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 18 APRIL 2020

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m000h94z)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:30 The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out (m000h934)
Episode 5

The history of eating out is a story of life - of politics, courage, skill, art, innovation and of luck.    We start in Pompeii, where the town was engulfed in lava in AD79 and where, in the excavations, much was discovered about how the Romans ate out - many restaurants doubled up as brothels.    

In the Ottoman Empire, we discover that doner kebabs were cooked in the open air at dainty picnics where learned men read books to each other while a cook carved the meat from a long wedge being turned on a spit over hot coals.

After Henry VIII’s break from Rome and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, travellers were left with nowhere to get a meal and a bed for the night and so the monastic staff who survived the purges needed places to work and very enterprisingly opened taverns which were soon packed with locals and visitors. This meant that, for the first time, people weren’t humbly receiving bread and wine from a benevolent monk but receiving sustenance that they were paying for themselves - which, to an oppressed servant, must have felt like freedom.

On the day of the storming of the Bastille, it was estimated that one in every twelve men were in domestic service. Now, with the disappearance of the chateaux kitchens, many of the unemployed chefs opened restaurants in Paris and then later in London, where rich Englishmen were keen to discover how the French aristocracy had lived. By the 1820s, Paris was freed from the restraints of the revolution and became fashionable again with luxurious shops and restaurants and chefs - notably Marie-Antoine Careme who turned French cuisine into Gastronomy and remains an influence on chefs even to this day

The 20th Century saw the birth and domination of fast food.

In 1948, McDonalds became successful by simplifying their menu and doing away with the need for utensils. A man called Glen Bell found a way to mass produce Tacos in 1951, which led to another fast food craze, and sushi became a world favourite after a Japanese entrepreneur visited a brewery and was inspired by the conveyer belt system of carrying bottles, which he adapted for his restaurants.

The Indian restaurant started life in the 1940s when a number of cafes sprang up in London’s Brick Lane and Commercial Road to support a community of seamen from Bangladesh. More restaurants blossomed in bombed out shops and, by the 50s, Indian restaurants spread across towns and cities throughout the UK becoming a firm favourite with students.

Albert and the late Michel Roux set the standard of English restaurant food in 1960s London whether it was liked it or not. Customers complained that the portions were too small. "This is French gastronomy," Michel told one such couple, with his finest charming smile, a few days after the launch. But there were enough Londoners to keep the restaurant busy and full from day one. By March 1968, Le Gavroche was famous.

Written by William Sitwell
Read by Lesley Sharp

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000h951)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000h953)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:33 Shipping Forecast (m000h955)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000h959)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Zahid Hussain

Good Morning

Within a few short days of the Lockdown, I noticed something where I live, perhaps you noticed it too: I could hear birds singing in the daytime. I live in a city and I do hear birdsong, but it’s usually before dawn, before the world pushes me out of bed, before I hear the steady rumble of cars trundling along the road.

It was one of those joyous moments when you stop to collect yourself and you gaze around in wonder trying to pin down what exactly it is that’s different and there it was…the carefree lilting song of birds calling their companions.

Even now, if I push open the window, I can hear it, the tweet of birds all day long, the delighted chirping of starlings, sparrows and robins. When I first noticed the mid-day twittering in the trees, I realised something… that for so long, birds and animals have had to listen to us, to our mechanical beasts and we didn’t have a care in the world. But now, the urban hum of humans has been pushed back but it hasn’t been replaced with silence, no, in the space we occupied the sounds of nature have seeped slowly back in.

We now have the chance to do something we should have done a long time ago: to listen to the world.

Let us pray. Lord, you are the All-Hearing. Allow us to hear the stirring of our conscience, to hear the consequences of the things we’ve done, to allows us to hear the unwinding of our hearts and to hear the good that’s all around us that we’ve ignored and to find sanctuary in the sacred sounds of your world.

Amen.


SAT 05:45 The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread? (m000h1lh)
CBD Products (Cannabidiol)

CBD, short for cannabidiol, is one of the big buzzwords in health and well being products. A naturally occurring molecule of the cannabis plant, it’s popping up in everything - aside from the CBD oil tinctures, you can now eat it, down it in drinks, vape it, lather it on your skin and soak in it. You can even buy sports leggings infused with it.

Consumer interest in CBD-based products shows no sign of abating, with enthusiasts claiming a whole host of benefits from relieving anxiety, to easing pain and helping us sleep.

The theory behind how CBD might work seems promising - CBD shares similarities with endocannabinoids, produced naturally in the body, which help to regulate stress, sleep, metabolism, memory, inflammation, and immunity.

Given the deluge of different CBD-based products, should we really believe the hype?

Greg Foot talks to beauty columnist Sali Hughes and Saoirse O’Sullivan, an expert in cannabinoid research, to find out if these products really are The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread.

Presenter: Greg Foot
Producer: Beth Eastwood


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m000hdb7)
The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (m000h7s3)
The Music of the Surrey Hills

Ian Marchant meets musicians inspired by the landscape of the Surrey Hills, including concert pianist Wu Qian, who found it terrifying when she first arrived from China aged 12. She soon learned to love the place and co-founded an international music festival which incorporates into its programme inspiring country walks in this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Ian meets Julia and Henry Pearson, who help to run the festival and live in the picturesque village of Shere, with its thatched cottages and 'terminally cute' setting. They are music lovers and keen walkers, so the festival is a perfect fit. Since the programme was recorded in early March, the festival has been cancelled, but imagining the concerts in the 'cathedral in the woods' at Ranmore Church, is still a piece of 'enchantment'.

Ian was born in this area and remembers being told that the view from Newland's Corner was the best in England. It was, in fact, what England should look like, according to his father. Ian now knows this isn't quite true, but it is how people all over the world picture the English countryside: rolling hills, woods, clear, babbling streams and a vista that extends to the English channel.

Ian meets sound artist Graham Downall who has created music/soundscapes to reflect the locations of five sculptures which have been placed in the landscape, and he discovers that the tipple of choice at this festival isn't to be found in the Worker's Beer Tent, but in the sparkling white wine which is produced from the chalky slopes of Denbies Vineyard near Dorking.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m000hdb9)
18/04/20 - Farming Today This Week

The Government is expected to launch a campaign asking people to PICK FOR BRITAIN over the next few weeks, as vegetable farmers worry there won't be enough seasonal workers coming over from Eastern Europe this year to bring in the harvest. Around 30,000 British people have so far registered their interest in working on farms this summer. But growers usually employ about 70,000 seasonal workers, and chartered flights are still bringing farm workers into the UK from Romania. So will it be enough?

A dairy farmers continue to pour milk away down the drain, the government has announced it's relaxing competition laws to allow dairy processors to work together. The market for milk has been hit as the closure of cafes, coffee shops and restaurants has reduced demand.

Government help to support charities through the COVID 19 crisis is being criticised by the rural body, ACRE,which says some small, local charities won’t survive without better, more targeted help.

And, as many of us are stuck inside for most or all of the time, can social media be a source of escapism? We hear from two farmers whose videos of the great outdoors are being devoured online.

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Heather Simons


SAT 06:57 Weather (m000hdbc)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m000hdbf)
Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m000hdbh)
Extraordinary stories, unusual people and a sideways look at the world.


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m000hdbk)
Series 27

Home Economics: Episode Three

Jay Rayner hosts the culinary panel show. This week Jay is joined by Andi Oliver, Sophie Wright, Rachel McCormack and Professor Barry Smith from their kitchens to answer questions sent in by email and social media.

The panel discusses whether you can ever have too much garlic and what to do with old spices, and plays a game of What's in your Kitchen Cabinet.

Producer: Darby Dorras
Assistant Producer: Rosie Merotra

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Briefing Room (m000h7sp)
The psychological impact of the coronavirus pandemic

What do we know about how we are coping with the pandemic crisis? David Aaronovitch looks at the impact the three month lockdown has had on people in China and asks how different groups in the UK - just three weeks in - are faring. What are the particular difficulties faced by the most vulnerable and those who have been advised to self isolate, maybe for many months, during the pandemic? He asks what strategies can be put in place to reduce mental hardship now and in the coming weeks. And when normality resumes, how changed might we be?
Contributors: Dr George Hu from the Shanghai United Family Pudong Hospital, Helen Westerman from Childline, Professor Bobby Duffy from King's College London, Professor Stephen Reicher from the University of St Andrews and Professor Neil Greenberg from King's College London.
Producers: Kirsteen Knight, Darin Graham and Rosamund Jones.
Editor: Jasper Corbett.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m000hdbm)
Sri Lanka After the Bombings

Sri Lanka's economy was improving and tourism flourishing after three decades of civil war but last Easter, a group of Muslims youths, inspired by Islamic State group, murdered more than 250 people in a series of bomb attacks. Jane Corbin has been gauging the lasting effect on the island, one year on.

In Georgia, the country's powerful Orthodox Church is at loggerheads with the government over Easter celebrations. Despite restrictions on gatherings of more than three people to tackle the Coronavirus pandemic, churches across the country remain defiantly open and offer holy communion with a shared spoon. It is a case of church versus state, faith versus science says Rayhan Demetriye.

Richard Dimbleby's report from the Bergen Belsen concentration camp, liberated by British troops seventy-five years ago, remains one of the most remarkable broadcasts ever. It was a revelation as he carefully detailed the horrific reality of the Nazi’s ‘final solution’. His son Jonathan recently returned to the camp with film maker Simon Broughton and one of the survivors.

In Paris another survivor from the Nazi era tells David Chazan what he thinks about President Emmanuel Macron’s approach to the pandemic - will he succeed in uniting the French behind him as the country fights what he calls "a kinetic war"?

“Patient zero” may be the present day term for the original carrier of a disease but it is not a new concept. Cholera, HIV/AIDS, the bubonic plague and now Covid 19 all had major stories of detection around them and the one which looms largest in folk memory says Kevin Connolly is that of the Irish cook, Typhoid Mary, once dubbed "the most dangerous woman in America".


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m000hdbp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m000hdbr)
Wage support changes and debt help

Action to protect workers who would otherwise face redundancy due to the coronavirus outbreak was brought in by the government last month. Known as the Job Retention Scheme it pays 80 per cent of wages for people kept on by their employer up to a maximum of £2,500 a month. At the time there was disappointment from those who missed out because they didn’t start their job before the scheme’s cut-off date of February 28th. This week that date was extended to the 19th of March. The Treasury says the date change is “expected to benefit over 200,000 employees” - but will it? Guest: Heather Self, Tax Partner, Blick Rothenberg.

Plans to refund the victims of fraud isn’t "working as well as hoped" according to financial watchdog the Payment Systems Regulator. Data gathered by the PSR shows that two high street banks who promised to refund victims refused to do so in 96% of cases. Money Box hears from the PSR Managing Director Chris Hemsley to find out what his organisation is doing about it, what action it wants to see from the banks… and why it isn’t taking tougher action already. Money Box also hears from the son of one victim whose bank initially refused to refund him after criminals used his bank details to steal his life savings of £90k.

The FCA announced more plans to support households struggling to pay bills due to the impact of coronavirus on incomes. They include a three month payment freeze for car loans and a one month interest-free halt on high-cost short-term credit payments like payday loans. The FCA hopes to finalise the proposals by Friday 24 April and expect them to happen shortly afterwards. A three month credit card payment holiday for people with cash problems caused by coronavirus came into force this week.

Guests: Sara Williams debt campaigner and founder of the Debt Camel blog and Stuart Masson Editor for thecarexpert.co.uk

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Editor: Emma Rippon
Producer: Charmaine Cozier


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m000h94h)
Series 102

Episode 1

First in the series.

Angela Barnes hosts series 102, leading a panel of regular News Quiz comics and journalists in rounding up the news stories of the week. Joining Angela this week is Helen Lewis, Mark Steel, Desiree Burch and Kerry Godliman.

Produced by Suzy Grant

A BBC Studios Audio Production


SAT 12:57 Weather (m000hdbt)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News (m000hdbw)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m000h94n)
Thérèse Coffey, Vaughan Gething AM, Dame Donna Kinnair, Richard Walker

Chris Mason presents political debate from Broadcasting House in London with Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey, Welsh Health Secretary Vaughan Gething AM, the General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing Professor Dame Donna Kinnair and, Richard Walker the Managing Director of Iceland. Producer: Lisa Jenkinson


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (m000hdby)
Have your say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 15:00 Drama (b0b42t59)
A Tale of Two Cities: Aleppo and London

2013/2014

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

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

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

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

Episode 2: 2013/2014.
Lina is reporting from Aleppo when she is confronted by Taghreed, now in the Free Syrian Army, accusing her of not speaking the truth. Back in London, Lina and Shwan fall in love but, when his dark family secret is revealed, it propels Dr Mahmoud's descent into madness, driving the two lovers apart. Sid confesses his unrequited love for Lina, promising always to protect her and those she loves. Meanwhile Shwan desperately returns to Syria to rescue his old housekeeper, Samia, and is trapped by Taghreed's terrible plan for vengeance.

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

Produced by Gill Parry
Directed by Polly Thomas

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

A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m000hdc0)
Bernadine Evaristo, Refuges, Caring for a person with dementia, Beauty tips in lockdown, Jayde Adams

Caring for a partner with dementia while isolating in lockdown - we hear from former nurse Liz Brookes whose husband has vascular dementia and Chris Black whose wife has Picks Disease.

Bernadine Evaristo won the 2019 Booker Prize for 'Girl, Woman, Other'. Jenni talks to her about her earlier books 'The Emperor’s Babe' and 'Mr Loverman' both have just been re-published.

Beauty tips for nails, eyebrows and waxing during lockdown with Sarah Jossel, Beauty Director of The Sunday Times Style magazine.

Will Elizabeth Warren be Joe Biden’s running mate now he’s committed to a female US vice-president? Jane speaks to Dr Kelly Dittmar from the Centre for American Women and Politics.

How are refuges coping with the impact of Covid-19? Tamara White is area manager of 10 refuges in London.

The comedian Jayde Adams has been a fishmonger, a nightclub bouncer and an Adele impersonator. She talks about her shows, Serious Black Jumper, and Couch Cabaret.

Bailey Tomkinson went to number 2 in the itunes Video Music Charts without a record label or management. She sings live in the studio.

Presenter: Jane Garvey
Producer: Dianne McGregor


SAT 17:00 PM (m000hdc2)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 The Inquiry (m000hdc4)
Can Africa Cope with Coronavirus?

How will Africa deal with Covid-19? It began in China then reached the Middle East, Europe and the United States, now Africa is bracing itself for a surge in coronavirus cases. But how will the continent, with its weaker health care systems and often poor populations cope? The picture is not the same everywhere. Some countries and some sections of society may fare better than others, but the worry is that many African countries simply don’t have the tools or resources to stand up to this pandemic. Or might there be some lessons learnt from the Ebola outbreak which could help? This is a continent of young people, so demographics could work in their favour, but many of them are already compromised by HIV, malaria and other disease outbreaks.

Tanya Beckett speaks to the director of a hospital in rural Uganda, to the head of the Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control, to the CEO of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries and to the former President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, about their worries and preparations for Covid-19.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett
Producer: John Murphy


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m000hdc8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m000hdcd)
The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000hdcj)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m000hdcn)
Dame Harriet Walter, Matt Lucas, Claire Rutter, Emily Barker, Jake Wesley Rogers, Nikki Bedi, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson and Nikki Bedi are joined by Dame Harriet Walter, Matt Lucas and Claire Rutter for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Emily Barker and Jake Wesley Rogers.


SAT 19:00 Profile (m000hdcs)
Dame Vera Lynn

An insight into the character of an influential person making the news headlines


SAT 19:15 The Reith Lectures (b03g9mn1)
Grayson Perry: Playing to the Gallery: 2013

I Found Myself in the Art World

In the last of his four Reith Lectures, recorded in front of an audience at Central St Martins School of Art in London, the artist Grayson Perry discusses his life in the art world; the journey from the unconscious child playing with paint, to the award-winning successful artist of today. He talks about being an outsider and how he struggles with keeping his integrity as an artist. Perry looks back and asks why men and women throughout history, despite all the various privations they suffered, have always made art. And he discusses the central purpose of creating art - to heal psychic wounds and to make meaning.

Perry was awarded the Turner Prize in 2003 and is well known for his ceramic works, printmaking, drawing, sculpture and tapestry. He is also known as one of Britain's most famous cross-dressers as alter ego Claire.

The Reith Lectures are presented by Sue Lawley and produced by Jim Frank.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m000hdcx)
The Phoney War

Edward Stourton tells the story of the BBC in the ”phoney war” of 1939-1940 and the period’s strange echoes of Covid-19 today. When war was declared in September 1939, everyone in Britain expected a catastrophic bombing campaign. Theatres and cinemas were closed and children were evacuated to the countryside. What followed instead was a hiatus when tensions remained high but the bombs did not fall. How does the experience of the Home Front at the start of the Second World War echo the Covid-19 crisis and what did it mean for the evolution of the BBC? The corporation’s initial response became known as the "Bore War". The BBC was berated for broadcasting dreary music and endless, highly repetitive news bulletins. It then changed tack to find a more popular voice, in tune with the needs of its audience. How did it become a trusted source of news in the face of wartime censorship? What did it do to cheer up the nation and enliven public service messages about health and education?

Contributors:
Peter Busch, Senior Lecturer, King's College, London
Martin Gorsky, Professor of the History of Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Sian Nicholas, Reader in History, Aberystwyth University
Lucy Noakes, Professor of History, University of Essex
Jean Seaton, Professor of Media History, University of Westminster

Producer: Sheila Cook
Researcher: Diane Richardson
Editor: Hugh Levinson


SAT 21:00 Day Release (b09gg8th)
Spineless Cacti

Frank helps out in a restorative justice conference, but a police intelligence report about his daughter spurs him to look for his own kind of justice.

Frank Watt ..... Lenny Henry
Geoff Hoagland ..... Ralph Ineson
Shudi Misir ..... Deeivya Meir
Charla May ..... Karla Crome
Bernice Raven ..... Janet Kumah
Nicole Hopcroft ..... Cecilia Noble
Rikki Velez ..... Tayla Kovacevic Ebong
Kieran Albright ..... Gary Duncan
Afsana ..... Sudha Bhuchar
Prisoner ..... Neil McCaul
Sound Engineer ..... Rupert Holliday Evans

Directed by Mary Peate
Written by Peter Jukes


SAT 21:45 Rabbit Redux (b09gygk6)
Episode 2

John Updike's masterful Rabbit quintet established Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom as the quintessential American White middle class male. The first book Rabbit, Run was published in 1960 to critical acclaim. Rabbit Redux is the second in the series, published in 1971 and charting the end of the sixties - featuring, among other things, the first American Moon landing and the Vietnam War.

Despite its very strong language, sex, and reflection of racist attitudes of the time, Time Magazine said of the book and its author, "Updike owns a rare verbal genius, a gifted intelligence and a sense of tragedy made bearable by wit. A masterpiece."

It's extraordinary how many of its themes reverberate down to the present day.

Abridged by Eileen Horne
Read by Toby Jones
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 22:00 News (m000hdd1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 Fallout (m000h7y8)
The Future of Health

Mary Ann Sieghart and a panel of experts discuss the possible long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic on health and healthcare.

The immediate impact of the virus on global health is devastatingly clear. But it could also have far-reaching consequences for health in the UK and worldwide for years to come.

What long-term impact will the pandemic have on the NHS? What healthcare innovations will be accelerated by the virus? How will it change the way we tackle global health challenges - will we see increased co-operation? Or will it push countries towards a more insular approach? How will our medical supply chains change in the aftermath of the pandemic? Could this be an opportunity for major systemic change in global healthcare? And how should we build resilience to face health emergencies like this in the future?

To grapple with these questions and more, Mary Ann Sieghart is joined by Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, former Medical Director of NHS England and Chair of Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust; Professor Devi Sridhar, Chair of Global Public Health at Edinburgh University; Professor Christopher Dye, leading epidemiologist and former Director of Strategy at the World Health Organisation; and Dr Jessica Potter, a specialist in respiratory medicine working on the frontline of the NHS’s coronavirus response.

Producer: Caroline Thornham
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 23:00 Brain of Britain (m000h8gm)
Heat 2, 2020

(2/17)
In classical mythology, what was the name of the first mortal woman, created by Hephaestus? And which South American city gave its name to a Madonna hit of 2019? If you can answer either of these questions you might be able to keep pace with the competitors in the second heat of the 2020 Brain of Britain season. Four competitors from around the UK take the first step in the knockout competition leading to the 67th annual Brain of Britain title.

Appearing today are:
Graeme Anderson, a former HR director from Tonbridge in Kent
Daniel Lawson, a medical student from the Wirral
Rebecca Lovegrove, a retired musician and music teacher from Redruth in Cornwall
Nathan Mulholland, an economist from County Derry.

Producer: Paul Bajoria


SAT 23:30 Bronzeville Beat (m000h7m5)
Patricia Smith - Gwendolyn's heir

Born & raised on Chicago's West side, Poet, teacher, and performance artist Patricia Smith came to verse late but is perhaps the true heir to the great Gwendolyn Brooks with her powerful & exact chronicles that make black lives matter. In collections like Incendiary Art & Blood Dazzler, Smith takes on police shootings, Chicago history and the devastating impact of hurricane Katrina to sear poetry into society. Maria Margaronis hears her voice.
Producer: Mark Burman



SUNDAY 19 APRIL 2020

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m000hdd7)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 00:15 Don't Log Off (m000h9mr)
Series 11

Journeys Interrupted

Across every continent, lives have been put on hold, and people are looking to the day when they can pick up and restart after lockdown.

Alan Dein connects to people looking forward to continuing those things most important to them.

In Mexico, Lucia has spent the past seven years searching for her kidnapped son – one of thousands of disappeared children in the country. For the first time, she has been forced to put that on hold.

Captain Jens aboard a vast container ship has not been on land for three months – and does not know when he will next see his family, but he is finding solace in the logs of his ancestors.

In Nigeria, optometry student Babatunde Ismail Bale is sheltering in a mosque after his college closed its doors – but is still finding ways to study.

And in the Philippine’s capital Manila, armed soldiers on the streets are bringing back fearful memories of martial law in the 1970s.


SUN 00:45 Shipping Forecast (m000hddd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000hddl)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:33 Shipping Forecast (m000hdds)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m000hddx)
St Mary the Virgin in Bathwick, Somerset.

Time now for Bells on Sunday. Currently there is no ringing taking place across UK towers, a situation not encountered since the Second World War. This week’s recording features the winning bid from the BBC Radio 4 Children In Need auction of November 2013 - St Mary the Virgin in Bathwick, Somerset. The prize was to have their bells specially recorded. The present ring of ten has a tenor of eighteen and three quarter hundredweight tuned to E flat. We hear them ringing Double Norwich Court Bob Caters.


SUN 05:45 Profile (m000hdcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News (m000hfvh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b08gwfb9)
Heaven in Ordinary

Writer and priest Malcolm Doney finds surprising delights when taking a closer look at things we often take for granted.

According to Malcolm the familiar can too easily be ignored and subsequently disregarded. He warns that we are in danger of treating our surroundings like a 'blandscape'. For Malcolm there are valuable lessons to be learnt by immersing oneself in the local. This might all sound a bit parochial, but there's another way of looking at it. Malcom explains that if we celebrate the familiar, if we move our attention from the general to the specific, it can open up a whole universe.

Familiarity and routine can be associated with drudgery, but Malcolm draws upon the example of the Christian monastic tradition's Liturgy of the Hours, in which each day is divided into sessions of prayer from Matins and Lauds, to Vespers and Compline. These services provide structure, focus and rhythm they're, landmarks which anchor and support the spiritual development of the believer.

The programme features poems from Seamus Heaney and Norman MacCaig and extracts from authors Xavier de Maistre and Linda Sonna. Music featured includes Bach's Sheep May Safely Graze and Breathless by the jazz trumpeter Matthew Halsall.

Presenter: Malcolm Doney
Producer: Jonathan O'Sullivan
A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m000hfvk)
Dairy Traditions

Sam and Katie Bullingham set up their dairy farm three years ago and it’s growing fast. Their winning formula is grass fed milk, in returnable glass bottles, from cows which rear their own calves. Sam tells Sarah Swadling they’re farming almost as his grandfather did 60 years ago on the fringes of Dartmoor.


SUN 06:57 Weather (m000hfvm)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m000hfvp)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m000hfvr)
A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m000hfvt)
Family Fund

Radio presenter Jo Whiley makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the Family Fund.

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 ‘Family Fund’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Family Fund’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4

Registered Charity Number: 1053866. Scottish charity no. SC040810


SUN 07:57 Weather (m000hfvw)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m000hfvy)
The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m000hfw0)
Meeting in the Lockdown

Immediately after the crucifixion the disciples were in ‘Lockdown.’ Fearing for their very lives, perhaps there’s some sense of parallel with our current situation, locked away as we all are out of fear of something much less tangible but just as much a threat. They were surprised by the appearance of the risen Christ. How do such Resurrection narratives speak to Christians today as we all continue to face existential threats as individuals and as a society? A virtual service from Holy Trinity Platt in South Manchester with speech and music recorded in isolation. Reading: Luke 24 36-43. Now the Green Blade Riseth (trad), Amazing Grace (Tomlin); Before the throne of God above (Cook), See what a morning (Townend); ); He will hold me fast (Getty); It is Well (trad). Preacher: The Revd Dr Paul Mathole; Leader: Sarah Bradley; Music Director: Olly Hamilton; Producer: Miriam Williamson.


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (m000h94q)
On Not Finishing

"I’ve been thinking about projects left unfinished," writes Rebecca Stott. " I’ve got the pages of two unfinished novels on my hard-drive, and a pile of sewing projects, seams pinned, pins rusting, in my sewing basket."

With the help of Leonardo da Vinci, "a notorious non-finisher," Rebecca ponders the meaning of our imperfect and incomplete projects.

Producer: Adele Armstrong


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m0001q59)
Monty Don Swallows Return

For writer, gardener and TV presenter Monty Don, swallows are as central to his garden as any plant. Their return to the garden in April brings a soaring familiarity of song, which when they depart in September leaves the skies above silent and empty, and for Monty a feeling of loss and longing for their return after the long winter months.

Monty Don takes over the Tweet of the Day output this week with a selection of seasonally relevant episodes by Sir David Attenborough.

Producer Andrew Dawes


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m000hfw2)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (m000hfw4)
Writer, Naylah Ahmed & Nick Warburton
Director, Dave Payne & Jeremy Howe
Editor, Jeremy Howe

Kenton Archer ….. Richard Attlee
Phoebe Aldridge ….. Lucy Morris
Lilian Bellamy ….. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns ….. James Cartwright
Chris Carter ….. Wilf Scolding
Alan Franks ….. John Telfer
Emma Grundy ….. Emerald O'Hanrahan
Ed Grundy ….. Barry Farrimond
Shula Hebden Lloyd ….. Judy Bennett
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Alistair Lloyd ….. Michael Lumsden
Jazzer McCreary ….. Ryan Kelly
Kirsty Miller ….. Annabelle Dowler
Freddie Pargetter ….. Toby Laurence
Robert Snell ….. Graham Blockey
Lynda Snell ….. Carole Boyd
Leonie Snell ….. Jasmine Hyde
Oliver Sterling ….. Michael Cochrane
Roy Tucker ….. Ian Pepperell


SUN 11:00 The Reunion (b01s030p)
Coronation Maids

When Britain's 27-year-old newly crowned Queen emerged from Westminster Abbey on June 2 1953, she was flanked by her Maids of Honour: six of the country's most blue-blooded young women, all single, beautiful and, like the Queen, wearing gowns by Hartnell.

According to Lady Glenconner, then 20-year-old Lady Anne Coke, daughter of the Earl of Leicester, they were seen as the Spice Girls of their day.

The Maids' wardrobes and social lives were gossip-column fodder, and sometimes even front-page news, from the moment their identities were revealed until the day of the Coronation. In their New Look suits and demure hats and heels they would be endlessly photographed as the nation, still in the grip of post-war austerity, hungered for some light relief.

Queen Elizabeth followed a precedent set by Queen Victoria by having Maids of Honour instead of pages to bear her Coronation train. It was their duty to unfurl the cumbersome train as she alighted from the Gold State Coach outside Westminster Abbey and hold it aloft using six silk handles invisibly stitched into its underside.

'Ready, girls?' the Monarch asked her attendants as they paused at the Abbey doors to begin their historic procession to the altar.

Now, 60 years on from that historic day they join Sue MacGregor in The Reunion.

Producer: Emily Williams
Series Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 11:45 Encounters with Victoria (m0004shj)
2: Poor Lady Flora

Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator, Historic Royal Palaces explores Queen Victoria's reign through significant encounters
2: Poor Lady Flora - 1839

The new Queen's greatest weakness was her close political association with the powerful Whigs. One of the ways their Tory enemies capitalised on this was through Lady Flora Hastings. A young, unmarried, lady-in-waiting at Buckingham Palace, Lady Flora was observed in the spring of 1839 to have a swelling in the stomach. Victoria, suspecting that she was 'privately married' (i.e. pregnant) insisted that Lady Flora be brutally examined by her own doctor. The Tories stoked rumours that the young Queen's court, ruled over by the cynical Lord Melbourne, had become a scandalous, debauched place. And when Lady Flora died of what turned out to be liver disease, Victoria was roundly criticised as heartless. With this story of wombs and misunderstandings, the gloss had come off the young Queen's crown.
With the historian Kathryn Hughes.
Readers: Michael Bertenshaw, Susan Jameson & Sarah Ovens Producer: Mark Burman


SUN 12:00 News Summary (m000hfw6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (m000h8h0)
Series 4

Milton Jones - Eco Worrier

Milton goes under the sea to save the earth and stumbles across a mysterious Great Aunt at the same time. Meanwhile, Anton gets his fingers burnt by an old flame.

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

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

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

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

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

The cast includes regulars Tom Goodman-Hill (Spamalot, Mr. Selfridge) as the ever-faithful Anton, Josie Lawrence and Dan Tetsell (Peep Show, Upstart Crow).

With music by Guy Jackson

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


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (m000hdk9)
Love In The Time Of Corona: Stories of community support through food

Every day, with the UK on 'lock-down' as part of government measures to halt the spread of Covid-19, we're hearing inspirational tales of community groups and volunteer services springing up to help others - very often, through food.

Over the course of this programme, Sheila Dillon and Dan Saladino - chatting remotely from their respective lock-down locations - hear from just a small selection of the incredible community efforts going on across the country, supporting the most vulnerable during the outbreak: from delivering essentials to the ill and the elderly, confined to their homes; to providing meals for hospital staff working long shifts in Intensive Care Units; to supporting children missing out on their regular free school dinners.

This episode is not only a recognition of the ingenious solutions being found - but also looks at how these local strategies, developed in response to a national crisis, could help change our food system for the better in future.

Presented by Sheila Dillon and Dan Saladino, and produced in Bristol by Lucy Taylor.


SUN 12:57 Weather (m000hfw9)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m000hfwc)
Global news and analysis, presented by Mark Mardell.


SUN 13:30 The Listening Project (m000h7x4)
The Power of Conversation

Fi Glover presents a new and extended weekly edition of the programme with voices past and present on the shared experience of the lockdown.

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. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moments of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Mohini Patel


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000h941)
GQT At Home: Episode Three

Peter Gibbs is joined by Chris Beardshaw, Anne Swithenbank and Matthew Pottage from the comfort of their own homes, answering questions sent in by the audience.

This week, the panellists discuss the best methods for pruning a Rosemary bush, ideas for a small window box, and - most importantly - the best way to open seed packets.

Away from the questions, Matthew Wilson invites us into his greenhouse to show creative ways for involving children in the garden, and Bunny Guinness gives her top tips for mindfulness and well-being in the garden.

Producer: Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Jemima Rathbone

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:45 The Way I See It (m0009c2j)
Starry Night and Janna Levin

Art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, takes us on a deep dive into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means “to see” art.

Leading cultural figures in the series include Grammy- and Emmy-award-winning Hollywood actor and comedian Steve Martin, the author of the New York Times best-selling essay collection Roxane Gay, one of the founders of minimalism – composer Steve Reich and stand-up comedian Margaret Cho. Each episode introduces us to an important art work in the collection, but asks how our own perspective affects our appreciation of the piece.

So, how does a jazz pianist see Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie? How does one of the first black women to write for Marvel comics see the difficult truths in Kara Walker’s sweeping image of African-American history? What does a top fashion designer decode from the clothes painted by an artist in Harlem in the 1930s?

But we start with possibly the most iconic piece in MoMA's collection - Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh. Professor Janna Levin is one of America's leading cosmologists; her specialism is understanding black holes. How does she see Van Gogh's night sky, painted from inside an asylum as he battled mental illness?

Producer: Paul Kobrak

"The Way I See It" is a co-production of the BBC and the Museum of Modern Art, New York

Image Credit: Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, June 1889. Oil on canvas, 29 x 36 1/4" (73.7 x 92.1 cm). Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest (by exchange). The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 472.1941


SUN 15:00 Drama (m000hfwk)
R.L. Stevenson’s Weir of Hermiston Part 1

1/2. A powerful story of family rebellion and forbidden love - set in Edinburgh and the Borders in the early 19th century. Stevenson died halfway through writing the novel - but, using the author’s notes, Colin MacDonald’s dramatisation completes the tragic story of the conflicts within the Weir family. Eager young law student, Archie Weir, publicly denounces the capital punishment favoured by his father, “hanging judge”, Lord Hermiston.
Kirstie…………………………………………………….…...….....PHYLLIS LOGAN
Archie Weir………………………......………….…….....…....JACK LOWDEN
Young Archie…………………….……………………….….......BILLY THOMSON
Lord Hermiston ……………………....…………………..…....PAUL YOUNG
Frank Innes ………………….……………………………….......FINN DEN HERTOG
Jean Weir.………………………………………………………..….KAREN BARTKE
Christina Elliot…..………………………………………….... ...HELEN MACKAY
Davie Leslie………………..…………………………….....….…..SIMON TAIT
Glenalmond/Forbes………………………......……………. ...KENNY BLYTH
Miller/ Laidlaw ...............................................……..............ALASDAIR HANKINSON
Pringle /Jopp ……………………………………………….………OWEN WHITELAW
Other parts played by the cast.
Producer/Director : Bruce Young


SUN 16:00 Open Book (m000hfwm)
Ingrid Persaud, Short Fiction, Patricia Grace

Mariella Frostrup talks to Ingrid Persaud about Love After Love, her stunning debut told from the multiple perspectives of an unconventional Indo-Trinidadian family. Having won the BBC National Short Story Award in 2018, Persaud explains why she evoked her memories of Trinidad in her first foray in to novel-length fiction.

Continuing the theme, critic John Self picks some short fiction highlights, both classic and forthcoming, for those feeling paradoxically time-poor.

And Patricia Grace explains the conception of her colossal but compact Potiki, recently re-issued. Stella Duffy tells this figurehead of Maori New Zealand writing.


SUN 16:30 Bronzeville Beat (m000hfwp)
We Real Cool

Through poetry slams like Louder Than A Bomb, Chicago's powerful poetic tradition is being reforged by the young, bringing their diverse experience & new voices to light for the first time. They are connected to Black Chicago's literary mother, Gwendolyn Brooks, both by their exposure to new ways of celebrating poetry at school & the community of competition & comradeship. This year was to mark the 20th anniversary of Louder than a Bomb, the world's biggest poetry slam until Covid 19 brought it to a halt-at least for now, at least in the real world. . Maria Margaronis gathers up a community of poets online to liberate their words now on hold.

Producer: Mark Burman


SUN 17:00 Snakes & Ladders (m000hcjw)
An audio game of Snakes & Ladders in which the board squares represent the gradations of wealth in the UK today. Award-winning documentary-maker Cathy FitzGerald hops up and down the board to talk to people with very different incomes about their relationship to money.

Interviewees: Teona Bonsu, Bobby Bates, George Buchanan, Ade Hassan, Russ Davey, Simon Russell and Christine Isaacs.

Photo: David Gochfeld

Presented and produced by Cathy FitzGerald
Executive Producer: Sarah Cuddon
A White Stiletto production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 17:40 Profile (m000hdcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m000hfwr)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m000hfwt)
The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000hfww)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m000hfwy)
Adrian Goldberg

Adrian Goldberg’s lockdown list includes; menu’s, Milton Jones and Moomins.

We explore prison life, the story of the female aquanauts and Ellie Taylor has tips on dating.

There’s music from War Horse the musical, a moving letter to a granddaughter and some powerful heart rending radio reflecting the world we now live in.

Producer: Stephen Garner

Production support: Kay Whyld

Please contact us at potw@bbc.co.uk


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m000hdk2)
Roy has a revealing encounter, and Lilian takes charge.


SUN 19:15 Just a Minute (m000hfx0)
Series 63

Episode 4

Just how hard can it be to talk for 60 seconds with no hesitation, repetition & deviation? Regulars Jenny Eclair and Tony Hawks welcome relative newcomers Richard Herring and Paul Sinha to try. As ever, Nicholas Parsons chairs this popular comedy panel show.


SUN 19:45 Short Works (b0bk1nx3)
BBC National Short Story Award 2018

Spectacles

Five commissioned short stories by leading writers to celebrate this year's BBC National Short Story Award:

In 'Spectacles' by Tom Rachman, Norah is bemused to discover that husband Gary appears to be wearing her glasses. Why is this happening? And what is to be done about it?

Reader Barbara Flynn

Producer Duncan Minshull


SUN 20:00 Feedback (m000h947)
Does the BBC’s coronavirus podcast put too much emphasis on politics and not enough on medical science? That's one of the comments from listeners discussed by Roger Bolton with Dino Sofos, the editor of the Coronavirus Newscast.

Roger also asks a transgender priest why she chose the issue of her identity as a subject for her Lent Talk on Radio 4, and why she was inspired by Jesus Christ’s journey of self-discovery.

And a mother and daughter turn their attentions to the heavens and listen to a documentary about the Hubble telescope. Are they well outside their comfort zones?

Presenter: Roger Bolton
Producer: Kate Dixon
Executive Producer: Samir Shah

A Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m000h945)
Sir Stirling Moss OBE, Professor Margaret Burbidge, Mahmoud Jibril, Tim Brooke-Taylor OBE

Pictured: Sir Stirling Moss OBE

Matthew Bannister on

Sir Stirling Moss, the iconic British racing driver, noted for his courage and patriotism. Although he never won the world championship, he stormed to victory in many Formula 1 and sports car races.

Professor Margaret Burbidge, the pioneering astronomer who carried out extensive work on quasars.

Mahmoud Jibril, who became interim Prime Minister of Libya after the fall of Colonel Gaddafi.

Tim Brooke-Taylor, the comic actor best known for his parts in The Goodies and I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue. Bill Oddie and Graeme Garden pay tribute.

Interviewed guest: Simon Taylor
Interviewed guest: Lord Martin Rees
Interviewed guest: Amira Fathalla
Interviewed guest: Chris Serle
Interviewed guest: Graeme Garden OBE
Interviewed guest: Bill Oddie OBE

Producer: Neil George

Archive clips from: HardTalk: Stirling Moss, BBC News 23/12/2010; The World Tonight, Radio 4 18/11/1971; HardTalk: Mahmoud Jibril, BBC News 23/10/2011; Woman’s Hour, Radio 4 03/08/1977; I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, Radio 4 04/01/2016; Front Row, Radio 4 26/09/2018; I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again, Radio 2 02/11/1977.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m000hdbr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m000hfvt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 In Business (m000h7sr)
Working From Home

Since the Covid-19 lockdown began, millions of us have been toiling away trying to work from home for the first time: converting living rooms and bedrooms into makeshift office space, wrangling with technology, and juggling family life with working hours. How good are we at doing it? Caroline Bayley explores the upsides and challenges of "WFH".

Presenter: Caroline Bayley
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton.


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m000hfx3)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (m000h7s7)
Night and the City

With Antonia Quirke

As part of The Film Programme's guide to what to watch during self isolation, Antonia presents a special on the 1950 crime drama Night And The City. She plunders the Film Programme archives and hears from stars Richard Widmark, Herbert Lom, Googie Withers and director Jules Dassin


SUN 23:30 Something Understood (b08gwfb9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 today]



MONDAY 20 APRIL 2020

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m000hfx5)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


MON 00:15 Thinking Allowed (m0002zcx)
Corridors

Corridors: We spend our lives moving through hallways and corridors, yet these channelling spaces do not feature in architectural histories. They are overlooked and undervalued. Laurie talks to Roger Luckhurst, Professor of Modern Literature at Birkbeck, University of London, whose new book charts the origins and meaning of the corridor, from country houses and utopian communities in the eighteenth centuries, through reformist Victorian prisons to the "corridors of power," as well as their often fearful depiction in popular culture. They’re joined by Kate Marshall, Associate Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame and author of a study of the intriguing place of the corridor in modernist literature.

Producer: Jayne Egerton


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m000hddx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000hfx7)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000hfx9)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:33 Shipping Forecast (m000hfxc)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000hfxf)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Zahid Hussain

Good Morning.

Not so long ago, one of my close friend’s lost his mother to the virus that’s sweeping across the world. I couldn’t attend the funeral. I couldn’t even pop round to pay my respects. The sad thing is, he wasn’t the first person I personally know who’s lost someone because of the virus. He won’t be the last.

My Facebook feed is filled not with fake news but the announcement of deaths, of poignant personally written obituaries tapped out on phones. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. Gone. To die in the arms of strangers far from the safe shores of home. It hurts, it really hurts. As a British Muslim with strong and wide family networks the Coronavirus has shaken my world in a way nothing else could. There are no Friday prayers, there are no family gatherings and there are no funerals I can attend. No shaking hands, no hugging, no sharing meals. Society has come to a gaping glottal stop.

Yet despite all of this, the only way forward is to have hope, to hold onto the rope of faith and let it pull you through. In the darkness that’s fallen we’ve found new and old ways to reconnect. We hold the family’s we live with tighter. People are discovering videoconferencing apps and sit side by side even when they’re worlds apart. We’re catching up with that to-do list that we never quite managed to get to but now can. We’re learning new languages and skills. We’re praying more.

I believe that when the darkness recedes and it will, that we’ll return to a changed world, but one where we honour and cherish each other more than we did before. Lord, hold us when we can’t.

Amen.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m000hfxh)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


MON 05:56 Weather (m000hfxk)
The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09w08g3)
Matt Merritt on the Redstart

Poet and editor of British Birdwatching magazine enjoys seeing the first male redstart of spring, around April 20th, which has become Redstart Day for him in this Tweet of the Day.

Producer Maggie Ayre
Photograph: Paul Higgs.


MON 06:00 Today (m000hdj7)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m000hdj9)
Crisis in Europe from Notre-Dame to coronavirus

A year ago French people looked on with horror as the great Notre-Dame went up in flames. The journalist Agnès Poirier tells Andrew Marr that the cathedral with its 800 year history represents the soul of the nation. Even before the fire was out President Macron was promising that it would be rebuilt. But in Notre-Dame: The Soul of France, Poirier recounts how its current reconstruction has been mired in controversy – political, social, artistic and religious. Poirier also looks at how the French government and people have reacted to the coronavirus pandemic.

In Hungary, Viktor Orban’s government has been voted sweeping new powers to rule by decree for an indefinite period, to deal with the coronavirus crisis. The academic Martyn Rady is keeping a keen eye on how different countries in Central Europe respond. He argues that the region has been shaped by the formidable power and influence of the Habsburg dynasty. In his latest book, The Habsburgs: The Rise and Fall of a World Power, Rady shows how from modest origins in the 9th century the family soon gained control of the Holy Roman Empire, stretching from Spain to Hungary and beyond.

Producer: Katy Hickman


MON 09:30 Homeschool History (m000hh0b)
The Restoration

Join host Greg Jenner for a rambunctious romp through 17th century Britain to learn all about Charles II and the restoration of the monarchy.

As well as finding out where to get the best cup of coffee in Resoration London, we’ll discover why Charles II was known as the Merry Monarch (spoiler - there’s lots of parties) and how he reacted when Parliament decided to chop off his Dad’s head.

Join us for a homeschool history lesson on the ultimate King of Bling.

A Muddy Knees Media production for BBC Radio 4


MON 09:45 Intrigue (m0009kyn)
Tunnel 29

1: The Escape

“I didn’t want to be a part of this new world.” Joachim is on holiday in East Germany when he hears Berlin is to be divided. The wall is built and the escapes begin. Joachim has to decide whether he'll be among them.

Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. It’s also the story of the Stasi spy who betrays the tunnel, the American TV network which funds it and the love that develops between refugees who find freedom together.

The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel.

Producer & Presenter: Helena Merriman
Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore
Translation and additional research: Sabine Schereck
Editor: Richard Knight
Joachim Rudolph's original interviews voiced by Mark Edel Hunt
#tunnel29


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000hdjc)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


MON 10:45 Curious Under the Stars (m000hdjf)
Series 10: Things of Stone

Part 1

By Alan Harris

First in the latest series of the magical drama set in Glan Don, a mysterious village perched on the wild Welsh coast.

Diane returns to the village to find Gareth and Emlyn are running the pub into the ground. And then disaster strikes.

Starring Emma Sidi (Pls Like), Ifan Huw Dafydd (Gavin and Stacey) and Richard Elis (Coronation Street).

Diane.... Emma Sidi
Emlyn..... Ifan Huw Dafydd
Gareth.... Richard Elis
Megan.... Aimee Ffion Edwards
Matty.... Siw Hughes
The Ghost…. Owain Gwynn
Anwen.... Juno Robinson

Series created by Meic Povey
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production


MON 11:00 The Untold (m000hdjj)
Last Flight to Newquay

Cornwall Airport Newquay faces hard times and tough choices after the collapse of Flybe and Covid-19. Grace Dents presents.

Until its collapse in March 2020, regional airline Flybe accounted for nearly three quarters of flights to Cornwall Airport Newquay. The coronavirus then engulfed the airport in a far wider, deeper crisis. The Untold follows the management of the airport as they're confronted with difficult decisions.

The future also looks very uncertain for the young owners of a nearby hotel, and for taxi driver Steve whose income has plummeted.

Producer: Laurence Grissell


MON 11:30 Loose Ends (m000hdcn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


MON 12:00 News Summary (m000hdjm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000hdjp)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


MON 12:06 Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater (m000hdjr)
Episode 1

In the early 1900s Alexandra Hope is on the cusp of the modern - but the sleepy Scottish village of Crossriggs is not the place for an unconventional woman.

This delightful tale of a small community hovering between two eras was written by the sisters known as the 'Scottish Brontes'.

Written by Jane and Mary Findlater
Abridged by Clara Glynn
Reader Rosalind Sydney
Producer Eilidh McCreadie


MON 12:20 You and Yours (m000hdjv)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


MON 12:57 Weather (m000hdjx)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m000hdjz)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


MON 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00q2p66)
After the Ice Age: Food and Sex (9000 - 3500 BC)

Bird-shaped Pestle

Neil MacGregor continues his retelling of human history using 100 selected objects from the British Museum. This week he explores the profound changes that humans experienced at the end of the Ice Age. By this period, humanity is reconsidering its place in the world and turning its attention to food, power, worship, and human relationships.

But then, as now, one of the most important parts of human existence was finding enough food to survive. Taking a pestle from Papua New Guinea as an example, Neil asks why our ancestors decided to grow and cook new foods. The answer provides us with a telling insight into the way early humans settled on the land. Becoming farmers and eating food that was harder for other animals to digest made us a formidable force in the food chain. The impact on our environment of this shift to cookery and cultivation is still being felt.

Neil is joined by Indian food writer Madhur Jaffrey, campaigner Sir Bob Geldof and archaeologist Professor Martin Jones


MON 14:00 The Archers (m000hdk2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 GF Newman's The Corrupted (m000hdk4)
Series 5

Episode 1

It's the 1990s and Brian Oldman is still in jail for a crime he didn't commit.

He found a man in jail able to prove his innocence - but that man was soon found dead in his cell. He suspects that Joseph Oldman, now Sir Joseph Olinska MP, organised the killing.

GF Newman's The Corrupted weaves fiction with real characters from history, following the fortunes of the Oldman/Olinska family - from small-time business and opportunistic petty crime, through gang rivalries, to their entanglement in the highest echelons of society. It's a tale revealing a nexus of crime, business and politics that’s woven through the fabric of 20th century greed, as even those with hitherto good intentions are sucked into a web of corruption.

Joey Oldman, an uneducated Jewish child immigrant from Russia, has a natural instinct for business and a love of money - coupled with a knack for acquiring it. His wife Cath is as ruthless in both the pursuit of money and the protection of her son, Brian. Joey built his empire with the help of a corrupt bank manager in the 1950s, starting with small greengrocer shops before moving into tertiary banking and property development, dealing with many corrupt policemen on the way - and befriending both Lord Goodman and Margaret Thatcher. Now ennobled and on the board of Lehman Brothers, Joseph intends to extend his business interests into Russia with the help of Boris Yeltsin and his cronies. John Major is now the Prime Minister and a young man from the left, Tony Blair, also seems keen on making Joseph’s acquaintance. Meanwhile, Joseph is trying to divorce his first wife, Catherine.

The characters are based on GF Newman's novels.

CAST
Joseph Oldman Toby Jones
Brian Oldman Joe Armstrong
Catherine Isabella Urbanowicz
Leah Cohen Jasmine Hyde
Margaret Courtney Flora Montgomery
Warder Peters/
John Major Paul Kemp
Asst Governor/
Lord Miles Christian Rodska
Dr Aziz Damian Lynch
Dr Eaves Felicity Duncan
Lord Goodman Edward Max
Kevin Wheeler Lucas Hare
George Carmen Nigel Cooke
The Master Jamie Newall
Jack Braden John Hollingworth
Third Doctor/
Usher/Secretary Sarah Lambie

Produced and directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


MON 15:00 Brain of Britain (m000hdk7)
Heat 3, 2020

(3/17)
The third heat of the 2020 Brain of Britain tournament comes from London, with Russell Davies asking questions on everything from medicine and astronomy to world music and international soccer.

Awaiting the winner today is another of the places in the 2020 semi-finals to be held later in the year. There's also the chance for a lucky listener to win a prize by stumping the contestants with questions of his or her own devising.

Taking part today are:
Linda Emmett, a self-employed project manager from Launceston in Cornwall
Mark Heptinstall, a former bank manager from Ashford in Kent
Bill Muir, a retired tax inspector from Swaffham in Norfolk
Dave Taylor, a retired transport manager from Sunderland.

Producer: Paul Bajoria


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (m000hdk9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 Beyond Belief (m000hdkf)
Series exploring the place and nature of faith in today's world.


MON 16:30 PM (m000hdkh)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000hdkk)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (m000hdkm)
Series 4

The Petsman

As cat and dog owners go to war, Milton turns to social media to calm things down. That usually works, right?

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

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

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

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

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

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

With music by Guy Jackson

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


MON 19:00 The Archers (m000hdkp)
Shula faces some home truths, and Philip feels spontaneous.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m000hdkr)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


MON 19:45 Curious Under the Stars (m000hdjf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 How to Cure Viral Misinformation (m000hh0d)
The World Health Organisation calls it an “infodemic” – a flood of information about the coronavirus pandemic. Amid the good advice and the measured uncertainty, there’s a ton of false claims, conspiracy theories and health tips which are just plain wrong.
We’ve been working to fight the tide of bad info, and in this programme BBC Trending reporters Marianna Spring and Mike Wendling trace the story of one specific viral post.
It's a list of supposed facts about the virus and what you can do to protect yourself. Some of the tips are true, some are false but relatively harmless, and some are potentially dangerous. Who’s behind the post – and how did it spread?
Here’s our list of seven key tips on how to stop viral misinformation:
1. Stop and think
2. Check your source
3. Ask yourself, could it be a fake?
4. If you’re unsure whether it’s true … don’t share.
5. Check each fact, individually.
6. Beware emotional posts.
7. Think about biases

Presenters: Marianna Spring and Mike Wendling


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (m000h7r1)
Chile: An Education for All

A much anticipated referendum in Chile on a new constitution has been postponed till the autumn amid safety concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. President Sebastian Piñera had agreed to the vote and a range of reforms following months of civil unrest. Since last autumn, the country has been experiencing a wave of protests with people on the streets angry at the level of inequality in the country. Amongst them thousands of university students, teachers and school children – who have been prepared to face tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets – in a bid to change the education system in Chile. They say a privileged few have access to all the best jobs and the rest are given a substandard schooling with leaky roofs in winter, boiling hot classrooms in summer and inadequate teaching. For Crossing Continents, Jane Chambers spent time with the protestors calling for a fairer education for all.

Presented and produced by Jane Chambers. Editor, Bridget Harney


MON 21:00 The NHS Front Line (m000h8pn)
Week 4 on the covid wards

In this programme Dr John Wright and doctors at the Bradford Royal Infirmary are recruiting Covid-19 patients into the largest study of its kind: it's a race against time in the search for possible treatments for those made gravely ill by the virus and people are all too willing to help.

John Wright has been recording on the wards for BBC Radio 4 – starting on March 16th, the day the Prime Minister gave his first televised address about the danger of Covid-19. This is week four of his diaries, recorded as the number of cases starts to increase and the pressures on the frontline team intensify.

These recordings with frontline NHS staff at all levels, take you behind the scenes on the wards as they plan for what is to come and then cope as the patients arrive. They let us share in the pressures, personal and professional, and in the decisions being made in the face of this unprecedented threat.

Professor John Wright is helping Bradford Royal Infirmary to get ready for Covid-19. He’s looked after patients all over the world – cholera and HIV in Southern Africa, Ebola in Sierra Leone. He thinks it’s important we should all know what we are facing.

Presented by Winifred Robinson
Produced by Sue Mitchell
Sound Production by Richard Hannaford


MON 21:30 Start the Week (m000hdj9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m000hdkt)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


MON 22:45 Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater (m000hdjr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 today]


MON 23:00 Lights Out (m000hdkw)
Series 2

The Outside World

Slow radio which weaves together tropical thunderstorms in Australia, parrots heard through a window in Italy and erupting applause amid the skyscrapers of Manhattan.

Audio-makers reflect on the sonic worlds they want to inhabit in this moment in time. With contributions from Daria Corrias in Italy, Ariana Martinez and Benjamin Riskin in America and Caddie Brain in Australia.

Featuring recordings from the archive of the Field Recordings podcast, including:
Starling Murmuration, Nobber, Co. Meath, Ireland in January 2019 by Zoë Comyns
42nd St and 1st Avenue, New York, USA on 7th April 2020 by Benjamin Riskin
Hollow Tree, Sergiyev Posad, Russia on 11th March 2011 by Vladimir Kryuchev
Frogs, Hilo, Hawaii, USA in 2018 by Helen Zaltzman
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire April 2018 by Axel Kacoutié
Backyard storm, Darwin, Australia by Nyah Bertschi and Caddie Brain
Sinharaja tropical rainforest, South West of Sri Lanka, at daybreak by Alannah Chance
Hogsback, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, last summer by Neroli Price
Terrace, Rome, Italy, during the lockdown by Daria Corrias
Combate, Puerto Rico by Ariana Martinez.

Produced by Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4


MON 23:30 The Untold (m000dyb0)
Game Over in Dover?

Grace Dent follows the story - through the autumn - of the owner of a family business at the crossroads over Brexit uncertainty. For John Shirley the stakes are high: he's put his house up for sale because he believes leaving the EU Customs Union will ruin his Dover based freight agency company.

We follow the Shirley's - who have different views about leaving the EU - through Brexit deadlines and the General Election as John works out what to do.

Producer Neil McCarthy



TUESDAY 21 APRIL 2020

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m000hdky)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 00:30 Intrigue (m0009kyn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000hdl0)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000hdl2)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:33 Shipping Forecast (m000hdl4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000hdl6)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Zahid Hussain

Good Morning.

I don’t call myself a Trekkian, a fan of Star Trek, but I do have a soft spot for the galaxy-roaming American science fiction series. It’s spawned more children than, well, almost any other series in television history.

It’s true that I’ve jumped from stone to stone in the heady pool of the Star Trekkian universe, from the original series with Captain Kirk, Bones and of course Spock, to the recent incarnation, Picard. And so, I’ve gleaned a few things along the way.

One of the things I like so much about Star Trek is that there’s no money it. I don’t mean the producers and actors don’t earn a pretty penny through their contribution, I mean that in the fictional universe of Star Trek, money, as a unit of exchange of value plays no part. It’s a wonderful idea. Gene Roddenberry who created the series wanted a universe where money didn’t figure, a universe in which as Captain Picard puts it, “We’ve grown out of our infancy”. Is such a thing possible? Is it just fantasy?

When I think about people who excel in what they do, who sacrifice so much, I don’t think do it for the money, they’re passionate about it.

When I’m troubled and unsure about doing something, I fall back on this idea that if there was no money in it, would I do such and such a thing and if I would do it anyway then it’s worth doing.

Let us pray. Lord, sometimes we’re unsure, confused as to what we should do. Help us to find our passion, to set us on a path where we can pursue a purpose that makes the world a little better and a little brighter for everyone.

Amen.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m000hdl8)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b0378xkr)
Honey Buzzard

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

Michaela Strachan presents the honey buzzard. The Honey Buzzard is more closely related to the Kite than it is to our common Buzzard. It gets its name for its fondness, not for honey, but for the grubs of bees and wasps. The bird locates their nests by watching where the insects go from a branch. It then digs out the honeycomb with its powerful feet and breaks into the cells.


TUE 06:00 Today (m000hfxt)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 Black Music in Europe: A Hidden History (m000hfxw)
Series 3

1970s

Drawing on rare recordings, Clarke Peters continues his third series revealing the unexplored history of Black music across Europe, from the aftermath of the Second World War through to the late 1970s.

This was an era that saw countries such as Algeria, Jamaica, Cape Verde and Trinidad shake off European colonialism. These nations expressed their new found sense of freedom through songs, many recorded in European studios.

From the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, through the decolonisation years and beyond, this series hears from modern Black musicians, commentators and historians, to get to the heart of Black music in Europe.

In this final episode of the series, Clarke uncovers Surinamese music in the Netherlands, black flamenco in Spain and lover’s rock in London. He also delves into the story of the Cape Verdean musicians who found a home in Europe in the 1970s and used synthesisers to express their new found sense of freedom.

Produced by Tom Woolfenden
Executive Producer: Miranda Hinkley
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 09:30 The Extinction Tapes (m000b0qv)
The White-tailed Eagle

Rob Newman tells the story of a species we very nearly lost forever, and asks what we can learn from their triumphant return.

The White-Tailed Eagle went extinct in England in 1780. They held on in Scotland until 1916. In summer 2019, a White-Tailed Eagle flew triumphantly across the British countryside once again. We played a huge role in their near-extinction. Perhaps by understanding what so nearly wiped them out, we can play a role in their return.

Produced in Bristol by Emily Knight


TUE 09:45 Intrigue (m0009kt0)
Tunnel 29

2: The Spy

“I choose the codename Fred.” A hairdresser becomes a Stasi spy.

Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel.

Producer & Presenter: Helena Merriman
Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore
Translation and additional research: Sabine Schereck
Editor: Richard Knight
Joachim Rudolph's original interviews voiced by Mark Edel Hunt

#tunnel29


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000hfxy)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


TUE 10:45 Curious Under the Stars (m000hfy0)
Series 10: Things of Stone

Things of Stone, Part 2

By Alan Harris

Second in the latest series of the magical drama set in Glan Don, a mysterious village perched on the wild Welsh coast.

When the Druid’s Rest collapses into a sinkhole, Emlyn and Megan are trapped underground. And there’s someone else down there too, hiding in the darkness.

Emlyn..... Ifan Huw Dafydd
Megan.... Aimee Ffion Edwards
The Ghost…. Owain Gwynn
Gareth.... Richard Elis

Series created by Meic Povey
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production


TUE 11:00 The NHS Front Line (m000hfy2)
Week 5 on the covid wards

Dr John Wright has been recording on the wards for BBC Radio 4 – starting on March 16th, the day the Prime Minister gave his first televised address about the danger of Covid-19. This is week five of his diaries, recorded as the number of cases starts to increase and the pressures on the frontline team intensify.

These recordings with frontline NHS staff at all levels, take you behind the scenes on the wards as they plan for what is to come and then cope as the patients arrive. They let us share in the pressures, personal and professional, and in the decisions being made in the face of this unprecedented threat.

Professor John Wright is helping Bradford Royal Infirmary to get ready for Covid-19. He’s looked after patients all over the world – cholera and HIV in Southern Africa, Ebola in Sierra Leone. He thinks it’s important we should all know what we are facing.

Presented by Winifred Robinson
Produced by Sue Mitchell
Sound Production by Richard Hannaford


TUE 11:30 Art of Now (m000hfy4)
Mixtape For Zimbabwe

UK based writer Belinda Zhawi creates a personalised selection of sounds, songs and reflections in dedication to her birth country.

After growing up in Zimbabwe, Belinda settled in London when she was 12. Much of her work as a poet, sound artist and educator explores her experience of shifting perspectives and identities, from rural to urban and between continents and cultures.

Zimbabwe gained independence from the United Kingdom in April 1980. Forty years on, Belinda reflects on the hopes and disappointments which followed for her generation, “Born Free,” into an independent Zimbabwe.

Belinda’s Mixtape for Zimbabwe includes the music of Bob Marley, Thomas Mapfumo and Ms Dynamite.

Bird Song (Live at Funkhaus) - Stella Chiweshe

Njema -Winky D

Chitekete - Leonard Dembo

The Folks who Live on the Hill - Maxine Sullivan

Zimbabwe - Oliver Mtkudzi

Zimbabwe - Bob Marley

Dy-Na-Mi-Tee - Miss Dynamite

Sing Along - Crazy Titch

Chitekete - Leonard Dembo

I’ll Wait and Pray - John Coltrane

Home is Where the Hatred Is - Gil Scott Heron

Corruption - Thomas Mapfumo

Coming Home (Radio Edit) - Shingai

Kura Uone (Grow Up & you Will See) - Bongo Maffin

Chitekete - Leonard Dembo

Bird Song (Live in Funkhaus) - Stella Chiweshe

Produced by Femi Oriogun-Williams
A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m000hfy6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000hfy8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


TUE 12:06 Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater (m000hfyb)
Episode 2

With sister Matilda and her children back in Crossriggs, Alex must find a way to improve the family finances. Her well-meaning friends and neighbours can see an obvious solution - but unconventional Alex relishes her single status.

This delightful tale of a small community hovering between two eras was written by the sisters known as the 'Scottish Brontes'.

Read by Rosalind Sydney
Written by Jane and Mary Findlater
Abridged by Clara Glynn
Producer Eilidh McCreadie


TUE 12:20 You and Yours (m000hfyd)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


TUE 12:57 Weather (m000hfyg)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m000hfyj)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


TUE 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00q2p68)
After the Ice Age: Food and Sex (9000 - 3500 BC)

Ain Sakri Lovers Figuerine

The British Museum's Director, Neil MacGregor, investigates a palm-sized stone sculpture that was found near Bethlehem. It clearly shows a couple entwined in the act of love. The contemporary sculptor Marc Quinn responds to the stone as art and the archaeologist Dr Ian Hodder considers the Natufian society that produced it. What was human life and society actually like all those years ago? Possibly a lot more sophisticated than we imagine!


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m000hdkp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 GF Newman's The Corrupted (m000hfym)
Series 5

Episode 2

It's the 1990s and Brian Oldman is still in jail for a crime he didn't commit.

He found a man in jail able to prove his innocence - but that man was soon found dead in his cell. He suspects that Joseph Oldman, now Sir Joseph Olinska MP, organised the killing.

GF Newman's The Corrupted weaves fiction with real characters from history, following the fortunes of the Oldman/Olinska family - from small-time business and opportunistic petty crime, through gang rivalries, to their entanglement in the highest echelons of society. It's a tale revealing a nexus of crime, business and politics that’s woven through the fabric of 20th century greed, as even those with hitherto good intentions are sucked into a web of corruption.

Joey Oldman, an uneducated Jewish child immigrant from Russia, has a natural instinct for business and a love of money - coupled with a knack for acquiring it. His wife Cath is as ruthless in both the pursuit of money and the protection of her son, Brian. Joey built his empire with the help of a corrupt bank manager in the 1950s, starting with small greengrocer shops before moving into tertiary banking and property development, dealing with many corrupt policemen on the way - and befriending both Lord Goodman and Margaret Thatcher. Now ennobled and on the board of Lehman Brothers, Joseph intends to extend his business interests into Russia with the help of Boris Yeltsin and his cronies. John Major is now the Prime Minister and a young man from the left, Tony Blair, also seems keen on making Joseph’s acquaintance. Meanwhile, Joseph is trying to divorce his first wife, Catherine.

The characters are based on GF Newman's novels.

CAST
Joseph Oldman Toby Jones
Brian Oldman Joe Armstrong
Catherine Isabella Urbanowicz
Tony Wednesday/
Boris Yeltsin Alec Newman
Leah Cohen Jasmine Hyde
Warder Peters/
John Major/
Douglas Hurd/
Menachem Hayek Paul Kemp
Eddie Richardson Charles Davies
The Master Jamie Newall
George Carmen Nigel Cooke
Lord Miles Christian Rodska
Kevin Wheeler Lucas Hare
Margaret Courtney Flora Montgomery
Jack Braden John Hollingworth
Sonia Hope Sarah Lambie
Chuck Haley Matt Rippy
Anatoly Popov Boris Isarov
Brad Peterson William Meredith
2nd warder/
prisoner Kieron Jechinnis
Brian Perry Nicholas Murchie

Produced and directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (m000hdbk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


TUE 15:30 Costing the Earth (m000hfs9)
Music's Green Day

In November 2019 the band Massive Attack announced it was working with the Tyndall Centre in Manchester to devise a strategy for touring without emitting carbon dioxide. They join a host of acts including Coldplay, The 1975, Radiohead and Billie Eilish all of whom intend to tour in as green a way as possible in the future. Tom Heap speaks to Chris Jones of the Tyndall Centre to find out what the key components are to produce a 'green' gig and how this could provide a template for bands in the future.

But what of the smaller bands for whom touring is their main source of income? This is the question he puts to Kate Stables of the band This is the Kit who talks about the difficulties of balancing her environmental conscience with her desire to play music to a live audience. He also speaks to musicians Fay Milton and Sam Lee from the organisation Music Declares Emergency about what a band can do and where their responsibilities start and finish. Murray Matravers from the band Easy Life explains how shooting a video on a plastic recycling site in Morocco brought these issue home to him, and Surrey-based artist Bruch talks about how the environment sits at the heart of every decision she makes as a musician. Also featured are BBC Introducing bands Brand New Friend, Roving Crows, Lucy Leave and October Drift.

This is more than just a debate about who should and shouldn't play live. This is a discussion about the role music plays in our lives and how we can best experience it whilst acknowledging its impact on the planet.

Producer: Toby Field


TUE 16:00 Great Lives (m000hfyp)
Ursula Le Guin nominated by Kate Stables

Ursula le Guin was born in California in 1929. Her books - including A Wizard of Earthsea and The Left Hand of Darkness - have been described as masterpieces but she battled prejudice all her life from the literary elite. Choosing her because she loves both Ursula's books and who she was is the British musician Kate Stables. She's speaking to Matthew Parris from Paris. On the line from San Francisco is Arwen Curry - she knew the author and made the film The Worlds of Ursula K Le Guin with the strapline, A Wizard's Work is Never Done.

The producers in Bristol are Toby Field and Miles Warde


TUE 16:30 PM (m000hfyr)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000hfyt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:30 Ellie Taylor's Safe Space (m000hfyw)
The Environment

Stand-up Ellie Taylor has some opinions she'd like to get off her chest. In this episode she looks at the environment and wonders whether the planet really is worth saving. She discusses her views with help from the studio audience and her side-kick Robin Morgan. She also welcomes on a special expert guest to talk about how to survive the end of the world...the first man to walk the length of the Amazon, explorer Ed Stafford.

Ellie Taylor's Safe Space is produced by Sam Michell and is a BBC Studios Production.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m000hfrl)
Will Phoebe get the better of Justin Elliott? Tracy offers new blood to the cricket team.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m000hfyy)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


TUE 19:45 Curious Under the Stars (m000hfy0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 Iran’s Long Game (m000hgtj)
Iran is now calling the shots in Iraq. How did the clerics outmanoeuvre the US?


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m000hfz0)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted


TUE 21:00 Inside Health (m000hfrs)
Inside Health: The Virus

Episode 5

Claudia Hammond reports on the unfolding coronavirus pandemic.


TUE 21:30 Black Music in Europe: A Hidden History (m000hfxw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m000hfz2)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


TUE 22:45 Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater (m000hfyb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 today]


TUE 23:00 Sketchtopia (m000hfz4)
Series 2

Episode 3

Sketchtopia sets out to find the next generation of white, black, Asian and minority ethnic satirical sketch comedy writers from a range of backgrounds across the UK - with a keen eye on finding the funny in a multicultural Britain.

The critically acclaimed first series picked up a nomination for best sketch show at the BBC Audio Drama Awards and Celtic Media Awards and won Gold at the Audio Production Awards 2018.

Series 2 brings a crop of returning sketch characters, including Millie and Martha, Woke Colleague, Brexit Dad and The Support Group. The show aims to make sharp observations about modern Britain and, most importantly, allow shared experiences, common points of reference and authenticity to come together to create a truly unique British sketch show. Sketchtopia promises to be irreverent, thoughtful and, above all, funny!

Performers: Vivienne Acheampong, James McNicholas, Jamie-Rose Monk, Nimisha Odedra and Susheel Kumar.

Episode 3 writers: Lizzie Bates, Anna Emerson, Athena Kugblenu, Steve Lawrence, Lynda Kennedy, Bilal Zafar, Jim Felton, Hannah Croft, Fiona Pearce, Sara Gibbs, Lucky Azhad.

Producer: Gus Beattie.
A Gusman production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000hfz6)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament



WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL 2020

WED 00:00 Midnight News (m000hfz8)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


WED 00:30 Intrigue (m0009kt0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000hfzb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000hfzd)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:33 Shipping Forecast (m000hfzg)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000hfzj)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Zahid Hussain

Good Morning.

How many times do your look at your phone in a day? We can’t help it, scanning our phones for the latest social media notification, yet another a video a friend has sent, a – well, anything new, urgent. Something that says now, now, now, look at me now!

Now we’ve got these fitbits which are, I suppose, like baby watches that link to our phones and we can stare at them and check our vitals, how many steps we’ve taken and other data that gives a sense, well, of achieving something.

It doesn’t stop there. How often do you find yourself scrolling down a screen only to find a link to something else? How many tabs do you have open? Do you really have to read the same but different news item a dozen times a day? This data is a like fast food, it scratches an itch, but it’s a quick hit. A jolt of Dopamine, an expresso shot straight to the head. It’s deeply ironic that the very devices that were supposed to free us have enslaved us. A crying toddler? No problem – here’s a phone! But try prising it from their hands when you want it back.

Of course, the answer isn’t to dump these devices in the recycle bin, the answer is to become more aware of what we’re doing. Becoming conscious again is central to overcoming this attachment to data that sponges up the most valuable thing at our disposal: time.

Let us pray. Dear Lord and Master of time and its mysteries, grant us the insight to see how our actions enable us and dis-able us and to give us the strength to overcome our frailties and lead us on a path which will bring purpose and benefit to ourselves and everyone we touch.

Amen.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (m000hfzl)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03bkf9f)
Bearded Tit

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

Wildlife Sound Recordist, Chris Watson, presents the Bearded Tit. Bearded Tit live in reed-beds, eat mainly reed-seeds in winter and build their nests using reed leaves and flower-heads. The males do have a flamboyant black moustache which would be the envy of any Chinese mandarin.


WED 06:00 Today (m000hfqn)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 More or Less (m000hfqq)
Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life.


WED 09:30 The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread? (m000hfqs)
Sunscreen

We all know that sunscreen helps to protect our skin from the sun’s burning rays, but are you sure you’re using the right one? Do you struggle to untangle the UVAs from the UVBs, and the SPFs from the star-ratings?

Greg Foot talks to Antonia Mariconda, beauty writer and founder of the Safety in Beauty Campaign, who knows just how baffled consumers are.

On hand to decode the sunscreen labelling is Dermatologist, Dr Andrew Birnie, from East Kent Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust. Common claims, such as ‘waterproof’ and ‘reef safe’ are also put through the evidence mill.

Presenter: Greg Foot
Producer: Beth Eastwood


WED 09:45 Intrigue (m0009jk9)
Tunnel 29

3: The Deal

“We have a tunnel.” The diggers are on the hunt for money and make an unlikely alliance.

Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel.

Producer & Presenter: Helena Merriman
Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore
Translation and additional research: Sabine Schereck
Editor: Richard Knight
Joachim Rudolph's original interviews voiced by Mark Edel Hunt

#tunnel29


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000hfqv)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


WED 10:45 Curious Under the Stars (m000hfqx)
Series 10: Things of Stone

Part 3

By Alan Harris

Third in the latest series of the magical drama set in Glan Don, a mysterious village perched on the wild Welsh coast.

The community comes together to rescue Emlyn and Megan from the sinkhole that’s swallowed half of The Druid’s Rest.

Starring Emma Sidi (Pls Like), Ifan Huw Dafydd (Gavin and Stacey) and Richard Elis (Coronation Street).

Diane.... Emma Sidi
Emlyn..... Ifan Huw Dafydd
Gareth.... Richard Elis
Megan.... Aimee Ffion Edwards
Matty.... Siw Hughes
The Ghost…. Owain Gwynn

Series created by Meic Povey
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production


WED 11:00 Don't Log Off (m000hfr1)
Series 11

22/04/2020

Alan Dein connects with strangers across the world via social media, exploring the things that unite people across cultures and borders.


WED 11:30 Plum House (m000hfr3)
Series 3

4. Grace and Favour

This week, manager Tom hopes to earn some much needed funds for the museum by renting out Peter's grace and favour apartment - that's if Julian has remembered to tell Peter to move out. Meanwhile the museum also welcomes a French artist to paint a picture of the property. Julian sees her as a potential love interest but it turns out she has eyes only for Tom, much to his initial indifference. When Tom finally relents to her advances however his timing couldn't be more off...

Plum House features Simon Callow, Jane Horrocks, Miles Jupp, Pearce Quigley, Tom Bell and Louise Ford.
Guests this episode: Celeste Dring, Jason Forbes and Jade Ogugua
Written by Ben Cottam and Paul McKenna
Directed by Paul Schlesinger
Produced by Claire Broughton

It is a BBC Studios Production for Radio 4


WED 12:00 News Summary (m000hfr5)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000hfr7)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


WED 12:06 Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater (m000hfr9)
Episode 3

Alex’s diligent labours have put the Hope family on a better financial footing as a new arrival to Crossriggs shakes up the sleepy village.

This delightful tale of a small community hovering between two eras was written by the sisters known as the 'Scottish Brontes'.

Written by Jane and Mary Findlater
Abridged by Clara Glynn
Reader Rosalind Sydney
Producer Eilidh McCreadie


WED 12:20 You and Yours (m000hfrc)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


WED 12:57 Weather (m000hfrf)
The latest weather forecast


WED 13:00 World at One (m000hfrh)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


WED 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00q2p6b)
After the Ice Age: Food and Sex (9000 - 3500 BC)

Egyptian Clay Model of Cattle

Neil MacGregor, in his history of mankind as told through objects at the British Museum, selects four miniature clay cows to show the major changes that early man was undergoing at the end of the Ice Age. These four frail looking cows were made from Nile mud in Egypt 5,500 years ago, way before the time of the pyramids or the pharaohs. Why did the Egyptians start burying objects like this one with their dead? Neil goes in search life and death on the Nile and discovers how the domestication of cattle made the humble cow transformed human existence.


WED 14:00 The Archers (m000hfrl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 GF Newman's The Corrupted (m000hfrn)
Series 5

Episode 3

It's the 1990s and Brian Oldman is still in jail for a crime he didn't commit.

He found a man in jail able to prove his innocence - but that man was soon found dead in his cell. He suspects that Joseph Oldman, now Sir Joseph Olinska MP, organised the killing.

GF Newman's The Corrupted weaves fiction with real characters from history, following the fortunes of the Oldman/Olinska family - from small-time business and opportunistic petty crime, through gang rivalries, to their entanglement in the highest echelons of society. It's a tale revealing a nexus of crime, business and politics that’s woven through the fabric of 20th century greed, as even those with hitherto good intentions are sucked into a web of corruption.

Joey Oldman, an uneducated Jewish child immigrant from Russia, has a natural instinct for business and a love of money - coupled with a knack for acquiring it. His wife Cath is as ruthless in both the pursuit of money and the protection of her son, Brian. Joey built his empire with the help of a corrupt bank manager in the 1950s, starting with small greengrocer shops before moving into tertiary banking and property development, dealing with many corrupt policemen on the way - and befriending both Lord Goodman and Margaret Thatcher. Now ennobled and on the board of Lehman Brothers, Joseph intends to extend his business interests into Russia with the help of Boris Yeltsin and his cronies. John Major is now the Prime Minister and a young man from the left, Tony Blair, also seems keen on making Joseph’s acquaintance. Meanwhile, Joseph is trying to divorce his first wife, Catherine.

The characters are based on GF Newman's novels.

CAST

Toby Jones. Joseph Oldman/Olinska
Brian Oldman Joe Armstrong
Catherine Isabella Urbanowicz
Leah Cohen Jasmine Hyde
John Redvers Tom York
Eddie Richardson Charles Davies
Brian Perry Nicholas Murchie
Jack Braden/Stranger John Hollingworth
Kevin Wheeler Lucas Hare
Peter Balladur Jamie Newall
Supervisor Kieron Jechinnis
Warder Peters/John Major Paul Kemp
Sonia Hope/Angela Sarah Lambie
John Redvers Tom York

Produced and directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4


WED 15:00 Money Box (m000hfrq)
Paul Lewis and a panel of guests answer calls on personal finance.


WED 15:30 Inside Health (m000hfrs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:00 The Media Show (m000hfrx)
Topical programme about the fast-changing media world


WED 16:30 PM (m000hfrz)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000hfs1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:30 The Wilsons Save the World (b09h6x6p)
Series 1

The Block

Michael and Maxine Wilson and their daughters, Lola and Cat have resolved to live a more ethical life. Millions of people try every day to make 'good' choices and do the 'right thing'. It's hard. Most of us live with hypocrisy and failure all the time but keep on trying. The Wilsons are trying about 20% harder and learning to live with about 19% more failure.

In the last episode in the series Max and Mike attempt to get their heads around the sensitive subject of S.E.X. and technology. Their teenage daughter Cat's latest relationship seems to be mainly conducted through the phone and they fear she doesn't have a clue on the risks attached in sharing intimate images. However, a full and frank adult conversation seems to be beyond Mike who has hang-ups of his own and Max and Mike's attempt to educate the children on the dangers of pornography on the web via a complex metaphor of Brexit and a possible desensitisation to 'David Davis' leaves Lola simply well-versed in European politics and Cat angry. Meanwhile, Max, in attempt to addressing society's obsession with technology, makes a clanging faux pas via her local library web seminars. As the usual family harmony disintegrates it looks like their annual visit to the 'Words and Curds' festival in Wales is set it be a real downer until they bump into Caitlin Moran on her way to a book signing. Is it possible that this celebrated feminist author of a number of books including 'How to be a Woman' will have the answers they crave?

Producer...Julia McKenzie
Production Coordinator...Tamara Shilham
A BBC Studios Production.


WED 19:00 The Archers (m000hfs3)
Mild mannered Robert forgets himself, and Gavin Moss is struggling to keep control.


WED 19:15 Front Row (m000hfs5)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


WED 19:45 Curious Under the Stars (m000hfqx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


WED 20:00 Fallout (m000hfs7)
The Future for the Environment

How will COVID-19 change individual behaviour and attitudes towards the environment? Will humans view their place on the planet differently? How does it affect perceptions of risk? What are the implications for how we tackle climate change, nationally and internationally? Will the pandemic change behaviour and policies in the more radical way that environmental activists have been demanding? Or will reviving our economies take priority? And what will happen to global cooperation to tackle environmental threats?
To answer all of this and more, Mary Ann Sieghart will be joined by the experimental cognitive psychologist and popular writer Professor Steven Pinker, Christiana Figueres who, as the then Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, helped secure the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement, the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge Diane Coyle, and the environmentalist and writer George Monbiot.
Producer: Camellia Sinclair


WED 20:45 The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread? (m000hfqs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]


WED 21:00 Costing the Earth (m000hfs9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 The Media Show (m000hfrx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 today]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m000hfsc)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


WED 22:45 Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater (m000hfr9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 today]


WED 23:00 Rosie Jones: Box Ticker (m000hfsf)
Sexuality

Stand-up comedy from triple-threat Rosie Jones. She’s disabled, gay and northern - so, of course, she has her own Radio 4 show.

However, she’s not a great example of any of these communities and she’s tired of being asked to speak on their behalf. This show checks what’s really inside the boxes and throws most of it out.

This week, Rosie examines her sexuality. Everyone's story is different and each experience is individual. With the help of comedian Chloe Petts, the box of sexuality is ticked in a way that may surprise you.

Recorded in a live comedy club, prepare to be shocked and disappointed by Rosie’s lack of respect for your expectations.

A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4


WED 23:15 Lenny Henry's Rogues Gallery (b09fy6ng)
Series 2

D.A.N.T.E.

A frustrated artist is given a robot butler by her husband to cater for her every whim. But it soon turns out that that might not be enough... Lenny Henry writes this darkly comic monologue, performed by Tanya Moodie.

Produced by Sam Michell

A BBC Studios Production.


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000hfsh)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament



THURSDAY 23 APRIL 2020

THU 00:00 Midnight News (m000hfsk)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


THU 00:30 Intrigue (m0009jk9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000hfsm)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000hfsp)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:33 Shipping Forecast (m000hfsr)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000hfst)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Zahid Hussain

Good Morning. And Happy St George’s Day!

Ramadan is also upon us and Muslims the world over are getting ready to fast from sunrise to sunset. As a British Muslim, both England’s Patron Saint and Ramadan are important to me. This year is an extraordinary one where the usual norms have been discarded because of the global pandemic. Mecca, the holiest site in the Muslim world is closed to pilgrims. Unprecedented. Unimaginable.

Ramadan is the month where we invite others to our homes or they to theirs to open fast or as we call it to an iftar and spread the spirit of Ramadan. We feed the hungry, we help the poor and we give as much charity as we can. We pray together as a community late into the night and the mosques are filled. But not this year, no mosque is open, there will be no community iftars.

Yet, there’s a part of me that tells me that this year we can truly live the spirit of Ramadan. Ramadan was never about being seen in the mosque. It was always about cultivating God-consciousness or Taqwa. Usually, during the last ten days of Ramadan, worshippers cloister themselves in the mosque in what we call I’tiqaf, self-isolation to bring us closer to the Almighty. I believe that this year Muslims have been given the chance to perform a communal I’tiqaf not just for ten days but for the entire month of Ramadan.

Almighty Lord, You are the All-Seeing, the All-Knowing; we are grateful for your unending and eternal forgiveness. We pray for your infinite and unceasing mercy to cleanse us and, to guide our hearts, to replenish the flesh and to renew our souls.

Amen. And have a great St George’s Day!


THU 05:45 Farming Today (m000hfsw)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


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

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

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


THU 06:00 Today (m000hgh1)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b095ptt5)
Wuthering Heights

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Emily Bronte (1818-1848) and her only novel, published in 1847 under the name 'Ellis Bell' just a year before her death. It is the story of Heathcliff, a foundling from Liverpool brought up in the Earnshaw family at the remote Wuthering Heights, high on the moors, who becomes close to the young Cathy Earnshaw but hears her say she can never marry him. He disappears and she marries his rival, Edgar Linton, of Thrushcross Grange even though she feels inextricably linked with Heathcliff, exclaiming to her maid 'I am Heathcliff!' On his return, Heathcliff steadily works through his revenge on all who he believes wronged him, and their relations. When Cathy dies, Heathcliff longs to be united with her in the grave. The raw passions and cruelty of the story unsettled Emily's sister Charlotte Bronte, whose novel Jane Eyre had been published shortly before, and who took pains to explain its roughness, jealousy and violence when introducing it to early readers. Over time, with its energy, imagination and scope, Wuthering Heights became celebrated as one of the great novels in English.

The image above is of Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff and Merle Oberon as Cathy on the set of the Samuel Goldwyn Company movie 'Wuthering Heights', circa 1939.

With

Karen O'Brien
Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford

John Bowen
Professor of Nineteenth Century Literature at the University of York

and

Alexandra Lewis
Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Aberdeen

Producer: Simon Tillotson.


THU 09:45 Intrigue (m0009kl9)
Tunnel 29

4: The Death Strip

“If we could hear them, they could hear us.” The diggers reach the terrifying death strip.

Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel.

Producer & Presenter: Helena Merriman
Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore
Translation and additional research: Sabine Schereck
Editor: Richard Knight
Joachim Rudolph's original interviews voiced by Mark Edel Hunt

#tunnel29


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000hgh7)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


THU 10:45 Curious Under the Stars (m000hgh9)
Series 10: Things of Stone

Part 4

By Alan Harris

Fourth in the latest series of the magical drama set in Glan Don, a mysterious village perched on the wild Welsh coast.

Gareth attempts to bring the village together with a pop-up poetry evening. While Emlyn is lured back underground by a mysterious voice.

Starring Emma Sidi (Pls Like), Ifan Huw Dafydd (Gavin and Stacey) and Richard Elis (Coronation Street).

Diane.... Emma Sidi
Emlyn..... Ifan Huw Dafydd
Gareth.... Richard Elis
Megan.... Aimee Ffion Edwards
Matty.... Siw Hughes
The Ghost…. Owain Gwynn
Anwen.... Juno Robinson

Series created by Meic Povey
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (m000hghc)
Ireland's Housing Hunger

Ireland’s government is in crisis mode dealing with the public health emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic. But another crisis in its housing provision has long haunted the country’s young people. Ireland has booming investment and lots of new jobs but people cannot find adequate and affordable housing. Anger about this, and fear of mass emigration by the young are issues with deep roots in Irish memory. And the housing crisis was a crucial factor in February’s Irish election result which shocked the main parties and saw big gains for the nationalists of Sinn Fein. For Crossing Continents, Chris Bowlby travels to the city of Cork in the southwest of the country. He traces the roots of the crisis in a crazy house buying boom a few years ago. And he hears how a lack of good, affordable housing is affecting everyone from students to young families to Ireland’s many younger migrants who hope to stay in Ireland, but have nowhere to call home.

Produced and Presented by Chris Bowlby
Editor: Bridget Harney


THU 11:30 Unchained (m000hghf)
In 2008, 20 year-old Brenda Birungi got into a fight in a nightclub to protect her sister. With no previous convictions, Brenda ended up serving 11 months in prison. It altered the course of her life.

Two Government reports - the Corston Report in 2007 and the Ministry of Justice Female Offender Strategy in 2018 - have concluded that short-term custodial sentences do not work for women. At the same time, the proportion of women serving very short sentences has actually risen.

Almost 60% of women in prison have experienced domestic abuse. Nearly half of crimes committed by women are to support someone else's drug use. Women are substantially more likely than men to lose their children and their homes while serving a sentence of less than six months. And almost 75% of women sentenced to less than a year in prison go on to re-offend.

In prison Brenda wrote notes to herself, in verse, to stay out of trouble. After release, she built a platform as Lady Unchained. Brenda now shares her story and inspires others to do the same.

In Unchained we hear from:
Paula, who called the police to her house 9 times to report domestic violence in the year before her arrest;
Amanda, who became a sex worker to support her partner’s drug use;
Krystal, who was arrested after stealing a duvet for her child;
Georgia, who was left to fend for herself at 15 while her single mum served a 3 month sentence.

Untold stories, punctuated by Brenda’s spiky, potent poetry.
All statistics in this documentary come from research by Women in Prison.

Producer: Jessie Lawson
Sound Design: Axel Kacoutié
A Prison Radio Association production for BBC Radio 4

Picture: Tom Pilston


THU 12:00 News Summary (m000hghh)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000hghk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


THU 12:06 Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater (m000hghm)
Episode 4

Alex is furious when her father Old Hopeful leads the family to the brink of poverty again.

This delightful tale of a small community hovering between two eras was written by the sisters known as the 'Scottish Brontes'.

Written by Jane and Mary Findlater
Abridged by Clara Glynn
Reader Rosalind Sydney
Producer Eilidh McCreadie


THU 12:20 You and Yours (m000hghp)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


THU 12:57 Weather (m000hghr)
The latest weather forecast


THU 13:00 World at One (m000hght)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


THU 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00q2p6d)
After the Ice Age: Food and Sex (9000 - 3500 BC)

Maya Maize God Statue

This week Neil MacGregor is exploring the growing importance of agriculture around the world at the end of the Ice Age, with objects that show and celebrate the key elements of the time; power, sex, worship and food. Today the series focuses on the world of the Mayan civilisation and a stone Maize God, discovered on the site of a major Mayan city in present-day Honduras. This large statue is wearing a headdress in the shape of a giant corn cob.

Maize was not only worshipped at that time but the Maya also believed that all their ancestors were descended from maize. Neil MacGregor reveals why maize, which is notoriously difficult to refine for human consumption, becomes so important to the emerging agriculture of the region.

Neil is joined by the anthropologist Professor John Staller and the restaurateur Santiago Calva who explain the complexity of Mayan mythological belief and the ongoing power of maize in Central America today


THU 14:00 The Archers (m000hfs3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 GF Newman's The Corrupted (m000hghx)
Series 5

Episode 4

It's the 1990s and Brian Oldman is still in jail for a crime he didn't commit.
He found a man in jail able to prove his innocence - but that man was soon found dead in his cell. He suspects that Joseph Oldman, now Sir Joseph Olinska MP, organised the killing.

GF Newman's The Corrupted weaves fiction with real characters from history, following the fortunes of the Oldman/Olinska family - from small-time business and opportunistic petty crime, through gang rivalries, to their entanglement in the highest echelons of society. It's a tale revealing a nexus of crime, business and politics that’s woven through the fabric of 20th century greed as even those with hitherto good intentions are sucked into a web of corruption.

Joey Oldman, an uneducated Jewish child immigrant from Russia, has a natural instinct for business and a love of money - coupled with a knack for acquiring it. His wife Cath is as ruthless in both the pursuit of money and the protection of her son, Brian. Joey built his empire with the help of a corrupt bank manager in the 1950s, starting with small greengrocer shops before moving into tertiary banking and property development, dealing with many corrupt policemen on the way - and befriending both Lord Goodman and Margaret Thatcher. Now ennobled and on the board of Lehman Brothers, Joseph intends to extend his business interests into Russia with the help of Boris Yeltsin and his cronies. John Major is now the Prime Minister and a young man from the left, Tony Blair, also seems keen on making Joseph’s acquaintance. Meanwhile, Joseph is trying to divorce his first wife, Catherine.

The characters are based on GF Newman's novels.

CAST
Sir Joseph Olinska. Toby Jones
Brian Oldman Joe Armstrong
Tony Wednesday Alec Newman
Brian Perry/DAC Henderson Nicholas Murchie
Warder Peters/John Major/
Judge Kelman Paul Kemp
Sonia Hope Sarah Lambie
John Redvers Tom York
Eddie Richardson Charles Davies
Chuck Haley Matt Rippy
Pongo Damian Lynch
Jack Braden John Hollingworth
George Carmen/Tony Blair Nigel Cooke
Margaret Courtney Flora Montgomery
Alex Murray John Hastings
Chuck Haley Matt Rippy

Produced and directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 15:00 Open Country (m000hghz)
Birmingham Tree City of the World

Birmingham is one of only fifty-nine cities around the globe to be awarded the status of 'Tree City of the World'. This is an international framework for a healthy, sustainable urban forestry programme, an award that's all down to the passion of Birmingham's citizens for trees.

Helen Mark meets tree planters young and old from near and far; tree wardens, who are kind of like traffic wardens, but for trees (and just as fierce: really, don't mess with their trees); an academic who runs the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (he really loves trees) and an arboriculturalist who gets to work at 6.30 every morning in his mission to extend Birmingham's canopy cover. Helen finds out why the city's tree-focussed ambitions go well beyond just planting trees. All these people know you have to take care of trees for their whole life, not just plonk them in the ground. They also know that urban trees suffer more than those planted in the countryside, so they need extra tenderness.

Helen also finds herself in a once-famous garden that has re-wilded itself. Once the immaculate BBC show garden of TV gardener Percy Thrower, this patch of tree-laden wilderness-heaven is in a secret corner of Birmingham's Botanical Gardens. She thinks on the whole, he'd approve of the trees. Although maybe not the weeds.

Recorded in early March.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m000hfvt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (m000hfwm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


THU 16:00 BBC Inside Science (m000hgj3)
Dr Adam Rutherford and guests illuminate the mysteries and challenge the controversies behind the science that's changing our world


THU 16:30 PM (m000hgj5)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000hgj7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:30 Ability (b0b3d42g)
Series 1

Episode 4

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

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

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

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

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

A Funny Bones production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 19:00 The Archers (m000hgj9)
Writers, Nick Warburton & Liz John
Directors, Peter Leslie Wild & Kim Greengrass
Editor, Jeremy Howe

Kenton Archer ….. Richard Attlee
Jolene Archer ….. Buffy Davis
Helen Archer ….. Louiza Patikas
Phoebe Aldridge ….. Lucy Morris
Lilian Bellamy ….. Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns ….. James Cartwright
Justin Elliott ….. Simon Williams
Shula Hebden Lloyd ….. Judy Bennett
Tracy Horrobin ….. Susie Riddell
Alistair Lloyd ….. Michael Lumsden
Jim Lloyd ….. John Rowe
Kirsty Miller ….. Annabelle Dowler
Philip Moss ….. Andy Hockley
Gavin Moss ….. Gareth Pierce
Robert Snell ….. Graham Blockey
Lynda Snell ….. Carole Boyd
Roy Tucker ….. Ian Pepperell
Roman Trench ….. Ewan Bailey
Lee Bryce ….. Ryan Early
Geoff ….. Greg Hobbs


THU 19:15 Front Row (m000hgjc)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


THU 19:45 Curious Under the Stars (m000hgh9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (m000hgjf)
David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders explore big issues in the news.


THU 20:30 In Business (m000hgjh)
Economic lessons from pandemics past.

In the 14th century the world was devastated by plague, known as 'The Black Death', in the 20th century a deadly form of influenza struck infecting around a quarter of the world's population. Since then HIV, Ebola and more have stricken nations. With each epidemic and pandemic comes a huge human cost but each also carry an economic cost. In this programme John Murphy visits pandemics past to see what history can teach us about economic cost and recovery.

Presenter: John Murphy
Producer: Lizzy McNeill


THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (m000hgj3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 today]


THU 21:30 More or Less (m000hfqq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m000hgjk)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


THU 22:45 Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater (m000hghm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 today]


THU 23:00 Now Wash Your Hands (m000hgjm)
Episode 4

Comedy corona-cast as Jon Holmes, Jake Yapp, Salma Shah and Natt Tapley drop in on isolated home-bound guests.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m000hgjp)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament



FRIDAY 24 APRIL 2020

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m000hgjr)
The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 00:30 Intrigue (m0009kl9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m000hgjt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m000hgjw)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:33 Shipping Forecast (m000hgjy)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m000hgk0)
A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Zahid Hussain

Good Morning.

Even though Ramadan’s just begun I’m already thinking about Eid. It’s a well-trodden tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that he offered Eid prayer outdoors, it was the rare occasion when large congregational prayers were offered outside a mosque. In Britain, we normally offer the Eid prayers in local parks. Last year, over a hundred thousand people offered the Prayers in Small Heath Park in Birmingham.

This Eid is going to be completely different to any pervious Eid I’ve experienced. No one will be performing the Eid prayers in any British park, not in Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, London or anywhere else. I’m not sad about this, because if we really care about others, we need to shield them from a disease which has swept the globe and we can’t do that if we’re meeting in large gatherings. It’s an act of mercy.

And the message of Eid – Eid-ul-Fitr, to give its full name – is to think about those who don’t have as much, who have little to eat or drink, little to wear or to hope for. This year, I’ll be thinking about those who’ve lost loved ones to a disease we barely understand, a disease which has reminded us all of the frailty of our human family.

Let us pray. Lord, your reach is infinite, your love depthless and without boundary. We are grateful for the spirit of sharing, the spirit of being one with others, the spirt of being a tiny part of your great purpose. Grant us the gift of being able to touch the essence of the divine in the day-to-day and enrich us so that every day is Eid.

Amen.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m000hgk2)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.


FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b03dwz7f)
Linnet

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

Martin Hughes-Games presents the Linnet. Linnets gather in large flocks to feed on weed-seeds and the seeds of oilseed rape and flax left behind after harvesting. You can often identify the flocks from a distance as the birds circle over a field, by their tight formation and bouncing motion.


FRI 06:00 Today (m000hhsn)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 The Reunion (b01s030p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Intrigue (m0009lq8)
Tunnel 29

5: The Trap

“We had no chance to be together.” The diggers hatch a new plan, unaware the Stasi are onto them.

Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Helena Merriman tells the extraordinary true story of a man who dug a tunnel into the East, right under the feet of border guards, to help friends, family and strangers escape. The series is based on original interviews with the survivors as well as thousands of documents from the Stasi archives and recordings from the tunnel.

Producer & Presenter: Helena Merriman
Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore
Translation and additional research: Sabine Schereck
Editor: Richard Knight
Joachim Rudolph's original interviews voiced by Mark Edel Hunt

#tunnel29


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m000hhsq)
The programme that offers a female perspective on the world


FRI 10:45 Curious Under the Stars (m000hhss)
Series 10: Things of Stone

Part 5

By Alan Harris

Last in the current series of the magical drama set in Glan Don, a mysterious village perched on the wild Welsh coast.

The fate of The Druid’s Rest hangs in the balance as Gareth and Diane must decide its future.

Starring Emma Sidi (Pls Like), Ifan Huw Dafydd (Gavin and Stacey) and Richard Elis (Coronation Street).

Diane.... Emma Sidi
Emlyn..... Ifan Huw Dafydd
Gareth.... Richard Elis
Megan.... Aimee Ffion Edwards
Matty.... Siw Hughes
The Ghost…. Owain Gwynn
Anwen.... Juno Robinson

Series created by Meic Povey
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production


FRI 11:00 The Learning Revolution (m000hhsv)
Teaching

At a time when many parents unexpectedly find themselves taking on the role of the teacher, Alex Beard sets out to discover how teaching might look very different in the future.

We are used to a system of teachers who know and learners who don’t. The model of a large group of students sitting in rows, eyes trained on a single teacher, has proven remarkably resilient. But in today’s world, where new fields of knowledge are emerging rapidly and lifelong learners may not always have access to a dedicated teacher, is it time to rethink how teaching is done?

Artificial intelligence is already playing a significant role in education. Some edtech companies are developing technology which can track a learner’s progress by monitoring their heart rate and eye movements. But where does all this leave the human teacher? And how can new technology be harnessed in the best interests of teachers and learners?

Alex Beard used to be a teacher, and is now an education explorer, of sorts. In the second episode of this series, he observes teaching around the world, and talks to important thinkers in artificial intelligence, philosophy and pedagogy, to find out what role teachers will play in the Learning Revolution.

Presenter: Alex Beard
Producers: Dan Hardoon and Emma Barnaby
Executive Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 11:30 Drama (m0001mv2)
Looking for Oil Drum Lane

A dramatisation of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's comedy writing partnership - from Tony Hancock's departure to striking gold with Steptoe and Son. Starring Marc Wootton, Phil Cornwell, Barry Castagnola, James Hurn and Toby Longworth.

Weaving comedy archive and newly written scenes, the show follows the tortuous search for Oil Drum Lane, the fictional address of Steptoe and Son. The programme commemorates the passing of Ray Galton in October 2018.

Ray Galton and Alan Simpson met in a tuberculosis sanatorium in 1948. They became friends through a shared passion for radio comedy. To amuse themselves, they broadcast their own sketches over the hospital radio. After sending their material to famous comedy writers of the day Denis Norden and Frank Muir, Alan and Ray were encouraged to post some scripts to the BBC. An unexpectedly positive response left the fledgling writers ecstatic.

Soon they became regular sketch writers for the BBC. They met Tony Hancock and rose to the top of their profession.

But when Hancock decided to go it alone Galton and Simpson were devasted and left high and dry.

The team was then commissioned by the colourful head of light entertainment at the BBC, Tom Sloane, to write ten comedy plays - but the loss of Hancock generated an impenetrable writer's block - until they hammered out a pilot sit-com that became Steptoe and Son.

Ray Galton........................................Marc Wootton
Alan Simpson...................................Barry Castagnola
Tony Hancock/Wilfred Brambell......James Hurn
Harry H Corbett...............................Phil Cornwell
Tom Sloan........................................Ian Pearce
Duncan Wood..................................Toby Longworth

Other parts were played by the cast

Written by Ian Pearce
Script Editor - Nick Romero
Directed and Produced by Andrew McGibbon

A Curtains For Radio production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 12:00 News Summary (m000hhsx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:03 Shipping Forecast (m000hhsz)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


FRI 12:06 Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater (m000hht1)
Episode 5

Much to the bemusement of her family and community, Alex does her best to stave off the attention of several eligible young men.

This delightful tale of a small community hovering between two eras was written by the sisters known as the 'Scottish Brontes'.

Written by Jane and Mary Findlater
Abridged by Clara Glynn
Reader Rosalind Sydney
Producer Eilidh McCreadie


FRI 12:20 You and Yours (m000hht3)
News and discussion of consumer affairs


FRI 12:57 Weather (m000hht5)
The latest weather forecast


FRI 13:00 World at One (m000hht7)
Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.


FRI 13:45 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00q2p6g)
After the Ice Age: Food and Sex (9000 - 3500 BC)

Jomon Pot

A History of the World told through 100 objects from the British Museum moves to Japan and the story of a 7,000-year-old clay pot which has managed to remain almost perfectly intact. Pots began in Japan around 17000 years ago and, by the time this pot was made, had achieved a remarkable sophistication.

Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, explores the history of this cooking pot and the Jomon; the hunter-gatherer society that made it. The archaeologists Professor Takashi Doi and Simon Kaner describe the significance of agriculture to the Jomon and the way in which they made their pots and used decorations from the natural world around them. This particular pot is remarkable in that it was lined with gold leaf in perhaps the 18th century and used in that quintessentially Japanese ritual, the tea ceremony. This simple clay object makes a fascinating connection between the Japan of today and the emerging world of people in Japan at the end of the Ice Age


FRI 14:00 The Archers (m000hgj9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 GF Newman's The Corrupted (m000hhtb)
Series 5

Episode 5

It's the 1990s and Brian Oldman is still in jail for a crime he didn't commit.
He found a man in jail able to prove his innocence - but that man was soon found dead in his cell. He suspects that Joseph Oldman, now Sir Joseph Olinska MP, organised the killing.

GF Newman's The Corrupted weaves fiction with real characters from history, following the fortunes of the Oldman/Olinska family - from small-time business and opportunistic petty crime, through gang rivalries, to their entanglement in the highest echelons of society. It's a tale revealing a nexus of crime, business and politics that’s woven through the fabric of 20th century greed as even those with hitherto good intentions are sucked into a web of corruption.

Joey Oldman, an uneducated Jewish child immigrant from Russia, has a natural instinct for business and a love of money - coupled with a knack for acquiring it. His wife Cath is as ruthless in both the pursuit of money and the protection of her son, Brian. Joey built his empire with the help of a corrupt bank manager in the 1950s, starting with small greengrocer shops before moving into tertiary banking and property development, dealing with many corrupt policemen on the way - and befriending both Lord Goodman and Margaret Thatcher. Now ennobled and on the board of Lehman Brothers, Joseph intends to extend his business interests into Russia with the help of Boris Yeltsin and his cronies. John Major is now the Prime Minister and a young man from the left, Tony Blair, also seems keen on making Joseph’s acquaintance. Meanwhile, Joseph is trying to divorce his first wife, Catherine.

The characters are based on GF Newman's novels.

Sir Joseph Olinska Toby Jones
Brian Oldman Joe Armstrong
George Carmen/Tony Blair Nigel Cooke
Brian Perry/DAC Henderson Nicholas Murchie
Warder Peters/Judge Kelman Paul Kemp
Leah Cohen Jasmine Hyde
Margaret Courtney Flora Montgomery
Alex Murray/Inspector Vallins John Hastings
Nurse Moriarty/Reggie Kray Lucas Hare
Eddie Richardson Charles Davies
Pongo Damian Lynch
Sonia Hope/Rita Sarah Lambie
Julian Tyrwhitt Jonathan Tafler
Lord Carson Jamie Newall
Jack Braden John Hollingworth
Produced and directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m000hhtd)
GQT At Home: Episode Four

Kathy Clugston is joined by Matthew Wilson, Pippa Greenwood and James Wong from the comfort of their own homes, answering questions sent in by the audience.

Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Rosie Merotra

A Somethin' Else production from BBC Radio 4


FRI 15:45 Short Works (m000hhtg)
The Prisoner

By Heidi Amsinck. Anders already suspects that the historical boat tour of Copenhagen will be a mistake, but never in the way it turns out.

Heidi Amsinck, a writer and journalist born in Copenhagen, has written numerous short stories for radio. A graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London, Heidi lives in Surrey. Her first collection of short stories, Last Train To Helsingør, was published in 2018.

Writer: Heidi Amsinck
Reader: Tim McInnerny
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 16:00 Last Word (m000hhtj)
Matthew Bannister tells the life stories of people who have recently died, from the rich and famous to unsung but significant.


FRI 16:30 PM (m000hhtq)
Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m000hhts)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:30 The News Quiz (m000hhtv)
Series 102

Episode 2

Angela Barnes hosts series 102, leading a panel of regular News Quiz comics and journalists in rounding up the news stories of the week. Joining Angela this week is Hugo Rifkind, Tom Allen, Lucy Porter and Sophie Duker.

Produced by Suzy Grant

A BBC Studios Audio Production


FRI 19:00 Front Row (m000hhtx)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music


FRI 19:45 Curious Under the Stars (m000hhss)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m000hhtz)
Chris Mason presents political debate and discussion from venues around the UK.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (m000hhv1)
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors.


FRI 21:00 A History of the World in 100 Objects (b00r7rlv)
After the Ice Age

Another chance to hear the Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, retell the history of human development using 100 selected objects from the Museum. This week he explores the profound changes that humans experienced at the end of the Ice Age. By this period, humanity is reconsidering its place in the world and turning its attention to food, power, worship, and human relationships.

But then, as now, one of the most important parts of human existence was finding enough food to survive. Taking a pestle from Papua New Guinea as an example, Neil asks why our ancestors decided to grow and cook new foods. The answer provides us with a telling insight into the way early humans settled on the land. Becoming farmers and eating food that was harder for other animals to digest made us a formidable force in the food chain. The impact on our environment of this shift to cookery and cultivation is still being felt. Neil is joined by Indian food writer Madhur Jaffrey, campaigner Sir Bob Geldof and archaeologist Professor Martin Jones.

Neil then goes on to investigate a palm-sized stone sculpture that was found near Bethlehem. It clearly shows a couple entwined in the act of love. The contemporary sculptor Marc Quinn responds to the stone as art and the archaeologist Dr Ian Hodder considers the Natufian society that produced it. What was human life and society actually like all those years ago? Possibly a lot more sophisticated than we imagine!

For his third item in the programme Neil selects four miniature clay cows made from Nile mud in Egypt 5,500 years ago, way before the time of the pyramids or the pharaohs. Why did the Egyptians start burying objects like this one with their dead? Neil goes in search life and death on the Nile and discovers how the domestication of cattle made the humble cow transformed human existence.

Neil then switches his focus to the world of the Mayan civilisation and a stone Maize God, discovered on the site of a major Mayan city in present day Honduras. This large statue is wearing a headdress in the shape of a giant corn cob. Maize was not only worshipped at that time but the Maya also believed that all their ancestors were descended from maize. Neil MacGregor reveals why maize, which is notoriously difficult to refine for human consumption, becomes so important to the emerging agriculture of the region. Neil is joined by the anthropologist Professor John Staller and the restaurateur Santiago Calva who explain the complexity of Mayan mythological belief and the ongoing power of maize in Central America today

And for his final item this week Neil moves to Japan and the story of a 7,000 year old clay pot which has managed to remain almost perfectly intact. Pots began in Japan around 17, 000 years ago and by the time this pot was made had achieved a remarkable sophistication. The archaeologists ProfessorTakeshi Doi and Simon Kaner describe the significance of agriculture to the Jomon and the way in which they made their pots and used decorations from the natural world around them. This particular pot is remarkable in that it was lined with gold leaf in perhaps the 18th century and used in that quintessentially Japanese ritual, the tea ceremony. This simple clay object makes a fascinating connection between the Japan of today and the emerging world of people in Japan at the end of the Ice Age

Producers: Anthony Denselow and Paul Kobrak


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m000hhv4)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective


FRI 22:45 Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater (m000hht1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:06 today]


FRI 23:00 Great Lives (m000hfyp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:30 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy (m0005h6m)
Series 2: 50 More Things...

Langstroth Hive

Humans have valued bees for their honey for thousands of years – and economists have long admired bees for their cooperative work ethic, too. But few of us, whether economists, honey-lovers, or both, have quite appreciated just how much the honey bee has been industrialised – and the simple yet radical invention that made that industrialisation possible. As Tim Harford explains, it's a sign of just how far the modern market economy has penetrated that it now reaches deep into the heart of the beehive.

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Richard Vadon


FRI 23:45 Today in Parliament (m000hhv6)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament




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

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy 23:30 FRI (m0005h6m)

A History of the World in 100 Objects 13:45 MON (b00q2p66)

A History of the World in 100 Objects 13:45 TUE (b00q2p68)

A History of the World in 100 Objects 13:45 WED (b00q2p6b)

A History of the World in 100 Objects 13:45 THU (b00q2p6d)

A History of the World in 100 Objects 13:45 FRI (b00q2p6g)

A History of the World in 100 Objects 21:00 FRI (b00r7rlv)

A Point of View 08:48 SUN (m000h94q)

A Point of View 20:50 FRI (m000hhv1)

Ability 18:30 THU (b0b3d42g)

Any Answers? 14:00 SAT (m000hdby)

Any Questions? 13:10 SAT (m000h94n)

Any Questions? 20:00 FRI (m000hhtz)

Archive on 4 20:00 SAT (m000hdcx)

Art of Now 11:30 TUE (m000hfy4)

BBC Inside Science 16:00 THU (m000hgj3)

BBC Inside Science 21:00 THU (m000hgj3)

Bells on Sunday 05:43 SUN (m000hddx)

Bells on Sunday 00:45 MON (m000hddx)

Beyond Belief 16:00 MON (m000hdkf)

Black Music in Europe: A Hidden History 09:00 TUE (m000hfxw)

Black Music in Europe: A Hidden History 21:30 TUE (m000hfxw)

Brain of Britain 23:00 SAT (m000h8gm)

Brain of Britain 15:00 MON (m000hdk7)

Broadcasting House 09:00 SUN (m000hfw2)

Bronzeville Beat 23:30 SAT (m000h7m5)

Bronzeville Beat 16:30 SUN (m000hfwp)

Costing the Earth 15:30 TUE (m000hfs9)

Costing the Earth 21:00 WED (m000hfs9)

Crossing Continents 20:30 MON (m000h7r1)

Crossing Continents 11:00 THU (m000hghc)

Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater 12:06 MON (m000hdjr)

Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater 22:45 MON (m000hdjr)

Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater 12:06 TUE (m000hfyb)

Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater 22:45 TUE (m000hfyb)

Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater 12:06 WED (m000hfr9)

Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater 22:45 WED (m000hfr9)

Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater 12:06 THU (m000hghm)

Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater 22:45 THU (m000hghm)

Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater 12:06 FRI (m000hht1)

Crossriggs, by Jane and Mary Findlater 22:45 FRI (m000hht1)

Curious Under the Stars 10:45 MON (m000hdjf)

Curious Under the Stars 19:45 MON (m000hdjf)

Curious Under the Stars 10:45 TUE (m000hfy0)

Curious Under the Stars 19:45 TUE (m000hfy0)

Curious Under the Stars 10:45 WED (m000hfqx)

Curious Under the Stars 19:45 WED (m000hfqx)

Curious Under the Stars 10:45 THU (m000hgh9)

Curious Under the Stars 19:45 THU (m000hgh9)

Curious Under the Stars 10:45 FRI (m000hhss)

Curious Under the Stars 19:45 FRI (m000hhss)

Day Release 21:00 SAT (b09gg8th)

Don't Log Off 00:15 SUN (m000h9mr)

Don't Log Off 11:00 WED (m000hfr1)

Drama 15:00 SAT (b0b42t59)

Drama 15:00 SUN (m000hfwk)

Drama 11:30 FRI (m0001mv2)

Ellie Taylor's Safe Space 18:30 TUE (m000hfyw)

Encounters with Victoria 11:45 SUN (m0004shj)

Fallout 22:15 SAT (m000h7y8)

Fallout 20:00 WED (m000hfs7)

Farming Today 06:30 SAT (m000hdb9)

Farming Today 05:45 MON (m000hfxh)

Farming Today 05:45 TUE (m000hdl8)

Farming Today 05:45 WED (m000hfzl)

Farming Today 05:45 THU (m000hfsw)

Farming Today 05:45 FRI (m000hgk2)

Feedback 20:00 SUN (m000h947)

From Our Own Correspondent 11:30 SAT (m000hdbm)

Front Row 19:15 MON (m000hdkr)

Front Row 19:15 TUE (m000hfyy)

Front Row 19:15 WED (m000hfs5)

Front Row 19:15 THU (m000hgjc)

Front Row 19:00 FRI (m000hhtx)

GF Newman's The Corrupted 14:15 MON (m000hdk4)

GF Newman's The Corrupted 14:15 TUE (m000hfym)

GF Newman's The Corrupted 14:15 WED (m000hfrn)

GF Newman's The Corrupted 14:15 THU (m000hghx)

GF Newman's The Corrupted 14:15 FRI (m000hhtb)

Gardeners' Question Time 14:00 SUN (m000h941)

Gardeners' Question Time 15:00 FRI (m000hhtd)

Great Lives 16:00 TUE (m000hfyp)

Great Lives 23:00 FRI (m000hfyp)

Homeschool History 09:30 MON (m000hh0b)

How to Cure Viral Misinformation 20:00 MON (m000hh0d)

In Business 21:30 SUN (m000h7sr)

In Business 20:30 THU (m000hgjh)

In Our Time 09:00 THU (b095ptt5)

In Touch 20:40 TUE (m000hfz0)

Inside Health 21:00 TUE (m000hfrs)

Inside Health 15:30 WED (m000hfrs)

Intrigue 09:45 MON (m0009kyn)

Intrigue 00:30 TUE (m0009kyn)

Intrigue 09:45 TUE (m0009kt0)

Intrigue 00:30 WED (m0009kt0)

Intrigue 09:45 WED (m0009jk9)

Intrigue 00:30 THU (m0009jk9)

Intrigue 09:45 THU (m0009kl9)

Intrigue 00:30 FRI (m0009kl9)

Intrigue 09:45 FRI (m0009lq8)

Iran’s Long Game 20:00 TUE (m000hgtj)

Just a Minute 19:15 SUN (m000hfx0)

Last Word 20:30 SUN (m000h945)

Last Word 16:00 FRI (m000hhtj)

Lenny Henry's Rogues Gallery 23:15 WED (b09fy6ng)

Lights Out 23:00 MON (m000hdkw)

Loose Ends 18:15 SAT (m000hdcn)

Loose Ends 11:30 MON (m000hdcn)

Midnight News 00:00 SAT (m000h94z)

Midnight News 00:00 SUN (m000hdd7)

Midnight News 00:00 MON (m000hfx5)

Midnight News 00:00 TUE (m000hdky)

Midnight News 00:00 WED (m000hfz8)

Midnight News 00:00 THU (m000hfsk)

Midnight News 00:00 FRI (m000hgjr)

Money Box 12:04 SAT (m000hdbr)

Money Box 21:00 SUN (m000hdbr)

Money Box 15:00 WED (m000hfrq)

More or Less 09:00 WED (m000hfqq)

More or Less 21:30 THU (m000hfqq)

News Summary 12:00 SAT (m000hdbp)

News Summary 12:00 SUN (m000hfw6)

News Summary 12:00 MON (m000hdjm)

News Summary 12:00 TUE (m000hfy6)

News Summary 12:00 WED (m000hfr5)

News Summary 12:00 THU (m000hghh)

News Summary 12:00 FRI (m000hhsx)

News and Papers 06:00 SAT (m000hdb7)

News and Papers 07:00 SUN (m000hfvp)

News and Papers 08:00 SUN (m000hfvy)

News 13:00 SAT (m000hdbw)

News 22:00 SAT (m000hdd1)

News 06:00 SUN (m000hfvh)

Now Wash Your Hands 23:00 THU (m000hgjm)

On Your Farm 06:35 SUN (m000hfvk)

Open Book 16:00 SUN (m000hfwm)

Open Book 15:30 THU (m000hfwm)

Open Country 06:07 SAT (m000h7s3)

Open Country 15:00 THU (m000hghz)

PM 17:00 SAT (m000hdc2)

PM 16:30 MON (m000hdkh)

PM 16:30 TUE (m000hfyr)

PM 16:30 WED (m000hfrz)

PM 16:30 THU (m000hgj5)

PM 16:30 FRI (m000hhtq)

Pick of the Week 18:15 SUN (m000hfwy)

Plum House 11:30 WED (m000hfr3)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 SAT (m000h959)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 MON (m000hfxf)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 TUE (m000hdl6)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 WED (m000hfzj)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 THU (m000hfst)

Prayer for the Day 05:43 FRI (m000hgk0)

Profile 19:00 SAT (m000hdcs)

Profile 05:45 SUN (m000hdcs)

Profile 17:40 SUN (m000hdcs)

Rabbit Redux 21:45 SAT (b09gygk6)

Radio 4 Appeal 07:54 SUN (m000hfvt)

Radio 4 Appeal 21:25 SUN (m000hfvt)

Radio 4 Appeal 15:27 THU (m000hfvt)

Rosie Jones: Box Ticker 23:00 WED (m000hfsf)

Saturday Live 09:00 SAT (m000hdbh)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SAT (m000h953)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 SUN (m000hddl)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 MON (m000hfx9)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 TUE (m000hdl2)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 WED (m000hfzd)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 THU (m000hfsp)

Selection of BBC World Service Programmes 01:00 FRI (m000hgjw)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 SAT (m000h951)

Shipping Forecast 05:33 SAT (m000h955)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SAT (m000hdc8)

Shipping Forecast 00:45 SUN (m000hddd)

Shipping Forecast 05:33 SUN (m000hdds)

Shipping Forecast 17:54 SUN (m000hfwr)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 MON (m000hfx7)

Shipping Forecast 05:33 MON (m000hfxc)

Shipping Forecast 12:03 MON (m000hdjp)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 TUE (m000hdl0)

Shipping Forecast 05:33 TUE (m000hdl4)

Shipping Forecast 12:03 TUE (m000hfy8)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 WED (m000hfzb)

Shipping Forecast 05:33 WED (m000hfzg)

Shipping Forecast 12:03 WED (m000hfr7)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 THU (m000hfsm)

Shipping Forecast 05:33 THU (m000hfsr)

Shipping Forecast 12:03 THU (m000hghk)

Shipping Forecast 00:48 FRI (m000hgjt)

Shipping Forecast 05:33 FRI (m000hgjy)

Shipping Forecast 12:03 FRI (m000hhsz)

Short Works 19:45 SUN (b0bk1nx3)

Short Works 15:45 FRI (m000hhtg)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SAT (m000hdcj)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 SUN (m000hfww)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 MON (m000hdkk)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 TUE (m000hfyt)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 WED (m000hfs1)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 THU (m000hgj7)

Six O'Clock News 18:00 FRI (m000hhts)

Sketchtopia 23:00 TUE (m000hfz4)

Snakes & Ladders 17:00 SUN (m000hcjw)

Something Understood 06:05 SUN (b08gwfb9)

Something Understood 23:30 SUN (b08gwfb9)

Start the Week 09:00 MON (m000hdj9)

Start the Week 21:30 MON (m000hdj9)

Sunday Worship 08:10 SUN (m000hfw0)

Sunday 07:10 SUN (m000hfvr)

Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! 12:04 SUN (m000h8h0)

Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! 18:30 MON (m000hdkm)

The Archers Omnibus 10:00 SUN (m000hfw4)

The Archers 19:00 SUN (m000hdk2)

The Archers 14:00 MON (m000hdk2)

The Archers 19:00 MON (m000hdkp)

The Archers 14:00 TUE (m000hdkp)

The Archers 19:00 TUE (m000hfrl)

The Archers 14:00 WED (m000hfrl)

The Archers 19:00 WED (m000hfs3)

The Archers 14:00 THU (m000hfs3)

The Archers 19:00 THU (m000hgj9)

The Archers 14:00 FRI (m000hgj9)

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread? 05:45 SAT (m000h1lh)

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread? 09:30 WED (m000hfqs)

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread? 20:45 WED (m000hfqs)

The Briefing Room 11:00 SAT (m000h7sp)

The Briefing Room 20:00 THU (m000hgjf)

The Extinction Tapes 09:30 TUE (m000b0qv)

The Film Programme 23:00 SUN (m000h7s7)

The Food Programme 12:32 SUN (m000hdk9)

The Food Programme 15:30 MON (m000hdk9)

The Inquiry 17:30 SAT (m000hdc4)

The Kitchen Cabinet 10:30 SAT (m000hdbk)

The Kitchen Cabinet 15:00 TUE (m000hdbk)

The Learning Revolution 11:00 FRI (m000hhsv)

The Listening Project 13:30 SUN (m000h7x4)

The Media Show 16:00 WED (m000hfrx)

The Media Show 21:30 WED (m000hfrx)

The NHS Front Line 21:00 MON (m000h8pn)

The NHS Front Line 11:00 TUE (m000hfy2)

The News Quiz 12:30 SAT (m000h94h)

The News Quiz 18:30 FRI (m000hhtv)

The Reith Lectures 19:15 SAT (b03g9mn1)

The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out 00:30 SAT (m000h934)

The Reunion 11:00 SUN (b01s030p)

The Reunion 09:00 FRI (b01s030p)

The Untold 11:00 MON (m000hdjj)

The Untold 23:30 MON (m000dyb0)

The Way I See It 14:45 SUN (m0009c2j)

The Wilsons Save the World 18:30 WED (b09h6x6p)

The World This Weekend 13:00 SUN (m000hfwc)

The World Tonight 22:00 MON (m000hdkt)

The World Tonight 22:00 TUE (m000hfz2)

The World Tonight 22:00 WED (m000hfsc)

The World Tonight 22:00 THU (m000hgjk)

The World Tonight 22:00 FRI (m000hhv4)

Thinking Allowed 00:15 MON (m0002zcx)

Today in Parliament 23:30 TUE (m000hfz6)

Today in Parliament 23:30 WED (m000hfsh)

Today in Parliament 23:30 THU (m000hgjp)

Today in Parliament 23:45 FRI (m000hhv6)

Today 07:00 SAT (m000hdbf)

Today 06:00 MON (m000hdj7)

Today 06:00 TUE (m000hfxt)

Today 06:00 WED (m000hfqn)

Today 06:00 THU (m000hgh1)

Today 06:00 FRI (m000hhsn)

Tweet of the Day 08:58 SUN (m0001q59)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 MON (b09w08g3)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 TUE (b0378xkr)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 WED (b03bkf9f)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 THU (b0378xwb)

Tweet of the Day 05:58 FRI (b03dwz7f)

Unchained 11:30 THU (m000hghf)

Weather 06:57 SAT (m000hdbc)

Weather 12:57 SAT (m000hdbt)

Weather 17:57 SAT (m000hdcd)

Weather 06:57 SUN (m000hfvm)

Weather 07:57 SUN (m000hfvw)

Weather 12:57 SUN (m000hfw9)

Weather 17:57 SUN (m000hfwt)

Weather 05:56 MON (m000hfxk)

Weather 12:57 MON (m000hdjx)

Weather 12:57 TUE (m000hfyg)

Weather 12:57 WED (m000hfrf)

Weather 12:57 THU (m000hghr)

Weather 12:57 FRI (m000hht5)

Westminster Hour 22:00 SUN (m000hfx3)

Woman's Hour 16:00 SAT (m000hdc0)

Woman's Hour 10:00 MON (m000hdjc)

Woman's Hour 10:00 TUE (m000hfxy)

Woman's Hour 10:00 WED (m000hfqv)

Woman's Hour 10:00 THU (m000hgh7)

Woman's Hour 10:00 FRI (m000hhsq)

World at One 13:00 MON (m000hdjz)

World at One 13:00 TUE (m000hfyj)

World at One 13:00 WED (m000hfrh)

World at One 13:00 THU (m000hght)

World at One 13:00 FRI (m000hht7)

You and Yours 12:20 MON (m000hdjv)

You and Yours 12:20 TUE (m000hfyd)

You and Yours 12:20 WED (m000hfrc)

You and Yours 12:20 THU (m000hghp)

You and Yours 12:20 FRI (m000hht3)