SATURDAY 05 JULY 2025
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m002f8xk)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:30 Unearthing the Past by Sarah Dunant (m002f8vx)
5. Fashion Icon and Influencer
The novelist and historian Sarah Dunant finds evidence in the archives, and in art, that reveal Isabella d'Este's significance as a fashion icon and, at times testy, art patron in Renaissance Italy.
The best-selling author of the acclaimed Italian Renaissance novels The Birth of Venus, Blood and Beauty and now, The Marchesa, takes us into the archives where she uncovers a wealth of letters and other documentation charting the wonders of the high Renaissance and the life and times of its first female art collector, fashion icon and political operator, Isabella d'Este, marchesa of Mantua. In this illuminating series Sarah Dunant unearths wonders that bring alive the past, how people lived, their values and their beliefs. Taking as her starting point the novelist L.P. Hartley's line 'the past is a foreign country' Sarah explores how we must sometimes suspend our own judgements to understand the social, political and cultural forces that determined the outcome of world events and every day life. From the acquisition of assets, art and horses, to the fealty of pets, the vicissitudes of motherhood, sex and marriage, and the wielding of cultural influence, Unearthing the Past gives us insights into how we might better understand and appreciate our colourful forebears.
Written and read by Sarah Dunant
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002f8xm)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002f8xp)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
SAT 05:30 News Summary (m002f8xr)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002f8xt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002f8xw)
Prayer for the Day celebrates 55 years on Radio 4 from Bradford City of Culture
Rev Ned Lunn, Canon for Intercultural Mission and the Arts at Bradford Cathedral reflects on creativity and prayer to celebrate 55 years of Prayer for the Day, from Bradford the City of Culture.
Good morning.
Creativity is often imagined as wild and unbound — a free-flowing river of possibility. But I’ve come to know as both artist, and disciple, that creativity flourishes not in chaos, but in constraint. Writing poetry — especially sonnets — teaches me this. Their form is a vessel, not a cage. In metre and rhyme, I discover what I truly need to say.
A blank canvas can paralyse. Limitless choice becomes a burden. Form, rhythm, and rule, offer a pathway. Constraint is not the enemy of imagination but its companion.
For me, the daily office that I say at Bradford Cathedral, is such a holy constraint. It is liturgical scaffolding, within which my creative soul can play. In prayer, I’m drawn back to what matters. I listen, I yield, I remember. Prayer shapes my vision. It invites: choose well, choose wisely, choose what gives life.
Working in a cathedral in a busy city, I face a thousand invitations daily — what to read, what to say, what to make. Without prayer, I chase shadows. With prayer, I discern what is necessary, what is good, what will serve the Kingdom. I’m not seeking efficiency, but faithfulness. Prayer, gives contour to my calling. My art becomes not just expression, but service, witness, offering.
Holy Spirit, Breath of Creation and Giver of Form, teach me, to welcome boundaries that bring life. Root my decisions in prayer, that I may know what to pursue and what to lay down. Let your presence be the frame in which I live and create. Shape my imagination into service, and my desires into worship. In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
SAT 05:45 Child (p0hhrtyr)
Series 1
26. Nursery
Whenever an infant heads to nursery, it can feel like an enormous step. Things are changing for everyone. There are all sorts of feelings flying around - relief, sadness, doubt, fear. But what’s going on behind the doors of nurseries and childcare settings in England? India speaks to Joeli Brearley from Pregnant Then Screwed about the current childcare crisis, child development psychotherapist Graham Music about how childcare impacts children, as well as economist Emily Oster on our choices around childcare. India then meets artists Conway and Young who have found a way to make the invisible labour of childcare pay.
Presented by: India Rakusen.
Producer: Georgia Arundell.
Series producer: Ellie Sans.
Executive producer: Suzy Grant.
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon.
Mix and Mastering by Charlie Brandon-King.
A Listen Production for Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m002fj41)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.
SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m002f9fv)
Camino Memories with the Ciao Ciao Girls
Clare is in Northumberland today for the final episode of this Camino de Santiago themed series. She’s walking along a section of Hadrian’s Wall with a fabulous group of women - the Ciao Ciao Girls - celebrating the 10th anniversary of their pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Since then, they've become a tightly bonded unit who gather every year to complete another walking challenge.
For today’s joyful, windy and very rainy hike they met at the Steel Rigg car park, and completed a circular walk including the remains of the tree at Sycamore Gap. As they wander they reflect on their first adventure together on the Camino, what that experience brought them, and continues to bring them ten years on.
Steel Rigg Car Park, NE47 7AW / What3Words: teacher.spelling.tweed
Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m002fj43)
05/07/25 Farming Today This Week: Regenerative Agriculture
Prince William and the Defra Secretary say regen agriculture is the future.
Charlotte Smith visits Groundswell, the regenerative agriculture festival in Hertfordshire, where the focus is on improving the soil and reducing artificial fertilisers and pesticides. She speaks to the so-called grandfather of regen, Gabe Brown, and the Green Farm Collective's Tim Parton about greenwashing and the future.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
SAT 06:57 Weather (m002fj45)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 07:00 Today (m002fj47)
Today (Saturday)
SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m002fj49)
Judy Murray, Defne Suman, Richard Turner, Rick Edwards
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (m002fj4c)
American War of Independence: Fourth of July Special
Greg Jenner is joined in the eighteenth century by Professor Frank Cogliano and comedian and actor Patton Oswalt for a special Fourth of July episode all about the American War of Independence. Also known as the American Revolutionary War, 2025 marks 250 years since the start of the conflict in 1775, when the first battles between the British army and the colonial resistance were fought at Lexington and Concord. But what caused Britain’s North American colonies to rebel against the king and government in London? At what point did they start to see themselves as American and not British? And how did a colonial militia take on an imperial superpower? This episode charts the growing rift between Britain and its American colonists, taking in famous events like the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and the calling of the first Continental Congress, all the way through to the Declaration of Independence and the course of the revolutionary war itself. We learn how America fought to free itself from the shackles of British rule, and meet some well-known names from history, including Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and George Washington. And we also ask whose freedom was being fought for, and who – such as Black and Indigenous Americans – got left behind.
If you’re a fan of fearless freedom fighters, political wrangling and stunning military victories, you’ll love our episode on the American War of Independence.
If you want more American political history, listen to our episode on Becoming America, or episodes on abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. And for more independence movements, check out our episode on Simón Bolívar.
You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past.
Hosted by: Greg Jenner
Research by: Charlotte Emily Edgeshaw
Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner
Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands
Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse
Executive Editor: Philip Sellars
SAT 10:30 Rewinder (m002fj4f)
Doorstepped By Jeremy Vine
Greg James is back for another trip deep into the BBC Archives, and into the past, as he uses listener requests, overlooked anniversaries and current stories to guide him to audio gold.
Bonjour la classe! It’s that time of year when kids get out of the classroom and enjoy a much deserved school trip. Greg hears from a class of children from 1963 who hop the Channel to practise their French skills in a French classroom. With mixed results. And why's that boy hiding a massive bottle of whisky? There are also wonderful memories from trips to Wembley in 1925, featuring a vocal elephant and a potato.
As Noel and Liam Gallagher prepare for their hotly anticipated Oasis reunion tour, Greg listens back to early interviews with the brothers just as they were on the cusp of stardom. Yes there's bickering, yes there's questionable language, and booze and general discord - but despite the sibling rivalry, Liam shows brotherly loyalty when an unexpected situation on-stage unfolds during one early performance in Newcastle.
Order! Order! It’s time to wind the clock back 50 years to the very first moment the House of Commons was broadcast on the airwaves. Debating the pros and cons of having cameras in the chamber, politicians pondered whether filming would mean acting to the cameras simply to get a quick sound bite. Surely not?
Fifty years too since one of the biggest and most influential summer blockbuster films ever: Jaws. Beach holidays have never been quite the same. Greg dives into incredible behind-the-scenes archive from a very young Steven Spielberg, negotiating wobbly boats and capsizing actors.
Producer: Tim Bano
An EcoAudio certified production
SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m002fj4h)
Sonia Sodha and guests reflect on Sir Keir Starmer's first anniversary in office, at the end of a turbulent week in Westminster - including a Labour rebellion over welfare cuts; a tearful appearance by the Chancellor; and the unveiling of a new ten-year plan for the NHS.
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002fj4k)
Israel's anti-war activists
Kate Adie presents stories from Israel, Zimbabwe, Taiwan's Kinmen Islands, Lithuania and Peru.
In Israel a small group of peace campaigners has been going against the grain of the public mood to highlight the plight of Palestinian people in Gaza, and has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war on humanitarian grounds. Wyre Davies met them in Jerusalem.
It’s 25 years since Robert Mugabe’s controversial land reform programme ignited a wave of violent land seizures from Zimbabwe's white farmers. The current government has begun paying compensation to some of the farmers forced from their land – Shingai Nyoka considers whether it can help bring much-desired reconciliation.
Taiwan's Kinmen Islands are just a few miles off the coast of mainland China, which has made repeated attempts over the decades to annex the outpost. Today locals continue to live amid ongoing tensions with China - as well as the strain between modern and traditional ways of life, reports Adrian Bridge.
In Lithuania's capital Vilnius is the imposing Lukeskes prison. Once infamous for its appalling conditions, it provided a dystopian setting for the sci-fi series Stranger Things. Today, it's been transformed into a new artistic hub, but is this hipster culture erasing vital national history? Joshua Askew recently paid a visit.
And finally, BBC Budapest correspondent Nick Thorpe recently had a change of scene, venturing to South America and the high Andes of Peru, where he travelled on a donkey through the Cordillera Blanca range, past lakes and waterfalls – and rapidly disappearing glaciers.
Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill & Katie Morrison
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
SAT 12:00 News Summary (m002fj4m)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 12:04 Money Box (m002fj4p)
Future of Pensions and Heat Networks
Reform of the state pension, auto-enrolment into company pensions and consolidation of small pensions spread across several providers are proposed this week in a major report on the future of pensions. It says major changes are are necessary to ensure today's workers have an adequate income in retirement. The conclusions come at the end of a two year study by the independent research organisation the Institute for Fiscal Studies, we'll speak to them about the report.
Hundreds of thousands of people whose homes are heated using communal heat networks are less than 6 months away from greater protection as the industry gets ready to come under Ofgem regulation for the first time. Up until now people in homes that are on heat networks, which use a single heat source to pipe hot water to multiple households, have not had the same rights as those on mains gas or electricity, but that is about it change. What difference could the new regulations make?
How could the way you get financial advice change in the future? We'll discuss new proposals by the regulator the Financial Conduct Authority aimed at helping more people get financial advice.
And, what would you like to see on a new bank note from the Bank of England? Email us now moneybox@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Jo Krasner
Researcher: Eimear Devlin
Editor: Jess Quayle
(audio credit British Pathé)
(First broadcast
12pm Saturday 5th July 2025)
SAT 12:30 Dead Ringers (m002f8wx)
Series 26
Welfare woes and Wimbledon
The Dead Ringers team are back to train their vocal firepower on the week’s news with an armoury of impressive impressions.
This week: The Government’s welfare woes, the BBC’s chant chastisement, and Netanyahu, Trump and Putin play Just A Minute.
The episode was written by: Nev Fountain and Tom Jamieson, Laurence Howarth, Rob Darke, Sophie Dickson, Toussaint Douglass, Peter Tellouche, Tom Coles, Edward Tew, Jon Holmes, Davina Bentley, Vicky Richards, Ali Panting, Pete Redfern, Declan Kennedy.
Cast: Jan Ravens, Jon Culshaw, Lewis Macleod, Jess Robinson, Duncan Wisbey.
Created by Bill Dare
Producer: Jon Holmes
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Production Co-ordinator: Jodie Charman
SAT 12:57 Weather (m002fj4r)
The latest weather forecast
SAT 13:00 News (m002fj4t)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m002f8x3)
Danny Kruger MP, Caroline Lucas, Sir Anthony Seldon, Karin Smyth MP
Alex Forsyth presents political debate from Frogham in Hampshire, with Conservative MP Danny Kruger, the shadow minister for work and pensions; former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas; the historian Sir Anthony Seldon; and Labour MP and health minister Karin Smyth.
SAT 14:05 Any Answers? (m002fj4w)
Listeners respond to the issues raised in the preceding edition of Any Questions?
SAT 14:45 The Archers (m002f8wz)
WRITER: Naylah Ahmed
DIRECTOR: Julie Beckett
EDITOR: Jeremy Howe
Helen Archer…. Louiza Patikas
Henry Archer…. Blayke Darby
Kenton Archer…. Richard Attlee
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Justin Elliott…. Simon Williams
Usha Franks…. Souad Faress
Martyn Gibson…. Jon Glover
Clarrie Grundy…. Heather Bell
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Brad Horrobin…. Taylor Uttley
Tracy Horrobin…. Susie Riddell
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Jazzer McCreary…. Ryan Kelly
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Amber Gordon…. Charlotte Jordan
Annabelle Schrivener…. Julia Hills
SAT 15:00 Drama on 4 (m000mbq0)
Half of a Yellow Sun
Episode 1
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's remarkable novel set during the Nigeria-Biafra War of the late 1960s, dramatised by Janice Okoh.
Sisters Olanna and Kainene, daughters of a "nouveau riche" tribal chief turned businessman and part of the Igbo elite; Olanna's lover Odenigbo, a revolutionary university professor; Richard, a British writer in love with Kainene; and Ugwu a young man employed as a houseboy for Odenigbo all have their lives drastically changed as they become swept up in the brutal civil war.
A powerful, compassionate depiction of the human tragedy of those caught up in Biafra's impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic and the chilling violence and trauma that followed.
NARRATOR.....Ben Onwukwe
OKEOMA.....Sule Rimi
ODENIGBO.....Adetomiwa Edun
UGWU.....Valentine Olukoga
MISS ADEBAYO/ MAMA/ AMALA.....Gbemisola Ikumelo
OLANNA.....Susan Wokoma
RICHARD.....Blake Ritson
KAINENE.....Nikki Amuka-Bird
MADU.....Okezie Morro
Directed by Nadia Molinari
Sound Design by Sharon Hughes
SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m002fj4y)
Weekend Woman’s Hour: Fiona Shaw, Jenny Evans, Gurinder Chadha, Fashion disrupter Amy Powney, Women footballers
Award-winning actor Fiona Shaw is best known for her roles in Killing Eve, Bad Sisters, Fleabag, True Detective: Night Country and even as Aunt Petunia in Harry Potter, among many other things. She’s now starring in a new film adaptation of Deborah Levy’s novel, Hot Milk, playing Rose, who goes to Almería in Spain with her daughter, Sofia, played by Emma Mackey, to try to find a cure for Rose’s mysterious paralysis at an experimental clinic. Fiona joined Nuala McGovern to discuss it.
Jenny Evans was a young actress riding high on the success of her first feature film when she was sexually assaulted by someone who was in the public eye. When she later found the courage to report this crime to the police, details of what she had experienced were printed in a tabloid newspaper. Jenny decided to retrain as a journalist to try and figure out how this could have happened. She went on to help expose the abuses of power in the press and police that have become known as the 'phone-hacking scandal'. Nuala spoke to Jenny about her memoir Don't Let it Break You, Honey.
The film director Gurinder Chadha has released a trailer to celebrate this summer's cricket fixtures between England and India's women's teams. She joined Datshiane to discuss why she's chosen to put women's cricket under the spotlight and the legacy of her last hit film about women's sport, Bend It Like Beckham.
Amy Powney is the fashion designer best known for being the Creative Director at Mother of Pearl for 10 years until she left to set up her own label, Akyn, earlier this year. Amy’s mission to create a sustainable clothing line was explored in the documentary Fashion Reimagined which saw her trace clothes from field to runway and cemented her as an authority on this within the wider industry. Amy joined Kylie Pentelow in the Woman’s Hour studio.
The Women’s Euros started this week, with teams from both England and Wales taking part. The Lionesses won the Euros in 2022 and much was made of the number of openly lesbian players both in the England squad and across the other teams. In a new graphic novel called Florrie a football love story, Anna Trench tells the story of the ground breaking women footballers from the end of the First World War and highlights the pioneering lesbians players of the past. Rachael Bullingham, Senior Lecturer of Sport and Exercise at the University of Gloucestershire joined the discussion.
Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
Producer: Annette Wells
Editor: Rebecca Myatt
SAT 17:00 PM (m002fj50)
Full coverage of the day's news
SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m002fj52)
The Keir Starmer Prime Minister One
After some of the most tumultuous days of his premiership, Keir Starmer sits down with Nick in Downing Street, to reflect on a year in power.
In a wide-ranging interview, the prime minister defends his style of leadership, while taking responsibility for the setbacks.
He also opens up about losing his brother last year and his personal relationship with President Trump
Producers: Daniel Kraemer, Leela Padmanabhan and Chloe Desave
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002fj54)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 17:57 Weather (m002fj56)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fj58)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m002fj5b)
Mel Giedroyc, Debbie Wiseman, Mike Gayle, Rachel Parris, Clive Anderson
Mel Giedroyc, Rachel Parris, Mike Gayle and Debbie Wiseman join Clive Anderson with the music of Wolf Hall.
SAT 19:00 Profile (m002fj5d)
An insight into the character of an influential person making the news headlines
SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m002f9fb)
Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer is one of the world’s greatest living artists. Born in Germany at the end of the Second World War, much of his work in paintings, sculptures and vast installation pieces, has addressed his country’s history and culture, asking difficult questions about the legacy of fascism and conflict. His paintings, thickly layered and sometimes embellished with straw or molten lead, often depict dark rutted fields or dense forests. Kiefer is renowned for the size of his work, and for his industrial-scale studio complexes in France, where he has lived for over thirty years. Kiefer's works are included in numerous public collections including the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Tate Modern, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Australia. His most recent show at the Royal Academy in London has paired his works with those of one his artistic heroes for an exhibition called Kiefer/Van Gogh.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m002fj5g)
100 Years of Mein Kampf
A century has passed since the publication of Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler’s notorious book. Part-autobiography, part-political manifesto, few today have read it – and even fewer admit to doing so. Yet its ideas, expressed in often meandering and barely coherent prose, laid out the groundwork for the most destructive ideology of the 20th century.
John Kampfner, whose Jewish father fled Czechoslovakia in 1939, sets out to explore the book’s origins, its impact and its disturbing echoes in today’s world.
From its early slump to the sale of 12 million copies, Mein Kampf came to be seen as more than just a book – it was a symbol, a Nazi devotional object. After the war, and the horrors of the Holocaust, prosecutors at Nuremberg cited the book as the “blueprint of Nazi aggression”. Victorious Allied forces tried to suppress it, while wrestling with how to do so without mirroring the censorship of the very regime they had defeated.
In post-war Germany, John discovers the book’s strange afterlife – including how it found its way into satire and stage performance as the country began a tentative reckoning with its past. Mein Kampf’s republication in Germany in 2016, heavily annotated by historians, sparked intense debate about memory, responsibility and how best to confront dangerous ideas.
In 2025, John is struck by the extent to which the spirit of Mein Kampf lives on in digital spaces, political rhetoric and increasingly mainstream narratives about race, identity and nationhood. Attempts to neuter the book may have limited its visibility – but not its ideas.
The programme explores the notorious and anti-Semitic content of Adolf Hitler's infamous book.
Producer: Jack Butcher
Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 21:00 Moral Maze (m002f9cr)
Is social cohesion a moral good? And can governments influence it?
Are we at risk of becoming “an island of strangers”? The Prime Minister, backtracking on many fronts, has apologised for the phrase - he says he hadn’t read it properly before he said it – but he’s backed a grand-sounding Independent Commission that’s now at work to fix a society it says is a “tinderbox of division”.
Is it? Social attitude surveys suggest we’re one of the most tolerant countries on earth.
What do we mean by social cohesion? Is it something wider than community cohesion? What about the class divisions?
Is it important for us all to mix with each or a natural human instinct to cleave to those who are like you?
Is social cohesion a moral good in itself? And is ‘getting on with each other’ something that can be achieved by government fiat?
PANELLISTS: INAYA FOLARIN-IMAN, LORD JONATHAN SUMPTION, PROF MONA SIDDIQUI, SONIA SODHA
WITNESSES: MATTHEW SYED, Journalist
SIMON LEVINE from ODI, a global affairs think tank
JULIE SIDDIQI, Community relations consultant
RAVI GURUMURTHY, CEO of NESTA, the UK innovation foundation for social good
Chaired by Michael Buerk
PRODUCER: Catherine Murray
ASST PRODUCER: Peter Everett
EDITOR: Tim Pemberton
SAT 22:00 News (m002fj5j)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m002f8vv)
Potatoes with Poppy O'Toole
In this episode, social media chef and queen of potatoes, Poppy O'Toole, explores the world of her favourite ingredient, the Potato.
Last year, Poppy appeared on Mastermind, choosing the history of the potato as her specialist subject. Let’s just say… it didn’t quite go to plan. So now, she’s joining the team at The Food Programme to fill in the gaps in her knowledge.
Along the way, she meets historian Professor Rebecca Earle from the University of Warwick, who explains how potatoes travelled from the Andes to Europe. She visits Lima, a Peruvian restaurant in London, where she speaks with sous chef William Coz about how potatoes remain central to Peruvian cuisine. Dr Stef de Haan from the International Potato Center shares how Peru continues to cultivate thousands of potato varieties.
In Suffolk, Poppy visits James Foskett’s farm to discover how he grows both organic and conventional potatoes. And she speaks with Dr Jean Beagle Ristaino—known by some as “the Sherlock of Spuds”—about her work investigating the pathogen behind the Irish Potato Famine.
The programme includes archive from Mastermind which is co-produced for BBC 2 by Hindsight and Hat Trick.
Presented by Poppy O'Toole
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan
SAT 23:00 Kat Sadler's Screen Time (m002fh44)
Series 2
1. Influencer
Industry heartthrob and nation's sweetheart Kat is on her way to an exciting product launch in a long car, with long suffering sidekick Alex Macqueen.
On the way, she shares the secrets of her success, and how series one of Screen Time made her the most famous woman to ever grace the UK. Now that she's the biggest influencer ever, Kat teaches you how you can stop being a big normo and maximise your online brand. Hear her improve her appearance with a novel technique at the gym, convene a writers room to work out how to appear most relatable, and purify her brand by cutting off an old friend who's just got the worst news a person can receive. He's been cancelled.
And she barely thinks about Abbie at all!
Cast
Kat Sadler - Kat
Alex MacQueen - Alex
Abbie Weinstock - Abbie
Al Roberts - Toby
Lizzie Davidson - Various
Jason Forbes - Various
Written by Kat Sadler and Cameron Loxdale
Production Coordinator - Caroline Barlow
Executive Producer - Pete Strauss
Sound Design - Rich Evans
Recorded by Neil Goody at Premises Studios
Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
SAT 23:30 Round Britain Quiz (m002f6pb)
Programme 8 - Wales vs The South of England
(8/12)
Teams from all over the UK will face Kirsty Lang's cryptic questions across the series, with Kirsty offering support and the odd hint where it might be needed.
This eighth contest features the second meeting of Wales and The South of England.
You can follow the questions in each edition on the Round Britain Quiz webpages. Each week's questions will be posted on the day of transmission.
Teams:
Myfanwy Alexander and Cariad Lloyd
Paul Sinha and Marcus Berkmann
Questions in today's edition:
Q1 - (from James Rossdale) Why might meeting a Welsh star and a high-ranking policeman end up with you feeling sorry for them, but ultimately considering it a happy accident?
Q2 - Where would you find these people fighting over a hot potato in the 70s and 80s?
Alfonso Joseph d’Abruzzo
Harry Bratsburg
Jameel Joseph Farah
Loretta Jane Szwed
Q3a - MAIN
Music: once you’ve heard these three pieces I’d like you to tell me why they might lead to aposiopesis
Q3b - ONLINE VERSION
The following clues to our musical tracks might leave you… hanging. But why?
A meticulous feline from a hit stage musical.
The final, incomplete opera by an Italian maestro.
A legendary British soap character, known for her sharp tongue and endless cigarettes.
What connects them — and how might they lead to aposiopesis?
Q4 - Why might the creator of a famous fictional attorney, a prolific Bond novelist, someone who becomes a presidential adviser by mistake, and TWO Barefoot Contessas, all be prepared to get their hands dirty if they came round to my house?
Q5 - What sound reducing method would end this sequence? A naval friend, the dispensing of a punishment, a parasitic arachnid and a parable from the Sermon on the Mount?
Q6a - MAIN
Music: What link can you conjure up between the following tracks?
Q6b- ONLINE VERSION
See if you can conjure up the link between these four clues to our musical tracks:
A synth-pop classic that drifts into monochrome.
A disco anthem about a shadowy historical figure with a mystical reputation.
A haunting protest song from the 1930s, part of its title now shared with a Marvellous movie character.
A show tune from a Hollywood star, crazy about a boy who lived… long before his most famous version appeared.
What binds these four songs together, and which festive band might they help bring to mind?
Q7 - Why might you confuse a Billy Wilder romantic heroine, one of Charlie’s (original) Angels, a girl with a cat called Salem and a young singer with Taste?
Q8 - (from Nick Miller) In which atlas would you find the following? And where are they exactly?
The Island of Reil
The Haversian canals
The Sylvian aqueduct
Passavant’s Ridge
McBurney’s Point
and the Torcula of Herophilus/Herophilos – also called Herophilus’s Winepress.
Host: Kirsty Lang
Recorded by: Phil Booth
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
Production Coordinator: Caroline Barlow
Producer: Carl Cooper
Questions set by:
Lucy Porter, Alan Poulton, Paul Bajoria and public contributors.
SUNDAY 06 JULY 2025
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m002fj5l)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 00:15 Take Four Books (m002f6p8)
Madeleine Thien
Presented by James Crawford, Take Four Books, speaks to the writer Madeleine Thien about her new novel and explores its links to three other literary works. The Book Of Records is an epic, time-warping exploration of individual lives shaped by migration, exile, war and oppression. The book follows the story of Lina, a young girl who has been forced to emigrate from her homeland, and together with her father winds up at a mysterious place called 'the Sea', which turns out to be a shapeshifting and time-shifting fantasy of a refugee camp. Fictional characters are based on real people from history, we have the German philosopher Hannah Arendt fleeing Europe during the Second World War, the Jewish scholar and philosopher Baruch Spinoza, and the eighth century Chinese poet, Du Fu all coming to life on the page. The supporting contributor for this episode is the writer and lecturer Sarah Bernstein, whose 2023 novel Study for Obedience was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
For her three influences, Madeleine chooses: Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities (1972); Men in Dark Times by Hannah Arendt (1968); and Touch by Adania Shibli (2010).
Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002fj5n)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002fj5q)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:30 News Summary (m002fj5s)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002fj5v)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m002fj5x)
St Peter’s church in Evercreech, Somerset.
Bells on Sunday comes from St Peter’s church in Evercreech, Somerset. The church building dates from the 14th and 15th century and is a fine example of the Perpendicular style. Its 94 foot tall tower was said by the famous architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner to be the finest in the county. There are ten bells, all of which were cast by the John Taylor foundry of Loughborough in 1948. The Tenor bell weighs twenty one hundredweight and is tuned to the note of E flat. We hear them ringing Grandsire Caters.
SUN 05:45 In Touch (m002f8n0)
RNIB on the Benefits Bill; Visually Impaired Tennis
In Touch hears from the RNIB about their plans to participate in the Government's consultation on the Benefits Bill. They describe their position on the bill as it stands and how they will involve the voices of blind and partially sighted people in any consultations.
With Wimbledon 2025 underway, In Touch looks at grassroots visually impaired tennis and a Yorkshire league, set up by an enthusiastic exponent of the adapted sport. The LTA outlines how visually impaired people can get involved with tennis in their area.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Liz Poole
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio’ in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m002fjfp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Thinking Allowed (m002f8mk)
The Irish in the UK
Laurie Taylor talks to Louise Ryan, Professor of Sociology at the London Metropolitan University, about her oral history of the Irish nurses who were the backbone of the NHS for many years. By the 1960s approximately 30,000 Irish-born nurses were working across the NHS, constituting around 12% of all nursing staff. From the rigours of training to the fun of dancehalls, she explores their life experiences as nurses and also as Irish migrants, including those times when they encountered anti Irish racism. They’re joined by Bronwen Walter, Emerita Professor of Irish Diaspora Studies at Anglia Ruskin University, who discusses the way that Irish migration offers an unusual opportunity to explore wider questions about the experience of immigrants and how ethnic identities persist or change over time.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m002fjfr)
Galson: the Estate on the Edge
At the far northern tip of the Outer Hebrides, Galson Estate clings by its very fingernails to the wild western edge of Europe.
Fierce Atlantic breakers crash along its beaches and rocky shores, the bulk of its 56,000 acres is bog and moorland, and wind speeds recorded here frequently hit the headlines, yet a community buyout almost 20 years ago has spawned ambitious developments that have secured economic independence and brought new-found confidence to 22 scattered coastal communities.
The history of the Clearances - when a local community was forcibly evicted from their homes and land to make way for sheep farming in 1863 - makes the security that comes with community ownership all the sweeter.
While renewable energy underpins the estate's modern-day finances, it is crofting, culture and tradition that are at the heart of estate life.
From the Butt of Lewis lighthouse to ambitious new projects, Trust chair Agnes Rennie guides Nancy Nicolson around the estate and introduces her to some of the people who are integral to life in this corner of the Isle of Lewis.
Produced and presented by Nancy Nicolson.
SUN 06:57 Weather (m002fjft)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m002fjfw)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m002fjfy)
Dalai Lama, Welfare bill, Turkey
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has confirmed that he will have a successor after his death, ending years of uncertainty - but China has other ideas. Hundreds of followers gathered to hear the long-awaited announcement in the Indian town of Dharamshala where the Dalai Lama lives. The leader of Tibetan Buddhism also celebrates his 90th birthday this Sunday. Sunday hears from BBC correspondent Samira Hussein, and explores the Dalai Lama's message further with Ms. Lhagyari Namgyal Dolkar, a Tibetan MP from the Tibetan Parliament in Exile.
How does a politician of faith balance their religious beliefs with the responsibilities to their party, and to their constituents? This week, Evangelical Christian Rachel Maskell MP successfully lead a backbench rebellion against Keir Starmer’s welfare reforms. The defeat has had ongoing consequences since then, with commentators asking if the defeat has put Prime Minister’s credibility at risk.
Protests in Turkey as newspaper staff are arrested for publishing a cartoon alleged to be of the Prophet Mohammad and Moses shaking hands over a bombed out city. Editor in Chief of LeMan satirical magazine says the cartoon has been intentionally misinterpreted. Emily Buchanan explores how modern Turkey- created as a secular state - seems to have changed over time, and how blurred the lines have now become separating state and faith?
Presenter: Emily Buchanan
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Rosie Dawson
Studio Managers: Nick Woodsford & Sharon Hughes
Editor: Tim Pemberton
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m002fjg0)
Money Ready
Maths teacher and broadcaster Bobby Seagull presents the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Money Ready. The charity delivers money education programmes across the UK to help people learn how to manage their finances.
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 ‘Money Ready’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Money Ready’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
Registered Charity Number: 1123791. If you’d like to find out more about the charity’s work visit *https://www.moneyready.org
*The BBC is not responsible for content on external websites
Producer: Katy Takatsuki
SUN 07:57 Weather (m002fjg2)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m002fjg4)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m002fjg6)
The King of Instruments - St Albans International Organ Festival
Coming from the 33rd St Albans International Organ Festival, Lucy Winkett joins organ competitors and performers at St Peter’s Church, St Albans, to explore the history and impact the pipe organ has had in leading and accompanying church music across the centuries.
The choir of St Peter’s Church will be performing music by composer and organist Peter Hurford, the founder of the St Albans International Festival, and there will be a live organ improvisation from French organist Jean-Baptiste Robin. Lucy will also be talking to one of the UK’s leading concert organists – Margaret Philipps, who will explain how she was drawn to the rich soundscape created the pipe organ.
The service is introduced by the vicar of St Peter’s – Mark Dearnley.
Director of Music: Nick Robinson
Organist: Alex Flood
Producer: Mark O’Brien
SUN 08:48 Witness History (w3ct74mt)
Cecil the lion
On 1 July 2015, a much-loved lion was killed in Zimbabwe by an American trophy hunter.
Black-maned Cecil was one of the star attractions at Hwange National Park. He was baited outside the park and shot with a bow.
American dentist Walter Palmer, who reportedly paid a local guide $50,000 to shoot Cecil, was widely condemned. He said he didn’t know Cecil was a known local favourite and had relied on the expertise of a local professional guide to carry out a legal hunt.
He was cleared of any wrongdoing but the killing became international news and sparked a global debate about trophy hunting and its role in conservation.
Prof Andrew Loveridge, who had been tracking Cecil for the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, tells Vicky Farncombe about the moment he was told the lion had died.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: Cecil the lion. Credit: Brent Stapelkamp)
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m002fjg8)
Michael Malay on the Magpie
A common sight throughout much of the UK, magpies are the subject of many myths and legends - including the famous nursery rhyme, “One for sorrow, two for joy”. As the words of the rhyme suggests, these social corvids will often gather in groups, making their presence known with noisy, chattering calls.
Nature writer Michael Malay often sees magpies in the woods near his home in the city of Bristol. Out for a walk one evening, Michael comes across a group of them perched in a stand of ash trees, making a lot of noise, and wonders what they might be 'talking' about.
Presented by Michael Malay and produced by Jo Peacey. A BBC Audio Bristol production.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m002fjgb)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell
SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m002fjgd)
Carol Klein, gardener
Carol Klein is a gardener, broadcaster and longtime contributor to BBC Gardeners’ World. She is a six time Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner, a certified RHS Horticultural Hero and was awarded the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour.
Born in 1945 in Lancashire, Carol was the eldest of three children and her love of gardening was evident when she used to bring soil in from the outside as a toddler, and make a garden on the lino floor of her mum’s kitchen.
She began her career as an art teacher, working for many years in London schools. After meeting her husband, Neil, they eventually moved to Devon to buy a house and create a garden. They have lived in Glebe Cottage for forty seven years and it’s been the base for Carol’s former plant business as well as the location for some of her TV programmes.
Carol never intended to be a professional gardener. She followed that path after becoming a parent and deciding not to return to her teaching career. After first growing plants successfully for local markets, she then started entering professional garden shows up and down the country winning six Chelsea gold medals in the process.
Carol lives in Devon with her husband Neil.
Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Sarah Taylor
SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m002fjgg)
WRITER: Naylah Ahmed
DIRECTOR: Julie Beckett
EDITOR: Jeremy Howe
Helen Archer…. Louiza Patikas
Henry Archer…. Blayke Darby
Kenton Archer…. Richard Attlee
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Justin Elliott…. Simon Williams
Usha Franks…. Souad Faress
Martyn Gibson…. Jon Glover
Clarrie Grundy…. Heather Bell
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Brad Horrobin…. Taylor Uttley
Tracy Horrobin…. Susie Riddell
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Jazzer McCreary…. Ryan Kelly
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Amber Gordon…. Charlotte Jordan
Annabelle Schrivener…. Julia Hills
SUN 12:15 Profile (m002fj5d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 12:30 It's a Fair Cop (m002f8ts)
Series 9
6. Misrepresentation
A new police initiative forces Alfie to hand out his personal business card, quickly drawing him into a peculiar case. He soon finds himself navigating a world of hidden identities and questionable motives, from an an "MBE" with a penchant for private clamping to suspicious strangers in parked cars.
Join Alfie and his audience of sworn-in deputies as they ask: when does misrepresentation actually become a crime?
Written and presented by Alfie Moore
Additional Material: Will Ing
Production Co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Producer: Carl Cooper
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
SUN 12:57 Weather (m002fjgj)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m002fjgl)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world.
SUN 13:30 Currently (m002fjgn)
The Great British Trade-Off
In the years since Brexit, British businesses have had to constantly adapt to ever changing rules and regulations about trading with the EU. The current government is making moves to make some of that process easier.
To find out more about the consequences of (almost) a decade of Brexit, we catch up with three very different businesses to find out if they've been thriving, surviving, or downsizing.
Presenter: Adam Fleming
Producer Ivana Davidovic
Editor: Max Deveson
Sound editor: Sarah Hockley
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002f8wj)
East Horsley: Potato Beetle, Indoor edibles and Fallow Year
Can I grow fruits or vegetables in a flat with no balcony? Could garlic help stop slugs from eating my Hostas? Why did you become gardeners?
Kathy Clugston is joined by a panel of much-loved gardening experts in the picturesque village of East Horsley, Surrey, to answer listeners’ horticultural dilemmas and offer practical, down-to-earth advice. On the panel this week are botanist and broadcaster James Wong, plant health specialist Pippa Greenwood, and award-winning garden designer Juliet Sargeant.
Later in the programme, Pippa Greenwood explores the growing threat of Colorado beetles to UK biosecurity in conversation with Tracy Wilson, Import Specialist at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
Producer: Matthew Smith
Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
Plant List
Questions and timecodes are below. Where applicable, plant names have been provided.
Q – Can you suggest a suitable hedge that can be kept slim but tall to go between a six-foot fence and a path? (01’31”)
James Wong –
Trachelospermum jasminoides, star jasmine
Juliet Sargeant –
Muehlenbeckia complexa, necklace vine
Osmanthus delavayi, delavay osmanthus
Osmanthus heterophyllus, holly olive
Elaeagnus × ebbingei
Q – How do I encourage my 100-year-old rhododendrons to flower? (05’35”)
Q – Is there a way for me to grow fruits or vegetables in a flat with no balcony? And if yes, what would you recommend with limited space? (08’54”)
Juliet Sargeant –
Hydroponics
James Wong –
Tomato
Chilli
Basil
Thai Basil
Ocimum kilimandscharicum, camphor basil
Ocimum basilicum 'Christmas', basil ‘Christmas’
Curry Leaves
Mint Leaves
Pippa Greenwood –
Chilli
Feature – Pippa Greenwood discusses the threat Colorado Beetles have on our crops with Tracy Wilson (15’02”)
Q – We have raised vegetable beds. I put a layer of mulch on them every autumn. Would it be a good idea to let a bed lie fallow occasionally? (19’49”)
Q – What’s causing my Hydrangea petiolaris to die off? (24’05”)
Q – What could I grow in a large rockery in our garden, that’s also difficult to kill? (28’31”)
Q – Would wild garlic help stop slugs from eating my Hostas? (31’31”)
Q – What possessed you to become the garden experts you are? And as a result. What advice would you give to up-and-coming young gardeners to continue? (36’00”)
SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m001nfzr)
The Mahabharata - Episode 1
Originally composed about 2000 years ago, the Mahabharata is one of the world’s greatest pieces of storytelling, as well as a foundational Hindu text. Woven through its central account of a great dynastic family conflict and bloody war is the story of the gods and their relationship to humankind, as well as spiritual, philosophical and practical instruction about how to live one’s life in the best possible way.
In the first of two episodes about the this epic poem, John looks at how the central story of the conflict between two branches of the great Bharata family gives the work its extraordinary and gripping dramatic impact.
John Yorke has worked in television and radio for nearly 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised on BBC Radio 4. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy John has trained a generation of screenwriters.
Credits:
The Mahabharata, abridged and translated by John D. Smith (Penguin Classics 2009)
Mahabharata, A Modern Retelling by Carole Satyamurti (W.W.Norton & Co. 2015)
Contributors:
Dr Arti Dhand, Department of Religious Studies, University of Toronto
https://www.themahabharatapodcast.com
Jatinder Verma, founder of Tara Arts, theatre director and Director of Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4
Readers:
Nadir Khan: Mumbai-based actor and director, co-producer of Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4
Shernaz Patel, Mumbai-based film, TV and theatre actor, Gita in Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4
Producers: Sara Davies and Tolly Robinson
Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael
Researcher: Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright
Sound Engineer: Sean Kerwin
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 15:00 Mahabharata Now (m002fjgq)
Episode 8: Dance of Death
The Gods, the law, capitalism and politics jostle for power in this bold adaptation of the ancient Indian poem Mahabharata. Dramatised as a gripping family epic set in 21st century Mumbai, this series is powered by the tensions and rivalries of a turbulent business empire.
The battle to control Hasta Enterprises takes a tragic turn as it heads towards its gripping conclusion.
Padma’s single-minded desire for retribution suspends Dhruv between life and death as the mischievous Gopi plays further mind games, forcing Nyra to choose the path that will decide Dhruv’s fate.
Yash signs his half of Hasta Enterprises over to Nyra, believing she is the only one capable of leading the company into a new more enlightened era. His decision creates further division within the family as he shifts focus to a political career as a way to connect with the people of India, though political manoeuvring quickly dents his idealism.
Shaks finally learns the truth about his biological father, creating a conflict of loyalty between Dhruv and Yash and devastating his mother, Gita. Padma discovers a way to let go of her anger by diverting it into philanthropic causes supporting women impacted by assault and domestic violence.
As Dhruv’s control over his family and Hasta continues to slip through his fingers, he makes a last desperate attempt to reconnect with Padma. But the situation soon spirals out of control – will Gopi’s warnings come too late, or just in time?
Episode 8: Dance of Death
Written by Ayeesha Menon, Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle
Dhruv …………….......…..Neil Bhoopalam
Yash ………………...........Tavish Bhattacharyya
Padma ……………...........Ira Dubey
Gita ………………........…..Shernaz Patel
Shaks ………..................Vivek Madan
Nyra……………........……..Abir Abrar
CC Banerjee……………….Harssh Singh
Minister Kalra…………….Suchitra Pillai
GP200.……...................Bhavnisha Parmar
GOPI…………........……….Prerna Chawla
Other roles played by Devika Shahani Punjabi, Abhay Kaul, Omkar Kulkarni, Garima Yajnik, Zeus Paranjape, Bhavnisha Parmar and members of the cast.
Sound Supervisor (Mumbai) …....……... Ayush Ahuja
Sound Engineer (Mumbai) …….....….…. Ashyar Bulsara
Sound Design and Post Production …. Peregrine Andrews
SFX Editor………………………………………… Maiken Hansen
Original Music ………………….........……... Imran Ahmad
Title music vocalist (all Episodes) ……. Murali Menon
Producer .……………………………..........…. Helen Quigley and Andrew Mark Sewell
Producer (Mumbai) ……………..…....……. Nadir Khan
Executive Producer ……………......……... Andrew Mark Sewell
Director ………………………………............ Jatinder Verma
A B7 Media production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 16:00 Bookclub (m002fjgs)
Tom Holland
Presented by James Naughtie, Bookclub speaks to the award-winning writer, historian, and podcaster, Tom Holland, about his book Rubicon, which looks at the triumph and tragedy of the Roman Republic. Originally published in 2003, the book won the PEN Hessell-Tiltman prize for non-fiction, and it unravels the myths and realities of ancient Rome as it charts the final decades of the Republic, placing us back in a pre-Christian era, and setting in context the convulsion that began in January of 49 BC when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river in northern Italy en route to Rome and civil war, all in search of power.
The episode was recorded at the Topping Bookshop in Edinburgh.
Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
SUN 16:30 Round Britain Quiz (m002fjgv)
Programme 9 - The Midlands v The North of England
(9/12)
Teams from all over the UK will face Kirsty Lang's cryptic questions across the series, with Kirsty offering support and the odd hint where it might be needed.
This ninth contest features the second meeting of The North of England and The Midlands.
You can follow the questions in each edition on the Round Britain Quiz webpages. Each week's questions will be posted on the day of transmission.
Teams:
Frankie Fanko and Stephen Maddock
Jenny Ryan and Stuart Maconie
Host: Kirsty Lang
Recorded by: Phil Booth
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
Production Coordinator: Caroline Barlow
Producer: Carl Cooper
Questions set by:
Lucy Porter, Alan Poulton, Paul Bajoria and public contributors.
SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct7466)
The Gratitude Train: France thanks America
In 1949, the Gratitude Train arrived in the United States, made up of 49 wagons filled with thousands of gifts from France.
The convoy was a thank-you to American families who’d sent food and supplies across the Atlantic, via a ‘friendship train’ in the aftermath of World War Two.
It was the idea of a French railworker called Andre Picard. In the same spirit as the friendship train, he asked families across France to make donations.
The response was 52,000 gifts that filled 49 rail wagons or ‘boxcars’, one for each US state, and to be distributed to American families. Some donations were valuable; a carriage used by King Louis XV. Others were handmade; a knitted scarf or a child’s painting.
June Cutchins tells Jane Wilkinson about the treasure her family received from the Florida boxcar.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: Gratitude train boxcar unloaded in New York, 1949. Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images)
SUN 17:10 Starmer's Stormy Year (m002f8t1)
In July 2024, Sir Keir Starmer swept to Downing Street with a landslide majority, returning Labour to power after 14 years in the wilderness.
He promised a mission-led Government, ‘a decade of national renewal’ in which he would return his party and the country to the ‘service of working people’.
But Labour’s political honeymoon was short-lived: within a few months, confidence in the government was faltering amid plunging poll ratings and anger over decisions such as the removal of winter fuel payments to pensioners.
Having reported from Westminster throughout a turbulent year, BBC Chief Political Correspondent Henry Zeffman revisits the most dramatic moments – the arrival in Downing Street, early crises including summer riots, the 'freebies' scandal, a controversial Budget, economic turmoil following Trump’s tariffs, policy twists and u-turns and mould-breaking local elections heralding the rise of Reform UK.
He interviews insiders, senior figures in and around government, some of whom are speaking in detail for the first time, including former cabinet secretary Simon Case.
Why did the government have such a shaky start? Ministers blame the inheritance from the Conservatives but were some of the crises self-inflicted? Are critics right to claim the government was chaotically ill-prepared? Can Labour win back confidence and support from voters? Will the PM's confident performance on the global stage help turn fortunes around?
As we explore, we ask a fundamental question: what is this government for? ‘Change’ was Labour’s core message at the general election. How does Keir Starmer want to change Britain and how far is he succeeding?
Producer: Leela Padmanabhan
Sound design: Hal Haines
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002fjgy)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 17:57 Weather (m002fjh0)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fjh2)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m002fjh4)
Andrew Peach
A selection of highlights from the past week on BBC radio
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m002fjh6)
There’s a shock for Susan, and Lilian offers the benefit of her experience.
SUN 19:15 Illuminated (m002fjh8)
Still Me
Tracey Okines is witty, stylish, sharp, and fiercely independent. She loves seaside strolls, spontaneous shopping trips, pub outings, and her cat, Meow. She’s a writer, a dreamer, a lover of music, and someone who refuses to be boxed in by anyone’s expectations.
At 27, Tracey’s life changed overnight when a misjudged cartwheel caused a massive bleed, leading to a brainstem stroke. She was left with locked-in syndrome, unable to move or speak but fully conscious. Sixteen years on, she communicates using eye-tracking and a letter board, lives independently with 24-hour care, and remains, as ever, totally herself.
In Still Me, producer Jess Gunasekara visits Tracey in Eastbourne, joining her in everyday moments and quiet reflections. Through Tracey’s personal musings, dream diaries, text messages, and actor-read excerpts from her memoir, this intimate portrait reveals a woman living boldly, navigating the world with humour, honesty, and imagination.
A story of agency, adaptation, and the richness of inner life, from someone who’s still here, still vibrant, still herself.
Produced and presented by Jess Gunasekara
Sound design and mix by Meic Parry
Actor: Lizzie Stables
Executive Producer: Olivia Humphreys
With thanks to Tracey Okines and John Okines
An Overcoat Media production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001zvvr)
Eat Slowly
In our bustling modern lives, it can be all too easy to wolf down our meals on the go, and never take the time to enjoy them properly. In this episode, Michael Mosley finds out how simply slowing down the speed at which you eat can help you feel full for longer, snack less, and improve your digestion. Michael speaks to Dr Sarah Berry from the department of nutritional sciences at King's College London, who shares findings showing that eating slower can reduce your blood sugar response to food, as well as reducing your calorie intake. Our volunteer Stewart tries to make eating slowly a habit in an attempt to improve his sleep.
Series Producer: Nija Dalal-Small
Science Producer: Christine Johnston
Researcher: William Hornbrook
Researcher: Sophie Richardson
Production Manager: Maria Simons
Editor: Zoë Heron
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.
SUN 20:00 Feedback (m002f9fx)
Podcast Special and BBC coverage of Glastonbury
The Feedback inbox has been full of comments on the band Bob Vylan's chanting against the Israel Defense Forces at Glastonbury, with some listeners wondering if the BBC gives stories about itself undue prominence.
BBC Sounds Commissioning Editor Rhian Roberts returns to give listeners a wide-lens view of the podcast landscape.
And The Today Podcast recently became yesterday's news, replaced by Radical with Amol Rajan. Andrea speaks to Senior News Editor Sam Bonham about the recent changes and asks if the informal tone of news podcasts is influencing the presentation style on linear programmes.
Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Rebecca Guthrie
Assistant Producer: Liza Greig
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m002f8wn)
Courtney Griffiths KC, Sara Venn, Nina Kuscik, Mohammad Hussain
Matthew Bannister on
Courtney Griffiths, one of the first black lawyers to become a Queen’s Counsel.
Sara Venn, who turned unloved spaces in Bristol into community gardens growing food for low-income families.
Nina Kuscik, the American marathon runner who broke down barriers to women participating in long distance running.
Sergeant Mohammed Hussain, one of the last surviving Muslim veterans of the second world war.
Producer: Catherine Powell
Archive used:
BBC News: Courtenay Griffiths, April 2012; BBC Breakfast News: Courtenay Griffiths, April 2012; Hardtalk, BBC Two, Interviewer Tim Sebastian, 12/10/2002; Hardtalk, BBC Two, Interviewer Stephen Sackur, 19/11/2010; The Organic Gardening Podcast: Sara Venn, YouTube Upload, 24/01/2024; BBC Points West: Sara Venn, 27/04/2016; BBC Points West: Sara Venn, 01/05/2014; Nina Kuscik, Northeast Historic Film; BBC London: Mohammad Hussein, 10/11/2022; Southall to Cassino, BBC Two, 02/09/1989; Festival of Remembrance, BBC, 09/11/2024
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m002fj4p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m002fjg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002fj4k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:30 on Saturday]
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m002fjhb)
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.
SUN 23:00 In Our Time (m002f9f4)
Civility: talking with those who disagree with you
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the idea that Civility, in one of its meanings, is among the most valuable social virtues: the skill to discuss topics that really matter to you, with someone who disagrees and yet somehow still get along. In another of its meanings, when Civility describes the limits of behaviour that is acceptable, the idea can reflect society at its worst: when only those deemed 'civil enough' are allowed their rights, their equality and even their humanity. Between these extremes, Civility is a slippery idea that has fascinated philosophers especially since the Reformation, when competing ideas on how to gain salvation seemed to make it impossible to disagree and remain civil.
With
Teresa Bejan
Professor of Political Theory at Oriel College, University of Oxford
Phil Withington
Professor of History at the University of Sheffield
And
John Gallagher
Associate Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Leeds
Producer: Simon Tillotson
Reading list:
Teresa M. Bejan, Mere Civility: Disagreement and the Limits of Toleration (Harvard University Press, 2017)
Anna Bryson, From Courtesy to Civility: Changing Codes of Conduct in Early Modern England (Oxford University Press, 1998)
Peter Burke, The Fortunes of the Courtier: The European Reception of Castiglione’s Cortegiano (Polity Press, 1995)
Peter Burke, Brian Harrison and Paul Slack (eds.), Civil Histories: Essays Presented to Sir Keith Thomas (Oxford University Press, 2000)
Keith J. Bybee, How Civility Works (Stanford University Press, 2016)
Nandini Das, João Vicente Melo, Haig Z. Smith and Lauren Working, Keywords of Identity, Race, and Human Mobility in Early Modern England (Amsterdam University Press, 2021)
Jurgen Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (Polity, 1992)
Jennifer Richards, Rhetoric and Courtliness in Early Modern Literature (Cambridge University Press, 2003)
Austin Sarat (ed.), Civility, Legality, and Justice in America (Cambridge University Press, 2014)
Keith Thomas, In Pursuit of Civility: Manners and Civilization in Early Modern England (Yale University Press, 2018)
Phil Withington, Society in Early Modern England: The Vernacular Origins of Some Powerful Ideas (Polity, 2010)
Lauren Working, The Making of an Imperial Polity: Civility and America in the Jacobean Metropolis (Cambridge University Press, 2020)
In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production
Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Melvyn Bragg and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world.
SUN 23:45 Short Works (m002f8wl)
One More Song by Sam Thompson
An original short story specially commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from the author Sam Thompson. Read by Richard Clements.
The Author
Sam Thompson is the author of the novels ‘Communion Town’ and ‘Jott’, the children’s novels ‘Wolfstongue’, ‘The Fox’s Tower’ and ‘The Forest Yet to Come’, and the short story collection ‘Whirlwind Romance’. His work has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the Edge Hill Prize and a British Science Fiction Association Award, has been shortlisted for the Encore Prize, has won a Spark School Book Award and a Literacy Association of Ireland Biennial Book Award. His short fiction appeared in Best British Short Stories 2019. He grew up in the south of England and now lives in Belfast, where he convenes the MA in Creative Writing at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University.
Writer: Sam Thompson
Reader: Richard Clements
Producer: Michael Shannon
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.
MONDAY 07 JULY 2025
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m002fjhd)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 00:15 Intrigue (m0022cvh)
Worse than Murder
6. Death Plus
The trial of Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein for Muriel McKay's murder begins in September 1970. Despite the lack of a body, prosecutors build a strong case using forensic evidence. Nizamodeen makes limited admissions, while Arthur spins wild tales.
The brothers are found guilty, but the verdict brings little comfort to the McKay family. For decades, they struggle with unresolved grief and unanswered questions about Muriel's fate.
Then, in 2021, Nizamodeen resurfaces in Trinidad, seemingly ready to reveal the truth. The family, desperate for closure, engages with him. Nizamodeen claims Muriel died of a heart attack and indicates where he buried her. His story divides the family – some believe him, others are sceptical. A police search based on his information gets underway...
Worse Than Murder - A tragic case of mistaken identity that shook Britain and launched a tabloid war.
One winter’s night in 1969, kidnappers targeting Rupert Murdoch’s wife abducted Muriel McKay by mistake. She was never seen again. Jane MacSorley investigates this shocking crime which baffled police and, more than 50 years on, remains unresolved.
Presented by Jane MacSorley with Simon Farquhar
Produced by Nadia Mehdi, with extra production from Paul Russell and Megan Oyinka
Sound design and mixing by Basil Oxtoby
Story editor: Andrew Dickson
Executive producers: Neil Cowling, Michaela Hallam, Jago Lee and Rami Tzabar
Development by Paul Russell
Voice acting by Red Frederick
Original music composed by Richard Atkinson for Mcasso
With special thanks to Simon Farquhar, author of 'A Desperate Business: The Murder of Muriel McKay'
A Fresh Air and Tell Tale production for BBC Radio 4
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m002fj5x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002fjhg)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002fjhj)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
MON 05:00 News Summary (m002fjhl)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002fjhn)
News, views and features on yesterday's stories in Parliament
MON 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002fjhq)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002fjhs)
Prayer for the Day celebrates 55 years on Radio 4 from Bradford, City of Culture.
Jane Williams editor of The Star, a magazine from Bradford Synagogue, reflects on prayer as a meditative act, to celebrate 55 years of Prayer for the Day from Bradford, the City of Culture.
Good morning.
I find that prayer for me, is a meditative act. I come from a tradition that values community prayer. I love the experience of praying with others, in our 145 year old Synagogue here in Bradford. It gives a sense of communion with others; alongside me, and in memory.
Communal prayer in Hebrew, has a reassuring pattern. The words I speak aloud would be familiar to my mother and to my grandmother. Even so, this isn’t how I find it easiest to pray. I prefer to seek out the tranquil countryside around the city, where I can speak quietly to my creator. On the hills, with my feet touching the earth, I can detach from the stresses of life, and speak from my heart. I like to focus on a tree. No sophistication is required, simply sincere words and faith.
Praying silently outdoors is a deeply grounding experience connecting me to the divine. Here, I can talk to my creator, as I can to a good friend. I can be honest, contrite, happy or sad; exuberant, or subdued. In other words, I can be me. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov called this ‘Hitbodedut’. To me, this is the true essence of personal prayer.
Lord, Lead us to those quiet spaces where we can be truly at one with you. Help us to be open and honest in our prayer. Lead us to know you as a friend, and mentor; a sure guide in everything we do.
Amen.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m002fjhv)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
MON 05:57 Weather (m002fjhx)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for farmers
MON 06:00 Today (m002fkzg)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Marianna in Conspiracyland (m002fkzj)
Marianna in Conspiracyland 2
2. Conspiracyland at home
Could the answer lie in the past? The BBC’s social media investigations correspondent, Marianna Spring, continues investigating what happened to Paloma Shemirani. She speaks to Paloma’s brothers to see if the answers could lie in the house they grew up in. Who is Paloma’s mum - prominent British conspiracy theorist influencer Kate Shemirani - and how did her beliefs evolve and impact Paloma and her siblings? Could her mum’s conspiracy theory views have influenced Paloma’s decision to reject chemotherapy?
Host: Marianna Spring
Producer: Anna Harris
Story Editor: Matt Willis
Sound Designer: Tony Churnside
Editor: Sam Bonham
Commissioning producer: Nathan Jones
Commissioning editor: Rhian Roberts
This was a BBC collaboration with Panorama. Watch Cancer Conspiracy Theories on iPlayer now.
MON 09:30 Fool's Gold (p0kz4q8f)
2. The Middleman
In the close-knit detectorist community, secrets don’t stay secret for long. With rare Anglo-Saxon coins in their possession, George and Layton turn to coin dealer Simon Wicks. But as coins start appearing at a Mayfair auction house, whispers of an undeclared hoard begin to spread.
Narrator: Aimee-Ffion Edwards
Contributors: Peter Reavill, Simon Wicks.
Sound Design: Peregrine Andrews
Production Co-ordinator: Dan Marchini
Additional Research: Holly Morgan
Associate Producer: David James Smith
Producer: Aron Keller
Exec Producer: James Robinson
A BBC Studios Audio Production
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002fkzm)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
MON 11:00 State of Terror (m002fkzp)
Shockwaves
State of Terror reveals the true story of how Britain was shaken by the 7/7 bombings twenty years ago, and how counter-terror policy has changed ever since to deal with new threats and shocking new methods adopted by the terrorists.
From Prime Ministers who faced the ultimate test of their leadership, to the man who looked into the eyes of the 7/7 ringleader as he detonated his bomb, and those who work directly with terrorists to de- radicalise them, State of Terror presents the most powerful stories of the fight against terrorism in Britain since 2005.
In this first episode Dominic Casciani tells the story of how the July 2005 attacks led to a transformation of counter-terror policy across Britain. It reveals the risks that were taken with community relations by introducing the most innovative and ambitious attempt in the world to combat terrorism. And it uncovers how the liberty of every citizen was deeply affected by a new attempts to eradicate the threat.
Presenter: Dominic Casciani
Producer: Jonathan Brunert
MON 11:45 The Secret Painter by Joe Tucker (m002fkzs)
Episode One
To Joe Tucker, Eric was just his loving and funny uncle, a beloved yet unconventional figure throughout Joe’s life.
A shambolically dressed man who lived with his mother for almost 80 years in Warrington, he had an almost compulsive need to charm strangers with working men’s club comedy routines, and appeared to exist only for daily trips to the bookie in the high street, and to the local pub. But behind closed doors, he had amassed over 500 of his own remarkable paintings - mostly depicting working-class social life in the industrial North West.
Tucker received no formal art education and left school at 14, working variously as a boxer, a steelworker, a gravedigger and a building labourer.
His family had always known he had painting as a hobby, but it was only right at the end of his life, that they realised the true extent of his creative output.
His work came to public attention following his death in 2018, when the family organised a two-day exhibition in his ex-council house.
His paintings of street scenes and busy pubs and clubs were described by art critic Ruth Millington as having an ‘authenticity and a sophisticated innocence’, their discovery marking ‘a significant contribution to modern British art’.
Episode One
Joe recalls the happy times he spent with his uncle, as a child, in the mid-1980s. We also learn of a strange, chance meeting Eric had with artist L S Lowry.
Read by Paul Ready
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
MON 12:00 News Summary (m002fkzv)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 You and Yours (m002fkzx)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
MON 12:57 Weather (m002fkzz)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m002fl01)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4
MON 13:45 Tony Hawks Is Giving Nothing Away (m002fl03)
Episode 1 - Giving
Tony Hawks is a very lucky man. He has done well in life, thanks to luck, hard work, plus many years of writing, travelling and making people laugh on BBC Radio 4. But he doesn’t fancy a nice car. He’s not into flashy holidays. And he doesn’t want to pass any of the money he’s earned down to his only child.
Tony acknowledges that he’s aspirational. But he aspires to do good, not to accumulate. And that’s the legacy he wants to leave to his son. Not money. Because, in Tony’s opinion, money passed down through inheritance corrupts aspiration, it corrupts ambition, and it has a corrosive effect on personality.
What’s more, he believes inheritance has a harmful effect on society - it perpetuates inequality and makes a mockery of equal opportunity. In short, Tony is dead against it.
If Tony were to leave just money to his young son, would it give his boy a vital leg-up or would it take away his drive and motivation to achieve things on his own terms?
The series follows Tony’s efforts to make a decision about his will, his son and his money. He argues for a radical shift away from the idea of inheritance. But is it even possible in today's world?
Inheritance is a complex issue that sits at the heart of British society. And it’s about to become a whole lot more pressing as we face the biggest transfer of wealth in history. The Baby Boomers are dying out and they will be leaving vast sums of money to the next generations over the coming decades.
In this first episode, Tony speaks to the billionaire John Caudwell about whether he should hand down money to his son and to the academic Eliza Filby, to get a better sense of how the ‘Great Wealth Transfer’ is reshaping family life today.
Presenter: Tony Hawks
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Editor: Kirsten Lass
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
MON 14:00 The Archers (m002fjh6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Ed Reardon's Week (m002fl05)
Series 16
2. A Pigeon in Sainsbury's
Ed rediscovers an old radio play, becomes involved in a battle re-enactment society and faces the very serious decision of finding a name for his new life partner - the offspring of Elgar.
He also bumps into his on/off romantic partner Maggie, in a supermarket, which somehow leads him to become embroiled in a battle re-enactment group. But the most pressing thing for Ed this week is finding an outlet for his long-forgotten radio play ‘A Pigeon in Sainsbury’s’ which would easily (in his opinion) adapt for Radio or TV. Ping is not so convinced, even if it does have Stephen Mangan’s name attached.
Ed Reardon - Christopher Douglas
Eli - Lisa Coleman
Maggie - Pippa Haywood
Ping - Barunka O’Shaughnessy
The Pigeon - Stephen Mangan
Nick - Adrian Scarborough
Michael Berkeley - Himself
Written by Christopher Douglas
Produced by Dawn Ellis
Production Co-Ordinator : Katie Baum
Sound: Jon Calver & Alison McKenzie
MON 14:45 Death of a Naturalist by Seamus Heaney (m001q0nx)
Episode 1
A new reading of the debut poetry collection by the Nobel Prize in Literature recipient Seamus Heaney, specially commissioned by BBC Radio 4 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of his death.
As read by Bríd Brennan, Adrian Dunbar and Stephen Rea.
Music composed and performed by Neil Martin.
Seamus Heaney was a poet, translator, teacher and critic. During a career spanning fifty years, he became one of the most celebrated poets of his generation. While often rooted in the landscape of his homeland, Heaney’s poetry has a universal appeal that was to find a worldwide readership. During his lifetime he was the recipient of many honours, including the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature, and his work has been translated into 27 languages. His legacy lives on, as readers continue to enjoy and engage with his poetry, prose, drama and translations.
Readers: Bríd Brennan, Adrian Dunbar and Stephen Rea.
Author: Seamus Heaney
Music: Neil Martin
Producer: Michael Shannon
Editor: Andy Martin
A BBC Northern Ireland production.
MON 15:00 A Good Read (m002fl07)
James Rebanks and Kiri Pritchard-McLean at the Hay Festival
THE IRON AGE by Arja Kajermo
A SHORT STAY IN HELL by Steven L Peck
STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL by Charlotte Wood
James Rebanks is a farmer from the Lake District as well as author of The Shepherd's Life. His new book The Place of Tides is about his time in Norway learning from an elderly woman who cared for eider ducks on a remote island. His book choice is The Iron Age by Arja Kajermo, a Finnish novel about rural life in the 1950s, told from the perspective of a young girl. James finds it speaks to his northern sensibility as it documents the hard life of an impoverished farming family in post war Finland.
Kiri Pritchard-McLean is a multi-award winning Welsh comedian, satirist and writer. Her choice is A Short Stay In Hell by Steven L Peck about a Mormon condemned to exist in Hell for millennia. Kiri says it's a book bursting with ideas about life and its meaning.
Harriett picks Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood set in a religious retreat outside of Sydney where a woman has come to reassess her life.
There's plenty of lively and good natured disagreement about the books. Listen here and add your thoughts to our Instagram Book Club @agoodreadbbc
Producer: Maggie Ayre
MON 15:30 You're Dead to Me (m002fj4c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Saturday]
MON 16:00 Currently (m002fjgn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:30 on Sunday]
MON 16:30 Rewinder (m002fj4f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
MON 17:00 PM (m002fl09)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fl0c)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m002fl0f)
Series 83
1. I Hear With My Little Ear
Radio 4's multi award-winning ‘antidote to panel games’ promises yet more quality, desk-based entertainment for all the family.
The series begins at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester where Rory Bremner and Gary Delaney are pitched against Tony Hawks and Pippa Evans, with Jack Dee in the role of reluctant chairman.
Regular listeners will know to expect inspired nonsense, pointless revelry and Colin Sell at the piano.
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random production for BBC Radio 4
MON 19:00 The Archers (m002fjns)
Emma’s plan backfires, and Eddie is up to something.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m002fl0j)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m002f9fz)
Why is there a row about disability benefits?
The Government was forced into a humiliating climbdown over its controversial benefits bill this week, and any savings the Treasury had hoped to make were wiped out. The politics of this is a subject on its own, but the underlying problem the government was trying to solve, however, remains. David Aaronovitch asks his guests why the cost of disability benefits has ballooned so unexpectedly, who gets them and why and whether the system works for disabled people.
Guests:
Paul Lewis, Presenter Moneybox, BBC Radio 4
Tom Waters, Associate Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Louise Murphy, Senior Economist, Resolution Foundation
Ruth Patrick, Professor of Social and Public Policy, University of Glasgow
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight and Sally Abrahams
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound engineers: Sarah Hockley and Gareth Jones
Editor: Richard Vadon
MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m002f9g1)
How do you turn facial expressions into music?
A microscopic water flea that could help monitor our waterways for pollution, turning both quantum circuits and facial expressions into music, and how animals use vibrations to sense the world around them.
These are some of the cutting edge research projects being presented at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London.
Victoria Gill is joined by Caroline Steel for a special episode from the exhibition, meeting the researchers showcasing their work and getting hands on with the science on display.
We speak to Daisy Shearer from the National Quantum Computing Centre, PhD student Clelia Altomonte from King's College London, Dr Beth Mortimer from the University of Oxford who leads its Animal Vibration Lab, Dr Katie Reilly from the University of Birmingham, the CEO of the charity Drake Music, Sally Currie, and the designer of the PhotoSYNTH accessible musical instrument, Zenon Olenski.
MON 21:00 How Boarding Schools Shaped Britain (m0027l57)
1. Building men of Empire
Boarding schools have long been synonymous with leadership, privilege and tradition. Woven into the fabric of British society, these institutions have played a significant role in shaping the nation's leaders - from Empire builders to politicians.
In the first of three programmes, Nicky Campbell unravels the complex history of boarding schools, from their humble origins as day schools for the poor to their transformation into elite institutions that have defined power and influence.
But does early separation from family and loved ones come at a cost? And what impact has Britain's most enduring educational tradition had on the rest of British society?
MON 21:45 Untaxing (m0029hd7)
1. The Napkin That Changed the World
Albert Einstein called tax ‘the hardest thing in the world to understand’ - but was he right? Tax expert and campaigner, Dan Neidle delves into the bizarre, brilliant and sometimes disastrous ways tax shapes our lives, our choices and the world around us.
A quick sketch over dinner in 1974 became one of the most influential ideas in economic policy. Art Laffer’s curve promised that tax cuts could pay for themselves - but was it brilliant insight or a costly illusion?
Producer: Tom Pooley
A Tempo+Talker production for BBC Radio 4
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m002fl0l)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
MON 22:45 Private Angelo by Eric Linklater (m002fl0n)
The dono di coraggio
Italy, 1943. Angelo is overjoyed when the armistice is announced. Finally, he can return to his true love in Tuscany. But amidst the destruction of liberation, the cowardly private will find himself fighting not only for the Italian army but also the Germans, and finally the Allies in a witty and compassionate satire on the folly of war.
Read by Carl Prekopp
Written by Eric Linklater
Abridged by Siân Preece
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
Orcadian Eric Linklater was a leading author of the 1930s and 40s, who served with the Black Watch in Italy. His unflinching portrayal of the cruelty of war is leavened by his understanding of the motivations of ordinary people swept into conflict, as well as a sense of optimism and a genuine love of Italy. ‘Private Angelo’ is part of Radio 4’s programming marking 80 years since VE Day.
A BBC Audio Scotland production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 23:00 Whodunnits (m000z78w)
A Deadly Habit
Episode 1
by Jeremy Front
based on the novel by Simon Brett
When Charles gets offered a job in a verbatim theatre piece set in a monastery he isn't very enthusiastic but at least it saves him from having to do anymore D.I.Y for Frances. Before too long disaster strikes the production and Charles once again is on the trail of a murderer.
Charles ..... Bill Nighy
Frances ..... Suzanne Burden
Maurice ..... Jon Glover
Lydia ..... Ria Marshall
Kit ..... Joseph Ayre
Justin ..... Tony Turner
Brendan ..... Jonathan Kydd
Nina ..... Marilyn Nnadebe
Bar manger ..... Stewart Campbell
Directed by Sally Avens
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002fl0q)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
TUESDAY 08 JULY 2025
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m002fl0s)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 00:30 The Secret Painter by Joe Tucker (m002fkzs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002fl0v)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002fl0x)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:00 News Summary (m002fl0z)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002fl11)
News, views and features on yesterday's stories in Parliament
TUE 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002fl13)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002fl15)
Prayer for the Day celebrates 55 years on Radio 4 from Bradford, City of Culture
Haridas Sharan a Hindu Priest and chaplain reflects on prayer as service, to celebrate 55 years of Prayer for the Day from Bradford, the City of Culture.
Good morning.
I grew up in the sacred Hindu pilgrimage town of Vrindavan, in India. At an our ancient family temple, painted in pink and yellow, and filled with the fragrance of garlands, made of roses and jasmine, I used to watch my grandfather, as he led people in prayer. For him, prayer was more than just words, it inspired his attitude of selfless service to others, and I loved helping him to serve my favourite dish, rice pudding, as he used to give the free meals to the visitors and pilgrims.
In the Hindu tradition, prayer is more than a ritual — it is a daily reminder of our higher purpose, and interconnectedness with all beings. When I pray, I invoke not only divine blessings for myself, but also cultivate, values that guide me to live.
Sanatana Dharma, teaches us, that “the whole world is one family.” This powerful ideal, urges us to embrace, unity and diversity. Prayer strengthens this spirit, helping us to see the Divine in every person, and tune ourselves to higher principles: like peace, tolerance, inclusiveness, and love.
Working with the communities in Bradford, I have a unique opportunity and responsibility, to embody these ideals. Let our temples, homes, and hearts be places of welcome. Let our prayers inspire us to listen more, embrace differences, and work together, to solve shared challenges.
Ultimately, prayer is just the beginning — but action is its fruit. As I fold my hands in prayer, let me also extend them in service, with a heart full of love and a mind open to all humanity.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m002fl17)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
TUE 06:00 Today (m002fjn6)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 Artworks (m002fjn8)
Three Transformations of Virginia Woolf
2. Critiquing Society
‘They make life intolerable, men like that.’
A century on from the publication of Mrs Dalloway, Fiona Shaw explores what Virginia Woolf has to say to us today. With Clarissa Dalloway as our guide, we discover how Woolf captured and critiqued a modern world that was transforming around her, treated mental health as a human experience rather than a medical condition, and challenged gender norms in ways that seem light years ahead of even our present day discourse.
In this episode, Fiona Shaw speaks with authors, academics and artists inspired by Virginia Woolf, about how Woolf critiqued systems of power and privilege.
Fiona hears from authors Alison Light, Danell Jones, Michelle de Kretser, Michael Cunningham, and Mark Haddon; Senior Lecture in Modern Literature, Dr Clara Jones; Professor of English, Mark Hussey; and artist Kabe Wilson.
Extracts read by Gwendoline Christie.
Produced by Ellie Richold for BBC Audio
TUE 09:30 Inside Health (m002fj9s)
Series that demystifies health issues, bringing clarity to conflicting advice.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002fjnb)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
TUE 11:00 Screenshot (m002f8x1)
Music Festivals
As music festival season takes hold of the summer, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode look at festival films from Woodstock to Summer of Soul. Can you really capture the spirit of a music festival on screen?
Mark speaks to legendary editor Thelma Schoonmaker about her era-defining, Academy Award-nominated work on the documentary film Woodstock. He then talks to maverick British director Julien Temple about filming Glastonbury - his very personal film about the history of the English music festival.
Ellen talks to music journalist Shaad D’Souza about the relationship between festivals and screen culture in the 21st century, from Bridget Jones to Beyonce at Coachella. And she also speaks to director Jamie Crawford, whose 2022 documentary series Trainwreck: Woodstock 99 showed - in some detail - what can happen when the festival dream gets torn down and trampled underfoot.
Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:45 The Secret Painter by Joe Tucker (m002fjnd)
Episode Two
To Joe Tucker, Eric was just his loving and funny uncle, a beloved yet unconventional figure throughout Joe’s life.
A shambolically dressed man who lived with his mother for almost 80 years in Warrington, he had an almost compulsive need to charm strangers with working men’s club comedy routines, and appeared to exist only for daily trips to the bookie in the high street, and to the local pub. But behind closed doors, he had amassed over 500 of his own remarkable paintings - mostly depicting working-class social life in the industrial North West.
Tucker received no formal art education and left school at 14, working variously as a boxer, a steelworker, a gravedigger and a building labourer.
His family had always known he had painting as a hobby, but it was only right at the end of his life, that they realised the true extent of his creative output.
His work came to public attention following his death in 2018, when the family organised a two-day exhibition in his ex-council house.
His paintings of street scenes and busy pubs and clubs were described by art critic Ruth Millington as having an ‘authenticity and a sophisticated innocence’, their discovery marking ‘a significant contribution to modern British art’.
Episode Two
Eric does his National Service in Germany, and has more than one trip to the ‘glasshouse’. He works as a labourer on the construction of the great steelworks at Llanwern, and then gets a job as a gravedigger.
Read by Paul Ready
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m002fjng)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m002fjnj)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
TUE 12:57 Weather (m002fjnl)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m002fjnn)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4
TUE 13:45 Tony Hawks Is Giving Nothing Away (m002fjnq)
Episode 2: Receiving
Tony Hawks is a very lucky man. He has done well in life, thanks to luck, hard work, plus many years of writing, travelling and making people laugh on BBC Radio 4. But he doesn’t fancy a nice car. He’s not into flashy holidays. And he doesn’t want to pass any of the money he’s earned down to his only child.
Tony acknowledges that he’s aspirational. But he aspires to do good, not to accumulate. And that’s the legacy he wants to leave to his son. Not money. Because, in Tony’s opinion, money passed down through inheritance corrupts aspiration, it corrupts ambition, and it has a corrosive effect on personality.
What’s more, he believes inheritance has a harmful effect on society - it perpetuates inequality and makes a mockery of equal opportunity. In short, Tony is dead against it.
If Tony were to leave just money to his young son, would it give his boy a vital leg-up or would it take away his drive and motivation to achieve things on his own terms?
The series follows Tony’s efforts to make a decision about his will, his son and his money. He argues for a radical shift away from the idea of inheritance. But is it even possible in today's world?
Inheritance is a complex issue that sits at the heart of British society. And it’s about to become a whole lot more pressing as we face the biggest transfer of wealth in history. The Baby Boomers are dying out and they will be leaving vast sums of money to the next generations over the coming decades.
In the second episode of this series, Tony hears from David Clarke who gave away £100,000 he had inherited following the death of his mother, but he also hears how family money can be a golden ticket to financial stability for some. Is he any closer to deciding what he should put in his will?
Presenter: Tony Hawks
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Sound Designer: Jon Calver
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m002fjns)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m0011l0r)
Mosley Must Fall
It's 1936, and as political unrest sweeps across Europe, the spectre of fascism and antisemitism is looming over the East End.
One Irish family, living in Whitechapel, finds itself divided as Oswald Mosley and his fascist followers prepare to march through the heart of East London. When the march descends on Cable Street, an area highly populated by the Jewish and Irish working class, loyalties are tested as two brothers fight to make their mark in a historic battle.
Written by Martin McNamara.
CAST
Liam McEnroe ..... Stephen Hogan
Maureen McEnroe ..... Maggie Cronin
Jim McEnroe ..... Joseph Ayre
Dessie McEnroe ..... Shaun Mason
Bernard Duffy ..... Lloyd Hutchinson
Esther Cohen ..... Grace Cooper Milton
Leon Saltzman ..... Justice Ritchie
Directed by Anne Isger
TUE 15:00 Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley (m002fjnv)
Lady Swindlers with Lucy Worsley - Series 2
49. Elizabeth Manning - Hocusser
Lucy Worsley is back with another episode of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of swindlers, hustlers and women on the make. Women trying to make it in a world made for men.
In this episode, Lucy is delving into the life of Elizabeth Manning, a daring Lady Swindler known as a hocusser, who spikes men’s drinks and empties their pockets in Victorian London. Most men she hocusses are too embarrassed to report the crime - but when will Elizabeth’s luck run out?
With Lucy to explore Elizabeth Manning’s story is the barrister Nneka Akudolu KC who shares her experience of prosecuting spiking cases today.
Lucy is also joined by historian Rosalind Crone, Professor of History at the Open University. Lucy and Ros visit the site of the lodgings where Elizabeth hocussed at least one of her victims, and Brixton Prison, the destination of many women who were trying and failing to make a living in Victorian London.
Lucy wants to know how Elizabeth Manning went about hocussing her victims. How common was this crime in Victorian England? And what can Elizabeth’s story tell us about spiking today?
Producer: Jane Greenwood
Readers: Clare Corbett, Jonathan Keeble and Alex Phelps
Sound design: Chris Maclean
Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:30 Thinking Allowed (m002fjnx)
Learning Disabilities
Laurie Taylor talks to Simon Jarrett, Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, about the social history of people with learning disabilities, from 1700 to the present days. Using evidence from civil and criminal court-rooms, joke books, slang dictionaries, novels, art and caricature, he explores the explosive intermingling of ideas about intelligence and race, while bringing into sharp focus the lives of people often seen as the most marginalised in society. They’re joined by Magdalena Mikulak, a Research Fellow in Health at Lancaster University who has researched the way the term ‘behaviours that challenge others’ which are attributed to 20% of those with learning disabilities, can stigmatise and exclude people from society,
Producer: Jayne Egerton
TUE 16:00 Poetry Please (m002fjnz)
Pippa Haywood
Pippa Haywood is well known for acting in Green Wing and Bodyguard, as well as reading poems for this very programme. Here she chats with Roger and chooses her own favourites from listener requests, by poets such as Wendell Berry, WB Yeats and Holly McNish.
Producer for BBC Audio Bristol: Sally Heaven
TUE 16:30 What's Up Docs? (m002fjp1)
How to build your core strength
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore core issues around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In today’s episode, the Doctors explore core strength. When most people think of a “strong core”, they picture sculpted six-pack abs - but there’s much more beneath the surface. Chris and Xand will unpack the real meaning of core strength - what it is, why it matters, and how it's different from simply having visible abs.
They speak to physiotherapist James Moore to find out why core strength is essential not just for athletic performance, but for everyday stability, posture, injury prevention, and long-term health, and break down what we should be doing to build a truly strong and functional core - no matter your fitness level.
If you want to get in touch, you can email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08000 665 123.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Guest: James Moore
Producer: Jo Rowntree
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
Editor: Kirsten Lass
Assistant Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis
Researcher: Grace Revill
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Social Media: Leon Gower
Digital Lead: Richard Berry
Composer: Phoebe McFarlane
Sound Design: Ruth Rainey
At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 17:00 PM (m002fjp3)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fjp5)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 18:30 Room 101 with Paul Merton (m001y292)
Series 2
Hannah Fry
Paul Merton interviews a variety of guests from the world of comedy and entertainment to find out what they would send to Room 101, as well as the one item they cannot live without.
In this episode, Hannah Fry tries to convince Paul to send complicated toilet flushes and exams to Room 101, and discusses her particular devotion to a daily ritual that she cannot live without.
Additional Material: John Irwin and Suki Webster
Produced by Richard Wilson
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m002fj94)
Clarrie puts her foot down, and Jazzer struggles to maintain boundaries.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m002fjp7)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
TUE 20:00 File on 4 Investigates (m002fj8k)
Car finance
Nine in ten people in the UK who buy a car use finance. The sector is the second largest lender to consumers in the UK after mortgages. But the industry is bracing itself for a Supreme Court judgment which could see lenders forced to pay out tens of billions in compensation for selling deals with 'secret' commissions. File on 4 Investigates hears from industry insiders and those who tried to raise the alarm on a scandal that some believe could rival PPI.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m002fjp9)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted
TUE 21:00 Intrigue (m0028bhr)
Word of God
3. Holy Grail
A biblical scholar's dramatic last-minute announcement at a packed debate hints at a fragment that could rewrite history.
On a winter's night in 2012, an extraordinary claim electrifies a university auditorium in North Carolina - the discovery of what could be the earliest known Christian text, written within decades of Jesus's life.
Through exclusive interviews, investigative journalist Ben Lewis reveals how this announcement connects to a meeting one night in an Oxford professor's chambers, where precious gospel fragments were laid out on a pool table.
He uncovers how the Green family's fervent quest for biblical artefacts intersected with the world of elite academia. Their representatives were desperate to buy the four gospel fragments - including one potentially dating to the first century. But as scholars wait years to find out more, questions mount about that fragment in particular and what exactly is the professor's role.
From the gothic halls of Christ Church Oxford to heated debates in American universities, Lewis follows papyrologist-turned-detective Roberta Mazza as she pieces together clues from social media posts, YouTube videos, and academic papers. What she uncovers raises troubling questions about the relationship between wealthy collectors, prestigious scholars, and the verification of sacred texts.
Presented by Ben Lewis
Produced by Clem Hitchcock
Executive producers: Philip Abrams and Jago Lee
Story editor: Andrew Dickson
Sound design by Richard Courtice
Original music by Max de Wardener
Commissioning editor: Daniel Clarke
Commissioning executive: Tracy Williams
Assistant commissioner podcasts/digital: Chris Walsh-Heron
A TellTale production for BBC Radio 4
Episodes of Intrigue: Word of God are released weekly on Wednesdays, wherever you get your podcasts, but if you’re in the UK, you can listen to the latest episode a week early, first on BBC Sounds.
TUE 21:30 The Bottom Line (m002f9fj)
Care Homes: How Will They Cope Without Migrant Workers?
Care homes are to be barred from recruiting overseas staff, as part of government plans to cut net migration, but will the sector be able to tempt enough British workers to take their place?
Evan Davis asks two providers how they plan to adapt, why it's so hard to recruit and retain local staff, and what the care home sector might look like in the future.
Also, if low pay really is one of the biggest obstacles to new hires, what would a fairer, more attractive level be?
Evan is joined by:
Raina Summerson, group CEO, Agincare;
Haris Khan, CEO, Curaa Group;
William Laing, founder and executive chairman, LaingBuisson
Production team:
Producer: Georgiana Tudor
Series Producer: Simon Tulett
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound: Neil Churchill and Jack Graysmark
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m002fjpc)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
TUE 22:45 Private Angelo by Eric Linklater (m002fjpf)
The Adoration of the Shepherds
Italy, 1943. Angelo is overjoyed when the armistice is announced. Finally, he can return to his true love in Tuscany. But amidst the destruction of liberation, the cowardly private will find himself fighting not only for the Italian army but also the Germans, and finally the Allies in a witty and compassionate satire on the folly of war.
Unaware that the Count is being held by the Germans, Angelo returns to Pontefiore to hide his patron’s artistic treasures and reunite with his love, Lucrezia.
Read by Carl Prekopp
Written by Eric Linklater
Abridged by Siân Preece
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
Orcadian Eric Linklater was a leading author of the 1930s and 40s, who served with the Black Watch in Italy. His unflinching portrayal of the cruelty of war is leavened by his understanding of the motivations of ordinary people swept into conflict, as well as a strong optimism and a genuine love of Italy. ‘Private Angelo’ is part of Radio 4’s programming marking 80 years since VE Day.
A BBC Audio Scotland production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:00 Havana Helmet Club (m002ddb4)
2. Old Habits
US Marine Jim Tracy returns to Havana to raise the American flag he once lowered in 1961. It marks a hopeful new chapter of US-Cuban relations, created through quiet diplomacy and unlikely backchannels involving senators, spies, and even Pope Francis. But just as the mood shifts toward reconciliation, a young CIA officer lands in Havana and soon begins experiencing something strange and deeply troubling. His illness—and the mysterious sound that seems to trigger it—threatens not just his mission, but the entire political thaw.
New episodes will be released weekly, wherever you get your podcasts, but if you are in the UK, you can listen to the latest episodes a week early, first on BBC Sounds.
Credits
Havana Helmet Club is written and presented by Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey
Editor: Guy Crossman
Story editing: Mike Ollove Producer: Larry Ryan
Sound designer: Merijn Royaards
Additional mixing: Peregrine Andrews
Theme music: Tom Pintens, with additional music composed by Merijn Royaards
Fact checking: Stanley Masters. Additional reporting: Isobel Sutton, Pascale Hardey Stewart and Stanley Masters
Archive producers: Miriam Walsh and Helen Carr
Production executive: Kirstin Drybrugh
Editorial advisor: Jesse Baker
Commissioner: Dylan Haskins
Assistant commissioners: Sarah Green and Natasha Johansson
Havana Helmet Club is a Yarn production for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
Our archive was sourced from:
NARA
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002fjpk)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
WEDNESDAY 09 JULY 2025
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m002fjpp)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 00:30 The Secret Painter by Joe Tucker (m002fjnd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002fjpv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002fjpz)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
WED 05:00 News Summary (m002fjq3)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002fjq7)
News, views and features on yesterday's stories in Parliament
WED 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002fjqc)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002fjqh)
Prayer for the Day celebrates 55 years on Radio 4 from Bradford the City of Culture
Furaha Mussanzi, singer and songwriter, reflects on walking in prayer, to celebrate 55 years of Prayer for the Day from Bradford, the City of Culture.
Good morning.
Once a week I challenge myself to go on a prayer walk around my neighbourhood. I try to rise early before the rush hour traffic, when the air is crisp, and the bird songs are clear, and I go in the direction that my spirit leads. I place my phone in my pocket, because I insist on counting every step, and take a deep breath, as I count my blessings and focus on being in the moment.
I begin, by thanking God for my body, for being healthy enough to move, for my heartbeat, and the gift of life and a new day. I notice every person I come across, bin men, parents, teachers and shop assistants, and make an effort to show eye contact and greet them, reminding myself that they too are precious, seen and loved by God. I don’t know where they are coming from, or where they are going, or have any insight about the trials and triumphs of their lives, but just for an instant, I hold them on my heart, and I keep walking.
Often, I walk past a number of care homes and take a moment to pray for our health care system, and thank God for all those who work tirelessly to care for those who are ill, elderly or vulnerable. When I walk up a steep hill, I pray that God gives me the strength, courage and wisdom, to represent him wherever I go, and to extend his love and grace to everyone I encounter.
So today, I pray that God opens my eyes, not just on my walk, but always, to notice someone, or something to pray for.
Amen.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m002fjqm)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
WED 06:00 Today (m002fj8c)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 More or Less (m002fj8f)
Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news and everyday life.
WED 09:30 Shadow World (m002f9bn)
The Grave Robbers
1. My Dear Friend
Two sisters, set to receive a surprise life-changing inheritance, have it snatched away by a stranger. As Sue Mitchell investigates, she reveals how fake wills are being used to strip the estates of the dead and deny rightful heirs what is rightfully theirs.
This new narrative podcast from multi award winning investigative reporter Sue Mitchell (Intrigue: To Catch a Scorpion, Million Dollar Lover) reveals a crime that’s gone unreported until now and a system that is struggling to stop it.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002fj8h)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
WED 11:00 File on 4 Investigates (m002fj8k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Tuesday]
WED 11:40 This Week in History (m002fj8m)
July 7th - July 13th
Fascinating, surprising and eye-opening stories from the past, brought to life.
BBC Radio 4 explores the history books and archives to see what has happened on this same week throughout history.
With short vignettes of the events that have shaped the world and made us who we are today.
This week: July 7th - July 13th
- 8th of July 1099 - In the first Crusade, Christians take part in the Siege of Jerusalem
- 8th of July 1777 - the independent state of Vermont prohibits slavery, becoming first former British colony to do so.
- 7th of July 1965 - Science programme Tomorrow's World debuts on BBC One
Presented by Caroline Nicholls and Ron Brown
Produced by Clara Nissen and Chris Pearson
WED 11:45 The Secret Painter by Joe Tucker (m002fj8p)
Episode Three
To Joe Tucker, Eric was just his loving and funny uncle, a beloved yet unconventional figure throughout Joe’s life.
A shambolically dressed man who lived with his mother for almost 80 years in Warrington, he had an almost compulsive need to charm strangers with working men’s club comedy routines, and appeared to exist only for daily trips to the bookie in the high street, and to the local pub. But behind closed doors, he had amassed over 500 of his own remarkable paintings - mostly depicting working-class social life in the industrial North West.
Tucker received no formal art education and left school at 14, working variously as a boxer, a steelworker, a gravedigger and a building labourer.
His family had always known he had painting as a hobby, but it was only right at the end of his life, that they realised the true extent of his creative output.
His work came to public attention following his death in 2018, when the family organised a two-day exhibition in his ex-council house.
His paintings of street scenes and busy pubs and clubs were described by art critic Ruth Millington as having an ‘authenticity and a sophisticated innocence’, their discovery marking ‘a significant contribution to modern British art’.
Episode Three
Joe remembers his uncle venting strong opinions about the work of David Hockney; and his admiration for the industrial landscape paintings of Edward Burra.
Read by Paul Ready
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
WED 12:00 News Summary (m002fj8s)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 You and Yours (m002fj8v)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
WED 12:57 Weather (m002fj8x)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m002fj8z)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4
WED 13:45 Tony Hawks Is Giving Nothing Away (m002fj91)
Episode 3: Inheritance Disputes
Tony Hawks is a very lucky man. He has done well in life, thanks to luck, hard work, plus many years of writing, travelling and making people laugh on BBC Radio 4. But he doesn’t fancy a nice car. He’s not into flashy holidays. And he doesn’t want to pass any of the money he’s earned down to his only child.
Tony acknowledges that he’s aspirational. But he aspires to do good, not to accumulate. And that’s the legacy he wants to leave to his son. Not money. Because, in Tony’s opinion, money passed down through inheritance corrupts aspiration, it corrupts ambition, and it has a corrosive effect on personality.
What’s more, he believes inheritance has a harmful effect on society - it perpetuates inequality and makes a mockery of equal opportunity. In short, Tony is dead against it.
If Tony were to leave just money to his young son, would it give his boy a vital leg-up or would it take away his drive and motivation to achieve things on his own terms?
The series follows Tony’s efforts to make a decision about his will, his son and his money. He argues for a radical shift away from the idea of inheritance. But is it even possible in today's world?
Inheritance is a complex issue that sits at the heart of British society. And it’s about to become a whole lot more pressing as we face the biggest transfer of wealth in history. The Baby Boomers are dying out and they will be leaving vast sums of money to the next generations over the coming decades.
One big change in the inheritance landscape is the rise in disputes over recent years, as more and more people fight to get a slice of the inheritance pie. Barrister Barbara Rich tells Tony about her work mediating these kinds of conflicts. Solicitor James Aspden talks Tony through the complex case of a daughter who was written out of her late mother’s will in favour of animal charities. And as Tony struggles to make his own decision, he talks to his financial advisor and - finally - has a breakthrough.
Might Tony’s son fight him in the courts for an inheritance? Could Tony’s will be challenged? Will Tony’s little dog Coco get left anything? Who knows? Where there’s a will, there’s often a wrangle…
Presenter: Tony Hawks
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Sound Designer: Jon Calver
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
WED 14:00 The Archers (m002fj94)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Fault Lines: Money, Sex and Blood (m000nf37)
Series 2: Sex
Last Chance
A chance encounter for Constance with Ed in a garden centre leads to a most unexpected and delightful afternoon. Ed challenges the idea that elderly people can't possibly be thinking about sex.
Constance . . . . . Glenda Jackson
Ed . . . . . Rudolph Walker
Written by by Roy Williams
Directed by Pauline Harris
WED 15:00 Money Box (m002fj96)
The latest news from the world of personal finance
WED 15:30 Different Voices (m002fj98)
What’s it like to wake up with a brand new voice?
For those with foreign accent syndrome, this is their reality. Patients who develop this rare speech disorder start speaking in a brand new accent that they often have no connection to.
So how does losing the voice you’ve known your entire life shape, or break, your identity?
Presenter Ella Hubber speaks to Althia Bryden, who developed foreign accent syndrome last year, and Sarah Colwill, who has lived with the condition for the past 15 years. They share the deep impact it has had on their identity and connection to those around them.
And to understand what is happening in the brain to cause this complete change in accent, and whether it’s really even an accent at all, Ella speaks to professor Nicholas Miller, who has been unpicking the mystery of foreign accent syndrome for decades. And professor Stefanie Keulen shares that there are actually multiple types of the condition.
Even though foreign accent syndrome is rare, it is found around the world, can affect anyone, and highlights just how deeply our voices influence all aspects of our lives.
Presenter: Ella Hubber
Producers: Sophie Ormiston, Ella Hubber
Assistant producer: Minnie Harrop
Editor: Martin Smith
WED 16:00 When It Hits the Fan (m002fj9b)
Who's in the news for all the wrong reasons? With David Yelland and Simon Lewis.
WED 16:15 The Media Show (m002fj9d)
Social media, anti-social media, breaking news, faking news: this is the programme about a revolution in media.
WED 17:00 PM (m002fj9g)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fj9j)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 18:30 Your Mum (m002fbdy)
3. Helen Bauer and Thanyia Moore
Helen tells us about her mum’s spiritual connection to the Titanic, how Hitler inspired her childhood nickname and why her brother’s criminal arrests left her mum beaming with pride. Thanyia explains why her mum is on first-name terms with local gangsters, the deep symbolism of having a manicure and why making Jamaica proud was such an important part of her childhood.
In this series, Laura Smyth sits down with some incredible guests to find out about their mums and explore the many faces of ‘motherhood’. Join her for a nostalgic, shameless, cathartic ride that asks what (if anything) our folks have taught us.
Producer: Sasha Bobak
Production Coordinator: Katie Baum
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4.
WED 19:00 The Archers (m002fj9l)
There’s relief for Jolene, and Fallon takes a walk down memory lane.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m002fj9n)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m002fj9q)
Live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories.
WED 21:00 Walt Disney: A Life in Films (m001ngn2)
2. Pinocchio
Through the stories of ten of his greatest works, Mel Giedroyc examines the life of Walt Disney, a much mythologised genius. A man to whom storytelling was an escape from an oppressive father and a respite from periods of depression.
His name is truly iconic, but how much do we really know about this titan of the entertainment industry? Who was the real Walt and why did a man who moulded Western pop culture in his image end up on his deathbed, afraid that he’d be forgotten?
In her second episode, Mel immerses herself in the story of Pinocchio. We might think of it as a sweet and innocent tale, but Disney's film is based on a dark fable by author Carlo Collodi and is a lot less sugary than you might remember.
The film was a box office flop, ramping up Walt’s financial woes, but would later go on to be recognised as a classic. Pinocchio was a project that saw immense creative ambition butt up against huge financial pressures. Mel reveals the challenges the animators had in nailing the movements of the titular puppet and the struggles to draw Pinocchio’s sidekick Jiminy Cricket in ways that didn’t leave him looking like a grotesque monster.
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
WED 21:30 Inside Health (m002fj9s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m002fj9v)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
WED 22:45 Private Angelo by Eric Linklater (m002fj9x)
Liberation is a slow process
Italy, 1943. Angelo is overjoyed when the armistice is announced. Finally, he can return to his true love in Tuscany. But amidst the destruction of liberation, the cowardly private will find himself fighting not only for the Italian army but also the Germans, and finally the Allies in a witty and compassionate satire on the folly of war.
With the Count saved from the clutches of the avaricious Germans, Angelo remembers his promise to two fellow reluctant soldiers.
Read by Carl Prekopp
Written by Eric Linklater
Abridged by Siân Preece
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
Orcadian Eric Linklater was a leading author of the 1930s and 40s, who served with the Black Watch in Italy. His unflinching portrayal of the cruelty of war is leavened by his understanding of the motivations of ordinary people swept into conflict, as well as a strong optimism and a genuine love of Italy. ‘Private Angelo’ is part of Radio 4’s programming marking 80 years since VE Day.
A BBC Audio Scotland production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:00 The Lively Life of Lindsey Santoro (m002fjb0)
Series 1
1. Winch Me up Like a Bag of Flour
Today Lindsey is dragged to a rock climbing centre by her athletic friend Jenny which results in a life changing discovery about her over-zealous anatomy. She helps her mum rescue a missing rat and, with the help of Elton John, hosts an intimate funeral.
Welcome to the life of the most beautiful princess in all of Birmingham and its surrounding areas. This week Lindsey Santoro has started a diary. But she’s not 13 years old daydreaming about her latest crush and sleepover plans. She’s a 37-year-old no-nonsense Brummy whose days are more likely to involve thrush cream and a bargy with a bus driver. You are cordially invited to step into her world and learn lessons from her lively life.
Producer: Sasha Bobak
Production Coordinator: Katie Baum
Script Editor: Ruth Husko
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4.
WED 23:15 Where to, Mate? (m001jkyk)
Series 2
'...I don't want to go...'
Series 2 episode 1 - "...I don't want to go..."
From filmmaker Jason Wingard and set and recorded on location in a car in Manchester, 'Where To, Mate?' is a semi-improvised comedy following our drivers Bernie, Ben and Saj as we eavesdrop on their taxi journeys around the North West.
Bernie picks up a couple on their way to the airport. Ben picks up a guy who doesn't want to go to a job interview.
Featuring local voices and character actors/comedians from the North.
Dialogue is improvised by the cast based on ideas by Jason Wingard and Carl Cooper.
Ben ..... Peter Slater
Bernie ..... Jo Enright
Jo ..... Nina Gilligan
Joe ..... Andy Salthouse
Nige ..... Keith Carter
Saj ..... Abdullah Afzal
Controller ..... Jason Wingard
Controller ..... Abdullah Afzal
Additional voices and material by the cast and crew.
Director: Jason Wingard
Producer: Carl Cooper
A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002fjb4)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
THURSDAY 10 JULY 2025
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m002fjb6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 00:30 The Secret Painter by Joe Tucker (m002fj8p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002fjb8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002fjbb)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
THU 05:00 News Summary (m002fjbd)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002fjbg)
News, views and features on yesterday's stories in Parliament
THU 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002fjbj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002fjbl)
Prayer for the Day celebrates 55 years on Radio 4 from Bradford the City of Culture
Simmy Sekhon, solicitor and spokesperson of the Yorkshire Sikh Forum, reflects on integrity in business, to celebrate 55 years of Prayer for the Day from Bradford, the City of Culture.
Good Morning.
In the Sikh faith, there is a guiding principle: Naam Japna, Kirat Karni, Vand Chakna, which means – remember God, earn an honest living, and share with others. These words have stayed with me, from the fields of Punjab to the boardrooms of Yorkshire.
A solicitor, property entrepreneur, and developer, overseeing 51 companies, can seem worlds apart from quiet humility of Sikh spirituality. But for me, they are connected. Sikhism teaches us that business isn’t just about profit – it’s about purpose, service, and justice.
It’s important to me to share my moment of prayer with my dear friend Cami Sowdi, who calls me every morning, from the rolling mountains of Catalonia, this start of the day, with prayer, and positive focus, grounds me before a busy and hectic day.
Every deal I make, every decision I weigh, I carry with me the wisdom of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who taught, that wealth must not come at the cost of dignity of others. Staying grounded in these values is my daily prayer – especially in a fast-paced world that often rewards speed over integrity.
There’s strength in staying rooted. I live and work in England, my heart beats with the rhythm of Punjab – its language, its music, and its spirit. And in that balance, between two worlds, I find peace.
Today, I pray, for all who lead in business, in community, in family. May we lead with compassion and love. May we build equity with integrity, may we remember that our actions echo beyond balance sheets, and that success without soul is empty.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m002fjbn)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
THU 06:00 Today (m002flhj)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 Artworks (m002flhl)
New York 1925
1. Winter
In 1925 New York became the biggest, most populous city in the world, overtaking London, and was the launchpad for an extraordinary range of writing, music, culture and politics which still resonate 100 years later - from the publication of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and the launch of The New Yorker, to the rise of the Harlem Renaissance and the first success for the composer Richard Rodgers.
This is the story of that momentous year, season by season, told over four episodes, with contributors including novelist Jay McInerney, the academic Margo Jefferson and the editor of the New Yorker David Remnick. The series is presented by the saxophonist and broadcaster Soweto Kinch, with an original sound track played by the composer and clarinettist Giacomo Smith and his band.
Episode 1: Winter
At the start of the year a new kind of celebrity politician, Senator Jimmy Walker, had set his sights on becoming mayor of New York. He was a fast-drinking, fast-talking dandy. We follow his fortunes throughout the series, culminating in the election in November.
In February 1925 the New Yorker magazine was launched, and in March a special edition of the sociological magazine, Survey Graphic, was devoted entirely to Harlem. Whilst the New Yorker flopped, the special Survey Graphic was a runaway success.
In the winter months we also find out how F Scott Fitzgerald was preparing for the publication of The Great Gatsby in April, and how aspiring composer Richard Rodgers was struggling to create a hit song.
Presenter Soweto Kinch
Producer Katy Hickman
Band: Giacomo Smith clarinet; Laura Judd trumpet; Daniel Higham trombone; Alexander Boulton banjo; Joe Webb piano; Corrie Dick drums; Soweto Kinch saxophone
THU 09:30 Politically (m002flhp)
Reflections: Series 3
John Kerry
James Naughtie talks to former US senator and secretary of state John Kerry to reflect on his life and political career.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002flhs)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
THU 11:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m002flhv)
Series 33
201st Birthday Bonanza - Mel Giedroyc, Deborah Meaden and Nish Kumar
Get ready for a landmark episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage as we celebrate our 201st show! Brian Cox and Robin Ince invite a lively panel of celebrity guests to pose their burning scientific questions to a top-tier team of scientists.
Mel Giedroyc is tunnelling into the world of engineering, asking how we build and operate trains under some of the world’s busiest cities? Mel has found a new best friend in, Isabel Coman, Director of Engineering at Transport for London, who is here to guide her through the particulars of subterranean transport systems.
Deborah Meaden, entrepreneur and investor, is delving into the emotional lives of animals - do our furry, feathered, and scaly companions have feelings like grief in the way we do? Helping her to sniff out the science of animal emotions is Dr Liz Paul, a comparative psychologist from the University of Bristol.
Comedian Nish Kumar wants to know - are we totally screwed when it comes to climate change, or is there still hope? Helping him unpack tipping points, rising temperatures, and how we might turn the tide is climate scientist Ed Hawkins from the University of Reading.
Series Producer: Melanie Brown
Assistant Producer: Olivia Jani
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
BBC Studios Audio Production
THU 11:45 The Secret Painter by Joe Tucker (m002flhy)
Episode Four
To Joe Tucker, Eric was just his loving and funny uncle, a beloved yet unconventional figure throughout Joe’s life.
A shambolically dressed man who lived with his mother for almost 80 years in Warrington, he had an almost compulsive need to charm strangers with working men’s club comedy routines, and appeared to exist only for daily trips to the bookie in the high street, and to the local pub. But behind closed doors, he had amassed over 500 of his own remarkable paintings - mostly depicting working-class social life in the industrial North West.
Tucker received no formal art education and left school at 14, working variously as a boxer, a steelworker, a gravedigger and a building labourer.
His family had always known he had painting as a hobby, but it was only right at the end of his life, that they realised the true extent of his creative output.
His work came to public attention following his death in 2018, when the family organised a two-day exhibition in his ex-council house.
His paintings of street scenes and busy pubs and clubs were described by art critic Ruth Millington as having an ‘authenticity and a sophisticated innocence’, their discovery marking ‘a significant contribution to modern British art’.
Episode Four
Eric’s family are astonished at the scale of his artistic output. After his death, a total of 540 paintings, and thousands of sketches and drawings, are found in his ex-council house.
Read by Paul Ready
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
THU 12:00 News Summary (m002flj0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 The Bottom Line (m002flj2)
Evan Davis hosts the business conversation show with people at the top giving insight into what matters.
THU 12:32 Sliced Bread (m002flj4)
Greg Foot investigates the so-called wonder products making bold claims.
THU 12:57 Weather (m002flj6)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m002flj8)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4
THU 13:45 Tony Hawks Is Giving Nothing Away (m002fljb)
Episode 4: Money Mindsets
Tony Hawks is a very lucky man. He has done well in life, thanks to luck, hard work, plus many years of writing, travelling and making people laugh on BBC Radio 4. But he doesn’t fancy a nice car. He’s not into flashy holidays. And he doesn’t want to pass any of the money he’s earned down to his only child.
Tony acknowledges that he’s aspirational. But he aspires to do good, not to accumulate. And that’s the legacy he wants to leave to his son. Not money. Because, in Tony’s opinion, money passed down through inheritance corrupts aspiration, it corrupts ambition, and it has a corrosive effect on personality.
What’s more, he believes inheritance has a harmful effect on society - it perpetuates inequality and makes a mockery of equal opportunity. In short, Tony is dead against it.
If Tony were to leave just money to his young son, would it give his boy a vital leg-up or would it take away his drive and motivation to achieve things on his own terms?
The series follows Tony’s efforts to make a decision about his will, his son and his money. He argues for a radical shift away from the idea of inheritance. But is it even possible in today's world?
Inheritance is a complex issue that sits at the heart of British society. And it’s about to become a whole lot more pressing as we face the biggest transfer of wealth in history. The Baby Boomers are dying out and they will be leaving vast sums of money to the next generations over the coming decades.
The idea of passing something on to our children is deeply ingrained in our culture. Where did those attitudes come from? And how hard are they to change?
Tony’s father left no money to him and so it doesn't feel unnatural to cut - or limit - his own son’s inheritance. In this episode, he speaks to comedian Russell Kane and money mentor Selina Flavius, and hears how our attitudes to money and inheritance are often passed down from previous generations. But can Tony come up with a new solution to the problem of what to leave behind, rather than sticking with old assumptions?
Presenter: Tony Hawks
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Sound Designer: Jon Calver
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
THU 14:00 The Archers (m002fj9l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama on 4 (m0016814)
Smoking Guns
Climate scientist Dr Ben Santer proved global warming was due to CO2 back in 1995. The true story of how he was vilified to prevent the world reducing emissions, starring Shaun Evans
Ben Santer is American, but was educated in a British Army school on the Rhine and his ground breaking work "fingerprinting" global warming began at University of East Anglia in the mid 80s, (with US funding). He then worked with 2021 Nobel Prize Winner Klaus Hasselmann at the Max Planck Institute in Hamburg, before moving back to the States. A mountaineer and Anglophile, he became a pawn in a bigger game of climate change denial.
Based on original documentation and testimony, and featuring Dr Santer as himself.
Ben had to fight to try to salvage his reputation as the misinformation spread even among his peers. A quiet and measured scientist, an expert in the computer code of climate models, he became the subject of major articles in The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times and TV and radio across America. Ben says now, “You spend years defending the 'discernible human influence' conclusion. You encounter valid scientific criticism. You also encounter non-scientific criticism from powerful forces of unreason.”
Ben Santer was the Convening Lead Author of Chapter 8 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1996. In its conclusion he wrote, “The balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate.” That one sentence changed his life. He became the hate figure of the energy industry and they came after him through their attack dogs of lobbyists, politicians and the media.
When the report was published, powerful forces led by Cold War hawks Fred Singer and Fred Seitz, set out to discredit Santer. His attackers were backed by the oil and gas industry and had contacts right at the top of government. The impact of their campaign changed the debate not just in America but across the world.
Singer and Seitz used the same tactics they had pioneered in other science based issues that threatened the industrial status quo. They had fought against bans on smoking in public places, and against stopping ozone depleting CFC emissions.
Before the attacks on Santer and the IPCC report, President Clinton’s State Department were briefing that climate change was man made and had been minded to put significant resources into a low carbon future. Seitz and Singer helped stop that, and decades were lost in the fight to stop climate change.
Writer/ Producer, David Morley is a Sony Gold winner and recent Aria award winner, who The Stage described as "unrivalled in turning true events into radio dramas".
As a writer, he specialises in contemporary stories, often based on primary research. These include the Civil Rights struggle in the Deep South of the USA, the shooting down of flight MH17, the creation of Tony Blair’s Iraq WMD Dossier, and how Boris Johnson and Michael Gove fell out after winning the 2016 Referendum.
The Independent on Sunday described him as "a perceptive journalist and a fine writer" in their review of his book "Gorgeous George: The life and adventures of George Galloway".
Cast
Dr Tom Wigley: Nicholas Boulton
Sir John Houghton: Philip Franks
Donald Pearlman: William Hope
Jennifer Santer: Laurel Lefkow
Young Ben Santer: James Morley
Al-Saban: Nayef Rashad
Ned Crabbe and the German Delegate: Wilf Scolding
Fred Singer: Kerry Shale
The Kenyan Delegate: Nathaniel Christian
Writer and Director: David Morley
Sound Design: Tom Maggs
Original Music: Chris O'Shaughnessy
A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4
THU 15:00 This Natural Life (m002fljd)
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church rose to global fame at just eleven years old, renowned for the extraordinary purity of her singing voice. From growing up in what she describes as a working-class household in Cardiff, her career took her to the world’s grandest stages, performing for audiences which included the Pope and the U.S. President, and releasing best-selling albums. But that early fame also came with its own set of challenges, some of which, she explains, she is still "not quite grateful for, yet... but what teaching!"
Today, Charlotte’s preferred concert hall is something entirely different: the vast and spectacular landscape of the Cambrian Mountains in mid-Wales. Here, she has established a rural retreat. Tucked away in the Nant Caethon Valley and framed by two waterfalls, it’s a place of healing – for herself and for those she welcomes.
Charlotte serves as a guide to Martha Kearney, sharing why this place holds such deep meaning for her. She speaks about her efforts to restore and protect the Celtic rainforest she now calls herself a guardian of. Together, they reflect on Charlotte’s journey – from a child star with little connection to nature, to someone now deeply immersed in the natural world.
Producer: Eliza Lomas
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m002fjg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Feedback (m002fljg)
The programme that holds the BBC to account on behalf of the radio audience
THU 16:00 The Briefing Room (m002fljj)
Combining original insights into major news stories with topical investigations.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m002fljl)
A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.
THU 17:00 PM (m002fljn)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fljq)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 18:30 Ashley Blaker's Hyperfixations (m002fljs)
2. Professional Wrestling
"Americans have a long history of taking British things and ballsing them up. They took football and added helmets and cheerleaders; they took ice lollies and called them popsicles; and they took James Corden and then sent him back here."
Among Ashley’s more unusual hyperfixations is a life-long love of professional wrestling. This special interest was first developed on Saturday afternoons at his grandparents’ house watching Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks and Kendo Nagasaki. It continued through the 1980s when Britain was invaded by Hulk Hogan and his colleagues from the then WWF (before they lost a court case to the World Wildlife Fund), and Ashley was fortunate enough to be in attendance at the legendary Summerslam show at Wembley Stadium in 1992, which so many British wrestlers have cited as the day that cemented their love of the grunt and grapple business. This undeniably extraordinary spectacle is sometimes called ‘sports entertainment’ - for many people it is neither!
When Ashley Blaker was diagnosed with autism and ADHD, one of the most significant aspects of his diagnosis is his propensity for hyperfixation in special interests, which he now realises has entirely shaped his past and which he uses to mine comedy for this new series.
It’s no exaggeration to say Ashley’s life has been driven by obsessions. He has variously been a schoolboy with a love of Star Wars and Doctor Who, a wannabe comedian who performed on the London comedy circuit at 16, a trivia nerd who appeared on University Challenge, a history PhD candidate at Cambridge, a BBC producer of hit comedy shows including Little Britain, a fanatical football fan who saw Liverpool play across England and Europe, a strictly Orthodox Jew who went to synagogue three times a day for over ten years, a father of six, and latterly, a heavily tattooed renegade in hiding from his former community.
In this series, Ashley takes a comedic look at each of his obsessions in turn, merging personal memoir with a delve into subjects which have yet to be covered in stand-up comedy shows. The result is a series which, while based on the broader topic of neurodiversity, covers it with the lightest of touches and is focused more on Ashley’s individual hyperfixations, lifting the lid on many of the different worlds he’s inhabited.
Written and performed by Ashley Blaker
co-starring Rosie Holt and Kieran Hodgson
Script Editor: Steve Hall
Recording engineers: Jerry Peal and Jon Calver
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4
THU 19:00 The Archers (m002fljv)
Eddie forms an unexpected bond, and Will fears the worst.
THU 19:15 Front Row (m002fljx)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
THU 20:00 When It Hits the Fan (m002fj9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Wednesday]
THU 20:15 The Media Show (m002fj9d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:15 on Wednesday]
THU 21:00 Loose Ends (m002fj5b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
THU 21:45 Sideways (m00254cn)
Appetite for Distraction
1. Postman’s Prophecy?
Matthew Syed asks what it means to be distracted in a media world vying for our attention.
In this first episode, he seeks answers in the work of the media theorist and educator Neil Postman. Forty years ago Postman wrote 'Amusing Ourselves To Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business'. Postman feared that the rise of television had created a world where the image became more important than information, and that democracy was in danger to becoming entertainment.
Postman cited the author Aldous Huxley as a key influence. Huxley's novel 'Brave New World' depicts a World State where citizens are engineered to focus on pleasure rather than the challenges of life and society. Huxley feared that tyranny may appear not through censorship, but due to "man's almost infinite appetite for distractions."
Matthew speaks to Andrew Postman, Neil Postman's son, and Aldous Huxley's biographer Uwe Rasch, to ask what the ideas of the two writers might mean for us today, in a world where media and entertainment are at our fingertips 24/7. Has the prophecy of either Postman or Huxley come to pass?
Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Sam Peach
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m002fljz)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
THU 22:45 Private Angelo by Eric Linklater (m002flk1)
Dicky This or Nigel That
Italy, 1943. Angelo is overjoyed when the armistice is announced. Finally, he can return to his true love in Tuscany. But amidst the destruction of liberation, the cowardly private will find himself fighting not only for the Italian army but also the Germans, and finally the Allies in a witty and compassionate satire on the folly of war.
Angelo's impulsive rescue of an English officer unlocks a new opportunity for the reluctant soldier.
Read by Carl Prekopp
Written by Eric Linklater
Abridged by Siân Preece
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
Orcadian Eric Linklater was a leading author of the 1930s and 40s, who served with the Black Watch in Italy. His unflinching portrayal of the cruelty of war is leavened by his understanding of the motivations of ordinary people swept into conflict, as well as a strong optimism and a genuine love of Italy. ‘Private Angelo’ is part of Radio 4’s programming marking 80 years since VE Day.
A BBC Audio Scotland production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:00 Radical with Amol Rajan (m002flk3)
Conversations about tomorrow, from Today.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002flk5)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
FRIDAY 11 JULY 2025
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m002flk7)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 00:30 The Secret Painter by Joe Tucker (m002flhy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002flk9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002flkc)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:00 News Summary (m002flkf)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002flkh)
News, views and features on yesterday's stories in Parliament
FRI 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002flkk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002flkm)
Prayer for the Day celebrates 55 years on Radio 4 from Bradford the City of Culture
Saarah Hamayun is a Spiritual Care Practitioner at a Hospice reflects on hidden blessings and hope, to celebrate 55 years of Prayer for the Day from Bradford, the City of Culture.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m002flkp)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
FRI 06:00 Today (m002fllh)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m002fjgd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Sunday]
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002fllk)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
FRI 11:00 The Food Programme (m002fllm)
What's Really in Our Food?
Dan Saladino takes a look at the latest science that's revealing the hidden complexity of the food we eat.
In one of the projects Dan visits, called the Periodic Table of Food Initiative, thousands of previously unknown chemical compounds are being identified in fruits and vegetables, many of which could have health benefits.
The research is also making it possible to see how one cultivar, whether it's a variety of apple or a grain of wheat, compares against another. The Initiative is also exploring the impact different farming systems have on the quality of our food. Will delving deeper into the 'dark matter' of food make it possible to produce food that's better for both us and the planet?
Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
FRI 11:45 The Secret Painter by Joe Tucker (m002fllp)
Episode Five
To Joe Tucker, Eric was just his loving and funny uncle, a beloved yet unconventional figure throughout Joe’s life.
A shambolically dressed man who lived with his mother for almost 80 years in Warrington, he had an almost compulsive need to charm strangers with working men’s club comedy routines, and appeared to exist only for daily trips to the bookie in the high street, and to the local pub. But behind closed doors, he had amassed over 500 of his own remarkable paintings - mostly depicting working-class social life in the industrial North West.
Tucker received no formal art education and left school at 14, working variously as a boxer, a steelworker, a gravedigger and a building labourer.
His family had always known he had painting as a hobby, but it was only right at the end of his life, that they realised the true extent of his creative output.
His work came to public attention following his death in 2018, when the family organised a two-day exhibition in his ex-council house.
His paintings of street scenes and busy pubs and clubs were described by art critic Ruth Millington as having an ‘authenticity and a sophisticated innocence’, their discovery marking ‘a significant contribution to modern British art’.
Episode Five
Eric’s family organise an exhibition of his paintings in his old house. It’s astonishingly well-attended, and the event is covered by local, and then by national, media. Critics describe his work as ‘a remarkable, important find’.
Read by Paul Ready
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m002fllr)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 AntiSocial (m002fllt)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
FRI 12:57 Weather (m002fllw)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m002flly)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4
FRI 13:45 Tony Hawks Is Giving Nothing Away (m002flm0)
Episode 5: Finding Balance
Tony Hawks is a very lucky man. He has done well in life, thanks to luck, hard work, plus many years of writing, travelling and making people laugh on BBC Radio 4. But he doesn’t fancy a nice car. He’s not into flashy holidays. And he doesn’t want to pass any of the money he’s earned down to his only child.
Tony acknowledges that he’s aspirational. But he aspires to do good, not to accumulate. And that’s the legacy he wants to leave to his son. Not money. Because, in Tony’s opinion, money passed down through inheritance corrupts aspiration, it corrupts ambition, and it has a corrosive effect on personality.
What’s more, he believes inheritance has a harmful effect on society - it perpetuates inequality and makes a mockery of equal opportunity. In short, Tony is dead against it.
If Tony were to leave just money to his young son, would it give his boy a vital leg-up or would it take away his drive and motivation to achieve things on his own terms?
The series follows Tony’s efforts to make a decision about his will, his son and his money. He argues for a radical shift away from the idea of inheritance. But is it even possible in today's world?
Inheritance is a complex issue that sits at the heart of British society. And it’s about to become a whole lot more pressing as we face the biggest transfer of wealth in history. The Baby Boomers are dying out and they will be leaving vast sums of money to the next generations over the coming decades.
Speaking to Lord David Willetts from the Resolution Foundation, Tony hears about some possible solutions to the financial divide between the generations. Tony also speaks with psychotherapist Vicky Reynal and comedian Russell Kane to get some clarity on his final decision.
In this final episode of his series, Tony wonders if there’s a more balanced way of looking at the problem of inheritance that might help him come to a decision about what to leave his son.
Presenter: Tony Hawks
Producer: Tom Woolfenden
Editor: Kirsten Lass
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m002fljv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Limelight (m002fc67)
Central Intelligence: Series 2
Episode 4
The story of the CIA, told from the inside out by long-serving CIA agent Eloise Page.
In Episode 2.4, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser threatens to wrestle control of the vital trade route between Asia and Europe, the Suez Canal, from the British. With the conflict escalating, the CIA must prevent Egypt falling under the influence of the Soviet Union.
Cast:
Eloise Page..........Kim Cattrall
Allen Dulles..........Ed Harris
Richard Helms..........Johnny Flynn
Frank Wisner..........Geoffrey Arend
Young Eloise Page..........Elena Delia
Richard Bissell..........Ian Porter
Clover Dulles..........Laurel Lefkow
James Jesus Angleton..........Philip Desmeules
President Eisenhower..........Kerry Shale
John Foster Dulles..........Nathan Osgood
Addy Hawkins..........Carlyss Peer
Prime Minister Eden..........Rufus Wright
Elizabeth..........Laurel Lefkow
Queen Frederika..........Marina Koem
All other parts played by the cast
Original music by Sacha Puttnam
Written by Greg Haddrick, who created the series with Jeremy Fox
Sound Designers & Editors: John Scott Dryden, Adam Woodhams, Martha Littlehailes & Andreina Gomez Casanova
Script Consultant: Misha Kawnel
Script Supervisor: Alex Lynch
Trails: Jack Soper
Sonica Studio Sound Engineers: Paul Clark & Paul Clark
Sonica Runner: Flynn Hallman
Marc Graue Sound Engineers, LA: Juan Martin del Campo & Tony Diaz
Director: John Scott Dryden
Producer & Casting Director: Emma Hearn
Executive Producers: Howard Stringer, Jeremy Fox, Greg Haddrick and John Scott Dryden
A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 14:45 Child (p0hhrv7g)
Series 1
27. Birthday Cake
We get inside the mind of a one year old with Professor of psychology and baby expert Alison Gopnik. What can babies teach us, and how are they influencing their future. We also take a moment think about the village we need to survive that first year and beyond. It’s a cliche, but we know it’s true. The community around a child is one of the most fundamental factors for its development.
Presented by: India Rakusen.
Producer: Ellie Sans.
Series producer: Ellie Sans.
Executive producer: Suzy Grant.
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon.
Mix and Mastering by Olga Reed.
A Listen Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002flm2)
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts.
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m002flm4)
Snowbirds and Coyotes by KM Elkes
"The coyote finds his next prey at a flea market on Tucson Avenue. One of the snowbirds who escape the bone chill of northern winters, driving down in the caravan of bright white RVs that powder the Arizona desert like snow."
After the death of her husband, Betty takes to the road in an RV. She's always dreamed of spending time in the vast desert landscapes of Arizona. She'd hoped to come here with Ron, but it was not to be. When a young local offers to be her guide, she doubts his motives but allows him to circle closer. As he tries to reel her in, he realises that Betty may be playing a game of her own.
Bristol-based writer K.M. Elkes is the author of the short fiction collection 'All That Is Between Us'. His short stories and flash fiction have appeared in more than 50 literary anthologies and journals. His stories have won, or been placed, in international writing competitions including the BBC National Short Story Award, the Manchester Fiction Prize, the Royal Society of Literature VS Pritchett Prize and the Bridport Prize.
Read by Debora Weston
Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m002flm6)
Matthew Bannister tells the life stories of people who have recently died, from the rich and famous to unsung but significant.
FRI 16:30 More or Less (m002fj8f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m002flm8)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002flmb)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 18:30 Dead Ringers (m002flmd)
Series 26
Episode 5
Satirical impressions from the team headed up by Jon Culshaw and Jan Ravens.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m002flmg)
Writer: Naylah Ahmed
Director: Pip Swallow
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Jolene Archer…. Buffy Davies
Kenton Archer…. Richard Attlee
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Martyn Gibson…. Jon Glover
Amber Gordon…. Charlotte Jordan
Clarrie Grundy…. Heather Bell
Ed Grundy…. Barry Farrimond
Eddie Grundy…. Trevor Harrison
Emma Grundy…. Emerald O‘Hanrahan
Will Grundy…. Philip Molloy
Tracy Horrobin…. Susie Riddell
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Alistair Lloyd…. Michael Lumsden
Jazzer McCreary…. Ryan Kelly
Fallon Rogers…. Joanna Van Kampen
Annabelle Schrivener…. Julia Hills
FRI 19:15 Screenshot (m002flmj)
In the Mood for Love
Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode celebrate 25 years of a modern masterpiece, In The Mood For Love, exploring its enduring legacy.
Mark speaks to film writer Tony Rayns, who worked closely with director Wong Kar-Wai from 1994 to 2008. Tony gives Mark the inside story on the production of In The Mood For Love as well as some insight into the enigmatic director's sometimes chaotic production style.
Ellen then speaks to Paul Vickery, film programmer at The Prince Charles Cinema which regularly hosts sold out screenings of In The Mood For Love. Ellen takes a trip to a screening of the film to get a sense of why it's developed such a devoted fanbase and finds out from Paul how it became one of the cult cinema's most beloved films.
Also, Mark talks to Oscar nominated cinematographer, Bradford Young, about when he first encountered the work of Wong Kar-Wai and why he thinks In The Mood For Love is so special.
Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m002flml)
Topical discussion posing questions to a panel of political and media personalities
FRI 20:55 This Week in History (m002fj8m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:40 on Wednesday]
FRI 21:00 Free Thinking (m002flmn)
The ideas shaping our lives today - with artists and thinkers in debates and interviews.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m002flmq)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
FRI 22:45 Private Angelo by Eric Linklater (m002flms)
A series of shocking demands
Italy, 1943. Angelo is overjoyed when the armistice is announced. Finally, he can return to his true love in Tuscany. But amidst the destruction of liberation, the cowardly private will find himself fighting not only for the Italian army but also the Germans, and finally the Allies in a witty and compassionate satire on the folly of war.
The Sorrento recuperation is over when Simon Telfer gets wind of Force 69's secret operation in occupied Rome.
Read by Carl Prekopp
Written by Eric Linklater
Abridged by Siân Preece
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
Orcadian Eric Linklater was a leading author of the 1930s and 40s, who served with the Black Watch in Italy. His unflinching portrayal of the cruelty of war is leavened by his understanding of the motivations of ordinary people swept into conflict, as well as a strong optimism and a genuine love of Italy. ‘Private Angelo’ is part of Radio 4’s programming marking 80 years since VE Day.
A BBC Audio Scotland production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:00 Americast (m002flmv)
Join the Americast team for insights from across the US.
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002flmx)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament