SATURDAY 12 JULY 2025
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m002flmz)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:30 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
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002fln1)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002fln3)
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 (m002fln5)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002fln7)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002fln9)
Reaching out to God
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Rev Dr Bert Tosh.
SAT 05:45 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.
SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m002fv9t)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.
SAT 06:07 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
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m002fv9w)
12/07/25 Farming Today This Week: Great Yorkshire Show, Welsh rural crime strategy, bee disease, farm inspections, shellfish.
The Government is carrying out a farming profitability review in England, to inform policy. There’s been a call for evidence and practical solutions. We ask the National Farmers' Union what could be done to help.
Out in the sunshine at the Great Yorkshire Show - pig showing and curly fleeced Wensleydale sheep.
A new strategy for tackling rural crime across Wales will offer greater protection for people and wildlife in the countryside, according to the Welsh government. Priority areas include tackling damage to ancient monuments, or heritage crime, and attacks on livestock, with new awareness courses for animal owners.
Chronic bee paralysis has been in bee populations for thousands of years, but cases are rising in the UK and it’s estimated up to 2% are affected. The disease is not notifiable so doesn’t have to be reported, and bees can have the virus and not show symptoms. We speak to Professor Giles Budge who's working on the disease at Newcastle University.
The Environment Agency is increasing the number of inspections on farms to tackle pollution and poor practice. We join an inspector making a return visit to a farm in Shropshire.
All week we're taking a deep dive into the UK's shellfish industry. Almost 90% of the mussels produced in Scotland are grown in Shetland. We visit a farm which produces 1000 tonnes a year on long ropes dotted on 24 sites around the islands. We also visit Oban where scientists are working on a trial to selectively breed our native oysters to make them more resilient to climate change and pollution.
Presenter = Caz Graham
Producer = Rebecca Rooney
SAT 06:57 Weather (m002fv9y)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 07:00 Today (m002fvb0)
Today (Saturday)
SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m002fvb2)
Bettany Hughes, Jay McGuiness, Dave Fishwick, Ade Adepitan
Award-winning historian, broadcaster, and author Bettany Hughes wrote her first book when she was just five years old. Now she's
written her first ever children's book, as part of her mission to make history accessible to all.
Jay McGuiness swapped the glittery Strictly ballroom and The Wanted tour bus for the West End stage - and now has written a fantasy trilogy!
And Dave Fishwick - the real Dave behind the hit Netflix film 'The Bank of Dave' - shares his inspiring life story, which all started with a chip butty...
All that plus, the Inheritance Tracks of much-loved TV presenter Ade Adepitan.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens.
Producer: Lowri Morgan.
SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (m002fv8j)
Empress Matilda: civil war in medieval England
Greg Jenner is joined in twelfth-century England by Dr Gabrielle Storey and comedian Cariad Lloyd to learn all about Empress Matilda and the medieval civil war known as the Anarchy. A granddaughter of William the Conqueror, Matilda was born into England’s new Norman royal family. As a young girl she was used as a dynastic pawn by her father and sent to Germany to marry the Holy Roman Emperor. Here she was crowned empress and trained to rule. When her younger brother died, followed by her husband, Matilda returned to England to take her place as her father’s heir. But after her father’s death she was beaten to the throne by her cousin Stephen, and so began the medieval civil war known as the Anarchy. Although Matilda ultimately lost, her son, Henry, was made Stephen’s heir, and he went on to rule with support and advice from his royal mother. So who was the real winner? This episode traces Matilda’s dramatic life from daughter of a king to empress of Germany to queen-in-waiting of England. Along the way, we ask whether medieval sexism prevented her from taking the throne, and look at the ways a woman could rule in twelfth-century Europe.
If you’re a fan of fearsome queens, violent family feuds and medieval royal drama, you’ll love our episode on Empress Matilda.
If you want more medieval queens with Dr Gabrielle Storey, check out our episode on Eleanor of Aquitaine. For more from Cariad Lloyd, listen to our episodes on Agrippina the Younger, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the Arts and Crafts Movement. And for more English royal feuds, there’s our episode on the Causes of the British Civil Wars.
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: Clara Chamberlain
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 (m002fv8l)
Project Telstar Commemorative Handkerchiefs
Greg James is back for another trip deep into the BBC Archives, and into the past, as he uses current stories and overlooked anniversaries to guide him to audio gold.
Inspired by a class of students at a girls' school in Croydon, who recently built their own satellite to launch into space, Greg launches himself into the archives to find other satellite stuff. In 1962 the BBC nervously tracked Telstar, an early communications satellite, hoping to show the first ever live transatlantic TV image. Did they succeed?
75 years ago, the BBC launched its Children’s Television department, and kids’ TV was born. Cue endless agonising by senior managers, strange programme ideas and…dancing pigs.
And with Brits spending more on their pets’ birthdays than ever before, Greg searches for other devoted pet owners, meeting a parrot called Rochester and a bat called Balls.
Producer: Tim Bano
An EcoAudio Certified production
SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m002fvb4)
Pippa Crerar of The Guardian assesses the latest developments at Westminster.
Following President Macron's state visit to the UK, Pippa discusses the visit and joint announcement on channel crossings with former Conservative Immigration Minister Damian Green, who also served as First Secretary of State for Theresa May and the Labour MP for Dover and Deal Mike Tapp.
Conservative MP Damian Hinds, a former Education Secretary, and Labour MP Jen Craft discuss the debate over the future of special educational needs and disabilities provision for children.
Also, Pippa interviews Paul Johnson, the outgoing director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
And, to reflect on the life and legacy of the former Conservative Cabinet Minister Lord Tebbit, who died this week, Pippa speaks to Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London and Mary Ann Sieghart, political commentator and writer.
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002fv5l)
Tibetan resistance in China
Kate Adie introduces stories from China, Kenya, Australia, Bolivia and the USA.
Sichuan province in China is home to a long-standing Tibetan resistance movement. While Beijing views Tibet as an integral part of China – the allegiances of many Tibetans living in China lie with its exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama - voicing support for him can lead to arrest or prison. Laura Bicker visited the town of Aba, where she met monks practicing their faith under heavy surveillance.
Youth led protests erupted again in Kenya this week, with many young Kenyans angry at the lack of good job opportunities in the country - more than 30 people diedin the demonstrations, and over 500 were arrested. Anne Soy has been following the story in Nairobi.
The small Australian town of Morwell will be returning to some form of normality this week, following the conclusion of the trial of Erin Patterson who was found guilty
of murdering three of her relatives and attempting to kill another after serving them Beef Wellington laced with toxic death cap mushrooms. Katy Watson reflects on how the town was transformed by the visiting media circus.
Bolivia was once seen as an economic miracle, thanks to its huge natural gas reserves. But the energy exports on which the country once thrived have fallen sharply in recent years, pushing many people into poverty. Carolyn Lamboley reveals how the country’s economic woes are now affecting people from all walks of life.
And finally, we’re in the Zion National Park in Utah where Stephen Moss tells the story of the conservation campaign that helped bring the Californian Condor back from the brink of extinction.
Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill & Katie Morrison
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
SAT 12:00 News Summary (m002fvb6)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 12:04 Money Box (m002fv5j)
Water Meters and Cash ISAs
Money Box can exclusively reveal there has been a sharp rise in the number of people applying to have water meters fitted to try to bring their bills down. The data has been shared with this programme by the Consumer Council for Water, the CCW, the which speaks for water consumers in England and Wales. It comes after record April price rises for water with average bills rising more than £120 to over £600 per year.
Cash ISAs appear to have been reprieved - at least for now. Until Friday morning there was widespread speculation that the Chancellor might announce on Tuesday that the amount you could put into a cash ISA would be slashed from £20,000, perhaps to as little as £4000. The idea was that would fit in with government plans to encourage investment by nudging people with £20,000 to spare to use the rest of their tax free ISA allowance to invest in shares instead. However, Money Box understands that won't happen - certainly not on Tuesday when Rachel Reeves gives her annual Mansion House speech to the City of London. We'll look at what that might mean.
And what does a major ruling on a divorce case in the Supreme Court mean for how wealth is split between couples in the future?
Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researchers: Eimear Devlin and Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast
12pm Saturday 12th July 2025)
SAT 12:30 Dead Ringers (m002flmd)
Series 26
Episode 5. Man of Steel, Woman of Salt Path
The Dead Ringers team are back to train their vocal firepower on the week’s news with an armoury of impressive impressions.
This week: A Salt Path surprise, a Man of Steel (tariffs), and Postman Pat deals with the Post Office Inquiry Report.
Cast: Jan Ravens, Jon Culshaw, Lewis Macleod, Jess Robinson, Duncan Wisbey.
This episode was written by: Nev Fountain & Tom Jamieson, Laurence Howarth, Rob Darke, Toussaint Douglass, Peter Tellouche, Edward Tew, Jon Holmes, Katie Sayer, Davina Bentley, Lizzy Mansfield, Rachel E. Thorn, Jennifer Walker, Cooper Mawhinny-Sweryt, Alex Buchanan, Chris Ballard
Created by Bill Dare
Producer: Jon Holmes
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Production Co-ordinator: Jodie Charman
SAT 12:57 Weather (m002fvb8)
The latest weather forecast
SAT 13:00 News (m002fvbb)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m002flml)
Iain Dale, Lord Harper, Lisa Smart MP, Dame Emily Thornberry MP
Ben Wright presents political debate from Shrewsbury Abbey, with political commentator and LBC presenter Iain Dale; the Conservative peer and former cabinet minister Lord Harper; Lisa Smart MP, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesperson; and Dame Emily Thornberry, Labour MP and chair of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee.
Producer: Paul Martin
Lead broadcast engineer: Tim Allen
SAT 14:05 Any Answers? (m002fvbd)
Listeners respond to the issues raised in the preceding edition of Any Questions?
SAT 14:45 The Archers (m002flmg)
Clarrie tells Susan and Neil that Henry’s advice to disregard all the challenging comments at school is working – she simply reports trouble makers for a detention. Susan switches the topic to Amber, who she hasn’t met yet. She wants to know everything. Clarrie reports how hard Amber worked at the haymaking. Susan doesn’t know what to make of Amber in light of all she’s heard – Emma and Ed think she’s always putting her foot in it and doesn’t seem to care. Does Clarrie like her? Clarrie carefully admits that she does. Susan’s keen to meet her, but Clarrie thinks this might not be a good idea after Amber and Neil’s encounter last week. Mystified Susan gets the truth out of Neil. How dare Amber have a go at him! Now they have to face George getting more angry with them instead of less. It’s unfair; never a good deed goes unpunished.
Alistair congratulates Jolene and Kenton on their award nomination. Kenton observes Tortoise isn’t eating her food, hoping she’s not full of leftovers. Alistair acknowledges overfeeding pets is a big problem. Jolene admits Kenton loves spoiling Tortoise. However they soon spot she’s really not well, and from the symptoms Alistair suspects she’s been poisoned. It’s hard to know what’s caused it, but his treatment should mean she’ll be fine. Later Kenton finds tablets on the floor. Alistair confirms they could have caused Tortoise’s symptoms. Jolene wonders if they could have been embedded in a treat. It dawns on horrified Kenton that one of Markie’s gang could have done this.
SAT 15:00 Drama on 4 (m000mlbc)
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Episode 2
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's remarkable novel set during the Nigeria-Biafra War of the late 1960s, dramatised by Janice Okoh.
With the continued bombing of Biafra and the danger coming ever closer, Olanna, Odenigbo, Ugwu, and Baby are forced to flee again. They move forward with courage even when living conditions get progressively worse and food and money run out. An unexpected visit from Kainene brings some hope for their future.
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
OLANNA..... Susan Wokoma
ODENIGBO..... Adetomiwa Edun
MRS MUOKELU/ EBERECHI..... Adeyinka Akinrinade
UGWU.....Valentine Olukoga
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 (m002fvbg)
Weekend Woman’s Hour: 7/7 attacks, Artist Emily Kam Kngwarray, Christine McGuinness, Fangirls, Fats Timbo, Katie Brayben
It’s been 20 years since the 7/7 attacks in London, which claimed the lives of 52 civilians and injured almost 800. Krupa Padhy talked to Gill Hicks, who was on the Piccadilly line Tube that morning and lost her legs in the blast, and nurse Kate Price, who was working in intensive care at St Thomas’ Hospital. They discuss their memories of that day and the aftermath, as well as the lasting bond they have formed.
An exhibition celebrating the life and work of renowned Australian artist Emily Kam Kngwarray has opened at the Tate Modern in London. Respectfully known as ‘the old lady’ by her community, Emily didn’t start painting on canvas until her 70s. Anita Rani talked to art curator Kelli Cole about Emily's paintings, which were inspired by her life as a senior Anmatyerr woman from the Sandover region of the Northern Territory of Australia.
The TV presenter and autism advocacy campaigner, Christine McGuinness, is mother of three autistic children, and she received an autism diagnosis herself as an adult. She is highlighting new research that found that half of parents of children with disabilities surveyed said their child is excluded from play due to playgrounds being inaccessible to them.
From Frank Sinatra to the Beatles, many of the biggest male stars built their early careers on the romantic appeal to young women. Bea Martinez-Gatell is author of Swoon, Fangirls, Their Idols And The Counterculture of Female Lust – From Byron To The Beatles. She joined Anita to explain that far from passive consumers, fangirls were actually tastemakers, visionaries and cultural disruptors.
Fatima Timbo, known as Fats Timbo, is a content creator and comedian who has amassed an incredible 3 million followers on TikTok. Since appearing on TV show The Undateables in 2018, she's also been part of the team bringing us the Paralympics coverage from Paris last year. Born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, she shares her tips for succeeding in a world where it’s difficult to be different in her book Main Character Energy: Ten Commandments for Living Life Fearlessly.
Katie Brayben is a two-time Olivier award winner for Best Actress in A Musical for Tammy Faye and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Now she is reprising the role of Elizabeth Laine in Girl From the North Country currently on stage at the Old Vic in London. Katie sang live in the studio.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Annette Wells
Editor: Andrea Kidd
SAT 17:00 PM (m002fvbj)
President Trump announces higher tariffs on the EU and Mexico
The EU says it will take "all necessary steps" to safeguard its interests. Plus, a pilot explains some of the early findings of a report into the ill-fated Air India flight. And we take a look at the many meanings of the word "sorry".
SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m002fvbl)
The Josh Babarinde One
The Lib Dem Justice Spokesperson managed to persuade ministers to change domestic abuse law within a year of being elected to parliament.
Josh Babarinde tells Nick how his own childhood experience spurred him on to push for reform.
He also explains how a beer mat persuaded him to join the Liberal Democrats.
Producer: Daniel Kraemer
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002fvbn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 17:57 Weather (m002fvbq)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fvbs)
Trump Announces New Tariffs
The US President, Donald Trump, has said imports from the European Union and Mexico will face tariffs of 30 per cent from the start of August. Brussels has warned it could retaliate. Also - relatives of people killed in the Air India crash say they still need answers, after a preliminary report reveals fuel to the engines was cut off shortly before the plane came down. And in sport, Poland's Iga Swiatek has won the women's singles title at Wimbledon without dropping a single game in the final.
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m002fvbv)
Tim Key, Lucy Porter, Leonie Elliott, Shabaz Ali, Billy Nomates, Bruno Berle
This week Stuart is joined by comedian and poet Tim Key who takes us to LA Baby in his new book, Lucy Porter who is learning to let go in her new stand up show, and Shabaz Ali: the Tik Tok sensation with his takedowns of the super-rich. Eastenders and Call the Midwife star Leonie Elliott is starring in a new play, Liberation. There's music from Billy Nomates, performing from her new album Metalhorse and Brazilian composer, poet and multi-instrumentalist Bruno Berle.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Jessica Treen
SAT 19:00 Profile (m002fv4n)
Piers Litherland
Piers Litherland has been called a modern-day Indiana Jones. He’s a former banker-turned-archaeologist who led the discovery of the lost tomb of Tutankhamun's relative, Thutmose II. As a child, Litherland was obsessed with Egypt. It was a passion that never left him, even as he pursued a career in finance. But it was only after a chance meeting with an eminent Egyptologist from Cambridge that he decided to ditch the office job and follow his heart. Since then, Litherland has headed a joint Anglo-Egyptian mission in Egypt’s Western Wadis - funding the project himself. Then, in February 2025, his team made what’s been called ‘the discovery of the century’ - the tomb of Thutmose II, an ancestor of Tutankhamun. Litherland said he cried when he realised what he'd found. Stephen Smith speaks to friends, family and colleagues of Piers Litherland, charting his life and passion that led to the discovery of the first tomb of an Egyptian King since Tutankhamun in 1922.
Presenter: Stephen Smith
Producers: Ben Crighton and Natasha Fernandes
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound: James Beard
Editor: Nick Holland
Credits:
Archive recording and audio logs of archaeological dig, Rabee Eissa and Jenny Litherland
SAT 19:15 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
SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b00c7fd0)
The Ballad of the Radio Feature
A close listen to the history and evolution of the radio documentary feature, a hybrid form which can sometimes appear closer to music or poetry than to news reporting.
Originally broadcast in 2008, The Ballad of the Radio Feature includes contributions from some of the finest feature-makers of their generation: the late Chris Brookes, from Newfoundland; Berit Hedemann of NRK in Norway; Kaye Mortley, an Australian living in Paris; the Australian poet and radio-maker Robyn Ravlich, Edwin Brys from Belgium; a trio of BBC producers - Simon Elmes, Mark Burman and Sarah Taylor - and the legendary British feature-maker Piers Plowright who died in 2021.
Including extracts of productions from the 1930s onwards (courtesy of the BBC Sound Archive) and from around the world.
Voice-over: Sophie Black
Produced by Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio Four
SAT 21:00 Moral Maze (m002fj9q)
Is it time to ditch historical figures as heroes?
The Bank of England has been accused of being the 'Bank of Wokeness' after proposing to cut historical figures from banknotes. Images of Winston Churchill, Jane Austen and Alan Turing could be replaced by images of themes such as nature, innovation, or key events in history. It raises the possibility of British birds, bridges, or bangers and mash featuring on the next series of £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes and would take us down the route favoured by the Euro which feature many an imaginary structure or window. But what do we lose when we potentially erase these historical figures from a place in our pocket? Are they problematic figures who are essentially divisive? Or are we discarding important figures who achieved greatness and still embody moral values? Is the concept of heroism one we need to reject altogether or do stories of human endeavour still represent the best way to promote culture and identity?
PANEL: Anne McElvoy, Ash Sarkar, Matthew Taylor, Tim Stanley
WITNESSES:
Paul Lay, Historian
Maddy Fry, Writer and Journalist
Professor Simon Goldhill, Historian
Professor Ellis Cashmore
CHAIR Michael Buerk
PRODUCER: Catherine Murray
ASST PRODUCER: PETER EVERETT
PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR: Pete Liggins
EDITOR: Tim Pemberton
SAT 22:00 News (m002fvbz)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m002fllm)
The Periodic Table of Food
Dan Saladino explores new science that's revealing the complexity hidden within our food.
In New York City he meets the team mapping previously unknown edible compounds in fruits and vegetables, many of which are thought to have health benefits.
Will delving deeper into the 'dark matter' of food make it possible to produce food that's better for both us and the planet? Also in the programme is Franco Fubini, founder of the food businesses and author of In Search of The Perfect Peach, who for 20 years has been in search of ingredients with exceptional flavour. It's through flavour, Fubini believes, that we can create a food system that's better for us and also the planet.
Dan also meets Dan Kitteridge, who, through the Bio-nutrient Association, is convinced that quality of food, and its nutrient density is dependent on the quality of the soil microbiome it grows in.
Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
SAT 23:00 Kat Sadler's Screen Time (m002ftfb)
Series 2
2. Detox
Huge influencer Kat is taking a break from her phone, and tells you how you can do it too.
Sure, her phone is locked in a perspex prison that can't be opened by any force, but that's just a coincidence! With her trusty sidekick Alex Macqueen, they tackle the great outdoors. Kat explains how to cleanse your mind, body and soul by ditching your phone and Alex is trying to get his Duke of Edinburgh bronze award.
Also, Kat's given her PR team in her head the day off, even though they seem very keen to tell her something. Is she running from something in her online life?
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 Audio Production for Radio 4.
SAT 23:30 Round Britain Quiz (m002fjgv)
Programme 9 - The Midlands vs 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
Questions in today's edition:
Q1 (From Simon Meara) Can you unravel the connection between…
A multiple-Grand-Slam-winning tennis player, the English footballer with the most caps, a distant state in northeastern Ethiopia, and a Welsh traffic instruction?
Q2 If we start with David Byrne asking “Well, how did I get here?”, then find ourselves carving ice sculptures with Celine Dion, what might Lionel Richie and The Commodores have to say to us?
Q3 Music: While you listen to these three pieces, ponder what they all might contribute to the Kyoto Protocol.
Q4 I’m going to give you some directions, and you have to tell me the four buildings you’ll pass, where you are, and what’s playing on the radio?
Turn off the highway, and you’ll spot a place of worship.
Keep going past a place of liquor,
Drive on until you pass a place of learning,
And finally, you’ll find a place to spend a penny.
Q5 Why might a small mountain lake, an island in the Inner Hebrides and the iconic Miss Sarkisian all be contained within a hexagon?
Q6 Music: What culinary connection can we take away from these pieces?
Q7 (from John Kennedy) What mischief might be made by…
Kenny’s glamorous companion, a phallic highwayman, a sneaky observer, a Romantic painter who is no stranger to a roll in the Hay, and an ex-political correspondent who loves to make waves on his narrowboat, if they were all on a wild ride through a mountain pass in Pakistan?
Q8 What links…
Robert Falcon Scott, Boaty McBoatface, Anthony Ammirati, Max Verstappen, and Lech Walesa. And who is the odd one out?
Clues to the tracks featured in the music rounds (Skip these if you want to play along when the programme airs)
Q3
Clip 1: A German composer whose 1960s instrumental invites you on a stroll through a famously shadowy landscape.
Clip 2: A brooding track from a band at the height of their gothic phase, lost somewhere in the wilderness.
Clip 3: A 19th-century Hungarian composer, whose piano piece imitates the gentle whisper of nature.
Q6
Clip 1: Half of an iconic folk-rock duo, this American artist released a solo, reggae-infused track of loss and quiet hope.
Clip 2: A post-punk pioneer, with a debut hit named after somewhere closer to home than it sounds.
Clip 3: A 50s heartthrob, with a smooth ballad imagining the perfect romantic partner.
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 13 JULY 2025
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m002fvc1)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 00:15 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 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002fvc3)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002fvc5)
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 (m002fvc7)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002fvc9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m002fv5s)
St Mary’s Church in Prescot, Merseyside
Bells on Sunday comes from St Mary’s Church in Prescot, Merseyside. The circular shape of the churchyard suggests that a church was on the site before the Norman Conquest, and parts of the existing fabric date from the 14th century. There are eight bells originally cast by the Mears foundry of Whitechapel in 1845. However, in 2011 the sixth bell cracked and was replaced with a similarly aged redundant bell. The tenor bell weighs thirteen and a quarter hundredweight and is tuned to the note of E. We hear them ringing Cambridge Surprise Major.
SUN 05:45 In Touch (m002fjp9)
NHS Ten-Year Plan; Maddie + Triggs
In Touch examines what the government's new 10-year plan for the NHS could mean for eye care, with Chief Executive of the Association of Optometrists Adam Sampson.
Maddie + Triggs is the latest children's TV show that puts visual impairment at its heart. Maddie, a 7-year old visually impaired girl and her pet dog Triggs explore the world around them through sound and music. It is created by Irish studio Turnip + Duck and available on CBeebies, BBC Sounds and Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ.
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 (m002fv3r)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 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
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m002fv3t)
Halal in Harmony
Muhsen Hassanin and his family believe the countryside and nature have a special place in the religion of Islam. So, despite having no experience of farming, in 2015 they moved from London to Pontypool in South Wales to set up Harmony Farm. Ten years on, they now rear halal meat, grow vegetables, and welcome visitors of all faiths and none to the farm.
In this programme, Mariclare Carey-Jones finds out about the ethos on the farm, which Muhsen describes as “people care, earth care, fair share and return of surplus” - an approach linked to the family’s Muslim faith. He says “every plant you plant, you’re creating justice and balance, and Harmony Farm is born out of that understanding”. Alongside farming the animals, Muhsen is also a halal slaughter man.
As well as exploring the farm and its practices with Muhsen, Mariclare also meets Muhsen’s wife Elif, who talks about the impact the move has had on them as a family. “The first year was really difficult” she says, “but now I absolutely love it! I’m really fortunate that I get to see all of the seasons, things coming into existence and non-existence, and it just reminds me there’s a bigger picture to all of this”.
Plus, there’s a surprise in store, when Mariclare meets Muhsen and Elif’s son Abdel Malik and his reptile friends!
Presented and produced by Mariclare Carey-Jones
SUN 06:57 Weather (m002fv3w)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m002fv3y)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m002fv40)
Tuam Excavation; 50 years of Women Rabbis in the UK; Faith in Sport
As the Church of England prepares parishes to be a ‘church in a time of conflict’, we hear from the Bishop to the Armed Forces, the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson, as the Church’s governing body – General Synod – meet in York. We consider the conflicts within the Church that will be debated at Synod - and discuss how members are set to scrutinise the Redress scheme, intended to support victims of abuse within the Church.
2025 marks 50 years since Jackie Tabick became the first female Progressive Rabbi ordained in the UK. Many women have followed in Rabbi Tabick’s footsteps, including Rabbi Kulikovsky and Rabbi Altorf who were ordained at special event last week at the Leo Baeck College in London. We hear from them about their roles - and look at what's changed in those 50 years.
This summer, the BBC are covering a whole host of women's games as part of their 'Names Will Be Made' summer of sport. But what role does religion play for athletes on and off the pitch? Producer Katy Davis speaks to three women of faith at the top of their game: England Netballer Ellie Rattu; UEFA coach Yasmin Hussein and Wales Rugby Player Sisi Tuipulotu. For more behind the scenes interviews and updates, head to the BBC Women's Summer of Sport website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/womens-summer-of-sport
Friday 11th of July was a 30 year memorial service to mark the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia, where over 8,000 Bosniak Muslim boys and men were killed by Serb forces, during the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica - in one of Europe's worst atrocities since World War 2. Julie Etchingham hears from award winning photojournalist Alixandra Fazzina, who has returned to Bosnia 30 years after the war. We also hear from Islamic Relief's Shahin Ashraf, one of the few charity organisations who provided support during the war and are still today, helping Bosniaks rebuild their lives in Srebrenica.
Presenter: Julie Etchingham
Producers: Katy Davis and James Leesley
Studio Managers: George Willis and Sam Mills
Editor: Chloe Walker
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m002fv42)
CHASE Africa
Singer Joss Stone makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of CHASE Africa. The charity supports fifty 'backpack nurses' in Kenya and Uganda who travel to patients in remote areas who may otherwise struggle to get medical care.
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 ‘CHASE Africa’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘CHASE Africa’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
Registered Charity Number: 1082958. If you’d like to find out more about the charity’s work visit *https://www.chaseafrica.org.uk
*The BBC is not responsible for content on external websites
Producer: Katy Takatsuki
SUN 07:57 Weather (m002fv45)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m002fv48)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m002fv4b)
On the Sea in Ships
Canon Simon Doogan and Father Martin Magill take to the water at Bangor, Co Down as the monk St Columbanus did in 591 when he left his monastery in Bangor in to go to Europe where he established monastic foundations in France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. They reflect on his journey and on another sea voyage, that of St Paul who was shipwrecked on his way to Rome.
Acts 27.9-12; 21-26; 27-32; 33-38; 39-44
Kyrie Eleison
High is the heaven, deep is the sea (Liam Lawton)
We Have an Anchor
The White Dove (David Lennon)
The Lord's Prayer (The Priests)
The Lord's my Shepherd (Brother James' Air)
Producers; David Walker & Bert Tosh
SUN 08:48 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 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m002fv4d)
Anna Hill on the Yellowhammer
For broadcaster and Farming Today presenter Anna Hill, the yellowhammer is a bird closely associated with the British rural landscape.
As a child walking through Dorset’s country lanes, she would see flocks of golden yellowhammer swooping along the hedgerows. Since then, their numbers in the UK have dramatically declined and they’re now on the red list for conservation, though you can still see them in lowland arable areas.
Members of the bunting family with bright yellow plumage, yellowhammers have a typical lifespan of around three years. Their high-pitched song can be easily recognised; best remembered as, “a little bit of bread and no cheeeese!”
Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Jo Peacey. A BBC Audio Bristol production.
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m002fv4g)
The Sunday morning news magazine programme. Presented by Paddy O'Connell
SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m002fv4j)
Ash Atalla, producer
Ash Atalla is a television producer whose first hit was the BBC sitcom The Office, starring Ricky Gervais. He followed it up with the IT Crowd, People Just Do Nothing, Big Boys and Stath Lets Flats. His haul of awards from these programmes include six BAFTAs, four Royal Television Society awards, a Golden Globe and an Emmy.
Ash was born in Cairo and when he was six months old he contracted polio. He has been a wheelchair user all his life and believes the challenges he faced in his early life ignited his drive and ambition.
Ash graduated from the University of Bath with a degree in Business Administration and became a stockbroker for an investment bank. It was a fleeting career as he soon realised he wasn’t a natural when it came to numbers. His next stop was the BBC where he eventually joined the comedy department.
Ash produced both series of The Office and, after leaving the BBC, moved on to the award-winning Channel 4 comedy series the IT Crowd and later the BBC’s People Just Do Nothing, the sitcom about a London pirate radio station.
He co-founded the production company Roughcut TV in 2007 and recently produced the six-part drama series Little Disasters, starring Jo Joyner and Diane Kruger.
Ash lives in London.
DISC ONE: Everything She Wants - Wham!
DISC TWO: Enta Omri (“You Are My Life”) - Umm Kulthum
DISC THREE: At Night - Shakedown
DISC FOUR: Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) - Phil Collins
DISC FIVE: My Ever Changing Moods - The Style Council
DISC SIX: Handbags and Gladrags – Rod Stewart
DISC SEVEN: The Universal - Blur
DISC EIGHT: The Girl is Mine - Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney
BOOK CHOICE: Rewire Your Anxious Brain: Stop Overthinking, Find Calm, and Be Present by Nick Trenton
LUXURY ITEM: An Indian restaurant
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Girl is Mine - Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Paula McGinley
SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m002fv4l)
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
SUN 12:15 Profile (m002fv4n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 12:30 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
SUN 12:57 Weather (m002fv4q)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m002fv4s)
Is a political upheaval coming to Wales?
Is a political upheaval coming to Wales? As the alternatives to Labour make gains in the polls, we hear about a party caught between the Senedd and Westminster.
SUN 13:30 Currently (m002fv4v)
Out for Delivery
When a parcel delivery goes awry, Polly Weston does what every angry person in 2025 does... she searches the internet for similarly angry people to bask in the shared experience of being annoyed. Naturally, she finds countless groups on social media devoted to people complaining. There are posts from people furious about the delivery which never turned up at the designated time; or the parcel strewn on a doorstep, or with a photo in a mysterious unknown location; or, most annoying of all, the message to say "sorry we missed you" when they were absolutely, undeniably, incontrovertibly in the house and poised by the door waiting for the parcel at the time... But hidden in amongst the social media fist waving, she notices surprising posts from another group of people - delivery drivers themselves. On these groups, the delivery drivers explain the reasons why customers have the experiences they do, and the reasons why things go wrong. A single phone call to one delivery driver who she tracks down is more enlightening than any AI customer service chatbot could hope to be, and it sparks weeks of recordings with many people who have worked across all the different courier companies over the past ten years.
As the proposed merger between EVRi and DHL hits the headlines, this is the story of the multi-drop parcel courier industry and its recent history, as told by the drivers.
In 2013, 1.7 billion parcels were processed annually in the UK, in 2023, it was 4 billion, and it's projected to climb to 5.6 billion by 2028. How does an industry deliver that kind of growth? What does it mean for the people doing the work? And how exactly do you deliver to 270 locations in a single shift?
Produced and presented by Polly Weston in Bristol
Editor: Chris Ledgard
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002flm2)
Crossed Wires Podcast Festival: Back to Basics
How important is health and safety in the garden? What disease has been growing on my tomatoes? What would the panel say was their most overrated plant?
Kathy Clugston hosts Gardeners' Question Time, recorded live at the Crossed Wires Podcast Festival.
Joining her on the expert panel are botanist and broadcaster James Wong, award-winning garden designer Matthew Wilson, and alpine plant specialist Bethan Collerton. Together, they tackle a lively array of gardening questions from an enthusiastic audience.
Later in the programme, James Wong takes a trip to Sheffield’s Winter Garden, where he shares his top picks for easy-to-grow plants - perfect for beginners looking to cultivate greenery both indoors and out.
Producer: Dom Tyerman
Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
Plant List
Questions and timecodes are below. Where applicable, plant names have been provided.
Q – How important is health and safety in the garden? (01’27”)
Q – What are the ideal conditions for growing wildflowers from seeds? (04’10”)
Q – What’s the best method for watering a very parched, dried out cacti? (07’57”)
Q – Why have my wisteria stopped flowering? (11’31”)
Feature – James Wong provides an essential list of plants you can grow indoors and outdoors. He’s visiting the Sheffield Winter Gardens (16’11”)
James Wong –
Dichondra
Strelitzia nicolai, white bird of paradise
Q – How do I stop slugs from eating my hostas? (24’05”)
Q – What would be your recommendations for plants that can survive harsh weather in coastal regions? (24’44”)
Bethan Collerton –
Armeria maritima, thrift
Matthew Wilson –
Griselinia littoralis, new zealand broadleaf
Hippophae rhamnoides, sea buckthorne
James Wong
Griselinia littoralis, new zealand broadleaf
Quercus ilex, holm oak
Tamarisk
Trachycarpus fortune, chusan palm
Q – What disease has been growing on my tomatoes? (29’17”)
Q – I’d like to grow my Jasmine against a fence, do I hack it right back, start again or plant is as is? (32’44”)
Q – What would the panel say was their most overrated plant? (36’37”)
James Wong –
Geranium Rozanne ('Gerwat'PBR), cranesbill [Rozanne]
Matthew Wilson –
Heucheras
SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m001rql0)
The Mahabharata - Episode 2
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 second of two episodes about the Mahabharata, John asks why and how this 2000 year-old epic still resonates so strongly, what makes it such rich territory for modern re-tellings, and looks at some of its universal themes.
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:
Mahabharata, A Modern Retelling by Carole Satyamurti (W.W.Norton & Co. 2015)
The Mahabharata, abridged and translated by John D. Smith (Penguin Classics 2009)
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, producer of Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4
Shernaz Patel, Mumbai-based film and theatre actor, Gita in Mahabharata Now, BBC Radio 4
Producers: Sara Davies & Tolly Robinson
Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael
Researcher: Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright
Sound Engineer and designer: Sean Kerwin
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 15:00 Mahabharata Now (m002fv4x)
Episode 9: 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.
In the final episode, political ambition, personal tragedy and spiritual reckoning collide in a sweeping narrative of loss, transformation, and legacy.
Yash continues to pursue a political career, but his humble appearance and idealism clash with the establishment. News of Padma’s crash forces him to choose family over politics.
Meanwhile, a disillusioned Shaks confronts his identity and the illusion of control he once clung to. Guided by the mischievous Gopi - in the form of the robot bartender GP200 - he tosses a coin to decide his fate.
While Padma and Nyra set about establishing their Foundation, Yash, having now also learned the identity of Shaks’ father, embarks on a spiritual journey across India to discover his true purpose and make peace with his past.
Taking yet another form - that of a dog, Moksha - Gopi accompanies Yash on a dreamlike journey towards redemption and enlightenment. Moksha forces him to confront unresolved emotions which culminates in a final divine test to achieve sublimation of desire - save himself or sacrifice his own happiness to save millions from impending mortal danger. The epic story’s extraordinary conclusion hangs on his decision.
Episode 9: 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
Karthik……………………… Sukant Goel
CC Banerjee……………… Harssh Singh
Minister Kalra…………… Suchitra Pillai
Malti………………………….Meghan Burman
GP200………......……….. Bhavnisha Parmar
GOPI…………........……… Prerna Chawla
Other roles played by Devika Shahani Punjabi, Abhay Kaul, Omkar Kulkarni, Garima Yajnik, Zeus Paranjape and members of the cast.
Sound Supervisor (Mumbai) …....…….... Ayush Ahuja
Sound Engineer (Mumbai) …….....….….. Ashyar Bulsara
Sound Design and Post Production.…… Wilfredo Acosta
SFX Editor……………………………………….... Maiken Hansen
Original Music.………………….........…….... Imran Ahmad
Title music vocalist (all Episodes).…….. Murali Menon
Additional vocalist (Episode 9).…………. Sohini Alam
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 Take Four Books (m002fv4z)
Colm Tóibín
Presented by James Crawford, Take Four Books, speaks to the Irish writer Colm Tóibín about his latest novel - Long Island - and explores its connections to three other literary works. Long Island, now out in paperback, is the sequel to the best-selling novel Brooklyn, and we're back with Eilis Lacey. It's the spring of 1976 and one day, when her husband Tony is at work, an Irishman comes to the door asking for Eilis by name. What this man tells Eilis changes her life. And so begins Long Island which sees Eilis return to her homeland after decades abroad.
For his three influences Colm chose: The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (1886); Victory by Joseph Conrad (1915); and The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1920). The supporting contributor for this episode is award-winning novelist and short story writer Jan Carson.
Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production for Radio 4.
SUN 16:30 Round Britain Quiz (m002fv51)
Programme 10 - The South of England vs Scotland
(10/12)
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 tenth contest features the second meeting of The South of England vs Scotland.
You can follow the questions in each edition on the Round Britain Quiz webpages. Each week's questions will be posted on the day before the Sunday transmission.
Teams:
Paul Sinha and Marcus Berkmann - The South of England
Alan McCredie and Val McDermid - Scotland
Questions in today's edition:
Q1 (from Paul Tavatgis) A negotiator at Brest-Litovsk, one of the world's greatest forgers, a Roman fiddler, an Iberian squire, and a pioneer of free speech in comedy, all share a mention in a musical obituary. Who are they and who immortalised them to music
Q2 (from Patrick Haigh) Why should our listeners be careful not to confuse…
A Scottish racecourse
A director of the National Theatre
A circuit travelled by an itinerant mediaeval judge
A Yorkshire river
A song-like composition
Q3 (from Phil Ware) Music: The question you have to ponder is: What would Henry Croft do with them?
Q4 (from Peter Geddes) Initially, why would - Prince’s backing group, a unit of fuel efficiency, Dungeons and Dragons, a common image file, and something that tells you what you’re watching on the telly - all be grateful for a cup of tea?
Q5 (from Andy Pearson) It’s not a recipe although you do…
Start with a standard egg.
Take it to Nottingham and meet Agamemnon and Menelaus outside a Council House.
Next, sing a song that first became a hit in 1996 and finally came true in 2022.
Then watch a dark British comedy film about terrorism.
How many of what should you be looking for next?
Q6 Music: Listen to these clips and see if you can work out why these would remind us of a poem by Walter de la Mare?
Q7 (from Alan Mortiboys) In what context would Harry from Guys and Dolls come in last place behind - U2’s first album, a famous British art historian with a secret and Field Marshal Rommel?
Q8 If this emblem of unity contains envy, grief, purity, wealth, passion and calm, over which transformed land does it flutter? And if you add two more, how might this bring you into the Crucible?
TEASER QUESTION
What links Jerry Seinfeld, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Barry, Robin and Maurice, and the proud emblem of Manchester?
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, and public contributors.
SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct5yl8)
'I wrote Schindler's List'
In 1980, Australian author Thomas Keneally stumbled across the story of Oskar Schindler while buying a briefcase in Beverly Hills, in the USA.
The owner of the shop, a Polish Jew called Leopold Pfefferberg, told Thomas that a Nazi party member had saved him, his wife and many others from the Holocaust, by employing them in his enamel factory.
Thomas tells Rachel Naylor why Oskar was such a compelling subject, full of contradictions, and why he believes his book has lasting appeal.
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: Thomas Keneally at his home in Bilgola Beach, Australia, in 1981. Credit: Martin James Brannan/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)
SUN 17:10 Behind the Crime (m0029xr7)
Mickey
Mickey was born in the early 1950s and his earliest memories from primary school involve crime. His father taught him how to fight, and opportunities to make enough money to go to the cinema presented themselves to him. As he entered adulthood, the trouble escalated.
Across four decades, Mickey was in and out of prison. Then a chance meeting with the filmmaker Guy Richie, and a further encounter with the screenwriter Tony Jordan, led Mickey into the world of storytelling and the big screen.
Dr Sally Tilt and Dr Kerensa Hocken are forensic psychologists who work in prisons. Their job is to help people who have committed crimes to understand the harm they’ve caused, identify why it happened and work out how to make changes to prevent further harm after they’ve been released.
In Behind the Crime, they take the time to understand the life of someone whose crimes have led to harm and prison.
Through this extended interview, we get to the heart of his behaviour and discover that there are two Mickeys.
If you’ve been a victim of crime, details of organisations offering information and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Producer: Andrew Wilkie
Editor: Clare Fordham
Behind the Crime is a co-production between BBC Long Form Audio and the Prison Radio Association.
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002fv54)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 17:57 Weather (m002fv56)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fv58)
Israel blames "technical error" for Gaza air strike
Israel's military has blamed what it called a "technical error" for an airstrike that's reported to have killed 10 Palestinians -- including 6 children -- at a water collection point in Gaza. The IDF said a munition had fallen "dozens" of metres from its intended target.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m002fv5b)
Jaega Wise
Can we harness energy from stars other than the Sun? That’s what CrowdScience’s Alex Lathbridge is attempting to uncover for Dickson in Uganda. There’s debate from Moral Maze about social cohesion in the UK, whilst we hear some of the lesser known stories from Irish nurses at the forefront of the NHS as they integrated into British society. Plus, Woman's Hour features a remarkable friendship established between an ICU worker and a survivor of the 7/7 bombings.
Presenter: Jaega Wise
Producer: Anthony McKee
Production Coordinator: Caroline Peddle
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m002fv5d)
Kenton and Tracy are shaken after the poisoning of the pub cat, Tortoise. Though the police can’t act without concrete evidence, Kenton suspects Markie or one of his crew. Tracy urges him to tell Joy so she’s got the full picture. He does so, and Joy’s relieved her titbits weren’t responsible for Tortoise getting ill. Kenton recommends she and Tracy take time away from work in case things turn nasty, but Joy’s determined not to be intimidated. Both she and Tracy refuse to be driven out of The Bull, standing firm behind Kenton’s decision to report the gang.
Justin and Martyn take to the golf course to discuss Justin’s plans for BL. Martyn is sceptical, calling them ludicrous, impractical and expensive. Justin’s curious to know if there’s anything going on between Martyn and Annabelle. He’s heard they’re meeting frequently. Martyn assures him there’s nothing to report, agreeing that she’s a difficult woman and he’ll be steering well clear in future. When Justin reveals new ideas – vertical farming, eco-tourism, eco-offices – Martyn warms to the concept. He confirms Borsetshire Water has released money from their community fund for the beaver enclosure. Justin’s impressed; there’s obviously common ground between the two of them. Martyn suggests adding food storage to the plan. Justin agrees it has potential, and after some persuasion Martyn promises his backing. They agree it’s wiser not to mention this to anyone else yet, especially Annabelle Schrivener.
SUN 19:15 Illuminated (m002fv5g)
All Under One Magnetosphere
Electromagnetic waves fill the universe, radiating from solar storms and bursts of lightning, but also from our electronic devices and infrastructures. Using simple, DIY tools, a community of audio enthusiasts translates these waves into sound, uncovering hidden sonic worlds.
Five dedicated ‘natural radio’ enthusiasts venture beyond the electromagnetic pollution of the city, tuning into the Earth’s natural static to reveal a rich, textured soundscape, rarely heard.
Stephen McGreevy, a cult figure within this practice, shares stories of his recordings during the geomagnetic storm of 1989. Hannah Kemp-Welch travels to northern Norway in search of the electromagnetic waves of the aurora borealis, struggling to escape the omnipresent hum of the mains power grid. Alyssa Moxley captures the crackles of shooting stars in southern France. Matt Parker ventures into the National Radio Quiet Zone in Virginia, USA. And Anonea experiments with antennas from a remote location in northern Spain.
This audio feature encourages listeners to contemplate the vast, often invisible role electromagnetism plays in our daily lives. It invites us to look up at the sky and imagine radio waves bouncing off layers of the atmosphere, connecting us all under one magnetosphere.
Produced by Hannah Kemp-Welch and Oliver Sanders
Research & Development: Hannah Kemp-Welch
Editing & Sound Design: Oliver Sanders
Executive Producer: Lucia Scazzocchio
Special thanks to Anonea, Alyssa Moxley, Dan Tapper, Francesca Thakorlal, Matt Parker, Rob Stammes, Rebekah Breding, Ruth Stewart, Sébastien Robert and Stephen P. McGreevy.
A Social Broadcasts production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001xvhl)
Get Fit with HIIT
There’s no question that exercise is important for our health, but many of us find it difficult to fit into our busy schedules. In this episode, Michael Mosley explores how high-intensity interval training, HIIT for short, might be the most time-efficient way to get fitter. It can also boost your cognitive performance, help you live longer, and improve your quality of life. Martin Gibala, Professor of Kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario, reveals all about the beneficial impact of HIIT on your cardiorespiratory system, your ability to control your blood sugar levels, and your risk of chronic diseases. Meanwhile, busy mum and NHS worker Suzanne finds HIIT a great way to incorporate a workout into her hectic routine.
Series Producer: Nija Dalal-Small
Editor: Zoë Heron
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.
SUN 20:00 Feedback (m002fljg)
BBC Sounds Overseas Switch Off and Lyse Doucet in Iran
It's official. BBC Sounds will close to listeners overseas on 21st July. Andrea Catherwood puts your questions about the proposed alternatives to Director of BBC Sounds, Jonathan Wall.
And the BBC's Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet's recent reports from Tehran struck a real chord with listeners. Lyse joins Andrea in the studio to explain the challenges of working under Iran's reporting restrictions.
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 (m002flm6)
Lord Tebbit, Daphne Boden, James Leprino, Sir Francis Graham-Smith
Matthew Bannister on
Lord Tebbit, who as Norman Tebbit was a member of Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet, introducing trade union reform and privatisation.
Daphne Boden, the harpist who played for the Queen and taught for more than fifty years at the Royal College of Music.
James Leprino who built a multi-billion-dollar business by supplying cheese to pizza chains.
And the former Astronomer Royal, Sir Francis Graham-Smith, who helped to transform our understanding of the origins of the universe.
Interviewee: John Sergeant
Interviewee: Lord Deben
Interviewee: Geraldine McMahon
Interviewee: Sally Pryce
Interviewee: Chloe Sorvino
Interviewee: Professor Andrew Lyne
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Archive used:
Lord Tebbit interview, A Life in Politics: Jo Coburn with leading politicians, BBC; Lord Tebbit, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 04/12/1992; Profile of Employment Secretary Norman Tebbit, BBC News, 26/01/1982; Norman Tebbit speech, Conservative Party Conference, BBC News, 1981; Brighton Bomb news report, BBC Television 12/10/1984; Lord Tebbit interview, BBC News, 24/09/2019; Daphne Boden interview, Meet the Stars, The Harp Channel, Uploaded to YouTube 25/06/2020; A Drive Through Time — A Leprino Foods Origin Story, Leprino Foods, https://vimeo.com/648650074, Vimeo uploaded 2024; Sir Francis Graham-Smith at 100, Science Cafe, BBC Radio Wales, 23/05/2023; Francis Graham-Smith appearance on The Sky at Night, BBC Television, 06/12/1992;
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m002fv5j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m002fv42)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002fv5l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:30 on Saturday]
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m002fv5n)
Latest political developments with Ben Wright and guests
Ben Wright is joined by the Labour MP Joe Powell; former Conservative Cabinet minister, Sir Andrew Mitchell; and the financial journalist and independent peer, Patience Wheatcroft. They discuss the possible strike by resident doctors and the state of the economy - ahead of the Chancellor's Mansion House speech. Sienna Rogers - deputy editor of The House magazine - brings additional insight and analysis. And the programme also includes an interview with comedian Matt Forde, about the art of political jokes and put-downs.
SUN 23:00 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 Jurd - trumpet; Daniel Higham - trombone; Alexander Boulton - banjo; Joe Webb - piano; Corrie Dick - drums; Soweto Kinch - saxophone
SUN 23:30 The History Podcast (m0024bfy)
The Lucan Obsession
1. The Double Mystery
One winter's night, 50 years ago, a crime took place that obsessed the nation.
Lord Lucan is said to have killed the family nanny, attacked his wife and vanished.
Newspapers ran wild with lurid detail and it became a story hardwired into British culture.
Why did this case capture the British imagination, and spark one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the 20th Century?
Historian Alex von Tunzelmann unpacks the story of our obsession, taking us into a dizzying world of high stakes gambling and exclusive London clubs, powerboat racing and pet tigers. It’s also a dark realm of bankruptcy, gaslighting and stalking, and at its heart, a story with a violent and very tragic death.
Across the series she investigates the two mysteries at the centre of this story: was Lord Lucan the murder, and where on earth did he go?
Told and retold, the facts of the Lucan story have got lost. Alex finds herself in a hall of mirrors where truth and lies distort themselves into new myths and new mysteries. Was the truth obscured by booze and backhanders, class deference and journalist spin?
As she tries to get to the bottom of this case, she meets eyewitnesses from the '70s, people caught up in the crime, and those who just can’t let it go. She unearths long forgotten tapes and letters, piecing together fragments of a legend to discover why the Lucan myth still holds such power.
Series contributors:
Algy Cluff, Pierrette Goletto and Mandy Parks
Journalists: Bob Strange and James Fox
Author: Laura Thompson
Crime writer: Claire McGowan
Police: Geoff Lewry, Richard Swarbrick and Jackie Malton
UK Missing Persons Unit: Louise Newell
Presenter: Alex von Tunzelmann
Series Producer: Sarah Bowen
Content Producer: Becca Bryers
SUN 23:45 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
MONDAY 14 JULY 2025
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m002fv5q)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 00:15 Intrigue (m0022l46)
Worse than Murder
7. The Grand Finale
More than half a century after Muriel McKay's abduction and murder, her body has never been found. This final episode explores the various theories about Muriel's fate - from a beach burial to a gruesome disposal on the farm. New information emerges, including a shocking claim from Arthur Hosein about Muriel's burial site.
The McKay family continues their desperate search for answers, while grappling with the media's relentless interest in the case. Jane MacSorley reflects on the role of the press in keeping Muriel's story alive and the ethical implications of true crime reporting.
Amid the speculation and theories, Muriel's children share poignant memories of their mother, bringing her to life beyond the tragic circumstances of her death.
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 (m002fv5s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002fv5v)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002fv5x)
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 (m002fv5z)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002fv61)
A law to improve safety for football fans moves a step closer.
MON 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002fv63)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002fv65)
Not Simply Asking
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Rev Dr Bert Tosh.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m002fv67)
14/07/25 Berry boom, hot cows, State of UK Climate
The State of the UK Climate Report for 2025 is published today, Caz Graham explores the findings with Professor Liz Bentley of the Royal Meteorological Society.
Meanwhile, berry growers are reporting a bumper start to their season due to the sunny weather. The recent high temperatures in some parts of the UK have made life harder for dairy farmers. When temperatures rise, cows tend to produce less milk, and in dry areas of the country conserving winter forage for the cows is proving a headache.
Presenter: Caz Graham
Producer: Sarah Swadling
MON 05:57 Weather (m002fv69)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for farmers
MON 06:00 Today (m002fv7q)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Marianna in Conspiracyland (m002fmj8)
Marianna in Conspiracyland 2
3. Down the cancer conspiracy rabbit hole
What are cancer patients seeing on social media? The BBC’s social media investigations correspondent Marianna Spring goes down the cancer conspiracy rabbit hole to find out. She returns to the days Paloma spent in hospital after her cancer diagnosis to analyse the advice Paloma was being given by medical staff versus the advice she was receiving from alternative practioners and her Mum, Kate Shemirani. Marianna investigates Paloma’s mum’s platform as a conspiracy theory influencer and looks at the wider role some social media sites are playing in turbocharging accounts that promote health misinformation. Plus, she speaks to the Vice President of Royal College of Radiologists to understand how harmful content on social media is affecting patients.
Host: Marianna Spring
Producer: Anna Harris
Sound Engineer: Tony Churnside
Editor: Sam Bonham
Commissioning producer: Nathan Jones
Commissioning editor: Rhian Roberts
This was a BBC collaboration with Panorama.
MON 09:30 Fool's Gold (p0l0ks3n)
3. The Cover Story
History is written by the winners – but in the ground beneath our feet, lie secrets someone has tried to bury. We travel back in time to 878AD, a world of warring Anglo Saxon kingdoms and Viking invasions. Historian Gareth Williams reveals how the coins found by George and Layton could rewrite the story of King Alfred’s reign and of Britain itself.
Narrator: Aimee-Ffion Edwards
Contributors: Dr Gareth Williams, Nigel Cleeton, Peter Reavill
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 (m002fv7t)
Helena Bonham Carter, UEFA Women's Euro, Tuam, Women and gaming
Last night England faced Wales in their final match of the group stage of the UEFA Women's Euro and England came out victorious - winning 6-1 and knocking Wales out of the tournament in the process. To discuss the result, Nuala McGovern is joined by England's top goal scorer and former Lioness Ellen White, and Laura McAllister, Vice-President of UEFA, who was previously the captain of Wales' women's team, gaining 24 caps for her country.
For over 40 years, Helena Bonham Carter has delighted us with roles including Lucy Honeychurch in Room with a View, Princess Margaret in The Crown and Harry Potter's much-loved villain, Bellatrix Lestrange. She joins Nuala in the studio to discuss her latest role in new film, Four Letters of Love. Based on the bestselling book of the same name, she plays Margaret Gore, the wife of a poet living on a remote island in the West of Ireland in the 1970s.
We bring you the latest on the excavation of a mass grave of babies and young children at Tuam in County Galway in Ireland, due to begin later today. The exhumations will be carried out at the site of an institution for unmarried mothers, which operated between 1925 and 1961. We speak to journalist Alison O'Reilly, one of the women who pushed to get this investigation underway.
All this week we’re taking a deep dive into the world of gaming. It's an industry worth £6bn - more than music, TV and film combined - so we'll be exploring what impact it has on our lives (whether we realise it or not) and where women come into it. First up, we're joined by video game reporter and eSports presenter Frankie Ward and Twitch streamer Alyce, also known online as Alyska Plays, to discuss.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths
MON 11:00 State of Terror (m002fv7w)
Lone Wolves
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 for terrorism.
Presenter Dominic Casciani goes behind the scenes with those responsible for protecting us – from Prime Ministers to leaders of the UK’s security services, and those working with violent extremists to deradicalise them.
In this episode we reveal how one particular convicted terrorist was radicalised and what he did to plan a terror attack. And Dominic learns how some saw Government attempts to root out extremism as fueling radicalisation rather than stopping it.
Presenter: Dominic Casciani
Producer: Jonathan Brunert
MON 11:45 Beautiful Strangeness by Rebecca Stott (m002fv7y)
Episode 1: Daydreaming
The award-winning writer Rebecca Stott grew up in the closed and secretive Christian fundamentalist cult of the Exclusive Brethren. Books, even children’s books, cinema, music were all banned. Imagination, the ministering brothers preached, was a corrupting force.
As a child who had to sit still through eleven hours of church meetings a week during which the brothers preached impenetrable biblical exegesis, Rebecca learned to daydream. That strange childhood, she says, gave her the ability to imagine extraordinary things. And, as an adult, she’s found that she’s comfortable sitting with the inexplicable - she remains fascinated by the mysterious things that flicker at the edges of our vision.
But these tend to be things our society prefers to shut down. We love to close a good mystery. We don’t like not knowing. We are impatient to find rational explanations for everything that happens. And yet there is still so much we don’t know.
In this series of original essays, Rebecca explores how closely beautiful strangeness is woven into the ordinary and the everyday. She asks, in our push to rationalise everything, as well as our fear of being mocked or accused of indulging in magical thinking, are we losing opportunities for shared wonder?
In this first episode, Rebecca describes learning to daydream. She explains how her preoccupation with the strangeness of human experience began in the daydreams of the Brethren meeting room, enriched by the strange poetry of the Bible.
Rebecca Stott, author of the memoir In the Days of Rain which won the Costa Biography Award in 2017, has 14 books to her name. These include the novels Ghostwalk, The Coral Thief, and most recently Dark Earth, as well as the creative non-fiction works Darwin’s Ghosts: In Search of the First Evolutionists and Darwin and the Barnacle. She is a historian and broadcaster (BBC Radio 4, A Point of View) and taught literature and creative writing for over 30 years including as a professor at the University of East Anglia. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Written and presented by Rebecca Stott
Producer: Kirsten Lass
Editor: Sara Davies
Sound Engineer: Jon Calver
Image by Maia Miller-Lewis
A Loftus Media Production for BBC Radio 4
Author photo credit :Sarah Weal
MON 12:00 News Summary (m002fv81)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 You and Yours (m002fv83)
Sunbed Resurgence, Jellycat, Highstreet Health Care
Sunbed use is increasing and more tanning salons are opening attracting young people in particular. They're big on social media where tips and hacks are shared for maximising their effect including the promotion of illegal products like nasal sprays. Winifred Robinson speaks to a 28 year old who's been using sunbeds since she was 18 about why she uses them and what she knows about the risks. Winifred asks Susanna Daniels from Melanoma Focus and Gary Lipman from The Sunbed Association where there's such a think as 'responsible tanning' when it comes to sunbeds.
The hugely popular soft toy brand Jellycat is facing a backlash to its decision to drop 100 independent shops as stockists. Jellycat say they're big supporters of small business but that they are unable to support every shop that wants to stock the toys which are popular with adults as well as children. We hear from one shop which after almost 20 years will no longer be selling the brand plus retail expert Ellis Hawthorne on the thinking behind the decision.
Plus could locally accessible health care be part of the solution for the revival of the high street? The Government has announced a plan for health services being made available closer to where people live shifting care out of hospitals and into local communities and the private sector is also moving into the high street. So what difference could it make and how might it work. We hear about a centre that's already up and running in Warrington.
PRODUCER: CATHERINE EARLAM
PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
MON 12:57 Weather (m002fv85)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m002fv87)
BBC Gaza film 'breached accuracy guideline'
We speak live to BBC board member and chief executive of BBC News and current affairs Deborah Turness about two separate reports that are critical of BBC leadership. Plus, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert tells us that plans set out by Israel's defence minister to forcibly move Palestinians to the south of Gaza would be interpreted as being akin to a 'concentration camp'.
MON 13:45 Understand (m002fv89)
Derailed: The Story of HS2
1. The Railwayman
Kate meets Andrew McNaughton, the man who, in 2009, was given the task of sitting down with a blank piece of paper and designing a new high speed rail line. Ministers across the political aisle were aware of the desperate need for a capacity boost on the creaking West Coast Mainline; and looking for a jolt of optimism in the wake of the financial crash. It was the first new line north of London in over 70 years, and Andrew was venturing out into uncharted territory; he set out to design a futureproof, ambitious solution that would be the envy of the world.
Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
Sound Design and Mix: Arlie Adlington
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
MON 14:00 The Archers (m002fv5d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Ed Reardon's Week (m002fv8d)
Series 16
3. 'Gen Ed'
Ed throws himself into his new role as Theatre Critic for ‘The Countrywoman’.
He assures his readers that he won’t hold back in the critique of what he sees as “the wayward vowel epidemic of recent times”. So it is that he finds himself grappling with the vagaries of Gen Z (or is that Gen Y or Gen Alpha?), and his new role lands him in a quandary between ambition and truth when he has to review a truly awful opera production directed by a dear old friend who was once described as ‘the most beautiful man in the world’.
Ed Reardon - Christopher Douglas
Eli - Lisa Coleman
Ping - Barunka O’Shaughnessy
Willow - Eve Ponsonby
Sir Peter - Robert Powell
Fifi - Nicola Sanderson
Simon - Joe Thomas
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 (m001q0w2)
Episode 2
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 (m002fv8g)
Desiree Akhavan and Rosie Wilby
ALL FOURS by Miranda July, chosen by Desiree Akhavan
UNTRUE by Wednesday Martin, chosen by Rosie Wilby
DRAGON TALK by Fleur Adcock, chosen by Harriett Gilbert
Filmmaker and writer Desiree Akhavan joins comedian, writer and podcaster Rosie Wilby as they discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Desiree's choice is All Fours by Miranda July, a novel about a perimenopausal woman's sexual awakening on an unusual road trip. By coincidence, Rosie Wilby chooses a non-fiction book which looks at research into women's sexuality, Untrue by Wednesday Martin. Harriett's choice is a volume of poetry by Fleur Adcock, dealing with matters of family and childhood.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven
Join the conversation on Instagram: agoodreadbbc
Photo credit Cecila Frugiuele
MON 15:30 You're Dead to Me (m002fv8j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Saturday]
MON 16:00 Currently (m002fv4v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:30 on Sunday]
MON 16:30 Rewinder (m002fv8l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
MON 17:00 PM (m002fv8n)
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon guilty of gross negligence manslaughter over baby's death
Constance Marten and Mark Gordon guilty of gross negligence manslaughter and child cruelty after their baby was found dead in a bag. Reports from court and background to the case.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fv8q)
BBC Gaza documentary breached guidelines, review finds
The BBC's Director General Tim Davie has apologised after a review found the Corporation failed to disclose that the documentary 'Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone' was narrated by the child of a Hamas official. Separately, the former Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace said he was deeply sorry for any distress his behaviour caused after dozens of allegations against him were upheld. Also: Constance Marten and Mark Gordon are found guilty the manslaughter of their newborn daughter after a retrial. And a 61-year-old Flymo lawnmower is set to be inducted in a hall of fame.
MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m002fv8s)
Series 83
2. Marching Time
Radio 4's multi award-winning ‘antidote to panel games’ promises yet more quality, desk-based entertainment for all the family.
This week the programme pays a return visit to 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 (m002fv8v)
Susan is still reeling from Amber’s harsh words about Neil. She’s frustrated Neil didn’t tell her sooner. He declares he didn’t want her hurt, but she counters she’d rather have known and not had to depend on Clarrie to tell her. She wants to talk about it, and if Neil won’t talk, she’ll go and see Emma. Neil admits he hasn’t told Emma either. He feels he needs to put it out of his head or it won’t end in peace. He fears telling Emma could damage her fragile relationship with George. He would rather let things blow over. Susan disagrees. Emma has a right to know, and from them rather than anyone else. Neil reluctantly accepts her decision. He wonders if they’re the ones who need forgiving. Susan confesses she worries about things getting worse when George is released, feeling selfish and unkind for having such thoughts.
Lynda tries to recruit Azra to help run the village fete. Azra’s adamant she doesn’t want to do it, and resists despite Lynda’s persistence. Lynda runs into Akram, who to her surprise offers his help without being asked. He feels he owes her for her previous kindness in housing his family in their time of need. Azra is stunned when she learns Akram’s become Lynda’s “trusty lieutenant.” She warns him he’s in for a demanding ride as her unpaid servant – his every waking hour will be filled with a great list of jobs. Akram’s optimism begins to waver; what has he done?
MON 19:15 Front Row (m002fv8x)
Gruelling film productions - stories from the sets of Apocalypse now and Fitzcarraldo
We mark Bastille Day with a dive into President Macron’s cultural policy for France. And we revisit the dark heart of filmmaking with two people who were there during the making of Apocalypse Now and Fitzcarraldo. Documentaries made about both films have been re-released - Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse, about Apocalypse Now is in cinemas, and Burden of Dreams about Fitzcarraldo is streaming.
Kasim Ali on his new novel about young British Pakistani men and gang culture. And Errolyn Wallen on composing for the First Night of the Proms.
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Harry Graham
MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m002fljj)
The Trump hokey cokey is back - what happens to world trade now?
The Trump hokey cokey is back. Tariffs on, tariffs reduced - now they’re heading back up again.
It really got going on April 2nd- President Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” - when he announced a swathe of punitive tariffs on trading partners across the world. The markets tanked and then there was a pause. Countries had 90 days to strike a trade deal - 90 deals in 90 days - we were told. But there weren’t. There were only 2. The deadline was this week but now it’s next month. But in the past few days the White House has been sending out a flurry of letters with higher tariffs for those without a deal - which is almost everyone. David Aaronovitch asks his guests just what is going on, what’s happening to world trade and what happens next?
Guests:
Soumaya Keynes, Economics Columnist The Financial Times
Meredith Crowley, Professor of Economics, University of Cambridge
Justin Wolfers, Professor of Economics and Public Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University of Michigan
Philip Coggan, author, The Economic Consequences of Mr Trump: What the Trade War Means for the World
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Sally Abrahams, Kirsteen Knight
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound engineer: Neil Churchill and David Crackles
Editor: Richard Vadon
MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (m002fljl)
How can we reduce the impact of plastic on the environment?
Next month world leaders will again gather to focus on dealing with our global plastic problem. So this week we’re looking for solutions. Marnie Chesterton hears from Professor of Sustainable Chemical Engineering at the University of Sheffield, Rachael Rothman on how we can engineer safer, more environmentally friendly plastics.
And at the other end of the plastic spectrum, she hears about the clean up operation after the world’s biggest ocean spill of nurdles – tiny plastic pellets which are used to make plastic products. Investigative environmental journalist Leana Hosea brings the results of her investigation into the clean up after the X-Press Pearl container ship caught fire and sank 4 years ago.
Mark Miodownik, University College London Professor of Materials & Society returns to the studio with the results of a citizen science project to try to get more data on potty training. It aims to encourage parents to get toddlers out of nappies earlier.
And Penny Sarchet, managing editor at New Scientist brings her pick of this week’s newest scientific discoveries.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton
Producers: Clare Salisbury and Dan Welsh
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
MON 21:00 How Boarding Schools Shaped Britain (m0027t5m)
2. Codes
What did it mean to grow up in the type of boarding schools where codes of tradition, privilege, and resilience dictated life?
In the second of three programmes, Nicky Campbell hears from ex-boarders about the unspoken rules and survival mechanisms forged in these elite institutions - places that have shaped leaders, but left some with profound scars.
The structures and hierarchies were created to forge great men, but could also be extremely traumatic for some, and could empower abusers. Some men say being sent away at an early age left them in dangerous, violent hands, and has cast long shadows.
MON 21:45 Untaxing (m0029hm0)
2. The Beatles Clause
Harry Potter star, Rupert Grint, thought he’d found a way to cut his tax bill, until an obscure law tripped him up. That law? One created because of The Beatles.
But why were the Fab Four so desperate to avoid tax? And how did their money-saving scheme end with them losing control of their own music? A story of rock, rebellion, and the long arm of the taxman.
Producer: Tom Pooley
A Tempo+Talker production for BBC Radio 4
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m002fv8z)
Major shift by Trump on Ukraine war
Major shift by Trump on Ukraine war.
Russia and trading partners threatened with "very severe" tariffs
Ed Miliband's plays the patriotism card in his fight for net zero
and is Prince Harry offering an olive branch to the King?
MON 22:45 Private Angelo by Eric Linklater (m002fv91)
Hiya Toots
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 and his patron the Count – recently declared dead by the Germans – enjoy the delights of newly-liberated 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.
MON 23:00 Whodunnits (m000zff3)
A Charles Paris Mystery - A Deadly Habit
Episode 2
by Jeremy Front
based on the novel by Simon Brett
Charles ..... Bill Nighy
Frances ..... Suzanne Burden
Maurice ..... Jon Glover
Brendan ..... Jonathan Kydd
Kit ..... Joseph Ayre
Kelly ..... Jane Slavin
Nina..... Marilyn Nnadebe
D.S. Dalby ..... Stewart Campbell
Directed by Sally Avens
Charles is playing a monk in a play in the West End when a cast member falls down stairs. A nasty accident or something more sinister? Charles can't help but be suspicious.
MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002fv94)
Susan Hulme reports as the climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, answers MPs questions about warming weather.
TUESDAY 15 JULY 2025
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m002fv98)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 00:30 Beautiful Strangeness by Rebecca Stott (m002fv7y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002fv9c)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002fv9f)
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 (m002fv9h)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002fv9k)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster as Ed Miliband warns MPs that climate change is threatening the UK's way of life.
TUE 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002fv9m)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002fv9p)
Actions Matching Prayer
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Rev Dr Bert Tosh.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m002fv9r)
15/07/25 Welsh sustainable farming scheme, blueberries, solar farms on farmland.
Farmers and environmentalists are bracing themselves as major changes to the financial support system for agriculture in Wales are announced today. Agriculture is devolved, and policy is decided separately in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Welsh government will publish details of its sustainable farming scheme or SFS later.
Plant breeders in Scotland have unveiled a UK-bred blueberry. The James Hutton Institute has grown thousands of seedlings to develop a berry with good flavour, yield and able to tolerate the UK climate. They plan to call the new variety Highland Charm.
The Countryside Charity CPRE says new analysis shows that two-thirds of mega solar farms are built on productive farmland. They'd like to see more solar power generated from rooftop systems instead.
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Rebecca Rooney
TUE 06:00 Today (m002fvk6)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 Artworks (m002fvk8)
Three Transformations of Virginia Woolf
3. Gender
‘Orlando had become a woman - there is no denying it.’
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 the impact of Woolf’s ideas about gender, both on individuals and on culture.
Fiona hears from authors Naomi Alderman and Michelle de Kretser; Woolf biographer Alexandra Harris; drag king Holly James Johnston; Eleanor Black from the National Trust; filmmaker Sally Potter; philosopher Paul Preciado; Professor of Comparative Literature, Rachel Bowlby; and Professor of English, Mark Hussey.
Extracts read by Gwendoline Christie.
Produced by Ellie Richold for BBC Audio
TUE 09:30 Inside Health (m002fvhn)
Sport and the female body
As an era-defining summer of women’s sport kicks off, Inside Health looks at the science of sport and the female body.
What do we know about how female physiology affects sporting performance?
James visits Manchester to meet elite athletes and the scientists who are at the forefront of investigating the impact of periods on athletic performance and why women are more prone to certain injuries than men. He also hears about breast movement and why the right sports bra really matters.
You'll hear from:
- Calli Hauger-Thackery, a distance runner who has represented Team GB in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games;
- Kirsty Elliott-Sale, Professor of Female Endocrinology and Exercise Physiology at Manchester Metropolitan University;
- Dr Thomas Dos'Santos, Senior Lecturer in Strength and Conditioning and Sports Biomechanics at Manchester Metropolitan University;
- Joanna Wakefield-Scurr, Professor of Biomechanics and Head of the Research Group in Breast Health at the University of Portsmouth;
- Katy Daley-McLean, former England rugby captain and leading England point scorer of all time, now Women's Performance Lead at Sale Sharks Women
Presenter: James Gallagher
Producer Gerry Holt
Editor: Glyn Tansley and Martin Smith
Production coordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
This episode is produced in partnership with The Open University. Curious to know more? Try The Open University’s ‘Menstruation Myths’ quiz by following the links to The Open University.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002fvkb)
Author Holly Jackson, Black Girl Gamers, Constance Martin case
The Invest in Women Taskforce, backed by the Department for Business and Trade, was set up last year with the aim of creating ‘the world’s biggest funding pot of £250 million’ to invest in female-led businesses. The Taskforce has been criticised by some MPs on the Women and Equalities Select Committee, suggesting that it is ‘lacking a sense of urgency.’ To respond to this and give context on the challenges and opportunities for female entrepreneurship in the UK, Nuala McGovern is joined by the co-chair of the Taskforce, entrepreneur and investor Debbie Wosskow OBE and the Chair of the Select Committee, Sarah Owen MP.
The UK’s bestselling female crime writer in 2024, Holly Jackson, has just published her first thriller for adults. Up to now Holly has been known for her success in writing for Young Adults – she has sold more than 10 million YA books and last summer a TV adaptation of her debut, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, was a hit for both BBC3 and Netflix. Holly joins Nuala to talk about deciding to write for older readers with her latest novel, Not Quite Dead Yet, and her ambition to out-perform Richard Osman and Lee Child.
In the second part of our new series about women and gaming, we’re finding out more about the impact gaming can have on women’s lives. Nuala heads to the Virgin Media Gamepad at the O2 to meet some of the women from the Black Girl Gamers community, who have over 10,000 members around the world, and neuroscientist Dr Faye Begeti tells us what actually goes on in our brains when we play video games.
Yesterday saw the long-awaited verdict in the Constance Marten and Mark Gordon retrial. The couple have been found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence, more than two years after the body of their baby, Victoria, had been discovered in a shopping bag in Brighton. An earlier trial at the same court found them guilty of concealing the birth of a child, perverting the course of justice by not reporting her death, and of child cruelty. BBC News correspondent Helena Wilkinson has been following both trials. She joins Nuala to discuss the details.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Andrea Kidd
TUE 11:00 Screenshot (m002flmj)
In the Mood for Love
Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode celebrate 25 years of In The Mood For Love - director Wong Kar Wai's acclaimed romantic drama starring Maggie Cheung as Mrs Chan and Tony Leung as Mr Chow - two neighbours in 1960s Hong Kong, bonded by a revelation about their respective spouses.
Critically beloved on its first release back in 2000, the film is now reaching an entirely new generation of young film fans, thanks in part to its popularity on social media sites like Letterboxd and TikTok.
Mark speaks to critic and sometime filmmaker Tony Rayns, who was a key part of Wong Kar-Wai's team for many years, working closely with the director on the English subtitles for his films. Tony gives Mark the inside story of the production of In The Mood For Love, as well as some insight into the enigmatic director's sometimes chaotic working methods.
Ellen takes a trip to The Prince Charles Cinema in London's Leicester Square - where film fans in their early 20s have been packing screenings of In The Mood For Love - to try to get a sense of why Wong Kar Wai's modern masterpiece has developed such a devoted fanbase. And she speaks to Paul Vickery - Head of Programming at the Prince Charles - about the film's continuing popularity with audiences.
And Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Bradford Young tells Mark how he fell in love with the work of Wong Kar-Wai - and why he thinks In The Mood For Love is still resonating with young viewers a quarter century on.
Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:45 Beautiful Strangeness by Rebecca Stott (m002fvkd)
Episode 2: The Attic
The award-winning writer Rebecca Stott grew up in the closed and secretive Christian fundamentalist cult of the Exclusive Brethren. Books, even children’s books, cinema, music were all banned. Imagination, the ministering brothers preached, was a corrupting force.
As a child who had to sit still through eleven hours of church meetings a week during which the brothers preached impenetrable biblical exegesis, Rebecca learned to daydream. That strange childhood, she says, gave her the ability to imagine extraordinary things. And, as an adult, she’s found that she’s comfortable sitting with the inexplicable - she remains fascinated by the mysterious things that flicker at the edges of our vision.
But these tend to be things our society prefers to shut down. We love to close a good mystery. We don’t like not knowing. We are impatient to find rational explanations for everything that happens. And yet there is still so much we don’t know.
In this series of original essays, Rebecca explores how closely beautiful strangeness is woven into the ordinary and the everyday. She asks, in our push to rationalise everything, as well as our fear of being mocked or accused of indulging in magical thinking, are we losing opportunities for shared wonder?
In this second episode, Rebecca explores some of the mysteries that confound and fascinate modern scientists by way of a Kashmiri mathematician, Charles Darwin, the spooky world of quantum physics and the beautiful strangeness of slime mould.
Rebecca Stott, author of the memoir In the Days of Rain which won the Costa Biography Award in 2017, has 14 books to her name. These include the novels Ghostwalk, The Coral Thief, and most recently Dark Earth, as well as the creative non-fiction works Darwin’s Ghosts: In Search of the First Evolutionists and Darwin and the Barnacle. She is a historian and broadcaster (BBC Radio 4, A Point of View) and taught literature and creative writing for over 30 years including as a professor at the University of East Anglia. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Written and presented by Rebecca Stott
Producer: Kirsten Lass
Editor: Sara Davies
Sound Engineer: Jon Calver
Image by Maia Miller-Lewis
A Loftus Media Production for BBC Radio 4
Author photo credit :Sarah Weal
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m002fvkg)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m002fvkj)
Call You and Yours: What's your experience of estate agents and letting agents?
It's our phone in today and and we're asking: What's your experience of estate agents and letting agents?
An undercover investigation by the BBC has exposed how Connell's chain of estate agents sidelined buyers with higher offers, in favour of buyers with lower offers who'd used in-house mortgage and conveyancing services.
Whistleblowers told the BBC Purplebricks overinflates valuations to win business and they get commission if the seller drops the asking price later.
So what's your been your experience of using an estate agent or letting agent?
Maybe you're unsure if you got the best deal when using in house mortgage or conveyancing services. Did you feel pushed into using them?
If you were a seller did you think you got all the offers that were made on your house?
Perhaps you've had a positive experience with an estate or letting agent - we would like to know.
Email youandyours@bbc.co.uk. Please leave your phone number so we can call you back.
Our phone lines open at
11am - you can call 03700 100 444.
PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: LYDIA THOMAS
TUE 12:57 Weather (m002fvkl)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m002fvkn)
Data breach led to secret Afghan relocation scheme
We get reaction to news that the government set up a secret re-location scheme to bring Afghans to the UK after a data breach. We assess a report in the Financial Times that President Trump wants Ukraine to strike deeper into Russia, including Moscow. Plus, we analyse data to find out if rich people really are leaving the UK.
TUE 13:45 Understand (m002fvkq)
Derailed: The Story of HS2
2. Mutually assured exaggeration
As the designs for HS2 took shape, the new team behind it set out to prove its value to Ministers and MPs. But as Kate hears, long term flaws were being baked into the project, with an economic justification that centred on outdated assumptions. And, as the designers sought to make the justification, they adjusted the design - making it more expensive. The focus on speed was exciting - but it also distracted from the line’s real purpose. The initial vision was becoming more muddled by the minute.
Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
Sound Design and Mix: Arlie Adlington
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m002fv8v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m0018ntw)
Bad Ark
New comedy drama from Matt Hartley.
Billionaire businessman Mr Green has taken his guests to the North Pole on his new superyacht, The Final Frontier. That's the moment when the last of the ice shelves calve, the wave hits and the great flood happens. With most of the passengers overboard and most of the world underwater, 4 fairly clueless survivors try to work out what to do next: the heiress, her bodyguard, a guy from the engine room and a washed up reality star. Is there really no one else left? How much caviar do they have on board? And what is going on with the seagull?
Cast:
Manny - Juan Wilken
Gary - Steffan Rhodri
Jasmine - Freya Mavor
Kika -Joanna Simpkins
Stevie G - Sion Pritchard
The Man - David Menkin
Tagalog translation: Sam Dapanas
Sound by Nigel Lewis
Produced by John Norton
A BBC Audio Wales Production
TUE 15:00 Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley (m002fvks)
Lady Swindlers with Lucy Worsley - Series 2
50. Swindling Superpowers
In the final episode of season two of Lady Swindlers, Lucy Worsley and her partner in crime, Professor Rosalind Crone, are joined by novelist and game designer Naomi Alderman, author of the award-winning book, The Power.
Together they explore one curious question - did our Lady Swindlers have superpowers?
From the strength and agility of Minnie Pheby, the Lady Burglar, to the psychic abilities of the Fox Sisters, these women used their talents to surprise, deceive and outwit the men around them. Whether they were slipping through windows, conducting séances, spiking drinks, or stealing museum masterpieces, each Lady Swindler flipped expectations on their head.
Lucy, Rosalind, and Naomi also take on big questions about women and power. Is crime a form of resistance? Do we romanticise female criminals? And what would a truly equal society actually look like?
Diving into the themes of The Power, they explore how stories and swindles expose the deeper gender dynamics of then and now. Featuring a lady burglar, spirit mediums, a hocusser, a drink-spiker, and a French art thief on the run, this finale asks what these women’s crimes reveal about the nature of power and women's lives.
Producer: Riham Moussa
Readers: Clare Corbett, Lauren Leko, Jonathan Keeble, and Alex Phelps
Historical Consultant: Rosalind Crone
Executive Producer: Kirsty Hunter
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:30 Thinking Allowed (m002fvkv)
Dogs
DOGS – Laurie Taylor explores the making of the modern companion animal, from working animals to pampered pets. Chris Pearson, Professor of Environmental History at the University of Liverpool, charts the changing fortunes of hunting dogs, street dogs and show dogs, as they moved from the rural to the urban, shedding utilitarian roles to become cherished family members. Also, Mariam Motamedi Fraser, Honorary Research Fellow at University College, London, asks if dogs belong with humans and the natural bond is less natural than we assume.
Producer: Jayne Egerton
TUE 16:00 Artworks (m002fvkx)
Rocking the Recorder
Susan Calman celebrates one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented music instruments of all time - the recorder.
For many people, the mere mention of this instrument triggers visceral memories of blasting out Hot Cross Buns in primary school music class - but Susan argues, in the right hands, the recorder isn’t squeaky and shrill, but a beautiful and incredibly versatile instrument.
Susan looks back fondly on those early years of recorder playing and leads the charge to champion this often maligned musical underdog. She opens our eyes (and ears) to the exciting world of recorder music - from experimental medieval, to baroque, and contemporary music.
Featuring The Recorder Rescue Orchestra in Bristol led by artist Jo Hellier; musician and composer Laura Cannell; art pop group Mermaid Chunky; electronic composer Gazelle Twin; musician and producer Peter-John Vettese; Sarah Martin from Belle & Sebastian; musician and researcher Fatima Lahham; Ian Wilson, principal recorder professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama; and recorder professor Sarah Jeffery from the Royal College of Music.
Together, they make the case for the recorder as a surprisingly versatile instrument that can be used in all genres of music - and yes it can really rock.
Producer: Victoria Ferran
Executive producer: Susan Marling
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 16:30 What's Up Docs? (m002fvkz)
Is it ever safe to tan?
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken clear up the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, the Doctors turn their attention to tanning. As sun-lovers themselves, Chris and Xand know there’s a lot of confusion surrounding how to tan safely - if that’s even possible.
In today’s episode they’re weighing up the pros and cons of being in direct sunshine. Can you ever tan safely? What happens when we burn? And most importantly, how can we enjoy sunny days without putting our skin at risk? To get some straight answers, they speak with Dr Rachel Abbott, Consultant Dermatologist at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
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: Dr Rachel Abbott
Producers: Jo Rowntree and Maia Miller-Lewis
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
Editor: Kirsten Lass
Researcher: Grace Revill
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Social Media: Leon Gower
Digital Lead: Richard Berry
Composer: Phoebe McFarlane
Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby
At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 17:00 PM (m002fvl1)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fvl3)
Afghans relocate to the UK after MOD data breach
The High Court has lifted a super injunction revealing that the last government set up a secret relocation scheme for Afghans at risk of retribution by the Taliban after their personal data was leaked by the Ministry of Defence.
John Torode has been sacked as a presenter of MasterChef, after an allegation that he used "an extremely offensive racist term" was upheld.
The two men who felled the Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland have each been jailed for four years and three months.
TUE 18:30 Room 101 with Paul Merton (m001y874)
Series 2
Daliso Chaponda
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, Daliso Chaponda attempts to banish the scourge of ready meals and unsanitary handshakes, as well as people who think a double dip is acceptable.
Additional material John Irwin and Suki Webster
Produced by Richard Wilson
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m002fvh3)
At Berrow, Jazzer and Neil talk about Tracy’s fiftieth birthday party. Jazzer wonders whether Neil and Susan might want to join them. Neil equivocates, suggesting instead that they have Bert at Ambridge View for the evening. Jazzer’s grateful. Too late, he warns against mentioning the party to Martyn. Martyn overhears and invites himself – it’s a while since he’s been to a party. Neil predicts to mortified Jazzer that Martyn will back out, claiming a double booking. He’s proved right when to Jazzer’s immense relief Martyn bows out, saying his brother’s coming over. Jazzer feigns disappointment, declaring Martyn will be very welcome if things change.
George meets with the prison chaplain to discuss his plans to marry Amber. He insists on a ceremony inside the prison, unwilling to wait until his release. The chaplain questions his urgency; he can’t pull the strings George thinks he can to get things moving. George eventually admits he fears Amber will leave him. He worries she’ll realise he’s not good enough. Her mum and dad think that and he feels they’ve got a point. George opens up further. He feels misunderstood by his family and worries that he’s basically bad, and doesn’t belong. The chaplain disagrees. Amber clearly loves him and has chosen him. He’s not ‘basically bad’ but potentially good, same as everyone else. He urges George to find a way to show the world he loves Amber. George promises to give it some thought. He’ll think of something.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m002fvl5)
Football and Art - united in a new work created by former footballer Edgar Davids and artist Paul Pfeiffer
Former footballer Edgar Davids and artist Paul Pfeiffer on creating a new work for the Manchester International Festival.
As four new twenty minute operas are premiered at the Buxton International Festival, Helen Goodman, artistic manager at the festival, and Hannah Ellis Ryan, artistic director of theatre company, HER Productions, discuss how short plays and operas can lead the way for change.
Jo Callaghan has an AI detective at the centre of her Kat and Lock crime fiction series. Ajay Chowdhury uses digital technology in his crime fiction. They discuss the impact developments in the tech world are having on their genre.
Presented by Nick Ahad
Produced by Ekene Akalawu
TUE 20:00 File on 4 Investigates (m002fvgl)
Hospital abuse caught on camera
When the parent of a patient in a psychiatric hospital questioned why he couldn’t see CCTV footage of an incident involving his son it led to a series of extraordinary discoveries.
Glynn Brown was told that cameras had never been switched on despite being present throughout wards at Muckamore Abbey Hospital, in Northern Ireland.
In fact, the cameras had been recording for six months without staff knowing. In all, they captured 300,000 hours of footage which is reported to show appalling abuse and cruelty against patients – many of whom are non-verbal and have complex needs. File on 4 Investigates has spent months examining what happened and highlights how – eight years on from the discovery – no criminal cases have yet come to trial. It also considers why the scandal has not drawn more public outrage, and what lessons are being learned to protect patients elsewhere?
Reporter: Noel Titheradge
Producer: Fergus Hewison
Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Richard Vadon
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m002fvl7)
Visible Voices; Blind Beauty; Live Audio Description for the Euros
It can often feel as though blind and partially sighted people, and disabled people more generally, are excluded when it comes to fashion and beauty campaigns. But In Touch hears from women who are trying to switch up the narrative and showcase that blind and partially sighted people, and disabled people generally, are active participants and consumers of these industries. Bérénice Magistretti is a co-founder of a new platform 'Visible Voices', that showcases work from disabled voices and encourages disabled people to be more visible. Hazal Baybasin is the founder of Blind Beauty, a beauty brand providing products but with accessibility at its heart.
In Touch also hears from ITV's director of accessibility, David Padmore about why and how the organisation is providing live audio description for the Women's Euros championship.
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.
TUE 21:00 Intrigue (m0028kz9)
Word of God
4. You've Got Mail
Federal investigators uncover a shadowy scheme to smuggle ancient clay tablets into America.
When customs officers in Memphis inspect a package labelled "tile samples" in January 2011, they discover something far more precious - delicate clay tablets covered in cuneiform, one of humanity's earliest forms of writing. Through exclusive interviews with former US prosecutor Karin Orenstein and special agent Brenton Easter, Lewis reveals how this discovery led to one of the largest antiquities investigations in recent history.
The episode reconstructs how Hobby Lobby President Steve Green attended a meeting in an apartment in the United Arab Emirates to view thousands of ancient artefacts, despite receiving explicit legal warnings about importing items from Iraq. When boxes of tablets start turning up at US customs addressed to Hobby Lobby stores labelled as craft supplies, investigators uncover an elaborate scheme of false declarations, undervalued items, and payments spread across multiple bank accounts.
As the investigation builds toward a landmark settlement requiring the return of around 3,800 artefacts and a $3 million payment, the episode exposes the complex world of international antiquities trafficking and raises questions about the responsibility of wealthy collectors to verify the origins of their acquisitions.
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
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 (m002flj2)
Scaling Up: What Turns a Start-Up into a Success?
What does it take to grow a new enterprise? Evan Davis hears about the decisions behind creating a multi million-pound business.
Founders share the challenges of shifting from solo entrepreneur to CEO, and navigating the make-or-break moments: when to invest, when to take risks, and when to hold back.
Plus, the realities of failure, internal setbacks, and the strategic role of social media in driving growth.
Evan is joined by:
Charlie Bowes-Lyon, Co-Founder, Wild;
Charlotte Figg, Co-Founder, Purdy & Figg;
Suneet Sachdeva, Founder & CEO, Bubble CiTea
Production team:
Producer: Osman Iqbal
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound: David Crackles
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m002fvl9)
Secret relocation scheme for Afghans in the UK revealed
The former Conservative leader, Sir Iain Duncan-Smith has described a leak by the Ministry of Defence - which made public the personal data of thousands of Afghans who worked with British Forces - as "a complete screw up". We also speak to an Afghan man, now in the UK, whose name was on the leaked list. Also: Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers Mansion House speech; and the two men who cut down the Sycamore Gap tree are sentenced.
TUE 22:45 Private Angelo by Eric Linklater (m002fvlc)
Tommaso
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.
In Pontefiore, Angelo’s home town is close to the fighting and fiancée Lucretzia and her family have been forced into hiding.
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 (m002ddb5)
3. This Looks Real
A growing cluster of unexplained illnesses among US diplomats forces a response from the government. One CIA field agent refuses to let the issue be ignored, becoming both advocate and investigator. As more reports surface, the agency sends a medical expert to assess the situation on the ground.
What happens next sends shockwaves through the case. In a story filled with doubt, deflection, and delayed decisions, the line between investigator and victim suddenly begins to blur - raising new questions about the nature of the threat, and whether anyone is truly safe.
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.
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
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002fvlg)
Sean Curran reports as the Defence Secretary discloses a massive data leak on Afghans who worked with the British armed forces. And Thames Water is recalled for questioning by MPs.
WEDNESDAY 16 JULY 2025
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m002fvlj)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 00:30 Beautiful Strangeness by Rebecca Stott (m002fvkd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002fvll)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002fvln)
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 (m002fvlq)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002fvls)
Susan Hulme reports as defence secretary John Healey reveals thousands of Afghans have been moved to the UK in a secret scheme after a data breach. Also, the last First Minister's Questions before the Senedd summer break.
WED 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002fvlv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002fvlx)
The Need for Honesty
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Rev Dr Bert Tosh.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m002fvlz)
16/07/25 Wales' new sustainable farming scheme.
The Welsh government has unveiled a new system of payments for farmers. The sustainable farming scheme or SFS replaces the current basic payment scheme or BPS, which farmers received under the EU. BPS is being wound down and farmers in Wales are being encouraged to take part in the new scheme, which will pay them to produce food sustainably and protect the environment. Farming unions welcome some aspects of the SFS but say farmers now face a cliff edge as old payments are phased out next year. Environmentalists say that although it's a step in the right direction, it is also a missed opportunity and Wales needs to do more to protect biodiversity and tackle climate change.
We speak to the Tenant Farmers Association, the RSPB, NFU Cymru, and Wales deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for climate change and rural affairs Huw Irranca-Davies.
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Rebecca Rooney
WED 06:00 Today (m002fvg9)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Sideways (m002fvgc)
Chasing Peace
1. Wired for War?
It’s December 2008. Wasim’s newborn daughter Yuna urgently needs care. He has no choice but to navigate the flames engulfing the streets of Gaza to find a doctor. In that harrowing moment, Wasim feels a profound injustice. This is not the future he wants for Yuna - or any other child. Despite the disheartening decades of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, on that day, Wasim still resolved to dedicate his life - to peace.
With conflicts and wars flaring across the globe, many of us struggle to believe that true, global peace is possible. If anything, it feels more elusive than ever. But if Wasim’s story shows us anything, it’s that even in difficult circumstances, we haven’t given up on the hope of peace.
In this first episode of Chasing Peace, a special three-part mini-series of Sideways, we explore whether humans are truly capable of peace, or if the dice were stacked against us from the very beginning.
With peace activist Wasim Al Masri, anthropologist Dr Douglas Fry, Professor of International Relations Oliver Richmond, and former Uganda peace negotiator Betty Bigombe.
Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Julien Manuguerra-Patten
Editor: Hannah Marshall
Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson
Theme music by: Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
WED 09:30 Shadow World (m002fvgf)
The Grave Robbers
2. Strangers in the Street
Fake wills, stolen identities and cannabis farms - Sue Mitchell’s investigation gathers pace as she exposes how criminals are stripping the estates of the dead , denying rightful heirs their inheritance.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002fvgj)
Claire Waxman, Miranda Raison, Women in gaming
A new report by London’s Victims’ Commissioner, Claire Waxman, says that victims are being forced to quit the criminal justice system in huge numbers amid record court delays and traumatic process. She joins Nuala McGovern in the Woman’s Hour studio to explain why they are saying 'there is a near total failure in seeing offenders brought to justice'.
What are your attitudes towards money and specifically saving it, rather than spending it? Are you confidently playing the markets or are you still tucking it away under the mattress for a rainy day? Traditionally women have been thought of as risk-averse when it comes to putting their money into stocks and shares. Is that about to change? And is there such a thing as the 'gender investment gap'? To discuss women's attitudes towards investing we hear from Dr. Sara Reis, deputy director and head of policy and research at the Women's Budget Group think tank.
Actor Miranda Raison has played numerous stage, screen and TV roles including the iconic Jean Seberg and Anne Boleyn but now takes on the role of the legendary Victorian actress Ellen Terry in a new play by David Hare - Grace Pervades at the Theatre Royal Bath. It tells the story of her relationship with Henry Irving, played by Ralph Fiennes, the greatest stars of the Victorian stage. Miranda discusses her latest role.
News of fresh guidance from the government for relationships, sex and health education in schools. Responding, to what it says, is an increase in the harmful and misogynistic content, children are exposed to online. According to recent research, when asked about just the past week, over a third of pupils aged 11-19 had heard comments that made them worry about girls' safety, and more than half witnessed comments they would describe as misogynistic. The BBC's Education Editor Branwen Jeffreys updates us.
Despite making up almost half of gaming audiences, just 30% of games industry workers are women. In the next part of our series on women and gaming, we're finding out why this is and what can be done to get more women into the industry. Charu Desodt, who was the first female engineer at Sony's London studio in 1999, and Tara Mustapha, founder of Code Coven, discuss.
Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Kirsty Starkey
WED 11:00 File on 4 Investigates (m002fvgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Tuesday]
WED 11:40 This Week in History (m002fvgn)
July 14th - July 20th
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 14th - July 20th
- 16th of July 1969 - The Apollo 11 spacecraft launches in to space, and sets down on the moon four days later.
- 14th of July 1789 - the royal fortress prison Bastille was stormed by a crowd of angry Parisians, igniting the French Revolution.
- 19th of July 1545 - Henry VIII's leading warship the Mary Rose capsizes and sinks in the Solent.
Presented by Jane Steel and Caroline Nicholls.
Produced by Amanda Litherland and Chris Pearson
WED 11:45 Beautiful Strangeness by Rebecca Stott (m002fvgq)
Episode 3: Apparitions
The award-winning writer Rebecca Stott grew up in the closed and secretive Christian fundamentalist cult of the Exclusive Brethren. Books, even children’s books, cinema, music were all banned. Imagination, the ministering brothers preached, was a corrupting force.
As a child who had to sit still through eleven hours of church meetings a week during which the brothers preached impenetrable biblical exegesis, Rebecca learned to daydream. That strange childhood, she says, gave her the ability to imagine extraordinary things. And, as an adult, she’s found that she’s comfortable sitting with the inexplicable - she remains fascinated by the mysterious things that flicker at the edges of our vision.
But these tend to be things our society prefers to shut down. We love to close a good mystery. We don’t like not knowing. We are impatient to find rational explanations for everything that happens. And yet there is still so much we don’t know.
In this series of original essays, Rebecca explores how closely beautiful strangeness is woven into the ordinary and the everyday. She asks, in our push to rationalise everything, as well as our fear of being mocked or accused of indulging in magical thinking, are we losing opportunities for shared wonder?
In this third episode, Rebecca explores apparitions, sleep paralysis and hallucinations through a conversation with Oliver Sacks. She asks, if hallucinations are so common, occurring in states of meditation, fasting, grief, waking from sleep, childbirth and so on, why are we quick to dismiss them? By doing so, might we lose opportunities for shared wonder?
Rebecca Stott, author of the memoir In the Days of Rain which won the Costa Biography Award in 2017, has 14 books to her name. These include the novels Ghostwalk, The Coral Thief, and most recently Dark Earth, as well as the creative non-fiction works Darwin’s Ghosts: In Search of the First Evolutionists and Darwin and the Barnacle. She is a historian and broadcaster (BBC Radio 4, A Point of View) and taught literature and creative writing for over 30 years including as a professor at the University of East Anglia. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Written and presented by Rebecca Stott
Producer: Kirsten Lass
Editor: Sara Davies
Sound Engineer: Jon Calver
Image by Maia Miller-Lewis
A Loftus Media Production for BBC Radio 4
Author photo credit :Sarah Weal
WED 12:00 News Summary (m002fvgs)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 You and Yours (m002fvgv)
Private Parking Consultation, Sandwiches, Eco Funerals, Podcast Scam
The government has launched a consultation on a new code to stop people being "unfairly penalised" by private car park operators, which will run for the next eight weeks. There were close to 13 million parking charge notices issued by private parking firms in the past year, and we'll be talking with the British Parking Association and the AA to hear what they believe needs to change.
From the Philly Cheese steak to the Rubin and the Muffuletta - Deli, or supercharged sandwiches are having a surge in popularity at the moment, partly thanks to social medias appetite for food content, but also because consumers are looking for a lunch time treat, especially when they’re in the office and looking for a little more than the average meal deal. We headed to Liverpool to visit one shop that's growing rapidly and also moving into merchandise and teaming up with a clothing brand.
There is a growing interest in having an environmentally friendly funeral, according to Sun Life one in ten of use are now doing that.
We talk to one husband about the service that was arranged for his wife, and why it was so important to her and the family.
And in You & Yours' continuing investigation into a podcast scam on Meta platforms. We hear from a Queen tribute band about how they were targeted by it, and what impact it's had on them.
PRESENTER: Winifred Robinson
PRODUCER: Dave James
WED 12:57 Weather (m002fvgx)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m002fvgz)
Prime Minister: serious questions for Tory ministers over Afghan data breach
An interpreter granted asylum tells us of his fears for those still in Afghanistan. Plus, the Defence Committee Chair on his inquiry into the scandal. And Hollywood's Jacob Elordi.
WED 13:45 Understand (m002fvh1)
Derailed: The Story of HS2
3. That can’t be right
As specific plans for HS2 were announced, protestors quickly sprang into action, forming campaigning groups and arguing for the line to be fundamentally re-thought. They saw HS2 as an industrial eyesore rammed through the heart of some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside. Communities all along the proposed line were staring down the barrel of massive disruption, from the compulsory purchase of family homes and farms, to the ruination of local ecosystems. A movement was forming, and beginning to define the project in the public eye.
Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
Sound Design and Mix: Arlie Adlington
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
WED 14:00 The Archers (m002fvh3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Fault Lines: Money, Sex and Blood (m000ncnn)
Series 2: Sex
Me and You and You and Me
Fault Lines: Sex
Me and You and You and Me by James O'Neil.
Zak is a very successful entrepreneur. He has everything except that special someone to share his life with. Then he finds the woman of his dreams. But how is she such a perfect match?
Constance - GLENDA JACKSON
Zak - RUPERT HILL
Zoe - VERITY HENRY
Ali - DARREN KUPPAN
Steph - KATE COOGAN
Simon - DANNY HUGHES
Director/Producer Gary Brown
WED 15:00 Money Box (m002fvh5)
Money Box Live: Why Are Women Retiring with Less?
For every £1 a man has in his private pension pot a woman has just 42p according to research from pension company Royal London.
When it comes to the State Pension, the gap has closed considerably for people retiring today. But women in their 80s are still getting up to 25% less than men.
This week on Money Box Live, we're looking at the reasons behind is as well as what can be done to boost savings.
Find out more about a little known pot of money the government has set aside mainly for women, who didn't work because they were looking after children, between 1978 and 2010 - which is largely going unclaimed. We also hear the struggle of a woman who struggled after the state pension age for women was raised from 60 to 66 and what might happen next with the campaign against it.
With Felicity Hannah is Sir Steve Webb, former pensions minister and and now partner at pensions consultancy Lane Clark and Peacock and Daniela Silcock who has her own pensions research company.
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Producer: Sarah Rogers and Helen Ledwick
Editor: Jess Quayle
(This episode was first broadcast on Wednesday the 16th of July 2025)
WED 15:30 The Hidden History of the Corridor (b095tkgx)
Take a trip down the corridor with Dr Rachel Hurdley as she explores the history of this most ambiguous space.
As a sociologist, Rachel has long been fascinated by the power of corridors and their role as places which are neither entirely public nor private. The corridor is a relatively recent architectural innovation, arriving in Britain around the beginning of the 18th Century.
Rachel visits Castle Howard to walk what are thought to be the first corridors in England, discovers why the Victorians had a mania for corridors, finds out about the move towards open plan and asks whether corridors may now be due to return to our buildings. Along the way, she considers how corridors reflect the society of their time, hears why they’re a film maker’s dream and enters the world of diplomacy to find out why corridors can be the perfect place to make a deal.
Interviewees:
Jonathan Glancey, Architectural Writer and Historian
James Rothwell, Architectural Historian, The National Trust at Petworth House in West Sussex
Mark Jarzombek, Professor of Architectural History and Theory at MIT
Sir Christopher Meyer, Former Ambassador to Washington and Germany
Dr Chris Ridgway, Curator of Castle Howard in North Yorkshire
Sue Hayward, Curator at the National Trust’s Tyntesfield near Bristol
Pat Rowe, Guide at the Royal Courts of Justice in London
Karen Krizanovich, Film Expert
Darren Southgate, Architect of the Factory 2050 Building in Sheffield
Presenter: Rachel Hurdley
Producer: Louise Adamson
Executive Producer: Samir Shah
A Juniper production for BBC Radio 4
WED 16:00 When It Hits the Fan (m002fvh7)
A Right Royal Whodunnit
The idea of a secret meeting is just that - it stays secret. So what happens when that meeting becomes front page news?
It's time to call in the PR detectives.
This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis examine the curious case of a clandestine meeting between the senior staff of both Prince Harry and the King. Someone tipped off the press. But who - and why?
David and Simon sift through the evidence to establish what might have been going on behind-the-scenes and which PR team - if any - has most to gain from the meeting being made public.
Also, on the extended edition on BBC Sounds, they'll look at the fallout from all this - and ask where this leaves the attempts at reconciliation between Prince Harry and his father.
They'll also take a deep dive into the secret PR world of secret meetings - how to arrange them, where to have them and the awkward moments that can follow if someone gets the wrong end of the stick.
Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
WED 16:15 The Media Show (m002fvh9)
Afghan data breach superinjunction, Future of the BBC, Tour de France
This week a super-injunction was lifted that allowed the press to report on a story it’s known about for some time – the Ministry of Defence’s leaking of personal details of almost 19,000 Afghan people who had applied to move to the UK. The Times’s Larisa Brown tells us how she, alongside other journalists, fought the super-injunction.
The BBC’s Annual Report has contained some good news for the organisation, but has been overshadowed by recent controversies. We assess its future with the BBC’s former Editorial Director, Roger Mosey, and The Financial Times’s Daniel Thomas.
As new TV show Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters begins on ITV, we hear from creative director of Plimsoll Productions Andrea Jackson about what it takes to develop a new format blending entertainment and natural history.
This is the last year that the Tour de France will be on free-to-air TV in the UK. Rachel Jary, staff writer at Rouleur, and Chris Boardman, Active Travel Commissioner and former racing cyclist, discuss how the media covers the race.
Producer: Lucy Wai
Assistant Producers: Emily Channon and Martha Owen
WED 17:00 PM (m002fvhc)
Three Labour MPs suspended
Labour says three MPs have lost the whip for breaching party discipline. The US calls for calm after Israel bombs Syria. Plus, the mobile greengrocer touring Liverpool.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fvhf)
Labour Cracks Down on Rebels
After the rebellion over welfare changes, Labour suspends four MPs for repeated breaches of party discipline - and three others lose their roles as trade envoys. Also, there's anger at Westminster over the data leak that jeopardised Afghans who helped British forces. And changes are being made to the role of physician associates in the NHS.
WED 18:30 Your Mum (m002fbf0)
4. Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Olga Koch
Kiri tells us about when her mum hid from the police in the Welsh mountains (with her newborn baby), tackled an entire rugby team to save her husband, and picked Kiri up from school with a smelly surprise in the boot of the car. Olga shares what happened to her family with the collapse of the Soviet Union, how her mum's life changed dramatically overnight, and what uniquely Russian punishments were used to keep her in check.
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 (m002fvhh)
Akram’s enthusiasm for helping with the fete begins to backfire. Azra has little sympathy for his pressed schedule, and when he asks her to cover a meeting for him while he handles a plumbing emergency, she’s unimpressed. Grudgingly she capitulates and attends the meeting, and despite her insistence she’s there merely as a scribe, Lynda ropes her into contributing suggestions for a big idea. When Azra floats the idea of a traditional fete, Lynda seizes on it. Akram arrives just in time to be handed a growing list of tasks—including gauging public opinion and securing sponsorship.
Tracy’s astounded to hear Neil’s invited Martyn Gibson to her birthday party, declaring it would be a disaster. Jazzer assures her Martyn declined, but reluctantly admits he himself left the door open in case Martyn found himself free. Tracy now doesn’t know where things stand. She’ll have to tidy the house, and they’ll need to spill into the garden for more room. When Jazzer protests the garden’s a tip, Tracy instructs him to do some weeding. She’s initially impressed with his idea for live music, until she realises he means Dross. For Tracy this is a step too far.
Kenton considers security options at the Bull. When his first choice of staffing is unavailable, Mick volunteers his services. He can start tonight. However his over-zealous approach almost scares Jazzer away, and Kenton suggests being unobtrusive and mingling with customers might be more effective than frisking them. Mick just needs to watch and listen.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m002fvhk)
How Scandinavian design has influenced our homes
As a new exhibition of Ikea textiles opens, we discuss the impact of Scandinavian design concepts on our homes, with curator Anna Sandberg Falk of the Ikea Museum in Sweden and designer Anna Campbell Jones.
Bestselling author John Niven talks about his latest novel The Fathers, an exploration of contemporary fatherhood and masculinity which is set in Glasgow.
And we hear how social media influencers are shaking up the world of art criticism.
Presenter: Kirsty Wark
Producer: Mark Crossan
WED 20:00 AntiSocial (m002fllt)
Banter and harassment
An extension of workers' rights, designed to further protect them from harassment on the job, has been criticised as an attack on free speech.
The Employment Rights Bill, first tabled in October 2024, would make it an employer's responsibility to prevent harassment of their staff by customers, clients and members of the public, as well as fellow colleagues.
Some argue the bill, which is not yet law, would effectively outlaw banter - particularly in settings like pubs - and pressure companies to more closely monitor conversations. Others welcome the plans, arguing that workplace harassment is rife and that banter is often used as an excuse for discriminatory and upsetting behaviour.
We go through the proposed changes, look at examples where banter has been used as a defence in court, and explore the origins and evolution of the word itself.
Presenter: Adam Fleming
Producers: Simon Tulett, Tom Gillett, Nik Sindle
Production coordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Penny Murphy
WED 20:45 Café Hope (m0026v8b)
Grub not garbage
Co-founder of REfUSE, Nikki Dravers, tells Rachel Burden how the social enterprise helps reduce food waste by running a 'pay-as-you-feel' cafe.
Café Hope is our virtual Radio 4 coffee shop, where guests pop in for a brew and a chat to tell us what they’re doing to make things better in big and small ways. Think of us as sitting in your local café, cooking up plans, hearing the gossip, and celebrating the people making the world a better place.
We’re all about trying to make change. It might be a transformational project that helps an entire community, or it might be about trying to make one life a little bit easier. And the key here is in the trying. This is real life. Not everything works, and there are struggles along the way. But it’s always worth a go.
You can contact us on cafehope@bbc.co.uk
WED 21:00 Walt Disney: A Life in Films (m001np6q)
3. Fantasia
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 this episode, Mel invites you to explore the surreal musical world of Walt Disney’s Fantasia, a film which saw Walt attempt to elevate his animations to the status of high art.
Fantasia was meant to be the movie that proved Walt’s remaining doubters wrong. Instead, the stress of bringing it into being would land him in hospital. It also plunged the Disney company into financial disarray once again, risking his studio’s future.
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
WED 21:30 Inside Health (m002fvhn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m002fvhq)
Israeli strikes pound Syria's capital
Israeli air strikes targeted Syria's defence ministry in Damascus in what Benjamin Netanyahu said is a campaign to protect Syria's Druze minority. Fighting between Druze and Bedouin tribes escalated sharply after government forces became involved in recent days. The Syrian government has rejected Israel's framing of the conflict, with one adviser telling us Israel is weighing in on the side of a single Druze faction. The US has now brokered a ceasefire to end the sectarian fighting.
The government has suspended four Labour MPs and penalised three others over repeated breaches of party discipline. A Labour select committee chair tells us many MPs will be "in a state of shock" at the move, but added it was important to support the government.
And there's been a major medical breakthrough that will give hope to hundreds of women in the UK who are carriers of a devastating and often fatal genetic illness. Eight children have been born free of mitochondrial disease, which is incurable, through a new technique pioneered by UK scientists which uses genetic material from three people. The new method combines the egg and sperm from a mother and father with a second egg from a donor.
WED 22:45 Private Angelo by Eric Linklater (m002fvhs)
The Ambush
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 his pride severely dented by Lucretzia’s revelation, Angelo joins Force 69 for a typically daring raid.
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 Stand-Up Specials (m002fvhv)
The Lively Life of Lindsey Santoro
2. Blue Light Me to A&E
Today Lindsey discovers that her two-year-old has become a pub landlady. She helps her mum to close a vortex to the spirit world using some chicken crisps and spends the evening in A&E with a man’s severed thumb.
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 Brummie 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? (m001jt8y)
Series 2
"...I wouldn't know myself from the back..."
Series 2 episode 2 - "...I wouldn't know myself from the back..."
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 passenger with an unlikely profession.
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
Saj ..... Abdullah Afzal
Hazel ..... Janice Connolly
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 (m002fvhx)
Susan Hulme reports from Westminster where Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch clash over the economy at this week's edition of Prime Minister's Questions.
THURSDAY 17 JULY 2025
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m002fvhz)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 00:30 Beautiful Strangeness by Rebecca Stott (m002fvgq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002fvj1)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002fvj3)
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 (m002fvj5)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002fvj7)
Sean Curran reports on the final Prime Minister's Questions before the Commons' summer break.
THU 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002fvj9)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002fvjc)
More than my Needs
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Rev Dr Bert Tosh.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m002fvjf)
17/07/25 National Food Strategy, rural affordable housing, early soft fruit
Has the Government’s Food Strategy been watered down? It wasn’t launched with a huge fanfare, but Defra has published its Food Strategy for England.
It aims to create what it calls a Good Food Cycle, a framework to make food production more sustainable, radically overhaul our relationship with food and prepare farmers and food producers for future challenges. The National Farmers' Union has welcomed the document though says it needs to be backed up by “joined-up and pragmatic policy measures”. But there are concerns the strategy’s been watered down and that a food white paper expected next year has been dropped.
Most rural councils have no targets for building the social housing that many people on the lowest incomes rely on, and the government now says they don’t need to set any; that’s according to a new study from the University of the West of England.
The soft fruit harvest is in full swing and the recent sweltering weather has proved something of a challenge for the thousands of seasonal workers labouring under polytunnels to bring in a crop which has ripened early this year. We’re exploring different aspects of the UK’s soft fruit sector all through this week. Today we visit a Nottinghamshire farm producing around 2500 tonnes of strawberries and raspberries each year.
Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
THU 06:00 Today (m002fwpq)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 Artworks (m002fwps)
New York 1925
2. Spring
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 2 Spring
In April F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was published, but the novel that is now considered a masterpiece, fell flat in 1925. The New Yorker magazine was also struggling and was nearly derailed by a bad night at the poker table. But there was better news for Richard Rodgers, who went on to compose Oklahoma and The Sound of Music. Rodgers, alongside the lyricist Larry Hart got their big break, with Manhattan.
In May 1925 a small branch library in Harlem opened a new division to cater to the tastes and aspirations of the neighbourhood’s predominantly black population. The library would become the focal point for the Harlem Renaissance.
And the celebrity politician, Jimmy Walker, was lined up against the current mayor of New York for the Democratic nomination.
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 (m002fwpv)
Reflections: Series 3
Diane Abbott
Elected to parliament in 1987, Diane Abbott was the first black female MP and is known as the 'Mother of the House'. In a conversation with James Naughtie recorded in May 2025, the passionate left-winger reflects on rebellion, her relationship with Jeremy Corbyn, the 2023 controversy that led to her year-long suspension from the Labour party, her experience of sexism and racism and her political longevity.
Producer: Leela Padmanabhan
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002fwpx)
Louise Candlish, Domestic abuse, Samara Joy, Women and gaming
The bestselling author Louise Candlish joins Anita Rani to talk about her latest novel - A Neighbour's Guide to Murder - which explores the practice of sex for rent and a trial by social media. Louise reflects on her career and explains why she’s so interested in writing about the homes and streets we live in.
The Government has announced it will spend £53 million on a new programme to tackle domestic violence. Anita discusses the plans with Kyla Kirkpatrick, who works with the charity Safe Lives and is the Director of the Drive Partnership Programme that works with perpetrators, and Ellie Butt, Head of Policy at Refuge.
The American jazz vocal powerhouse Samara Joy has five Grammy awards to her name and is quickly gaining superstar status in the jazz world. She is making her debut at the BBC Proms on Saturday 19 July, where she will be backed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, in a special tribute to the Great American Songbook. The Prom will be also be live on Radio 3, on BBC Four and iPlayer.
In the next in our Women and Gaming series we look at the wider impact gaming can have on society. Anita talks to the BBC’s Technology Editor Zoe Kleinman, and Emily Mitchell, winner of the BAFTA Young Game Designer award in 2017, and creator of Fractured Minds, an immersive puzzle game which confronts the daily challenges of living with anxiety.
Presented by Anita Rani
Produced by Louise Corley
THU 11:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m002fwpz)
Series 33
Should We Settle in Space? - Tim Peake, Kelly Weinersmith and Alan Davies
Brian Cox and Robin Ince blast off into a cosmic controversy as they ask, should humanity become an interplanetary species? At Harwell Campus, a space science innovation hub, they’re joined by astronaut Tim Peake, biologist and Royal Society prize winning author Kelly Weinersmith, and comedian Alan Davies to explore the science, ethics, and challenges of settling on Mars or on the Moon.
Are we bold pioneers venturing into the unknown, or just reckless tenants abandoning Earth in search of a new abode? Our panel discuss whether space settlement is inevitable in humanity’s near future and how pushing the boundaries of space exploration could make extra-terrestrial travel more accessible to the masses. From sourcing materials, to surviving radiation, and even growing potatoes from poo, they tackle what it really would take to live a life beyond Earth!
Series Producer: Melanie Brown
Assistant Producer: Olivia Jani
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
BBC Studios Audio Production
THU 11:45 Beautiful Strangeness by Rebecca Stott (m002fwq1)
Episode 4: The Owl
The award-winning writer Rebecca Stott grew up in the closed and secretive Christian fundamentalist cult of the Exclusive Brethren. Books, even children’s books, cinema, music were all banned. Imagination, the ministering brothers preached, was a corrupting force.
As a child who had to sit still through eleven hours of church meetings a week during which the brothers preached impenetrable biblical exegesis, Rebecca learned to daydream. That strange childhood, she says, gave her the ability to imagine extraordinary things. And, as an adult, she’s found that she’s comfortable sitting with the inexplicable - she remains fascinated by the mysterious things that flicker at the edges of our vision.
But these tend to be things our society prefers to shut down. We love to close a good mystery. We don’t like not knowing. We are impatient to find rational explanations for everything that happens. And yet there is still so much we don’t know.
In this series of original essays, Rebecca explores how closely beautiful strangeness is woven into the ordinary and the everyday. She asks, in our push to rationalise everything, as well as our fear of being mocked or accused of indulging in magical thinking, are we losing opportunities for shared wonder?
In this fourth episode, Rebecca explores some of the mysteries of our experience of dying and of grief, drawing on the time she spent with her parents as they died. She looks for common experience in Joan Didion’s memoir A Year of Magical Thinking, which has been called a ‘monument to grief’.
Rebecca Stott, author of the memoir In the Days of Rain which won the Costa Biography Award in 2017, has 14 books to her name. These include the novels Ghostwalk, The Coral Thief, and most recently Dark Earth, as well as the creative non-fiction works Darwin’s Ghosts: In Search of the First Evolutionists and Darwin and the Barnacle. She is a historian and broadcaster (BBC Radio 4, A Point of View) and taught literature and creative writing for over 30 years including as a professor at the University of East Anglia. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Written and presented by Rebecca Stott
Producer: Kirsten Lass
Editor: Sara Davies
Sound Engineer: Jon Calver
Image by Maia Miller-Lewis
A Loftus Media Production for BBC Radio 4
Author photo credit :Sarah Weal
THU 12:00 News Summary (m002fwq3)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 The Bottom Line (m002fwq5)
Car Parks: Who's Making Money From Your Ticket?
It's an industry that has few fans, but how does it really work, and will there be enough spaces in future for the UK's growing fleet of cars?
Evan Davis looks under the bonnet of a much-maligned industry to find out where the money goes and why motorists have to pay in the first place. The government has been clamping down on 'cowboy' operators - can this, along with technology like Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, make car parks fairer?
With changing travel patterns post-pandemic, and growing restrictions on cars in towns and cities, we ask whether car parks can stay profitable. And, if more of them are repurposed into flats or other uses, will motorists face even more competition for spaces, and higher prices, in future?
Evan is joined by:
Adam Bidder, managing director, Q-Park UK and Ireland;
Ashley Bijster, managing Director, Modaxo;
Anthony Eskinazi, founder and president, JustPark.
Production team:
Producer: Simon Tulett
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound: James Beard
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
THU 12:32 Sliced Bread (m002fwq7)
Chopping Boards
Which chopping board material is best for hygiene and the planet?
Greg Foot gathers the experts, dives into the data and crunches the numbers to get answers for listener Simon.
Each episode Greg investigates the latest ad-hyped products and trending fads promising to make us healthier, happier and greener. Are they really 'the best thing since sliced bread' and should you spend your money on them?
All of our episodes start with YOUR suggestions. If you’ve seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener, email us at sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk OR send a voice note to our WhatsApp number, 07543 306807.
RESEARCHER: PHIL SANSOM
PRODUCERS: PHIL SANSOM AND GREG FOOT
THU 12:57 Weather (m002fwq9)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m002fwqc)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4
THU 13:45 Understand (m002fwqf)
Derailed: The Story of HS2
4. Well Done Geoffrey
To deal with the growing opposition, the government resolved to commit to HS2 by way of a hybrid bill, which would open up opportunities for local communities to object to the route. The original design became mired in hundreds of expensive mitigations, compromises and compensations. Cheaper above ground sections were replaced by costly tunnels. Cuttings and sound barriers began to line huge parts of the route. The project was progressing, but it would have to pay the piper before long.
Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
Sound Design and Mix: Arlie Adlington
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
THU 14:00 The Archers (m002fvhh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama on 4 (m002fwqh)
When I Fall
By Tom Wentworth. Falling is part of Aaron's life. When he falls between the tube train and the platform he thinks his life is over - but it's about to begin.
Commuter Noah reaches down and pulls him into the carriage. Their eyes meet. This is their love story told through seven (of many in a lifetime) falls.
Zak Ford-Williams is an actor with cerebral palsy, best known for his screen role as Lord Remington in the Netflix series Bridgerton, Harry Hardacre in The Hardacres, and for his lead roles on stage in The Tragedy of Richard III, and The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man.
The author, Tom Wentworth, is a disabled/queer writer. His credits include Battery (Film4), Ralph and Katie (BBC One) Little Bits of Ruined Beauty (Pentabus/Unlimited), Glass Town (The Egg, Bath), Criptales: The Real Deal (BBC Four) and Burke and Hare (Watermill, Newbury).
Cast
Aaron ..... Zak Ford-Williams
Noah ..... Sam Swann
Nancy ..... Joanna David
Becky ..... Rhiannon Neads
Sam ..... Hasan Dixon
Recorded by Paul Clark at Sonica
Sound Design by Pete Ringrose
Produced by Mary Peate
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
A Hooley production for BBC Radio 4
THU 15:00 This Natural Life (m002fwqk)
Antony Gormley
Antony Gormley's sculptures on Crosby beach are one his best-known works. In this programme, he shows Martha Kearney around the sculptures, and talks about his relationship with the natural world - especially the sea. The artwork in Merseyside consists of one hundred male figures cast in metal, and based on Antony's own body. As they are submerged with the rising and falling tides, their form evolves and changes, and they become rusty and encrusted with sealife. He describes one of them as "a participatory artwork made by me and a whole community of barnacles." As they stroll along the shore listening to the seabirds, Martha asks Antony about the inspiration he draws from the natural world, and what it means to him.
Producer: Emma Campbell
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m002fv42)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Feedback (m002fwqm)
The Language of Weather Forecasting, Radio 3 Controller Sam Jackson, and Women's Euro 2025 VoxBox
Listeners have been turning to weather bulletins over the last few weeks to find out if the forecast is going to be full of blazing sunshine or torrential rain. But should weather forecasters reflect widespread concerns about climate change in their reports? Lead BBC Weather Presenter and Meteorologist Simon King joins Andrea Catherwood to explain.
BBC Radio 3 controller Sam Jackson returns to answer more listener questions about BBC Radio's home of classical music, following a surge in listener numbers and a 'Station of Year' ARIA Gold award.
And two listeners, Sion and Ella, arrive in our VoxBox to give their thoughts on BBC Radio's build-up to the European Women's Championship 2025 and the coverage of England's first match against France.
Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Pauline Moore
Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
THU 16:00 The Briefing Room (m002fwqp)
Is the tide turning in the Ukraine war?
It’s been 3 1/2 years since Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of its Ukrainian neighbour. Ukraine’s capacity to resist has depended on two things: its own will to fight and support from its allies. Until January this year the US was one of those allies. Then things changed.
But in the last week President Trump seems to have taken a turn against Russia. The US president said he was “very unhappy” with President Putin over the lack of progress towards a ceasefire agreement to end the war in Ukraine. On Monday the White House announced 100 per cent tariffs on countries which do business with Russia - those tariffs to begin in 50 days time unless a ceasefire with Ukraine is agreed. President Trump also announced that the US would be sending weapons to Ukraine which NATO allies - and not America - would pay for. David Aaronovitch and guests discuss whether the tide is turning in the Trump-Putin relationship and if this could change the course of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Guests:
Paul Adams, BBC World Affairs Correspondent
Anton Grushetskyi, Executive director Kyiv International Institute of Sociology
Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor, The Economist
Angela Stent, Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former US National Intelligence Officer for Russia
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Ben Carter and Kirsteen Knight
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Studio engineers: Tom Bartlett and Alyson Purcell-Davis
Editor: Richard Vadon
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (m002fwqr)
How can we keep our homes cool in a changing climate?
After three UK heatwaves, we turn to science for solutions that could keep us safer, and cooler, in our homes. Professor of Zero Carbon Design at the University of Bath, David Coley, explains how our houses could be better designed to handle climate change.
This week the UK Space Conference has come to Manchester. Victoria Gill is joined by Tim O’Brien, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, for the latest space science news.
We also hear from technology journalist Gareth Mitchell on a curious headache for the tech companies rolling out driverless taxis, in the form of plastic bags.
And we speak to a group of high school students who have been spending their lunch breaks extracting and analysing daffodil DNA.
Presenter: Victoria Gill
Producers: Dan Welsh, Jonathan Blackwell, Clare Salisbury
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
THU 17:00 PM (m002fwqt)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fwqw)
Afghan Data Scandal Continues
The High Court has heard that a database containing details of Afghans that was leaked in 2022 also had information about serving and former members of UK Special Forces and MI6. Also, the government sets out its plans to give the vote to 16 and 17 year olds at the next General Election; and Diane Abbott has been "administratively suspended" from the Labour party pending an investigation.
THU 18:30 Ashley Blaker's Hyperfixations (m002fwqy)
3. Orthodox Judaism
"My first skullcap genuinely had a red Liver Bird knitted into it. And interestingly, having been worried about the reaction I might get walking around as a very visible Jew, it turned out I received far more abuse for supporting Liverpool than I ever did for being Jewish."
Ashley has never done anything by halves - so when his interest was piqued in traditional orthodox Judaism his (then undiagnosed) autism and ADHD meant he really dug in - making him, at the time, the UK's only strictly orthodox comedian, with all the complexities and regulations that carried with it.
His diagnosis went some considerable way to explain is his propensity for hyperfixation in special interests, which he now realises 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 (m002fwk7)
Azra’s frustrated that Akram’s hosting a fete meeting. She escapes for a walk and vents to Oliver. They agree the Green’s looking a bit scrubby and not at all ready for use for the fete. Oliver thinks he can help, suggesting to Akram later that Grey Gables could sponsor the whole thing. Akram is thrilled.
Emma visits George, finding him warmer and more open than of late. He admits that he thinks about everyone often. Emma informs him they’ll be taking Bert to see Ivy’s grave on their wedding anniversary. She tells him about Clive stealing Ivy’s engagement ring – she’s surprised her mum managed to get it back. George shares that Susan showed the ring to him once. When Emma brings up Amber’s previous harsh words to Neil, George promises to speak to her. He also asks her to pass on a message to Susan.
Susan’s stunned to learn George wants to call her. Emma declares to her mum that she feels like George is changing. Later Susan’s moved when George tells her it’s nice to hear her voice. He goes on to say he’d like Ivy’s ring for Amber, and asks Susan to take it to her. It’s his right, and this way it will keep the ring in the family. After speaking to the chaplain he thinks he could learn to forgive. Susan gets the hint and reluctantly agrees to think about it. Having come to a decision she wrongfoots unwelcoming Amber by presenting her with the ring. Disarmed, Amber declares she’ll treasure it. She’s very grateful.
THU 19:15 Front Row (m002fwr0)
Review: The Narrow Road to the Deep North TV Series
Tom Sutcliffe with reviewers Bidisha and Caroline Frost discuss the TV adaptation of Richard Flanagan's Booker Prize-winning novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North, the cringe comedy film Friendship, starring Paul Rudd, and the wedding comedy Till The Stars Come Down, which has transferred from The National to London's West End. Also the latest advance in AI; beyond the uncanny valley
THU 20:00 When It Hits the Fan (m002fvh7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Wednesday]
THU 20:15 The Media Show (m002fvh9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:15 on Wednesday]
THU 21:00 Loose Ends (m002fvbv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
THU 21:45 Sideways (m0025460)
Appetite for Distraction
2. Have We Always Been Distracted?
Matthew Syed asks what it means to be distracted in a media world vying for our attention.
In this episode, Matthew looks into history to uncover different approaches to focus. He finds out where the idea of 'attention' came from, whether there has always been a fear that humanity's ability to focus was declining, and what the historical relationship of technology to distraction has been.
He hears from the historian of science D Graham Burnett. Burnett has explored different philosophies of attention across the ages and is an advocate for a change in behaviours regarding our attention today. Professor Nilli Lavie, of University College London's Attention Research Laboratory, provides an insight into modern scientific views of attention.
Matthew looks for answers in a community renowned for their ability to focus...monks. Historian Jamie Kreiner has uncovered how early Christian monks thought about distraction in her book 'The Wandering Mind'. Jamie reveals that there is more to connect the monks of the first millennia with our technological world today than we might think.
Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Sam Peach
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m002fwr2)
Child dies in Somerset bus crash
Child dies in Somerset bush crash
Diane Abbott has been suspended by the Labour party for a second time
President Trump says he wants Coca-cola to replace high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar
and we speak to two teenagers about the government's plans to lower the voting age to 16
THU 22:45 Private Angelo by Eric Linklater (m002fwr4)
They always overdo things
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 a little help from the Count’s American friends, Pontefiore celebrates the wedding of Angelo and Lucrezia with a feast.
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 (m002fwr6)
Grey Britain: Do We Need To Have More Children? (Dr Paul Morland)
The Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson recently warned that Britain’s declining birth rate could have “worrying repercussions for society.”
Demographer Paul Morland agrees. He says the trend towards an older society with fewer young people risks serious social and economic consequences.
The author of 'No One Left' tells Amol that he would change the tax system to benefit parents, subsidise childcare and rethink the way we teach sex education in our schools.
They also discuss immigration and the impact that a growing population has on the climate.
GET IN TOUCH
* WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480
* Email: radical@bbc.co.uk
Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The Independent.
Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers with Izzy Rowley. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by Dave O’Neill. The editor is Sam Bonham. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002fwr8)
Sean Curran reports as ministers announce that 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote at the next general election.
FRIDAY 18 JULY 2025
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m002fwrb)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 00:30 Beautiful Strangeness by Rebecca Stott (m002fwq1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002fwrd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002fwrg)
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 (m002fwrj)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002fwrl)
News, views and features on yesterday's stories in Parliament
FRI 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002fwrn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002fwrq)
Be Still
A reflection and prayer to start the day with Rev Dr Bert Tosh.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m002fwrs)
18/07/25: wildfires, crofting, strawberries
There are warnings of wildfires again as the hot dry weather continues, but in some parts of Britain special attachments are being used on fire engines to allow them to access farmers' water resources. We speak to a farmer who benefitted from the technology, and a fire prevention officer.
A man from Gloucestershire who wanted a new life in the Outer Hebrides is growing salad crops in the harsh conditions. Now he's giving advice to other farmers.
And we continue our week-long look at soft fruit, with scientific trials to grow strawberries more efficiently, in less space, with fewer inputs but mazimised yields. We visit the National Institute of Agricultural Botany - or NIAB - in Kent.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner
FRI 06:00 Today (m002fwjn)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m002fv4j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Sunday]
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002fwjq)
Three-person DNA babies, Emer Kenny, Dangers of sexual strangulation
Eight babies have been born in the UK using genetic material from three people to prevent devastating and often fatal conditions. The method, pioneered by UK scientists, combines the egg and sperm from a mum and dad with a second egg from a donor woman. The technique has been legal in the UK for a decade but this is the first proof it is leading to children born free of incurable mitochondrial disease, which is normally passed from mother to child. Anita Rani is joined by Kat Kitto who has two daughters, one of whom has mitochondrial disease, and Louise Hyslop, consultant embryologist at the Newcastle Fertility Centre, to tell us more.
Hit ITV crime drama Karen Pirie returns to our screens for a second series this weekend, based on the Val McDermid series of novels about a young Scottish detective. Anita is joined in the studio by showrunner, screenwriter and actor Emer Kenny to talk about bringing a new cold case to life for Karen to solve, juggling series two with a newborn, and how she’s managed to combine acting and writing since landing her first big role as Zsa Zsa Carter in EastEnders at the age of 20.
A Government review found that porn involving non-fatal strangulation was "rife" and its prevalence online was contributing to choking, filtering into some people's sex lives - particularly among young people. Last month it was announced that choking will be criminalised in an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill. To discuss, Anita was joined by Professor Clare McGlynn, Professor of Law at Durham University who contributed to the review, and Dr Jane Meyrick, Associate Professor of Health Psychology at the University of the West of England, who specialises in sexual health and sexual violence.
This week, throughout our series on women and gaming, we’ve heard about the influence that games can have in society. We've spoken to women working in the industry, and found out more about the impact gaming can have on women, but we can’t shy away from the fact that there are still barriers stopping women from accessing games. Anita is joined by to Marie-Claire Isaaman, CEO of Women in Games, Nick Toole, CEO of Ukie, and Stephanie Ijoma, gamer and founder of NNESAGA, to discuss what still needs to change and how the industry can improve.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Corinna Jones
FRI 11:00 The Food Programme (m002fwjs)
The New Good Life
The adventures of Barbara and Tom Good in Surbiton brought self-sufficiency to the small screens of the nation. Fifty years on from the airing of that first episode of The Good Life, Leyla Kazim is about to embark on her own sustainable living dream as she seeks to live off the land when she moves from London to Portugal.
So what lessons can she learn from The Goods about food production – whether that’s animal husbandry or growing-your-own? And will she succeed when she can’t even speak the language?
Leyla visits Groundswell, the Regenerative Agriculture Festival, in urgent search of advice. She speaks to Andy Cato from Wildfarmed, Rob Hopkins of the Transition Network and Helen Browning from the Soil Association. She also explores the forest garden of Martin Crawford in Devon as she plans her own food forest.
Produced by Robin Markwell for BBC Audio in Bristol.
Contains clips of The Good Life from Series 1, Episode 1 "Plough Your Own Furrow", Series 1 Episode 2 "Say Little Hen..." and Series 1 Episode 4 "Pig's Lib"
FRI 11:45 Beautiful Strangeness by Rebecca Stott (m002fwjv)
Episode 5: The Flickering
The award-winning writer Rebecca Stott grew up in the closed and secretive Christian fundamentalist cult of the Exclusive Brethren. Books, even children’s books, cinema, music were all banned. Imagination, the ministering brothers preached, was a corrupting force.
As a child who had to sit still through eleven hours of church meetings a week during which the brothers preached impenetrable biblical exegesis, Rebecca learned to daydream. That strange childhood, she says, gave her the ability to imagine extraordinary things. And, as an adult, she’s found that she’s comfortable sitting with the inexplicable - she remains fascinated by the mysterious things that flicker at the edges of our vision.
But these tend to be things our society prefers to shut down. We love to close a good mystery. We don’t like not knowing. We are impatient to find rational explanations for everything that happens. And yet there is still so much we don’t know.
In this series of original essays, Rebecca explores how closely beautiful strangeness is woven into the ordinary and the everyday. She asks, in our push to rationalise everything, as well as our fear of being mocked or accused of indulging in magical thinking, are we losing opportunities for shared wonder?
In the final episode, Rebecca explores some of the uncanny aspects of writing fiction by way of a meteor shower, and by enlisting the insights of Noel Gallagher, George Saunders, Stephen King and the spirit of the late Hilary Mantel.
Rebecca Stott, author of the memoir In the Days of Rain which won the Costa Biography Award in 2017, has 14 books to her name. These include the novels Ghostwalk, The Coral Thief, and most recently Dark Earth, as well as the creative non-fiction works Darwin’s Ghosts: In Search of the First Evolutionists and Darwin and the Barnacle. She is a historian and broadcaster (BBC Radio 4, A Point of View) and taught literature and creative writing for over 30 years including as a professor at the University of East Anglia. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Written and presented by Rebecca Stott
Producer: Kirsten Lass
Editor: Sara Davies
Sound Engineer: Jon Calver
Image by Maia Miller-Lewis
A Loftus Media Production for BBC Radio 4
Author photo credit :Sarah Weal
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m002fwjx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 AntiSocial (m002fwjz)
Are men being pushed out of publishing?
Just a few years ago the gender gap in book publishing was seen as an issue to address, with many publishing houses focussed on boosting women authors. Has it all gone too far? Are men, especially straight, white men, now being locked out of telling their stories? And what might that mean for society?
Presenter: Adam Fleming
Producers: Nik Sindle, Lucy Proctor, Tim Gillet
Editor: Richard Vadon
FRI 12:57 Weather (m002fwk1)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m002fwk3)
Record levels of water pollution incidents
We hear from campaigners, the water industry and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey as an Environment Agency report reveals that serious pollution incidents by water companies in England have risen by 60% this year. The day after protests outside a migrant hotel in Epping escalated into a police confrontation we hear from a reporter who was there and, on the first day of the Proms culture editor Katie Razall speaks to a one handed pianist Nicholas McCarthy as he prepares to take the stage.
FRI 13:45 Understand (m002fwk5)
Derailed: The Story of HS2
5. Worry About the Detail Later
As HS2 began the process of lining up land along its route for purchase, individuals within the team became deeply concerned. They feared that HS2 was wildly underestimating the eventual costs associated with acquiring the land, as well as the shortage of available specialists and the risks of unfairness to those forced to sell. And, they worried that HS2 was being too slow to reckon with the true price tag as it focused on getting political approval to move forward.
Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
Sound Design and Mix: Arlie Adlington
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m002fwk7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Limelight (m002fc69)
Central Intelligence: Series 2
Episode 5
The story of the CIA, told from the inside out by veteran agent Eloise Page. Starring Kim Cattrall, Ed Harris and Johnny Flynn.
In Episode 5... 1957. The Space Race is heating up, and the CIA is desperate to locate the Soviet launch site. Rising officer Eloise Page is sent to Atsugi Air Base in Japan—home of the secretive U-2 spy plane. As tensions climb and the stakes reach the stratosphere, the battle for space begins far above the clouds—and deep in the shadows.
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
President Eisenhower..........Kerry Shale
John Foster Dulles..........Nathan Osgood
Addy Hawkins..........Carlyss Peer
Dmitri Skolbetsyn..........Branko Tomović
Mikhail..........Phillipe Bosher
Radar Operator..........Eric Sirakian
Elizabeth..........Laurel Lefkow
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 Uncharted with Hannah Fry (m0022t7f)
11. Love Bytes
At thirty-one, mathematician Chris McKinlay is looking for love. But if it’s all a numbers game, his are not adding up. Could he be the problem? Or is something else getting in the way?
Producer: Lauren Armstrong Carter
Sound Designer: Jon Nicholls
Story Editor: John Yorke
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002fwk9)
South Staffordshire
Why have my magnolia leaves turned brown? How do I care for a tamarisk? Why is growing poppies so difficult?
Kathy Clugston and the panel are in South Staffordshire offering their top gardening tips. Joining Kathy to share their best horticultural advice is plantswoman Christine Walkden, RHS Bridgewater curator, Marcus Chilton-Jones and gardener Matthew Biggs.
Meanwhile James Wong visits the Carbon Garden at Kew Gardens to learn about the importance of carbon in our ecosystem, low emission gardening and carbon-resilient trees.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m002fwkc)
Stock Image
A photographer is blinded by the flash of Virginia Woolf's genius. A new story by David Baddiel about modernism, casual antisemitism, and the first ever celebrity selfie.
Read by Elliot Levey with Rebecca Front
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m002fwkf)
Sir Ian Blair, Jennie Street, Dr Anna Ornstein, Muhammadu Buhari
Matthew Bannister on
Lord Blair the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
Jennie Street who helped to rehabilitate people on her suburban farm.
Dr Anna Ornstein, a psychoanalyst and survivor of the Holocaust.
Muhammudu Buhari, the former President of Nigeria.
Interviewee: Sean O’Neill
Interviewee: Anita Ollerenshaw
Interviewee: Dr Sharone Ornstein
Interviewee: Mayeni Jones
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Archive used:
BBC Radio 4, 31/12/1983; BBC News, 05/01/1984; Newshour Extra, BBC, 03/04/2015; HardTalk, BBC, 21/01/2004; BBC News Africa, 26/02/2015; Library Hour: Lecture by Dr. Anna Ornstein, Chelmsford Telemedia, 11/02/2018; The Ian Blair Years, BBC, 15/06/2005; London Tube and Bus Bombings, BBC, 07/2005; BBC Look North: Jennie Street, 31/01/2014; Cavalcade, Glen Michael, STV
FRI 16:30 Sideways (m002fvgc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m002fwkh)
'Disgraceful' state of UK water
We're on the River Ouse in York, hearing reaction to worsening water pollution stats. A former environment secretary says bills will have to rise for things to improve. Plus, calls for the regulation of York's holiday lets and for fewer Harry Potter shops. And we hear live from Syria after more sectarian violence.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002fwkk)
Water Pollution Rises
The Environment Agency says there was a big increase in the number of serious water pollution incidents recorded in England last year. The watchdog says water companies were behind the serious contamination of rivers and streams on seventy-five occasions -- that's a a rise of 60 percent on the year before. Also, Donald Trump calls the Wall Street Journal a "pile of garbage" newspaper -- as he denies its report that his name was on a lewd birthday greeting to the sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. And heath chiefs warn of the risks of botulism from cosmetic procedures.
FRI 18:30 Dead Ringers (m002fwkm)
Series 26
Episode 6. Super-injunctions, Superheroes, and, er, Diane Abbott
The Dead Ringers team are back to train their vocal firepower on the week’s news with an armoury of impressive impressions.
This week: Super-injunctions, superheroes, Epstein files and, er, Diane Abbott.
Cast: Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis Macleod, Jess Robinson, Duncan Wisbey.
This episode was written by: Nev Fountain & Tom Jamieson, Laurence Howarth, Rob Darke, Tom Coles, Toussaint Douglass, Sophie Dickson, Joe Topping, Jon Holmes, Lizzy Mansfield, Rachel E, Thorn, Davina Bentley, Alice Bright, Phoebe Butler, Declan Kennedy
Created by Bill Dare
Producer: Jon Holmes
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
Production Co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m002fwkp)
Justin and Martyn talk over their newly agreed plan for BL, on the pretext of just having a friendly cup of tea. When Martyn discloses the recent flurry between him and Helen, Justin’s surprised. Martyn claims he was the one who turned Helen down – not his type. Justin thinks it would be unwise for Martyn to accept Jazzer’s invitation to Tracy’s party on the basis that a certain distance from staff needs to be preserved, however well you get on. Martyn isn’t so sure. He’s now free to attend – his only dilemmas are whether or not to keep his arrival as a surprise, and what he should wear.
Jazzer has good news and bad news for Tracy. He’s proposing a mobile sauna for her party, which she thinks is genius – but Martyn is coming along after all. Tracy’s appalled, and declares she’ll go elsewhere on the night.
Neil prises from subdued Susan the story of George and the engagement ring. Neil’s furious. He can’t believe Susan gave in to George’s extortion, and quietly confronts Amber, explaining there’s been a misunderstanding. When Amber stands her ground Neil’s attitude changes. He won’t put up with George and his demands any more. Upset Amber returns the ring and vows to tell George everything Neil’s said about him. Susan’s horrified. The ring was going to be the bridge between them and George. Neil asks her if she really thought that would work. Susan feels it was worth a try – but now the little bridge is broken and she fears it can’t ever be put together again.
FRI 19:15 Screenshot (m002fwkr)
Scotland
30 years after Mel Gibson's Braveheart cloaked Hollywood in fake tartan, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode take the high roads and the low roads to look for the real Scotland on screen.
Ellen talks with Tayside journalist Kayleigh Donaldson about the trouble with Braveheart, why veteran Scottish director Bill Forsyth's hyper local comedy dramas Local Hero, Gregory's Girl, and That Sinking Feeling have such international appeal, and why movies such as Ben Sharrock's Limbo tell a different kind of story about Scotland.
Comedian and writer Frankie Boyle tells Ellen why Gregory's Girl is one of Scotland's most beloved films, why Lynne Ramsay's New York City based thriller You Were Never Really Here starring Joaquin Phoenix as a violent mercenary feels so Scottish, and his reservations about Danny Boyle's Trainspotting.
Mark reconnects with legendary Scottish actor and star of Succession Brian Cox who has returned to Scotland to make his directorial debut Glenrothan. They discuss Brigadoon, Braveheart (which starred Brian Cox), cultural neglect, and the Powell & Pressburger classic movie set on the Isle of Mull, I Know Where I'm Going.
Producer: Freya Hellier
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m002fwkt)
Reem Ibrahim, Alison McGovern MP, Enver Solomon, Lord Willetts
James Cook presents political debate from Levenshulme Old Library in Manchester, with Reem Ibrahim from the Institute of Economic Affairs; Labour MP and minister for employment, Alison McGovern; the chief executive of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon; and Conservative peer and former universities minister, Lord Willetts.
Producer: Paul Martin
Lead broadcast engineer: Nat Stokes
FRI 20:55 This Week in History (m002fvgn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:40 on Wednesday]
FRI 21:00 Politically (m002fwkw)
Postwar: Omnibus 1
David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
Featuring John Bew, Patricia Clavin, Lucy Delap, Christopher Frayling, David Kynaston, David Reynolds, Robert Saunders and Wendy Webster.
With additional research by Alex HIll.
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m002fwky)
Fighting resumes in southern Syria as ceasefire breaks down
Sectarian fighting has resumed in southern Syria, prompting the government to redeploy forces to the region, which had pulled out after a ceasefire was brokered. Bedouin tribesmen and other militias have clashed with the Druze minority and hundreds are reported dead. The UN says it has credible evidence of summary executions and killings. We heard from a Druze woman who described how her family was killed.
US President Donald Trump has sued Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal after the newspaper reported allegations that Trump's name appeared on a "bawdy" 2003 birthday card to Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019.
And as a Russian conductor who is close to Vladimir Putin is invited to a music festival in Italy, we discuss whether culture can be separated from those who promote it.
FRI 22:45 Private Angelo by Eric Linklater (m002fwl0)
We are still Tuscany
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 long-awaited return to Pontefiore is marked by surprises all round.
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 (p0lqj0l0)
Why can’t Donald Trump shake off the Epstein Files?
Donald Trump is trying to move on and dismiss the growing backlash within his own party over the refusal to release further information related to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This week, the leading Republican - and House Speaker - Mike Johnson has called for Trump to “put everything out there” and publish documents related to Epstein, otherwise known as the Epstein Files.
There are a growing number of influential Republicans who are now also breaking from Trump, by calling for greater transparency around the information, adding to the conspiracy theories around a possible cover up.
Trump (via posts on Truth Social) is dismissing these demands as a “SCAM” and a “HOAX”, saying his supporters have been conned by the “Lunatic Left for 8 long years”.
But, will he be able to shut down the rows within his own party, and how significant could this be for his presidency?
HOSTS:
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter
• Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
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This episode was made by George Dabby with Alix Pickles and Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
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FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002fwl4)
Alicia McCarthy reports as peers discuss the state of the UK's defences.