SATURDAY 08 NOVEMBER 2025
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m002lpq0)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:30 Intimate Histories by Hallie Rubenhold (m002lpnm)
5. London Lives
The historian and bestselling author of The Five and Story of a Murder, Hallie Rubenhold examines what the subject of ‘history’ is and makes the case for keeping it personal.
Her previous books have also included The Covent Garden Ladies which told the stories of the legion of ordinary women whose lives in the sex trade history has chosen to ignore.
History, she argues, is so much more than the brave deeds of ‘Great Men’ as Thomas Carlyle would have us believe. It is instead made up of the ordinary and the often unchronicled lives of people who lived in the houses we live in, who travelled the same streets, maybe planted the same fields and gardens.
Over five essays, Hallie makes a powerful case for the intimacy of history. Careful research can reveal the crucial hinterland to domestic objects which may be hundreds, even thousands, of years old, but this also means that the objects belonging to us or inherited from our parents and grandparents have stories to tell and a role in revealing the social history of our own and recent times.
Hallie Rubenhold was born and grew up in California, her father is English and her mother was American. She studied history in the US and at Leeds University and has lived in the UK for most of her life. Her accent reflects a rich and complex heritage, as nuanced as her work which seeks to give voice to a whole range of hidden narratives often from the marginalized or female side of history.
Written and read by Hallie Rubenhold
Produced by Jill Waters
The Waters Company for BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002lpq2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002lpq4)
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 (m002lpq6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002lpq8)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002lpqb)
The Highest Form of Devotion
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Granthi (Sqn Ldr) Mandeep Kaur MBE Sikh Chaplain to the Armed Forces
Good morning.
As we approach a time of remembrance, we pause to honour those who gave their lives in service - those who stood for justice, peace, and freedom.
Being the first and the only Sikh Chaplain in the UK Armed Forces, I have the privilege and responsibility to keep the legacy alive….. Remembering my history and ancestors filled with Sikh warriors is key.
In the Sikh faith, remembrance is not only for a day. It is more than a reflection; it’s active gratitude: we reflect it in all that we do.
We remember the past not with sorrow alone, but with resolve to live courageously and compassionately today.
Sikhs have a long history of sacrifice in the cause of truth. From the Gurus who gave their lives for freedom of faith, to the thousands of Sikh soldiers who served in both World Wars — their courage reminds us that selfless service, or “seva”, is the highest form of devotion.
Guru Nanak taught us how to be a true warrior & live as a saint-soldier — grounded in peace, yet ready to stand for what is right. Every day we conclude our prayers with the words…’seeking peace & well for entire humanity’.
When we remember those who fell, we also remember the light they carried — a light that asks each of us:
How will I serve?
How will I bring peace where there is pain?
What one step can I take today to make things right around me?
May we never forget the truth echoed in the Sikh scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib:
“Those who die in service to humanity — their names live forever.”
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.
SAT 05:45 In the Loop (m001np4k)
2. Traffic Roundabout
…a circle has no beginning and no end. It represents rebirth and regeneration, continuity and infinity. From wedding rings to stone circles, in poetry, music and the trajectories of the planets themselves, circles and loops are embedded in our imaginations.
Poet Paul Farley goes walking in circles in five very different ‘loopy’ locations. He visits a stone circle, a rollercoaster and a particle accelerator to ask why human beings find rings and circles so symbolic, significant and satisfying.
The earliest civilisations were drawn to the idea of closing a circle and creating a loop; in human relationships we’d all rather be within the circle of trust; and in arts and music our eyes, ears and minds are inexorably drawn towards – and rebel against - the ‘strange loops’ of Bach, Gödel and Escher.
As he puts himself in the loop – sometimes at the centre and sometimes on the circumference – Paul has circular conversations with mathematicians and physicists, composers and poets. Each one propels him into a new loop of enquiry. And that’s because a circle has no beginning and no end…
Paul begins the second episode in orbit around one of the largest traffic roundabouts in Europe – the Coryton Interchange near Cardiff. He explores its interior with ecologist Elen Hall and roundabout enthusiast Kevin Beresford and discovers an island of the unexpected. Engineer John Parkin shares the secret of a good roundabout. And poet Paul Muldoon recalls a childhood memory of a special day out to visit the first one in Northern Ireland.
Producer: Jeremy Grange
SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m002lzk1)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.
SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m002lpk7)
Whispering Rocks with Anjana Khatwa
Clare joins Earth Scientist and author Anjana Khatwa for a cliffside walk in Dorset exploring the landscapes that shaped her life, and her book The Whispers of Rock – Stories from the Earth.
Starting at Spyway Barn near Langton Matravers, the route takes in clifftops, caves, and the fossil-rich coastline, revealing stories of geology and belonging. Anjana shares her journey from growing up in Slough in a traditional Indian family to becoming a leading voice in earth science.
From Spyway Barn, at the National Trust car park, they walked down to Dancing Ledge, along the coast path past Winspit Caves, and up to the village of Worth Matravers before heading back to the car park.
Grid Reference for Spyway Barn: SY 998 776
Map: OS Explorer 116 – Lyme Regis & Bridport
Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer for BBC Studios: Karen Gregor
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m002lzk3)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
SAT 06:57 Weather (m002lzk5)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 07:00 Today (m002lzk7)
Today (Saturday)
SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m002lzk9)
Oliver Jeffers, Fatherhood, The House of Thatchers, and Peter and Dan Snow's shared Inheritance Tracks
Oliver Jeffers joins Adrian Chiles to hear extraordinary stories from remarkable people.
SAT 10:00 Curious Cases (m002lzkc)
Series 24
Beam Me Up, Scotty!
Whether you’re stuck in traffic, waiting at the airport whilst delay after delay is announced or just really missing someone far away, a lot of us have probably wished we could teleport. But is this superpower the stuff of science fiction? Or could it, one day, become a reality?
Listener Faith wants to know whether Star Trek’s Transporter could ever deconstruct and reconstruct humans in the real world, and it turns out quantum physics holds some tantalising potential for this seemingly impossible task. To search for answers Hannah and Dara dive down the quantum rabbit hole, exploring entanglement, superposition, and trying on some very special socks.
Contributors
Ivette Fuentes - Professor of Quantum Physics at University of Southampton
Winfried Hensinger - Professor of Quantum Technologies at the University of Sussex
Helen Beebee - Professor of the Philosophy of Science at the University of Leeds
Producer: Emily Bird
Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem
A BBC Studios Production
SAT 10:30 Legend (m002lzkf)
The Bruce Springsteen Story
5. The Land of Hope and Dreams
How did Bruce become The Boss, and what did it cost him to get there? Laura Barton explores the extraordinary life story of Bruce Springsteen, taking a front-row seat at five important gigs to reveal the life behind the legend.
In our final chapter, we trace Bruce’s journey to his latest tour - The Land of Hope and Dreams - where he speaks out on stage against the President of the United States. How did Bruce become the kind of artist who wears his politics so openly? And what impact has this had on his fan base?
Laura travels to Milan in the heat of July for the last stop on the tour at San Siro Stadium, where she meets fans who’ve journeyed from around the world to witness this moment.
~~~
“I'm here tonight to provide proof of life to that ever elusive, never completely believable, particularly these days, us. That's my magic trick.”
In Legend: The Bruce Springsteen Story, we uncover the magic trick to discover how a scrawny, long-haired introvert from small-town New Jersey became the iconic, muscular, and oft-misunderstood rock star of the 1980s, to the eloquent elder statesmen he is now. What can his story tell us about America today?
In each episode, Laura takes us to the front row of a live performance that reveals a different side of The Boss, and hears him across the decades in his own words from the archive. We'll also hear from fellow worshippers in the Church of Springsteen and disciples from the E Street Band, including drummer Max Weinberg, tributes from those influenced by Bruce, such as Bryce Dessner from The National, as well as Freehold town historian Kevin Coyne and music critics and biographers such as Richard Williams, Eric Alterman, Steven Hyden, Warren Zanes and Diane H. Winston.
The Bruce Springsteen Story comes from the production team behind BBC Radio 4’s award-winning Joni Mitchell Story, and the podcast Soul Music – “… the gold standard for music podcasts…” (Esquire).
Producer: Eliza Lomas
Sound Design and Original Music: Hannis Brown
Mix engineer: Ilse Lademann
Series Development: Mair Bosworth
Production Coordinator: Stuart Laws
Research: Sarah Goodman
Series Editor: Emma Harding
Commissioning Editors: Daniel Clarke and Matthew Dodd
Assistant Commissioner Podcasts: Will Drysdale
SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m002lzkh)
Radio 4's assessment of developments at Westminster
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002lzkk)
Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Party fightback
Kate Adie presents stories from the USA, Jamaica, Uganda, Kazakhstan and Germany.
Zohran Mamdani won New York City's race for mayor in a contest that rallied young voters and sparked debate about the future direction of the US Democratic Party. BBC North America editor Sarah Smith considers the political choices and challenges ahead.
The world watched last week as Hurricane Melissa slowly crashed into Jamaica, causing extensive damage across the island – and killing 75 people. Nada Tawfik witnessed the damage caused on Jamaica’s West coast.
The glaciers in Uganda's Rwenzori mountains sustain unique ecosystems, but are rapidly reaching the point of no return as they continue to shrink. Hugh Kinsella Cunningham joined local community groups trying to mitigate the effects of climate changes in the region's foothills.
Kazakhstan's economy is very much on the up, as it forges closer ties with China. Tim Hartley recently returned to the country after a hiatus of some two decades – as he followed the Wales football team, which was playing there - and saw up-close how the country has changed.
The Berlin Wall became a concrete manifestation of the Cold War division between East and West – but it was by no means the only barrier built during this era. John Kampfner travelled to a small village in south Germany that was once divided by a wall of its own, which radically changed the lives of locals living there.
Producer: Serena Tarling
Production coordinators: Katie Morrison and Sophie Hill
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
SAT 12:00 News Summary (m002lzkm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 12:04 Money Box (m002lzkp)
The latest news from the world of personal finance.
SAT 12:30 The Naked Week (m002lppb)
Series 3
2. Trains, Tice, and Taylor Swift
This week, The Naked Week shoehorns an agenda, gets out of jail free, and in a genuine Radio 4 first - Taylor Swift pays a visit to the studio!
From host Andrew Hunter Murray and The Skewer's Jon Holmes, Radio 4’s newest Friday night comedy The Naked Week returns with a blend of the silly and serious. From satirical stunts to studio set pieces via guest correspondents and investigative journalism, it's a bold, audacious take not only on the week’s news, but also the way it’s packaged and presented.
Host: Andrew Hunter Murray
Guests: Paul Dunphy, Taylor Swift (no, really!)
Investigations Team: Cat Neilan, Cormac Kehoe, Freya Shaw
Written by:
Jon Holmes
Katie Sayer
Gareth Ceredig
Jason Hazeley
James Kettle
Additional Material:
Karl Minns
Ali Panting
Helen Brooks
Molly Punshon
Kevin Smith
David Riffkin
Live Sound: Jerry Peal
Post Production: Tony Churnside
Clip Assistant: David Riffkin
Production Assistant: Molly Punshon
Assistant Producer: Katie Sayer
Producer and Director: Jon Holmes
Executive Producer: Phil Abrams.
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 12:57 Weather (m002lzkr)
The latest weather forecast
SAT 13:00 News (m002lzkt)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m002lppk)
Andrew Bowie MP, Lesley Riddoch, Michael Shanks MP, Pete Wishart MP
Alex Forsyth presents political debate from the Dundee Bairns warehouse in Dundee in Scotland with the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland Andrew Bowie MP, the journalist and broadcaster Lesley Riddoch, the Energy Minister Michael Shanks MP and the SNP's Deputy Leader in Westminster Pete Wishart MP.
Producer: Robin Markwell
Lead Broadcast Engineer: Andy Hay
SAT 14:05 Any Answers? (m002lzkw)
Listeners respond to the issues raised in the preceding edition of Any Questions?
Producer: Catherine Powell
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Ben Mitchell
SAT 14:45 The Archers (m002lppd)
Writer: Shaun McKenna
Director: Pip Swallow and David Payne
Editor: Jeremy Howe
David Archer…. Timothy Bentinck
Helen Archer…. Louiza Patikas
Henry Archer…. Blayke Darby
Jolene Archer…. Buffy Davis
Ruth Archer…. Felicity Finch
Tom Archer…. William Troughton
Alice Carter…. Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter…. Wilf Scolding
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Mick Fadmoor…. Martin Barrass
Alan Franks…. John Telfer
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Esme Mulligan…. Ellie Pawsey
Carly…. Louise Brealey
Driver…. Django Bevan
SAT 15:00 Secrets and Lies (m002lq95)
The Keys to the Kingdom
The Keys to the Kingdom is a new play by Nick Dear in the Radio 4 series Secrets and Lies. It stars Roger Allam as Tanner, a once extremely powerful film director, and his reliable and loyal assistant Pippin, played by Penny Downie.
Over the course of a day and night we witness Tanner’s power unravel - piece by piece his protective armour is ripped from him as he realises that his past is about to catch up with him.
Visited by a young life writer interested in creating his autobiography, and by an old friend and colleague from his theatre days who is also interested in telling his story, we see the tables turn and the power dynamics shift. Pippin is a loyal assistant who protects Tanner, and he pays her a lot of money, which she likes. But there’s more to it than that and with the arrival of these two characters, one of whom comes brandishing serious allegations threatening to unearth something from the past that could seriously damage Tanner’s reputation, what will Pippin come up with this time and who will write his life story?
Roger Allam…………………..Tanner
Penny Downie……………….Pippin
Julian Rhind-Tutt……………Mick Michaels
Preeya Kalidas……………….Ria Devereux
Directed by Celia de Wolff
Sound Design by David Thomas
Production Co Coordinators: Eleanor Mein and Nina Semple
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m002lzky)
Highlights from the Woman's Hour week
SAT 17:00 PM (m002lzl0)
Full coverage of the day's news
SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m002lzl2)
'I like it when people underestimate me': Lib Dem leader Ed Davey
Ed Davey warns Starmer against handing Reform UK 'the keys into 10 Downing Street'
Producer: Daniel Kraemer
Research: Chloe Desave
Sound: Ged Sudlow and Andrew Mills
Editor: Giles Edwards
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002lzl4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 17:57 Weather (m002lzl6)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002lzl8)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m002lzlb)
Sue Perkins, John Cleese, Clive Anderson, Judi Love, Tom Smith, Hugh Dennis, Natalie Duncan Trio
Sue Perkins, Judi Love, John Cleese and Hugh Dennis join Clive Anderson with music from Editors' Tom Smith and the Natalie Duncan Trio
SAT 19:00 Profile (m002lzld)
An insight into the character of an influential person making the news headlines
SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m002lpjq)
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence's breakthrough role in the 2010 drama Winter’s Bone secured her first Academy Award nomination when she was just 20, and she won the Best Actress category two years later for Silver Linings Playbook. Since then, she has become one of the most prolific, critically acclaimed and highest paid actors in Hollywood as the star of The Hunger Games series and three X-Men movies. Other leading roles include American Hustle, Joy and, most recently, the psychological drama Die My Love.
Jennifer talks to John Wilson about her childhood on her parents' farm in Kentucky. After being scouted by a modelling agency, she left school as a teenager and moved to New York to start working as a model and actor. She recalls how the film Taxi Driver, starring a young Jodie Foster, made a big impression on her as an aspiring actress and how Jodie Foster later became a role model when she directed Jennifer on the set of The Beaver. She also counts Gena Rowlands' performance in A Woman Under The Influence as an important inspiration, as well as working with directors David O Russell and Lynne Ramsay.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m002lzlg)
Jodrell Bank at 80
The sound of people partying in a field, of exploding stars and birdsong, of a clanking chunk of metal, mechanically manoeuvering it’s gaze across the heavens. They’re all part of the rich sonic landscape of a British icon, of Jodrell Bank Observatory which turns 80 in December and some of the sounds which could inspire composer Hannah Peel to create a piece of music that marks that big birthday.
An Ivor Novello winning artist and Radio 3 presenter Hannah Peel is fascinated by space. It’s inspired her work in the past, particularly her album Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopoeia which she performed at the Blue Dot festival at Jodrell Bank in 2017. This Archive on 4 sees her come back to the site in Cheshire to learn about its founder Professor Sir Bernard Lovell and his iconic invention the Lovell telescope, which gave the UK a front row seat for the space race as Russia and the US vied to get the moon. She hears about the secret history of Jodrell Bank, where shadowy figures from GCHQ would use the telescope to assess Russian military capabilities during the Cold War in a relationship that lasted until the 1990s. And she learns about Sir Bernard and his love of music, how as a church organist, it tied to him a belief in something beyond science.
The stories and sounds she gathers on her journey form the elements of a new composition called Pulsar recorded by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Salford .Hannah Peel brings her unique creative experimental vision that draws on her background as a classical and electronic artist to the celebration of this British scientific and cultural icon.
'Pulsar' by Hannah Peel & BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Gemma New
Mixed and Co-Orchestrated by Michael Keeney
Mastering by James Trevascus
Management by Steve Malins and Random Music Mgmt
Additional music:
Archid Orange Dwarf from the album Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia by Hannah Peel
CP1919 by Stephen Morris
Sonifications by Prof Tim O'Brien
Dr Who clip is from Logopolis part 4, Season 18.
Presenter: Hannah Peel
Producer: Catherine Murray
Programme Co-ordinator; Nancy Bennie
Studio Manager for 'Pulsar': John Cole
Studio Manager for documentary: Michael Smith
Exec Producer: Richard McIlroy
Editor : Gill Farrington
SAT 21:00 Illuminated (m002krcf)
Returned to Sender
Clint Buffington spends his time where land meets sea, searching for a very specific treasure - messages in bottles that have drifted across oceans. Over the past 20 years he has recovered more than 140 of them, each carrying a clue - sometimes decades old - waiting to be discovered.
Finding a bottle is only the beginning. The real mystery unfolds when Clint carefully extracts the fragile paper in his Utah home lab. He first teases out the faint, salt-blurred words, deciphering a message damaged by years at sea. Only then does Clint begin tracking down the person who sent it, often many years after they let it go. Each investigation is part detective work, part conversation across time.
The messages reveal remarkable journeys - a German sailor who cast a note into the Bermuda Triangle on his birthday in 1979, three French women who paddled across the Atlantic to set a world record, Puerto Rican students at a crossroads, even a pair of tiny dolls wrapped in a spell.
Join Clint on his search and the unexpected revelations it sparks - a reminder that across vast distances and years at sea, the quest for human connection is timeless.
A Sound & Bones production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 21:30 Artworks (m002ln3m)
Painting with Scissors
Forget nursery school, round ended scissors and glue sticks – collage is sophisticated, political, complicated and underrated.
So much modern music, audio and film making involves taking bits from everywhere, splicing them up, reassembling and layering them to create new meaning. Art historian, critic and writer Ruth Millington uncovers the history of collage. Where did it begin and why did it become the essential creative medium for outsiders and revolutionaries?
Ever since Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque began to stick bits of found materials into their painting, collage has allowed artists to access bold new ideas. Dada artists used collage and photomontage to criticise German culture after the First World War. The surrealists used collage to access their inner minds. The pop artists, like Peter Blake, used the juxtaposition of images, from commercials to literature, to challenge ideas on the avant-garde.
From The Beatles and Rolling Stones album covers to radical feminist artists like Linder and Chila Singh Burman, collage has been used to make new ideas recognisable and to play with meaning and context. John Stezaker has used collage to find a third space, a way of reclaiming the image in a world which is saturated by visual displays.
Today, digital artists like Cold War Steve create collages on social media that reflect the work of the early Dada artists Hannah Höch and John Heartfield. We see collages on our social feeds, hear sound montages and samples in hip-hop and pop and watch videos which cut together art, film, photos and text. Collage is now everywhere we look, but it still has disruptive powers. Ruth takes her scissors, scalpel and glue to find out why collage matters.
Presented by Ruth Millington
Produced by Melvin Rickarby and Helen Lennard
A True Thought production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 22:00 News (m002lzlj)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m002lpnk)
The Breakfast Club Challenge
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day - but what happens when thousands of children arrive at school too hungry to learn? In this programme, Jaega Wise looks into how the Government’s new free breakfast club scheme is being rolled out across England, seven months into a trial involving 750 primary schools. While the policy which aims to tackle hunger and improve attendance is welcomed by all, schools and campaigners raise questions about it's future funding and the exclusion of secondary schools and some special school pupils.
At Holy Trinity Church of England School in Tottenham, Jaega visits a breakfast club being run in partnership with Chefs in Schools, where hot food is cooked fresh each morning in the same kitchen that serves lunch. In Weston-super-Mare, headteacher Marie Berry explains why her school’s breakfast club is a lifeline for families - and why she’s keen to be included in the new scheme. Campaigners at Sustain argue breakfast clubs could be a powerful tool to support local food producers and promote sustainable sourcing - and urge the Government to back that vision.
We also hear from the charity Magic Breakfast, which provides food to 300,000 children at breakfast clubs every day, and from Olivia Bailey MP at the Department for Education. Food writer Michael Zee of @SymmetryBreakfast discusses Britain's breakfast culture, and why we so often eat the same thing every day.
Presented by Jaega Wise
Produced by Natalie Donovan for BBC Audio in Bristol.
SAT 23:00 Mark Steel's in Town (m002ln3w)
Series 14
5. Lerwick (Shetland part 1)
For the fifth stop of the series, Mark travels to Lerwick, the capital of Shetland, perched at the far edge of Britain, where everyone’s on first-name terms with the fog.
It’s a place where Viking heritage meets oil rigs and knitting patterns, where the winter fire festival Up Helly Aa lights up the darkness, and where the locals are masters of making their own fun.
This is the first of Mark’s two shows from Shetland, recorded in front of an audience in Lerwick. Later in the series he’ll also be visiting Unst, the UK’s most northerly inhabited island.
This is the 14th series of Mark's award winning show where he travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for a local audience.
As well as Shetland, in this series, Mark be will also be popping to Oakham in Rutland, Wrexham, Lewisham and Cambridge.
There will also be extended versions of each episode available on BBC Sounds.
Written and performed by Mark Steel
Additional material by Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinators Caroline Barlow and Katie Baum
Sound Manager Jerry Peal
Producer Carl Cooper
A BBC Studios production for Radio 4
SAT 23:30 Punt & Dennis: Route Masters (m0023pvr)
Series 1: From Beer to Eternity
2 - From Chaos Theory to Anne Boleyn
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are on a mission from Chaos Theory to Anne Boleyn with the assistance of Marcus Brigstocke, in a warm and witty podcast that celebrates new and half-remembered trivia as they try to find entertaining links between random places, people and things.
Could you make your way from The Starship Enterprise to the Air Fryer, armed only with A Level Economics and a Geography degree? Hugh Dennis is going to have to. While Steve Punt will have to pick his way across Africa, to find what links Machiavelli and Madagascar. Across the series, they’ll be joined by guests including Ken Cheng, Kiri Pritchard McLean, Isy Suttie and Marcus Brigstocke, on a scenic route which takes in Shampoo, The Gruffalo, Watford Gap Services and Yoghurt.
Written and hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis
With Marcus Brigstocke
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
Recorded at Maple St Creative
Mixed by Jonathan Last
A Listen production for BBC Radio 4
SUNDAY 09 NOVEMBER 2025
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m002lzll)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 00:15 Bookclub (m002lqc6)
Hallie Rubenhold
Presented by James Naughtie, the writer and historian Hallie Rubenhold takes questions from a Bookclub audience on her prize-winning book The Five: The Untold Lives Of The Women Killed by Jack The Ripper. The book shines a light on Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Kate Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly who were all murdered in Whitechapel, London, in 1888. The Five won the Ballie-Gifford Prize for non-fiction in 2019.
This episode was recorded at The Queen's Reading Room Festival at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.
Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002lzln)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002lzlq)
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 (m002lzls)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002lzlv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m002lzlx)
Worcester Cathedral
Bells on Sunday comes from Worcester Cathedral. The Cathedral was founded in 680, the earliest surviving fabric dates from 1084. Much of the church is medieval with the large central tower completed in 1374. The Cathedral’s ring of twelve bells were cast at Taylor's of Loughborough in 1928 as a Great War memorial. There are also four semi-tone bells. We hear them ringing Stedman Caters on the harmonic minor ten which includes two of the semi-bells and a tenor bell weighing nearly thirty five hundredweight in the note of C sharp. The bells are being rung half-muffled to mark Remembrance Sunday
SUN 05:45 In Touch (m002ln44)
A Dog for the Blind
We at In Touch have increasingly been hearing from people who say that if you're totally or near totally blind, you are harder to pair with a suitable guide dog and are being given lesser priority over people with more vision. These impressions have been circulating for a while and so we address them with Guide Dogs' Deputy Chief Executive Officer Peter Osborne.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Kim Agostino
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 (m002lzz7)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Heart and Soul (w3ct6vp8)
Digitally preserving Armenia’s Christian heritage
In the ancient Yererouk Basilica in Armenia, near the border with Turkey, young engineers are filming. Using 3D digital technology, they’re scanning every part of the building. When the material is put together, it will recreate the church on a screen, in full-colour and in three dimensions.
This is the digital preservation initiative, created by TUMO, the Center for Creative Technologies, based in Armenia’s capital Yerevan. It’s training young people to use new technology, but also connecting Armenian teenagers with their 2000-year-old Christian heritage.
Armenia was the first kingdom to adopt Christianity as its state religion. But in 2023, the country lost control of numerous important religious sites, when the province of Nagorno-Karabakh was taken over by neighbouring Muslim Azerbaijan. The mountainous enclave, known as Artsakh to Armenians, has long been a disputed territory between the two countries. Despite the new peace agreement signed recently, the province is still closed to Armenians. International observers using satellite technology say dozens of important Christian sites have been damaged or destroyed.
For Heart and Soul, Julia Paul travels to Armenia to find out how drones and lasers are helping young Armenians to connect to and preserve their ancient Christian heritage, at a time when many sites are being silently erased from the map.
[Credit: Julia Paul. Photo Description: The team of engineers from digital preservation initiative at the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, at Yererouk basilica in Armenia’s Shirak province.]
Producer/Presenter: Julia Paul
Executive Producer: Rajeev Gupta
Editor: Chloe Walker
Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m002lzz9)
BBC Food and Farming Awards Finalist: The Free Company
The judges for this year's BBC Food & Farming Awards head to their second finalists for the Farming for the Future category. Presenter Charlotte Smith and Natasha from The Archers actress Mali Harries meet The Free Company, a regenerative farm and restaurant in the Pentland Hills outside Edinburgh.
Brothers Charlie and Angus Buchanan-Smith raise native breeds of cattle, sheep, and pigs, and grow fruit and vegetables in their no-dig market garden - all of which go towards their veg boxes and farm to table restaurant.
Produced by Caitlin Hobbs.
Photo taken by Christian and Amelia Masters.
SUN 06:57 Weather (m002lzzc)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m002lzzf)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m002lzzh)
A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m002lzzk)
InterAct Stroke Support
Gyles Brandreth makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of InterAct Stroke Support.
The Radio 4 Appeal features a new charity every week.
Each appeal then runs on Radio 4 from Sunday 0754 for 7 days.
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 ‘InterAct Stroke Support’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘InterAct Stroke Support’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
- Please ensure you are donating to the correct charity by checking the name of the charity on the donate page.
Registered Charity Number: 1080046. If you’d like to find out more about the charity’s work visit *https://www.interactstrokesupport.org
*The BBC is not responsible for content on external websites
Producer: Katy Takatsuki
SUN 07:57 Weather (m002lzzm)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m002lzzp)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m002lzzr)
A Service of Remembrance from Wellington College
"As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end, they remain"
The closing words of Laurence Binyon's poem "For the Fallen" open this Service of Remembrance in a new setting by composer Lucy Walker. The text, written in 1914, resonates through the decades as different generations remember those lost and injured through conflict.
Sir Chris Tickell gives the address in the service from the chapel at Wellington College which is led by pupils at the school.
MUSIC
For the fallen (Lucy Walker)
Dear Lord and Father of mankind (Repton)
Libera me (Fauré)
Nunc dimittis (Dyson)
My soul, there is a country (Parry)
I vow to thee my country (Thaxted)
Elegy (Thalben-Ball)
Director of Music: Jack Thompson
Organist: Sean Farrell
Soloist: Tom Humphreys
Producer: Katharine Longworth
SUN 08:48 Witness History (w3ct744b)
Omar Sharif stars in Lawrence of Arabia
In 1962, Egyptian actor Omar Sharif made his Hollywood debut in Lawrence of Arabia, a sweeping epic that would become one of cinema’s most popular films.
Using archive recordings, Gill Kearsley tells the story of the movie legend’s transformation into the enigmatic Sherif Ali and brings to life the moment he stepped into the desert and onto the world stage.
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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.
(Photo: Sherif Ali, played by Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia. Credit: Columbia Pictures via Getty Images)
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m002lzzt)
Polly Atkin on the Tawny Owl
The home of poet and non-fiction writer Polly Atkin is surrounded by tawny owls. They are the most common owl in Britain, ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 breeding pairs, though we don't know exactly how many. Polly describes hearing the first melancholy call of a tawny owl in autumn, echoing around the lake at Grasmere. Kept awake by chronic illness, the owls' nighttime calls remind Polly that we are not alone, the sound means company, community and home.
Polly Atkin is the author of The Company of Owls (Elliott & Thompson).
Presented by Polly Atkin and produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.
SUN 09:00 News and Papers (m002lzzw)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.
SUN 09:15 The Archers Omnibus (m002lzzy)
Writer: Shaun McKenna
Director: Pip Swallow and David Payne
Editor: Jeremy Howe
David Archer…. Timothy Bentinck
Helen Archer…. Louiza Patikas
Henry Archer…. Blayke Darby
Jolene Archer…. Buffy Davis
Ruth Archer…. Felicity Finch
Tom Archer…. William Troughton
Alice Carter…. Hollie Chapman
Chris Carter…. Wilf Scolding
Neil Carter…. Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter…. Charlotte Martin
Mick Fadmoor…. Martin Barrass
Alan Franks…. John Telfer
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Esme Mulligan…. Ellie Pawsey
Carly…. Louise Brealey
Driver…. Django Bevan
SUN 10:30 Ceremony of Remembrance from the Cenotaph (m002lynk)
Paddy O’Connell sets the scene in London's Whitehall for the solemn ceremony when the nation remembers the sacrifice made by so many in the two world wars and in other more recent conflicts.
The traditional music of remembrance is played by the massed bands. After the Two Minutes Silence and Last Post, wreaths are laid at the foot of the Cenotaph by members of the Royal Family, political leaders and representatives of Commonwealth countries, before a short Service of Remembrance.
Producer: Alexa Good
SUN 11:45 Soul Music (m001n8c6)
I Say a Little Prayer for You
When Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David wrote I Say A Little Prayer For You in 1967 the war in Vietnam was raging. The song was intended as message of support for the soldiers there. It was originally recorded by Dionne Warwick and the following year by Aretha Franklin.
Doug Bradley was drafted and served in Vietnam as a war correspondent. He says the music the troops all listened to on AFVN (Armed Forces Vietnam Network) sustained him and others while they were in country. His book We Gotta Get Out of This Place (The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War) documents the vital role music played for the soldiers. Aretha Franklin was a symbol of hope and civil rights for many African American troops and I Say A Little Prayer a soothing and calming message of love.
The singer-songwriter Rumer adored the song and all of Aretha's music as an unhapy teenager in England. She went on to write the hit song Aretha about a young girl whose mother has a mental illness confiding all her worries to the Queen of Soul. Her husband Rob Shirakbari was recruited by both Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach as keyboard player and musical arranger. To him the song with its mixture of time signatures and different interpretations symbolises many happy years playing with two of the musical greats.
Jazz singer Nnenna Freelon has recorded two versions of because it is one she has loved throughout the years but only after the death of her husband Phil in 2019 did it become a song about the expression of grief. Her latest version interprets the song as a plea and a prayer for her late husband as well as for herself. Her podcast Great Grief is a meditation on grief and loss combined with music.
In 1968 Aretha Franklin played in Stockholm. 15 year old Hasse Huss and his friend hung around her hotel hoping to meet her. Not only did they meet her but at her invitation they spent the next day with her as she rehearsed for her show. I Say A Little Prayer fills him with happiness and nostalgia for this happy day in the late sixties and he plans to incorporate the song lyrics into a speech for his son's wedding.
And Professor Daphne Brooks grew up with older siblings and musical parents who introduced her to the song. It has been with her throughout her life representing for her the 'fullness of black womanhood'. The song very recently helped her deal with her beloved mother's passing at the age of 96.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
SUN 12:15 Profile (m002lzld)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 12:30 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (m002lpfp)
Series 4
Desert Island Quiz
Paul Sinha tests his audience in Sunderland on their knowledge of light bulbs, desert islands, and twin cities, and in return gets tested on his knowledge of city mottos, Vikings and what you cannot do with a giraffe in certain places in America.
Written and performed by Paul Sinha
Additional material: Oliver Levy
Additional questions: The Audience
Original music: Tim Sutton
Recording engineers: Sean Kerwin & Hamish Campbell
Mixed by Rich Evans
Producer: Ed Morrish
A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 12:57 Weather (m002m000)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m002m002)
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world.
SUN 13:30 Currently (m002m315)
Immigration: The Danish Way
Could the solution to Britain’s immigration problems lie in the Danish model? A model based on harsh restrictions on who can enter the country and strict rules for immigrants requiring not just integration but assimilation – and all promoted by a centre-left government.
In this documentary BBC Political Correspondent Iain Watson explains why some prominent Labour MPs now think it’s the answer they’re searching for, and why the Government might soon follow suit.
Travelling to Denmark he discovers what happened when the country introduced its radical new system, what the appeal is for British Labour MPs, and whether their system could work here. He reveals why the Danish model is attracting such interest to manage immigration and for its potential to solve Labour’s political problems. But can this Labour government navigate the extremely hazardous path of adopting policies associated with the populist right whilst retaining their own support on the left? Iain Watson reveals how all this may now play out.
Presenter: Iain Watson
Producer: Patrick Cowling
Executive Producer: Jonathan Brunert
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002lpp0)
Postbag Edition: Bicton Park Botanical Gardens
What’s the optimal size for a new greenhouse? How do I get cedar of Lebanon seeds to germinate? How do I revive a dried out compost heap?
Kathy Clugston and a panel of passionate horticulturalists are outside Exeter to soak up the sights, scents and history of Bicton Park Botanical Gardens while digging into the GQT postbag, to solve your trickiest gardening conundrums.
Joining Kathy under the big top are houseplant specialist Anne Swithinbank, award-winning garden designer Chris Beardshaw, and horticulturalist Frances Tophill - ready with expert advice, clever solutions, and a few laughs along the way. They're also joined by head manager of Bicton House, Edward Lister, to tour the 60 acres of land.
Senior Producer: Dominic Tyerman
Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m002m004)
Northanger Abbey - Episode Two
Jane Austen’s novel, Northanger Abbey, was the first full book she wrote. She was in her early 20s at the time and it was accepted by a publisher but the novel wasn’t published in her lifetime. In this second episode John Yorke looks at the story behind the genesis of Northanger Abbey - how a young woman with only three years of formal education came to write such an accomplished work, what prompted her to write a satire of Gothic fiction, and why the book is also a hymn of praise to the novel form itself.
Jane may not have spent much time in school but her voracious love of reading, her prodigious memory and understanding of other writers’ techniques meant that she was entertaining the family with her own stories and plays from an early age. After leaving school at 11, her real education began - self-education. With the encouragement of her father, the availability of subscription libraries which made reading possible for all purses, and a lot of writing practice, she would develop into one of Britain’s finest writers.
Sadly, her story is also one of disappointment and neglect. Despite the publisher’s promise, Jane’s novel, finished when she was 24, would have to languish for nearly 20 years before it finally saw the light of day, six months after her death.
John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4.
Contributors: Emma Clery, Literary Critic and Cultural Historian, Professor of English Literature at the Uppsala University, Sweden, and author of Jane Austen: The Banker’s Sister.
Rebecca Romney, author of Jane Austen’s Bookshelf.
Reader: Esme Scarborough
Production Hub Coordinators: Nina Semple, Dawn Williams
Researcher: Henry Tydeman
Sound: Iain Hunter
Producer: Kate McAll
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m002m006)
by Jane Austen
dramatised by Clara Glynn
Austen's early novel is a coming-of-age narrative and a satire on the 1790s vogue for sensationalist Gothic fiction.
Broadcast to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen.
Part Two
Having spent some weeks in Bath, Catherine has received an invitation from the Tilneys to stay at their home, Northanger Abbey.
In the halls and corridors of this ancient building and fuelled by her love of the Gothic novel, Catherine's imagination runs riot.
Catherine Morland ..... Madeleine Gray
Henry TIlney ..... Will Howard
Eleanor Tilney ..... Scarlett Courtney
General Tilney ..... John Heffernan
Isabella Thorpe ..... Cecilia Appiah
Mrs Morland ..... Jasmine Hyde
James Morland/Captain Tilney ..... Django Bevan
Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane
Sound by Keith Graham and Sam Dickinson
Production Coordinator - Bethany Woodhead
SUN 16:00 Take Four Books (m002m008)
Katherine Rundell
Award-winning author Katherine Rundell discusses The Poisoned King, the second instalment in her acclaimed children’s fantasy series, Impossible Creatures.
In this latest adventure, protagonist Christopher journeys back to the magical archipelago - a realm where dragons, unicorns, griffons, mermaids, and much more, all roam free. But this time, he’s faced with an urgent and mysterious threat.
Rundell shares the three literary inspirations behind her new novel: William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1600), C.S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian (1951), and Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea (1968).
Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
SUN 16:30 Punt & Dennis: Route Masters (m0023ydg)
Series 1: From Beer to Eternity
3 - From West Ham United to Madagascar
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are on a mission from West Ham United to Madagascar with the help of Isy Suttie, in a warm and witty podcast that celebrates new and half-remembered trivia as they try to find entertaining links between random places, people and things.
Could you make your way from The Starship Enterprise to the Air Fryer, armed only with A Level Economics and a Geography degree? Hugh Dennis is going to have to. While Steve Punt will have to pick his way across Africa, to find what links Machiavelli and Madagascar. Across the series, they’ll be joined by guests including Ken Cheng, Kiri Pritchard McLean, Isy Suttie and Marcus Brigstocke, on a scenic route which takes in Shampoo, The Gruffalo, Watford Gap Services and Yoghurt.
Written and hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis
With Isy Suttie
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
Recorded at Maple St Creative
Mixed by Jonathan Last
A Listen Production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct74q6)
Cleveland Balloonfest '86
In 1986, a world record attempt was launched by the city of Cleveland, in the US.
One and a half million balloons were blown up by volunteers ready to be released into the sky, with thousands of people watching.
It was meant to be a dazzling publicity stunt, but due to strong winds and a cold front, the balloons didn't float away as expected.
Colm Flynn speaks to Tom Holowatch, who was the project manager of BalloonFest '86, about how this became one of the most memorable days in the history of Cleveland, for all the right, and wrong reasons.
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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.
(Photo: BalloonFest. Credit: Getty Images)
SUN 17:10 The Verb (m002m00c)
Train Poetry with Don Paterson, Bella Hardy, Carmen Marcus, Patrick McGuinness
Ian McMillan and guests celebrate 200 years of the passenger railway and 200 years of railway inspired writing - by taking a train journey through poetry from Leuchars in Scotland to Bangor in Wales.
Poets Don Paterson, Carmen Marcus, Bella Hardy and Patrick McGuinness are Ian's guests, reading and exploring new work inspired by trains, train stations, railway
myths and railway memories.
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002m00f)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 17:57 Weather (m002m00h)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002m00k)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m002m00m)
Tessa Dunlop
This week, we hear from Grace Taylor in Poole, a 101-year-old World War Two veteran, as we journey through her life via the medium of radio. We touch on forgiveness, fear and the footballing hero who’s just been knighted. We’ll also be hearing Grace’s link to the late Prunella Scales, with some reflections from the actress's son Samuel on Last Word, as well as some classic 1940s hits to accompany us in our travels to the "golden age" of the wireless.
Presenter: Dr Tessa Dunlop
Producer: Anthony McKee
Production Coordinators: Caoilfhinn McFadden and Caroline Peddle
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m002lzwb)
Ruth is suspicious, and Alan has bad news for the Village Shop.
SUN 19:15 Illuminated (m002lzwr)
The Little Box Which Contains the World
Emily Berry leads us on an exploration of agoraphobia: a poetic journey through the lives of people who don't like going on journeys.
Agoraphobia is elusive and elastic – and it's very probably not what you think it is.
Poet Emily Berry was diagnosed with agoraphobia over ten years ago, a condition which limits her ability to travel. And so she's setting off in a different way: on a journey into the life of the mind, guided by a chorus of fellow agoraphobics. What does it mean to come up against the boundaries of the self and how might those limits be breached through the power of the imagination – in the words of poet Vasko Popa, "the little box which contains the world."
Featuring Graham Caveney, Charlotte Levin and Peter Ruppert.
Includes extracts from a BBC interview with Dr Claire Weekes.
Graham Caveney's memoir is called On Agoraphobia (Picador)
Charlotte Levin's most recent novel is If I Let You Go (Mantle)
Peter Ruppert's on-line community is anxietyfitness.com
SUN 19:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m000zd9q)
Eat Chocolate
Could eating two squares of dark chocolate a day really help you reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease - and enhance blood flow to your brain? In this episode, Michael Mosley champions the wonders of chocolate. With the help of Professor Aedín Cassidy at Queen's University Belfast, he reveals the secret ingredients behind the benefits and why we should start to embrace the bitter taste of high cocoa chocolate.
SUN 20:00 Feedback (m002lpkc)
Today and the Chancellor Statement. Listeners on Jonathan Pie, and a Radical VoxBox
In last week's episode of Feedback, we spoke to BBC Radio 4 Comedy and Entertainment commissioner Julia McKenzie about Call Jonathan Pie in the
6.30pm comedy slot. In this week's entirely listener-led programme, we'll hear your comments and reaction to last week's interview.
And two listeners, Abi and Clare, discuss Radical with Amol Rajan in our Vox Box. The relatively new podcast has Amol sitting down with some of the leading lights in tech, politics and more, for big conversations designed to help you, as the programme descriptions suggests, to 'win the future'. But is it as radical as its title?
And some listeners are asking why the Today programme left the Chancellor of the Exchequer's live pre budget statement from Downing Street early.
Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Pauline Moore
Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m002lpp4)
Dick Cheney, Yvonne Brewster, Mary McGee, Peter Watkins
Matthew Bannister on
Dick Cheney, the Republican politician who was Vice President under George W Bush and played key roles in both Gulf Wars.
Yvonne Brewster, the Jamaican-born director and actor who founded the Black British Theatre Company Talawa.
Mary ‘May’ McGee, the Irish woman who brought s successful legal challenge against the country’s ban on contraception.
Peter Watkins, the film maker whose powerful depiction of a nuclear attack on the UK was banned by the BBC
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley
Archive used:
Dick Cheney interview, Oral Histories, C-Span, 19/12/2007; Dick Cheney, PBS, 04/11/2025; Dick Cheney, Operation Desert Storm press Conference, 17/01/1991; George W Bush names Vice President candidate and running mate, CNN, 25/07/2000; Yvonne, Brewster interview, Fighting Talk, BBC Two, 22/02/1991; Mary McGee interview, No Country For Women documentary series, directed by Anne Roper, RTE ONE, 19/06/2020; May McGee interview, Misneach, May & Séamus McGee, TG4 YouTube Channel, uploaded 20/09/2023; The World This Weekend, BBC Radio 4, 23/05/1971; Yvonne Brewster, Desert Island Discs, Radio 4, 01/04/2005; Peter Watkins interview, The Lively Arts, BBC Radio 3, 22/05/1966; The War Game, BBC, 1966, Dir: Peter Watkins; Culloden, 1964 trailer , director: Peter Watkins;
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m002lzkp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m002lzzk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002lzkk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:30 on Saturday]
SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m002m00p)
More Budget build-up
Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.
SUN 23:00 In Our Time (b08kscgb)
Pauli's Exclusion Principle
After 27 years, Melvyn Bragg has decided to step down from the In Our Time presenter’s chair. With over a thousand episodes to choose from, he has selected just six that capture the huge range and depth of the subjects he and his experts have tackled. In this fifth of his choices, we hear Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss a key figure from quantum mechanics.
Their topic is the life and ideas of Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958), whose Exclusion Principle is one of the key ideas in quantum mechanics. A brilliant physicist, at 21 Pauli wrote a review of Einstein's theory of general relativity and that review is still a standard work of reference today. The Pauli Exclusion Principle proposes that no two electrons in an atom can be at the same time in the same state or configuration, and it helps explain a wide range of phenomena such as the electron shell structure of atoms. Pauli went on to postulate the existence of the neutrino, which was confirmed in his lifetime. Following further development of his exclusion principle, Pauli was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1945 for his 'decisive contribution through his discovery of a new law of Nature'. He also had a long correspondence with Jung, and a reputation for accidentally breaking experimental equipment which was dubbed The Pauli Effect.
With
Frank Close
Fellow Emeritus at Exeter College, University of Oxford
Michela Massimi
Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Edinburgh
and
Graham Farmelo
Bye-Fellow of Churchill College, University of Cambridge
Producer: Simon Tillotson
Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Melvyn Bragg and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world
SUN 23:45 Short Works (m002lpp2)
Homing by Marie-Louise McGuinness
An original short story specially commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from the writer Marie-Louise McGuinness. Read by Charlotte McCurry (BBC One's Leonard and Hungry Paul.)
The Author
Marie-Louise McGuinness writes from Omagh, Northern Ireland. She has work published in numerous literary magazines including Banshee, The Forge and Fictive Dream. She has been twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, longlisted in the Bath Short Story Award and her very short story "When She Falls", first published in Milk Candy Review, was selected as a winner for Best Microfictions 2025. She writes from a sensory perspective.
Writer: Marie-Louise McGuinness
Reader: Charlotte McCurry
Producer: Michael Shannon
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.
MONDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2025
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m002m00r)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 00:15 Soul Music (m0024vn6)
Benedictus
Sir Karl Jenkins' Benedictus is the penultimate movement from his anti-war mass, The Armed Man. Written twenty-five years ago this year and performed over three thousand times, Sir Karl dedicated it to the victims of the 1998-1999 Kosovo war. It was originally commissioned by The Royal Armouries Museum and premiered for the millennium.
The Armed Man as a whole reflects the descent into war, but the movement of Benedictus' emerges as a message of hope and peace in the aftermath. Benedictus is recognised for its haunting cello theme, in a register unusually high for this resonant instrument. The cello solo gradually expands into a full choir and orchestra.
Benedictus has given solace to listeners through some of the most difficult moments of their lives. We hear some of their stories. Featuring:
British Armed Forces Veteran Michael Young, who served in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan;
Reverand Charles Thody, Priest in Lincolnshire and chaplain for the NHS;
Dane Coetzee, cellist in Cape Town, South Africa;
And the composer of Benedictus himself, Sir Karl Jenkins and his wife, Lady Carol Jenkins.
Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol
Sound Engineer: Ilse Lademann
Editor: Emma Harding
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m002lzlx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002m00t)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002m00w)
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 (m002m00y)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:04 Last Word (m002lpp4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 on Sunday]
MON 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002m010)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002m012)
The Child in Our Midst
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Great Ormond Street Lead Chaplain - Rev Dorothy Moore Brooks
Good Morning.
Right in the heart of Great Ormond Street Hospital is St Christopher’s Chapel, where, as lead chaplain I’ve spent much time. One of the stained-glass windows always catches my eye. It depicts Jesus, surrounded by disciples, but with a little child right in front of him. His hands hover over the child, as if in tender affirmation and blessing. Below these words from the Gospel of Matthew: “Jesus called a little child unto him and set him in the midst.”
Many of the children we are privileged to work with come to us in great crises but leave with health and hope restored. However, sadly that isn’t true for everyone. Every year some of our children die, each one leaving a grief that is simply beyond words.
In this season of Remembrance, those children of Great Ormond Street are right in the midst of our community’s collective memory.
We remember them when we visit a ward and see the bed they once occupied or hear a lullaby that made them smile.
We remember them each morning as we turn the page in our Book of Remembrance, in which their names are lovingly inscribed.
We remember them when we celebrate major festivals, aware of their friends and families whose celebrations are forever changed.
We remember them at our annual Time to Remember gathering, when their names are read aloud and a candle lit in their honour.
We remember them because, however short, every day of their life mattered, and always will.
And in remembering them we ensure that they are always, in those words of Jesus, “in the midst” and all that we are, and all that do.
I pray today for all who mourn, that they might be comforted.
Amen.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m002m014)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
MON 05:57 Weather (m002m016)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for farmers
MON 06:00 Today (m002lzv3)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m002lzv7)
Saving Tigers, Green Crime and Cli-fi
Threats to the natural world are the focus of today’s conversation. Adam Rutherford talks to wildlife biologist Jonathan Slaght, novelist Juhea Kim and criminal psychologist Julia Shaw.
Jonathan Slaght discusses Tigers Between Empires, his account of the international effort to save the Siberian tiger from extinction in the wake of the Cold War.
Juhea Kim’s short story collection A Love Story from the End of the World imagines lives lived in precarious balance with nature, from biodomes in Seoul to landfill islands in the Pacific.
Dr Julia Shaw’s Green Crime investigates the psychology behind environmental destruction, profiling the perpetrators of ecological harm and the people fighting to stop them.
Producer: Katy Hickman
Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez
MON 09:45 Café Hope (m002lzvb)
Rides for remembrance
Mike Hughes, founder of volunteer initiative Poppy Cabs, tells Rachel Burden how they provide taxis for veterans who need to travel to Remembrance Day events in the UK and abroad.
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
Presenter: Rachel Burden
Series Producer: Uma Doraiswamy
Sound Design: Nicky Edwards
Researcher: Maeve Schaffer
Editor: Clare Fordham
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002lzvg)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
MON 11:00 Air Ambulance (m0026900)
Welcome aboard Helimed 21, the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, run by Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex.
Summer is the busiest time of year for KSS, and today is no exception.
Join Dr Kevin Fong with his fellow medics and pilots as they race to serious incidents across their nearly 3000 square mile patch. With unique access and using a suite of carefully tailored microphones, hear first-hand how medics and pilots at the cutting edge of their professions deal with the worst days of their patients' lives. Real events, real decisions, in real time.
After being trapped in his car for over an hour following a collision, patient Will is in a bad way. A South East Coast Ambulance paramedic who used to work for HEMS is first on scene. As Will’s condition deteriorates despite her expert efforts, she calls her for the help of KSS. They rush to the scene and she passes the baton in the chain of survival. But Will is still going downhill - it’s clear he’s been critically injured. Even flying the emergency room service to him, as KSS does thousands of times each year, may not be enough to save his life.
When a case is this serious, every decision is a balance of benefits and risks, all with high stakes. From careful diagnosis of multiple serious injuries to delivering a blood transfusion, we hear how the KSS medical team weigh up the available choices in their attempt to save Will.
If you’ve ever seen an air ambulance whirring overhead and wondered where they’re going - this is a story for you.
With thanks to Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex, South East Coast Ambulance and Royal Sussex County Hospital.
Presenter: Dr Kevin Fong
Producer: Jen Whyntie
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
A TellTale Industries production for BBC Radio 4
MON 11:45 The Everest Obsession (m001y1y3)
1. Reaching the Summit
Is a global obsession with Everest creating unnecessary risk for the people who work there? On 18 April 2014, an avalanche killed 16 sherpas on the mountain. They were picking their way through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall carrying heavy equipment for climbing companies. The tragedy shone a spotlight on the commercial side of the mountain, where hundreds attempt the summit each year, supported by sherpas.
Rebecca Stephens became the first British woman to reach the summit of Everest in 1993.
In this episode, she shares her summit story and hears the experiences of Sir Chris Bonington, Lakpa Rita Sherpa and Margaret Watroba.
This was first broadcast in April 2024.
Presenter: Rebecca Stephens MBE
Producer: Laura Jones
Production Assistance in Kathmandu: Pradeep Bashyal
Editor: Clare Fordham
Production Coordinators: Gemma Ashman and Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
MON 12:00 News Summary (m002lzvs)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:04 You and Yours (m002lzvx)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
MON 12:57 Weather (m002lzw1)
The latest weather forecast
MON 13:00 World at One (m002lzw5)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4
MON 13:45 Darren Harriott: Father Figuring (m002lzw7)
Episode 1 - I'm Older Than My Dad
Darren Harriott is a 37-year-old comedian from the Black Country in the West Midlands. And in reaching this age, he has lived longer than his dad, who took his own life while in prison in the year 2000 – he was 35 and Darren was 11.
Overtaking him in age has brought Darren to a strange point in life, rethinking and reevaluating everything – not least about becoming a dad himself.
Darren doesn’t have kids yet but he has begun to question what fatherhood really means. After not really having any kind of relationship with his own, would he be a good dad? What even makes a good dad? Can you learn how to be a good dad? And is he at risk of making the same mistakes that his dad made and continuing the Bad Dad cycle?
Through interviews and stand-up comedy, Darren is going to look at the role of dads, both in the family and in society. He’s going look into his dad’s background – something he’s never done before and knows very little about. And, with the help of family, friends, social scientists and psychologists, Darren will interrogate his feelings about all of this, find out what it means to be a dad, and perhaps even work out whether he actually wants to be a dad himself.
In Episode 1, Darren looks at the fathers and parents in his own family to try and understand what he learned – or didn’t learn - from them.
Presenter: Darren Harriott
Producer: Laura Grimshaw
Researcher: Hannah Ratcliffe
Live Sound: Jerry Peal
Post-Production Sound: Tony Churnside
Executive Producers: Jon Holmes and Carrie Rose
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
MON 14:00 The Archers (m002lzwb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Disordered (p0gtz3t3)
Series 1
Episode 3 - Haddock and Charlette with an E
A comedy drama, written by Magnus Mackintosh, and starring Jamie Sives as Hector, an optimistic but struggling 42-year-old single father, with long-term mental health issues, who lives in Edinburgh with his unusually bright 10-year-old son William. He is aided by kindly friend and neighbour Susan and hindered by acerbic ex-partner Amanda.
In episode three, Haddock and Charlette with an E, Hector is stung into action when Susan finds an online admirer who seems so perfect she thinks he might be ”the one”. With no little prompting from William, Hector also goes on a date with Charlette, with an E. Could Hector and Susan both find love at the same time? Meanwhile Amanda is concerned that Finlay is always busy with work.
The writer, Magnus Mackintosh, has personally struggled with mental health issues over 27 years. He openly discusses his own mental health issues on social media in the hope he can help others and raise awareness.
Created and Written by Magnus Mackintosh
Cast
Hector- Jamie Sives
Susan- Rosalind Sydney
Amanda- Gail Watson
William- Raffi Phillips
Haddrick- Jimmy Chisholm
Charlette- Victoria Balnaves
Studio Engineer and Editor- Lee McPhail
Production Manager- Tayler Norris
Title Music- Just Breathe by Police Dog Hogan
Produced and Directed by Moray Hunter and Gordon Kennedy
Recorded at Castlesound Studios, Pencaitland, East Lothian
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4
MON 14:45 Scenes from a Childhood by Jon Fosse (m001vmd1)
Episode Three: Scenes from a Childhood (Part Three)
A selection of connected short stories by the celebrated Norwegian author Jon Fosse, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature - “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable”. Minimalist and compelling, these pared-back vignettes take us from infancy to awkward adolescence, skirting the line between fiction and autobiography. Episodes one to three draw stories from the titular story sequence 'Scenes from a Childhood'; episodes four and five are taken from the story 'Little Sister'.
'the Beckett of the twenty-first century' - Le Monde
‘Fosse has been compared to Ibsen and to Beckett, and it is easy to see his work as Ibsen stripped down to its emotional essentials. But it is much more. For one thing, it has a fierce poetic simplicity.’ - New York Times
Translated from the Norwegian by Damion Searls
Read by John Mackay
Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery and Mair Bosworth
Mixed by Ilse Lademann
MON 15:00 A Good Read (m002lzwd)
Julia Shaw and Hayaatun Sillem
FUNDAMENTALLY by Nussaibah Younis, chosen by Julia Shaw
YOUR LIFE IS MANUFACTURED by Tim Minshall, chosen by Hayaatun Sillem
ROSARITA by Anita Desai, chosen by Harriett Gilbert
Criminal psychologist Julia Shaw joins engineer Hayaatun Sillem to discuss favourite books with Harriett Gilbert. Julia's choice, Fundamentally, is a bold debut novel by Nussaibah Younis which sparks a bit of debate. Younis writes a comedy story about an academic who takes a UN job in Iraq to lead a deradicalisation program for ISIS women. Hayaatun puts forward a very different book, a non-fiction by Tim Minshall, Professor of Innovation at the University of Cambridge. His book Your Life is Manufactured reveals the seismic impact that manufacturing has both on our lives and on the natural world. Finally, Harriett's choice is a haunting novella called Rosarita by Anita Desai, an unsettling riddle that follows a young Indian woman's quest through Mexico to find out more about her mother.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley
MON 15:30 Curious Cases (m002lzkc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Saturday]
MON 16:00 Currently (m002lpff)
From Anglesey with Love
In the summer of 2020, Radio 4 producer Polly Weston found herself at Nathan Gill’s house. She’d been sent by a random postcode generator, for an episode of The Patch. What followed was a wide-ranging interview about his life and career, how he became involved in UKIP, his involvement in campaigning for Brexit, and his subsequent responsibilities in the Brexit party after they stormed to victory in the 2019 European elections. But the interview also happens to cover the period he was taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia. One year after this interview, Counter Terrorism detectives entered this same house, and they found evidence which contributed to his recent conviction for eight counts of bribery.
“Officers found evidence on his devices that showed how Gill was in contact another individual in Ukraine and that Gill had agreed that, in exchange for money, he would make certain statements that were supportive of pro-Russia media being present in Ukraine. Detectives identified eight such instances between January 2018 and February 2020.”
Gill pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery in September, and faces sentencing on the 21st November – he is expected to receive a prison sentence.
This is his story, up to the time of the events which led to his conviction, as told by the man himself.
Produced and Presented in Bristol by Polly Weston
Editor Chris Ledgard
MON 16:30 Legend (m002lzkf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
MON 17:00 PM (m002lzwg)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002lzwj)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m002lzwl)
Series 84
1. Catchphrase
The godfather of all panel shows pays a visit to the Mayflower in Southampton. On the panel are Adrian Edmondson, Rachel Parris, Miles Jupp and Marcus Brigstocke, with Jack Dee in the umpire’s chair. 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 (m002lzwp)
Will offers George a ray of hope, and Kate is determined to get her own way.
MON 19:15 Front Row (m002mgsy)
All the authors shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2025
The six authors shortlisted for this year's Booker Prize discuss their novels ahead of tonight's ceremony, which is broadcast live on Radio 4 at
9.30pm in a special extra edition of Front Row.
Andrew Miller on The Land in Winter
Kiran Desai on The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
David Szalay on Flesh
Katie Kitamura on Audition
Susan Choi on Flashlight
Ben Markovits on The Rest of Our Lives
Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Timothy Prosser
MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m002lpkf)
What's happening in Venezuela?
Something is going in the southern Caribbean. The world’s largest aircraft carrier - the American USS Gerald R Ford- is on its way to the region. Small boats said to belong to Venezuelan drug smugglers are being blown up by the US military. Old US bases are being de-mothballed. And there’s media talk of Trump-induced regime change in Caracas, with Venezuela’s authoritarian, leftist president Nicolas Maduro in the crosshairs. In this week's Briefing Room, David Aaronovitch and guests ask what this military show of strength is really about and what it mean for the region?
Guests:
Will Grant, BBC Mexico, Central America and Cuba Correspondent.
Jeremy McDermott, co-founder and co-director of InSight Crime, a Colombia-based think tank that studies organised crime in the Americas.
Dr Christopher Sabatini, Senior Fellow for Latin America at Chatham House
Dr Annette Idler, Associate Professor in Global Security at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford.
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight and Cordelia Hemming
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound Engineer: Gareth Jones
Editor: Richard Vadon
MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (w3ct8txj)
Is dark energy getting weaker?
Astronomers have new evidence, which could change what we understand about the expansion of the universe. Carlos Frenk, Ogden Professor of Fundamental Physics at Durham University gives us his take on whether the dark energy pushing our universe apart is getting weaker.
With the Turing Prize, the Nobel Prize and now this week the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering under his belt, Geoffrey Hinton is known for his pioneering work on AI. And, since leaving a job at Google in 2023, for his warnings that AI could bring about the end of humanity. Tom Whipple speaks to Geoffrey about the science of super intelligence.
And Senior physics reporter at Nature Lizzie Gibney brings us her take on the new science that matters this week.
To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.
Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Clare Salisbury
Content producer: Ella Hubber
Assistant producers: Jonathan Blackwell and Tim Dodd
Editor: Martin Smith
Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
MON 21:00 Illuminated (m002lzwr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:15 on Sunday]
MON 21:30 Front Row (m002lzwt)
Winner of the 2025 Booker Prize announced live from the ceremony
Samira Ahmed presents live from Old Billingsgate in London, where the announcement of the winner of the 2025 Booker Prize is taking place.
The novels on the shortlist: Flesh by David Szalay, The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller, The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits, Audition by Katie Kitamura, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, and Flashlight by Susan Choi.
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m002lzww)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
MON 22:45 The Accident Report Book by Joe Dunthorne (m002lzwy)
Episode 1
When video game designer Marian Welby is tasked with reporting a bizarre workplace accident, she finds that she rather enjoys the act of writing it up.
Original fiction for BBC Radio 4 by Joe Dunthorne (Submarine, Children of Radium, podcast Half-Life). Read by Ell Potter and Clive Hayward.
Production Co-ordinator, Alison Crawford
Sound Editing, Suzy Robins
Producer Emma Harding, BBC Audio Bristol
MON 23:00 Start the Week (m002lzv7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 23:45 Today in Parliament (m002lzx1)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
TUESDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2025
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m002lzx3)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 00:30 The Everest Obsession (m001y1y3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002lzx5)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002lzx7)
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 (m002lzx9)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:04 Currently (m002m315)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:30 on Sunday]
TUE 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002lzxc)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002lzxf)
In the Silence
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with The Reverend Canon Michael Parker, Chaplain General of His Majesty’s Land Forces.
Good morning.
For over 25 years I’ve been an Army chaplain. As those years have passed, Remembrance and Armistice day have grown in meaning and significance to me. I’ve led commemorations all around the world, and this year, at the Cenotaph in London’s Whitehall. It’s one of those rare occasions when the city falls silent. The hustle and bustle of everyday activity stops, and, despite the crowds, I am left alone with my thoughts.
Like everyone who has served in the Armed Forces, Remembrance for me is deeply personal. A catalogue of places I have been, Regiments I have served with and people I have known. Memories – the good ones that you don’t want to let go of - and those that won’t let go of you. For me, it’s the memory of an 18-year-old soldier whose life slipped away as I tried to bring him comfort. It’s his silence that I join when I stand at the Cenotaph.
As a person of faith, I can feel the presence of God in that silence. It brings comfort, meaning, hope that the world will one day be transformed and war will be no more.
Silence is not the final act of the day – when wreaths have been laid and the marching complete, soldiers old and young come together to raise a glass, to tell their stories and remember with fondness those now gone. They welcome me into their gatherings, thrust a drink into my hand, tease me mercilessly. But before I move on … “say a prayer for us Padre”. I will my friends, God bless you for your service and for all that lies ahead.
Amen.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m002lzxh)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
TUE 06:00 Today (m002m02x)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m002m031)
Pierre Friedlingstein on carbon’s pivotal role in climate change
The COP30 climate summit is taking place in the Brazilian city of Belém, a gateway to the Amazon rainforest, which continues to face widespread deforestation. We all know that our climate is changing and that we are largely responsible for this, but we can’t tackle the problem unless we understand what’s going on.
One scientist who’s done more than most to rectify this is Professor Pierre Friedlingstein. He’s a prominent climate scientist and Chair in Mathematical Modelling of the Climate System at Exeter University. His models have transformed our understanding of climate change, revealing a complex dynamical system with carbon at its centre, cycling between the atmosphere, oceans and land, to directly influence the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Pierre is actively involved in assessing the state of our climate through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and, as director of the Global Carbon Budget, estimates the remaining amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted before we breach our global climate targets. It’s the ultimate test of effective climate action and the latest annual update will be released at COP.
Pierre explains how we can all play our part to reduce carbon emissions, and he practises what he preaches - he won’t be flying to COP this year so as to minimise his own carbon footprint.
Presented by Jim Al-Khalili
Produced by Beth Eastwood
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
A BBC Studios Production
TUE 09:30 All in the Mind (m002m035)
The show on how we think, feel and behave. Claudia Hammond delves into the evidence on mental health, psychology and neuroscience.
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002m039)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
TUE 10:59 Armistice Day Silence (m002m03f)
The traditional two-minute silence to mark Armistice Day.
TUE 11:04 Screenshot (m002lppg)
Melodrama
Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore a once-popular genre of cinema which flourished in the mid-20th Century with films like Now Voyager, Mildred Pierce and All That Heaven Allows, and is still alive and kicking today - albeit often in unexpected ways.
Ellen speaks to film critic Pamela Hutchinson about the melodramatic women's pictures of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, and about why the melodrama genre may be thriving in the current day, in the form of the male melodrama.
Meanwhile, Mark talks to two directors from either side of the Atlantic, both well acquainted with the 21st century melodrama.
British-Moroccan director Fyzal Boulifa talks about the influence of a 1950s Joan Crawford melodrama noir on his 2022 indie film The Damned Don't Cry, and about the post-revolutionary roots of the melodrama form.
And American indie darling Todd Haynes discusses how melodrama runs through his filmography, from 2002's Far From Heaven, which reimagined the world of director Douglas Sirk for a 21st Century audience, to the ‘queer-melodrama’ classic Carol.
Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 11:45 The Everest Obsession (m001y26y)
2. Disaster on the mountain
Is a global obsession with Everest creating unnecessary risk for the people who work there? On 18 April 2014, an avalanche killed 16 sherpas on the mountain. They were picking their way through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall carrying heavy equipment for climbing companies. The tragedy shone a spotlight on the commercial side of the mountain, where hundreds attempt the summit each year, supported by sherpas.
Rebecca Stephens became the first British woman to reach the summit in 1993.
She hears how the deadly avalanche unfolded, plus the role sherpas play on Everest, and the risks they have to take.
This programme was first broadcast in April 2024.
Presenter: Rebecca Stephens MBE
Producer: Laura Jones
Production Assistance in Kathmandu: Pradeep Bashyal
Sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor: Clare Fordham
Production Coordinators: Gemma Ashman and Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
TUE 12:00 News Summary (m002m03k)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m002m03n)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
TUE 12:57 Weather (m002m03q)
The latest weather forecast
TUE 13:00 World at One (m002m03s)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4
TUE 13:45 Darren Harriott: Father Figuring (m002m03v)
Episode 2 - Breaking the Cycle
Darren Harriott is a 37-year-old comedian from the Black Country in the West Midlands. And in reaching this age, he has lived longer than his dad, who took his own life while in prison in the year 2000 – he was 35 and Darren was 11.
Overtaking him in age has brought Darren to a strange point in life, rethinking and reevaluating everything – not least about becoming a dad himself.
Darren doesn’t have kids yet but he has begun to question what fatherhood really means. After not really having any kind of relationship with his own, would he be a good dad? What even makes a good dad? Can you learn how to be a good dad? And is he at risk of making the same mistakes that his dad made and continuing the Bad Dad cycle?
Through interviews and stand-up comedy, Darren is going to look at the role of dads, both in the family and in society. He’s going look into his dad’s background – something he’s never done before and knows very little about. And, with the help of family, friends, social scientists and psychologists, Darren will interrogate his feelings about all of this, find out what it means to be a dad, and perhaps even work out whether he actually wants to be a dad himself.
In Episode 2, Darren speaks to his friends who had similarly chaotic dads in their childhoods, who have recently become fathers themselves. Is it possible to break the cycle?
Presenter: Darren Harriott
Producer: Laura Grimshaw
Researcher: Hannah Ratcliffe
Live Sound: Jerry Peal
Post-Production Sound: Tony Churnside
Executive Producers: Jon Holmes and Carrie Rose
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m002lzwp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m002m03x)
Tipping Point
Written by Hannah Khalil
In 2040, a Middle Eastern nation is struggling to survive rising temperatures and rolling power cuts. Architect Noura Halim has devoted her life to designing a new kind of city, one that could protect people from the worsening climate and keep her country alive. But as construction begins, the project drains the nation’s fragile resources, workers are pushed to breaking point, and her teenage daughter Amal begins to question everything her mother believes in.
As tensions rise at home and across the country, Noura must confront the cost of her own ambition and the possibility that her dream of salvation could destroy the very place she’s trying to save.
Tipping Point was developed through OKRE Experimental Stories supported by Wellcome in consultation with Dr Robert Hughes of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Dr Candice Howarth of the London School of Economics.
Cast:
Noura . . . . . Nadia Albina
Amal . . . . . Eleanor Nawal
Steve . . . . . Clive Hayward
Mr Felix . . . . . Angus Wright
Jamila . . . . . Tanvi Virmani
TV Presenter . . . . . Jasmine Hyde
Noura's Assistant . . . . . Sasha McCabe
Production co-ordinators: Sara Benaim and Emma Donald
Sound design: Sharon Hughes
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko
TUE 15:00 History's Heroes (m002m03z)
History's Toughest Heroes
Henry Johnson: Hellfighter
A Black soldier from the American South makes headlines when he fights off an entire German party in World War One. But his fame comes at a price.
In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge.
Growing up in as a Black man in North Carolina, where racism was enshrined in law and lynchings were horrifyingly common, Henry Johnson didn't have much hope for a bright future. He moved to Albany New York and when America joined the Great War he found himself on the front line in France, with the all-Black 369th infantry regiment. These men would come to be known as the Harlem Hellfighters and after one fateful night, in the pitch black of no-mans-land, Henry Johnson would be hailed a national hero thanks to his ferocity and extreme courage in the face of an enemy attack.
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
Producer: Suniti Somaiya
Development Producer: Georgina Leslie
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Written by Imogen Robertson
Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts
TUE 15:30 Heart and Soul (w3ct6vpd)
Finding My Sikh Faith Against the Odds
Harj Gahley is a Sikh who began gambling when he was 23.
What started with a ‘fun’ night out with friends at a casino, spiraled out of control until it nearly cost him his life.
A decade-long secret addiction took him to the edge of personal and financial ruin before his lies were eventually exposed by his heartbroken wife.
His hidden truth exposes a cultural stigma as Harj faces cultural isolation when he first turns to his faith and community leaders for help and support.
Instead of compassion, Harj finds shame and judgement when he confesses to an elder about the depth of his problems.
He sets out to develop understanding and create lasting change within his faith.
His path to recovery and healing provides an honest insight into the challenges of gambling within South Asian communities and the importance of breaking the silence.
Harj now campaigns to raise awareness around the damage gambling can do and he supports others as they enter into their own battles with this addiction.
Through conversations with the BBC’s Rajeev Gupta, Harj takes us on an emotional journey to a turning point where family support leads him to ultimately rediscover the meaning of his Sikh faith.
[Photo Credit: Matt O'donaghue, Photo Description: Harj Gahley]
Presenter: Matt O'Donoghue
Producer: Rajeev Gupta
Editor: Chloe Walker
Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno
TUE 16:00 Artworks (m002m042)
Unesco: From Cultural Diplomacy to Culture Wars
In July 2025 President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. It wasn’t a surprising decision - he’d done it before in 2017 – and President Reagan before him had done it in 1984, also citing over-politicisation. But as the US withdraws funding in 2026, who steps into the breach? The answer it seems is China which now has 60 world heritage sites and is an enthusiastic applicant for intangible cultural heritage status for its practices and traditions. So why is China interested in influencing UNESCO? Does it matter if the United States no longer wants a seat at the table and what does it mean for the world?
Rana Mitter explores what UNESCO, an organisation founded in Paris in 1946, still has to offer and what its fortunes tell us about the ideas of global heritage and soft power today. He speaks to those who've had direct contact with UNESCO and those who've studied it, including the diplomats Sir Jeremy Greenstock, former UK Ambassador to the UN and Nick Burns, former US Ambassador to China. We also hear from the analyst Dr Yu Jie from the UK think tank Chatham House, the British-Turkish writer Elif Shafak; Enestro Ottone, the Assistant Director-General for Culture at UNESCO; Paul Betts, Professor of History at the University of Oxford; and Erol Morkoç, a spokesperson for Republicans Overseas.
Presenter: Rana Mitter
Producer: Ruth Watts
TUE 16:30 What's Up Docs? (m002m044)
How to escape all-or-nothing thinking
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, Chris and Xand dive into the concept of ‘all-or-nothing’ thinking. What does it really mean, and why are our brains drawn to this black-and-white way of seeing the world? They explore how it shows up in everyday life, whether it can ever be helpful, and share practical strategies for recognising and challenging it. They also reflect on their own experiences with this mindset.
Joining them to discuss this is Kimberley Wilson, Chartered Psychologist, author, and host of the new mental health podcast, Complex.
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: Kimberley Wilson
Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis
Executive Producer: JRami Tzabar
Editor: Jo Rowntree
Researcher: Grace Revill
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Social Media: Leon Gower
Digital Lead: Richard Berry
Composer: Phoebe McFarlane
Sound Design: Ruth Rainey
At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 17:00 PM (m002m046)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002m048)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 18:30 Mark Steel's in Town (m002m04b)
Series 14
6. Unst (Shetland part 2)
6/6 - Unst - 'The Island Above All Others'.
After performing in Lerwick earlier in the series, Mark’s Shetland adventure concludes in Unst, as far north as you can get.
There will also be extended versions of each episode available on BBC Sounds.
Written and performed by Mark Steel
Additional material by Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinators Caroline Barlow and Katie Baum
Sound Manager Jerry Peal
Producer Carl Cooper
A BBC Studios production for Radio 4
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m002m04d)
Joy tries to change Susan’s mind, and Amber needs time to think.
TUE 19:15 Front Row (m002m04g)
Edgar Wright on The Running Man
Edgar Wright on The Running Man and Andrew Graham Dixon on Vermeer.
TUE 20:00 File on 4 Investigates (m002m04j)
The IT bug that's caused chaos in the courts
An ambitious plan to digitalize the courts was meant to remove the need for hundreds of thousands of paper documents. But File on 4 Investigates has discovered an IT system, introduced as part of a £1bn project, has been plagued with technical faults - causing crucial information to go missing, be overwritten, or appear lost. The government body that runs the courts in England and Wales has now checked hundreds of thousands of benefit and child support appeals to identify if any were affected by missing evidence. But sources say the IT bug was known about for years before action was taken.
Original journalism by Alys Harte.
Reporter: Datshiane Navanayagam.
Producers: Lorna Aqua, Fergus Hewison.
Editor: Tara McDermott.
Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards.
Prouction co-ordinator: Ellie Dover.
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m002m04l)
News, views and information for people who are blind or partially sighted
TUE 21:00 The Law Show (m002ln84)
Immigration and the law - who stays? Who goes?
Immigration has dominated headlines for months, but what UK laws cover this most emotive of issues?
When someone arrives here, what are the legal routes they have to take if they want to stay in the UK? What's the legal difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee? What does "indefinite leave to remain" mean? And what's the difference between being deported, being removed and being extradited?
How do immigration hearings work? Are our immigration laws fit for purpose, and do they enable us to remove people when required?
Also on the programme:
How will the government's digital ID plans help curb illegal immigration?
and wigs in court; as the bar council updates dress advice for its members, we ask two barristers if wigs have had their day.
Presenter: Dr Joelle Grogan
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Producers: Ravi Naik and Charlotte Rowles
Contributors
Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford
Paul Gulbenkian, solicitor at OTS solicitors and former immigration Judge
Morgan Wild, Chief Policy Adviser, Labour Together
Jennifer Devans-Tamakloe, barrister at 23 Essex Street chambers
Benet Brandreth KC, barrister at 11 South Square chambers
TUE 21:30 The Bottom Line (m002lpjx)
Hypotheticals: How Would You React If You Were Boss?
Three business leaders tackle fictional dilemmas that test their instincts, experience and nerves. To make it more realistic, none of the guests have any idea what the scenarios are in advance.
Guests:
Ben Branson, Founder, Seedlip and Sylva
Sophie Mermin, Founder, Trotters Childrenswear
Margaret Heffernan, former CEO, entrepreneur, author and professor of practice at the university of Bath school of management
Production team:
Presenter: Evan Davis
Producer: Sally Abrahams
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
Sound: Nathan Chamberlain and Gareth Jones
Editor: Matt Willis
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m002m04n)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
TUE 22:45 The Accident Report Book by Joe Dunthorne (m002m04q)
Episode 2
Tensions between two members of the design team result in an unfortunate incident involving a lime.
Original fiction for BBC Radio 4 by Joe Dunthorne (Submarine, Children of Radium, BBC podcast Half-Life). Read by Ell Potter and Clive Hayward.
Production Co-ordinator, Alison Crawford
Sound Editing, Suzy Robins
Producer Emma Harding, BBC Audio Bristol
TUE 23:00 Uncanny (m002m2v6)
Series 5
Case 3: The Devil's Den UFO
1977. Terry and his friend Toby are serving at a United States Air Force base in Missouri. One weekend Toby suggests they go camping just across the Arkansas border, at Devil's Den State Park. What happens that night will change Terry and Toby’s lives forever.
Danny Robins attempts to make sense of a bizarre encounter and a secret that stayed buried for 40 years. With guest experts psychologist Nilufar Ahmed and podcaster Andy McGrillen, author of Atlas of Unidentified Flying Objects.
Written and presented by Danny Robins
Experts: Nilufar Ahmed and Andy McGrillen
Editing and sound design: Charlie Brandon-King
Music: Evelyn Sykes
Theme music by Lanterns on the Lake
Commissioning executive: Paula McDonnell
Commissioning editor: Rhian Roberts
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard
A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002m04s)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
WEDNESDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2025
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m002m04v)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 00:30 The Everest Obsession (m001y26y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002m04x)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002m04z)
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 (m002m051)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002m053)
News, views and features on yesterday's stories in Parliament
WED 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002m057)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002m05c)
The Gift of Time
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Ameena Blake, Muslim Chaplain at the University of Sheffield
Good Morning.
This week, as we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice—the people who gave their lives in war—we’re reminded that sacrifice comes in many forms. Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh soldiers fought in both world wars. Most weren’t from Britain, yet they sacrificed their lives for strangers they’d never meet.
As a child, I remember my Dad raking the autumn leaves from our neighbours’ paths, not just ours. Back then it was a neighbourly sacrifice everyone did.
It sometimes feels like our world’s focus has shifted.
As a University Muslim chaplain, I see students carrying different types of trauma, often pain that might have been eased through sharing it sooner. But in a society that focuses on the individual, all too often students feel reluctant about either sharing themselves or encouraging others to unburden. Often, the students I see simply need someone to listen: no judgement, no rush, no phone in hand. I see that gift of time transforms lives.
We need that community, where it feels natural to want to sacrifice our time and be there for people. Yet so often we seem to be rich in possessions but so poor in time. When we are falling, who takes time to catch us?
Who sacrifices for the disabled lady next door whose path is never cleared of leaves or the Grandfather in a care-home nobody visits?
Why can’t we be the ones to hold our arms open; ready to catch others when they fall? A knock on the door. A cuppa. A smile; sacrifice can be seen every day through the gift of time.
As we pray for fallen heroes, I ask the Almighty to awaken the inner chaplain in each one of us; to be warmth and comfort for those who need it, whoever they are.
Ameen.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m002m05k)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
WED 06:00 Today (m002m0bg)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
WED 09:00 Life Changing (m002m0bj)
Camel Tours and Sliding Doors
Jacqui Furneaux had enjoyed a happy marriage, bringing up two daughters and working as a nurse. Sadly, the marriage broke down, and feeling guilty, Jacqui decided to get out of people’s way and go travelling. As a woman in her late 40s , the back-packing life was a novelty. But while visiting the golden city of Jaisalmer in north-western India - and preparing to take a camel tour into the nearby desert - she met a Dutch biker. It was a chance encounter, sparked by their mutual interest in motorbikes . It led to Jacqui abandoning the camel plans and joining her new companion on a short tour of the frontier desert of northern India.
With stops and starts and a few glitches on the way, Jacqui tells Dr Sian Williams how that sliding door moment turned out to be life-changing, leading to seven years on the open road and a journey of rediscovery and adventure.
Producer: Tom Alban
WED 09:30 Shadow World (m002m0bl)
Anatomy of a Cancellation
1. Kate’s Story
When prize-winning author Kate Clanchy is accused of racism she asks her online followers for help. She’s shocked by the reaction. We hear the story from Kate’s perspective.
In Shadow World: Anatomy of a Cancellation, the BBC’s Culture Editor Katie Razzall revisits a story that rocked the UK’s publishing industry in 2021. It led to what some saw as the unjustified cancellation of a prize-winning writer and teacher - but to others, was a long overdue reckoning for the world of publishing. It grew into a culture war about race, class, and who has the right to say what.
Anatomy of a Cancellation explores a range of different perspectives to consider how people now view one of the most controversial literary rows in recent memory.
We have used clips from the following sources:
The Simpsons, Gracie Films and 20th Television
“The myth of the climate ‘apocalypse,’” The Spiked podcast, 13 Aug 2021
“What Happened? Kate Clanchy's Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me” - Josie Alford Youtube channel, 14 Aug 2021,
'When I came from Nepal', by Mukahang Limbu
Presenter: Katie Razzall
Producer: Charlotte McDonald
Additional production: Octavia Woodward
Production co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Katie Morrison
Sound design and mix: James Beard
Story editing: Meara Sharma
Series producer: Matt Willis
Senior news editor: Clare Fordham
Commissioning executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke
It was a BBC Long Form Audio production for Radio 4.
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002m0bp)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
WED 11:00 File on 4 Investigates (m002m04j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Tuesday]
WED 11:40 This Week in History (m002m0br)
10th to 16th November
Fascinating, surprising and eye-opening stories from the past, brought to life.
This week: 10th to 16th November
11th November 1918 - A republic was declared in Poland
14th November 1680 - Gottfried Kirch discovers the Great Comet
16th November 1979 - Anthony Blunt is revealed as the 'fourth man' in the Cambridge spy ring
Presented by Viji Alles and Ron Brown
WED 11:45 The Everest Obsession (m001y28r)
3. A daring mountain rescue
Is a global obsession with Everest creating unnecessary risk for the people who work there? On 18 April 2014, an avalanche killed 16 sherpas on the mountain. They were picking their way through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall carrying heavy equipment for climbing companies. The tragedy shone a spotlight on the commercial side of the mountain, where hundreds attempt the summit each year, supported by sherpas.
Rebecca Stephens became the first British woman to reach the summit in 1993.
We hear about a high altitude rescue and how climbing the mountain has become commercialised, including Sir Chris Bonington’s early experiences on Everest.
This was first broadcast in April 2024.
Presenter: Rebecca Stephens MBE
Producer: Laura Jones
Production Assistance in Kathmandu: Pradeep Bashyal
Sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor: Clare Fordham
Production Coordinators: Gemma Ashman and Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
WED 12:00 News Summary (m002m0bt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
WED 12:04 You and Yours (m002m0bw)
News and discussion of consumer affairs
WED 12:57 Weather (m002m0by)
The latest weather forecast
WED 13:00 World at One (m002m0c0)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4
WED 13:45 Darren Harriott: Father Figuring (m002m0c2)
Episode 3 - What Makes a Good Dad?
Darren Harriott is a 37-year-old comedian from the Black Country in the West Midlands. And in reaching this age, he has lived longer than his dad, who took his own life while in prison in the year 2000 – he was 35 and Darren was 11.
Overtaking him in age has brought Darren to a strange point in life, rethinking and reevaluating everything – not least about becoming a dad himself.
Darren doesn’t have kids yet but he has begun to question what fatherhood really means. After not really having any kind of relationship with his own, would he be a good dad? What even makes a good dad? Can you learn how to be a good dad? And is he at risk of making the same mistakes that his dad made and continuing the Bad Dad cycle?
Through interviews and stand-up comedy, Darren is going to look at the role of dads, both in the family and in society. He’s going look into his dad’s background – something he’s never done before and knows very little about. And, with the help of family, friends, social scientists and psychologists, Darren will interrogate his feelings about all of this, find out what it means to be a dad, and perhaps even work out whether he actually wants to be a dad himself.
In Episode 3, Darren discusses what makes a good dad. Is it possible to learn how to be a good dad?
Presenter: Darren Harriott
Producer: Laura Grimshaw
Researcher: Hannah Ratcliffe
Live Sound: Jerry Peal
Post-Production Sound: Tony Churnside
Executive Producers: Jon Holmes and Carrie Rose
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
WED 14:00 The Archers (m002m04d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama on 4 (m002m0c4)
Undercover: Make It Count - Episode 2
An undercover operative infiltrates a boxing gym in a Northern British town to discover if it is a hot bed for extreme right-wing radicalisation of young people.
Following an arson attack on a local Mosque and subsequent attacks on a Councillor Sajid Ali tensions are mounting. Undercover operative Andy is getting closer to club volunteer Sinead and trying to protect her son Jayden from being radicalised by Kelvin, but will his emotional involvement cloud his judgement?
KELVIN.....Ian Puleston-Davies
ANDY.....Ben Batt
GEMMA.....Manjinder Virk
JAYDEN.....Samuel Bottomley
SINEAD.....Erin Shanager
SAJID.....Shaban Dar
AMIR.....Matthew Khan
KARL and INVESTIGATING OFFICER.....Simon Naylor
Other parts were played by students from The Arden School of Theatre:
Kyle Barnett, Bea Bell, Maja Booth, Lucy Chapman, Lola Rose Clark, Angelique Emery, Joe Gamble, Ruby Glavin, Lydia Griffiths, Jermain Harris, Umar Haroon, Aiden Hope, Lydia Klosa, Joseph Lymer, Millie Matheson, Roisin Murphy, Xander Parsons, Dylan Peacock, Ethan Philliips, Vita Prescott, Millie Slater, Alan Tarkil, Livvy Taylor, Millie Trodden, Omair Usman, Benji Watson, Glorencia Wakudyanaye, Jessica Williams, Pippa Williams.
Writer - Rebekah Harrison
Director-Nadia Molinari
Technical Production and Sound Design - Sharon Hughes
Production Co-ordinator - Ben Hollands
Assistant Technical Production - Kelly Young
Technical Apprentice - Elijah Waddington
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 The Law Show (m002m0c6)
The court delays crisis
When the Labour government came to power in 2024, it faced a crisis in the criminal courts, with ever-longer delays and a growing backlog of cases.
The Ministry of Justice's budget is now one third higher in real terms than in 2019, but according to the latest figures, cases that are yet to be heard reached a record high of 78,329.
In October, the Justice Secretary David Lammy promised more funding to increase the number of days that English and Welsh courts will sit next year.
But is throwing money at the problem enough? How can the courts service be improved, and are there any realistic alternatives to criminal cases being heard in court?
Also in the programme:
Protests in support of the banned group Palestine Action could result in 400 trials - so will this make court delays worse?
and are UK laws fair to football fans?
Presenter: Dr Joelle Grogan
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Producers: Ravi Naik and Charlotte Rowles
Contributors
WED 15:30 Child (m002m0c8)
Series 2
2. Fear
Fear shows up early in childhood - taught through cautionary tales and parental reactions. In this episode, we explore how fear shapes young minds, how it was used historically to control and protect, and what some scientists now say about where fear really lives in the brain, and what that could tell us about all emotions.
From ancient parenting advice to cutting-edge neuroscience. A story told with scissors. Snip, snip.
Presented by: India Rakusen.
Producer: Ellie Sans
Assistant Producer: Charlotte Evans-Young
Executive producer: Alex Hollands
Commissioning Exec: Paula McDonnell
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon and Eska Mtungwazi
Sound Design by Charlie Brandon-King
Child is a Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4
WED 16:00 When It Hits the Fan (m002m0cb)
Who's in the news for all the wrong reasons? With David Yelland and Simon Lewis.
WED 16:15 The Media Show (m002m0cd)
Social media, anti-social media, breaking news, faking news: this is the programme about a revolution in media.
WED 17:00 PM (m002m0cg)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002m0cj)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 18:30 Unite (m001md5x)
Series 2
The Appointment
Against all accepted advice, Tony googles his symptoms and is thrown into full blown hypochondria. Could this be a fatal dose of Amazonian Gastroentral Plague? Or worse ? Convinced of his imminent demise, he attempts one of modern life's most difficult tasks - trying to get an in-person GP appointment. When he fails he is conflicted when Imogen immediately secures him one privately, which runs counter to his socialist principles.
Ashley embarks on an unlikely academic career by joining a gender politics class. Being the only man in the group, he seizes the opportunity to practise his male gaze. This leads to a date with the course leader Lotte. At a restaurant and completely out of his depth her husband Peter turns up.
A welcome return for the hugely popular and critically-acclaimed sitcom starring Radio 4 favourite Mark Steel (Mark Steel's in Town, The News Quiz), Claire Skinner (Outnumbered), Elliot Steel and Ivo Graham.
When Tony (Mark Steel), a working class, left wing South Londoner, falls in love and marries Imogen (Claire Skinner), an upper middle class property developer, their sons - Croydon chancer Ashley (Elliot Steel) and supercilious Eton and Oxford-educated Gideon (Ivo Graham) - are forced to live under the same roof and behave like the brothers neither of them ever wanted.
Cast:
Tony - Mark Steel
Imogen - Claire Skinner
Ashley - Elliot Steel
Gideon - Ivo Graham
Rebecca - Ayesha Antoine
Lotte/Mary - Zoe Lyons
Dr Anderson - Alan Francis
Julie/ Kiera/ Mother - Jenny Bede
Peter - Ian Pearce
Receptionist - Olivia Lichtenstein
Written by Barry Castagnola, Ian Pearce and Elliot Steel
(additional material from the cast)
Executive Producer- Mario Stylianides
Producer/Director- Barry Castagnola
Sound recordist and Editor- Jerry Peal
Broadcast Assistant - Sarah Tombling
Assistant Producer - George O'Regan
Production Assistant - David Litchfield
A Golden Path and Rustle Up production for BBC Radio 4
WED 19:00 The Archers (m002m0cl)
George tries to make peace, and Joy has a brilliant idea.
WED 19:15 Front Row (m002m0cn)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m002m0cq)
Live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories.
WED 21:00 The Life Scientific (m002m031)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 All in the Mind (m002m035)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m002m0cs)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
WED 22:45 The Accident Report Book by Joe Dunthorne (m002m0cv)
Episode 3
Mike Stanley, Head of European Operations arrives in the office to put the 'work' back into workplace. Marian Welby takes no pleasure in what happens next.
Original fiction for BBC Radio 4 by Joe Dunthorne (Submarine, Children of Radium, podcast Half-Life). Read by Ell Potter and Clive Hayward.
Production Co-ordinator, Alison Crawford
Sound Editing, Suzy Robins
Producer Emma Harding, BBC Audio Bristol
WED 23:00 Tom & Lauren Are Going OOT (m002m0cx)
Series 2
1. We're All Gannin' On A Summer Holiday
Tom and Lauren are getting ready to go on holiday together. Unfortunately Tom has never flown with a budget airline before and doesn't realise that suitcases and carry-on are extras. Lauren is struggling to choose which clothes to leave behind, because she's worried about being judged by other women and she refuses to do laundry while she's on holiday.
Tom is mortified to discover that he needs to pay extra for them to be seated together while Lauren is dismayed at the prospect of hours in a middle seat with a giant on one side and chronic B.O. on the other.
Neil drops by to ask Tom to sort out some cardboard that Lauren has left in the bin store because "she's not a great Greta", so Tom asks him to water Lauren's plants while they're away - much to Lauren's horror.
Cast:
Tom Machell as Tom
Lauren Pattison as Lauren
Julian Clary as Neil
Writers: Tom Machell & Lauren Pattison
Director: Katharine Armitage
Recording Engineer: Philip Quinton
Sound Design: Philip Quinton
Theme Music: Scrannabis
Producers: Maria Caruana Galizia & Zahra Zomorrodian
A Candle & Bell production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:15 Tom & Lauren Are Going OOT (m002m0d0)
Series 2
2. R.I.P. Beige Buffet
It's the day of Great Nana Doreen's funeral - her dying wish was for Tom to be a pallbearer, which Tom thinks is unfeasible because Lauren's family are all freakishly tall. Lauren has written a eulogy which upsets her cousin Becca, who decides to use Chat GPT to craft her own tribute to Great Nana Doreen, while Tom tries to make the perfect Wallsend Woo-Woo.
Neil pops over with a condolences gift and then Lauren and Becca argue about who was Great Nana Doreen's "most special girl".
Cast:
Tom Machell as Tom
Lauren Pattison as Lauren
Julian Clary as Neil
Louise Young as Becca
Writers: Tom Machell & Lauren Pattison
Director: Katharine Armitage
Recording Engineer: Philip Quinton
Sound Design: Philip Quinton
Theme Music: Scrannabis
Producers: Maria Caruana Galizia & Zahra Zomorrodian
A Candle & Bell production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002m0d2)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
THURSDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2025
THU 00:00 Midnight News (m002m0d4)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 00:30 The Everest Obsession (m001y28r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Wednesday]
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002m0d6)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002m0d8)
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 (m002m0db)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002m0dd)
News, views and features on yesterday's stories in Parliament
THU 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002m0dg)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002m0dj)
Your Rest Is Ours
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Royal Navy Chaplain Rev Paul Bryce
Good Morning,
‘your rest is ours’… these, the final words from a poem by Simon Armitage to commemorate the 100 anniversary of the burial of the unknown warrior in Westminster Abbey in 2020. At a recent retreat day there for military Chaplains, we held a simple act of remembrance at his tomb in which the poem was read. I was struck by the concept of rest as close by hundreds of tourists were buzzing around taking pictures. We live in a world in which rest is highly prized yet available to seemingly few.
Jesus said ‘Come to me all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest’. The naval base I serve in, like so many, has what’s called a Haven. A building run by the chaplaincy it seeks to provide a place for rest, peace and to talk about life and why we serve. As a Christian, resting in Jesus does not guarantee a peaceable and quiet life but rather one where our future can be trusted to someone greater than ourselves. Whilst the warrior is at rest having given his life, the world remains busy. How is your life marked by rest? Are you searching for rest in a restless world? Are you working for the peace and rest the Warrior gave his life for? Whatever we face today Jesus offers rest to us all.
Heavenly Father
Your Son promised rest to the weary and peace in a troubled world
Help us follow his example and those armed forces personnel
Who have given their life
To create a better world as agents of peace
Amen.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m002m0dl)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
THU 06:00 Today (m002m0dn)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
THU 09:00 In Our Time (b099v33p)
Feathered Dinosaurs
After 27 years, Melvyn Bragg has decided to step down from the In Our Time presenter’s chair. With over a thousand episodes to choose from, he has selected just six that capture the huge range and depth of the subjects he and his experts have tackled. In this sixth of his choices, we hear Melvyn Bragg and his guests in 2017 discussing new discoveries about dinosaurs.
Their topic is the development of theories about dinosaur feathers, following discoveries of fossils which show evidence of those feathers. All dinosaurs were originally thought to be related to lizards (the word 'dinosaur' was created from the Greek for 'terrible lizard') but that now appears false. In the last century, discoveries of fossils with feathers established that at least some dinosaurs were feathered and that some of those survived the great extinctions and evolved into the birds we see today. There are still many outstanding areas for study, such as what sorts of feathers they were, where on the body they were found, what their purpose was and which dinosaurs had them.
With
Mike Benton
Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Bristol
Steve Brusatte
Reader and Chancellor's Fellow in Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Edinburgh
and
Maria McNamara
Senior Lecturer in Geology at University College, Cork
Producer: Simon Tillotson
Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Melvyn Bragg and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world
THU 09:45 Strong Message Here (m002m0dr)
Armando Iannucci and guests decode the utterly baffling world of political language.
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002m0dt)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
THU 11:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m002kjvb)
Series 34
Mind-reading computers – Phil Wang, Anne Vanhoestenberghe and Luke Bashford
For once, Brian Cox and Robin Ince are on the same wavelength – with thinking caps firmly on, they plug into the science of brain-computer interfaces. Helping them decode the tech are neuroscientist Luke Bashford, biomedical engineer Anne Vanhoestenberghe, and comedian Phil Wang.
Together the panel switches on to the possibilities of using implanted and wearable devices to restore movement, speech, sight… or even to decode thoughts themselves. From the ethics of cognitive enhancement to the future of mind-reading and immersive gaming, strap in for this electrifyingly thought-provoking episode.
Producer: Melanie Brown
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
A BBC Studios Production
THU 11:45 The Everest Obsession (m001y2zq)
4. Bringing the bodies home
Is a global obsession with Everest creating unnecessary risk for the people who work there? On 18 April 2014, an avalanche killed 16 sherpas on the mountain. They were picking their way through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall carrying heavy equipment for climbing companies. The tragedy shone a spotlight on the commercial side of the mountain, where hundreds attempt the summit each year, supported by sherpas.
Rebecca Stephens became the first British woman to reach the summit in 1993.
Lakpa Rita Sherpa explains how he took the bodies of his colleagues home to their families, after they were killed in the avalanche. The anger of sherpas is heard around the world, as Everest is effectively closed to commercial climbers.
This was first broadcast in April 2024.
Presenter: Rebecca Stephens MBE
Producer: Laura Jones
Production Assistance in Kathmandu: Pradeep Bashyal
Sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor: Clare Fordham
Production Coordinators: Gemma Ashman and Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
THU 12:00 News Summary (m002m0dx)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 12:04 Scam Secrets (m002m0dz)
The Police Are On The Phone
A phone call from the police out of the blue. You want to help. Who wouldn't?
Scam Secrets returns with the chilling story of an audacious scam that reached all the way to the doorstep of its victims.
Jane and Neville were so convinced they were part of a police operation that they handed over their life savings - more than £670,000 - to criminals behind a scam known as courier fraud.
Fraud investigator Shari Vahl, criminal language expert Dr Lis Carter and former criminal Alex Wood analyse the tactics used - the fake emergency call, the mind games and the relentless contact - to lift the lid on how the criminals did it.
Along with guest expert DCI Jon Hodgeon, they'll raise their red flags to highlight the things you can watch out for - so you'll know whether the police officer you're talking to is a criminal in disguise.
PRESENTER: SHARI VAHL
PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY
THU 12:32 Sliced Bread (m002m0f1)
The Sliced Bread Christmas List
Greg Foot investigates the so-called wonder products making bold claims.
THU 12:57 Weather (m002m0f3)
The latest weather forecast
THU 13:00 World at One (m002m0f5)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4
THU 13:45 Darren Harriott: Father Figuring (m002m0f7)
Episode 4 - The Family Secrets
Darren Harriott is a 37-year-old comedian from the Black Country in the West Midlands. And in reaching this age, he has lived longer than his dad, who took his own life while in prison in the year 2000 – he was 35 and Darren was 11.
Overtaking him in age has brought Darren to a strange point in life, rethinking and reevaluating everything – not least about becoming a dad himself.
Darren doesn’t have kids yet but he has begun to question what fatherhood really means. After not really having any kind of relationship with his own, would he be a good dad? What even makes a good dad? Can you learn how to be a good dad? And is he at risk of making the same mistakes that his dad made and continuing the Bad Dad cycle?
Through interviews and stand-up comedy, Darren is going to look at the role of dads, both in the family and in society. He’s going look into his dad’s background – something he’s never done before and knows very little about. And, with the help of family, friends, social scientists and psychologists, Darren will interrogate his feelings about all of this, find out what it means to be a dad, and perhaps even work out whether he actually wants to be a dad himself.
In Episode 4, Darren finds out about his dad’s criminal history and the tragic circumstances of his death.
Presenter: Darren Harriott
Producer: Laura Grimshaw
Researcher: Hannah Ratcliffe
Live Sound: Jerry Peal
Post-Production Sound: Tony Churnside
Executive Producers: Jon Holmes and Carrie Rose
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
THU 14:00 The Archers (m002m0cl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama on 4 (m002m2zs)
Smoke And Mirrors
Rupert Everett stars as the former British agent, Denis Rake.
It's 1968. An ageing drag performer is waiting to go on as the warm-up act in a Soho's Flamingo club, a cabaret at the bottom of the food chain. In his dressing room he meets the venue's young Australian stage manager, John, who first brings him his post and a bottle of champagne from a nearby bar.
Through their awkward conversations we learn that the older man is a war hero, Major Denis Rake MC.
In a state of reverie, he recalls the glamour but also the danger of his time in occupied Paris as an undercover agent of the Special Operations Executive.
A new play, premiered on Radio 4, inspired by real events.
Also starring Reece Budin as John.
The Remarkable Dennis Rake:
Denis Rake achieved the rank of Major as well as receiving the Military Cross, Croix de Guerre and Legion D'Honneur. To our knowledge he is the most highly decorated openly gay man in the history of the British Army. He refused point blank to train with weapons and explosives and conducted a love affair with a German officer in occupied Paris.
Writer DHW Mildon's other plays include The Flood and Leaves and Masque, which was shortlisted for last year's Woven Voices prize.
Director Philip Franks has a long track record in theatre and radio as a director and actor. His Radio 4 credits include The Machine Stops and A Cold Supper Behind Harrods. He has recently directed The Mirror Crack'd on UK tour, as well as The Mousetrap in The West End.
Cast:
Denis Rake: Rupert Everett
John: Reece Budin
Neighbour: Sarah Lawrie
The Comedian: Philip Franks
Director: Philip Franks
Producers: Sarah Lawrie and David Morley
Original Music by Patrick McDonald.
Sound Design: Chris O'Shaughnessy
A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4
THU 15:00 Ramblings (m002m0f9)
India in the Cotswolds with Corinne Fowler and Raj Pal
Clare is walking in the Cotswolds with author Corinne Fowler and historian Raj Pal, whose family has roots in both Britain and India.
Corinne is leading the way, recreating and extending the “Indian Walk in the Cotswolds” walk she originally took with Raj for a chapter in her book Our Island Stories: Ten Walks through Rural Britain and its Hidden History of Empire. As they ramble, they reflect on how the British countryside is deeply connected to colonial history.
Beginning on the Heart of England Way at Bourton on the Hill, they pass Sezincote House, a Neo-Mughal estate built in 1805 by a former East India Company officer, take in the Church of St James in Longborough, before circling back to the Horse and Groom pub in Bourton.
Map: OS Explorer OL45 The Cotswolds - Burford, Chipping Camden, Cirencester, Stow on the Wold
Grid Ref: SP 173 325 Near the Horse & Groom pub, Bourton on the Hill
Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer for BBC Studios: Karen Gregor
THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m002lzzk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:30 Feedback (m002m0fc)
The programme that holds the BBC to account on behalf of the radio audience
THU 16:00 The Briefing Room (m002m0ff)
David Aaronovitch presents in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.
THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (w3ct8txk)
A weekly show exploring science, its mysteries, and the debates it sparks.
THU 17:00 PM (m002m0fk)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002m0fm)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 18:30 Call Jonathan Pie (p0fsyyfg)
9. NHS
It’s Pie’s Birthday and he’s really rather depressed about it. Until that is Roger shows up with egg on his face. Literally. The show's topic is the state of the NHS but Pie seems obsessed with old age and death. When Pie is forced to reflect on his experiences of Lockdown we discover that he had a more miserable time than most. Later he finally gets the chance to interview a junior health minister. Can he step up?
Jonathan Pie ..... Tom Walker
Jules ..... Lucy Pearman
Sam ..... Aqib Khan
Roger ..... Nick Revell
Agent ..... Daniel Abelson
Minister ..... Liz White
Voiceovers ..... Bob Sinfield and Rob Curling
Callers ... Ellie Dobing, Sarah Gabriel, Thanyia Moore, Jonathan Tafler.
Writer ..... Tom Walker
Script Editor ..... Nick Revell
Producers ..... Alison Vernon-Smith and Julian Mayers
Production Coordinator ..... Ellie Dobing
Original music composed by Jason Read
Additional music Leighton James House
A Yada-Yada Audio Production.
THU 19:00 The Archers (m002m0fq)
Amber gets an unexpected visitor, and Rex is mysterious.
THU 19:15 Front Row (m002m0fs)
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
THU 20:00 When It Hits the Fan (m002m0cb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Wednesday]
THU 20:15 The Media Show (m002m0cd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:15 on Wednesday]
THU 21:00 Loose Ends (m002lzlb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
THU 21:45 Strong Message Here (m002m0dr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 today]
THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m002m0fv)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
THU 22:45 The Accident Report Book by Joe Dunthorne (m002m0fx)
Episode 4
The company is being restructured. Which is a disaster for junior game designer Marian Welby. Will her whole career be an accident report book?
Original fiction for BBC Radio 4 by Joe Dunthorne (Submarine, Children of Radium, podcast Half-Life). Read by Ell Potter and Clive Hayward.
Production Co-ordinator, Alison Crawford
Sound Editing, Suzy Robins
Producer Emma Harding, BBC Audio Bristol
THU 23:00 Radical with Amol Rajan (m002m0fz)
Conversations about tomorrow, from Today.
THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002m0g1)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament
FRIDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2025
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m002m0g3)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 00:30 The Everest Obsession (m001y2zq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002m0g5)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002m0g7)
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 (m002m0g9)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002m0gc)
News, views and features on yesterday's stories in Parliament
FRI 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002m0gf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002m0gh)
Tender Memories
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rabbi Oliver Joseph
Good morning.
Memories - they can both lift us up and set us back.
I was a teenager when my mum passed away and just ten years ago my little sister also died from cancer.
I cherish memories of these two vibrant women who shaped me. I also struggle facing those darker memories… when they faced uncertainty, tragedy, moments of great vulnerability.
My experiences have helped shape my chaplaincy to people living and working around London’s Canary Wharf. When I talk to somebody on the street .. in hospital…or prison….my job is to listen. A great many of our interactions are surface: “how are you?”, “how is your day? But the chaplain’s role is to hold awareness: “you have a story”, “the tapestry of your life, like mine, is one of joy, courage and sadness”. These are the deeper notes of our conversations, sometimes unspoken. The privilege of our work, alongside many cups of tea, is when people feel able to honestly share their journey.
In Jewish life memory is essential, each week, on Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, we recall the story of creation, ‘ma’aseh bereshit’, connecting us to the story of the Garden of Eden in which two people once stood making memories - good and bad. Against that, in the same moment, we remember the Exodus, ‘yit’tziat mitzrai’im’, and the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery.
Zooming out to this wider story -this bigger picture - challenges us to recast our own memories. My prayer this week would be for all of us to reflect on which memories shape us and which hold us back? Can we cherish and honour all of our memories and in the same breath gently let go of some, the ones that no longer serve us?
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m002m0gk)
The latest news about food, farming and the countryside.
FRI 06:00 Today (m002m1ms)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m002m1mv)
Sally Mann, photographer and writer
Sally Mann, photographer and writer, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item she would take with her if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002m1mx)
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
FRI 11:00 The Food Programme (m002m1mz)
Food Imports from Africa
Dan Saladino investigates our growing dependence on West Africa for fresh produce. From just two farms in Senegal a large proportion of spring onions, radishes and corn on the cob are arriving. Is that a good thing for us and the Senegalese?
Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
FRI 11:45 The Everest Obsession (m001y2x7)
5. The future of climbing Everest
Is a global obsession with Everest creating unnecessary risk for the people who work there? On 18 April 2014, an avalanche killed 16 sherpas on the mountain. They were picking their way through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall carrying heavy equipment for climbing companies. The tragedy shone a spotlight on the commercial side of the mountain, where hundreds attempt the summit each year, supported by sherpas.
Rebecca Stephens became the first British woman to reach the summit in 1993.
We hear what draws people to climb Everest now and different ideas about adventure from guests including Sir Chris Bonington, as well as concerns about climate change and overcrowding.
This was first broadcast in 2024.
Presenter: Rebecca Stephens MBE
Producer: Laura Jones
Production Assistance in Kathmandu: Pradeep Bashyal
Sound design: Craig Boardman
Editor: Clare Fordham
Production Coordinators: Gemma Ashman and Ellie Dover
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
FRI 12:00 News Summary (m002m1n1)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:04 Rare Earth (m002m1n3)
COP30: The End of the Road?
For thirty years world leaders have been gathering to negotiate the planet's route away from climate disaster. For thirty years carbon emissions have been rising and hopes have been fading. Is it time to admit defeat and search for a new strategy to persuade corporations and individuals to cut their pollution and save the planet?
As the COP30 summit begins in Brazil, Helen Czerski and Tom Heap will be joined by an expert panel eager to come up with fresh solutions that could accelerate climate action and bring a unified, international response to the existential crisis of our time.
Producer: Alasdair Cross
Rare Earth is produced in association with the Open University
FRI 12:57 Weather (m002m1n5)
The latest weather forecast
FRI 13:00 World at One (m002m1n7)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4
FRI 13:45 Darren Harriott: Father Figuring (m002m1n9)
Episode 5 - Do I Want to Be a Dad?
Darren Harriott is a 37-year-old comedian from the Black Country in the West Midlands. And in reaching this age, he has lived longer than his dad, who took his own life while in prison in the year 2000 – he was 35 and Darren was 11.
Overtaking him in age has brought Darren to a strange point in life, rethinking and reevaluating everything – not least about becoming a dad himself.
Darren doesn’t have kids yet but he has begun to question what fatherhood really means. After not really having any kind of relationship with his own, would he be a good dad? What even makes a good dad? Can you learn how to be a good dad? And is he at risk of making the same mistakes that his dad made and continuing the Bad Dad cycle?
Through interviews and stand-up comedy, Darren is going to look at the role of dads, both in the family and in society. He’s going look into his dad’s background – something he’s never done before and knows very little about. And, with the help of family, friends, social scientists and psychologists, Darren will interrogate his feelings about all of this, find out what it means to be a dad, and perhaps even work out whether he actually wants to be a dad himself.
In Episode 5, Darren grapples with the idea of becoming a dad himself. Would he be a good dad? Does he even want to be a dad?
Presenter: Darren Harriott
Producer: Laura Grimshaw
Researcher: Hannah Ratcliffe
Live Sound: Jerry Peal
Post-Production Sound: Tony Churnside
Executive Producers: Jon Holmes and Carrie Rose
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m002m0fq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Limelight (m002m1nc)
Murder on Mars
Episode 1
Mars, 2048. The first settlers, a mix of international workers and the super-rich. And the first unexplained death.
When a body turns up in the corridor between a scrappy warehouse and a half-built luxury hotel, no-nonsense Harbourmaster Rita Siddiqui finds herself in charge. With Earth temporarily out of contact and no official law enforcement on Mars, she ropes in Vice Captain Jaz Hickson, a wide-eyed young pilot who’s only just landed.
But murder's not their only problem. Atmospheric tests have triggered a dangerous storm. Paranoia grows as the power fails. Lights, gravity, oxygen: everything is at risk.
Rita and Jaz must navigate a growing list of suspects, a dwindling supply of patience, and a killer who’s not finished yet.
Because even 140 million miles from Earth, people still have secrets. And someone’s willing to kill to keep them.
Written by Tim Foley
CAST
RITA SIDDIQUI ..... NISHA NAYAR
JAZ HICKSON ..... LUKE NEWBERRY
KAYA ..... SASHA MCABE
DAN ..... JOANA BORJA
POWELL ..... JASON BARNETT
DR LI ..... CRYSTAL YU
WARD ..... STEFFAN RHODRI
NILS ..... DAVID MENKIN
MAX ..... SIDHANT ANAND
Sound: Sharon Hughes, Keith Graham and Neva Missirian
Production Co-ordinator: Luke MacGregor
Director: Anne Isger
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 14:45 In the Loop (m001nvp8)
3. A Strange Loop
…a circle has no beginning and no end. It represents rebirth and regeneration, continuity and infinity. From wedding rings to stone circles, in poetry, music and the trajectories of the planets themselves, circles and loops are embedded in our imaginations.
Poet Paul Farley goes walking in circles in five very different ‘loopy’ locations. He visits a stone circle, a roundabout and a rollercoaster to ask why human beings find rings and circles so symbolic, significant and satisfying.
The earliest civilisations were drawn to the idea of closing a circle and creating a loop; in human relationships we’d all rather be within the circle of trust; and in arts and music our eyes, ears and minds are inexorably drawn towards loops and repetitions.
As he puts himself in the loop – sometimes at the centre and sometimes on the circumference – Paul has circular conversations with mathematicians and physicists, composers and poets. Each one propels him into a new loop of enquiry. And that’s because a circle has no beginning and no end…
.
Today Paul is on location in a location that doesn’t exist. At the top of a building a procession of monks climb a staircase while another line of monks comes down. Yet the top of the staircase somehow – impossibly - loops back round to the bottom. M.C. Escher’s print Ascending and Descending is an example of a ‘strange loop’, a loop which ascends through different levels yet still comes back to its starting point. Paul explores strange loops in art, maths and music with Mark Veldhuysen from the Escher Foundation and mathematicians Marcus du Sautoy and Eugenia Cheng.
Producer: Jeremy Grange
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002m1ng)
St Mary's Walthamstow
Kathy Clugston and an esteemed panel of gardening experts are in St Mary's in Walthamstow to answer the questions of a green fingered audience.
Joining Kathy on the panel are garden designers, botanists and alotmenteers James Wong, Ashley Edwards and Frances Tophill.
Producer: Matthew Smith
Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m002m1nj)
The Sounder by Jade Angeles Fitton
"Extinction had sounded so irrevocable, but watching them alive in their old habitat felt like a beginning, a window into a countryside that was less complacent, in which there was space for - this."
Ruby has returned home to Devon but is viewed by some in the rural community as an incomer. Tensions rise when she's tasked with culling a sounder of wild boar suspected of having been illegally released.
Writer Jade Angeles Fitton is a writer and journalist who lives in Devon. Her first book Hermit was published in 2023
Reader: Kirsty Cox
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Maggie Ayre
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m002m1nl)
Matthew Bannister tells the life stories of people who have recently died, from the rich and famous to unsung but significant.
FRI 16:30 Life Changing (m002m0bj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m002m1nn)
News and current affairs, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002m1nq)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 18:30 The Naked Week (m002m1ns)
Series 3
Episode 3
A bold, audacious take on the week’s news, with a blend of the silly and the serious.
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m002m1nv)
Writer: Jessica Mitic
Directors: Pip Swallow and Dave Payne
Ruth Archer….. Felicity Finch
Pip Archer….. Daisy Badger
Phoebe Aldridge…. Lucy Morris
Lilian Bellamy…. Sunny Ormonde
Susan Carter….. Charlotte Martin
Rex Fairbrother…. Nick Barber
Alan Franks….. John Telfer
Amber Gordon…. Olivia Bernstone
Will Grundy…. Philip Molloy
George Grundy…. Angus Stobie
Jakob Hakansson…. Paul Venables
Joy Horville…. Jackie Lye
Kate Madikane…. Perdita Avery
Leonard Berry….. Paul Copley
Bill…. Matthew Gravelle
FRI 19:15 Add to Playlist (m002m1nx)
Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe explore the rich web of connections in music.
FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m002m1nz)
Topical discussion posing questions to a panel of political and media personalities
FRI 20:55 This Week in History (m002m0br)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:40 on Wednesday]
FRI 21:00 Free Thinking (m002m1p1)
Revenge and reconciliation
What function do ceremonies like Armistice Day perform? How do we balance desires for reconciliation with feelings about revenge.
Joining presenter Anne McElvoy for BBC Radio 4's roundtable discussion about the ideas shaping our world are:
classicist Natalie Haynes whose most recent novel No End to this Housere-imagines the story of Medea,
former solider Ashleigh Percival-Borley, who is now an academic and on the New Generation Thinkers scheme run by the BBC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council
Spanish civil war historian Duncan Wheeler,
neuro-scientist Nicholas Wright who advises the Pentagon and has written Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain
Producer: Ruth Watts
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m002m1p3)
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective
FRI 22:45 The Accident Report Book by Joe Dunthorne (m002m1p5)
Episode 5
The newly redundant design team are going to make the most of the game's launch party. But Marian is sorry that Senior Games Designer Craig Mason won't be in attendance.
Original fiction for BBC Radio 4 by Joe Dunthorne (Submarine, Children of Radium, podcast Half-Life). Read by Ell Potter and Clive Hayward.
Production Co-ordinator, Alison Crawford
Sound Editing, Suzy Robins
Producer Emma Harding, BBC Audio Bristol
FRI 23:00 Americast (w3ct8byq)
Join Americast for insights and analysis on what's happening inside Trump's White House.
FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002m1p8)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament