider's movements cause dust motes in a beam of light to move, and these, too, produce sound. A whole room is strung with elaborate patterns of tensed ropes. Visitors move among them, plucking and stroking the strings which sound, the floor itself vibrating - the closest humans can get to the experience of a spider in its web.
Saraceno's work is a collaboration between artist, spiders and people, a kind of jam session. He also invites musicians to to respond to them, to play along with spiders. The famous experimental composer Alvin Lucier does this in a concert, featured in this programme (and he bounces the sound of his heartbeat off the moon).
In the gallery in Paris, and his Berlin studio, Saraceno reveals his thinking and observations. The Spider Orchestra captures these, and all these sounds in a sonic web, and combines them. It, too, is a collaboration, between artist, spiders, people and producer - creating a compelling composition, for radio.
Producer: Julian May
The relationship between religion and science has always been complex. Some see it as a threat, whilst others are inspired by it. The development of Artificial Intelligence has thrown up a number of interesting questions. For instance, in Japan a robot called Pepper delivers Buddhist funeral rites because it’s cheaper and more practical than getting a real priest. In Germany, a robot priest called BlessU2 can deliver blessings in five different languages. But does the use of robots in the ritual and practice of religion change the nature of our relationship with it? Can AI help us to lead better lives?
Joining Shelina Janmohamed to discuss the relationship between artificial intelligence and religion are Dr Paula Boddington, senior Research Fellow at the University of Cardiff; Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum; Dean of the London School of Jewish Studies and Dr Scott Midson, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Lincoln Theological Institute, University of Manchester.
Producer: Helen Lee
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
The nation's favourite wireless entertainment pays a visit to the New Victoria Theatre in Woking. Old-timers Barry Cryer, Graeme and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Kerry Godliman with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell provides piano accompaniment.
Producer - Jon Naismith.
It is a BBC Studios production.
There's an awkward dinner at Bridge Farm and Tom makes a surprising decision
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
It was during a University Cultural Weekend promoting diversity that the Lambda Chi Alpha photos appeared on social media. Members of various campus clubs immediately demanded the expulsion of those involved. Wearing black shirts and carrying protest slogans, they taped their mouths shut to show just how long they’ve been silenced.
Hundreds of students join in the protests, attending open forums and bringing the issue up with lecturers and university officials. Their anger is fuelled by the campus record on diversity: just 166 of its 21,000 students are black. Megan talks to Monique Ejeneko, whose parents are from Nigeria but who has grown up in Los Angeles and who ill prepared for how marginalised she would feel:
“It’s a State University with a great reputation, but when I arrived I went to a talk as part of orientation where they briefly brought up race. When they were talking about it I just looked around and I was the only drop of blackness in that auditorium. It was so overwhelming – they were talking about this topic and I was at the centre of it and I just feel so alone.”
Just days after the publication of the photos the University President, Professor Jeffrey Armstrong, suspends the fraternity but tells a packed student gathering that he will not support expelling the student in blackface, Kyler Watkins, who is protected by the amendment on free speech: “If a student walks around on campus with their face painted black, they can do that.”
This provides a further rallying call for protestors to step-up their actions; adding Armstrong’s resignation to their growing list of demands. Racial tensions increase, as do reports of racist attacks: Professors Neal MacDougall, from the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Service, returns to his office to discover that posters have been vandalised and racist leaflets put up:
“I think it's really the slashing of the sign that disturbed me; that's fundamentally a violent act," he also criticises the University response, which he says seems more concerned with maintaining status rather than dealing with the issue: "I really think that they're trying to protect the brand, everything seems to be soft-pedalled."
Cal Poly spokesman Matt Lazier acknowledged the scale of the problem: “the university is seeing many postings around campus, expressing a wide variety of viewpoints — some of which include hateful and racist comments."
During her recordings, Megan encounters a group of 150 African American school children touring the University. They are from a network of charter schools focused on closing the African American achievement gap. Margaret Fortune heads the group and says it is a long slow process involving high expectations, academic rigour and more time:
“Our county board of education found that in all 13 of our county school districts there was severe and consistent African American achievement gap - the only group they outperform is those with special needs. Our focus is on getting African American students college ready and this involves working with them from a very early age and over many years.”
For his part, Kyler Watkins, the student who dressed in blackface, argues that he did not appreciate the context, or how inflammatory his appearance would be. Historically, blackface derives from white actors painting their faces black to depict slaves and freed black people during minstrel shows from the mid nineteenth century onwards.
Kyler Watkins says that growing up white and privileged left him ignorant about the upset he would cause: “my own lack of awareness has placed my life in danger and worse, has hurt other people whom I had no intention of alienating, mocking or offending in any way."
Student Monique Ejeneko, tells Megan that the fraternity’s actions have set back her hopes of integration on campus. She struggled through her first year, making few friends and feeling out of place amongst so many white faces: “I have to constantly prove myself in my classes: if I'm too loud then she's a loud black girl, if I'm too quiet then I'm not achieving the standards that they want me to. “
One of the organisers of the protests, Leilani Hemmings, said she was surprised by how many students had got involved in the protests. She reveals that lots of black students feel scared by what is happening: “I've shut out lot of my class mates because scared they were amongst the people at the party, or putting the n word on the bathroom stalls.
“Recently a black freshman was spit on; it's just these things happening and I don't feel safe at all. How can you say you're trying to increase diversity yet you fail to protect students of colour on this campus?”
Producer: Sue Mitchell
Nigerian patients held in hospital because they can’t pay their medical bills.
In March 2016, a young woman went into labour. She was rushed to a local, private hospital in south-east Nigeria where she gave birth by caesarean section. But when the hospital discovered this teenage mother didn’t have the money to pay for her treatment, she and her son were unable to leave. They remained there for 16 months – until the police arrived and released them.
This is not an isolated case. In Nigeria, very few health services are free of charge, and campaigners estimate that thousands have been detained in hospitals for failing to pay their bills. It’s become an increasingly high-profile issue – one couple have been awarded compensation after going through the courts.
For Crossing Continents, Linda Pressly explores a widespread abuse – meeting victims, and the hospital managers attempting to manage their budgets in a health system under enormous pressure, where only 5% of Nigerians are covered by health insurance.
Producer: Josephine Casserly
(Photo: Ngozi Osegbo was awarded compensation by a court after she and her husband were detained in a hospital because they couldn't pay their medical bills. BBC PHOTO)
Horizontal stripes have been used to draw the eye and sign-post the audacious for centuries – from Medieval masterpieces to the films of Tim Burton. Whether painted on a lighthouse or a zebra crossing, stripes grab our attention and in the very same moment warn us to stay away. In nature they’re often the mark of something that’s out to confuse, or that’s about to sting you. They’re what Dennis menaces in, what Henry’s horrid in, what burglars burgle in, and convicts get paraded in. They’re what Picasso paints in, and the Ramones rage in. They’re the uniform of the outcast, the maverick, the carnivalesque….
The horizontal stripe brands those who’ve not toed the line, from medieval prostitutes to twentieth-century jailbirds. In fashion they defy trends, age, class and gender. Unparalleled artist, Pablo Picasso, was perhaps the most famous wearer of the Breton shirt but how did this striped top become part of the uniform of cool? And now that psychologists at the University of York have established that hoops are visually slimming, can we all dare to wear?
It’s not all about being edgy; in the medieval church architecture of Northern Italy and the structurally striped and cantilevered stonework of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, we swap audacious for look-at me auspicious. Artists too have always been fascinated by the stripe, from Bridget Riley, to Agnes Martin; its apparent simplicity is, in fact, freighted with meaning and in some cases movement too; the stripes playing with our vision.
A research team in the Netherlands discovered that viewing stripe patterns produces gamma oscillations in the brain which - in extreme circumstances - can cause seizures for those with photo-sensitive epilepsy and cause headaches, even for non-sufferers.
Why do horizontal stripes command so much attention? Is it perhaps something to do with the horizon, the ultimate horizontal line?
Presenter: Teresa Monachino
Reader: David Hargreaves
Producer: Mair Bosworth
Extracts from The Devil's Cloth - L’Etoffe du Diable. Une histoire des rayures et des tissus rayés by Michel Pastoureau, original © Seuil, Paris, 2014
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
Documentary adventures that encourage you to take a closer listen. This episode follows a line of connection through four women across two referendums to explore the unexpected consequences of talking about abortion.
Starting on live television at a beauty pageant, we hear from a journalist, a radio producer, the founder of a woman's clinic and a woman travelling from Ireland to the UK - and discover the quiet power and hidden dangers of speech itself.
Featuring the voices of Brianna Parkins, Siobhan McHugh and Anne Connolly. With additional recordings courtesy of Zoë Comyns and Regan Hutchins
Produced by Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree poduction for BBC Radio 4
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
The latest shipping forecast
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
Spiritual reflection to start the day with a director of Christian charity Foolproof Creative Arts, Fiona Stewart.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Martin Hughes-Games presents the Pied Wagtail. In winter, pied wagtails can often be seen roosting in towns and cities in large flocks. By day, pied wagtails are often obvious in fields feeding on insects but they're equally at home on our streets gleaning prey from pavements and road surfaces.
News and current affairs, including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Alastair Hay, Professor of Environmental Toxicology at Leeds University, talks to Jim al-Khalili about his love of chemistry and ridding the world of chemical weapons.
In the last of three programmes exploring our experiences of travel and why we do it, Lynne Truss joins Will Parsons, co-founder of the British Pilgrimage Trust on a short pilgrimage along the Old Way in East Sussex. They begin under the ancient Yew tree in Mary and St Peter’s Church in Wilmington and walk via the Long Man and Saint Peter of Vincula in Folkington to St Andrews’ Church in Jevington. The journey offers Lynne a chance to discover what a pilgrimage is and how it differs from a walk. Aided by her pilgrim’s staff it proves to be a journey of unexpected encounters and experiences for Lynne - unnerving, calming, reflective and enjoyable. Producer Sarah Blunt
A poignant, powerful autobiography in letters. Sylvia Plath's letters give us a privileged insight into her inner world, as a poet and as a person. This selection offers a fresh perspective on her as a writer and some stunning personal revelations.
This collection of the letters of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet cover the years 1956 and her marriage to the poet Ted Hughes to the final days leading to her death in 1963.
One of the most talented and beloved poets, Sylvia Plath continues to fascinate and inspire . The tragedy of her untimely death at age thirty, almost fifty-five years ago, has left much unknown about her creative and personal life. In this remarkable selection of correspondence , the full range of Plath’s ambitions, talents, fears, and inner world is revealed in her own powerful words.
The Letters of Sylvia Plath are read by Lydia Wilson and produced in Salford by Susan Roberts
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world
It's 1959 and Maya has moved to New York, to develop her writing but also to get involved in civil rights. She's inspired by seeing Martin Luther King Jr give a speech in a local church, and decides to create a show in support of his movement, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Narrator Maya – Adjoa Andoh
Maya – Pippa Bennett-Warner
Martin Luther King Jr. – Steve Toussaint
John Killens – Don Gilet
Stanley Levinson – Lewis Bray
Guy – Will Romain
Dramatised by Janice Okoh
Produced and Directed by Pauline Harris
The rise of the right wing in eastern Germany. Rebecca Pates draws on her work in politics at the University of Leipzig and her experiences as a half-English, half-German woman.
As the programme opens we hear an eerie wind blowing through the disused industrial buildings of a former communist factory in eastern Germany. In the distance wolves are howling. Professor Rebecca Pates walks through this desolate landscape in the former East Germany and introduces her theme - the wolves are a metaphor for what’s happening in German politics.
The right-wing Alternative Fur Deutschland (AfD) is now the third biggest party in the German parliament. They draw much of their support from places that have been referred to as the ‘post-traumatic cities’ of the former communist areas, characterised by high unemployment and an ageing disaffected population.
In this portrait of a society coming to terms with the demons of its past, Rebecca talks to other women about why, as she sees it, the problem is men.
Using archive recordings, she examines how the anti-immigrant Monday demonstrations in contemporary Dresden are a deliberate echo of the late 1980s Monday demonstrations against the the communist authorities in the former East Germany. We also hear contemporary audio recorded at an AfD rally featuring nationalistic anti-immigrant songs.
At a public debate organised through the research project Fremde im Eigenen Land (Strangers in Their Own Land), we hear people discussing what many see as their loss of identity in the united Germany.
The Wolves Are Coming Back is an internal perspective on an issue which is uniquely German, but also has ramifications globally in a new era of populism.
Producer: Trevor Dann
Executive Producer: Kevin Marsh
A Folder & Co production for BBC Radio 4
There have been many creative responses to the Troubles in Northern Ireland – the violent conflict that raged between 1969 and the signing of the Good Friday agreement in 1998 – but a substantial collection of them in Northern Ireland has proved elusive.
Peter Curran examines how a cultural institution, a national museum of Northern Ireland, tells the story of the Troubles comprehensively through art and objects in new galleries.
Until recently, The Ulster Museum clung to less contested parts of the past - Spanish doubloons from the wrecked Armada, superb African canoes, and fossils. Peter Curran loved coming in to the museum's quietness during the 1980s to see history not pressed into the service of murdering friends and destroying families and the architecture of his city.
For this programme, he goes behind the scenes with a new generation of curators to the museum's secret off-site store of treasures and into the studio of artist Colin Davidson whose extraordinary Silent Testimony paintings of those who have experienced loss have just moved from the Ulster Museum to the United Nations in New York.
He discovers a universality in the story of how any place of conflict tells its story in the aftermath, through art and objects.
(image: Woman In Bomb Blast, sculpture by F.E McWilliam)
Produced and presented by Peter Curran. A Foghorn production for BBC Radio 4
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
A novel for Brexit Britain.
Beginning eight years ago on the outskirts of Birmingham and London, Jonathan Coe's new novel follows a Britain through a time of mind-boggling change. It paints a portrait of modern England up to Brexit: a country of nostalgia and delusion, of bewilderment and barely-suppressed rage.
Today: standing on either side of the Referendum divide.
Writer: Jonathan Coe
Producer: Justine Willett
Reader: Jeff Rawle
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.
The latest weather forecast.
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
If you think humans are rational beings then think again. Rory Sutherland continues his exploration of mysterious psycho-logic with a look at why reason has been dropped as the weapon of choice when it comes to persuading us to change our behaviour. We visit the so-called ‘Nudge Unit’ to find out how behavioural science has found its way to the heart of government, and discover how a simple hack has led to a massive increase in pension contributions in many countries.
Produced by Michael Surcombe for BBC Wales
By Ben Lewis.
It’s been 10 years since Jamie was ran over and killed but he’s still stuck on earth and still pining for Lauren, the unwilling psychic that he fell in love with just before he died.
A charming and quirky comedy drama about the reluctantly dead.
Starring Kieran Hodgson and Alexandra Roach.
Cast:
Agnes … Celeste Dring
Jamie… Kieran Hodgson
Celeste … Alice Lowe
Dezza … Nick Mohammed
Lauren … Alexandra Roach
Andy … Nick Underwood
Directed by Kirsty Williams
Josie Long presents new short documentaries and audio essays about intertwining with another person.
A father and son stare out to sea and talk about a lost love, a woman writes a letter to her young daughter unpicking the complex intersections between motherhood, art, selfhood and capitalism, and a widow finds an unusual spirit guide for her grieving.
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
The heat contained in the top 3km of the Earth’s crust could power the planet thousands of times over. Despite that less than 1% of the world’s electricity comes from geothermal energy. That may be about to change.
Near Redruth in Cornwall a 3 mile deep hole is being dug- it will be the deepest in the UK. Cold water will be pumped down to the 200 degrees hot rocks below, the hot water returning will drive turbines to provide electricity for thousands of homes. Nearby, the Eden Project and Penzance Lido are building their own geo-thermal plants.
But Cornwall is just the tip of the iceberg. Iceland and Tuscany have relied on geothermal energy for decades but power companies there are exploiting an extraordinary bit of chemistry. When water goes above 374 degrees centigrade and 221 bars of pressure it becomes a supercritical fluid. This contains five times as much energy as 200 degree water, transfers energy twice as efficiently and has a lower viscosity. Overall, you can theoretically get ten times more energy than from a similar conventional borehole.
The new technology also promises more efficient geothermal energy in regions far away from geological hot spots like Iceland and Italy. The only fly in the ointment is that some techniques involve creating bigger fractures in the rocks. Experiments at Basel in Switzerland provoked an earthquake. So can the incredible potential of new-gen geothermal be exploited without provoking protests?
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Jonathan Glancey asks whether buildings are innocent of the purpose for which they were built. Eighty years after Hitler's building spree around Germany, many of the surviving buildings he constructed as "cathedrals of propaganda" for the Nazi Party are now in need of restoration. This opens a public debate about how the architectural legacy should be handled and whether buildings retain the charge of their toxic past.
Jonathan is in Nuremberg at the infamous rally ground where so many of Hitler's epic theatrical gatherings took place. Here the enormous structures and buildings of the complex are crumbling and the city has some hard decisions to make. And in Munich, the British architect David Chipperfield has been engaged to restore the Haus der Kunst, the gallery where Hitler staged the exhibition of German art, set in contrast to the "degenerate" art which was shown nearby and which he despised. Jonathan talks to David about his plans - but why are they so very controversial?
We also talk to architect Norman Foster about German buildings and about his own transformative work on the Reichstag in Berlin.
And we visit Clandon Park near Guildford in Surrey, a Palladian house which was gutted by fire in 2015. Its guilty secret is that it was built entirely on the proceeds of slavery. Should we ignore that and happily rebuild?
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4
Comedian Gráinne Maguire and alternative history author John Higgs talk to presenter Harriett Gilbert about books they really love. Gráinne chooses Elaine Dundy’s first novel The Dud Avocado, the delightfully funny adventures of a young woman in 1950s Paris. John picks The Patterning Instinct by Jeremy Lent, a history of the world in cultural ideas which offers a brand new way of understanding civilisation and the future. Harriett’s choice is dark wartime novel The Dressmaker by Beryl Bainbridge.
Producer: Beth O'Dea
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Nominated for this year’s main Edinburgh Comedy Award, and winner of the Newcomer in 2014, American comedian Alex Edelman is back for a second series of his show PEER GROUP in which he takes a comic look at what it’s like being a millennial today.
This episode is all about his relationship with social media and how it has insinuated itself into his life. From the power of Twitter to the perils of Intagramming your sandwich, Alex takes a personal look at a very millennial preoccupation.
We also hear from friends of Alex - American comedians Brandon Wardell and Jak Knight, journalist Rebecca Nicholson and cultural commentator David Burstein.
It is written and presented by Alex Edelman, with additional material by Ivo Graham.
Producer: Sam Michell.
A BBC Studios production.
Kenton is caught out and Neil is shocked by Justin's attitude
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
Presenting his first programme for Radio 4, the evolutionary biologist, author and former Professor for Public Understanding of Science, Richard Dawkins, investigates trust in science.
It's an issue of concern for scientists as well as others. Despite our scientific and technological advances, many people still believe the Earth is flat and that vaccines cause autism. Even the President of the United States has called climate change a hoax.
Richard Dawkins considers what scientists are doing right and what they're doing wrong, concentrating on the process of science, communication, education, and policy with experts in their field. These include Bad Science author and academic Ben Goldacre, physicists Dr Jess Wade and Prof Jim Al-Khalili, science policy fellow and podcast presenter Dr Maryam Zaringhalam, Virginia Tech’s Marc Edwards who exposed the Flint water crisis, Norman Lamb chair of the science and technology select committee, education consultant Tom Sherrington, head teacher Alan Grey and director of the Science Media Centre Fiona Fox.
The programme looks at an increasing divide between scientific evidence and public opinion and concerns that science communicators are simply preaching to the converted. Is there a need for greater openness and accountability to restore trust?
Producer: Sue Nelson
A Boffin Media production for BBC Radio 4
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Poor mental health in the construction industry is ‘the silent epidemic’, Work-related stress, depression and anxiety have overtaken musculoskeletal disorders as the most reported workplace health issue in the sector. The construction industry has more suicides than any other profession
Greater mental health support for construction workers is now identified as a priority area. Claudia Hammond examines a new initiative to improve mental health in the sector by increasing awareness and the confidence amongst its predominantly male workforce to openly discuss the issues
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
What do CenterParcs, Sky Sports and The Royal Horticultural Society all have in common? They’ve all accidentally omitted Anglesey from their official maps of the UK in the recent past.
It seems that despite being the largest island in the Irish Sea and the largest island of Wales, Anglesey remains a mystery to most and so one man is going to have to work his socks off to put it firmly back on the map.
Hosted by Wales and Anglesey’s very own favourite stand-up, Tudur Owen, this programme is one man’s mission to both rejoice in and roast the island he calls home.
In Episode 1 Tudur gives us a whistlestop tour of Anglesey history, from ancient invaders to the present day.
Written by Tudur Owen with additional material by Gareth Gwynn. Also featuring Gareth Pierce and Lisa-Jên Brown.
Recorded at Canolfan Beaumaris on Anglesey.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
The latest shipping forecast
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
Spiritual reflection to start the day with a director of Christian charity Foolproof Creative Arts, Fiona Stewart.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
John Aitchison presents the chaffinch. The name chaffinch refers to its habit of flocking in stubble fields, often in the company of other birds, to sort through the chaff for seeds. In less tidy times when spilled grain was a regular feature in farmyards and stubble was retained for longer periods, these winter flocks were widespread.
News and current affairs, including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
The screenwriter Hossein Amini meets the playwright and director Conor McPherson.
Hossein Amini co-created and co-wrote the TV series McMafia, which focused on Russian gangsters and global organised crime. His screenplay for the film The Wings of the Dove, based on the novel by Henry James and starring Helena Bonham Carter, won an Oscar nomination. His other screenwriting credits include Drive, which starred Ryan Gosling.
Conor McPherson's play The Weir, first staged in 1997, was voted one of the most important plays of the 20th century in a National Theatre poll, and has been performed around the world. More recently Bob Dylan's representatives invited him to create a stage-work featuring Dylan songs. The resultant play, Girl from the North Country, was widely acclaimed in London, and opened earlier this year in New York, where the New York Times described McPherson as 'perhaps the finest English-language playwright of his generation'.
Producer Clare Walker
"How do accents start and where did they come from?” asks Sachin Bahal from Toronto in Canada.
Hannah is schooled in speaking Geordie by top accent coach Marina Tyndall. And Adam talks to author and acoustics expert Trevor Cox about how accents evolved and why they persist.
We meet Debie who has Foreign Accent Syndrome - an extremely rare condition in which your accent can change overnight. After a severe bout of flu, which got progressively worse, Debie's Brummie accent suddenly transformed into something distinctively more European.
If you have any more Curious Cases for the team to solve, please send them in for consideration: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk
Presenters: Adam Rutherford, Hannah Fry
Producer: Michelle Martin
A poignant, powerful autobiography in letters. Sylvia Plath's letters give us a privileged insight into her inner world, as a poet and as a person. This selection offers a fresh perspective on her as a writer as well as some stunning personal revelations.
This collection of the letters of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet cover the years 1956 and her marriage to the poet Ted Hughes to the final days leading to her death in 1963.
One of the most talented and beloved poets, Sylvia Plath continues to fascinate and inspire . The tragedy of her untimely death at age thirty, almost fifty-five years ago, has left much unknown about her creative and personal life. In this remarkable selection of correspondence , the full range of Plath’s ambitions, talents, fears, and inner world is revealed in her own powerful words.
The Letters of Sylvia Plath are read by Lydia Wilson and produced in Salford by Susan Roberts
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world
Whilst working for Martin Luther King jr at the SCLC in New York, Maya becomes engaged to Thomas, a local man, and at the same time falls in love with South African freedom fighter, Vusumzi Make. After knowing him only a week, she is forced to choose between the two men.
Narrator Maya – Adjoa Andoh
Maya – Pippa Bennett-Warner
Martin Luther King Jr. – Steve Toussaint
Vusumzi Make – Danny Sapani
Thomas – Don Gilet
Hazel – Saffron Coomber
Dramatised by Janice Okoh
Produced and Directed by Pauline Harris
Mother and daughter on mother's long history of drug taking and rebuilding their relationship after her release from prison. Fi Glover presents another conversation in a series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
Producer: Mohini Patel
Part two in an occasional series in which Henry Normal uses poetry, storytelling and comedy to explore life's big questions.
Last year Henry brought us his acclaimed show - 'A Normal Family', which centred around his son, Johnny, who was diagnosed with "mildly severe" autism. In this profound, funny and moving show, Henry explored what this meant for his family.
This time Henry brings us his new show, 'A Normal Life'. Drawing on his experiences bringing up a child with autism, Henry investigates where edges are, and how we are connected. As well as his trademark humour, the show tackles the subjects of life, death, loneliness, loss, human frailty and other classic conversation stoppers.
Henry Normal is a multi-award winning writer, producer and poet. Co-writer of award winning TV programmes such as The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, Coogan's Run and Paul Calf, and producer of, amongst many others, Oscar-Nominated Philomena, Gavin and Stacey and Alan Partridge.
He has published several volumes of poetry, including The Dream Ticket, Nude Modelling for the Afterlife and Staring Directly at the Eclipse. His last Radio 4 series was 1997's Encyclopaedia Poetica.
Written and performed by - Henry Normal
Producer - Carl Cooper
Production Coordinator - Steve Lanham
This is a BBC Studios Production.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
A novel for Brexit Britain.
Beginning eight years ago on the outskirts of Birmingham and London, Jonathan Coe's new novel follows a Britain through a time of mind-boggling change. It paints a portrait in particular of modern England up to Brexit: a country of nostalgia and delusion, of bewilderment and barely-suppressed rage.
Today: Brexit divides the generations.
Writer: Jonathan Coe
Producer: Justine Willett
Reader: Jeff Rawle
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.
The latest weather forecast.
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.
Why do humans go to such lengths to show their commitment to others? Rory Sutherland continues his exploration of behavioural quirks and mind hacks with a look at how businesses thrive on our susceptibility to be swayed by commitment, from the ‘Knowledge’ exams of a London cabbie to the strange rituals of upper-class British etiquette.
Produced by Michael Surcombe for BBC Wales
By Will Adamsdale, with additional material by the company.
Songs and music by Chris Branch and Will Adamsdale.
A work-shy writer discovers a Victorian man living in the wall of his flat. Everyone’s pretty surprised. Adjustments need to be made. Can the strange visitor unlock his hopeless career? His flagging relationship? A story buried in these walls for over a century? (Doubt it. Maybe. Yes.)
Adapted from his hit stage show, Will Adamsdale and the original cast perform this delightful comedy with songs at the BBC Radio Theatre.
Guy . . . . . Will Adamsdale
Elms . . . . . Matthew Steer
Fi . . . . . Melanie Wilson
Rob . . . . . Jason Barnett
The Victorian In The Wall was originally co-produced for the stage by Fuel and the Royal Court Theatre, and directed by Lyndsey Turner.
Director for Radio 4: Sasha Yevtushenko.
The cost of assisted fertility can run into tens of thousands of pounds. If you've gone down this route what has your experience been? E mail: moneybox@bbc.co.uk
Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works.
A topical programme about the fast-changing media world.
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
Victoria Coren Mitchell returns with a new series of the interview programme that uses a famous woman's cars as a vehicle to talk about her life. This week Victoria talks to the actress, singer, writer, business woman, and politician Baroness Benjamin of Beckenham, known to millions of Play School viewers as Floella Benjamin.
Floella tells of how her supremely happy childhood in Trinidad turned to unhappiness when her parents left her with a cruel foster family; the joy of being reunited with her mother and father when she came to England; learning to overcome racism with a smile; the freedom that came with passing her driving test; buying and then selling her very own Austin 35; driving around looking for parties in the 60s; appearing in the musical Hair without having to take her clothes off; the power of Play School and the enduring importance of children's TV; the day her husband's dream came true with a vintage Bentley; and why when she became a peer she chose Baroness of Beckenham as her title.
Car descriptions read by Sarah Hadland.
Produced by Gareth Edwards
A BBC Studios Production
Roy takes desperate measures and Hannah hatches a plan
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk. With Matthew Taylor, Anne McElvoy, Tim Stanley and Giles Fraser.
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
Episode 5
Written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings.
Bittersweet comedy drama about a community mental health nurse.
Nurse Elizabeth sees that Lorrie’s new medication is working wonders and Lorrie is full of the joys of spring. Billy, by contrast, reacts with anger to Elizabeth’s news.
Starring Paul Whitehouse & Esther Coles, with Rosie Cavaliero, Simon Day and Cecilia Noble.
Produced by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings; Associate Producer Tom Jenkins.
A Down The Line Production
A series of comic monologues with twists-in-the-tale, written by Lenny Henry. In this episode, a researcher talks of her relationship with a brilliant scientist and his ground-breaking work on monkeys: experiments which yield miraculous results.
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
The latest shipping forecast
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
Spiritual reflection to start the day with a director of Christian charity Foolproof Creative Arts, Fiona Stewart.
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs. Steve Backshall presents the kestrel.
The kestrel is widely distributed throughout the UK and when hovering is our most recognisable bird of prey. Their chestnut back and wings, and habit of holding themselves stationary in mid-air are a unique combination;mall wonder that an old name for kestrels is windhover.
News and current affairs, including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss a foundation story for China as it was reshaped under Mao Zedong. In October 1934, around ninety thousand soldiers of the Red Army broke out of a siege in Jiangxi in the south east of the country, hoping to find a place to regroup and rebuild. They were joined by other armies, and this turned into a very long march to the west and then north, covering thousands of miles of harsh and hostile territory, marshes and mountains, pursued by forces of the ruling Kuomintang for a year. Mao Zedong was among the marchers and emerged at the head of them, and he ensured the officially approved history of the Long March would be an inspiration and education for decades to come.
With
Rana Mitter
Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China and Fellow of St Cross College, University of Oxford
Sun Shuyun
Historian, writer and film maker
And
Julia Lovell
Professor in Modern Chinese History and Literature at Birkbeck, University of London
Producer: Simon Tillotson
A poignant, powerful autobiography in letters. Sylvia Plath's letters give us a privileged insight into her inner world, as a poet and as a person. This selection offers a fresh perspective on her as a writer as well as some stunning personal revelations in letters written to Dr Beuscher her psychiatrist .
This collection of the letters of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet cover the years 1956 and her marriage to the poet Ted Hughes to the final days leading to her death in 1963.
One of the most talented and beloved poets, Sylvia Plath continues to fascinate and inspire . The tragedy of her untimely death at age thirty, almost fifty-five years ago, has left much unknown about her creative and personal life. In this remarkable selection of correspondence , the full range of Plath’s ambitions, talents, fears, and inner world is revealed in her own powerful words.
The Letters of Sylvia Plath are read by Lydia Wilson and produced in Salford by Susan Roberts
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world
Maya’s civil marriage to South African freedom fighter Vusumzi Make is going well. She helps organise a demonstration after the execution of the first legally elected prime minister of the Republic of Congo, Patrice Lumumba. But it gets out of hand and turns out to be much bigger than anticipated. It leads to her first meeting with Malcolm X.
Narrator Maya – Adjoa Andoh
Maya – Pippa Bennett-Warner
Rosa – Saffron Coomber
Malcolm X – Don Gilet
Vusumzi Make – Danny Sapani
Dramatised by Janice Okoh
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris
In a Cambodian hospital, a group of terrified new mothers nurse tiny babies under the watch of police guards. They're surrogates, desperately poor women promised $10,000 to bear children for parents in China. But they were arrested under new anti-trafficking rules, and now they face an agonising choice: either they agree to keep children they didn't want and can't easily afford to bring up, children who aren't genetically theirs - or they honour their surrogacy contracts, and face up to 20 years in jail. Tim Whewell reports on the suffering as country after country in Asia cracks down on commercial surrogacy - and asks whether the Cambodia's detained mothers are criminals - or victims.
In the second of a three part series exploring the theme of ‘Dwelling’, Marie Louise Muir set out to explore the world her 14 year old daughter Catherine daughter inhabits and asks whether the arts can help provide access and insight into the autism spectrum.
Marie Louise doesn’t want to ‘fix’ Catherine, she doesn’t feel there’s anything wrong with her. She would just like to understand her a little better.
“Although we are so close and live in the same house, we experience the world differently. It’s a bit like living in a house with two rooms, and I’d like to know what it’s like in her room”
Inspired by an innovative, immersive theatre experience called Reassembled Slightly Askew, which was based on the artist Shannon Sickels’ experience of a serious brain infection, Marie Louise and Catherine wonder if they can use immersive sound technologies to give audiences a better understanding of autism.
Through a series of intimate conversations, they explore the different ways they view the world around them, discuss the art that has helped bridge the gap between them, and consider the potential for creativity to give neurotypical people a better understanding of the spectrum.
Marie Louise also talks to author Vicky Martin who wrote “M in the Middle” with the girls of Limpsfield Grange, a school for girls on the high functioning end of the autism spectrum - a novel which had a huge impact on both Catherine and Marie-Louise.
She meets The AutistiX, a rock band featuring three musicians on the spectrum, and joins Catherine at a physical theatre class called Kids in Control to explore the different ways that creativity and the arts can help us all feel more connected to each other.
Produced by Conor McKay for BBC Northern Ireland.
Extract from ‘Virtual Barbershop’ courtesy of QSound Labs.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
A novel for Brexit Britain.
Beginning eight years ago, Jonathan Coe's new novel paints a portrait of Britain up to Brexit, from the riots to the Olympics to the Referendum and beyond. It's a portrait of nostalgia and delusion, of mind-boggling change, of bewilderment and barely-suppressed rage.
Today: Brexit chaos.
Writer: Jonathan Coe
Producer: Justine Willett
Reader: Jeff Rawle
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.
The latest weather forecast.
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague.
Could ego inflation be a quick route to changing our behaviour? Rory Sutherland explores how psycho-logical hacks can be used to boost the value of desirable actions, as well as looking at the role shaming can take when the vanity card fails.
Produced by Michael Surcombe for BBC Wales
Part 5 of the conspiracy thriller. Written by Matthew Broughton, starring Hattie Morahan and Jonathan Forbes.
As Helen discovers the true identity of the man she saw survive the fall of the Slate building, a dangerous relationship develops.
A gripping thriller, chart topping podcast and winner of Best Sound (BBC Audio Drama Awards) and Best Fiction (British Podcast Awards), now Tracks is back with another 9 part headphone filling thrill-ride.
Helen…. Hattie Morahan
Freddy….. Jonathan Forbes
Frank.... Morgan Watkins
Rebecca…. Carys Eleri
Canewick.... Matthew Gravelle
Security Guard….. Richard Nichols
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production
The composer Benjamin Britten is closely associated with the Suffolk coast at Aldeburgh where he lived and worked for most of his life. This episode of Open Country explores how this landscape and the sea inspired some of Britten's most famous work. Lucy Walker from the Britten-Pears Foundation describes how Britten became rooted in Suffolk and how important it was for him to write music specifically for the people and places in Aldeburgh. Two of Britten's well-known operas Billy Budd and Peter Grimes are about people who made their living from the sea - we hear from fishermen in Aldeburgh about how the industry has changed since Britten's day.
Britten often walked along Aldeburgh beach to think and compose in his head. An open stretch of this shingle ridge just north of the town is now home to the Scallop, Maggi Hambling's 15-foot stainless steel sculpture dedicated to Britten. Maggi tells the story of how Scallop was inspired by Britten and his achievements, and the row that erupted in the local community after it was installed.
With Francine Stock.
In the next instalment of her new series, Moving Image, Francine Stock talks to McMafia director James Watkins about a key influence on his film-making career, The Godfather. He is joined by legendary editor Walter Murch who worked his magic in the cutting room of Francis Ford Coppola's epic crime drama.
Adam Rutherford investigates the news in science and science in the news.
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
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.
There's a significant development for the Aldridges and Jazzer offers support
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
Current affairs series combining original insights into major news stories with topical investigations.
In the 1980s a young Jiang Zemin headed to Shannon on the rural west coast of Ireland. The time he spent here at the world first free trade zone would inspire the monumental industrial transformation of Shenzen and China itself.
The 'Shannon Model' as it became known came from the customs and tax deals around land at Shannon airport, its extraordinary transformation from green fields around a small airport to industrial manufacturing hub inspired many of the world's most successful trade zones.
Now with Brexit looming Jonty Bloom heads to Teesside to see plans to become the UK's first 'free port' offering customs free imports and hoping to bring back manufacturing jobs.
Producer: Jordan Dunbar
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.
Series 3. Episode 3. There's something about Maidenhead.
Comedian Tez Ilyas returns for a third series of TEZ Talks.
In this episode Tez talks about communication mishaps. He discusses messages people have sent to the wrong person and tells us about the worst gig he has ever had and how he managed to make it even worse.
Written and performed by... Tez Ilyas
Produced by... Carl Cooper
This is a BBC Studios Production.
Sam Simmons Is Not a People Person Episode 3 of 4
Comedian. Writer. Ex-Zoo Keeper. Bird Watcher. Definitely NOT a people person.
Sam and Henry are making a documentary series about birds, each week - armed with Sam's 'Big Book of Birds' they seek out different species. Despite Henry's best efforts, Sam is continually aggravated by the people they run into. Each encounter sparks an investigation into Sam's past, because once they've sorted out his issues, they'll really be able to focus on the bird-watching.
This week they're in the Netherlands observing a chicken...
The unique talents of the multi-award winning comedian Sam Simmons have landed on BBC Radio 4.
"If you can imagine someone combining the rage of Basil Fawlty with the lunacy of Spike Milligan you are getting somewhere close to Simmons. Painfully frank, riotously inventive and a deserving award winner." The Evening Standard (UK)
Written by and starring Sam Simmons
With:
Henry Paker
Sarah Kendall
Mike Wilmot
Freya Parker
Sound design by Craig Schuftan
Music by Craig Schuftan with Lani Bagley
Producers Joe Nunnery
Alexandra Smith
A BBC Studios Production.
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
The latest shipping forecast
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
Spiritual reflection marking St Andrew's Day with Fiona Stewart of Christian charity, Foolproof Creative Arts
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
Tweet of the Day is a series of fascinating stories about our British birds inspired by their calls and songs.
Kate Humble presents the green woodpecker. The maniacal laughing call, or 'yaffle', of a green woodpecker was supposed to herald rain, hence its old country name of 'rain bird'. You can hear their yodelling calls in woods, parks, heaths and large gardens throughout most of the UK. Altough green woodpeckers do nest in trees they spend a lot of their time on the ground, probing lawns and meadows for their main food, ants and their pupae.
News and current affairs, including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
A poignant, powerful autobiography in letters. Sylvia Plath's letters give us a privileged insight into her inner world, as a poet and as a person. This selection offers a fresh perspective on her as a writer as well as some stunning personal revelations in letters written to her psychiatrist Dr Beuscher .
This collection of the letters of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet cover the years 1956 and her marriage to the poet Ted Hughes to the final days leading to her suicide in 1963.
One of the most talented and beloved poets, Sylvia Plath continues to fascinate and inspire . The tragedy of her untimely death at age thirty, almost fifty-five years ago, has left much unknown about her creative and personal life. In this remarkable selection of correspondence , the full range of Plath’s ambitions, talents, fears, and inner world is revealed in her own powerful words.
The Letters of Sylvia Plath are read by Lydia Wilson and produced in Salford by Susan Roberts
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world
Maya and her son Guy join Vus in Egypt. She takes a job as Associate Editor of a newspaper, and faces some difficult truths about Vus.
Narrator Maya – Adjoa Andoh
Maya – Pippa Bennett-Warner
Vusumzi Make – Danny Sapani
Guy – Tristan Slowley
David Dubois – Don Gilet
Zein Negati – Steve Toussaint
Omonadia – Saffron Coomber
Dramatised by Janice Okoh
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris
The stories of young women who have suffered from postpartum psychosis.
For Jessie and her partner Ross there was nothing about her pregnancy to suggest what might be lying in wait for her just days after the birth of their son. From everything having been as normal as the mother and baby books would wish, she was hit by a severe mania that led to her being separated from her child and then sectioned.
The diagnosis was postpartum psychosis, a rare but potentially devastating mental health issue.
Quite how sudden and life-threatening it can be was experienced by Fiona who somewhat miraculously survived her own episode, just hours after leaving hospital, where her prematurely-born daughter was, happily, safe in an Intensive Care Unit.
Having become pregnant again, there's a high chance that postpartum psychosis will re-occur - as it did with Amy whose two boys were born seven years apart. She and her mum now can't help but see the funny side of the hallucinatory episode that overcame her on her first trip outside the house - to the local Co-op.
Postpartum psychosis affects one or two women for every thousand births. It comes on very quickly and, usually, recovery will be similarly quick. But for some, it will be fatal.
Jessie and Ross, Amy and her mum share their stories and we hear from Fiona about surviving her first episode and anticipating the imminent birth of her second child.
Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
The fourth series of Danny Robins’ sitcom continues with fish-out-of-water Geoff, probably a herring, trying to acclimatise to his new life in Sweden.
So far, it is going well. He has married his Swedish girlfriend Linda (Sissela Benn), they have a baby John, Geoff is usually on civil terms with his Swedish in-laws, and he is now a fully-fledged Swedish citizen himself – at least, technically. But Geoff is still confused, entranced or infuriated by the unexpectedly Scandinavian on a daily basis. This year, Geoff has to learn about conflicting attitudes towards health and safety, the appropriate gender for a witch and how to get ahead on the Swedish comedy circuit.
We catch up with Geoff (Adam Riches) and Linda as the generous period of Swedish paternity leave comes to end. Little John is starting at nursery school and it’s time for Geoff to launch himself onto the job market. When he finally lands a full time job, he finds himself working alongside his mother-in-law Gunilla (Anna-Lena Bergelin). This may be a challenge - until they find a mutual affinity for whisky, white water canoeing and the strange workplace tradition of "kicking off".
Cast
Geoff: Adam Riches
Linda: Sissela Benn
Gunilla: Anna-Lena Bergelin
Sten: Thomas Oredsson
Jonas: Kristoffer Appelquist
Ahmed: Mohamed Said
Carola: Johanna Wagrell
Mattias: Thomas Eriksson
John: Harry Nicolaou
Written by Danny Robins
Produced and directed by Frank Stirling
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