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

Radio-Lists Home Now on R4 Contact

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



SATURDAY 09 FEBRUARY 2019

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m0002cny)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (m0002cp0)
Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle

Episode 5

Textile artist and curator, Clare Hunter continues her journey through the centuries and across the continents where she uncovers the lives of women and men who have used sewing and embroidery to tell their stories. Today, Clare turns to the potency of needlework and The Dinner Party, the monumental multimedia artwork created by Judy Chicago in response to Michelangelo's The Last Supper which celebrates women's achievements.

Read by Siobhan Redmond
Abridged by Julian Wilkinson
Produced by Elizabeth Allard


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0002cp2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0002cp4)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0002cp6)
The latest shipping forecast


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (m0002cp8)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0002cpb)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Alison Murdoch Tibetan Buddhist, writer, & editor.

Last August, a 16-year old schoolgirl called Greta Thunberg decided to stage a one-person protest to draw attention to the climate crisis. Ignoring the pleas of her parents and teachers she sat herself down on the cobblestones outside the Swedish parliament and didn’t budge until the general election in September. Her premise was: why bother to learn anything in school if politicians won’t pay attention to the facts? “Instead of worrying about the future, you should try to change it while you still can,” the small girl in pigtails told TIME magazine.

Greta’s simple act of defiance has now gone viral. By the end of last year at least 20,000 students around the world had skipped their studies to demand action on climate change, including a mass school walkout in Australia. In December she was invited to speak at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. In January she addressed the World Economic Forum at Davos, arriving after a 32-hour train journey in preference to the private jets used by many of the other delegates. Whatever you feel about truancy and climate change, it’s an impressive example of what one supposedly powerless individual can achieve.

One of the key messages of Tibetan Buddhism is that we all have more power and potential than we acknowledge. Not many of us will be called to prominence on the international stage. But if we stand up and speak out even in small ways for what we know is right, we’ll definitely have an impact, which may then extend further than we’ll ever know. “It is my moral responsibility to do what I can,” Greta told the press. Let’s pray that we can all find the strength and courage to play our part, however small, in creating a better future for ourselves and others.


SAT 05:45 iPM (m0002cpd)
How to influence people

Listener Sara Tasker first appeared on iPM in 2014, when she was a superuser on the photosharing platform, Instagram. Five years later, we hear how she's made a full time career out of posting pictures, whether she gets paid to advertise brands, and what she makes of calls for social media companies to better protect vulnerable users.

Channel 4's Jon Snow reads our "Your News" bulletin.

iPM is the show that starts with your story. iPM@bbc.co.uk is how to get in touch.

Presented by Luke Jones. Produced by Cat Farnsworth.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m0002g5n)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m0002cg1)
Somerset Wassail

In the depths of the winter, on the old 12th Night, an ancient custom is held in the cider apple orchards of Somerset. Wassailing involves pouring cider round the roots of the wassail tree, putting cider-soaked toast in its branches, singing to it, and sometimes firing guns through its branches. It's all about scaring away evil spirits, and encouraging the trees to produce a good crop in the year to come. Wassailing is a tradition with many elements: blessing the crops goes back to at least Tudor times, while the words "waes hael", meaning "be you healthy", are found in toasts as far back as the 12th century. By 1990 wassailing in apple orchards had almost died out in Somerset, but over the last thirty years the tradition has undergone a remarkable revival. As Helen Mark finds out, it's now very much alive and well - and if nothing else, provides a good excuse for a party to brighten up the dark winter nights!

Producer: Emma Campbell


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m0002g5q)
Farming Today This Week: Dairy

As Farming Today turns a spotlight on the dairy sector, Charlotte braves blustery conditions and torrential rain, to follow one batch of milk from cow to kefir (a cultured yogurt drink).

In Wiltshire, Charlotte meets dairy farmer George Dalton and his herdsman John Salisbury, who are at the start of spring calving. They tell her about coping with the pressures of dairy farming, and what makes the perfect dairy cow...

From there, Charlotte follows the tanker that collects the farm's milk, a few miles down the road to Dorset, where BV Dairy is located: a dairy processor making various chilled and cultured milk products, including clotted cream, yogurt and the newly trendy kefir.

Meanwhile the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board's Chris Gooderham gives an insight into dairy market fluctuations, and Anna Jones visits the annual industry event DairyTech in Warwickshire - where she comes across a unique potential solution to the dairy industry's ammonia emissions problem...

Presented by Charlotte Smith, produced by Lucy Taylor.


SAT 06:57 Weather (m0002g5s)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (m0002g5v)
News headlines and sport.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m0002g5x)
Patrick Grant and Mark Anthony Turnage

Aasmah and Richard are joined by: Patrick Grant - he bought and revived a failing tailors in Savile Row in 2005, since then he’s been awarded Menswear designer at the British Fashion Awards, become a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee and promotes sustainable fashion. Adam Kay used to be a junior doctor, and left to become a writer and comedian. His book This is Going to Hurt was based on diaries written as a junior doctor, exposed the highs and lows of the job and became a bestseller. Nichola McAvoy lost her hair age 11 and will tell us how finding a friend who also had alopecia was invaluable to her. Jess Herbert left her job as a trilingual assistant and retrained as an aborist - she's since won tree climbing competitions. We'll have your thank you and the Inheritance tracks of composer Mark Anthony Turnage who chooses Stravinsky's ‘The Fairy’s kiss’ conducted by Oliver Knussen with the Cleveland orchestra, and Miles Davis' ‘Blue in Green’.

Producer: Corinna Jones
Editor: Eleanor Garland


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m0002g5z)
Series 23

Belfast

Jay Rayner and the panel visit Belfast. Professor Barry Smith, Rachel McCormack, Rob Owen Brown and Paula McIntyre answer the audience questions.

The panellists suggest the best recipes for breakfast with friends, learn about brown lemonade and debate the superior types of potato pancakes.

They also learn about the Scoville scale and try Tim McCarthy's hottest hot sauce in Northern Ireland.

Produced by Laurence Bassett
Assistant Producer: Hester Cant

Food Consultant: Anna Colquhoun

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m0002g61)
Anne McElvoy of the Economist looks behind the scenes at Westminster.
The Editor is Marie Jessel.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m0002g63)
Correspondents around the world tell their stories and examine news developments in their region


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m0002gdv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m0002g4y)
Ofgem raises energy cap

Paul Lewis presents the latest news from the world of personal finance.


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m0002cn9)
Series 98

Episode 7

Miles Jupp looks back at the news this week, with Susan Calman, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Desiree Burch & Helen Lewis.

It's a week of two Donalds - Donald Trump who gave his third State of the Union address, and Donald Tusk who thought there should be a "special place in hell" for those who promoted Brexit without a plan of how to enact it.

Miles' script is written by Madeleine Brettingham, Gabby Hutchinson-Crouch and Sarah Morgan, with additional material by Eleanor Morton & Kat Sadler.

Produced by Victoria Lloyd
A BBC Studios Production


SAT 12:57 Weather (m0002g67)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (m0002g69)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m0002cnh)
Chris Hazzard MP, Tobias Ellwood MP, Emma Little-Pengelly MP, Alison McGovern MP

Shaun Ley presents political debate from West Church in Bangor, Northern Ireland, with Sinn Fein's Brexit spokesperson Chris Hazzard MP, Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood MP the DUP MP Emma Little-Pengelly and the Chair of Progress, the centre left pressure group within the Labour Party Alison McGovern MP.
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m0002g6c)
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Drama (m0002g6f)
Opening Pandora's Box

How do you turn a celebrated silent film into an audio drama? Wedekind's controversial 19th Century Lulu plays formed the basis of the 1929 German movie, Pandora's Box. Its star, Louise Brooks, will forever be associated with her iconic performance as Lulu, the ultimate 'femme fatale'. 90 years on, writer Katie Hims wonders what on earth to do about Lulu.

The Writer/Lulu ..... Kate O’Flynn
Justin/Alwa ..... Joseph Ayre
Simone/Geschwitz ..... Ayesha Antoine
Kerry ..... Kerry Gooderson
Dr. Schön ..... Tony Turner
Schigolch ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Piani ..... Ronny Jhutti
The Kind-Faced Man ..... Christopher Harper
Rodrigo ..... Don Gilet
Dr. van Zarnikow ..... Sam Dale
Charlotte ..... Franchi Webb

Written by Katie Hims
Original Music by Neil Brand
Directed by Toby Swift


SAT 15:30 Quirke's Cast and Crew (m0002bmx)
Series 2

Location Managers

Antonia Quirke begins the new series with a look at the role of the location manager in film and television production.

‘Quirke’s Cast and Crew’ examines the contribution made by some of the unsung heroes within film and television - later in the series Antonia will meet animal wranglers, foley artists and composers, and in this first episode Antonia hears all about the vital role of the location manager. Often among the very first people employed on a production, the locations they come up have a major impact on the look and feel of a show or film. The programme begins on the set of the forthcoming Downton Abbey film, where Leon Seth is one of the key members of the location management team, acting as a vital bridge between the film crew and the local community. Antonia joins scout Jethro Ensor on the road in Liverpool as he seeks out possible locations for a drama set in London. These include an old mansion replete with original fittings, and a vast, disused Victorian orphanage. Antonia also speaks with Joe Cairns and Lauren York about the rise of location libraries, offering off-the-peg locations as a quick fix for scouts having to accommodate the burgeoning British film and TV industry.

Producer: Geoff Bird


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m0002g6h)
Weekend Woman's Hour - 09/02/2019

Highlights from the Woman's Hour week.Presented by Jane Garvey
Producer: Rabeka Nurmahomed
Editor:Jane Thurlow


SAT 17:00 PM (m0002g6k)
Full coverage of the day's news.


SAT 17:30 The Bottom Line (m0002cgm)
University Businesses

Higher education in the UK is an astonishingly successful British industry, with an income of almost £35 billion a year. Universities have expanded hugely with more students from home and abroad. But uncertain times lie ahead. Tuition fees are under review and some people in the sector argue Brexit may make it harder to attract students from EU countries. Are universities sustainable as businesses?

Guests:
Professor Nick Petford, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Northampton
Professor Trevor McMillan Vice-Chancellor of Keele University
Dr Helen Carasso, Department of Education, Oxford University


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0002g6n)
The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (m0002g6q)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0002g6s)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m0002g6v)
Trevor Horn, Bonnie Langford, David Suchet, Apphia Campbell, Gavin Greenaway, Greentea Peng, YolanDa Brown, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and YolanDa Brown are joined by Trevor Horn, Bonnie Langford, David Suchet and Apphia Campbell for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Gavin Greenaway and Greentea Peng.

Producer: Sukey Firth


SAT 19:00 Profile (m0002g4g)
David Adjaye

We’re talking buildings and monuments on Profile this week – looking at the life and career of Sir David Adjaye. The 52-year-old British-Ghanaian architect shot to fame in the US for his 2016 Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC. An exhibition featuring his work has just opened in London.

Producer: Sally Abrahams
Presenter: Mark Coles


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (m0002g6x)
If Beale Street Could Talk, Home I'm Darling, Tessa Hadley, George Shaw exhibition, David Bowie

Oscar-tipped If Beale Street Could Talk is directed by Barry Jenkins who won Best Picture in 2016 for Moonlight... A woman in Harlem embraces her pregnancy while she and her family struggle to prove her fiancé is innocent of a crime
Katherine Parkinson stars in Home I'm Darling, recently opened at London's Duke of York Theatre, as an ideal 1950s housewife living in the present day
Tessa Hadley's newest novel Late In The Day. The death of a close friend in a tight circle of long-term friends throws all the remaining relationships into sharp relief
The painter George Shaw - famed for his realist suburban subject matter has a new exhibition opening at the Holburne Museum in Bath
A new BBC2 documentary David Bowie: Finding Fame investigates how David Robert Jones became David Bowie using previously unseen footage, interviews with friends and lovers and correspondence that is less than flattering.

Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Susie Boyt, Irenosen Okojie and Pat Kane. The producer is Oliver Jones

Podcast extra recommendations:

Irenosen: Russian Doll on Netflix
Tom: Ruskin Exhibition at 2 Temple Place


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0002g6z)
PE - a History of Violence

When Matthew Sweet was taking his daughter to secondary school open days, he noticed a pattern emerging - the PE teachers were intelligent and thoughtful people with clear and sophisticated ideas about the social and psychological benefits of their subject. What had happened to the PE teachers of old, who were represented in popular culture by bullies and drill sergeant types like Mr Sugden in Kes and Bullet Baxter in Grange Hill?

He sent out a tweet - “Why was PE the only subject in which humiliation was considered part of the learning process?” Hours later, he had collected literally hundreds of traumatic anecdotes – a culture of bullying and sadism, described by students put off sport for life.

In PE – A History of Violence, Matthew haunts the gyms, playing fields and communal changing rooms of PE’s past, to interrogate former PE teachers. What’s the point of PE? Did it once do more harm than good?

“Team spirt?” says a young teacher from a Dagenham comprehensive school in a Panorama from the 1980s, “You mean the team spirit that managed to get so many thousands and millions of people killed in World War I?" A decade earlier, in a series about physical education, Ron Pickering suggested that dance was “the most controversial element of physical education".

Matthew finds followers of Rudolf Laban and PE pioneer Madame Österberg. He also meets a tortuous bully in Andrew Davies’ 1970 play, Is That Your Body, Boy? Nearing retirement and struggling to come terms with the changing curriculum, Cracker Carstairs mourns the loss of the old PE lessons. “I am not afraid of pain. That is what life is all about.”

With Dr Anne Elliott, sports scientist and senior lecturer at the London Sports Institute, Middlesex University and Margaret Whitehead, former physical education teacher, PE consultant and editor of Physical Literacy: Throughout the Lifecourse.

A Testbed production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 21:00 Drama (m00029g9)
Mueller: Trump Tower Moscow

When Hunter and Najib are given the job of looking into the proposed Trump Tower in Moscow, their investigation soon throws up some startling results - particularly in relation to Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen, the man who said he’d "take a bullet" for his Presidential client.

This up-to-the-minute contemporary drama sheds light on a story that continues to unfold. Jonathan Myerson, award winning dramatist whose previous work includes The Republicans and The Clintons, unravels the story so far, following investigators as they uncover the truth behind Cohen’s dealings on behalf of the man known to the inquiry as Individual One.

Robert Mueller's investigation is still ongoing, although it has produced several convictions already. The Special Counsel himself, former head of the FBI and a highly respected public servant, is an almost unknowable figure, shunning all publicity throughout his career and especially since being appointed to the Russia probe. Mueller: Trump Tower Moscow imagines the goings-on at the heart of the investigation.

With Kerry Shale as Michael Cohen, Nancy Crane as Stormy Daniels and Nathan Osgood as Felix Sater, appearing alongside a group of invented characters playing the staffers on the Mueller team.

Cast:
Hunter Christy Meyer
Najib Robert Gilbert
Saloman Ako Mitchell
Felix Sater Nathan Osgood
George Pandora Colin
Stormy Daniels Nancy Crane
Michael Cohen Kerry Shale

Written by Jonathan Myerson
Sound design by Alisdair McGregor
Produced and directed by Boz Temple-Morris

A Holy Mountain production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (m0002g71)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Moral Maze (m0002c37)
The mental health of young people

By many measures the UK is better than it was in the 1950s, but is it a better place in which to be young? Teenagers are more likely to be depressed today than they were during the Great Depression. Self-harm and suicide are on the rise. What’s going on? Surely, it can’t just be the internet, whether we welcome it for giving young people freedom they never had before, or demonise social media for confronting young people, hour by hour, with evidence of their own inadequacy. Research suggests that children and teenagers are spending less time face-to-face with their friends. Parents used to send their kids out to play in the park; now that’s exposing them to ‘stranger danger’. Young people can go off the rails because of family breakdown, and parents can struggle to cope if there is a lack support from the extended family or the wider community. We remember that older generations have always been quicker to condemn young people than to praise them. How far should we feel collectively responsible for the mental health of young people? Is it time to intervene through government regulation and education policy to protect teenagers? If the politicians, teachers and doctors take increasing responsibility, do they risk undermining parents as authority figures? We worry about teenagers’ self-esteem, but are we in danger of wrapping them in cotton wool, and reducing their resilience? Are we over-medicalising the issue, diagnosing serious mental health problems where once we saw only the stresses and uncertainties of adolescence? In this ‘Children’s Mental Health Week’, how should we do the right thing by our children?

Producer: Dan Tierney


SAT 23:00 Round Britain Quiz (m0002b9d)
Programme 6, 2019

(6/12)
How might the Catalonian national anthem, a Discworld novel and a fearsome chilli from Carolina all bring you closer to death? This is just one of the teasers in the pack held by chairman Tom Sutcliffe, which he'll be trying out on the regular panellists from the South of England and Northern Ireland. Paul Sinha and Marcus Berkmann play for the South of England, still looking for their first win of the season, opposite Freya McClements and Paddy Duffy for Northern Ireland.

Tom offers helpful hints and does his best to steer the panel out of their blind alleys where necessary - but the more clues they need from the chair, the fewer points they'll win.

As always, listeners' suggestions have provided several of the questions in today's edition.

Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Dorothy Cross: Shark (m00029gf)
An ode to sharks by Irish artist Dorothy Cross.

With fossil records dating back 400 million years, sharks have outlived most life forms on the planet. They are essential to the natural order of marine ecosystems, but so little is really known about them. Dorothy Cross is fascinated and inspired by these majestic fish. She's shared a canoe with a shark caller in the South Pacific, swum beneath Hammerheads in the Galapagos and, in this programme, she's out on a boat off Malin Head, the northern most tip of Ireland, in search of basking sharks and poetry.

Poems include Norman MacCaig's Basking Shark, Mirror by Silvia Plath, Flying Fish: An Ode by Charles Wharton Stork, Herman Melville's Maldive Shark and Behind Me Dips Eternity by Emily Dickinson. Poetry readers are Eleanor Bron, Bill Paterson and Fiona Shaw.

Produced by Kate Bland
A Cast Iron Radio production for BBC Radio 4



SUNDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2019

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m0002g73)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Short Works (m0002cmx)
Craft Work by Selina Thompson

Living in a caravan on the east coast of Ireland, a woman comes face-to-face with fear. An original short work for radio by Selina Thompson.

Selina Thompson is an artist and performer based in Leeds. Her work is playful, participatory and intimate, focused on the politics of identity, and how this defines our bodies, lives and environments. She has made work for pubs, cafes, hairdressers, toilets, galleries, theatres - and now radio. Past work includes 'Salt', where she retraced one of the routes of the Transatlantic Slave Triangle on a cargo ship across the Atlantic, and 'Chewing The Fat', her own version of a midnight feast: somewhere between the confessions made over coffee at weight-watchers, and the sloppy drunken story-telling that accompanies that 3AM kebab.

Produced by Eliza Lomas.
Written and performed by Selina Thompson.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0002g75)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0002g77)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0002g79)
The latest shipping forecast


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (m0002g7c)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m0002g54)
St Chad’s, Far Headingley, Leeds

Bells on Sunday comes from St. Chad’s, Far Headingley in Leeds. The church was built in 1867 and its spire reaches 186 feet high. There is a ring of eight bells and the tenor weighs eighteen hundredweight and is tuned to the key of E.


SUN 05:45 Profile (m0002g4g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (m0002g31)
The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (m0002g33)
The Wisdom of Equality

Chair of the London Buddhist Centre Suryagupta Dharmacharini considers what is meant by the concept of equality and how to achieve it. She explores the process of confronting both internal and external biases.

Suryagupta considers her own experience of growing up as an African Caribbean girl in the UK and the sense of inferiority that often accompanied that. She turns to Buddhist teachings in an attempt to counter this state of mind, in favour of creating a more equal and loving experience. However, she remains mindful that religions can sometimes choose to focus solely on individual freedom, rather than taking a wider stance against inequality caused by society’s flaws.

Keeping socially sanctioned inequality in mind, Suryagupta looks back on a recent trip to South Africa. Although apartheid ended 25 years ago, discrimination is still rife. She argues that this disparity means a sense of freedom is absent for both white and black South Africans – armed guards and barbed wire characterising Cape Town’s rich suburbs.

Suryagupta concludes her exploration of equality by considering the importance of reflecting on biases, to actively pursue a freedom that is only reached by finding common humanity. In finding this, she explains, we can achieve a richer, truer experience of humanity.

Presenter: Suryagupta Dharmacharini
Producer: Oliver Seymour
A TBI production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m0002g35)
British Flowers

As Valentine's Day approaches it's one of the busiest times of the year for flower growers. Verity Sharp visits a florist and flower farmer in Somerset, to hear about the challenge of providing British flowers year round.

Produced by Beatrice Fenton.


SUN 06:57 Weather (m0002g37)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m0002g39)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m0002g3c)
Nigeria’s elections: A Sunday programme special

Nigeria’s presidential elections on February 16 will decide who leads Africa’s most populous nation for the next four years.

In a Sunday special from Lagos, Edward Stourton explores the effect religion plays in Nigerian life and its importance in the upcoming ballot.

Religiously linked violence in Nigeria’s northern states and Middle Belt colours the backdrop of these elections. We speak to those affected and examine the impact the clashes will have on how people vote.

Femi Kuti who, like his father Fela Kuti, combines music with social activism, speaks to Edward Stourton about the choices facing Nigeria. And with two leading candidates both in their 70s, we speak to some of Nigeria’s under 25s, who makes up more than half the population, about how they view the elections.

Producer:
Harry Farley
Helen Lee


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m0002g3f)
Lifebox Foundation

Surgeon and author Atul Gawande makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Lifebox Foundation.

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 ‘Lifebox Foundation’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Lifebox Foundation’.

Registered Charity Number: 1143018


SUN 07:57 Weather (m0002g3h)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m0002g3k)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m00026gy)
From St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, led by The Rev Calum MacLeod with the Cathedral Choir directed by Michael Harris.
Introit: Christ whose glory fills the skies (Andrew Carvel)
Preces: Richard Shephard
Anthem: Be thou my vision (Bob Chilcott)
Hymns: All my hope on God is founded (Tune: Michael)
O God you are my God alone (Ps 63) (Tune: Resignation)
There’s a spirit in the air (Tune: Lauds)
Readings: Isaiah 6: 1-8, Luke 5: 1-11
Organist: Jordan English.
Producer: Mo McCullough


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m0002cnk)
The Organ Recital

Will Self asks why our relationship with our bodies - our corporeal self - has become such a distant one.
"One thing that becomes screamingly obvious the second we fall ill - and which remains with us day after day, if we're chronically so - is that we are our bodies", he writes.
He warns of the dangers of exalting our minds above all else.

Producer: Adele Armstrong


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0002g3m)
Dominic Couzens on the Moorhen

Natural history writer, speaker and tour leader Dominic Couzens is in the chair this week for Tweet of the Day. Taking a break from his worldwide travels, Dominic recounts why the moorhen is a comical bird which can hold a few surprises that's no laughing matter.

You can hear more from Dominic in his Tweet of the Week omnibus available on the Radio 4 website or via BBC Sounds.

Producer Andrew Dawes


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m0002g3p)
Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m0002g3r)
Writer ….. Tim Stimpson
Director ….. Marina Caldarone
Editor ….. Jeremy Howe

Jill Archer.... Patricia Greene
David Archer ….. Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer.... Felicity Finch
Pip Archer.... Daisy Badger
Ben Archer.... Ben Norris
Kenton Archer ….. Richard Attlee
Jolene Archer.... Buffy Davis
Helen Archer…. Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer.... William Troughton
Brian Aldridge ….. Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ….. Angela Piper
Rex Fairbrother..... Nick Barber
Toby Fairbrother..... Rhys Bevan
Bert Fry..... Eric Allan
Eddie Grundy.... Trevor Harrison
Shula Hebden Lloyd.... Judy Bennett
Alistair Lloyd…. Michael Lumsden
Adam Macy ….. Andrew Wincott
Kirsty Miller.... Annabelle Dowler
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Johnny Philips.... Tom Gibbons
Roy Tucker.... Ian Pepperell
Natasha.... Mali Harries
Leonard.... Paul Copley


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (m0002g3t)
Cressida Dick, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police

Cressida Dick is Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

She was born in 1960, the youngest child of two university professors. Her parents divorced when she was still at primary school and she and her older siblings grew up in Oxford. Their father died when Cressida was just 11. She read Agriculture and Forest Sciences at Oxford University before spending a year in accountancy.

She joined the Metropolitan Police in 1983 where her first beat was on the streets of Soho. After a decade in London, she transferred to Thames Valley Police where she worked her way up to become area commander in Oxford.

In 2001 she completed a master’s degree in Criminology, re-joining the Met to head its diversity directorate and, from 2003, Operation Trident, the Met’s gun crime unit. It was in this capacity that she came to wider public attention when, in the wake of the 2005 London transport bombings, an innocent man was shot dead by police at Stockwell tube station. The Met was severely criticised in the aftermath of Jean Charles de Menezes’s death. Cressida Dick was the commander in charge of the operation, but a 2007 trial found that she bore no personal culpability.

In 2011, she became Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations responsible for counter-terrorism work, but in 2015 she left the Met to work at the Foreign Office. In February 2017, she made her return to policing when she was the successful candidate in the search for a new Commissioner. She took up the post in April 2017 for a five-year term, the first woman and the first openly gay person to hold the job.

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Cathy Drysdale


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m0002g3w)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 Just a Minute (m0002b9p)
Series 83

Episode 1

New Series

Tony Hawks, Josie Lawrence, Gyles Brandreth & Angela Barnes join Nicholas Parsons for the panel game where the challenge is to speak without repetition, deviation or hesitation.

Produced by Victoria Lloyd
A BBC Studios Production


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m0002g3y)
Curry house crisis... where are the women?

The British Asian restaurant sector says it's suffering the consequence of major staff shortages. Many high street takeaways and curry houses are facing closure. While restaurants search for a solution, some are questioning whether enough is being done to encourage women into traditionally male dominated kitchens. And whether if they could, this might be part of the solution.

In this programme Sheila Dillon meets pioneers of British Asian cooking. Chef Romy Gill MBE, one of the first Indian women to own and run her restaurant 'Romy's Kitchen' near Bristol. Winner of BBC One's Masterchef Saliha Mahmood Ahmed, whose multi-faceted career takes in cheffing, food writing, raising children and working as a doctor. Asma Khan, soon to be the first British restauranteur on the Emmy nominated Netflix series 'Chef's Table'. Takeaway chef Salina Ahmed, finalist in the British Takeaway awards for her cooking at 'Sizzlers' in Winchester. And Rakesh Ravindran Nair, Group Development and Training Chef at the Cinnamon Club in London.

Presented by Sheila Dillon
Produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury


SUN 12:57 Weather (m0002g40)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m0002g42)
Global news and analysis, presented by Mark Mardell.


SUN 13:30 No County for Young People (m0002g44)
Comedian Sarah Breese attempts to reverse the trend of young people deserting rural Wales. There will be nearly 20% fewer under-25s in the county of Powys by 2039. What will it take for Sarah to persuade people to stay? How can young professionals be convinced to move in? And are rural areas viable as the population ages?

Produced by Glyn Tansley


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0002cmv)
Rutland

Eric Robson and the team are in Rutland. Matthew Wilson, Christine Walkden and James Wong answer this week's questions.

The panellists recommend plants for a herbaceous border on clay, suggest evergreen trees suitable for providing privacy in the garden, and advise on cutting back a badly pruned Amalanchier.

They also discuss non-flowering daffodil bulbs, the pros and cons of opening your garden to the public and the success of Rowan trees in warding off evil spirits.

Away from the questions, Bob Flowerdew visits Ross Lee, an inspirational self-taught young gardener in Suffolk.

Produced by Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Rosie Merotra

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (m0002g46)
Love Lost and Found

For Paul and Robert , it's the power of the word itself. For Bea and Rebecca it was unconditional, even in the midst of the conflict and pain triggered by an eating disorder. For Tania and Chris, it is an unexpected joy.

Love is an essential ingredient in family life and in this week's omnibus, Fi Glover hears how three sets of parents and children describe the love they share.

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: Julia Johnson


SUN 15:00 Drama (m0002g48)
The Door in the Pillow

Inspired by events in his own life, award-winning screenwriter and novelist Frank Cottrell-Boyce has created a deeply tender drama, full of heart, hope and humour which weaves the powerful impact of dementia into a haunting ghost story. Anne Mitchell stars as Annie, a woman whose fractured sense of the world is held together by stories. Daughter Terri starts to question where they are coming from – one story in particular seems wildly disconnected from anything Terri knows of her mother's past. It doesn’t crack under examination, and seems to have a concrete solidity that reality no longer does....

Frank Cottrell-Boyce is perhaps best known as the script writer for the London Olympics Opening Ceremony. He won the Carnegie medal for his novel MILLIONS, which he also adapted for the screen directed by Danny Boyle. He scripted the Oscar-nominated HILARY AND JACKIE, and collaborated with Michael Winterbottom on films including 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE. His novel SPUTNIK’S GUIDE TO LIFE ON EARTH is currently being adapted as an animated film for Dreamworks.

Annie ….. Ann Mitchell
Terri ….. Samantha Spiro
Bernie ….. Carolyn Pickles
Eric ….. Tony Turner
Father Burns ….. Don Gilet
The Soldier ….. Christopher Harper
The Children ….. Grace Doherty and Eviee Lavery
Other parts are played by Saffron Coomber, Jeanette Percival, Alexandra Constantinidi

Written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Directed by Allegra McIlroy


SUN 16:00 Open Book (m0002g4b)
Kristen Roupenian, Javier Cercas, Quakers in fiction

Kristen Roupenian, author of the acclaimed short story 'Cat Person', talks to Mariella Frostrup about her new collection 'You Know You Want This'

Celebrated writer Javier Cercas recommends his top literary picks about the Spanish civil war

Chris Power reviews 'Where Reasons End' the new novel from American Chinese author Yiyun Li

Bridget Collins explores the appeal of Quaker characters in literature


SUN 16:30 The Sea is an Edge and an Ending (m0002g4d)
The poet Lavinia Greenlaw presents a sequence of poems about her late father's dementia.

"And so he keeps setting out - without keys or money or a plan -
casting himself upon the world, sure that it will come:
the divine hand that reaches down to switch off the engine
-the point of arrest, the rest."

The Sea is an Edge and an Ending investigates what it means to lose your memory. It focuses on what it means for your sense of self to come loose and for the past to float free. It carries echoes of Shakespeare’s Tempest in its study of a man under a kind of spell, whose child must observe his strange and terrifying liberation. The poems move from the shifting coastal landscape of the east of England, a geography central to Greenlaw’s life and work, to eroded interiors containing only the bare structures and reduced emblems of this man’s life.

The Built Moment by Laviania Greenlaw is published by Faber & Faber

The Sea is an Edge and an Ending is a short film made with the FVU. You can read more about it and watch the film here:

https://www.fvu.co.uk/projects/the-sea-is-an-edge-and-an-ending-1#video-182736596

Producer: Maggie Ayre


SUN 17:00 File on 4 (m0002bnv)
Can we Fix it? The Inside Story of Match Fixing in Tennis

Last month, law enforcement officials in Spain said they had broken up a major match fixing ring in tennis. The Guardia Civil said 28 players competing at the lower levels of tennis were implicated. It's alleged that a group of Armenians had bribed the players to fix matches.

File on 4 reveals the inside story of how players and betting gangs are seeking to corrupt the lower tiers of the sport. In many cases, a player only has to lose a set or certain games - not the whole match - to get paid. Players and fixers communicate on social media as matches get underway to ensure the correct outcome is achieved. The rewards can be significant with players sometimes being paid thousands of pounds - often much more than they can earn in prize money. For the betting gangs who have placed money on a guaranteed outcome, the pay off can be much greater.

Two years after File on 4 first revealed concerns about match fixing in the game, the programme looks at how the tennis authorities have responded to the issue and examines the measures put forward by an independent panel to reduce the risk of corruption.

Reporter: Paul Connolly
Producer: Paul Grant
Editor: Gail Champion

Photo credit: AFP / Getty Images


SUN 17:40 Profile (m0002g4g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m0002g4j)
The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (m0002g4l)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0002g4n)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m0002g4q)
Adrian Chiles

Adrian Chiles chooses his BBC Radio highlights.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m0002g4s)
Emma's attempts to help backfire and Elizabeth struggles to keep up appearances


SUN 19:15 Clare in the Community (b083p889)
Series 11

Unfaithful

Episode 3 - Unfaithful

Brian's been going through Clare's emails and made an upsetting discovery. He's insisted on a couple's therapy session although Clare isn't taking proceedings entirely seriously.

Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.

A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.

Each week we join Clare in her continued struggle to control both her professional and private life In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.

Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden
Producer Alexandra Smith

A BBC Studios production.


SUN 19:45 Blackwater (m0002g4v)
Episode 6

A multi-voiced dark story about secrets and lies in a small town.

Golden girl Zoe’s been dead for ten years, her body dragged from the river Black after a night out to celebrate the end of school. But now a woman who says she’s Zoe has turned up in her hometown of Blackwater, on the Irish border, with no memory of the last decade. She claims she woke up in a forest nearby, bruised and bleeding, and doesn’t know where she’s been all this time. What happened to her? Is she really Zoe? If so, who’s in her grave?

Paul, a local boy whose band were playing in the venue where Zoe was last seen, went to prison for her murder. Now he’s out, but he’s lost everything and is shunned in the town. The people of Blackwater were easily convinced that a black boy murdered Zoe, and the evidence did stack up – but if she’s not even dead, then how did he get convicted? Did someone deliberately frame him? He’s determined to find out the truth and clear his name. But does he really know nothing about what happened?

Could it be that everyone involved with the case is hiding something? There’s Zoe’s uncle Phil, a former detective superintendent with an explosive secret. There’s Steve, the police officer who found ‘Zoe’s’ body in the river Black, and sent Paul to prison for her murder. And there’s Zoe’s friend Danny, who wasn’t were she said she was on that night ten years ago. When Paul and Zoe collide, they realise they’re the only ones who can help each other. As they sift through their conflicting memories of that day ten years ago, they start to discover that not everyone is happy Zoe’s back from the dead.

Clare Dunne ….. Zoe
Sean Kearns ….. Phil

Claire McGowan ..... Writer
Celia De Wolff ..... Producer


SUN 20:00 More or Less (m0002cn1)
Teen suicide, Brexit business moves, Wood-burner pollution

“‘Suicidal generation’: tragic toll of teens doubles in 8 years.” This was a headline in the Sunday Times a few days ago. Is it true? Not really. Tim Harford fact checks the claim with journalist Tom Chivers.

This week, the BBC and other media outlets ran headlines saying that a third of firms are considering a move abroad because of Brexit. The stories were based on a survey from the Institute of Directors. Tim Harford is not convinced.

Is it true, as heard on the Today programme, that on average women's clothes stay in their wardrobes for only five weeks? Tim Harford examines this flimsy little statistic.

Last month, the government announced its clean air strategy for 2019. Listeners were surprised to find their cosy wood-burning stoves were branded high polluters. By popular request, Tim Harford scrutinises the numbers.

Producer: Ruth Alexander


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m0002cmz)
Rosamunde Pilcher OBE, Hugh Lewin, Lamia Al-Gailani, Dr Stewart Adams OBE, Dr Adam Watson

Pictured: Rosamunde Pilcher

Andrea Catherwood on:

Activist Hugh Lewin who was jailed for his stand against apartheid in South Africa,

Iraqi archaeologist Lamia Al-Gailani who helped rebuild the National Museum of Iraq after looting,

Dr Stewart Adams, the Boots pharmacist who invented Ibuprofen,

Scottish ecologist Adam Watson who devoted his life to protecting the Cairngorms,

and author Rosamunde Pilcher, the mistress of the British Family Saga.

Interviewed guest: Lord Peter Hain
Interviewed guest: Jane Arraf
Interviewed guest: Sophie Clapp
Interviewed guest: Iain Cameron
Interviewed guest: Derek Pyper
Producer: Neil George

Archive clips from: The Whites Who Fought Apartheid, Radio 4 23/05/2010; ISIL's Destruction of Antiquities, Al Jazeera English 26/02/2015; Dan Cruickshank's Civilisation Under Attack, BBC Four 08/07/2015; Saturday Live, Radio 4 22/12/2007; Afield, Radio 4 03/01/1971; Bookshelf: Rosamunde Pilcher, Radio 4 03/01/1992.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m0002g4y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m0002g3f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 Analysis (m0002b9z)
Do children of married parents do better?

Does being born to non-married parents affect a child's prospects? It is a question that is notoriously hard to answer. BBC Education Editor Branwen Jeffreys investigates research from Princeton's landmark Fragile Families study, which has gathered data from 5,000 births over the last 18 years. She speaks to principal investigator Professor Sara McLanahan to find out how much we know about the differing outcomes of children raised by married, cohabiting or single parents.

Branwen asks how applicable the results of the study are to British society, where very soon, a minority of births will be to married parents. Professor Emla Fitzsimons has been following the lives of 19,000 children, born across the UK in 2000-01. She reveals what the project, know as The Millennium Cohort Study has found.

Producer: Diane Richardson


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m0002g50)
Preview of the week's politics with politicians, pundits and experts.


SUN 23:00 The TED Interview (m0002cd9)
Steven Pinker

Founded in 1984 in the USA, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. The first TED Talks were first posted online in 2006 and since then TED Talks have had many millions of views.

In The TED Interview hosted by Chris Anderson – audiences can immerse themselves more deeply in some of the most compelling ideas heard on the TED stage.

Steven Pinker on the case for optimism.
Chris Anderson talks to cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker. Was 2017 really the "the worst ever," as some would have us believe? Cognitive psychologist and linguist Steven Pinker shares data that shows: actually, it was one of the best overall. At TED2018, head of TED Chris Anderson sat down with Steven to take a closer look at the data that suggest the world is improving - and to unpack why so many people find this idea so challenging.

A TED original podcast.


SUN 23:45 The Listening Project (b08lglt5)
The Listening Project One Thousand

A Record of the People

The most shared conversation in our British Library archive features when Professor Tim Luckhurst illustrates the value of this non-journospeak collection to Fi Glover. Part of a celebration of the delivery of the thousandth conversation to the British Library and examination of the value of this unique archive from the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen, now and in the future.

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

Producer: Marya Burgess.



MONDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2019

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m0002g52)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (m0002c2s)
Motorbikes

Motorbikes: Born to be wild. Randy McBee, Professor of Labor and Social History at the Texas Tech University, considers the rise of the American Motorcyclist from its largely working-class roots to the growth in "outlaw" motorcycle culture in the 1950s through to the development of the motorcycle rights movement of the 1960s and the emergence of the rich urban biker more recently. What impact has the 'biker' had on American culture and politics?
He's joined by Esperanza Miyake, Lecturer in Digital Media and Communications at Manchester Metropolitan University, and author of a new study of the 'gendered motorcycle' in film, advertising and TV. She asks why biker culture is often seen as essentially masculine and what happens to gender at 120mph.

Producer: Jayne Egerton


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m0002g54)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0002g56)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0002g58)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0002g5b)
The latest shipping forecast


MON 05:30 News Briefing (m0002g5d)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0002g5g)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Alison Murdoch Tibetan Buddhist, writer, & editor.

I recently came across a young American fantasy writer called Alexandra Rowland who’s coined a new term: ‘hopepunk’. “The opposite of grimdark is hopepunk. Pass it on,” she posted on social media. For those of us less familiar with the world of fantasy, grimdark is disheartening and cynical – the kind of storytelling in which nearly everyone seems to be sad, bad and acting out of self interest. Game of Thrones, anyone? In contrast, hopepunk is about digging deep and finding the courage to break through the darkness – more like Frodo and Sam in the Lord of the Rings – which Alexandra argues is exactly what we all need in these times.

Hopepunk might be a good term to apply to one of the most famous characters in Tibetan Buddhism, the eleventh century saint Milarepa. Milarepa is notorious for having studied black magic as a young man, which led him to kill thirty-five people and ruin the village harvest. This act of revenge left him full of remorse, and despite many obstacles and challenges he used the teachings of Buddhism to completely turn his life around, becoming famous for his kindness and saintliness. In paintings he’s usually portrayed with green skin, the result of living on nothing but nettles during his many years of solitary retreat in the high Himalayas.

In the Tibetan language, the literal meaning of Milarepa’s name is ‘good news.’ In times of discouragement, the good news that I get from his story is that however dark things seem, we all possess the potential – or Buddha nature - to turn our lives around for the good. Even just recalling this inner capacity for change can help us be more hopeful and kind to ourselves and to others. As the year unfolds, with no doubt many obstacles and challenges, let’s pray we can all stay courageous, hopeful and kind.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m0002g5j)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


MON 05:56 Weather (m0002g5l)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378sqk)
Stonechat

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

Michaela Strachan presents the Stonechat. Stonechats are well named: their call sounds just like two pebbles being struck together. The males are striking birds with a black head, white collar and orange chest and are about the size of a plump robin.


MON 06:00 Today (m0002g7f)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m0002g7h)
The mind unravelling

How far does evolution explain mental health? The psychiatrist Randolph Nesse tells Kirsty Wark that negative emotions make sense in certain situations but can become excessive. He argues that positioning disorders in light of natural selection helps explain the ubiquity of human suffering - and may help in finding new paths for relieving it.

The neuropsychologist AK Benjamin investigates the boundaries of sanity and madness in his book, Let Me Not Be Mad. Through a series of consultations with patients, he explores the mind unravelling at the seams. But the question remains whether this unravelling mind belongs to the doctor or the patient.

The poet George Szirtes looks at the damaging impact of international events on a single family, in his memoir of his mother Magda. The Photographer At Sixteen follows Magda from her teenage life in Hungary, through political uprisings, internment in two concentration camps and transition to life in England. He explores the effect of an unravelling world on a family's mental health.

In Arthur Miller’s play, The American Clock, directed by Rachel Chavkin, another family is swept along in a chaotic, damaged world. As the stock market crashes in 1929 the play asks what happens to those who have built their lives on an unwavering faith in capitalism.

Producer: Katy Hickman


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (m0002g99)
Amateur

Episode 1

Thomas Page McBee, a trans man, trains to fight in a charity match at New York's Madison Square Garden, while struggling to untangle the vexed relationship between masculinity and violence.

Through his experience of boxing - learning to get hit and to hit back, wrestling with the camaraderie of the gym, confronting the betrayals and strengths of his own body - McBee examines male violence, the pervasiveness of gender stereotypes and the limitations of conventional masculinity. It's a graceful and uncompromising exploration of living, fighting and healing.

Thomas Page McBee is a journalist and commentator currently living in New York. His first book, Man Alive (2014), was an account of the emotional and physical complexity underlying the process of gender reassignment, and also explored his early years and the sexual abuse he suffered, perpetrated by his stepfather. Amateur was shortlisted for the 2018 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.

Written and read by Thomas Page McBee
Abridged by Jill Waters
Produced by Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0002g7m)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0002g7p)
Life Lines (Series 2)

Episode 1

by Al Smith

Carrie ..... Sarah Ridgeway
Ian ..... Michael Jibson
Danny ..... Joe Simms
Will ..... Don Gilet
Brenda ..... Emma Handy
James ..... Lewis Bray

Directed by Sally Avens

The award-winning drama series set in an ambulance control room returns. Carrie faces a series of heart stopping emergencies at work as bad weather sets in and the increased pressure begins to affect her personal life.

The first series of Life Lines won Best Series at the Audio Drama Awards, Best Drama at the Radio Awards and Best Fictional Storytelling at The Audio Radio Industry Awards in 2017.
Al Smith is a graduate of the BBC Writers Academy and has been a broadcast Hot Shot. In 2012 Al won the BFI Wellcome Trust Screenwriting Prize. He was nominated for the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the 2017 Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

Sarah Ridgeway (Carrie) is best known for her roles in Sucker Punch, Harrogate (Royal Court), The Crimson Petal and The White, Call The Midwife (BBC).

Michael Jibson (Ian) Michael won an Olivier award for his role in 'Hamilton' and he has recently been seen in The Alienist and Star Wars: The Last Jedi


MON 11:00 The Untold (m0002g7s)
What Happened Next?

Grace Dent revisits four powerful stories recently featured in The Untold, to find out where life took them next.

Will was a victim of the Westminster Bridge attack, now tasked with putting his life back together and managing serious injuries. Kanan's life was turned upside down when the song he wrote in a Bristol flatshare was picked up by Jay-Z and became an international hit. Other stories revisited are the case of two GPs fighting to save their practice and the mother whose child was separated from her and taken to live abroad, without her consent.


MON 11:30 Prepper (m0002g7v)
Series 1

The Kit in Your Head

Comedy with Sue Johnston and Pearl Mackie.

Trump. ISIS. The Courgette Crisis. Signs of civilisation’s fragility are all around. No wonder the Doomsday Clock just nudged closer to midnight. In this fearscape, more and more ordinary people are wondering how they’d cope if everything we take for granted (law and order, access to healthcare, iceberg lettuces in Sainsburys) was taken away.

Preppers - a large and rapidly growing global community - have taken this thought one step further. They’re actively skilling-up, laying down supplies and readying themselves for the end of the world, in whatever form it comes. Indeed, a prepping shop just opened in Newquay. And if people in Cornwall are prepping, it’s time to worry.

Imagine if Woman’s Hour made a podcast about preparing for the end times. Prepper follows neurotic, debt-ridden Rachel and hard-as-nails ‘Churchill in Spanx’ Sylvia, working class Mancunians who prep and podcast, sharing knowledge with their community, and showing off just how Armageddon-ready they are.

Told through their podcasts from Sylvia’s garage and featuring ‘apoco-tips’, ‘end of days drills’ and interviews with preppers from around the world, Prepper comically explores how two mismatched women live with the possibility of the end of days, and how they bond over their determination to survive. And fend off zombies.

This week - situational awareness.

Cast:
Sylvia ..... Sue Johnston
Rachel ..... Pearl Mackie
with Simon Holland Roberts

Written by Caroline Moran and James J. Moran

Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4


MON 12:00 News Summary (m0002gh2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 A Ladder to the Sky (m0002g7z)
Episode 1

Maurice Swift is handsome, ruthless and desperate to become a successful novelist. He just needs the right story. However a chance encounter with the celebrated author Erich Ackermann gives Maurice an opportunity to ingratiate himself into the literary world. And Erich has a story of his own. Unfortunately Maurice is the last person Erich should confide in…

‘A Ladder To The Sky’ is a seductive thriller about a writer who won’t let anything, or anyone, stand in the way of his ambitions. Starring Enzo Cilenti (Luther), Wolf Kahler (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Colin Stinton (Butterfly) and Pippa Bennett-Warner (Harlots).

Awarded the Hennessy Literary 'Hall of Fame' Award for his body of work, the New York Times best-selling author John Boyne has received multiple Irish Book Awards including Children's Book of the Year, People's Choice Book of the Year and Short Story of the Year. He has also been awarded a number of international literary awards, including the Que Leer Award for Novel of the Year in Spain and the Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize in Germany. ‘A Ladder to The Sky’ is his eleventh novel for adults.

Writer ..... John Boyne
Abridger ..... Doreen Estall
Reader ..... Wolf Kahler
Producer ..... Michael Shannon


MON 12:18 You and Yours (m0002g82)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


MON 12:57 Weather (m0002g84)
The latest weather forecast.


MON 13:00 World at One (m0002g86)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague.


MON 13:45 Fatwa (m0002g88)
6. Are You With Us?

Fatwa is a ten-part series telling the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad.

Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou
Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar
Editor: Richard Knight


MON 14:00 The Archers (m0002g4s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Tumanbay (m0002g8b)
Series 3

Two Moons

As Tumanbay prepares for a royal wedding, the return of a certain prominent palace official offers hope for new alliances.

While the kite flyers of Tumanbay risk their lives for new adventure, Heaven (Olivia Popica), whose father was executed during the occupation, attempts to rebuild the family slave business and goes on a voyage to distant shores to purchase slaves, accompanied by one of her father’s business associates, the self-serving Bavand (Peter Polycarpou).

Cast:
Gregor........Rufus Wright
Manel........Aiysha Hart
Cadali........Matthew Marsh
Grand Master, Amalric........ Anton Lesser
Bavand........Peter Polycarpou
Alkin........Nathalie Armin
Herod........Amir El-Masry
Selim........Farshid Rokey
Heaven........Olivia Popica
General Qulan........Christopher Fulford
Frog........Finn Elliot
Matilla........Humera Syed
Akiba........Akin Gazi
Balarac Sergeant........Alexander Arnold
Nurse........Annabelle Dowler
Slave Captain........George Georgiou
The Hafiz........Antony Bunsee
Spider........Yusuf Hofri
Martha........Marlene Madenge
Courtier........Vivek Madan
Prisoner........Nadir Khan

Tumanbay is created by John Scott Dryden and Mike Walker and inspired by the Mamluk slave rulers of Egypt.

Original Music by Sacha Puttnam

Sound Design by Eloise Whitmore
Additional Music by Jon Ouin

Produced by Emma Hearn, Nadir Khan and John Scott Dryden
Written by Mike Walker
Directed by John Scott Dryden

A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4


MON 15:00 Round Britain Quiz (m0002g8d)
Programme 7, 2019

(7/12)
Wales take on the North of England for the second time this season, with Wales hoping to reverse their narrow defeat last time. Myfanwy Alexander and David Edwards play for Wales, against Adele Geras and Stuart Maconie of the North. Tom Sutcliffe is in the questionmaster's chair and will be armed with cryptic puzzles such as:

Why would an Ipswich and England footballer, a coincidental novelist, and two Dr Whos, lend weight to an insult often misattributed to Napoleon?

As usual, there's a generous sprinkling of question ideas suggested by Round Britain Quiz listeners. Today's contest was recorded before an audience at the Harrogate Literature Festival.

Producer: Paul Bajoria


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m0002g3y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 Behind the Scenes (m0002g8h)
PJ Harvey

John Wilson follows PJ Harvey as she creates the score for a new West End theatre production of All About Eve.

Singer songwriter Polly Jean Harvey is the only artist to have twice won the Mercury Prize for Album of the Year – for Stories from the City, Stories From the Sea in 2001 and Let England Shake a decade later. After 12 critically acclaimed albums and more than 25 years as an international touring artist, she is now focussing on her work as a soundtrack composer, having written scores for theatre and television for more than a decade.

Starring Gillian Anderson (making her first return to the stage since her acclaimed 2014 performance in A Streetcar Named Desire) and Lily James (star of Downton Abbey and Mama Mia), All About Eve is one of the most anticipated theatrical events of 2019. Adapted from the 1950 film, which was nominated for 14 Oscars and won six including Best Actress for Bette Davis, it’s a story of an ageing Broadway star and a young fan who usurps her place in the spotlight.

Over several weeks in the run up to opening night, Polly shows John how she works at home, writing and recording demos for the soundtrack to the play, and how one musical element of the original film – Liebestraume by Franz Liszt – has become the creative touchstone for her own compositions.

Presented and Produced by John Wilson.
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


MON 16:30 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m0002g8k)
Series 19

How to Measure the Universe

How to Measure the Universe

Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined on stage by comedian Jo Brand, and physicists Prof Jo Dunkley and Dr Adam Masters to look at how we go about measuring our universe: From measuring the contents of atmospheres of planets and moons at the outer edges of our solar system, to looking far back in time to study the very earliest beginnings of the cosmos. Our ability to learn about phenomena and worlds that seems almost impossibly out of reach, now give us an incredible insight into the universe we occupy, and how we got here. Brian and Robin find out about some of the big new missions providing information into our own solar system and beyond, and find out what big questions in cosmology still remain a tantalising challenge?

Producer: Alexandra Feachem


MON 17:00 PM (m0002g8m)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0002g8p)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (m0002g8r)
Series 83

Episode 2

Paul Merton, Sheila Hancock, Josh Widdicombe and Julian Clary join Nicholas Parsons for the panel game where the challenge is to speak without hesitation, repetition or deviation.

Produced by Matt Stronge.

A BBC Studios Production.


MON 19:00 The Archers (m0002g8t)
There's bad news for Brian and Ian waves the white flag


MON 19:15 Front Row (m0002g8w)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0002g7p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 Tara and George (m0002g8y)
Beyond Tara and George

In the six months since Radio 4 shared the stories of Tara and George, a pair of rough sleepers on the streets of east London, the Government has published statistics that reveal the true toll of being homeless - last year there were nearly six hundred deaths on the streets of the UK and the average life expectancy has fallen again.

Tara and George, as well as being familiar figures in their neighbourhood, are also on the radar of local agencies and charities. George has a regular hostel place, Tara's situation is more complex. But, as they revealed to Audrey Gillan in an intimate series of documentaries last summer, sleeping rough is typically a symptom of myriad other issues.

In this follow-up documentary recorded during the new year's first Severe Weather Emergency Protocol, Audrey catches up with Tara and George to see how they're coping with the cold and she pursues a simple question, prompted by attendance at a memorial service at St Martin-in-the-Fields for those who've died on the streets in the last year - what would it take to prevent the unnecessary deaths of homeless people?

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


MON 20:30 Analysis (m0002g90)
Conspiracy Politics

Are we living in a ‘golden age’ of political conspiracy theories and what does belief in them tell us about voters and politicians? James Tilley, a professor of politics at the University of Oxford, talks to historians, psychologists and political scientists to ask why conspiracy theories are so common and who are the people spreading them. Why are so many of us drawn to the notion of shadowy forces controlling political events? And are conspiracy theories, in which things always happen for a reason and where good is always pitted against evil, simply an exaggerated version of our everyday political thinking?
Producer: Bob Howard


MON 21:00 Why Can't Our Children Talk? (m0002bmv)
Teachers all over the country report that children are arriving at school unable to communicate properly. They have limited vocabulary, no eye contact, don’t know nursery rhymes or stories, may not even know their own address.

Why it’s happening is a matter of debate - there’s little clear evidence. Most people blame screen time. But maybe screens are a symptom, not a cause.

Kim Normanton sets out to explore what’s going on, talking to teachers, parents and language researchers. She visits schemes in Liverpool, Yorkshire and Stoke-on-Trent that are trying to intervene and boost the language skills of young children. What’s certain is that problems start very early on, so maybe we need to look more closely at how we talk to very young children and babies right from the start.

Kim is a former reception teacher and has observed children first-hand struggling to understand conversation or follow verbal instructions. “One day the whiteboard was broken and it was hopeless trying to get them to focus to teach them anything,” she says.

Children who start school with reduced language skills may never recover. A child's vocabulary size at age two predicts their academic achievement right up to age 16. Children arriving at school with limited language skills are twice as likely to be unemployed.

Presenter and Producer: Kim Normanton
Executive Producer: Elizabeth Burke
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


MON 21:30 Start the Week (m0002g7h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m0002g93)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


MON 22:45 A Ladder to the Sky (m0002g7z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


MON 23:00 Word of Mouth (m0002bnd)
Talk of the Town: How Places Got Their Names

From Ashby-de-la-Zouch to Zennor, via Great Snoring, Lost and Nempnett Thrubwell, Michael Rosen is joined by linguists Dr Laura Wright and Professor Richard Coates to explore the origins of the UK's place names. What are the meanings of some of the most common village name formations, and how did some of the stranger names come about?

Producer: Mair Bosworth


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0002g95)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.



TUESDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2019

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m0002g97)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (m0002g99)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0002g9d)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0002g9g)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0002g9j)
The latest shipping forecast


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (m0002g9l)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0002g9n)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Alison Murdoch Tibetan Buddhist, writer, & editor.

During the recent snowy weather, there was an uplifting story about how over a hundred stranded motorists were offered overnight shelter at the remote Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor. The Jamaica Inn is an old smuggler’s haunt that achieved fame in the 1930s when the author Daphne du Maurier came across it in the fog and wrote a novel of the same name, later to become a film by Alfred Hitchcock. In this latest chapter in its history, the Inn once again broke all the rules and kept its crowded bar open into the small hours. “It was actually a lovely atmosphere…a lot of people made friends, probably for life,” commented one of the staff.

My guess is that despite freezing weather, a shortage of beds and the lack of a toothbrush, some of the Jamaica Inn’s unexpected guests had an excellent evening. It’s rarely our external circumstances that matter the most, but our state of mind. This is why my Tibetan Buddhist teachers put great stress on a practice called thought transformation, which encourages us to seek the silver lining in every problem we encounter. The premise is that if we can stay reasonably happy and content, whatever the situation, then we’re much more likely to find a positive way forward. Whereas when we let things get us down, we can easily fall into a spiral of anxiety, self-centredness and despair. And there’s always some kind of silver lining – even if it’s just the knowledge that without the person who annoys us, we can never learn patience.

Thought transformation keeps the mind in good shape and gives confidence that we don’t have to be at the mercy of external circumstances, whether extreme weather or something more lasting and serious. Let’s pray we can all find a way to turn our problems, big and small, into a means of moving forward in our lives.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m0002g9q)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09b0qjf)
Samuel West on the Eider

Actor Samuel West is especially fond of ducks, especially the eider duck, which for Samuel sound like a coven of Frankie Howerds gossiping around the village pond.

Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.

Producer: Tom Bonnett
Photo: Steve Balcombe.


TUE 06:00 Today (m0002gq2)
News and current affairs, including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m0002gq4)
Sue Black on women in tech

Sue Black left home and school when she was 16. Aged 25, she attended an access course to get the qualifications she needed to go to university to study computer science. It was a bit lonely being the only student in a mini- skirt surrounded by a sea of suits, but she came top of the class nonetheless. She signed up to do a PhD (not really know what a PhD was) and worked on the ripple effect in software. What happens when you change one bit of code? Does it mess up everything else? A lot of new software is created by building on and adapting existing programmes so it’s a useful skill. In 2003 she embarked on a three year campaign to save Bletchley Park where, ten thousand people built some of the first computers and wrote code to crack the Enigma code used by the Nazis during World War Two. More than half of the people who worked there were women. No-one had any previous experience of computers. And more than half a century on, there are fewer women working in tech than there were in the 1960s. Sue is determined to change this backwards step. Perhaps another Bletchley Park recruitment drive is needed to encourage more people, women in particular, to engage with tech and help to build our future?
Producer: Anna Buckley


TUE 09:30 One to One (m0002gq6)
Working Too Hard? The Gig Economy

Helen Lewis, associate editor of the New Statesman, meets Deliveroo and Uber Eats rider, Aaron Tatlow. What's it like to work for an app on your phone, when your boss is an algorithm? Some customers are very friendly, Aaron says - one man just lowers a basket for the food from his second floor window. And what about the dangers of the job, and the physical demands? Last year, Aaron cycled more than 10,000 miles delivering food to customers in York.

Producer: Chris Ledgard


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (m0002gq8)
Amateur

Episode 2

Thomas Page McBee, a trans man, trains to fight in a charity match at New York's Madison Square Garden, while struggling to untangle the vexed relationship between masculinity and violence.

Through his experience of boxing - learning to get hit and to hit back, wrestling with the camaraderie of the gym, confronting the betrayals and strengths of his own body - McBee examines male violence, the pervasiveness of gender stereotypes and the limitations of conventional masculinity. It's a graceful and uncompromising exploration of living, fighting and healing.

Thomas Page McBee is a journalist and commentator currently living in New York. His first book, Man Alive (2014), was an account of the emotional and physical complexity underlying the process of gender reassignment, and also explored his early years and the sexual abuse he suffered, perpetrated by his stepfather. Amateur was shortlisted for the 2018 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.

Written and read by Thomas Page McBee
Abridged by Jill Waters
Produced by Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0002gqb)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0002gqd)
Life Lines (Series 2)

Episode 2

by Al Smith

Carrie ..... Sarah Ridgeway
Will ..... Don Gilet
Robert ..... Sean Murray
Anna ..... Saffron Coomber
Ali ..... Lizzie Stables
Jess ..... Alex Constantinidi
Policeman ..... Cameron Percival
Geraldine ..... Elizabeth Counsell

Directed by Sally Avens

Drama set in an ambulance control room. Carrie faces a series of heartbreaking calls at work that leave her reconsidering her future.


TUE 11:00 Driven to Distraction (m0002gqg)
Are we really more distracted than ever before? Historian Rhys Jones explores the history of distraction and how previous generations have fought back

We are often told we are in the middle of a distraction crisis - big tech companies have learned how to monetise procrastination and are stealing our attention from us. Yet Rhys Jones explores how, throughout history, there has been an interplay between people who try to take our attention from us and people who resist - from 18th century worries about the novel to protestors against advertising posters in 19th century Paris.

Rhys also meets those trying to find ways to live without distraction today. Susan Maushart decided to turn off all her screens and live in the dark for six months, while James Williams a former Google staffer, is campaigning for the tech industry itself to reform, creating an ethics of distraction.

Can we go back to a place where technology is about changing our lives rather than stealing our attention?

With Abigail Williams, Tim Wu, Nir Eyal, Susan Maushart and James Williams.

Presented by Rhys Jones
Produced by Joe Sykes
A Somethin’ Else production for Radio 4


TUE 11:30 Quirke's Cast and Crew (m0002gqj)
Series 2

Screen Composers

In the second part of the series, Antonia Quirke meets some of the people whose contribution to films and TV shows can have the most dramatic impact - the composers of the score. Some of its most famous practitioners - Bernard Hermann and Ennio Morricone fpr example - are spoken about in the same hushed tones as some of cinemas greatest directors. But how do they go about their work and how much of the job is down to single minded individual genius and how much down to a willingness to collaborate? In order to find out, Antonia hears from Mica Levi, whose work on 'Jackie' won her an Oscar nomination, as well as Francis Macdonald, drummer with the band Teenage Fanclub as he creates the soundtrack for a major BBC documentary about Raymond Briggs. Award winning musician Erland Cooper composes a piece overnight, especially for the show, to accompany a four-minute film shot in the Shetland Isles - and David Julyan tells Antonia all about his long term partnership, since their days at University film club, with director Christopher Nolan.

Producer: Geoff Bird

Messenger. Composed by Mica Levi. Mastered by Shawn Joseph at Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK
Mushrooms. Composed by Mica Levi. Mastered by Shawn Joseph at Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m0002gql)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 A Ladder to the Sky (m0002gqn)
Episode 2

Maurice Swift is handsome, ruthless and desperate to become a successful novelist. He just needs the right story. However a chance encounter with the celebrated author Erich Ackermann gives Maurice an opportunity to ingratiate himself into the literary world. And Erich has a story of his own. Unfortunately Maurice is the last person Erich should confide in…

‘A Ladder To The Sky’ is a seductive thriller about a writer who won’t let anything, or anyone, stand in the way of his ambitions. Starring Enzo Cilenti (Luther), Wolf Kahler (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Colin Stinton (Butterfly) and Pippa Bennett-Warner (Harlots).

Awarded the Hennessy Literary 'Hall of Fame' Award for his body of work, the New York Times best-selling author John Boyne has received multiple Irish Book Awards including Children's Book of the Year, People's Choice Book of the Year and Short Story of the Year. He has also been awarded a number of international literary awards, including the Que Leer Award for Novel of the Year in Spain and the Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize in Germany. ‘A Ladder to The Sky’ is his eleventh novel for adults.

Writer ..... John Boyne
Abridger ..... Doreen Estall
Reader ..... Wolf Kahler
Producer ..... Michael Shannon


TUE 12:18 You and Yours (m0002gqq)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


TUE 12:57 Weather (m0002gqs)
The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (m0002gqv)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague.


TUE 13:45 Fatwa (m0002gqx)
7. The Mullah Boys

Fatwa is a ten-part series telling the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad.

Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou
Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar
Editor: Richard Knight


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m0002g8t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b07pjkhw)
Northern Lights

It's check-in day at a caravan park in Northern England and handyman Tom is starting to realise that blocked plumbing and broken aerials are, by far, the least of his problems.

Paul Fraser is a screenwriter and director often collaborating with his long term writing partner, Shane Meadows, on films such as TwentyFourSeven, A Room for Romeo Brass, Once Upon a Time In the Midlands, Dead Man's Shoes and Somers Town.
Paul also wrote Heartlands directed by Damien O'Donnell and starring Michael Sheen.

Tom ..... Michael Socha
Abby ..... Rachael Deering
Frank & Mike ..... Mark Addy
Janet & Sue ..... Susan Brown
Jock & Dan ..... Gordon Kennedy
Garf & Man ..... Sam Rix
Trevor, Dave, Punter ..... Glenn Hirst
Sandra, Sarah, Kid ..... Kirsty Oswold
Barstaff and Woman

Writer ..... Paul Fraser
Producer/Director ..... Gemma McMullan


TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (m0002g5z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


TUE 15:30 Making History (m0002gqz)
Popular history series where the past connects with the present.


TUE 16:00 Word of Mouth (m0002gr1)
Dyslexia

Michael Rosen talks in depth about dyslexia with expert Professor Maggie Snowling.
Producer Beth O’Dea.


TUE 16:30 A Good Read (m0002gr3)
Lucy Porter and Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Comedian Lucy Porter and writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce talk to Harriett Gilbert about their favourite books.

Lucy Porter's voice will be well-known to Radio 4 listeners as a regular on the News Quiz, the Now Show and The Unbelievable Truth. On TV she has appeared on Live at the Apollo, QI, Mock the Week, Have I Got News For You and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. She is also a successful comedy writer. Frank Cottrell-Boyce's credits as screenwriter include Welcome to Sarajevo, Hilary and Jackie and 24 Hour Party People. He is also an award-winning author of novels for children, including Millions, Framed and Cosmic.

Their good reads are Letters from a Lost Uncle by Mervyn Peake, Truckers by Terry Pratchett and Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett.

Producer: Mair Bosworth.


TUE 17:00 PM (m0002gr5)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0002gr7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Small Scenes (m0002gr9)
Series 4

Episode 1

Award-winning sketch series starring Daniel Rigby, Mike Wozniak, Cariad Lloyd, Henry Paker and Freya Parker. Featuring more overblown, melodramatic scenes from modern life, including a visit to the first ever Crufts for Cats and a terrifying reminder as to why you should never try and cancel your membership of The National Trust.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m0002grc)
Kenton has concerns over the future of Lower Loxley and the prodigal returns


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m0002grf)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0002gqd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 File on 4 (m0002grh)
No Place Like Home - The Inside Story of Supported Living

Transforming Care is the NHS policy which should be moving learning disabled people out of hospital units and into their own supported homes.

But File on 4 asks if the growth in the supported living sector is really providing the happy, safe and secure homes it was meant to.

While the NHS has struggled to get its money into the hands of the councils who provide supported living, councils have gone their own way; commissioning services from care companies and homes from private landlords to give learning disabled adults their own front doors and their own independence.

But with little in the way of inspection and councils under budgetary constraints, File on 4 asks if the push to build supported living risks repeating the mistakes of the past, with some of the country's most vulnerable people housed in institutions far from public scrutiny.

Reporter: Claire Bolderson
Producer: Rob Cave
Editor: Gail Champion


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m0002grk)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted.


TUE 21:00 Inside Health (m0002grm)
Dr Mark Porter goes on a weekly quest to demystify the health issues that perplex us.


TUE 21:30 The Life Scientific (m0002gq4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m0002grp)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


TUE 22:45 A Ladder to the Sky (m0002gqn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


TUE 23:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m0002g8k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Monday]


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0002grr)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.



WEDNESDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2019

WED 00:00 Midnight News (m0002grt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (m0002gq8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0002grw)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0002gry)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0002gs0)
The latest shipping forecast


WED 05:30 News Briefing (m0002gs2)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0002gs4)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Alison Murdoch Tibetan Buddhist, writer, & editor.

In my home town of Frome in Somerset a group of us have just opened a ‘pay it forward’ café called The Good Heart. When a customer orders a meal they get the option to buy a gift card that will provide a second meal free of charge for someone else. Just inside the door is a noticeboard where anyone in need can pick up one of these gift cards and discreetly enjoy what the café has to offer alongside everyone else. It’s created a great atmosphere and mix of people, and in over six months the gift cards have never run out.

There’s plenty of scientific evidence about the benefits of generosity, which in Tibetan Buddhism is celebrated as a vital step on the path to happiness. And many of us are generous on a daily basis, paying it forward to family and friends in all kinds of ways. However at The Good Heart, the difference is that we have no idea who will benefit from the meal we’ve just bought. The gift is not only anonymous but completely impartial. A pay it forward café takes the act of generosity to a new level, where there is no possibility of being thanked or acknowledged. It depends on genuinely random acts of kindness.

When a woman came into The Good Heart to claim the first free pay it forward meal, no questions were asked. The following day she came back with sufficient money to buy a gift card so that someone else could eat for free. We’ll probably never know whether she was genuinely broke the day before, or simply testing the system. And does it matter? What warms my heart is to see people learning to be more generous towards each other, without any hope of reward. Let’s pray that we can all find ways to practice and extend our capacity for generosity today.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (m0002gs6)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03zrcnt)
Red-throated Diver

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

Kate Humble presents the red-throated diver. The eerie wails of a red-throated diver were supposed to foretell rain. In Shetland the red-throated diver is called the "rain goose" but anyone who knows the island knows that rain is never far away. Like all divers, red-throats are handsome birds with sharp bills, perfect for catching fish. In summer they have a rusty throat patch and zebra-stripes on the back of their neck but in winter they're mainly pearly grey and white.


WED 06:00 Today (m0002h03)
News and current affairs, including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 Only Artists (m0002h07)
Series 7

13/02/2019

Only Artists brings two artists together to talk freely about their creative work.


WED 09:30 How to Disagree: A Beginner's Guide to Having Better Arguments (b0bf59rx)
Episode 2

Timandra Harkness explores the best ways to disagree with other people - constructively.

In this programme Timandra looks at clashes of interests, with the help of a trade union negotiator and an expert on neighbour disputes.

Producer: Martin Rosenbaum.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (m0002h1y)
Amateur

Episode 3

Thomas Page McBee, a trans man, trains to fight in a charity match at New York's Madison Square Garden, while struggling to untangle the vexed relationship between masculinity and violence.

Through his experience of boxing - learning to get hit and to hit back, wrestling with the camaraderie of the gym, confronting the betrayals and strengths of his own body - McBee examines male violence, the pervasiveness of gender stereotypes and the limitations of conventional masculinity. It's a graceful and uncompromising exploration of living, fighting and healing.

Thomas Page McBee is a journalist and commentator currently living in New York. His first book, Man Alive (2014), was an account of the emotional and physical complexity underlying the process of gender reassignment, and also explored his early years and the sexual abuse he suffered, perpetrated by his stepfather. Amateur was shortlisted for the 2018 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.

Written and read by Thomas Page McBee
Abridged by Jill Waters
Produced by Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0002h0c)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


WED 10:41 15 Minute Drama (m0002h0f)
Life Lines (Series 2)

Episode 3

by Al Smith

Carrie ..... Sarah Ridgeway
Ian ...... Michael Jibson
Will ..... Don Gilet
Fiona ..... Lucy Doyle
Robin ..... Tony Turner
Robert ..... Sean Murray
Ash ..... Alex Constantinidi

Directed by Sally Avens

Award winning drama set in an ambulance control room. Carrie never knows knows what the next emergency will be or the effect it might have on her.


WED 10:55 The Listening Project (m0002h0h)
Bath times and Barber Shops

Liam and Jim are friends who were both born and raised in Larne, County Antrim. In conversation for The Listening Project, they share memories of bath times, barber shops, cold nights and their childhoods in the 1950s and 60s.

Fi Glover presents the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen. The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before.

The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject


WED 11:00 Who Needs Politicians Anyway? (m0002h0k)
After the resignation of Martin McGuinness as Deputy First Minister in January 2017 triggered the collapse of the power-sharing government at Stormont, Northern Ireland has effectively been run by civil servants. The BBC’s Ireland Correspondent Chris Page talks to those at the front line of public services to see what impact the lack of ministers is having. We hear from a primary school principal that blocked toilets and broken sinks are being fixed by volunteers as there’s no one to lobby for more money to pay for building work. A woman dealing with cancer tells us she’s been let down by local politicians in accessing vital drugs. And Northern Ireland’s top civil servant tells us how he’s coping with running a country without any ministers to provide direction. Do we really need politicians or are things better without them?

Produced by Elaine Dunseath for BBC Northern Ireland


WED 11:30 Rob Newman (b0bktltg)
Rob Newman's Total Eclipse of Descartes

The Music of the Chromosomes

One of Britain's finest comedians Rob Newman sets his sights on the world of philosophy, unpicking 3000 years of good and bad ideas to discover how we got into this mess. In a world gone mad can philosophy provide the answer?

In episode three, Rob navigates the wonders and pitfalls of genetics and internationalism.

Written and performed by Rob Newman
Edited by John Whitehall
Produced by Jon Harvey
Executive Producer: Richard Wilson

A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4


WED 12:00 News Summary (m0002h2v)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:04 A Ladder to the Sky (m0002h0p)
Episode 3

Maurice Swift is handsome, ruthless and desperate to become a successful novelist. He just needs the right story. However a chance encounter with the celebrated author Erich Ackermann gives Maurice an opportunity to ingratiate himself into the literary world. And Erich has a story of his own. Unfortunately Maurice is the last person Erich should confide in…

‘A Ladder To The Sky’ is a seductive thriller about a writer who won’t let anything, or anyone, stand in the way of his ambitions. Starring Enzo Cilenti (Luther), Wolf Kahler (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Colin Stinton (Butterfly) and Pippa Bennett-Warner (Harlots).

Awarded the Hennessy Literary 'Hall of Fame' Award for his body of work, the New York Times best-selling author John Boyne has received multiple Irish Book Awards including Children's Book of the Year, People's Choice Book of the Year and Short Story of the Year. He has also been awarded a number of international literary awards, including the Que Leer Award for Novel of the Year in Spain and the Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize in Germany. ‘A Ladder to The Sky’ is his eleventh novel for adults.

Writer ..... John Boyne
Abridger ..... Doreen Estall
Reader ..... Wolf Kahler
Producer ..... Michael Shannon


WED 12:18 You and Yours (m0002h0r)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


WED 12:57 Weather (m0002h0t)
The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (m0002h0w)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague.


WED 13:45 Fatwa (m0002h0y)
8. The Dentist

Fatwa is a ten-part series telling the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad.

Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou
Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar
Editor: Richard Knight


WED 14:00 The Archers (m0002grc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b06z4w9c)
The Ferryhill Philosophers

Filial Duties and Special Goods

Joe’s aged mother’s a strong character - but now frail, going blind, and incapable of looking after herself properly. The solution is for her to leave her home of 50 years and move into care, but in truth she wants to die now, with dignity - and she wants Joe to help her do this.

Joe is wracked by indecision. What's more important - Bella’s security and happiness, or doing what is the morally right thing? Meanwhile Hermione faces a challenge in the care of her elderly demanding Dad.

The Ferryhill Philosophers is about how we live our lives. A rather unlikely duo, Joe Snowball and the Hon. Hermione Pink inhabit two very different worlds, albeit only seven miles apart. He's an unemployed ex-miner living in Ferryhill, a small town forgotten by the world, and she's a slightly disenchanted philosophy lecturer at Durham University. Between them they wrestle with the collision between moral philosophy and the vexing dilemmas encountered by the not-always-good people of Ferryhill, deprived of jobs, opportunities and the kind of ethical guidance once offered by the Church and the Miners Unions.

The series stars Alun Armstrong (of TV’s popular series New Tricks) and Deborah Findlay, currently starring in Caryl Churchill’s new play at The Royal Court. Award winning writer Michael Chaplin works in consultation with philosopher and presenter of R4’s The Philosopher’s Arms, David Edmonds.

Cast:
Joe Snowball..................Alun Armstrong
Hermione Pink................Deborah Findlay
George ..........................Geoffrey Palmer
Bella...............................Anne Reid
Dr. Dainty.......................Jonathan Keeble
Mrs Cornish....................Tracy Gillman

Written by Michael Chaplin
Directed by Marilyn Imrie

A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4


WED 15:00 Money Box (m0002h10)
Paul Lewis and a panel of guests answer calls on personal finance.


WED 15:30 Inside Health (m0002grm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (m0002h12)
Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works.


WED 16:30 The Media Show (m0002h14)
A topical programme about the fast-changing media world.


WED 17:00 PM (m0002h16)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0002h18)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 ReincarNathan (m0002h1b)
Series 1

Swallow

Nathan didn't really nail life the first time round, so he's been reincarnated and given another chance to live a good life. This week he's a swallow in Reading forced to migrate south for the winter.

Diane Morgan and Daniel Rigby star in this comedy about the afterlife, with special guest stars Hugh Dennis, Bill Oddie and Amy Beth Hayes.

Cast:
Diane Morgan - Jenny
Daniel Rigby - Nathan
Tom Craine - Museum Guide
Hugh Dennis - Nathan's dad
Amy-Beth Hayes - Claire
Bill Oddy - Sat Nav
Henry Paker - Wine drinker
Freya Parker - Electronic Voice, Museum Guide, Miss Cobra, Pigeon

Writers: Tom Craine and Henry Paker
Music Composed by Phil Lepherd

Producers: Harriet Jaine and Jonno Richards
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4


WED 19:00 The Archers (m0002h1d)
Elizabeth faces her demons and attempts the first step to recovery


WED 19:15 Front Row (m0002h1g)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0002h0f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:41 today]


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m0002h1j)
Live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories


WED 20:45 The New Age of Capitalism (b0bk1dnv)
Turbo-Capitalism

Does the digital economy rate efficiency and lower prices above human values? Governments are often ready to close down sectors of their economies which they believe are inefficient, like coal mining, and keen to promote more efficient high tech companies. Back in 2000, author and government adviser Edward Luttwak coined the term Turbo Capitalism to describe how governments are enabling the destruction of well paid "dignified" jobs and replacing them with poorly paid low status occupations. These new roles may appear to be part of a more efficient system, but are, he argues, actually more damaging to society as a whole. He is joined by author James Bloodworth, who described the six months he spent working undercover in a variety of poorly paid positions in "Hired".
Presenter: David Grossman
Producer: Matthew Chapman


WED 21:00 The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread? (m0002h1m)
Winter bugs: Hand sanitisers and vitamin C

With offices and schools set to a soundtrack of sniffles, science presenter and YouTuber Greg Foot is on mission to find 'The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread' to beat the winter bugs.

Joining him in the studio is rapper, podcaster and actor Scroobius Pip, a man for whom protecting his voice is a professional priority. Under the microscope today are two popular products used to kill colds in their tracks - hand sanitisers and vitamin C.

Virologist Wendy Barclay from Imperial College London and microbiologist Lindsay Hall from the Quadram Institute in Norwich are both on hand to help separate the facts from the fads, to decide if these products really are The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread.

Plus they'll be giving you their Top Tips, backed by real scientific evidence, for beating the winter bugs.

Presenter: Greg Foot
Producer: Michelle Martin


WED 21:30 Only Artists (m0002h07)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m0002h1p)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


WED 22:45 A Ladder to the Sky (m0002h0p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


WED 23:00 Life on Egg (m0002h1r)
Series 2

Dragon

When Governor Harry is accused of not mucking in, he is soon mucking out, bagging up guillemots droppings from The Egg's helipad. But when he finds it hard to open one of the waste bags, Prisoner Gyles Brandreth offers a solution - an invention he made in the prison workshop to open them more easily...an invention so good it could make him millions. So he and the team set about pitching the bag-opening device to Dragons' Den, in the hope of securing funding from Deborah Meaden. Will they end up "bagging" an investment, or will their pitch end in a poo-pooing?

Starring:
Harry Hill as Governor Harry
Karen Bartke as Anne
Marek Larwood as Peter
Gyles Brandreth as Prisoner Gyles Brandreth
Dan Maier as Tim the helicopter pilot
Deborah Meaden as herself
and
Evan Davis as himself

Written by Dan Maier

Produced by Sam Michell

A BBC Studios Production


WED 23:15 Terry Alderton: More Crazy Now (b083pfmr)
The Dirty Smile

Terry Alderton flexes his comedy muscles in this comedy and musical explosion. Street Kid, Victor, Ed and The Bear return along with some new, unexplainable characters and voices.

It’s more Terry, more crazy and happening right now. No Geordies were offended in the making of this programme.

Written by and starring Terry Alderton
Featuring Johnny Spurling
Additional material from Johnny Spurling and Richard Melvin
Produced by Johnny Spurling and Sean Kerwin
Executive Producer: Richard Melvin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0002h1t)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.



THURSDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2019

THU 00:00 Midnight News (m0002h1w)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (m0002h1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0002h20)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0002h22)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0002h24)
The latest shipping forecast


THU 05:30 News Briefing (m0002h26)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0002h28)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Alison Murdoch Tibetan Buddhist, writer, & editor.

Am I alone in finding Valentine’s Day a bit of a challenge? When I was young and single, it would be dominated by the fear of missing out, certain that everyone bar me was having the perfect romantic evening. In a new relationship, I anxiously waited to discover whether the latest man of my dreams was going to find an imaginative and witty way to rise to the occasion. And now, I’m married to someone who quite understandably thinks the whole occasion is a fraud and refuses to buy flowers on the most expensive day of the year. Logically I know that Valentine’s Day is a dubious creation of the greetings card industry, and yet somehow I still allow it to niggle.

From the Tibetan Buddhist point of view, genuine love is the absolute opposite of a fixation on whether somebody is going to do exactly what we’ve decided will please us. On the contrary, love is defined as the wish for other people to be happy, and it doesn’t just apply to the people we feel close to, but to every other living being on the planet. Buddhism – along with every other major religion - proposes that altruistic rather than romantic love is the superhighway to happiness. Neuroscientists are beginning to say the same thing, as their research increasingly suggests that broadening and deepening our capacity for love can improve not only our mental but also our physical health. For example, studies at the University of California suggest that altruistic love helps to activate the vagus nerve, which in turn will strengthen our immune system.

On this basis, the best Valentine’s gift we can give ourselves – or anyone else – is to be as loving and caring as we can towards as many living beings as possible. Let’s pray we can all put this into action today.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (m0002h2b)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b096h1qz)
Stephen Moss on the Song Thrush

In the first of five recollections about his encounters with birds, writer and wildlife programme-maker Stephen Moss explains why the sound of the Song Thrush evokes such powerful memories of his grandfather.

Tweet of the Day has captivated the Radio 4 audience with its daily 90 seconds of birdsong. But what of the listener to this avian chorus? In this new series of Tweet of the Day, we bring to the airwaves the conversational voices of those who listen to and are inspired by birds. Building on the previous series, a more informal approach to learning alongside a renewed emphasis on encounter with nature and reflection in our relationship with the natural world.

Producer: Sarah Blunt
Photograph: Full Moon Images.


THU 06:00 Today (m0002hl5)
News and current affairs, including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (m0002hl7)
Judith beheading Holofernes

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss how artists from the Middle Ages onwards have been inspired by the Bible story of the widow who killed an Assyrian general who was besieging her village, and so saved her people from his army and from his master Nebuchadnezzar. A symbol of a woman's power and the defiance of political tyranny, the image of Judith has been sculpted by Donatello, painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and, in the case of Caravaggio, Liss and Artemisia Gentileschi, been shown with vivid, disturbing detail. What do these interpretations reveal of the attitudes to power and women in their time, and of the artists' own experiences?

The image of Judith, above is from a tapestry in the Duomo, Milan, by Giovanni or Nicola Carcher, 1555

With

Susan Foister

John Gash

And

Ela Nutu Hall

Producer: Simon Tillotson


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (m0002hl9)
Amateur

Episode 4

Thomas Page McBee, a trans man, trains to fight in a charity match at New York's Madison Square Garden, while struggling to untangle the vexed relationship between masculinity and violence.

Through his experience of boxing - learning to get hit and to hit back, wrestling with the camaraderie of the gym, confronting the betrayals and strengths of his own body - McBee examines male violence, the pervasiveness of gender stereotypes and the limitations of conventional masculinity. It's a graceful and uncompromising exploration of living, fighting and healing.

Thomas Page McBee is a journalist and commentator currently living in New York. His first book, Man Alive (2014), was an account of the emotional and physical complexity underlying the process of gender reassignment, and also explored his early years and the sexual abuse he suffered, perpetrated by his stepfather. Amateur was shortlisted for the 2018 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.

Written and read by Thomas Page McBee
Abridged by Jill Waters
Produced by Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0002hlc)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0002hlf)
Life Lines (Series 2)

Episode 4

by Al Smith

Carrie ..... Sarah Ridgeway
Tanzir ..... Phaldut Sharma
Will ..... Don Gilet
Karen ..... Jeanette Percival
Robert ..... Sean Murray
Jess ..... Alex Constantinidi

Directed by Sally Avens

With no let up in the bad weather the ambulance service is stretched to breaking point and Carrie must enlist the help of a taxi driver as an emergency midwife.


THU 11:00 From Our Own Correspondent (m0002hlh)
Correspondents around the world tell their stories and examine news developments in their region.


THU 11:30 Shaped by the River Clyde (m0002hlk)
George Parsonage is a local hero in Glasgow. He's known as 'The River Man', as over the years he has taken his rowing boat out on the Clyde in all weathers to rescue countless people. He's been doing it since he was a boy, following in his father's footsteps as chief officer of the Glasgow Humane Society.

What's less well known is that he's a trained artist, sculpting between rescues with all the detritus he finds on the banks and in the water. This programme explores his love affair with the river, what it gives and what it takes.

Producer Mark Rickards


THU 12:00 News Summary (m0002hlm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:04 A Ladder to the Sky (m0002hlp)
Episode 4

Maurice Swift is handsome, ruthless and desperate to become a successful novelist. He just needs the right story. However a chance encounter with the celebrated author Erich Ackermann gives Maurice an opportunity to ingratiate himself into the literary world. And Erich has a story of his own. Unfortunately Maurice is the last person Erich should confide in…

‘A Ladder To The Sky’ is a seductive thriller about a writer who won’t let anything, or anyone, stand in the way of his ambitions. Starring Enzo Cilenti (Luther), Wolf Kahler (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Colin Stinton (Butterfly) and Pippa Bennett-Warner (Harlots).

Awarded the Hennessy Literary 'Hall of Fame' Award for his body of work, the New York Times best-selling author John Boyne has received multiple Irish Book Awards including Children's Book of the Year, People's Choice Book of the Year and Short Story of the Year. He has also been awarded a number of international literary awards, including the Que Leer Award for Novel of the Year in Spain and the Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize in Germany. ‘A Ladder to The Sky’ is his eleventh novel for adults.

Writer ..... John Boyne
Abridger ..... Doreen Estall
Reader ..... Colin Stinton
Producer ..... Michael Shannon


THU 12:18 You and Yours (m0002hlr)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


THU 12:57 Weather (m0002hlt)
The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (m0002hlw)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague.


THU 13:45 Fatwa (m0002hly)
9. I've Got a Problem Here

Fatwa is a ten-part series telling the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad.

Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou
Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar
Editor: Richard Knight


THU 14:00 The Archers (m0002h1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (m0002hm0)
The Love Test

Rom-Com for Valentine’s Day about meeting the perfect partner. Journalist Kate is writing an article about a psychological test that can tell when you’ve met the “one” but she’s reluctant to believe it will work - until she tries it herself. By Brian Coyle.
Kate ..... Kate O’Flynn
Sam ..... Carl Prekopp
Mark ..... Stephen Hogan
Sarah ..... Deborah Findlay
Gerri ..... Samara MacLaren
Producer/director: Bruce Young


THU 15:00 Ramblings (m0002hm2)
Series 41

Old Maps and New Routes - Oxfordshire

Clare Balding starts the 20th year of Ramblings by walking with a listener who is so committed to exploring the countryside that she creates and publishes her own walking routes.

Elaine Steane ran out of walks, so decided to invent her own. She's published a number of books including Milestones to Millstones and it's a route from this that we follow today. It skirts the Oxfordshire/Berkshire border and takes in Mapledurham Watermill - a working Mill that not only produces its own flour but also supplies 140 local homes with electricity. The Mill became famous when it featured in the film version of The Eagle Has Landed; Michael Caine's signature is apparently carved somewhere into the building's wooden structure. Later on, we skirt past (but can't quite see) Hardwick House. This was the inspiration for EH Shepard's illustrations of Toad Hall in Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows. From there we head up into the Wild Woods, where we hear a reading from Wind in the Willows, before climbing a steep hill which takes us back to where we started at Whittles Farm.

Elaine's love of mapping comes from her father. He was Harold Fullard, a renowned cartographer who was Editor of the Phillip's Modern School Atlas, the blue-canvas book that generations of school-children used to learn about the world. Elaine recalls earning a little pocket money by helping to create the index at home... it was a painstaking process.

If you are reading this on the Radio 4 website, you can scroll further down to see links to Elaine's books, Mapledurham Water Mill and some photos of the walk.

Producer: Karen Gregor


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m0002g3f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (m0002g4b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (m0002hm4)
Rosamund Pike, Barry Jenkins

With Antonia Quirke.

Rosamund Pike reveals the lengths she went to in order to play the legendary war reporter Marie Colvin in A Private War.

Oscar winning director Barry Jenkins discusses If Beale Street Could Talk, his follow-up to Moonlight and explains what the two films have in common.


THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m0002hm6)
Adam Rutherford investigates the news in science and science in the news.


THU 17:00 PM (m0002hm8)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0002hmb)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 Mark Steel's in Town (m0002hmd)
Series 9

The Forest of Dean

Mark Steel returns to Radio 4 with the ninth series of his award-winning show that travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for the local residents.

In this episode Mark visits the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire... and he manages to get out alive.

Written and performed by Mark Steel
Additional material by Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator, Hayley Sterling
Sound Manager, Jerry Peal
Producer, Carl Cooper

Picture Credit, Tom Stanier


THU 19:00 The Archers (m0002hmg)
Will receives a shock and Helen's evening takes an unexpected turn


THU 19:15 Front Row (m0002hmj)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0002hlf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m0002hml)
David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.


THU 20:30 The Bottom Line (m0002hmn)
Behavioural science in the workplace

The role of behavioural science in the workplace. Can its use nudge us from bad habits to boost productivity and improve relationships at the office?


THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m0002hm6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]


THU 21:30 In Our Time (m0002hl7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m0002hmr)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


THU 22:45 A Ladder to the Sky (m0002hlp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


THU 23:00 The World of Simon Rich (m0002hmt)
Series 2

Episode Two

Celebrated American humourist Simon Rich returns with more of his enchanting tales of the absurd. Performed in London by a top-drawer cast of comic talent including Robert Webb, Cariad Lloyd, Jamie Demetriou, Lewis Macleod and Freya Parker.

Produced by Jon Harvey
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0002hmw)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.



FRIDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2019

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m0002hmy)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (m0002hl9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m0002hn0)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m0002hn2)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (m0002hn4)
The latest shipping forecast


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (m0002hn6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m0002hn8)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Alison Murdoch Tibetan Buddhist, writer, & editor.

A key Buddhist teaching called the Eightfold Path is often represented as a wheel with eight spokes. One of those spokes is right speech – the kind of words and conversation that comfort, inspire, and generally make the world a better place. We probably all know someone who practices right speech and have observed the positive effect it has on the people around them. We also know how easy it is not to use right speech, and the damage and regret that often follow.

A short exercise called ‘talking to plants’ can be unexpectedly revealing about the way we choose to speak. It starts with sitting in front of a living plant, either indoors or out in nature. Step One is to say something to the plant that is emotionally neutral, such as “Your leaves are green.” You need to speak out loud, so you’ll probably want to be out of earshot of anyone else. How does this neutral statement make you feel? Probably nothing. Step Two is to say something nasty, as if the plant was someone you dislike. How does this make you feel? Step Three is to say something friendly and encouraging to the plant, and again watch what effect this has on you. When I first did this exercise I was struck by how strongly what I said influenced how I felt. Neutral felt disconnected and flat. Nasty brought an immediate buzz, and sometimes a laugh, but left a bad taste in the mouth. Whereas saying something friendly and encouraging, even to a plant, made me feel surprisingly good inside.

In this era of round the clock news and fake news, of posting and re-posting, tweets and re-tweets, it seems more important than ever to remember the power of our words. Let’s pray that we can all use our speech with care today, bringing happiness rather than harm to ourselves and the people around us.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m0002hnb)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside


FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09czn7h)
Gary Moore on the Woodlark

When wildlife sound recordist Gary Moore put on his headphones to capture the sound of a woodlark his recording revealed some unusual behaviour that was snapped up by the Springwatch TV team.

Producer: Tom Bonnett
Photograph: Ian Redman.


FRI 06:00 Today (m0002hxp)
News and current affairs, including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m0002g3t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (m0002hzm)
Amateur

Episode 5

Thomas Page McBee, a trans man, trains to fight in a charity match at New York's Madison Square Garden, while struggling to untangle the vexed relationship between masculinity and violence.

Through his experience of boxing - learning to get hit and to hit back, wrestling with the camaraderie of the gym, confronting the betrayals and strengths of his own body - McBee examines male violence, the pervasiveness of gender stereotypes and the limitations of conventional masculinity. It's a graceful and uncompromising exploration of living, fighting and healing.

Thomas Page McBee is a journalist and commentator currently living in New York. His first book, Man Alive (2014), was an account of the emotional and physical complexity underlying the process of gender reassignment, and also explored his early years and the sexual abuse he suffered, perpetrated by his stepfather. Amateur was shortlisted for the 2018 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.

Written and read by Thomas Page McBee
Abridged by Jill Waters
Produced by Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m0002hxw)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (m0002hxy)
Life Lines (Series 2)

Episode 5

by Al Smith

Carrie ..... Sarah Ridgeway
Joe ..... Liam Lau Fernandez
Will ..... Don Gilet
Ian ..... Michael Jibson
Robert ..... Sean Murray
Missy ..... Susie Riddell
Receptionist ..... Elizabeth Counsell

Directed by Sally Avens

The award winning drama series set in an ambulance control centre. Call handler Carrie is fearless when dealing with a young boy trapped on a railway line but terrified of admitting her own failings as a mother.


FRI 11:00 Not the Biggest Hotel in Europe (m0002hy0)
Emma Britton has always lived in the shadow of nuclear power.

Her hometown of Bridgwater is ten miles from Hinkley Power station. As a child her Mum told her "don't worry about Hinkley, if it goes up you won't know a thing about it". Today she's a breakfast presenter on the BBC in the South West, "I reckon I've done more phone-ins on Hinkley C than anything else". But, despite the controversy, the third station got the go-ahead from Theresa May late in 2016 - and, over the past two years, her town has started to change.

At its peak, EDF Energy say there will be 5,600 workers on the construction site itself - and it's expected that 20,000 jobs will be created from the knock-on. There's been a surge of investment in the town, and there's a massive demand for accommodation.

Just round the corner from Emma's house is the old cellophane factory site.

Bridgwater used to be known for stinking of rotten eggs, because of the smell given off by the cellophane factory. And everyone in Bridgwater knew someone, or was someone who worked there. The factory shut in 2005 but, from 2016, that iconic site began to transform into accommodation for the people who will be working on Hinkley.

EDF say it will be the "second largest hotel in Europe after Disneyland". It'll provide accommodation for 1500 workers between two sites. The larger campus, on the cellophane factory site, is expected to house 1000 people. At the beginning of 2018, the rooms came, ready built, on the back of lorries.

It's three minute's walk from Emma's front door. This is the story Emma's neighbourhood - and what happened when the new "hotel" began to arrive.

Produced in Bristol by Polly Weston


FRI 11:30 Agendum (b0bgrhy5)
Series 1

Shock

A current affairs parody and stupidly feasible visit to the 24-hour Hall Of Opinion Mirrors. Because there are two stories to every story.

A deadly pandemic, an inappropriate economic yardstick and a very special anniversary are thrown about by some talking heads who probably came in a taxi, corralled by presenterer Alexandra Palisades in this new parody created by Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris.

With Carrie Quinlan as Alexandra Palisades and the voices of:
Justin Edwards
Melanie Hudson
Kath Hughes
Simon Kane
Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong
Jess Robinson
Luke Sumner
Tony Way

Written by Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris

Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 12:00 News Summary (m0002j02)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:04 A Ladder to the Sky (m0002hy4)
Episode 5

Maurice Swift is handsome, ruthless and desperate to become a successful novelist. He just needs the right story. However a chance encounter with the celebrated author Erich Ackermann gives Maurice an opportunity to ingratiate himself into the literary world. And Erich has a story of his own. Unfortunately Maurice is the last person Erich should confide in…

‘A Ladder To The Sky’ is a seductive thriller about a writer who won’t let anything, or anyone, stand in the way of his ambitions. Starring Enzo Cilenti (Luther), Wolf Kahler (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Colin Stinton (Butterfly) and Pippa Bennett-Warner (Harlots).

Awarded the Hennessy Literary 'Hall of Fame' Award for his body of work, the New York Times best-selling author John Boyne has received multiple Irish Book Awards including Children's Book of the Year, People's Choice Book of the Year and Short Story of the Year. He has also been awarded a number of international literary awards, including the Que Leer Award for Novel of the Year in Spain and the Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize in Germany. ‘A Ladder to The Sky’ is his eleventh novel for adults.

Writer ..... John Boyne
Abridger ..... Doreen Estall
Reader ..... Pippa Bennett-Warner
Producer ..... Michael Shannon


FRI 12:18 You and Yours (m0002hy6)
Radio 4's consumer affairs programme.


FRI 12:57 Weather (m0002hy8)
The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (m0002hyb)
Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


FRI 13:45 Fatwa (m0002hyd)
10. Postscript

Fatwa is a ten-part series telling the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad.

Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou
Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar
Editor: Richard Knight


FRI 14:00 The Archers (m0002hmg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (m0002hyg)
Martians

In Lucy Caldwell’s Martians, Tia Bannon plays a young midwife who is preparing to leave her family and the world she knows to begin life on another planet.
One of the twelve chosen few to be picked to take their skills to Mars to begin new life, just as her grandmother did when she moved from Jamaica to London and her father’s ancestors leaving a famine-riddled Ireland for America, Laura has to choose what to take and what to leave behind. She also has to say goodbye to her family for good, she doesn’t want any fuss, just another day, she is going to make a difference, a star in the sky….

Laura ..... Tia Bannon
Michael ..... Toheeb Jimoh
Margo ..... Angel Coulby
Lorraine ..... Michelle Greenidge
Eoin ..... Lloyd Hutchinson
Joan ..... Joy Richardson
Angharad & Young Woman 1 ..... Tallulah Bond
Ijaaz, Male Voice ..... Ronny Jhutti
Older Woman, Radio Presenter & Automated Voice ..... Beth Goddard
Written by ..... Lucy Caldwell
Produced & Directed by ..... Celia De Wolff


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m0002hyj)
Stoke

Eric Robson hosts the horticultural panel programme from Stoke. Bunny Guinness, Chris Beardshaw and Bob Flowerdew answer the audience questions.

Produced by Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Hester Cant

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 15:45 From Fact to Fiction (m0002hyl)
A new short story in response to this week's news.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (m0002hyn)
Matthew Bannister tells the life stories of people who have recently died, from the rich and famous to unsung but significant.


FRI 16:30 More or Less (m0002hyq)
Series devoted to the world of numbers.


FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (m0002hys)
A Song in My Head

Alastair and Frank live and work in Dundee. As owner and manager of a record shop, vinyl is at the heart of their lives and their friendship. From the allure of glam rock to the power of Led Zeppelin, they come together to discuss music and memory.

Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen. The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before.

The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject


FRI 17:00 PM (m0002hyv)
PM at 5pm: interviews, context and analysis.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m0002hyx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m0002hyz)
Series 98

Episode 8

Miles Jupp looks back at the news this week with Hugo Rifkind, Zoe Lyons, Angela Barnes and Susan Calman.

Produced by Victoria Lloyd
A BBC Studios Production


FRI 19:00 The Archers (m0002hz1)
Writer ….. Tim Stimpson
Director ….. Kim Greengrass
Editor ….. Jeremy Howe

Jill Archer ….. Patricia Greene
David Archer ….. Timothy Bentinck
Ruth Archer ….. Felicity Finch
Pip Archer ….. Daisy Badger
Kenton Archer ….. Richard Attlee
Jolene Archer ….. Buffy Davis
Tony Archer ….. David Troughton
Helen Archer ….. Louiza Patikas
Tom Archer ….. William Troughton
Brian Aldridge …… Charles Collingwood
Jennifer Aldridge ….. Angela Piper
Lilian Bellamy ….. Sunny Ormonde
Ian Craig ….. Stephen Kennedy
Ruairi Donovan ….. Arthur Hughes
Toby Fairbrother ….. Rhys Bevan
Will Grundy ….. Philip Molloy
Mia Grundy ….. Molly Pipe
Emma Grundy ….. Emerald O'Hanrahan
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Kate Madikane ….. Perdita Avery
Kirsty Miller ….. Annabelle Dowler
Elizabeth Pargetter ….. Alison Dowling
Johnny Phillips ….. Tom Gibbons
Roy Tucker ….. Ian Pepperell
Lee ….. Ryan Early
Leonard Berry ….. Paul Copley
Jamila ….. Lorna Laidlaw


FRI 19:15 Front Row (m0002hz3)
Live daily magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (m0002hxy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m0002hz5)
Liam Halligan, Carolyn Harris MP, Adam Price AM.

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from the Welsh Language and Heritage Centre Nant Gwrtheyrn in Llithfaen, northwest Wales with a panel including the journalist Liam Halligan, Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour Carolyn Harris MP and the leader of Plaid Cymru Adam Price AM.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m0002hz7)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.


FRI 21:00 Thought Cages (m0002hz9)
Advertising guru and writer on human behaviour Rory Sutherland pokes a stick at received wisdom.

Be Successful or Be Loved - The NHS dilemma: 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?

Instinct Before Logic: Are we as rational as we might think we are?

The Power of Vanity: Could ego inflation be a quick route to changing our behaviour?

The Sachet in the Pot Noodle: Can online retailers ever capture the magic of the traditional shopping experience?

Produced by Michael Surcombe for BBC Wales


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m0002hzc)
In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


FRI 22:45 A Ladder to the Sky (m0002hy4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 today]


FRI 23:00 A Good Read (m0002gr3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m0002hzf)
All the news from today's sitting at Westminster.


FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (m0002hzh)
Back to Kiveton

This is a conversation about shared memories and lost years, disapproving aunts, a town transformed and the need for a connection to people and places in our past. Brought together by a photograph of a vanished era, Bob and Helen discuss their shared past in Kiveton, South Yorkshire.

Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen. The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before.

The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject




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

15 Minute Drama 10:45 MON (m0002g7p)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 MON (m0002g7p)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 TUE (m0002gqd)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 TUE (m0002gqd)

15 Minute Drama 10:41 WED (m0002h0f)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 WED (m0002h0f)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 THU (m0002hlf)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 THU (m0002hlf)

15 Minute Drama 10:45 FRI (m0002hxy)

15 Minute Drama 19:45 FRI (m0002hxy)

A Good Read 16:30 TUE (m0002gr3)

A Good Read 23:00 FRI (m0002gr3)

A Ladder to the Sky 12:04 MON (m0002g7z)

A Ladder to the Sky 22:45 MON (m0002g7z)

A Ladder to the Sky 12:04 TUE (m0002gqn)

A Ladder to the Sky 22:45 TUE (m0002gqn)

A Ladder to the Sky 12:04 WED (m0002h0p)

A Ladder to the Sky 22:45 WED (m0002h0p)

A Ladder to the Sky 12:04 THU (m0002hlp)

A Ladder to the Sky 22:45 THU (m0002hlp)

A Ladder to the Sky 12:04 FRI (m0002hy4)

A Ladder to the Sky 22:45 FRI (m0002hy4)

A Point of View 08:48 SUN (m0002cnk)

A Point of View 20:50 FRI (m0002hz7)

Agendum 11:30 FRI (b0bgrhy5)

Analysis 21:30 SUN (m0002b9z)

Analysis 20:30 MON (m0002g90)

Any Answers? 14:00 SAT (m0002g6c)

Any Questions? 13:10 SAT (m0002cnh)

Any Questions? 20:00 FRI (m0002hz5)

Archive on 4 20:00 SAT (m0002g6z)

BBC Inside Science 16:30 THU (m0002hm6)

BBC Inside Science 21:00 THU (m0002hm6)

Behind the Scenes 16:00 MON (m0002g8h)

Bells on Sunday 05:43 SUN (m0002g54)

Bells on Sunday 00:45 MON (m0002g54)

Blackwater 19:45 SUN (m0002g4v)

Book of the Week 00:30 SAT (m0002cp0)

Book of the Week 09:45 MON (m0002g99)

Book of the Week 00:30 TUE (m0002g99)

Book of the Week 09:45 TUE (m0002gq8)

Book of the Week 00:30 WED (m0002gq8)

Book of the Week 09:45 WED (m0002h1y)

Book of the Week 00:30 THU (m0002h1y)

Book of the Week 09:45 THU (m0002hl9)

Book of the Week 00:30 FRI (m0002hl9)

Book of the Week 09:45 FRI (m0002hzm)

Broadcasting House 09:00 SUN (m0002g3p)

Clare in the Community 19:15 SUN (b083p889)

Desert Island Discs 11:15 SUN (m0002g3t)

Desert Island Discs 09:00 FRI (m0002g3t)

Dorothy Cross: Shark 23:30 SAT (m00029gf)

Drama 14:30 SAT (m0002g6f)

Drama 21:00 SAT (m00029g9)

Drama 15:00 SUN (m0002g48)

Drama 14:15 TUE (b07pjkhw)

Drama 14:15 WED (b06z4w9c)

Drama 14:15 THU (m0002hm0)

Drama 14:15 FRI (m0002hyg)

Driven to Distraction 11:00 TUE (m0002gqg)

Farming Today 06:30 SAT (m0002g5q)

Farming Today 05:45 MON (m0002g5j)

Farming Today 05:45 TUE (m0002g9q)

Farming Today 05:45 WED (m0002gs6)

Farming Today 05:45 THU (m0002h2b)

Farming Today 05:45 FRI (m0002hnb)

Fatwa 13:45 MON (m0002g88)

Fatwa 13:45 TUE (m0002gqx)

Fatwa 13:45 WED (m0002h0y)

Fatwa 13:45 THU (m0002hly)

Fatwa 13:45 FRI (m0002hyd)

File on 4 17:00 SUN (m0002bnv)

File on 4 20:00 TUE (m0002grh)

From Fact to Fiction 15:45 FRI (m0002hyl)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:30 SAT (m0002g63)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:00 THU (m0002hlh)

Front Row 19:15 MON (m0002g8w)

Front Row 19:15 TUE (m0002grf)

Front Row 19:15 WED (m0002h1g)

Front Row 19:15 THU (m0002hmj)

Front Row 19:15 FRI (m0002hz3)

Gardeners' Question Time 14:00 SUN (m0002cmv)

Gardeners' Question Time 15:00 FRI (m0002hyj)

How to Disagree: A Beginner's Guide to Having Better Arguments 09:30 WED (b0bf59rx)

In Our Time 09:00 THU (m0002hl7)

In Our Time 21:30 THU (m0002hl7)

In Touch 20:40 TUE (m0002grk)

Inside Health 21:00 TUE (m0002grm)

Inside Health 15:30 WED (m0002grm)

Just a Minute 12:04 SUN (m0002b9p)

Just a Minute 18:30 MON (m0002g8r)

Last Word 20:30 SUN (m0002cmz)

Last Word 16:00 FRI (m0002hyn)

Life on Egg 23:00 WED (m0002h1r)

Loose Ends 18:15 SAT (m0002g6v)

Making History 15:30 TUE (m0002gqz)

Mark Steel's in Town 18:30 THU (m0002hmd)

Midnight News 00:00 SAT (m0002cny)

Midnight News 00:00 SUN (m0002g73)

Midnight News 00:00 MON (m0002g52)

Midnight News 00:00 TUE (m0002g97)

Midnight News 00:00 WED (m0002grt)

Midnight News 00:00 THU (m0002h1w)

Midnight News 00:00 FRI (m0002hmy)

Money Box 12:04 SAT (m0002g4y)

Money Box 21:00 SUN (m0002g4y)

Money Box 15:00 WED (m0002h10)

Moral Maze 22:15 SAT (m0002c37)

Moral Maze 20:00 WED (m0002h1j)

More or Less 20:00 SUN (m0002cn1)

More or Less 16:30 FRI (m0002hyq)

News Briefing 05:30 SAT (m0002cp8)

News Briefing 05:30 SUN (m0002g7c)

News Briefing 05:30 MON (m0002g5d)

News Briefing 05:30 TUE (m0002g9l)

News Briefing 05:30 WED (m0002gs2)

News Briefing 05:30 THU (m0002h26)

News Briefing 05:30 FRI (m0002hn6)

News Headlines 06:00 SUN (m0002g31)

News Summary 12:00 SAT (m0002gdv)

News Summary 12:00 SUN (m0002g3w)

News Summary 12:00 MON (m0002gh2)

News Summary 12:00 TUE (m0002gql)

News Summary 12:00 WED (m0002h2v)

News Summary 12:00 THU (m0002hlm)

News Summary 12:00 FRI (m0002j02)

News and Papers 06:00 SAT (m0002g5n)

News and Papers 07:00 SUN (m0002g39)

News and Papers 08:00 SUN (m0002g3k)

News and Weather 22:00 SAT (m0002g71)

News 13:00 SAT (m0002g69)

No County for Young People 13:30 SUN (m0002g44)

Not the Biggest Hotel in Europe 11:00 FRI (m0002hy0)

On Your Farm 06:35 SUN (m0002g35)

One to One 09:30 TUE (m0002gq6)

Only Artists 09:00 WED (m0002h07)

Only Artists 21:30 WED (m0002h07)

Open Book 16:00 SUN (m0002g4b)

Open Book 15:30 THU (m0002g4b)

Open Country 06:07 SAT (m0002cg1)

PM 17:00 SAT (m0002g6k)

PM 17:00 MON (m0002g8m)

PM 17:00 TUE (m0002gr5)

PM 17:00 WED (m0002h16)

PM 17:00 THU (m0002hm8)

PM 17:00 FRI (m0002hyv)

Pick of the Week 18:15 SUN (m0002g4q)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 SAT (m0002cpb)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 MON (m0002g5g)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 TUE (m0002g9n)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 WED (m0002gs4)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 THU (m0002h28)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 FRI (m0002hn8)

Prepper 11:30 MON (m0002g7v)

Profile 19:00 SAT (m0002g4g)

Profile 05:45 SUN (m0002g4g)

Profile 17:40 SUN (m0002g4g)

Quirke's Cast and Crew 15:30 SAT (m0002bmx)

Quirke's Cast and Crew 11:30 TUE (m0002gqj)

Radio 4 Appeal 07:54 SUN (m0002g3f)

Radio 4 Appeal 21:25 SUN (m0002g3f)

Radio 4 Appeal 15:27 THU (m0002g3f)

Ramblings 15:00 THU (m0002hm2)

ReincarNathan 18:30 WED (m0002h1b)

Rob Newman 11:30 WED (b0bktltg)

Round Britain Quiz 23:00 SAT (m0002b9d)

Round Britain Quiz 15:00 MON (m0002g8d)

Saturday Live 09:00 SAT (m0002g5x)

Saturday Review 19:15 SAT (m0002g6x)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SAT (m0002cp4)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SUN (m0002g77)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 MON (m0002g58)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 TUE (m0002g9g)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 WED (m0002gry)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 THU (m0002h22)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 FRI (m0002hn2)

Shaped by the River Clyde 11:30 THU (m0002hlk)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SAT (m0002cp2)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SAT (m0002cp6)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SAT (m0002g6n)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SUN (m0002g75)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 SUN (m0002g79)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SUN (m0002g4j)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 MON (m0002g56)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 MON (m0002g5b)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 TUE (m0002g9d)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 TUE (m0002g9j)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 WED (m0002grw)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 WED (m0002gs0)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 THU (m0002h20)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 THU (m0002h24)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 FRI (m0002hn0)

Shipping Forecast 05:20 FRI (m0002hn4)

Short Works 00:30 SUN (m0002cmx)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SAT (m0002g6s)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SUN (m0002g4n)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 MON (m0002g8p)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 TUE (m0002gr7)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 WED (m0002h18)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 THU (m0002hmb)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 FRI (m0002hyx)

Small Scenes 18:30 TUE (m0002gr9)

Something Understood 06:05 SUN (m0002g33)

Start the Week 09:00 MON (m0002g7h)

Start the Week 21:30 MON (m0002g7h)

Sunday Worship 08:10 SUN (m00026gy)

Sunday 07:10 SUN (m0002g3c)

Tara and George 20:00 MON (m0002g8y)

Terry Alderton: More Crazy Now 23:15 WED (b083pfmr)

The Archers Omnibus 10:00 SUN (m0002g3r)

The Archers 19:00 SUN (m0002g4s)

The Archers 14:00 MON (m0002g4s)

The Archers 19:00 MON (m0002g8t)

The Archers 14:00 TUE (m0002g8t)

The Archers 19:00 TUE (m0002grc)

The Archers 14:00 WED (m0002grc)

The Archers 19:00 WED (m0002h1d)

The Archers 14:00 THU (m0002h1d)

The Archers 19:00 THU (m0002hmg)

The Archers 14:00 FRI (m0002hmg)

The Archers 19:00 FRI (m0002hz1)

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread? 21:00 WED (m0002h1m)

The Bottom Line 17:30 SAT (m0002cgm)

The Bottom Line 20:30 THU (m0002hmn)

The Briefing Room 20:00 THU (m0002hml)

The Film Programme 16:00 THU (m0002hm4)

The Food Programme 12:32 SUN (m0002g3y)

The Food Programme 15:30 MON (m0002g3y)

The Infinite Monkey Cage 16:30 MON (m0002g8k)

The Infinite Monkey Cage 23:00 TUE (m0002g8k)

The Kitchen Cabinet 10:30 SAT (m0002g5z)

The Kitchen Cabinet 15:00 TUE (m0002g5z)

The Life Scientific 09:00 TUE (m0002gq4)

The Life Scientific 21:30 TUE (m0002gq4)

The Listening Project 14:45 SUN (m0002g46)

The Listening Project 23:45 SUN (b08lglt5)

The Listening Project 10:55 WED (m0002h0h)

The Listening Project 16:55 FRI (m0002hys)

The Listening Project 23:55 FRI (m0002hzh)

The Media Show 16:30 WED (m0002h14)

The New Age of Capitalism 20:45 WED (b0bk1dnv)

The News Quiz 12:30 SAT (m0002cn9)

The News Quiz 18:30 FRI (m0002hyz)

The Sea is an Edge and an Ending 16:30 SUN (m0002g4d)

The TED Interview 23:00 SUN (m0002cd9)

The Untold 11:00 MON (m0002g7s)

The Week in Westminster 11:00 SAT (m0002g61)

The World This Weekend 13:00 SUN (m0002g42)

The World Tonight 22:00 MON (m0002g93)

The World Tonight 22:00 TUE (m0002grp)

The World Tonight 22:00 WED (m0002h1p)

The World Tonight 22:00 THU (m0002hmr)

The World Tonight 22:00 FRI (m0002hzc)

The World of Simon Rich 23:00 THU (m0002hmt)

Thinking Allowed 00:15 MON (m0002c2s)

Thinking Allowed 16:00 WED (m0002h12)

Thought Cages 21:00 FRI (m0002hz9)

Today in Parliament 23:30 MON (m0002g95)

Today in Parliament 23:30 TUE (m0002grr)

Today in Parliament 23:30 WED (m0002h1t)

Today in Parliament 23:30 THU (m0002hmw)

Today in Parliament 23:30 FRI (m0002hzf)

Today 07:00 SAT (m0002g5v)

Today 06:00 MON (m0002g7f)

Today 06:00 TUE (m0002gq2)

Today 06:00 WED (m0002h03)

Today 06:00 THU (m0002hl5)

Today 06:00 FRI (m0002hxp)

Tumanbay 14:15 MON (m0002g8b)

Tweet of the Day 08:58 SUN (m0002g3m)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 MON (b0378sqk)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 TUE (b09b0qjf)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 WED (b03zrcnt)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 THU (b096h1qz)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 FRI (b09czn7h)

Weather 06:57 SAT (m0002g5s)

Weather 12:57 SAT (m0002g67)

Weather 17:57 SAT (m0002g6q)

Weather 06:57 SUN (m0002g37)

Weather 07:57 SUN (m0002g3h)

Weather 12:57 SUN (m0002g40)

Weather 17:57 SUN (m0002g4l)

Weather 05:56 MON (m0002g5l)

Weather 12:57 MON (m0002g84)

Weather 12:57 TUE (m0002gqs)

Weather 12:57 WED (m0002h0t)

Weather 12:57 THU (m0002hlt)

Weather 12:57 FRI (m0002hy8)

Westminster Hour 22:00 SUN (m0002g50)

Who Needs Politicians Anyway? 11:00 WED (m0002h0k)

Why Can't Our Children Talk? 21:00 MON (m0002bmv)

Woman's Hour 16:00 SAT (m0002g6h)

Woman's Hour 10:00 MON (m0002g7m)

Woman's Hour 10:00 TUE (m0002gqb)

Woman's Hour 10:00 WED (m0002h0c)

Woman's Hour 10:00 THU (m0002hlc)

Woman's Hour 10:00 FRI (m0002hxw)

Word of Mouth 23:00 MON (m0002bnd)

Word of Mouth 16:00 TUE (m0002gr1)

World at One 13:00 MON (m0002g86)

World at One 13:00 TUE (m0002gqv)

World at One 13:00 WED (m0002h0w)

World at One 13:00 THU (m0002hlw)

World at One 13:00 FRI (m0002hyb)

You and Yours 12:18 MON (m0002g82)

You and Yours 12:18 TUE (m0002gqq)

You and Yours 12:18 WED (m0002h0r)

You and Yours 12:18 THU (m0002hlr)

You and Yours 12:18 FRI (m0002hy6)

iPM 05:45 SAT (m0002cpd)