SATURDAY 06 JUNE 2026

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m002x5tc)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:30 The Street Clinic by Dorcas Gwata (m002x5rz)
Alex: The School

Specialist Mental Health nurse Dorcas Gwata reveals the impact of London’s gang culture on young people’s mental health.

Here she tells the story of Alex – a young man who has gone to great lengths to keep himself safe at school – and is about to be excluded from mainstream education.

Written by Dorcas Gwata
Abridged by Jude Ho
Read by Josette Bushell-Mingo
Produced by Lu Kemp
A BBC Audio Scotland Production.

Drawing on her own experience of loss and social injustice, and twenty-five years on the NHS frontline, Dorcas offers a bird’s-eye view of London; its multicultural population, wealth inequalities, tireless healthcare professionals, and an NHS that doesn’t always work for everyone. A story of uncomfortable truths about British society, The Street Clinic is a story of resilience, strength and, ultimately, hope.

Dorcas Gwata is an award-winning nurse specialising in mental health, a Global Mental Health consultant and an advisor at Global Health Partnerships. She is an Accident and Emergency specialist nurse and has worked within multi-agency teams in the UK and with global health partnerships focusing on African and Asia.

Her work with young people and families affected by gang culture in London grew out of innovative evidence-based research in low-income countries extrapolated to high-income countries, improving mental health outcomes in vulnerable groups whilst addressing health inequalities in the UK.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002x5tf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002x5th)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:30 News Summary (m002x5tk)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002x5tm)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002x5tp)
Shabbat shalom

Prayer for the Day presented by Rabbi Warren Elf of the Liverpool Reform Synagogue.

Good morning and Shabbat shalom.

Shabbat or the Sabbath day is probably the most important time of Jewish life, culture and religious life. It is certainly the most important day, not just of the week, but of the year.

All of the other days of the week, in Hebrew, are referred to as Yom Rishon, Yom Sheni… First day, Second day, Third day, up to Sixth day and then Shabbat is the name for the Seventh day. It is as if the whole week revolves around Shabbat – which it does!

The commandment to observe and keep the Sabbath occurs more often than almost any other commandment in Torah. In the Ten Commandments we are told “Remember the Sabbath day to make it holy” and in the version in Deuteronomy it says “Observe the Sabbath day to make it holy”. We are also told “The Israelites shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath as a timeless covenant for all generations.”

We believe it is a sign between God and the Jewish People because God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, so we rest too on the seventh day. There are many other references to Shabbat observance in Torah.

So how do we make it holy? We are told to avoid work and to rest. This makes it a time of prayer, study and renewal; a time for ourselves, with family, friends and community. It is a day set apart, set apart to God, separating ourselves from our everyday tasks and dedicating ourselves to God, to explore what that means for us. We ask God to purify our hearts so that we may serve the Eternal One in truth.

So today I pray that I may inherit God’s holy Sabbath and that I, along with all others who seek holiness, may find within that holiness my rest. And I pray that by keeping the Sabbath, I may rest and be refreshed.


SAT 05:45 The Hackers (m0012qy3)
Series 1

Sharing

One of the core beliefs in the many subsets of hacker culture is that information should be freely accessible and shared. But there are two distinct ways of achieving this freedom of information - Piracy, and The Open Source.

Biella talks to Peter Sunde, co-founder of the Pirate bay, and Karen Sandler of the Software Freedom Conservancy, to discover how both movements have become entwined with the hacker community over the years, and which has the most potential to disrupt the increasingly monopolised world of tech development.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m002xd54)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m002x5kc)
Anglesey/Ynys Môn

Clare explores the south side of Anglesey / Ynys Môn with friends Emily Coates and Nic Parry.

Beginning on the wide sands of Newborough beach, they follow the shoreline toward Holy Island / Ynys Llanddwyn, famed for its links to St Dwynwen - the Welsh patron saint of lovers. After enjoying the sweeping views across the water to the Eryri (Snowdonia) mountain range, they leave the island behind and complete their circular walk with a stroll through Newborough Forest’s Corsican pines.

Along the way, Emily and Nic share what makes this corner of Wales so special to them, and Emily recounts a recent Nepalese adventure that came close to disaster.

They started their walk at the Newborough Lighthouse and Cross car park - What3Words: ///loudness.bucked.post on OS Explorer 263, Grid Ref: SH405634

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor

Ramblings is made in Bristol for BBC Studios.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m002xd56)
06/06/26 - Farming Today This Week: Dartmoor ponies, water voles and land-based jobs

Dartmoor is famous for its semi-wild hill ponies that roam across the moorland. But concerns have been raised by the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association that new agri-environment schemes will require such a steep drop in the numbers of grazing livestock in the area that up to 93 percent of the ponies will be lost. We hear from the association's Secretary, Joss Hibbs.

Next year will be the last that farmers in England receive direct subsidy payments, based on how much land they farm. Direct payments have been particularly important for upland farmers in areas like the Lake District, where they are now being replaced by environmental schemes. Caz Graham speaks to two generations of a Lake District farming family about the continued viability of upland farming.

The Government has published fresh guidance this week for farmers and food businesses to help them prepare for the new sanitary and phytosanitary - or SPS - agreement between the UK and the European Union, which is expected to be brought in in around a year's time. The Government says the SPS agreement will make it easier for British farmers to sell into the EU, but it could also mean a change in the agro-chemicals farmers can legally use on their crops, and if the rules change suddenly, there are concerns farmers could be left with crops grown under the old rules, which they could no longer sell under the new rules.

UK peatlands - an important habitat for wildlife and a major carbon sink - are facing pressure from development, intensive land use and a changing climate, with around 80% believed to be degraded. In Wales however, the National Peatland Action Programme has completed over three and half thousand hectares of restoration work since 2020. In the Cambrian Mountains the project has been so successful that water voles have arrived in the area.

A study out this week from Lantra - a charity which provides training and qualifications in land-based industries - says that there are jobs in farming, fishing and forestry that are not being filled because of a so-called 'skills squeeze'. This comes a week after a much-discussed report, commissioned by the government, which found that job opportunities for young people are shrinking, with one million classed as NEETS - not in education, employment or training. We ask if land-based work is part of the solution.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Jo Peacey. A BBC Audio Bristol production.


SAT 06:57 Weather (m002xd58)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m002xd5b)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m002xd5d)
Victoria Pendleton, Training Dragons and the Science of Stars, plus the Inheritance Tracks of Russell T Davies

Adrian Chiles is joined by three hugely successful guests - all shining stars in their fields.

Victoria Pendleton won it all as a track cyclist, a quite astounding athlete who dug so deep, physically and mentally, in her career, and also in navigating her life after cycling.

Cressida Cowell is the writer and illustrator behind - amongst other things - the incredibly successful How to Train your Dragon series.

So we have a sports star, and a star author, and in Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell we have someone whose work enabled the discovery of a new kind of star, a discovery which changed astronomy forever.

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Assistant Producer: Imy Harper & Ribika Moktan
Productions co-ordinator: Josie Hardy
Editor: Andrea Kennedy


SAT 10:00 The History Podcast (m002xd5g)
Sixty Years of Hurt

4. England v The Culture

Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel explores the meaning of England and Englishness through the history of the England Men’s Football team. This is a social and cultural history as much as a sporting one, examining the story England tells about itself and how it's changed, via the medium of the international game.

In Episode Four, David looks at the 1990s and 2000s. He sees how Italia 90 was a turning point for perceptions of the sport, before turning his attention to the glamour and promise of the 'golden generation' of English players and the subsequent slow descent of the team (and the country) into uncertainly and anger.

The series delves deep into how national myths are both forged and reflected in the fate of eleven young men with three lions on their shirts. It takes in the view from England’s sporting rivals, from Wales to Argentina, and asks what light the success of England’s Woman casts on the story of England’s Men.

Across the series, David Baddiel will be joined by contributors including Stephen Fry, Alex James, Maisie Adam, Elis James, Barney Ronay, Roy Williams, Des Lynam, Stuart Pearce, Jean Williams, David Goldblatt, Pippa Grange, Jonathan Wilson, David Seaman, Omid Djalili and many more.

Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel is produced by BBC Studios Audio for BBC Radio 4, in collaboration with Left Bank Pictures who are producing the upcoming drama Dear England for BBC iPlayer and BBC One.

Host: David Baddiel
Producers: Rich Power and David Baddiel
Assistant Producer: Isaac Fisher


SAT 10:30 Legend (m002xd5j)
The Miles Davis Story

3. Miles in Blue

Clarke Peters explores what many consider the apex of Miles Davis’s career: 1959, the year of Kind of Blue.

It was a time of tailored suits, fast cars, and a radical new sound that redefined the 20th-century idea of cool. Clarke takes us inside the legendary Columbia studio to witness the birth of the best-selling jazz album of all time - a recording session where Miles’ scrawled notes transformed the genre forever. But beneath the surface of this "sublime" era, Miles’ life didn't always run as smooth as his music.

Clarke explores the uncomfortable collision of professional triumph and personal volatility, as his relationship with his soon to be wife, dancer Frances Taylor, was tested by the same uncompromising drive that fuelled his art. The episode reaches a pivotal climax just days after the album’s release. Despite his global stardom, a brutal encounter with the police outside a New York club served as a savage reminder that, for a Black man in 1959 America, the "cool" was never a shield from social reality.

Narrator and longtime fan Clarke Peters (The Wire, Treme) explores the restless genius and radical evolution of Miles Davis. Across five episodes, Clarke traces a 50 year odyssey of constant reinvention - from a teenage outsider in 1944 to a global icon who redefined what it meant to be Black, to be cool, and to be an artist. Blending archival recordings with fresh perspectives, the series reveals how Miles’ "take no shit" attitude and aesthetic fearlessness influenced everyone from rock stars to Oscar-winning filmmakers. Yet, Clarke also grapples with the darker truths of Miles’ legacy, including the substance issues and domestic abuse that left a trail of pain for those closest to him. It's a searching investigation into an artist capable of the most sublime beauty and the most brutal behavior - a man who refused to be palatable, refused to be a "legend", and simply refused to stop moving forward.

Presenter: Clarke Peters
Series Producer: Clem Hitchcock
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
Editor: Kirsten Lass
Production Manager: Emily Duffy
Music Consultant: Guy Barker
Additional music recorded at Ronnie Scott's by James Pearson and Guy Barker
Archivist: Simon Rooks
Script Consultant: Anne Harbin
Technical Production and Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby
Commissioning Editors for the BBC: Dan Clarke and Matthew Dodd
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4

Tracks as Featured:

'There is no Greater Love' - Miles Davis Quintet
'Just Squeeze Me' - Miles Davis Quintet
'How am I to Know' - Miles Davis Quintet
'Ah Lei Che' - MIles Davis Quintet
'Freddie Freeloader' - MIles Davis Quintet
'So what' - Miles Davis
'All Blues' - Miles Davis
Flamenco Sketches' - Miles Davis and Bill Evans
'Blue in Green' - Miles Davis and Bill Evans
'Bitches Brew' - Miles Davis
'Pharoes Dance' - Miles Davis

Frances Taylor from BBC Jazz File: Miles Davis at 80, 2001
Jimmy Cobb from interview with Mike Lanchin, 2014


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m002xd5l)
Pippa Crerar discusses the political reaction to the murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak, following the release of police bodycam footage. She is joined by Labour peer and human rights campaigner Shami Chakrabarti and Reform UK MP Richard Tice, who is also the party's deputy leader.

To discuss the battle of ideas and leadership sparked by former Labour prime minister Tony Blair's recent essay, Pippa is joined by Stewart Wood, Labour peer and former adviser to Gordon Brown, and the Conservative peer David Willetts, who is president of think tank the Resolution Foundation.

This week, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, led her first debate in the House of Lords on the impact of artificial intelligence on human relationships and society. To discuss this, Pippa is joined by the Lord Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow, and crossbench peer Beeban Kidron, who both took part in the debate.

This year marks the centenary of the 1926 general strike. Pippa discusses the impact and legacy of the strike with Labour peer and former general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, John Monks, and journalist and author Anne Perkins, who wrote a book about the strike, A Very British Strike.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002xd5n)
Ebola in the DRC: Fear and Conspiracy Theories

Kate Adie introduces stories on Ebola in the DRC, Ukraine's stoic bus drivers, the rebirth of a river in Oregon, India's ethnic violence, and the return of the Griffon Vulture in Croatia.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is experiencing another outbreak of Ebola, but as the virus spreads so too have rumours and conspiracy theories about the cause of the pathogen. Olivia Acland reports from the border between North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

This week Ukraine came under one of the heaviest Russian assaults in months, with the country's energy infrastructure once again hit hard. Vitaly Shevchenko has been in Kherson, where he learned how public transport is now becoming a target for Russian drone operators too.

In America's pacific northwest we go rafting down the Klamath river which is flowing for the first time in a century after a dam was removed - but not without resistance from locals, finds Ash Bhardwaj.

Three years ago, the state of Manipur in India’s north-east erupted in violence, and hundreds of people were killed because of tensions between the Kuki and Meitei communities. Since then, the deeper causes of the conflict haven’t been resolved – and this year, communal violence has broken out again. Raghvendra Rao was there.

Off the coast of Croatia an island’s once dwindling griffon vulture population is back in full flight. Mary Novakovich met the people responsible for the revival, and learns of this bird's vital role in ecological waste management.

Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill & Katie Morrison
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m002xd5q)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m002xd5s)
AI scams, cohabiting and student loans

Scammers are using increasingly convincing AI generated videos to steal people's money. We hear from a victim who had £165,000 stolen and ask an expert how to spot the warning signs before it's too late.

The government has promised new financial rights for cohabiting couples. We examine what the plans could mean for the three and a half million couples in the UK who live together without being married or in a civil partnership.

Households in Northern Ireland will see their gas and electricity bills rise next month. We find out what's behind the increase and what support is available.

Plus, why is one MP comparing parts of England's student loan system to some of the country's biggest financial scandals?

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Hannah Mullane, Jo Krasner, and Niamh Mc Dermott.
Editor: Sarah Rogers

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 6th June 2026)


SAT 12:30 The News Quiz (m002x5ss)
Series 120

8. Peter Scandalman

For the final episode of this series, we look at some of the stories that we’re leaving unresolved in our ‘News Quiz 2026 Summer Break Cliffhanger Special’. This includes the latest on the Peter Mandelson scandal and the back and forth between Trump, Israel and Iran. We also discuss the British animals which might make it onto our banknotes, and Andy challenges the panel on their best ways to improve football ahead of this year’s Men’s World Cup.

This week’s panel is Pierre Novellie, Alasdair Beckett-King, Coco Khan and Desiree Burch.

Written by Andy Zaltzman.

With additional material by: Lotte Allan, Angela Channell, Eve Delaney and Katie Storey
Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
Production Coordinator: Asha Osborne-Grinter
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
Recorded by David Thomas

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.


SAT 12:57 Weather (m002xd5v)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News (m002xd5x)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m002x5sz)
Wendy Chamberlain MP, Richard Holden MP, Sherelle Jacobs, Josh MacAlister MP

Alex Forsyth presents political debate from St Mary's Church in Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, with the Liberal Democrats' chief whip, Wendy Chamberlain MP; Conservative MP and shadow transport secretary, Richard Holden; Daily Telegraph columnist Sherelle Jacobs; and the minister for children and families, Labour MP Josh MacAlister.

Producer: Paul Martin
Assistant Producer: Lowri Morgan
Production Coordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Lead broadcaster engineer: Phil Booth
Editor: Andrea Kennedy


SAT 14:05 Any Answers? (m002xd5z)
Listeners respond to the issues raised in the preceding edition of Any Questions?


SAT 14:45 The Archers (m002x5sv)
After a sleepless night, Ian worries over his temporary promotion and Adam despairs over Brian’s chaotic rule at Home Farm. Adam reckons his lawyer thinks their case -that Brian’s incapable of managing the farm - isn’t watertight.

Brad and Zainab catch up at Grey Gables, where Zainab confesses to missing Fletcher, the budgie. After a strange staff meeting, they question Ian’s mad new management style, while Zainab admits she lied during Ian’s team bonding activity. Later, Brad asks for advice as George wants to name his baby Brad, if it’s a boy. It feels wrong to Brad, but he supposes he’ll get used to it.

When Adam turns up for work at Home Farm, Brian warns he’s not welcome, having been fired by email with immediate effect. Adam insists his contract is with the partnership and goes off in the Land Rover to spray the barley. Martyn catches Adam, who’s parked up complaining to Ian about Brian’s behaviour. Martyn’s concerned by the wild rumours flying round about Home Farm and needs to know if it will affect BL’s contract. Then a police officer comes up looking for Adam, while he’s trying to reassure Martyn. The Land Rover’s been reported stolen by a Mr Aldridge and Adam named as the thief. After calling Brian to clarify the situation PC Trueman advises the pair to resolve the issue between them. Adam then tells Martyn that Brian has lost the plot. Martyn decides this has gone far enough and resolves to call a meeting between them as soon as possible.


SAT 15:00 The King Must Die (m000yl9c)
Episode 2

Part Two of Robin Brooks's new adaptation of Mary Renault's classic book, The King Must Die, starring Shane Zaza.

The King Must Die tells the story of Theseus, his adventures on mainland Greece in search of his true identity, and his journey to the heart of the Labyrinth of Knossos, where he must face the Minotaur.

Mary Renault is considered by many to be the finest historical novelist of the Twentieth Century. In this story, she evokes a distant age brilliantly, and explores the eternal conflict between male and female, through the violent career of a warrior king who is enmeshed in dark forces beyond his control.

Episode Two:
Theseus has thrown in his lot with the unfortunate youths chosen for sacrifice to the Minotaur, but when he finds himself in the decadent civilisation of Minoan Crete a strange new world opens to him, including the glamour and danger of the bull-dance.

Cast:

Theseus ..... Shane Zaza
Poseidon ..... Raad Rawi
Ariadne ..... Annie Haworth
Minos ..... Richard Braine
Phormion ..... Joe McArdle
Corinthian ..... Harmony Rose-Bremner
Asterion / Priest ..... Theo Fraser Steele
Lukos / Alektryon ..... Charlie Archer
Laia / Lady ..... Tessa Wojtczak
Aktor / Lord / Perimos / Guard ..... Richard Bates
Melantho / Lady / Queen of Naxos ..... Heidi Parsons
Helike / Maenad ..... Sophie Walter
Hippon / Captain / Young King ..... Gavi Singh Chera
Chryse / Girl ..... Alexandra Ewing
Iros / Alexias ..... Sam Henderson

The King Must Die by Mary Renault
Dramatised by Robin Brooks
Music composed by Matthew Sheeran
Directed and Produced by Fiona McAlpine

Recorded on location in Suffolk.
Sound Design by Wilfredo Acosta
An Allegra production for BBC Radio 4

Picture credit (for BBC Sounds page)
Theseus Killing the Minotaur
© The Trustees of the British Museum


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m002xd61)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Gisèle Pelicot and Mother Courage

In 2024, Gisèle Pelicot waved her legal right to anonymity for the trial of her then husband, declaring that shame has to change sides. Her then husband had drugged and raped her and invited other men to rape her, filming as they did so. He was found guilty of her aggravated rape, along with 46 other men. Gisèle has now written her memoir, A Hymn to Life and joins Nuala McGovern to talk about her decision to have an open court, the devasting effect on her and her family of her ex-husband’s actions and finding love again in her 70s.

New Ground is the UK’s first purpose-built co-housing community for women over 50, designed and developed on their own terms. The women moved in ten years ago, and the community is still going strong. But what’s it really like to live this way? Kylie speaks to two residents, Jude and Ann.

Hannah Murray is best known for playing Cassie in E4’s teen drama Skins, and as a regular in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones as Gilly. But behind the scenes Hannah was struggling with her mental health, and she found herself involved in an organisation that offered courses in magical healing. The following year, Hannah was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She’s since retired from acting and written a memoir about those turbulent times, called The Make-Believe – A Memoir of Magic and Madness.

A newly qualified doctor, Charlotte Buttercase, has said she was subjected to repeated sexual harassment and intimidation while studying medicine at the University of Manchester. 32 other female students have now come forward to report similar abuse. Charlotte joins Nuala alongside Henry Budden, the co-chair of the BMA medical students committee.

Mother Courage and Her Children is Bertolt Brecht’s 1939 tale of a wartime profiteer who prefers to see herself as a savvy survivor and devoted mother. Currently on stage at the Globe in London for the first time, Nuala speaks to playwright Anna Jordan who has adapted the story for a modern audience. Why is this story one for retelling now and why does it continue to be performed more than 80 years later around the world?

Produced by Kirsty McQuire
Presented by Kylie Pentelow


SAT 17:00 PM (m002xd63)
Fresh US and Iranian strikes threaten ceasefire

We discuss if a fresh exchange of strikes between the US and Iran could derail peace negotiations. Also on PM, we speak to former British ambassador to the US Lord Darroch after the US Vice President calls for 'righteous anger' over the murder of the student Henry Nowak. And a husband and wife wine-making team let us into the secrets of Irish wine.


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m002xd65)
Why Starmer will survive: The Attorney General on human rights, small boats, and his ‘dogged’ friend the Prime Minister

The Attorney General Richard Hermer speaks to Nick about small boats, his most controversial cases, and why his old friend Keir Starmer can survive a leadership challenge.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002xd67)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m002xd69)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002xd6c)
West Ham's co-owner steps down

The co-chairman of West Ham football club, David Sullivan, steps down in response to allegations dating back to his time in the pornography industry. BBC Panorama and The Times are due to publish a joint investigation on Monday. Also: A Ukrainian commander involved in drone strikes on St Petersburg tells the BBC it was easy to hit Russia. And some of Britain's last surviving D-Day veterans mark the 82nd anniversary in France.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m002xd6f)
Nish Kumar, Holly Jackson, Rachel Parris, Haircut 100, Liam Bailey

Edith Bowman is joined by best-selling author Holly Jackson, whose Young Adult mystery crime series A Good Girl's Guide to Murder has been adapted into a TV series staring Emma Myers as the straight-laced amateur detective Pip. Comedian Nish Kumar is heading out on a new tour later this year 'Angry Humour from a Really Nice Guy', he joins Edith to tell her what makes him angry, (hopefully whilst being really nice about it). Rachel Parris is also going on tour soon, a musical comedy show called 'The Rachel Parris Songbook'. She talks about her greatest hits and also the new series of her podcast 'The Power of A Book'.

And there's music from Haircut 100, back with a new album - their first in 44 years, and Liam Bailey from his new album Shadow Town

Presenter: Edith Bowman
Producer: Jessica Treen


SAT 19:00 Profile (m002xd6h)
Maggie O'Farrell

Maggie O'Farrell was born in Northern Ireland in 1972. Keen to move away from The Troubles, her father took a job at the University of Wales and the family moved to Bridgend when Maggie was a child. At the age of eight she was hospitalised with encephalitis. She didn't attend school during this time but instead she discovered literature.

The family then moved to Scotland. After her A' Level's, Maggie O'Farrell travelled south to Cambridge University to study, what else, English Literature. In her twenties she became a journalist working at the Independent on Sunday but her ambitions lay elsewhere.

At the age of twenty eight O'Farrell published her first novel 'After You’d Gone'. Her writing has been described as lyrical, intimate and sensory, writing in a way that physically immerses the reader in a scene.

In 2020 she published Hamnet, her greatest literary success to date, as the world went into lockdown. In 2025 the novel was adapted into a film, directed by Chloe Zhao who describes O'Farrell as someone "interested in the land, the earth, the body and what's hidden underneath".

Production:
Presenter: Stephen Smith
Producers: Annabel Deas, Bethan Ashmead and Wedaeli Chibelushi
Production coordinators: Maria Ogondele and Sabine Schereck
Sound: James Beard
Editor: Justine Lang


SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m002x5js)
Liam Young

Australian-born artist, filmmaker and speculative architect Liam Young discusses his work and cultural influences with John Wilson. Young creates imaginary future worlds through films and art installations to provoke discussion about present-day social and environmental issues – including climate change, energy, migration, and technology. His films, including Planet City and The Great Endeavour, have been shown at the Venice Biennale and museums including MOMA and the Smithsonian and the Barbican Centre in London has staged a major exhibition of his work called In Other Worlds. He holds guest professorships at universities including Princeton, MiT and Cambridge. In the commercial sector, Liam Young works as a consultant to major brands and the film industry on designing visions of the future.

Producer: Edwina Pitman


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m002xd6k)
The Alf Ramsey Story

Alf Ramsey was ‘an introvert in an extrovert’s job'. A man who loathed publicity, the press and anything that was pretty much not football. And yet in 1963, fresh to the England manager’s job, he boldly stated ‘we will win the World Cup’. A statement thrown back at him frequently until he proved all the doubters wrong.

David Goldblatt takes the measure of this utterly modest, button downed footballing mono-maniac. Ramsey, from deeply humble Essex roots, took on the world and won. He only became a professional footballer at the age of 26, winning his first England caps as the national team repeatedly failed on the world stage. As a neophyte manager he achieved both successive promotions with lowly Ipswich Town and then won the league with them in 1962. And then Ramsey set out to transform the role of the England manager while contending with a pomposity of blazered FA officialdom, a deeply sceptical press and a largely disinterested English public. Slowly his meticulously shaped team took shape and became legendary lions in 1966.

As results and luck began to turn against him, the furies of the press and enemies within the FA brought about his brutal end. From nothing to the global stage back to nothing by his mid 50s. It was a waste of Ramsey’s enormous footballing insight. Every decade since 1966 is a poignant reminder of his team’s achievement.

With the voices of Grant Bage, author of The Unseen Sir Alf; Duncan Hamilton, author of Answered Prayers; Paul Hayward, author of England Football - the Biography; and Jonathan Wilson, author of Inverting the Pyramid.

Reading: Talking Football- Ben Crowe
My Way performed by organist Martijn Koetsier.

Producer: Mark Burman

A Tell Tale production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 21:00 Moral Maze (m002x5hm)
Who is morally responsible for Britain's political short-termism?

A Labour leadership challenge would mean Britain could have a seventh prime minister in a decade. Each change of leadership promises renewal, but each delivers fresh disappointment. Meanwhile the problems compound: crumbling infrastructure, polluted waterways, a cost-of-living crisis, a planet warming faster than our policy responses. Why can't a mature democracy fix things it can clearly see are broken?

In the late 1960s, Stanford psychologist Walter Mischel devised a deceptively simple test of human nature. A child is left alone with a single marshmallow and a choice: eat it now, or wait fifteen minutes and receive two. It measures willpower, impulse control, and the capacity to sacrifice immediate satisfaction for a better long-term outcome. Mischel's follow-up studies found that children who waited tended to grow into healthier, better-educated, more emotionally stable adults. But subsequent researchers identified a crucial caveat: children from unstable backgrounds, used to broken promises, were entirely rational to eat immediately, since they didn't trust that the second marshmallow would ever arrive.

Britain, it could be argued, is living through its own national marshmallow test, and the results are troubling. Critics of the current political settlement point out that politicians face structural incentives to fix today's headlines rather than next decade's crises. The five-year electoral horizon means anything beyond it risks being kicked down the road: HS2, the infected blood scandal, Net Zero. Voters, burned by serial betrayal, rationally demand immediate relief on bills, welfare and petrol prices, even when the long-term cost is severe. And hovering over the whole system is the media. Twenty-four hour news demands a fresh scoop every hour, and social media algorithms reward outrage over reflection. If politicians are punished for nuance and rewarded for noise, and voters are algorithmically nudged towards the most inflammatory version of every story, is the entire information environment now rigged against long-term thinking?

If voters rationally distrust politicians, and politicians rationally pander to voters, who bears the moral responsibility for our collective short-termism? And crucially, who bears the responsibility for breaking the cycle? Is it about radical institutional or electoral reform? Does it require a more uncomfortable kind of leadership: politicians willing to tell hard truths, and voters willing to reward them? Who should bear the brunt of any short-term pain? Can we demand courage from leaders we've trained to be cowards? And if so, how do we first rebuild the trust – and the information environment – that makes waiting for the second marshmallow feel rational again?

Chair: Michael Buerk
Panel: Mona Siddiqui, Tim Stanley, Ash Sarkar and James Orr
Witnesses: Paul Dolan, James Williams, Sonia Purnell and Karl Pike
Producer: Dan Tierney
Assistant producer: Peter Everett
Editor: Tim Pemberton


SAT 22:00 News (m002xd6m)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m002ww0l)
Inside England’s School Food Shake‑Up

Sheila Dillon looks at the plans to overhaul England’s school food standards, from cutting back on fried food, puddings and processed meat to serving more fruit and veg. She hears from pupils, caterers and campaigners who all want better school meals, but don’t always agree on how to get there. With concerns about cost and practicality, she asks what these changes might really mean for schools trying to make them work, and what the School Food System in Japan might tell us about the nations health.

Featuring interviews recorded at Penwortham Girls' High School in Preston; Anna Taylor from The Food Foundation; Writer Heather Parry; Luke Consiglio from caterers The Pantry; Belfast Paediatrican Dr Jonathan Henderson, chef and food writer Suzie Lee; Naomi Duncan from Chefs in Schools; and Colette Fox from ProVeg International.

The consultation period for the new School Food Standards for England closes on June 12th 2026.

Produced by Natalie Donovan for BBC Audio in Bristol


SAT 23:00 The Many Wrongs of Lord Christian Brighty (m002xd6p)
Series 2

2. The Sister I Un-Mistered

Brighty’s holiday in Bath is interrupted by Babs insisting he make amends to his sister, Flan, after he ended her engagement with the entrepreneurial industrialist Mr Poach. Unfortunately the plan to fix the wrong of meddling in his sister’s life, involves more meddling in his sister's life. Meanwhile Churley has to contend with making ‘arrangements’ for an unexpected boxing match.

Lord Christian Brighty used to be the most notorious rake of the Regency. But after a hazing ritual for a new chambermaid led to a self-inflicted cannonball injury, Brighty, compelled by the chambermaid in question - the uneducated but forthright Babigail – resolves to mend his ways. Accompanying him in his quest are Babs (elevated beyond her station to a chambermaid-cum-adviser role), and his butler, Mr Churlington (although Churley would actually prefer everything to stay exactly as it used to be).

Written by Amy Greaves & Christian Brighty

Cast:
Lord Christian Brighty ….. Christian Brighty
Babs ….. Jessica Knappett
Churlington ….. Colin McFarlane
Lady Flan Brighty ….. Jodie Mitchell
Lavinia – a boxing trainer ….. Chiara Goldsmith
Mr Poach – an industrialist ….. David Reed
Amelia – a lady at the spa ….. Amy Greaves
Pierce Egan – a boxing commentator – Jason Forbes
Bob Gregson – a boxing pundit – Joz Norris

Script Editor ….. David Reed
Sound & Recording ….. Sonica Studios
Photographer ….. Will Hearle
Producer ….. Ben Walker

A DLT Entertainment Production for BBC Radio 4

Christian Brighty and Amy Greaves’ viral sketches based on Bridgerton, Poldark and Jane Austen have catapulted them to viral stardom, securing Christian’s place as the internet’s answer to Mr Darcy and amassing 250 million views across TikTok and Instagram (@brightybuoy). Amy and Christian both have a deep love for the work of Jane Austen, traditional regency romance (not smut), and historical romance set in the regency (smut). The first series of The Many Wrongs of Lord Christian Brighty was nominated for Best Radio Show at the Chortle Awards 2025, and listed in The i's Best Radio Comedies Ever.


SAT 23:30 Bookmarks (m002x423)
Episode 1

From the production company behind BBC TV’s QI comes Bookmarks – a brand-new quiz about books.

Hosted by Clare Balding, Bookmarks sees two teams of two players from around the UK go head-to-head in a test of general knowledge about all kinds of fiction and non-fiction titles – everything from Richard Osman to Stephen King, and Donna Tartt to Delia Smith.

A QITV production for BBC Radio 4

SUNDAY 07 JUNE 2026

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m002xd6r)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 00:15 Take Four Books (m002x421)
Imani Thompson

Imani Thompson speaks to Take Four Books about her debut novel Honey. Together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other literary works. In Honey, PhD student Yrsa doesn't set out to kill. But after an incident involving a bee sting gone wrong, she suddenly feels alive. So she starts to think about what justice could look like, if she took it in to her own hands...

Imani's three chosen influences for this episode are Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman from 2001; Girl by Jamaica Kincaid from 1978; and Your Silence Will Not Protect You by Audre Lorde from 2016.

Producer: Caitlin Sneddon
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This is a BBC Audio Scotland production.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002xd6t)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002xd6w)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:30 News Summary (m002xd6y)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002xd70)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m002xd72)
The medieval parish church of St Margaret in Leicester in Leicestershire

Bells on Sunday comes from the medieval parish church of St Margaret in Leicester in Leicestershire. Built on Anglo Saxon foundations the building was extensively rebuilt in the 15th century. The 33-metre-high tower houses a ring of twelve bells all of which were cast by the John Taylor foundry of Loughborough in 1921 plus two more recent semitone bells by the same foundry. The Tenor bell weighs thirty two and three hundredweight and is tuned to the note of C sharp. We hear them ringing Stedman Cinques.


SUN 05:45 In Touch (m002x46h)
New Access to Work Recruits, Audio Description on Streaming Services

The Department for Work and Pensions is in the process of hiring nearly 500 new members of staff to help clear the Access to Work backlog and tackle long delays. The Access to Work scheme can help disabled people gain and maintain employment by providing funding for things like support workers and assistive tech. A review of the scheme is currently underway which aims to reform the scheme as it is struggling to keep up with rising demand, these new recruits are a separate measure by the department which aims to quicken the processing of people's claims. In Touch speaks to Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms about these new roles.

For the first time, the UK communications regulator Ofcom is introducing access requirements for streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and Netflix. This is following the Media Act 2024, and Ofcom's proposals will not only apply for audio description, but also for subtitling and signing. Cathy Taylor is part of Ofcom's Broadcasting Team and describes to In Touch what these new requirements could look like, and about a consultation which is seeking the views of access service users.

Contact details for Ofcom's consultation are below:
General advice telephone number: 0300 123 3333
Consultation email address: Tier1accessibility@ofcom.org.uk
And the consultation web page: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/accessibility/tier-1-accessibility-code
Closing date for responses: 7th August 2026

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Helen Surtees
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual 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 a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.’


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m002xdbb)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Thinking Allowed (m002x45x)
Ethics in sociological research

What does it mean to undertake "ethical" research in complex and changing social settings?

Marion Vannier, from the University of Manchester, uses diaries and letters written by prisoners in her research with older men serving life sentences. Her work, including ‘Project Hope’, offers an insight into the experience of ageing behind bars, showing how ideas such as “hope” aren't always a positive. She discusses the difficult questions about trust, representation and responsibility when putting prisoners’ own voices centre stage and in the public domain.

Helen Busby is an independent research Ethics Advisor who has edited a new collection of essays Reframing Qualitative Research Ethics. She argues ethics cannot be reduced to fixed rules or procedural checklists, but are shaped by negotiation, reflection and the realities of research practice. The book brings together detailed case studies of dilemmas encountered in the field, alongside proposals for reform, including a more flexible review processes, discipline-specific approaches and a broader emphasis on research integrity.

Producer: Natalia Fernandez
Editor: Robyn Read


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m002xdbd)
Digging in the past: the arable farmer who's an archaeologist

Arable and archaeology are the two passions in Nick Wilson's life. He farms in the Vale of York but the discovery of a Roman burial site in one of his fields turbo-charged his interest in the past. That was nearly 10 years ago, since then he has studied for a PhD in archaeology and excavated acres of farmland. As well as the Roman tomb, he's unearthed Bronze-age cooking pots, quern stones for grinding corn, jewellery and a hob-nail boot from Roman times.

Produced and presented by Rebecca Rooney.


SUN 06:57 Weather (m002xdbg)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m002xdbj)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m002xdbl)
Archbishop AI; Sikh Kirpan; World Cup

On Friday, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, told a House of Lords debate that current AI regulation is “wholly inadequate”, saying the technology raises fundamental questions about what it means to be human, what we’re here for, and how we discern truth. William speaks to the Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow, who also spoke in that Lords debate.

Also on the programme, the murder of Henry Nowak has brought renewed attention to the Sikh kirpan, a small ceremonial dagger worn by initiated Sikhs as an article of faith, despite it not being used in this attack. Some politicians are now questioning the legal exemption that allows it to be carried. As Sikh organisations prepare new education initiatives and community leaders reflect on what one academic has called a "watershed moment"- what will the debate mean for Britain's Sikhs and for the future of religious freedom. William speaks to the CEO of Sikh Women, Sahdaish Pall.

A new song from a Catholic composer has been released to coincide with the 2026 World Cup, which kicks off in Mexico on Thursday. Three Lions Rising was composed by Andrew Dineen, whose early encounters with music include hearing his father play the church organ. William speaks to Andrew, and to Lisa Grand who was the lead singer alongside the choirs of St Edward's School and Ashley Manor Prep School in Cheltenham.

Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & James Graham
Studio Managers: Olivia Miceli & Catherine Everatt
Editor: Chloe Walker


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m002xdbn)
The Amber Trust

Beneficiary Lydia Beech makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of The Amber Trust. The charity provides music opportunities to hundreds of vision-impaired children across the UK.

The Radio 4 Appeal features a new charity every week.
Each appeal then runs on Radio 4 from Sunday 0755 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 ‘The Amber Trust’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘The Amber Trust’.
- 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: 1050503. If you’d like to find out more about the charity’s work visit *https://ambertrust.org/
*The BBC is not responsible for content on external websites

Producer: Katy Takatsuki


SUN 07:57 Weather (m002xdbq)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m002xdbs)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m002xdbv)
Mercy in an unmerciful world

From the Memorial Chapel of Glasgow University, with Rev Scott Blythe and Rev Roz Lawson of the Inter-Faith Chaplaincy Team.
With Glasgow University Chapel Choir directed by Katy Lavinia Cooper, and organist Kevin Bowyer.
Readings: Psalm 33:1-12 / Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
The Call (Words: George Herbert / Music: Kenneth Tay)
Hymn: O For A Thousand Tongues (Tune: Desert (Lyngham))
Ego Sum Via (Gail Gillespie)
Kyrie (Becky McGlade)
Song of Sorrows (Sheena Phillips)
Let Your Restless Hearts Be Still (Tune: The Lark In The Clear Air; Words: John L Bell & Graham Maule)
Hymn: O Worship The King, All Glorious Above (Tune: Hanover)
Organ Voluntary: Sarabande from A Little Suite by Antony Baldwin


SUN 08:48 Witness History (w3ct8r34)
The creation of My Little Pony

My Little Pony first appeared in shops in the United States in 1983 and in that decade alone more than 100 million would be sold.

But American toymaker Bonnie Zacherle tells Josephine McDermott how her idea to make a pony you could play with like a doll was turned down several times. She reveals the toys she liked to play with as a child living in Japan, how she updated Mr Potato Head and how her pony design first hit the market as a much bigger, harder model called My Pretty Pony.

She says she told her friend in toy marketing to get out of her office when she first suggested the ponies should come in pastel pinks and purples instead of realistic dun, black and grey colours. But she concedes that market testing showed it was what the customer wanted and she’s very proud of what she’s achieved.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about 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 how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.

(Photo: Bonnie's black My Little Pony prototype. Credit: Bonnie Zacherle)


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m002xdbx)
Roland Arnison on the Storm Petrel

We join explorer Roland Arnison on a kayaking expedition to the outer Hebrides on a quest to record the call of the storm petrel. These small and elusive seabirds spend most of their time at sea, nesting on rocky isles around the western coasts of the UK. While camping on the coastline of a remote uninhabited island, Roland patiently waited through the night until he heard the digital trill of the 'stormy' ring out in the dark.

This programme features audio recorded by Roland Arnison, and it was produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio Production in Bristol.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m002xdbz)
Defence spending delays "undermining country's credibility"

MPs warn the hold-up on a plan for defence spending is harming relations with the UK's allies, as the Prime Minister prepares to host European allies in Downing Street. Plus: the death of the proper football anthem is mourned by Keith Allen, the man behind several classics. Rachel Burden presents.


SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m002xdc1)
Peter Layton, artist

Peter Layton is a pioneering British glass artist and the founder of London Glassblowing, one of the most influential glass studios and galleries in the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the development of the studio glass movement, helping to establish glass as an artistic medium.

Born in Prague to Jewish parents, he and his family escaped in 1939 and settled in Bradford, where Peter counted the artist David Hockney among his friends. A trip to the United States in the 1960s to teach ceramics led him to his first encounter with glassblowing, and when he returned to the UK he set up a studio called London Glassblowing. Its ethos of collaboration and openness remains the same 50 years after its founding, and members of the public are welcome to see Peter and his colleagues create spectacular pieces of art out of glass.

Peter’s work is influenced by many things: early pieces tackled political issues, and he finds clouds, pebbles and other natural forms particularly inspiring. Peter lives in London with his wife Ann. He has three children and seven grandchildren.

DISC ONE: When I’m Cleaning Windows - George Formby
DISC TWO: Kol Nidrei, Op. 4, composed by Max Bruch, performed by Jacqueline du Pré (cello) and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim
DISC THREE: Take Five - Dave Brubeck
DISC FOUR: Blowin’ in the Wind - Bob Dylan
DISC FIVE: White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane
DISC SIX: Lute Concerto in D Major, RV 93: II. Largo, composed by Antonio Vivaldi, performed by Paul O'Dette (lute) The Parley of Instruments conducted by Peter Holman
DISC SEVEN: Suzanne - Nina Simone
DISC EIGHT: Elegy for the Arctic - Ludovico Einaudi

BOOK CHOICE: The Choice by Edith Eger
LUXURY ITEM: A solar-powered digital picture frame
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Suzanne - Nina Simone

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Tim Bano

Desert Island Discs has cast away many artists to the island over the years, including Peter’s friend David Hockney, as well as the sculptor Anthony Gormley and Cornelia Parker. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.


SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m002xdc3)
31 May – 5th June 2026
Writer: Shaun McKenna
Director: Mel Ward
Editor: Jeremy Howe

Brian Aldridge … Charles Collingwood
Helen Archer … Louiza Patikas 
Pat Archer …   Patricia Gallimore 
Natasha Archer … Mali Harries 
Tom Archer … William Troughton 
Alice Carter … Hollie Chapman 
Ian Craig …  Stephen Kennedy 
Rex Fairbrother ... Nick Barber
Martyn Gibson … Jon Glover
Eddie Grundy … Trevor Harrison
Ed Grundy … Barry Farrimond
George Grundy … Angus Stobie
Will Grundy … Philip Molloy
Brad Horrobin … Taylor Uttley
Tracy Horrobin … Susie Riddell 
Adam Macy … Andrew Wincott  
Akram Malik ... Asif Khan
Zainab Malik ... Priyasasha Kumari
Stella Pryor … Lucy Speed 
PC Nicola Trueman … Clare Corbett


SUN 12:15 Profile (m002xd6h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 12:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m002x48v)
Series 33

6. Sausages, Fish, Table Tennis and Butterflies

David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they’re able to smuggle past their opponents.

Tony Hawks, Zoe Lyons, Mark Steel and Fern Brady are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as sausages, fish, table tennis and butterflies.

The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith

Producer: Jon Naismith

A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 12:57 Weather (m002xdc5)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m002xdc7)
Where have all the babies gone?

The social and economic impact of people living longer and having fewer babies is causing concern to many governments. Young people from around the world tell us about their experiences, and we hear analysis of the latest data from John Wilmoth, head of the population division of the United Nations. The Finnish demographer Anna Rotkirch explains a new theory that smartphones and social media are accelerating existing downwards trends in birth rates. Finally, we assess how societies and economies can adapt to shrinking and ageing populations, with Professor Sarah Harper, director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing and David Miles, a member of the Budget Responsibility Committee at the OBR and Professor of Financial Economics at Imperial College.


SUN 13:30 Currently (m002xdc9)
England’s Identity Crisis

England’s men's football team is once again preparing to shoulder the hopes of millions across the nation. A World Cup is traditionally a time to come together, but this tournament takes place in a tense political moment, when the question of who is – and isn’t - English is being contested.

Should Englishness be linked to ancestry and ethnicity, to living in the country for generations, as some senior political figures claim? Is Englishness conditional? If so, on what? Should anyone living in England be able to claim national identity? Why is Englishness so hard to define?

Newsnight's Political Editor Nick Watt reports from the frontlines of the battle for Englishness, speaking to senior figures in politics and cultural commentators. He visits Castle Point in Essex, the area where the most people chose English as their national identity in the 2021 census.

He hears from the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, Labour's Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and the writer and GB News presenter Matt Goodwin.

The interviews took place before Vickrum Digwa was jailed for the murder of Henry Nowak.

Credit: The TRIGGERnometry podcast and YouTube show, produced and presented by Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster

Producer: Leela Padmanabhan


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002x5sg)
Diss: Gravel Gardens, Camellia Care and Ways to Weather Drought

Peter Gibbs and the Gardeners’ Question Time panel visit Diss, on the Norfolk–Suffolk border, where heavy clay soils meet some of the driest conditions in the country; a combination that keeps gardeners firmly on their toes.

Peter is joined by Bob Flowerdew on his home turf, alongside Christine Walkden and Bunny Guinness as they answer questions from a live audience. They advise on improving your strike rate with cuttings, diagnosing sooty mould on camellias, and deciding whether a bay tree is best kept in a pot, or given room to roam.

Along the way, the panel also explore how to turn a tired lawn into a stylish, drought‑resistant gravel garden, debate whether lavender really needs feeding, and suggest small spring‑flowering trees that can deliver a real seasonal show.

Later in the show, Bob shares hard‑won lessons from gardening in East Anglia, offering practical tips on coping with drought and making the most of every drop of water.

Producer: Matt Smith

Producer: William Norton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qp2f/episodes/guide


SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m002xdcc)
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog

John Yorke examines Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog, ten semi-autobiographical short stories in which Dylan Thomas looks back and observes himself growing into the artist – the writer – that he became in adult life. The stories highlight Thomas’s contradictory nature. At school he failed every other subject apart from English, in which he came top. He’s a town boy who loves the countryside. He’s a bookish child who devours his father’s library of 6,000 books ‘with his eyes out on stalks’ by day, and a bit of a lad who roams Swansea by night, observing the goings-on of the city. Dylan Thomas was called a wastrel and an alcoholic, yet was incredibly productive, writing 300 pages of poems, 500 pages of radio scripts, 600 pages of film scripts and 1000 pages of letters. He began the short stories in 1938, a year after he had married Caitlin MacNamara and they’d settled with their first child in Laugharne, a small town on the coat of Carmarthenshire. Ten years later he would move into the famous Boathouse where he would live for the remainder of his life.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories 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. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4.

Contributors: John Goodby, Professor of Arts and Culture at Sheffield Hallam University, author of Critical Lives: Dylan Thomas. Joe Dunthorne, novelist, poet and journalist.
Researcher: Henry Tydeman
Production Hub Co-ordinator: Dawn Williams
Sound: Iain Hunter
Producer: Kate McAll
Executive Producer: Sara Davies

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m002xdcf)
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog

Returning to Swansea after the blitz, Dylan Thomas is overwhelmed by memories of his childhood and adolescence.

From summers at Fern Hill, to failed camping trips on the beach; from plagiarised poetry to drunken first love, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog is a story of what it is to grow up.

Comic, nostalgic, with a host of vivid characters, Dylan Thomas’s masterpiece is adapted by Joe Dunthorne (Submarine, Children of Radium) and stars Gerran Howell (The Pitt) as Dylan Thomas.

Based on the short stories by Dylan Thomas
Adapted by Joe Dunthorne

Dylan Thomas… Gerran Howell
Aunt Annie/Gwyneth/ Mrs Evans/ Mother… Carys Eleri
Uncle Jim/ Mr Thomas/ Mr Matthews/ Mr O’Brien… Ben Addis
Mrs Williams/ Mrs Thomas/ Mrs Franklin/ Female Stranger… Melanie Walters
Dan Evans… Iwan Davies
Lou/Jean/Nancy… Mia Khan
Brazell/ Gwilym/ Older Sidney… Jacob Ifan
George Hooping/ Barman… Gwïon Morris Jones
Skully/ Chauffeur/ Male Stranger… Shaheen Jafargholi
Young Dylan… Leon Raphael Mullins
Young Sidney…. Toby Founds

Production Co-Ordinator… Eleri McAuliffe
Sound Design by Rhys Morris
Produced and directed by Fay Lomas, BBC Audio Drama Wales


SUN 16:00 Bookclub (m002xdch)
Kirstin Innes

The award-winning Scottish writer, Kirstin Innes, speaks to Bookclub, presented by James Naughtie, about her second novel, Scabby Queen. The book, published in 2020, explores the life of one-hit wonder and political activist, Clio Campbell, who is found dead three days before her fifty-first birthday.

Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.


SUN 16:30 Bookmarks (m002xdck)
From the production company behind BBC TV’s QI comes Bookmarks – a brand-new quiz about books.

Hosted by Clare Balding, Bookmarks sees two teams of two players from around the UK go head-to-head in a test of general knowledge about all kinds of fiction and non-fiction titles – everything from Richard Osman to Stephen King, and Donna Tartt to Delia Smith.

A QITV production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct745c)
Anthony Bourdain's 'Don't Eat Before Reading This'

In April 1999, Anthony Bourdain's essay Don't Eat Before Reading This was published.

It was an unfiltered look into restaurant kitchen culture. It launched his career as a celebrity chef.

He changed the way television told stories about food. Surya Elango speaks to Philippe Lajaunie, his friend and former boss at Les Halles restaurant, in New York.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about 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 how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.

(Photo: Anthony Bourdain. Credit: Fairfax Media via Getty Images)


SUN 17:10 The Verb (m002xdcn)
Poetry - a bullet-proof vest for the soul

Ian McMillan is joined by Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 News' International Editor, who shares poems that have sustained her while reporting from conflict zones around the world.

Richard Skinner, editor of 14, the annual poetry publication dedicated to 14-line poems, chooses this week's Neon Line.

Kym Deyn discusses their debut poetry collection Folkish which reimagines the folklore of Northern England for a contemporary reader.

Cara Thompson, Nottingham's first Nature Poet Laureate, talks about her new project, Needle, which fuses poetry and textiles.

Presented by Ian McMillan
Produced by Ekene Akalawu


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002xdcq)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m002xdcs)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002xdcv)
Project to modernise UK steel production delayed

A major government-backed project to modernise steel production in South Wales may be delayed by up to eight months. Tata Steel says there have been problems connecting the new electric furnace in Port Talbot to a suitably strong power supply. Also: President Zelensky holds talks in Downing Street about the defence of Ukraine. And Marks and Spencer launches a new training scheme designed for young people struggling to find a job.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m002xdcx)
Len Pennie

This week, we’re all about the power of poetry – from the Hay Festival in Wales to across the Irish Sea at the Belfast Book Festival. We hear how regional dialects have come about on Word of Mouth, and a captivating interview from Woman’s Hour with Gisèle Pelicot. Plus, between São Paulo and Saddleworth, there are marching bands raising the roof galore.

Presenter: Len Pennie
Producer: Anthony McKee
Editor: Steven Hobson
Production Coordinator: Findlay Adams and Sylvie Conway

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.

Programmes featured in this episode include:

The Verb, 31/05
Word of Mouth: How did people speak throughout history?
Front Row, 03/06: Live from the Belfast Book Festival
John for John by Douglas Stewart - Episode 5 - a còig
Prayer for the Day, 03/06: Meeting God in Yiddish
Thinking Allowed: Suicide, Society and Liveability
You & Yours, 02/06: Call You and Yours - Have you ever spent money you know you don't have, on stuff you don't really need?
Loud and Proud All-Dayer, 01/06: Loud and Proud mix - Jinkx Monsoon
Take Four Books: Imani Thompson
Woman’s Hour, 01/06
Sunday Worship, 31/05: Hail Smiling Morn - Whit Friday in Saddleworth
In the Studio: São Paulo's carnival competition

If you’re suffering distress or despair and need support, including urgent support, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m002xdcz)
Helen’s having a hard time concentrating on the cheese-making demonstration she’s giving as part of Open Farm Sunday, so Tracy steps up and smooths things over. Helen is tired after moving into her new house yesterday, but grateful for the help she received from neighbour Tracy and family. Susan then steps in to do the next demonstration with Tracy. Later, Tracy and Susan relax in the Tearoom, wondering why Jim has stopped his newspapers and taken his name off the volunteer rota. Susan acknowledges Tracy has borne the brunt of the burden caring for Bert. They’re surprised he’s lasted this long at Clive’s. Helen comes in, pleased the day has been so successful, then pushes Tracy for an answer to her offer of full-time work in the Dairy. Tracy promises to let her know soon.

Ed finds Adam is already doing some jobs that Brian asked him to do at Home Farm. Ed feels awkward, but Adam suggests a different job and gives Ed further instructions for the rest of the week. Catching Ed later Brian is put out to discover that Adam has countermanded his instructions with an alternative schedule for Ed’s work. Adam defends his actions before telling Brian that Martyn wants to talk about the Borchester Land contracts on Wednesday. Brian reluctantly agrees to a time. Having discovered they’ve paid a bill twice Adam asks Brian to leave all invoices, ordering and scheduling to him, while the partnership is still in charge, whether Brian likes it or not.


SUN 19:15 Illuminated (m002xdd1)
The House in the Hole

On a hot summer’s day in 1991, a violent crime took place that shook Consett, a town in the North East of England. When threatened with the legal demolition of a property he owned, a former steelworker called Albert Dryden went on a murderous rampage, killing the council’s chief planning officer and seriously wounding a policeman and a journalist. Furthermore, the brutal crime was filmed and broadcast on national news.

But what made the crime even more perplexing was its controversial aftermath. While the majority of people condemned Dryden’s actions, a vocal minority came to see him as something of a folk hero. This wasn’t the usual morbid fascination that can sometimes gather around certain violent criminals; it was admiration. Crowds cheered outside his court hearings and “Free Albert Dryden” posters were not an uncommon sight around town – even songs were written about him.

How can a cold-blooded killer ever gain public support? Writer Joe Zadeh takes a close look at details surrounding this incident in an attempt to examine these rare yet recurring moments in history, when moral values turn upside down and everyday citizens find themselves excusing the most horrific crimes.

Written and presented by Joe Zadeh
Producer: Hunter Charlton
Mixing Engineer: Alex Portfelix
Composer: Jess Howard
Executive Producer: Ant Adeane

Photograph: Albert Dryden taken by Michael Peckett

An Ember production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 19:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001r7xq)
Breathe Through Your Nose

Take a nice deep breath in… through your nose. It’s a simple way to get healthier gums, a better memory, and improved lung function. How? Well, it may partly be due to a special molecule called nitric oxide. Michael Mosley speaks to Professor Jon Lundberg from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden who made the fascinating discovery that nitric oxide is produced in your nose and travels to your lungs where it has some surprising benefits, including boosting oxygen uptake and possibly helping you fight off infections. Our volunteer Joe tries out a few tips to make nasal breathing a habit.

New episodes will be released on Wednesdays, but if you’re in the UK, listen to new episodes, a week early, first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3zqa6BB

Producer: Nija Dalal-Small
Science Producer: Catherine Wyler
Assistant Producer: Gulnar Mimaroglu
Trainee Assistant Producer: Toni Arenyeka
Executive Producer: Zoe Heron
A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:00 Word of Mouth (m002x5kf)
How did people speak throughout history?

Michael Rosen meets popular YouTuber Simon Roper, who tries to recreate how people spoke in the past.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven, in partnership with the Open University.
Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m002x5sl)
Larry King: The man behind Billie Jean King’s feminist tennis revolution

Larry King teamed up with his wife Billie Jean King to start the women’s professional tennis circuit in the USA.

Baroness Ramsay was MI6 Head of Station in Helsinki during the Cold War and then became a leading figure in Labour politics.

Caroline Marland transformed the financial fortunes of The Guardian newspaper as a senior executive in the 1980s and 90s.

Valie Export challenged centuries of misuse of the female body from male artists by exhibiting her own form for controversial performances.

Archive used: Women’s Tennis Association, 03/2024; VisNews, 01/05/1981; BBC News, 12/09/1985; Secrets and Spies: A Nuclear Game, BBC Two, 08/05/2024; BBC Parliament, 02/12/2015; The Money Programme, BBC Two, 14/02/1988; Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4, 01/06/2000

Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Josie Hardy
Editor: Andrea Kennedy


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m002xd5s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m002xdbn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002xd5n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:30 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m002xdd3)
Defence investment, the impact of AI - and two Scottish by-elections

Ben Wrigth is joined by the Labour backbencher Chris Curtis; Conservative former Science minister, George Freeman; and the polling expert, Scarlett Maguire. They discuss the controversy over policing following the murder of Henry Nowak and how it's been handled by different political parties. They also look ahead to London Tech Week and consider the possible benefits as well as the negative impacts of AI. Ben interview Rohan Silva, a former tech adviser to the Cameron government. The panel are later joined by Kirsty Blackman - chief whip for the SNP at Westminster - to talk about the two forthcoming by-elections on the east coast of Scotland. The Guardian's deputy political editor, Jessica Elgot, brings additional expert analysis.


SUN 23:00 In Our Time (m002x5jl)
The Evolution of Trees

Misha Glenny and guests discuss the earliest evidence we have of the existence of trees and how even plants we might have on windowsills or as vegetables in gardens can and do, in the right conditions, evolve into trees. Since their emergence around 400 million years ago after low lying plants started to develop stronger stems and grow taller and more upright, trees have transformed our planet, so creating ecosystems, altering the atmosphere and setting the stage for the world as we know it today.

With

Jenny McElwain
1711 Chair of Botany at Trinity College Dublin and Director of Trinity Botanic Gardens

Christopher Berry
Senior Lecturer in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Cardiff University

And

Bill Baker
Senior Researcher at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Produced by Conor Garrett

Reading list:

David Beerling: The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth's History (Oxford University Press, 2008)

C.M. Berry, ‘Palaeobotany: The Rise of the Earth’s Early Forests’ (Current Biology 29, 2019)

Christopher M. Berry and John E.A. Marshall, ‘Lycopsid forests in the early Late Devonian paleoequatorial zone of Svalbard’ (Geology 43:12, 2015)

N.S. Davies, W.J. McMahon and C.M. Berry, ‘Earth’s earliest forest: fossilized trees and vegetation-induced sedimentary structures from the Middle Devonian (Eifelian) Hangman Sandstone Formation, Somerset and Devon, SW England’ (J. Geol. Soc. 181, 2024)

P. Geisen and C.M. Berry, ‘Reconstruction and Growth of the Early Tree Calamophyton (Pseudosporochnales, Cladoxylopsida) Based on Exceptionally Complete Specimens from Lindlar, Germany (Mid-Devonian): Organic Connection of Calamophyton Branches and Duisbergia Trunks’ (International Journal of Plant Sciences 174 (4), 2013)

A. Groover and Q. Cronk (eds), Comparative and Evolutionary Genomics of Angiosperm Trees: Plant Genetics and Genomics (Crops and Models, vol 21. Springer, 2017), especially ‘The Evolution of Angiosperm Trees: From Palaeobotany to Genomics’ by Q.C.B. Cronk and F. Forest

Jennifer McElwain, Marlene Hill Donnelly, and Ian Glasspool, Tropical Arctic: Lost Plants, Future Climates, and the Discovery of Ancient Greenland (University of Chicago Press, 2021)

Harriet Rix, The Genius of Trees: How Trees Mastered the Elements and Shaped the World (Vintage, 2026)

W.E. Stein et al., ‘Mid-Devonian Archaeopteris roots signal revolutionary change in earliest fossil forests’ (Current biology, 30:3, 2020) pp.421-431

William E. Stein, Christopher Mark Berry, Linda VanAller Hernick and Frank Mannolini ‘Surprisingly complex community discovered in the mid-Devonian fossil forest at Gilboa’ (Nature 483, 7387, 2012)

Max Telford, The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle (John Murray, 2026)

K.J. Willis, J.C. McElwain, The Evolution of Plants (Oxford University Press, 2014)

James Woodford, The Wollemi Pine: The Incredible Discovery of a Living Fossil from the Age of the Dinosaurs (The Text Publishing Company, 2005)

Alexandre R. Zuntini et al, ‘Phylogenomics and the rise of the angiosperms’ (Nature vol. 629, April 2024)

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 Misha Glenny and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world.


SUN 23:45 Short Works (m002x5sj)
Palimpsest by Keza O'Neill

At a school reunion in Aberystwyth, university professor Archie Dupont confronts the teenager she used to be.

Original short story Keza O'Neill, winner of the Rhys Davies Prize.

Read by Eiry Hughes.

Production coordinator... Eleri McAuliffe
Produced by Fay Lomas
Sound design by Rhys Morris

MONDAY 08 JUNE 2026

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m002xdd5)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 00:15 The Artificial Human (m002x5h3)
AI: War Machine?

2. What's driving the military AI policy?

Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong examine the decisions shaping the adoption of military AI in the United States and beyond, asking whether governance is keeping pace — or whether responsibility is being left to the technology’s creators.

A recent dispute between Anthropic and the Pentagon revealed that commercial contracts, rather than clear policy, are helping to define how AI can be used by the military. But the disagreement was less about ethics than about timing, with the military pressing ahead to adopt systems before their developers considered them sufficiently reliable.

Dr Brianna Rosen reflects on what this tells us about the lack of detailed policy, regulation and legal frameworks governing AI in warfare, while journalist and author Katrina Manson explains what we can learn from the origins of the US military’s core AI programme as explored in her book,Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare.

Presenters: Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong
Producer: Peter McManus
Sound: Fraser Jackson and Gav Murchie


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m002xd72)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002xdd7)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002xdd9)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:00 News Summary (m002xddc)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002xddf)
Susan Hulme reports as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, calls for better regulation of artificial inteligence. Also, as Parliament debates legislation to help recreate the glory days of the London Olympics, a business leader behind the Games reveals what made them tick.


MON 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002xddh)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002xddk)
Jewish Culture Month

Prayer for the Day presented by Rabbi Warren Elf of the Liverpool Reform Synagogue.

Good morning.

You may not be aware but we are three-quarters of the way through the first ever Jewish Culture Month in the UK. It is running from 16th May to 16th June, coinciding with the Jewish month of Sivan.

There have been a whole range of different activities to highlight the contribution of the Jewish community and the way the Jewish community in Britain has evolved and changed over time. There are events in and around museums, guided walks, arts, culture, literature, music, drama, comedy, historical, heritage trails, pastimes, gastronomic and many more events right across the country.

I am going to an interfaith lunch today at a Jewish community hub that will be bringing together different people from a range of different faiths, to explore themes of faith, identity, and community in creative and accessible ways. It will be an afternoon of connection, conversation, and shared learning, with informal discussion helping us to develop and build positive relationships.

This is one aspect of faith and interfaith work that I find to be so important. We are all part of a wonderful and creative society and world. We have so much in common and there are so many ways that we can learn from each other and enrich each other.

I believe that we are all made in the image of God and that we are all unique, special and have something to offer. I don’t think any of us have a monopoly on truth, on God, on right or on morality. We live in a difficult and changing world.

So, I pray that I can always learn from others and always find ways to share humanity, love and compassion, while embracing those aspects of others.

I pray that I may strengthen my identity and my commitment to a better future for our world through my positive relationships with others.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m002xddm)
08/06/26 Brown or white eggs? The outlook for cereal farmers

How do you like your eggs? Brown or white? Sainsbury's has announced it's switching to white eggs for environmental reasons.

With high prices for energy and fertiliser but not for their crops, and after another dry spring, we ask how arable farmers in the UK are doing.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


MON 05:57 Weather (m002xddp)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for farmers


MON 06:00 Today (m002xg73)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Start the Week (m002xg75)
Scientific discovery and misunderstanding

How have we made discoveries about the world around us and how has our understanding changed when we got it wrong? Adam Rutherford hosts Radio 4's discussion programme which starts the week, asking about the the nature of scientific discovery, understanding and changing our mind.

Andrea Wulf's latest book is The Traveller: The Revolutionary Life of George Forster and his Search for Humanity. She has reassessed the botanist and ethnologist who accompanied Captain Cook's second voyage, taking him from Antarctica to the tropical islands of the South Pacific. During this time, Forster studied diverse people, culture and nature and returned a confirmed opponent of empire, racism and slavery: he was celebrated in his lifetime, but has since been largely forgotten by history.

The geneticist Kathryn Paige Harden argues that the latest research complicates our ideas about blame, punishment and moral responsibility. In her new book Original Sin: The Genetics of Wrongdoing, the Problem of Blame and the Future of Forgiveness, she looks at the area where human behaviour meets inherited biology. She thinks we must look again at questions of wrong doing and free will, reassessing old ideas of guilt and accountability.

We are all hormonal all of the time, because to be hormonal is to be human says Saira Hameed, a leading endocrinologist. Hormones are the often misunderstood signalling system that makes our bodies function which she explain in her new book, Signals: The Inside Story of Our Hormones, separating medical breakthroughs from the obsessions of wellness influencers.

Producer: Ruth Watts


MON 09:45 Mary Bourke: Who Cares? (m002cf04)
Episode 3: The professional caring industry.

Five years ago, Mary Bourke’s husband had a stroke - and she immediately became his carer. It’s a job no one wants - and one that comes with no formal training, and very little support. Guilt, isolation, toilets, and endless, endless admin - welcome to the day-to-day reality of being a carer. There are more than 5 million carers in the UK - but who cares for the carers?

Through a mixture of interviews and stand-up comedy, comedian and carer Mary Bourke investigates, with the help of friends and fellow comedians with caring responsibilities.

In episode three, Mary learns about the professional care system from Pope Lonergan (comedian and care worker) and Michael Akadiri (comedian and junior doctor).

Presenter: Mary Bourke
Producer: Katie Sayer
Executive Producer: Jon Holmes

An unusual production for BBC Radio 4


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002xg77)
Nottingham Inquiry, Female sexual pleasure, Serena Williams

Almost three years ago, Valdo Calocane – who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia – killed Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates. After three months of hearing evidence at the Nottingham Inquiry, Nuala McGovern talks to Emma Webber and Sinead O’Malley-Kumar, the mothers of Barnaby and Grace, about what they believe must change and what they want to see happen now.

Serena Williams - who after nearly four years is making her return to competitive tennis, playing in the doubles event, alongside Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko. Serena - a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion - has said she has 'nothing to prove', and her main motivation is the prospect of her daughters seeing her play again. BBC Sports reporter Karthi Gnanasegaram joins Nuala to discuss.

BBC Radio 4 has announced its latest cohort of New Generation Thinkers—early-career academics selected for a year-long residency run in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council. As part of the scheme, participants contribute research-led insights and historical context to programmes across the network, including Woman’s Hour. Nuala speaks to a PHD researcher at Oxford University about her academic work.

The history of female pleasure has often been misunderstood, according to the historian and broadcaster Dr Kate Lister. In her new book, Flick: The Story of Female Pleasure, she traces the history—from Ancient Mesopotamian sex goddesses to today—examining how women’s sexual pleasure has been feared and controlled, but also celebrated, persistently fought for, and enjoyed.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Dianne McGregor


MON 11:00 Siblings Unpicked (m002xg79)
Stuck in the middle

Brother and sister duo Stephen and Anita Mangan explore some of the stereotypes and myths around sibling relationships, as they investigate the role of these lifelong bonds throughout our lives, with the help of psychotherapist Philippa Perry.

This week they ask whether Middle Child Syndrome is really a thing? It's often said middle children are ignored or overlooked, but how does Anita feel about being sandwiched between two siblings? While she might have dyed her hair red to stand out from the crowd, the pair hear that middle children might actually be the family peacemakers. But there's also a theory that this ability to get on with everyone is actually a subtle form of manipulation.

For developmental psychologists, the arrival of a second child has important consequences for how siblings relate to each other, and research shows children with siblings develop empathy more quickly than those without.

But while many of us may take our brothers and sisters for granted a shocking one in four people is estranged from their sibling. The Mangans discover that in some cases this might be a good thing, and we shouldn't romanticise what are often our most tricky relationships.

Presenters: Stephen Mangan, Anita Mangan
Producer: Marijke Peters
Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4


MON 11:45 The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard (m002xg7c)
Episode 1

Lea Korsgaard searches for all of Denmark’s butterfly species in one year. She discovers secret places and learns about the rich natural and symbolic history of butterflies.

Butterflies are an intrinsic part of the ecosystem, pollinating plants and acting as food for larger creatures. Their existence is entwined with the plant life and landscapes they make home, but habitats are reducing and with this, butterfly populations are under threat.

Learning about the potential loss of habitat and butterflies, journalist Lea Korsgaard goes on a quest to see all of Denmark’s 64 butterfly species in a single year.

She is a butterfly novice, but over the course of the year, she learns about the extraordinary facts of butterfly metamorphosis, meets passionate experts who show her the secret places where butterflies still proliferate and finds out about the history of collectors for whom butterflies had become an obsession. She finally learns that she has become as hooked as the experts she has met.

In episode 1, after procrastinating for some time, Lea works out a method and system for locating and visiting the sites where she thinks the species of butterfly she is looking, proliferate around Denmark.

She starts to learn about the habits and behaviours of butterflies, including the migratory patterns of some butterflies and the miraculous way that offspring find their way back to Denmark having been conceived as far away as the Sahara. She also learns about the habitat of other butterflies who overwinter in Denmark.

After learning and waiting, she finally finds her first butterfly species-but has she the knowledge and the tenacity to find the remaining 63?

Read by Nicola Walker
Abridged by Sara Davies
Produced by Lisa Lipman
Sound design by Jon Calver
Executive producer: Jo Rowntree
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


MON 12:00 News Summary (m002xg7f)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m002xg7h)
Direct Cremations, Inbox Overload, Dubai Tourism, The Housing Market, The Cost of Summer

A direct cremation provider is being investigated by the advertising watchdog after complaints its pre-paid plans don’t make clear that a funeral service isn't included. As more people opt for lower-cost alternatives, we look at why it’s important to discuss funeral plans and expectations with family members in advance.

A You and Yours listener says she’s being inundated with marketing emails after shopping online. We explore how companies decide how often to contact customers and whether too many messages risk driving people away.

With the government advising against all but essential travel to the UAE, we look at the impact on British holidaymakers, airlines and the businesses in Dubai that rely heavily on UK visitors.

House prices have dipped for the first time this year and growth is slowing. We hear from a couple struggling to sell their home and ask what it means for the wider housing market.

And with the summer school holidays approaching, families are bracing for the cost of six weeks of childcare and activities. We look at what people are doing to keep spending down and ask whether government support measures will be enough to ease the financial pressure for people with children.

Presenter: Winifred Robinson
Producer: Kat Harbourne


MON 12:57 Weather (m002xg7k)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m002xg7m)
Iran says it will cease strikes

As hostilities flare up once again in the Middle East we speak to a member of Hezbollah's Political Council in Lebanon who says there can be no deal before Israel completely withdraws from Lebanon. Also on the World at One, as the UK is set to be the first country in the world to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images, we hear from former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips who cited the government's slow approach on this issue in her resignation letter. And a new digital archive is set to bring together the long scattered notes of Leonardo da Vinci.


MON 13:45 Politically (m002xjkx)
Ten Years After Brexit

1. The Economy

It is 10 years since the Brexit referendum. In this series Alex Forsyth, a BBC correspondent who’s covered Brexit from both Brussels and Westminster, looks at what impact the decision to leave the EU has had on various aspects of public and political life.

The effect of leaving the EU on the economy has been one of the most contested aspects of Brexit . From dire warnings about multi-billion pound budgetary black holes ahead of the referendum to assertions that the UK would become “Singapore-on-Thames” if freed from the orbit of Brussels, there have been bold - and at times - unfounded claims.

To get a sense of the arguments around the economic consequences of Brexit, Alex Forsyth talks to Julian Jessop, an independent economist and Economics Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs and David Smith, Economics editor at the Sunday Times.

Presenter: Alex Forsyth
Producers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzie
Editor: Richard Vadon
Studio engineer and sound mix: James Beard
Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley


MON 14:00 The Archers (m002xdcz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m002xg7p)
Series 7

6. Beyond The Sea

Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam return as the loving, long-married couple, in the 7th series of Jan Etherington’s award-winning comedy.

This week, Roger is furious when Joanna invites his least favourite person, the adventurer Rix Roden, to open the village fete, and then they go swimming together.

Written by Jan Etherington
Producer: Claire Jones
Production coordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu
Studio Engineer: Wilfredo Acosta
Sound Designer: Jon Calver

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4


MON 14:45 Opening Lines (m002xdcc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Sunday]


MON 15:00 A Good Read (m002xg7r)
Kelly Cates and Tom Rob Smith

Three books that deal with the intricacies of relationships and marriage.

Not That Sort of Girl by Mary Wesley
Aftermath by Rachel Cusk
Three Days In June by Anne Tyler

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Maggie Ayre


MON 15:30 The History Podcast (m002xd5g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]


MON 16:00 Currently (m002xdc9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:30 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 Legend (m002xd5j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


MON 17:00 PM (m002xg7t)
Israel and Iran say they will pause fighting - for now

Leaders in Israel and Iran say they will pause rocket fire, following 24 hours of chaos in the region that threatened the fragile ceasefire between the countries. On PM, we speak to the man who advised President Trump on Iran during his first term - and we ask the historian Sir Max Hastings about historical parallels with Vietnam and Iraq.

Also on PM, multiple women have accused billionaire businessman and West Ham owner David Sullivan of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour, over decades.

Ten days from the pivotal Makerfield by-election, the candidates go head-to-head at a hustings.

Six-hour queues are predicted at some European airports this summer. We hear about the EU's new controversial border system.

And as a study suggests that letting a dog sleep in your bed can boost your mood, nature broadcaster Chris Packham tells us the joy he gets from sharing a bed with his poodles.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002xg7w)
Multiple women accuse David Sullivan of sexually exploitative behaviour

The claims are part of a joint investigation by BBC Panorama, and The Times newspaper. Also: Israel and Iran have agreed to stop attacking each other, following their first strikes since April. And: Sir Keir Starmer tells tech companies to introduce safety features to make it impossible for children to take, share or view nude images.


MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m002xg7y)
Series 85

1. Bad Bond Film Club

The godfather of all panel shows pays a visit to the Brighton Dome. On the panel are Richard Coles, Tony Hawks, Rachel Parris 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 (m002xdl7)
After conducting pregnancy tests on the Brookfield cows Alistair chats to David about the poisonous atmosphere at Home Farm, wondering if David might be able to soften Brian’s hardline stance. When David mentions trade stand bookings for the Borchester Show are right down Alistair says a client complained about the payment system on the showground last year. David says he’ll investigate, before Alistair chases up numbers for the minibus trip to the Women’s T20 World Cup on Friday.
Amber’s pleased by the uptick in social media engagement for the Borchester Show since she took over strategy from George. The money they earn will help cover the cost of all the baby gear they need. David calls, asking Amber to use her contacts at Farm Supplies to find out why trade stand bookings are down, and to target local businesses with positive messaging. Later, Amber and George are able to confirm the slow wi-fi led to payment difficulties last year, putting businesses off booking again. David vows to try and fix it.
Stella enthuses about wedding preparations to distracted Pip, who’s waiting for the call from a genetic counsellor. After several false alarms Pip finally speaks to the counsellor, then later tells Stella about the issues they covered, including potential risks to having children in future. Stella suggests focusing on the next step and Pip says she’s agreed to take the private BRCA gene variant test. It’s hard, but once Pip’s done the test, they’ll know for sure without having to wait for Ruth’s NHS referral, which she hasn’t even asked for yet.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m002xg81)
Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter, Pan African art and John Tavener's opera Krishna

Samira Ahmed talks to Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter about their new album Mirage

Ekow Eshun, writer and broadcaster, and Polly Savage, Lecturer in the Art History of Africa at SOAS, University of London, discuss an exhibition of Pan African art at the Barbican, Project a Black Planet

Front Row introduces its AHRC/BBC New Generation Thinker for 2026, Genevieve Robyn Arkle, who is a Lecturer in Music History at King's College London

And

Opera director David Pountney on John Tavener's last opera Krishna, performed as a world premiere at Grange Park Opera

Producer: Eliane Glaser


MON 20:00 Rethink (m002x5kh)
Rethink... modern monarchy

Of the 195 widely-recognized sovereign countries in the world, only a quarter are monarchies.

And of those 43 monarchies, 15 of those have the same King. That’s Charles III, who’s head of state for Commonwealth territories as large as Australia and Canada, and as far apart as the UK and Tuvalu in the South Pacific.

In the other 28, the ruling monarchs can be called Kings, Emirs, Sultans, and there’s an Emperor on the Chrysanthemum throne in Japan.

Of course, there are also Queens - but some modern monarchies such as Japan and Lichtenstein still don’t allow female succession. In others, eldest daughters are passed over for their younger brothers - and this still happens in Spain and Monaco.

If this all seems a bit medieval, that's because it is! Monarchy is a system of governance that developed hundreds - or in the case of Japan - more than 1000 years ago, so it can look outdated through a 21st century lens.

But it's enduring, and opinion polls suggest it can be popular. So what does monarchy mean in the modern age? Which royal families are not only surviving, but are expanding their spheres of power and influence, and why the newest "monarchies" in the USA, Russia and China are not even royal at all.

Presenter: Professor Ben Ansell
Producer: Ravi Naik
Editor: Damon Rose

Contributors:
Dr Craig Prescott, specialist in UK Constitutional Law, Royal Holloway, University of London
Adam Hanieh, MBI Jaber Chair of Middle East Studies and Professor in the Development Studies Department at SOAS, University of London.
Stacie Goddard, Betty Freyhof Johnson ’44 Professor of Political Science and Associate Provost, Wellesley College, Massachusetts.
Abe Newman, Professor and John Powers Chair in International Business Diplomacy, Director, BMW Center for German and European Studies, Georgetown University, Washington DC


MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (w3ct977p)
How is AI going to change science?

Are we moving away from science as a strictly human endeavour? This is the view of Pushmeet Kohli, head of AI for Science at Google DeepMind. He joins Tom Whipple to discuss the use of the AI tool Co-Scientist as a collaborator in the lab, and the challenges in making Artificial Intelligence that works in science. Clare Bryant from the University of Cambridge also joins the conversation.

And Steve Brusatte, Professor of Palaeontology at the University of Edinburgh, joins the program to talk about his new book, The Story of Birds, tracing a 150‑million‑year journey from small, feathered dinosaurs to the birds of today.

Plus, science journalist Caroline Steel joins us to discuss the latest scientific discoveries that you might have missed.

Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producers: Dan Welsh and Kate White
Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
Editor: Martin Smith


MON 21:00 Start the Week (m002xg75)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:45 Mary Bourke: Who Cares? (m002cf04)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 today]


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m002xg83)
Trump tells the BBC the US and Iran are 'very close to signing a very powerful deal'

The US president intervened after Iran and Israel launched missiles at each other. We speak to former American Ambassador to Israel, Thomas Nides.

Also in the programme: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants Apple and Google to install software on phones that will prevent children from taking or sharing explicit images – but does the technology exist to make that request a reality? And we ask researchers why a record numbers of octopuses have been spotted off the coast of England.


MON 22:45 Jensen: Black Water by Heidi Amsinck (m002xg85)
Episode 1

A new case, set in Copenhagen, for the investigative reporter.

Jensen is now a single mother, and her own mother, Marion, is living with her to help with childcare. But not even an eight month old daughter is going to stop Jensen from working as she has always worked, digging deepest into a case and annoying her old flame DI Henrik Jungersen.

Late at night, celebrity vegan chef Sonny Velin is found dead in the basement of his prestigious Michelin-starred restaurant, Plant. Some things point to suicide, but if so, why was he found arranged in such a peculiar manner?

And why did he arrange for Jensen to be first on the scene?

Episode 1
Jensen is invited to interview the chef Sonny Velin, at the famous restaurant Plant at midnight, and makes a shocking discovery.

Copenhagen-born Heidi Amsinck has written numerous short stories for radio. Her collection Last Train To Helsingør, was published in 2018. The fifth novel in her ‘Jensen’ series, The Woman In The Wall, was published in April 2026.

Writer: Heidi Amsinck
Reader: MyAnna Buring
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


MON 23:00 Limelight (p0fyppwc)
Bitter Pill

4. Trust Issues

An audio drama series about memory and trauma.

After a traumatic car crash, Mary joins a clinical drug trial that promises a cure for PTSD. The medication triggers intense flashbacks of the accident that left her fiancée comatose. But is Mary simply remembering the event, or reliving it? And if she is actually returning to the past, does that mean she can change her future?

Cast:
Mary ….. Séainín Brennan
Jackie ….. Charlotte McCurry
Carl ……. Shaun Blaney
Eoin ….. Seamus O’Hara
Warren ….. Martin McCann
All other roles were played by the cast and crew.

Writers ….. Michael Patrick & Oisín Kearney
Producer ….. Michael Shannon
Executive Editor ….. Andy Martin

Music composed by Denis Clohessy.
Sound Design by Bill Maul.

A BBC Northern Ireland production.


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002xg87)
Sean Curran reports from Westminster as MPs debate a possible crackdown on children's use of smartphones and social media.

TUESDAY 09 JUNE 2026

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m002xg89)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 00:30 The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard (m002xg7c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002xg8c)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002xg8f)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:00 News Summary (m002xg8h)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002xg8k)
Alicia McCarthy reports as MPs question the government about its plan to stop children taking, sending or receiving nude images.


TUE 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002xg8m)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002xg8p)
Tikkun Olam, the repair of the world

Prayer for the Day presented by Rabbi Warren Elf of the Liverpool Reform Synagogue.

Good morning.

One important component for me about Judaism is the commitment to Tikkun Olam, the repair of the world.

This recognises that the world is not perfect and that we have a responsibility to do something about it, to try to improve things even though we cannot put everything right.

Years ago, I was introduced to a rabbinic saying, by Rabbi Tarfon - as a song, long before I learnt it from the text – “It is not your duty to finish the work but neither are you free to neglect it”. I recall hundreds of young people on summer camps singing the song in Hebrew with gusto, long before they grasped what it was really about.

The words can be applied to all sorts of things but it was very deliberately linked to what God expects of us and what we have to do.

Yet it does not specify what the work is or even in what area it should be focused. We know that there is so much room for improvement in our world, in so many areas, and yet we also know that we, as individuals cannot do everything.

Which is one reason why I think we are stronger when acting together, trying to improve things in our world. And each of us has to decide which areas we want to focus on. I know that I cannot do everything that I would like to act upon. In fact, there are times that I wonder if I am making any real difference in our world or making any improvement whatsoever?

I believe and hope that I am but I am also aware of my failings. So, I pray that every day I can find a way of making even the smallest positive contribution to our world.

I pray that I always find partners to help repair the world, and that I do what I can, bit by bit to make that difference, with others each step of the way.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m002xg8r)
09/06/26 Flood funding, cattle cull, cereals

Somerset's to get an extra £50m investment to help the county deal with flooding. The government is giving the money to the county council who will work in partnership with local drainage boards, communities, the Environment Agency and the Somerset Rivers Authority. Farming Minister Angela Eagle says it will enable farmers to better withstand the growing threat of floods.

Nearly 300 cattle in Scotland are due to be culled because their identification regulations haven't been followed. The Belted Galloways from Home Farm on the Falkland Estate in Fife cannot enter the food chain because they aren't properly registered. Government inspectors due to oversee the cull say they've faced threats online, and will now not attend.

All week we’re delving into the detail of growing cereal crops – wheat, barley and oats. Farmers are used to juggling with the challenges of the weather, but this year there have been several other parts to the tricky equation of making cereal crops profitable. With fertilizer prices rising because of the war in the Middle East, and lower or non-existent support payments following Brexit, where does that leave larger cereal growers, competing in global markets?

Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney


TUE 06:00 Today (m002xdkp)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 The Gift (m002wd93)
Series 3

6. Deleted

After one of the biggest brands in at-home DNA testing is put up for sale - along with the genetic codes of millions of its customers - Jenny decides if she wants to continue to belong to the global DNA database.

In The Gift, Jenny Kleeman has always looked at extraordinary truths that unravel when people take at-home DNA tests. For Series 3, Jenny is asking what it means to belong in a world where the global DNA database keeps expanding.

Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer: Conor Garrett
Production Coordinator: Juliette Harvey
Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

The Gift is a BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 09:30 All in the Mind (m002xdkr)
Political emotions; Shared play; Forgotten women in psychology

In this week’s programme, guest Catherine Loveday, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Westminster, talks to Claudia Hammond about whether people feel emotions about politics differently in the body to everyday emotions.

Visiting the Institute for the Science of Early years & Youth lab, a child developmental psychology lab studying shared play between parents and children, Claudia observes a mum and daughter participating in their latest study and speaks to director and child psychologist Professor Sam Wass from the University of East London. He explains how these parent-child interactions may be fundamental to how families connect with one another and why paying attention to the same things as your children is the best way to help them sustain their attention on their own as they get older.

Dr Madeleine Pownall, a feminist psychologist and associate professor in psychology at the University of Leeds, talks to All in the Mind about her new book Absent Minds: The Untold Story of the Women who Changed Psychology Forever.

Presenter:  Claudia Hammond
Producer:  Helena Selby
Editor: Ilan Goodman
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002xdkt)
Clare Connor, Archers BRCA storyline, Yassmin Abdel-Magied

The Women’s T20 cricket world cup begins on Friday. Nuala McGovern talks to Clare Connor, former England women’s captain, now the outgoing Managing Director of England Women. Over her 18 years in the job Clare has overseen the professionalisation of the women’s game as well as a big boost in the grassroots participation.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch is arguing that the Public Sector Equality Duty should be scrapped. This duty exists to make public authorities think about things like discrimination and the needs of people who are disadvantaged, or suffer inequality, when they make decisions about how they provide their services. This is in addition to their legal obligation not to discriminate against protected groups, including women, under the Equality Act. We speak to BBC political correspondent Alex Forsyth.

The Archers on BBC Radio 4 has been exploring cancer genetics. When Pip discovered a lump in her breast, old fears were revived for her mother Ruth, who survived breast cancer many years earlier. BRCA genes can lead to a higher chance of developing cancer and Pip begins to worry she may be at risk. Felicity Finch, who plays Ruth Archer, joins Nuala along with Julian Barwell, Professor in Genomic Medicine at The University of Leicester.

Sudanese-Australian writer Yassmin Abdel-Magied has written her first novel for adults, At Sea. It’s set on an oil rig in the middle of international waters, and is so detailed on the lifestyle and logistics that it’s perhaps no surprise that Yassmin worked in the industry after studying mechanical engineering at university. She joins Nuala.


TUE 11:00 Add to Playlist (m002x5sx)
Lucy Parham and Nicky Spence explore some familiar Radio 4 theme tunes

Classical pianist Lucy Parham and operatic tenor Nicky Spence are Jeffrey and Anna's studio guests as they compile another five-track playlist. Starting with a memorable scene from Werner Herzog's film Fitzcarraldo, they end up at the queen of the power ballad, stopping off to reveal the background to two very popular tunes regularly played on Radio 4.

Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Quartet from Rigoletto by Verdi
La Flor de la Canela by Chabuca Granda
The Minute Waltz by Chopin
My Native Heath, Suite IV: Barwick Green by Arthur Wood
The Reason by Celine Dion

Other music in this episode:

Cantaloop by Us3
Proud Mary by Ike & Tina Turner
Approaching Menace by Neil Richardson
The Archers Theme by The Yetties
My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion


TUE 11:45 The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard (m002xdkw)
Episode 2

Lea Korsgaard searches for all of Denmark’s butterfly species in one year. She discovers secret places and learns about the rich natural and symbolic history of butterflies.

Butterflies are an intrinsic part of the ecosystem, pollinating plants and acting as food for larger creatures. Their existence is entwined with the plant life and landscapes they make home, but habitats are reducing and with this, butterfly populations are under threat.

Learning about the potential loss of habitat and butterflies, journalist Lea Korsgaard goes on a quest to see all of Denmark’s 64 butterfly species in a single year.

She is a butterfly novice, but over the course of the year, she learns about the extraordinary facts of butterfly metamorphosis, meets passionate experts who show her the secret places where butterflies still proliferate and finds out about the history of collectors for whom butterflies had become an obsession. She finally learns that she has become as hooked as the experts she has met.

In this episode, Lea pursues her search for all the butterfly species in Denmark, ticking off fuce at pace. She learns about the miraculous process of metamorphosis of butterflies, in which the caterpillar munches up its old home. She finds the aptly named green butterfly, the only green one in Denmark, but soon realizes that having seen only six butterflies in two months, the task ahead is more immense than she’d imagined. Can she possibly hope to see them all in a year?

Read by Nicola Walker
Abridged by Sara Davies
Produced by Lisa Lipman
Sound design by Jon Calver
Executive produce:, Jo Rowntree
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m002xdkz)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m002xdl1)
Call You and Yours: How did you get your first job?

More than a million young people are Neets - Not in Employment, Education or Training. It's really tough finding a job right now, the number of starter jobs for young people has halved over the last decade.

Tell us: How did you get your first job?

Online only applications, multiple job interviews, and fewer vacancies have made it tougher to get a foot in the door. Traditional starter jobs in retail and hospitality have fallen - but also in office jobs, like HR, marketing and law.

We want to hear from you if you're looking for a job right now. What is the process like? What's on offer? And, what's the recruitment process like - do you get feedback?

We'd also like to hear from you if you're a business - what is it like trying to recruit people at the moment? And if you work in recruitment, what do you see?

Winifred will be joined by Alice Martin, Head of Research at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University. Alice and her team have analysed job advertisements over the past ten years and spoken to young people about the jobs market.

How did you get your first job?

You can call 03700 100 444 at 11am on Tuesday.

Our ermail address is youandyours@bbc.co.uk

PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: LYDIA THOMAS


TUE 12:57 Weather (m002xdl3)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m002xdl5)
A brutal knife attack in Belfast

Shock in the local community and anger online as a Sudanese man is arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. We'll hear from the scene and from the local MP, as attention once again turns to an act of violence on the streets of the UK. Also on the programme, worrying levels of violence and "rife" drug use at HMP Woodhill, a Milton Keynes prison. The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, tells us that staff shortages are to blame. And, low tickets sales and travel restrictions cause controversy in the countdown to the football World Cup. We'll hear the latest, days before the tournament kicks off.


TUE 13:45 Politically (m002xjkv)
Ten Years After Brexit

2. Trade

During the Brexit referendum, the Leave campaign argued that exiting the EU would allow the UK to sign more lucrative independent trade deals with other nations. Remainers warned that leaving the single market and customs union would increase friction with the EU, our nearest and largest trading partner. What can we say about Brexit's impact on UK trade, five years on from leaving the single market and customs union?

In this episode Alex Forsyth speaks to Sam Lowe, head of Trade and Market Access at Flint Global, and Soumaya Keynes, economics columnist at the Financial Times and co-author of the book “How to Win a Trade War”, about whether the trade off has been worth it.

Presenter: Alex Forsyth
Producers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzie
Editor: Richard Vadon
Studio engineer and sound mix: James Beard
Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m002xdl7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Our Friends in the North (m0015vhz)
Episode 3: 1967

Peter Flannery once famously said of Our Friends in the North, "... it's just a posh soap opera - but it's a posh soap opera with something to say."

Ambitious in scale and scope, the drama chronicles the lives of four friends over three decades beginning in the 1964. The series tackles corporate, political and police corruption in the 1960s, the rise and fall of the Soho porn empires in the 1970s, the Miners’ Strike of the 1980s and the rise of New Labour in the 1990s. Some of the stories are directly based on the real-life controversies involving T. Dan Smith and John Poulson in Newcastle during the 60s and 70s. The adapted series now ends with a new, tenth episode by writer Adam Usden, bringing the story up to the present day.

The third episode opens in 1967. Nicky has turned his back on the Labour Party and is now looking to the anarchists for solutions, Mary and Tosker’s new high-rise flat in Newcastle is almost uninhabitable and, in London, Geordie has fallen in love with his boss’s mistress Jools - a dangerous game. The government are desperate to clean up Soho - Scotland Yard’s Dirty Squad, together with porn baron Benny Barratt, come up with a solution.

Cast
Geordie: Luke MacGregor
DI Salway / Tosker: Philip Correia
DS Conrad: Andrew Byron
Julia / Mary: Norah Lopez-Holden
Benny Barratt / Eddie Wells: Tony Hirst
Commander Harold Chapple: James Gaddas
Austin Donohue / Claud Seabrook: Tom Goodman-Hill
John Edwards: Maanuv Thiara
Sandra: Tracey Wilkinson
Helen: Eve Shotton

Writer: Peter Flannery
Studio Engineer: Paul Clark
Sound Design: Jon Nicholls
Trainee Production Co-ordinator: Emma O'Mahoney
Producer: Melanie Harris
Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer

A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 15:00 History's Heroes (p0n0y19p)
Sophie Blanchard Takes to the Skies

In 19th Century France, a young woman escapes a life of drudgery, faces her fears and finds worldwide fame as an aeronaut. Sophie Blanchard performs for Napoleon and eventually becomes the official aeronaut of the Restoration. But as her hot air balloon shows become more and more ambitious, can she keep cheating death?

Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.

A BBC Studios production.

Producer: Lorna Reader
Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts


TUE 15:30 Thinking Allowed (m002xdlb)
Football and gambling

As a new World Cup approaches, what does it mean that gambling now sits so close to the heart of football - and how far has the game travelled from its local roots?

Laurie Taylor explores two distinct ways of understanding football’s place in contemporary society. He’s joined by Darragh McGee from the University of Bath, whose book Imitation Games charts the rapid rise of gambling and its growing entanglement with the sport. McGee reflects on how this shift has been normalised, particularly among younger supporters, and considers the broader social consequences of an increasingly immersive and continuous online gambling environment.

Adam Dinsmore from Manchester Metropolitan University's Institute of Sport focuses not on football’s global reach but on its local meanings. Drawing on research with supporters in post-industrial towns such as Blackburn and Middlesbrough, he examines how football clubs continue to function as powerful symbols of place-identity. In communities shaped by de-industrialisation, where traditional forms of work and collective life have eroded, the local club often remains one of the last enduring institutions linking past and present.

Producer: Natalia Fernandez
Editor: Robyn Read


TUE 16:00 Poetry Please (m002xdld)
At the Hay Festival

A special edition recorded with an audience at the Hay Festival.

Roger McGough celebrates the show with a selection of the most requested poems on Poetry Please sprinkled with a few of his own. He’s joined by impressionist, actor and comedian Alistair McGowan who also writes poetry. Expect a journey through some of the nation’s favourite poems as well as a few laughs as well as some unexpected ‘guest appearances’ courtesy of Alistair.

Producer: Maggie Ayre for BBC Audio, Bristol.


TUE 16:30 What's Up Docs? (m002xdlg)
Are friends good for your health?

Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where identical twin doctors Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.

In this episode, the Docs take a look at the impact our friendships have on our physical health. Why different friendship styles are important and how we can maintain and nurture our social connections.

Joining them is Dr Tiffany Watt Smith, a writer and cultural historian interested in the histories of emotion and medicine.

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: Tiffany Watt Smith
Producer and researcher: Faye Lyons-White
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Visual Producer: 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 (m002xdlj)
Fear and anger in Belfast after a brutal filmed knife attack

Belfast a city in shock following a brutal filmed knife attack. A local community worker gives his reaction and former Northern Ireland Secretary Connor Burns calls for calm. Also on PM: Defence industry trade body ADS criticises the government over delays to its defence investment plan, New York prepares for the World Cup, and famous conductor Marin Alsop on a new musical tribute to the architect and artist Gaudi on the eve of the 100th anniversary of his death.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002xdll)
The Prime Minister condemns a stabbing in Belfast as 'horrific'

Police say the suspect is a refugee from Sudan, in his thirties. Also: President Trump says the US must respond after Iran shot down an American helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz. And: NASA names the four astronauts who will take part in the Artemis Three mission.


TUE 18:30 One Person Found This Helpful (m002xdln)
Series 4

Trouble with Lint

Frank and guests Rajiv Karia, Scott Bennett, Bella Hull and Laura Smyth learn about fat necks, ice sculptures and the most fun you can have while sweating in a boiler suit. Clue - it doesn’t involve lizards!

Everyone has an online life, and when the great British public put pen to keyboard to leave a review, they almost always write something hilarious. And our all-star panel have to work out just what they were reviewing – and maybe contribute a few reviews of their own. So if you’re the person who went on Trip Advisor to review Ben Nevis as “Very steep and too high”, this show salutes you!

Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Jason Hazeley, Karl Minns, Katie Sayer and Peter Tellouche, with additional material by Darren Phillips and Kevin Smith.

Devised by Jason Hazeley and Simon Evans with the producer David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m002xdlq)
Helen gets a call from Jack’s school about an accusation of bad behaviour. Helen then tells Jakob she promised Kirsty she’d go to her pre-natal scan and tests this afternoon, but the school are insisting Helen goes in. Jakob offers to take Kirsty instead. At the hospital Kirsty confesses to feeling more than anxious, before Jakob agrees to film the scan on Erik’s behalf. Otherwise, his attempts to help Kirsty relax are typically misguided. Driving back, they reflect on a clear scan, but Kirsty will have to wait for the test results. Kirsty then thanks Jakob for saving her day.

While eating lunch in the garden Tracy tells Jazzer about Pat and Tony’s concerns over her not accepting Helen’s offer. She insists she likes working in the Dairy, though she prefers The Bull. But Helen keeps pushing her for an answer – and now she’s moved in next door as well. Jazzer reckons the real reason for Tracy’s hesitation is Bert. Later, Helen fumes over the fence to Tracy about the accusation made against Jack. Helen doesn’t have much faith in the deputy head, especially in light of a recent poor Ofsted report, then tells Tracy she needs an answer about the job by Thursday. Jazzer pushes Tracy to admit she’s done more than her fair share of looking after Bert, before Tracy declares she loves him and misses having him around. If she takes the job she’d be admitting he’s not coming back. Jazzer forces the issue and Tracy agrees, if Bert says he wants to stay at Clive’s then she’ll accept Helen’s offer.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m002xdls)
Barry Manilow brings the Manilow magic to Front Row

Barry Manilow on maintaining his musical curiosity as he releases his 33rd studio album, What A Time, and what it's like to have one of his biggest hits, Copacabana, sung by Sabrina Carpenter.

With the start of the World Cup this week, sports photographer Tom Jenkins, and Tim Marlow, Director of The Design Museum and one of the judges for this year's Football Art Prize at the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield, discuss the art of making art out football.

As the Rambert dance company turns 100, Amanda Britton, one of its former leading dancers and now Principal and Artistic Director of Rambert School, reflects on the company's distinctive approach to dance.

For 400 years the largest collection of notes - the Codex Atlanticus - by Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci have remained divided with those deemed artistic kept in the UK in the Royal Collection, and those with a scientific focus retained in Italy. Leading authority on all matters Leonardo, Professor Martin Kemp on the new digital platform, the Leonardotheka, which has just reunited the notes and made them publicly accessible.

Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Ekene Akalawu


TUE 20:00 File on 4 Investigates (m002xdlv)
Tricked into pregnancy? The Liv Nervo story

Liv Nervo is one of the world’s most successful female DJs, who along with her twin sister, make up NERVO. She was starting a family with a man she believed was the love of her life - but at six months pregnant, she discovered he had been living a double life. She says she entered the relationship under false pretences and wouldn't have consented to sex had she known the truth about his other relationship.

What happened to her reveals an intense debate about consent, the law and a lesser-known form of domestic abuse called reproductive coercion.

G for guidance - this programme contains strong language.

Presenter: Alys Harte
Producer: Ben Robinson
Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards
Production Manager: Tom Dunster
Editor: Tara McDermott


TUE 20:40 In Touch (m002xdlx)
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists' New President & Questions about the future of Braille

With ophthalmology being the busiest NHS outpatient specialty, with around 9.7 million appointments in England in 2024, the Royal College of Ophthalmology's new president, Mohamed Elalfy undoubtedly has a busy three years in the role ahead. Mohamed speaks with In Touch about his plans for the College and about issues of concern to eye health and care patients, including the issue of long waiting times for appointments and potential new treatments for eye diseases.

Caroline Mackenzie contacted In Touch with concerns over whether or not her young grandson should learn braille. She has been wondering whether or not it will be worth his time, given how quickly assistive technology is evolving. Does braille have a future in the face of evolving technologies? To share your thoughts on this, please email intouch@bbc.co.uk or leave a voice message on 0161 836 1338.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Helen Surtees
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual 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 a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.


TUE 21:00 The Law Show (m002x5h1)
Why were three teen rapists not given custodial sentences?

Note: this episode contains frequent references to rape, sexual assault and physical assault.

There's been public confusion and outrage over the sentences given to three teenage boys, who were convicted of rape.

In November 2024 and January 2025, two girls, then aged 15 and 14, were attacked in separate incidents in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, by two 14-year-olds. Another boy, then 13, was also convicted for his involvement in the second rape.

The teenage boys were given youth rehabilitation orders and walked out of court with 10 rape convictions between them.

The Prime Minister says the case will be referred to the Court of Appeal. He described the case as distressing and said "there are questions about the sentence". One of the girls who was raped told the BBC that the judge's decision was like a "rock straight in my face".

So what are the likely reasons why the three teenage boys were given non-custodial sentences?
What is the guidance around youth sentencing, and what are youth rehabilitation orders?
How do youth courts - and youth custody - work, and how does the system differ from the adult courts in England and Wales?
And does the adversarial nature of our criminal justice system lead to vulnerable victims being re-traumatised?

Presenter: Dr Joelle Grogan
Producers: Ravi Naik and Ivana Davidovic
Editor: Damon Rose

Contributors:
Kirsty Brimelow KC, Chair of the Bar Council of England and Wales
Dr Charlotte Proudman, a barrister who specialises in family law and human rights
Dr Kathy Hampson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Aberystwyth University


TUE 21:30 The Bottom Line (m002x5jz)
Trainer Wars

The 2026 London Marathon saw new world record times set in both the men's and women's events. Eyes weren't just on the winning athletes but also on the Adidas trainers they were wearing. So what goes into designing and making a pair of trainers and why have some of them become so expensive to buy? Global sales for trainers are in the tens of billions of dollars with hundreds of new styles being produced every year. How does the industry keep up with demand and stay on trend? Giant companies like Nike and Adidas, who dominated the industry for decades, can no longer take anything for granted. Newer brands like On and Hoka have managed to break through and are shaking things up. How have they managed to do it? Evan Davis gets some insights and answers from people who work in the industry.

Guests:
Tony Evans: Managing Director of Jacobson Group
Tom Astrella: Co-founder The Footsoldiers
Wayne Edy: Founder and CEO of Inov8

Presenter: Evan Davis
Producer: Sally Abrahams & Nick Holland
Sounds: Dave O'Neill and Frank McWeeny
Editor: Sam Bonham


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m002xdlz)
Violent protests in Belfast after knife attack

Police and politicians in Belfast have called for calm after violent protests took place across the city. It comes as a man has been charged with attempted murder over a knife attack on Monday night. Police described the alleged attacker as a Sudanese man, who the Home Office said entered the UK in 2023 and was granted refugee status. We hear more about the social and political context of tonight's unrest.

Also on the programme: we get reaction from the GMB Union to the Defence Secretary's pledge to buy British and find out why an American actor decided to learn Welsh to appear on the BBC's longest running TV soap.


TUE 22:45 Jensen: Black Water by Heidi Amsinck (m002xdm1)
Episode 2

A new case, set in Copenhagen, for the investigative reporter.

Jensen is now a single mother, and her own mother, Marion, is living with her to help with childcare. But not even an eight month old daughter is going to stop Jensen from working as she has always worked, digging deepest into a case and annoying her old flame DI Henrik Jungersen.

Late at night, celebrity vegan chef Sonny Velin is found dead in the basement of his prestigious Michelin-starred restaurant, Plant. Some things point to suicide, but if so, why was he found arranged in such a peculiar manner?

And why did he arrange for Jensen to be first on the scene?

Episode 2
Why was Sonny arranged in death like a character from book of nursery rhymes? While Jensen and Gustav interview one of Sonny’s rivals, CC footage leads Henrik to make an arrest.

Copenhagen-born Heidi Amsinck has written numerous short stories for radio. Her collection Last Train To Helsingør, was published in 2018. The fifth novel in her ‘Jensen’ series, The Woman In The Wall, was published in April 2026.

Writer: Heidi Amsinck
Reader: MyAnna Buring
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:00 Uncanny (m002xdm4)
Cold Cases

Case 10: The Great Amherst Mystery

Danny and the team travel back to Canada in the 1870s to investigate the Great Amherst Mystery - one of the most famous and perplexing paranormal cases to come to light during the Golden Age of Spiritualism.

18 year old Esther Cox is the centre of a series of inexplicable, possibly paranormal events - phantom knocking, ghostly messages, and a series of spontaneous fires that start inside the walls of her house.

But is she the victim of a possible paranormal entity, or the mastermind of a devious hoax?

Presented by Danny Robins
Experts: Evelyn Hollow and Dr Ciaran O'Keeffe
Story sections by Sarah Morgan
Research by Nancy Bottomley
Filming and editing by Robb Leech
Editing and sound design by Charlie Brandon-King
Theme music by Katherine Priddy
Theme co-produced by Jennifer Ann Keller
Incidental music by Evelyn Sykes
Commissioning executive: Paula McDonnell
Commissioning editor: Rhian Roberts
Produced by Simon Barnard and Victoria Lloyd
A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002xdm6)
Alicia McCarthy reports as Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn appeals for calm after the Belfast knife attack.

WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2026

WED 00:00 Midnight News (m002xdm8)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


WED 00:30 The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard (m002xdkw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002xdmb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002xdmd)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:00 News Summary (m002xdmg)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


WED 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002xdmj)
Sean Curran reports as MPs condemn the stabbing in Northern Ireland - and a minister admits a decision about a centre for asylum seekers was mishandled.


WED 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002xdml)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002xdmn)
Food brings us together

Prayer for the Day presented by Rabbi Warren Elf of the Liverpool Reform Synagogue.

Good morning.

I come across many Jewish people who would identify themselves as cultural Jews. By that I think many of them mean that they are not religious, are not big on God, do not necessarily keep many of the religious rules and traditions and even do not ‘do’ most of the festivals and holy days.

The way that many of them might connect with religious life and special days is gastronomically, through traditional (or not so traditional) foods.

It is often joked that the essence of most Jewish holidays is ‘they’ tried to kill us, God saved us, let’s eat!

Of course there are other reasons for Jewish festivals, but food is often a reason that people get together to celebrate, even when the religious side is not important to them.

Food is important and can bring us together in so many ways. Someone who asked “what is Jewish food” was told “the food that Jews eat”! It’s as simple, or as complicated, as that and probably depends on where in the world our families come from and what foods we ate in those countries or regions.

In the Ashkenazi world, gefilte or chopped and fried fish, brisket, and chicken soup are essential. For Sephardim, the Shabbat stew adafina, pastries like bourekas, and stuffed vegetables are vital. Ethiopian Jews often celebrate Shabbat with the spiced chicken dish doro wat, Bukharians are known for the herb-laced dish bahksh, and Romans for their artichokes. There are so many more!

So today I pray that whatever I choose to eat and whoever I choose to eat with, I am always grateful to those who helped get the food to my table. May I always thank God and the farmers and the producers of my food with blessings and other expressions of gratitude.

And may I always try to share what I have with others around me, especially with those who may not always have food.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (m002xdmq)
10/06/26 New bovine TB strategy for England, cereals

A cattle vaccine to protect livestock from bovine TB could be in use on farms in England by 2030. That's one of the aims outlined in a new strategy for the eradication of bovine TB. The government commissioned it and has just released the details. We hear from the farmer who chairs the Steering Group behind the strategy which aims to get rid of the disease on farm by 2038.

This week we are looking at cereals, with the current pressures on cereal farming such as high fertiliser and fuel costs, and an unusually hot and dry spring, finding more hardy and efficient varieties of cereals has become vital. The agricultural research organisation, NIAB, has been running a trial in Norfolk to do exactly this.

Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney


WED 06:00 Today (m002xdnw)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 More or Less (m002xdny)
Education, Education, Education (and immigration)

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week:

(00:32) The internet is abuzz with the claim that twenty-seven young migrants are hired for every British young person. We explore the truth behind this misleading claim.

(08:40) Last year two nerds made a bet on our programme. Those nerds are Substacker Sam Freedman and Maxwell Marlow from the Adam Smith Institute, and they were betting on how the government’s introduction of VAT on school fees would affect pupil numbers. The results are in…

(16:10) We revisit the topic of Welsh literacy after a raft of questions from loyal listeners. Could dual-language teaching explain Wales’ poor reading scores?

(21:53) A Maths A-Level exam was so hard it inspired 30,000 people to sign a petition. But what made it so difficult, and will it make a difference to pupils’ grades?

More or Less is the programme that looks at numbers and statistics in news and in life. We’re always looking for questions from listeners - you can contact us on moreorless@bbc.co.uk.

Guests:

Maxwell Marlow - Director of Public Affairs at the Adam Smith Institute
Sam Freedman - Author of ‘Comment is Freed’ Substack
John Jerrim - Professor of Education and Social Statistics at University College, London
Sebastian Bicen - maths YouTuber and former school maths teacher


Presenter: Tim Harford
Series Producer: Tom Colls
Reporter: Lizzy McNeill
Producers: Nathan Gower, Josh McMinn
Editor: Richard Vadon
Programme Coordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Engineer: James Beard


WED 09:30 Intrigue (m002xdp0)
To Catch a King

5. Travel Agents

A Turkish smuggler and his money man reveal more about alliances between criminal gangs.

A journalist and an ex-soldier search for the identity of a people smuggler believed to be responsible for thousands of illegal crossings to the UK by small boats and lorries.

They start with a false name: Kardo Ranya. A man who has evaded arrest for several years by keeping his real identity a closely guarded secret. It makes it near impossible for law enforcement agencies to issue and international arrest warrant.

Sue and Rob know what he looks like from social media posts advertising his crossings and lifestyle. Their search takes them across Europe and to the Middle East, where they discover a network of powerful smugglers operating from a town in Northern Iraq.

It’s two years since Sue and Rob located a gang leader in their podcast Intrigue: To Catch a Scorpion and the illegal business of migrant journeys is more dangerous and ruthless than before.

Their investigation reveals the inner mechanics of the smuggling trade and shows in close focus the people who currently control it as they search for a kingpin behind dangerous crossings to the UK by boat and lorry.

A secret meeting, a missing person and a worried family. Who is the man connecting them?

The series is recorded and presented by Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie

It’s produced by Joel Moors

Original music is by Mom Tudie and sound design and mix is by Tom Brignell


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002xdp2)
Kanye West allegations, SEND, Author Doireann Ní Ghríofa

A model who alleges Kanye West choked her on a music video set has told the BBC she was left feeling "suffocated, unsure and scared". Jennifer An, a former contestant on America's Next Top Model, is suing the rapper, now known as Ye, over an encounter she alleges took place in 2010. Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty, presenter of BBC podcast Fame Under Fire, has interviewed Jennifer An and joins us to explain the story.

A British woman has become the first ever to cross the Atlantic in a hydrogen gas balloon. Alicia Hempleman-Adams, from near Bath, set off from Maine in the US late on Wednesday and landed in Luxembourg on Sunday with her teammates Bert Padelt and Peter Cuneo. Alicia Hempleman-Adams took the spot on the crew of her father David, who has completed the flight twice before. She joins us live.

The government has just announced how it is planning to roll out quicker and easier access to educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, and occupational therapists for SEND families. Nuala speaks to the Schools Minister Georgia Gould plus Principal Educational Psychologist for Salford Claire Jackson about the upcoming Experts at Hand programme.

And the award-winning writer and poet Doireann Ní Ghríofa devoted three years of her life to researching and imagining the lives of the women who once inhabited the Victorian asylum in Cork. In her immersive work of creative non-fiction, Said the Dead, we meet some of the women who lived and worked in that institution between the 1890s and the 1920s. Doireann Ní Ghríofa joins Nuala to explain how she went about writing these vulnerable, often voiceless women back to life.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Simon Richardson


WED 11:00 File on 4 Investigates (m002xdlv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Tuesday]


WED 11:40 This Week in History (m002xdp4)
June 8th to June 14th

Fascinating, surprising and eye-opening stories from the past, brought to life..

8th June 793: A Viking raid on the island of Lindisfarne marks the beginning of the Viking Age in Europe.

9th June 1975: The first live transmission from the House of Commons is broadcast on the radio.

9th June 1898: China leases Hong Kong to Britain for 99 years.


WED 11:45 The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard (m002xdp6)
Episode 3

Lea Korsgaard searches for all of Denmark’s butterfly species in one year. She discovers secret places and learns about the rich natural and symbolic history of butterflies.

Butterflies are an intrinsic part of the ecosystem, pollinating plants and acting as food for larger creatures. Their existence is entwined with the plant life and landscapes they make home, but habitats are reducing and with this, butterfly populations are under threat.

Learning about the potential loss of habitat and butterflies, journalist Lea Korsgaard goes on a quest to see all of Denmark’s 64 butterfly species in a single year.

She is a butterfly novice, but over the course of the year, she learns about the extraordinary facts of butterfly metamorphosis, meets passionate experts who show her the secret places where butterflies still proliferate and finds out about the history of collectors for whom butterflies had become an obsession. She finally learns that she has become as hooked as the experts she has met.

In episode 3, Lea goes in search of the rarest butterfly in Denmark and gets advice from an expert about where she will find it. She learns about how early 20th century collectors would kill their discoveries and preserve them, a practise not used today. Getting into the swing of collecting herself, she learns to document her discoveries with a camera instead.

Her discovery of the rarest butterfly is bittersweet as she discovers from the experts accompanying her that they have been rapidly on the decline in numbers due to habitat loss and could become extinct. Armed with this new information, her quest acquires more urgency as she hopes she’ll find her 64 species, while they still survive.

Read by Nicola Walker
Abridged by Sara Davies
Produced by Lisa Lipman
Sound design by Jon Calver
Executive produce:, Jo Rowntree
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


WED 12:00 News Summary (m002xdp8)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:04 You and Yours (m002xdpb)
Hacked Emails, Flight Refunds, Highland Cows

Our reporter Shari Vahl examines some of the techniques that criminals can use to get into your bank account and explores some of the reasons why. It includes things like accessing bank data, intercepting large bank transfers and even booking fake holidays.

When you book a flight, you cannot usually cancel it. However, in the most awful of circumstances, such as serious illness or bereavements, many airlines will make exceptions. We’ll hear from a listener who wanted to cancel flights booked with Ryanair following her daughter’s cancer diagnosis, and how the airline refused to make an exception.

The upcoming men’s football World Cup is set to be the longest ever, with more than 100 matches over six weeks. With multiple matches a day set to be played all through the night, will it be a difficult time for problem gamblers?

Why are there suddenly Highland cows on everything? Whether browsing homewares online or on the shelves in garden centres, these cows with shaggy coats and long fringes are everywhere. The Range, Next and Dunelm all stock hundreds of items featuring them, but how much is too much?


WED 12:57 Weather (m002xdpd)
The latest weather forecast


WED 13:00 World at One (m002xdpg)
People in Belfast count the cost of a night of disorder

A night of violence and disorder in Belfast: the city reacts. A thirty year old Sudanese man appears in court charged with attempted murder, threats to kill an NHS radiographer and possession of a knife. He entered the UK in 2023 and was given refugee status. WATO discusses whether tighter border controls are needed. Also a breakthrough in prostate cancer treatment in England, and football manager Neil Warnock looks at what makes a good football chant in light of criticism of US fans' efforts ahead of the World Cup's opening.


WED 13:45 Politically (m002xjqy)
Ten Years After Brexit

3: Immigration

The debate on immigration was at the heart of the Brexit referendum, and sparked strong emotions from both Leave and Remain voters. Those who voted for Brexit saw it as an opportunity to ‘take back control’ of the country’s borders and, by implication, lower immigration. But in the years immediately after Brexit, the country saw its highest ever levels of net migration. Did Brexit fail in its promise to voters on immigration? And why does the issue continue to be such a central concern in our politics today?

Alex Forsyth speaks to James Bowes, a data analyst at the University of Warwick, and Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, about how we should assess Brexit’s success in tackling immigration.

Presenter: Alex Forsyth
Producers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzie
Editor: Richard Vadon
Studio engineer and sound mix: James Beard
Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley


WED 14:00 The Archers (m002xdlq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Trust (m0019z4v)
Series 3 – 3. Going Green

Trust by Jonathan Hall 3/3
East Salford Academy has just had a biomass boiler fitted. Whilst acknowledging that the school has to go green, Yvette discovers it is costly and unreliable. And with the vaccination roll out for the kids in progress, a dodgy boiler is the last thing she needs.
Yvette..........................Julie Hesmondhalgh
Sir Ken.........................Jonathan Keeble
Tim...............................Ashley Margolis
Dhrutti........................Mina Anwar
Carol/Joy....................Susan Twist
Billy...............................Jason Done
Gunner.........................James Quinn
Director/Producer Gary Brown


WED 15:00 The Law Show (m002xdpj)
Political donations and the law

The Representation of the People Bill 2026 is in the King’s Speech which means it’s on the Government’s legislative agenda and is going through Parliament.

The Bill covers parliamentary ballots cross the UK, and contains sweeping changes, including giving 16 and 17 year-olds the right to vote in a general election and referendums.

The Bill also aims to strengthen the rules around political donations. Giving money to a political party is completely legal, if you are on the UK electoral register, are a UK registered company or UK-registered organisation, but is there a limit on the size of your contribution? Can you be an anonymous donor or pay in cryptocurrency? How are the laws about political party funding being tightened up?

And what about individual MPs? Are they allowed to receive personal donations, and do they have to declare them?

Presenter: Dr Joelle Grogan
Producers: Ravi Naik and Ivana Davidovic
Editor: Damon Rose

Contributors:
Dr Sam Power, Lecturer at Bristol University, and an expert in political financing, electoral regulation and corruption.
Hannah Perry, Interim Director of Demos Digital, a cross-party pro-democracy think tank
Joanne Wheeler, Managing Partner at Alden legal, and a leading international expert in the field of satellite and space law.


WED 15:30 The Artificial Human (m002xdpl)
3. Can AI help us win the World Cup?

The 2026 World Cup is just around the corner, with England and Scotland heading overseas to play for their countries. FIFA has called it the most technologically advanced tournament yet, with all 48 teams given access to the same AI tools, designed to democratise elite football intelligence.

So how will this year’s competition look, with every team now using AI as part of their training and strategy? And could it help us win the World Cup?

We’ll be speaking to Stuart Fenton from Reading FC, the first Head of AI appointed by an English club, who’ll explain how they’re using AI to transform the club and push towards the Premier League.

Plus, we’ll hear from Agnieszka Antoszkiewicz, CEO of OrdoStrategica and former Integrity Manager at FIFA, on how AI-driven changes are impacting the game, and whether the rules and safeguards are keeping up.

Presenters: Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong
Producer: Rachael O'Neill
Sound: Niall Young


WED 16:00 When It Hits the Fan (m002xdpn)
Hunter Biden: Back from the Brink

When you're routinely described as a crackhead and convicted felon who uses sex workers, it's fair to say your reputation can't get much worse.

And so we turn to Hunter Biden. Often labelled the 'black sheep' of the Biden family and a man who's been torn apart in the media.

And yet, he is now being lauded (by some) for his attempts at reputational rehabilitation - including a blistering foray on X, where he's taken on his trolls head on. David and Farzana discuss whether going into the lions den is a smart PR move - and why, when you own your mistakes, use humour and honesty, you leave your critics with very little ammo.

On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, the multi-trillion dollar PR story being told right now. As Space X prepares to launch on the stock market (with Anthropic and OpenAI closely following behind), what moves are at play to try and get you to part with your cash?

Plus, why sitting on the fence can be a really bad PR move. Just ask Elmo from Sesame Street. Famously from The Big Apple, he's infuriated fans of the New York Knicks basketball team for posting a message saying he hopes 'both teams have fun' in the NBA finals.

As David and Farzana explain, he's guilty of 'bothsideism.' With the World Cup just around the corner, there's a lesson here for anyone in the public eye.

Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4


WED 16:15 The Media Show (m002xdpq)
Alex Kay-Jelski, World Cup coverage, Belfast reporting, Influencers in Russia

As the World Cup kicks off, Ros and Katie speak to Alex Kay-Jelski, the BBC’s Director of Sport about his ambitions for the tournament and vision for BBC Sport. We also hear from two football journalists covering the World Cup: Craig Hope from the Daily Mail is reporting on the England team from Orlando, while Daniel Storey from The i is embarking on a solo road trip across the US.

Also on the programme, the BBC’s Dan Johnson reflects on his experience covering the disorder in Belfast following Monday night’s knife attack. Plus, Samantha Berkhead from The Moscow Times and Evie Aspinall from the British Foreign Policy Group discuss how states use influencers to wield soft power around the world.


WED 17:00 PM (m002xdps)
Fear and violence in Belfast

Masked men go door-to-door after a knife attack in the city - witnesses say they were seeking out foreigners. We have a report from Belfast, and an MP from the Republic joins to discuss migration between North and South. Also tonight, with the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan expected any day, can Britain pay its way on military spending? We hear about the driverless taxis coming soon to the nation's capital, and we discuss the politics of the office World Cup sweepstake. Evan Davis presents.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002xdpv)
The family of the victim of Monday's stabbing in Belfast speak out following unrest

A court has heard that Stephen Ogilvy has lost his left eye, his right eye is damaged, and he has neck and back injuries. The suspect, Hadi Alodid, has been charged with attempted murder. Also: President Trump threatens to hit Iran 'hard'. And: England's cricket captain, Ben Stokes, has been left out of the squad for the second Test against New Zealand.


WED 18:30 Stand-Up Specials (m002xdpx)
Ian Smith Is Stressed - Series 2

4. Fertility

Ian Smith takes us on a personal journey through his own struggles with male fertility. Personal battles with micro-plastics, bus-timetables, superfast wi-fi, shamans and more in the series finale of Ian Smith is Stressed.

Written and performed by Ian Smith
Additional Material from Mike Shephard and Rhiannon Shaw
Assistant Producer - Em Humble
Production Manager - Laura Shaw
Produced by Benjamin Sutton
A Daddy’s SuperYacht Production for BBC Radio 4


WED 19:00 The Archers (m002xdpz)
At Home Farm David tackles Brian about the wisdom of going it alone, but Brian’s determined it’s the only course to follow, after the way Adam and Debbie ambushed him. David argues Adam’s case as a great farmer, also citing Brian’s U-turn over the inheritance. Brian firmly rebuts David’s intercession on Adam’s behalf, before Ed approaches, having overheard some of this. Ed then tells David how difficult it is being caught between Adam and Brian. Later, David informs Amber that the Borchester Show wi-fi has been upgraded but admits there are two big gaps among the trade stands, including the car dealership one. Amber tells David she might be able to help with that… Amber then drops in at Little Grange, seeking Ed’s advice about whether she should ask her dad to take the car dealership stand, when things are still fraught between her and her parents. Ed reckons it should work as a straightforward business proposition.

Martyn calls Adam to check this afternoon’s meeting is still on and to express concern over Brian’s recent behaviour. Adam then phones irritable Brian, wanting to make sure they’re singing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to the Estate contract. The meeting itself is tricky, with Martyn seeking reassurance the contract will be fulfilled. However, Brian makes a mistake over a detail in the schedule and when Martyn pulls him up on this Brian storms out, leaving Adam to cover. But for Martyn this is the last chance for Home Farm.


WED 19:15 Front Row (m002xdq1)
Scotland's National Poet Peter Mackay honours the country's football team

Scotland's Makar Peter Mackay on his poems honouring Scotland's football team as they head to the FIFA World Cup - one, his own work, the other curated from lines submitted by members of the public. Can they help propel the team to victory in their first tournament in many years?

Crime writer Denise Mina tells us about the extraordinary true crime case that inspired her book The Last Drop, now adapted into a theatre production at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre.

Outdoor theatre takes place across the summer, around the UK. But what are the challenges it presents, given our 'unpredictable' climate? Gordon Barr of Bard in the Botanics in Glasgow and James Pidgeon of Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London discuss.

And as Pope Leo celebrates mass in architect Antoni Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, we speak to the author of a new biography of Gaudi, Peter Stanford about the building's cultural and religious significance, and turbulent history.

Presenter: Kate Molleson
Producer: Mark Crossan


WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m002xdq3)
Is the World Cup morally compromised?

The 2026 World Cup is the biggest in the tournament's history, with 48 teams playing 104 matches across three countries: The United States, Mexico and Canada.

For many, this summer's competition reveals that the game has drifted irreversibly from its working-class roots. Ticket prices are prohibitive for ordinary fans. FIFA's governance has been dogged by corruption scandals. Money and power have thoroughly colonised its institutions. And human rights groups warn this tournament will be a “bonanza of sportswashing”, consciously deployed by a US administration conducting mass deportations of migrants, many of them Latin American, as soft-power cover.

But others argue that markets set prices and fans made their choice. Commercialisation is the price of the game's global reach and football's globalisation has been a democratic force. Free-to-air coverage means the World Cup remains genuinely universal. For supporters of nations qualifying for the first time in decades, this is pure, uncomplicated joy. Some contend that those who weaponise sport for political protest are doing exactly what they accuse Trump of: subordinating the game to an agenda. And if moral purity were the admission criterion, no tournament would ever be staged anywhere.

Is the World Cup morally compromised?

Chair: Michael Buerk
Panel: Ash Sarkar, Giles Fraser, Matthew Taylor and Jonathan Sumption
Witnesses: Minky Worden, Mark Littlewood, Kieran Maguire and Graham Spiers
Producer: Dan Tierney
Assistant Producer: Peter Everett
Editor: Chloe Walker


WED 21:00 The Gift (m002wd93)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 All in the Mind (m002xdkr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Tuesday]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m002xdq5)
Anti-migrant violence rocks Belfast for second night

Anti-migrant violence continued in Belfast for a second night after a stabbing attack allegedly by a Sudanese asylum seeker resulted in a man losing his left eye. Immigrants described fleeing their homes in terror after gangs of masked people targeted them last night. We hear from two women from the Sudanese community in Belfast and speak to a local politician.

Also on the programme: more women than ever are sleeping rough in England, we hear about the challenges they face.

With an uptick in the number of children who say they enjoy reading for pleasure, we ask: how to keep up the momentum?

And on the eve of the World Cup, we'll hear how the Cornish introduced football - as well as their signature dish - to co-hosts Mexico.


WED 22:45 Jensen: Black Water by Heidi Amsinck (m002xdq7)
Episode 3

A new case, set in Copenhagen, for the investigative reporter.

Jensen is now a single mother, and her own mother, Marion, is living with her to help with childcare. But not even an eight month old daughter is going to stop Jensen from working as she has always worked, digging deepest into a case and annoying her old flame DI Henrik Jungersen.

Late at night, celebrity vegan chef Sonny Velin is found dead in the basement of his prestigious Michelin-starred restaurant, Plant. Some things point to suicide, but if so, why was he found arranged in such a peculiar manner?

And why did he arrange for Jensen to be first on the scene?

Episode 3
Sonny’s widow, Katrine, and his sous chef, Mia, hold a press conference. But for Jensen, it poses more questions than it answers.

Copenhagen-born Heidi Amsinck has written numerous short stories for radio. Her collection Last Train To Helsingør, was published in 2018. The fifth novel in her ‘Jensen’ series, The Woman In The Wall, was published in April 2026.

Writer: Heidi Amsinck
Reader: MyAnna Buring
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


WED 23:00 The Big Idea with Alistair Green (m002xdq9)
Series 1

Punk Squirrel founder Matt Matthews

Alistair welcomes into the studio one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country. Matt Matthews has caused quite the stir since he burst onto the scene with his viral video #TastesLikePiss, and has since gone on to build a behemoth of a craft beer brand - Punk Squirrel IPA - which is currently valued at £540 million.

Prodded by Alistair’s probing and insightful questions, Matt goes deep. Over the course of this raw and unfiltered 14 minute interview Matt explains the thinking behind the game changing brand name Punk Squirrel, how the minus 53% employee satisfaction rating was actually a positive thing, and how Punk Squirrel Property Management marks a new and exciting chapter for him, and him alone.

The Big Idea with Alistair Green is brought to you by Are You Okay? Mental Health. I do love you.

Written and performed by Alistair Green.

Produced by Alex Burnard.

A Cup & Nuzzle production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:15 Jazz Emu: The Sound of Us (p0hbnpch)
2. The Sound of the Future

Artificial Intelligence puts Jazz’s musical career in jeopardy when a robot clone of Jazz begins storming the charts. Human Jazz must beat his electronic counterpart for a spot in the UK Top 40 and convince the London Palladium that HE is the real Jazz Emu.

Jazz Emu: musician, 70s lothario-type, ex-Hollywood foley artist and internationally renowned idiot. After a long career in (and often out) of the spotlight, he has decided to present a radio show in order to connect with the average Joes (and Janes, and other boring names) and bestow his expert knowledge of Sound upon the universe.

Written by Archie Henderson and Adrian Gray
Starring: Archie Henderson, Adrian Gray, Emmanuel Sonubi, Lorna Rose Treen, Cody Dahler
Produced by Sasha Bobak
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002xdqf)
Sean Curran reports on Prime Minister's Questions - and more.

THURSDAY 11 JUNE 2026

THU 00:00 Midnight News (m002xdqh)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


THU 00:30 The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard (m002xdp6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002xdqk)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002xdqm)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:00 News Summary (m002xdqp)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


THU 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002xdqr)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament


THU 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002xdqt)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002xdqw)
Family

Prayer for the Day presented by Rabbi Warren Elf of the Liverpool Reform Synagogue.

Good morning.

Many people have told me over the years that one thing they admire about Judaism is the emphasis on family and family life.

On one level I understand that and on another I am surprised by it.

A lot of Jewish life revolves round the family and the home. There is a duty to respect, even honour, our parents. There is also a duty to raise and protect our children, teaching them Torah, a trade and to swim. I think that covers moral and religious teaching, earning a living to support ourselves and a family, and keeping ourselves alive and saving others.

There is also the duty to look after the elderly and respect them.

Yet not all Jewish families are as united and cohesive as we might hope for and there can be all sorts of issues, family break down, fall outs and more. Families are families, in any community, and we try to be the best we can but it does not always work out.

In fact, if you look at the early examples of families in the Bible, I am not sure that Abraham or Isaac or Jacob were the best role models. Quite the opposite in some ways! And later Biblical families were not much better – and some a darn sight worse.

But family and community are important, with the family being the basic unit as part of a community. The ideal family would be one where there is love and respect and care for each other, unconditionally.

So my prayer this morning is that I always love, respect and have compassion for all members of my family, unconditionally. I pray that when I slip up or fall short of this, I am big enough to apologise and work to restore the right relationship. I also pray that I can help others to do the same.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (m002xdqy)
11/06/26 Cereals 2026

Charlotte Smith is at the Cereals event on Jeremy Clarkson's farm in the Cotswolds to hear what the mood is like for arable farmers.

With production costs rising following the war in the Middle East, the National Farmers' Union is calling for government support with the price of fertiliser.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


THU 06:00 Today (m002xgyz)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (m002xgz1)
Machado de Assis

Misha Glenny and guests discuss one of the towering figures of Brazilian and world literature, Machado de Assis (1839 - 1908). He was the descendant of slaves and built his career while slavery was still in place in Brazil (abolished 1888) and many of his characters were from the slave-owning class who were also the readers of his books. At the time, those readers were delighted to see themselves represented and it was only later in the 20th Century that critics realized just how much Machado was satirising them. While he brings 19th Century Brazil vividly to life, Machado's works transcend time and place and, according to Salman Rushdie, they seem to have been written yesterday not 100 years ago.

With

Ana Cláudia Suriani da Silva
Associate Professor in Brazilian Studies at University College London

Claire Williams
Professor of Brazilian Literature and Culture at the Faculty of Modern Languages at the University of Oxford, fellow of St. Peter's College

And

Viviane Carvalho da Annunciação
Affiliated Lecturer at the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics at the University of Cambridge

Producer: Simon Tillotson

Reading list:

Lamonte Aidoo and Daniel F. Silva (eds.), Emerging Dialogues on Machado de Assis (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016)

Helen Caldwell, The Brazilian Othello of Machado de Assis: A Study of Dom Casmurro (University of California Press, 1960)

Viviane Carvalho da Annunciação, The Contradictions of Science in Machado de Assis (Liverpool University Press, 2025)

Machado de Assis (trans. Daniel Hahn), The Looking-Glass: Essential Stories (Pushkin Press, 2022)

Machado de Assis (trans. Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson), 26 Stories (Liveright, 2019)

Machado de Assis (trans. Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson), The Collected Stories of Machado de Assis (Liveright, 2018)

Machado de Assis (trans. Flora Thomson-Deveaux), The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas (Penguin, 2020)

Machado de Assis (trans. Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson), The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas (Liveright, 2020)

Machado de Assis (trans. Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson), Quincas Borba (WW Norton & Co, 2024)

Machado de Assis (trans. Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson), Dom Casmurro (WW Norton & Co, 2024)

Machado de Assis (trans. Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson), Memorial de Ayres (Liveright, August 2026)

John Gledson, Machado de Assis: Fiction and History (Francis Cairns, 1984)

Richard Graham (ed.), Machado de Assis: Reflections on a Brazilian Master Writer (University of Texas Press, 1999)

James N. Green, Victoria Langland and Lilia Moritz Schwarcz (eds.), The Brazil Reader: History, Culture, Politics (Duke University Press, 2019)

Daniel Hahn and Padma Viswanathan (eds.), The Penguin Book of Brazilian Short Stories (Penguin, January 2027)

Mario Higa (ed.), A History of the Brazilian Novel (Cambridge University Press, August 2026), especially the chapter on Machado de Assis

K. David Jackson, Machado de Assis: A Literary Life (Yale University Press, 2015)

Anthony W. Pereira, Modern Brazil: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2020)

Roberto Schwarz (trans. John Gledson), A Master on the Periphery of Capitalism: Machado de Assis (Duke University Press, 2001)

Lilia M. Schwarcz and Heloisa M. Starling (eds.), Brazil: A Biography (Allen Lane, 2018)

Ana Cláudia Suriani da Silva, Machado De Assis's Philosopher or Dog?: From Serial to Book Form (Routledge, 2010)

Ana Cláudia Suriani da Silva and Sandra Guardini Vasconcelos (eds.), Comparative Perspectives on the Rise of the Brazilian Novel (UCL Press, 2020), especially the chapters “Capitu against the Elegiac Narrator” by Ana Cláudia Suriani da Silva and “Machado de Assis and the Novel” by Sandra Guardini Vasconcelos

Marcus Wood, The Black Butterfly: Brazilian Slavery and the Literary Imagination (West Virginia University Press, 2019)

In Our Time is a BBC Studios Production

Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Misha Glenny and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world.


THU 09:45 Strong Message Here (m002xgz3)
Fanning the Flames (with Hugo Rifkind)

Hugo Rifkind joins Armando, fresh from interviewing a highland cow, to discuss the phrase 'fanning the flames'.

Can a politician ever avoid politicising an issue? How is that different from weaponising? And does journalism have a role in fanning the flames, and prolonging political arguments?

Elsewhere, Armando explains the power of the power nap, Pete Hegseth conflates D-Day with immigration, and we ask if Keir's curse is having an eminently rhyme-able name?

Got a strong message for Armando? Email us at strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk

Sound editing: Rich Evans
Production Coordinator: Asha Osborne-Grinter
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Recorded at the Sound Company

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production for Radio 4.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002xgz5)
Northern Ireland, Kathryn Stockett and Mum's poem in son's exam

On Tuesday violence broke out across Belfast following a knife attack in the city. Stephen Ogilvie is in hospital with serious wounds after the attack, and a 30-year-old Sudanese man has been charged with attempted murder. Ogilvie's family, politicians and police have called for calm after people took to the streets, with some reporting that residents were targeted based on their skin colour. Anita Rani speaks to Louise Cullen, BBC Correspondent in Northern Ireland and Twasul Mohammed, who came to Northern Ireland as a refugee from Sudan in 2016 and has been helping families affected by the violence.

It’s been 17 years since The Help was published, Kathryn’s Stockett’s first novel that sold 15 million copies worldwide, was translated into 38 languages and made into a successful film with Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis. Kathryn has now written her second novel, The Calamity Club. She joins Anita.

Have you ever had one of those moments when life feels so circular that you just can’t believe it? A 'once-in-a-lifetime synchronicity' is what the poet Emily Cullen called it when she discovered that a poem she had written seven years ago, inspired by her eight year old son, turned up on the English exam paper he was sitting in Ireland. Anita catches up with them both.

Acclaimed horror film Under the Shadow is set in Tehran during the 1980’s Iran Iraq war and explores the boundaries between rational and irrational as fear encroaches. As a new play adaptation opens in London, Anita speaks to the director Nadia Latif and lead actor Leila Farzad.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Corinna Jones


THU 11:00 This Cultural Life (m002xgz7)
Kiefer Sutherland

John Wilson talks to the actor and musician Kiefer Sutherland. The son of Canadian actors Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas, he first made his mark in the 1980s and 90s with films including Stand by Me, The Lost Boys, Flatliners and A Few Good Men. His television portrayal of federal agent Jack Bauer in the crime series 24 became his signature role and earned him major awards, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe. He later starred in the political drama series Designated Survivor, playing an American president. Alongside his acting Kiefer Sutherland has also pursued a career as a singer songwriter, releasing a series of country-rock albums and performing live tours.

Producer: Edwina Pitman


THU 11:45 The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard (m002xgz9)
Episode 4

Lea Korsgaard searches for all of Denmark’s butterfly species in one year. She discovers secret places and learns about the rich natural and symbolic history of butterflies.

Butterflies are an intrinsic part of the ecosystem, pollinating plants and acting as food for larger creatures. Their existence is entwined with the plant life and landscapes they make home, but habitats are reducing and with this, butterfly populations are under threat.

Learning about the potential loss of habitat and butterflies, journalist Lea Korsgaard goes on a quest to see all of Denmark’s 64 butterfly species in a single year.

She is a butterfly novice, but over the course of the year, she learns about the extraordinary facts of butterfly metamorphosis, meets passionate experts who show her the secret places where butterflies still proliferate and finds out about the history of collectors for whom butterflies had become an obsession. She finally learns that she has become as hooked as the experts she has met.

In this episode, Lea discovers that over the course of history, some lepidopterists became obsessional about collecting. She discovers the symbolic meaning of butterflies in mythology, and their place in different cultures from pre-Colombian to Japan. As she ticks of many more butterflies on the list, her journey takes her in search of some of the rarest butterflies, to discover they are rare for a reason. Habitats are disappearing and with them, the insect life, specifically butterflies that makes it their home. Has she missed her chance to see the Danish butterfly species that are fast disappearing?

Read by Nicola Walker
Abridged by Sara Davies
Produced by Lisa Lipman
Sound design by Jon Calver
Executive producer: Jo Rowntree
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


THU 12:00 News Summary (m002xgzc)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:04 The Bottom Line (m002xgzf)
How the oil industry works

What does it take to drill oil out of the ground and then refine it into petrol, jet fuel or other petrochemical products? The world currently uses about a hundred million barrels of oil a day. However, the daily flow has been affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. A fifth of the global supply normally passes through the waterway in tanker ships, but it's been blocked since the end of February 2026. How has the industry adapted?

Guests:
Nick Bone, Fuels Industry UK
Luke Johnson, Director of OPC
Edward Hayden-Briffet from Onyx Capital

Presenter: Evan Davis
Producers: Sally Abrahams & Nick Holland
Sound: Dave O'Neill & James Piper
Production Coordinator: Katie Morrisson
Editor: Sam Bonham


THU 12:32 Sliced Bread (m002xgzh)
Toast - Paperchase

Why did the popular stationery chain, Paperchase, end up closing all of its shops?

The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, investigates in the company of resident entrepreneur, Sam White.

Paperchase was founded by two former art students in the late 1960s and went on to become the design darling of the high street, known for its charming greeting cards, wrapping paper, stationery, gifts and art materials.

It expanded across Britain and beyond to America, the Middle East and parts of Europe.

What made Paperchase so special? And how could decades of success slide into decline then shop closures?

Sean speaks to:

-Chris and Rebecca Pond whose father, Eddie Pond, was Paperchase's co-founder
-Timothy Melgund - who ran Paperchase under different ownership for over 20 years and led two management buyouts.
-Liz Faulkner - from Jelly Armchair, a company that designs greeting cards and supplied Paperchase.

At the end, Sam White has to come up with her own conclusions about the fate of Paperchase based on what she has just heard.

If you have a good idea for an interesting Toast topic then tell us about it - email toast@bbc.co.uk

Produced by Jon Douglas, Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.


THU 12:57 Weather (m002xgzk)
The latest weather forecast


THU 13:00 World at One (m002xgzm)
John Healey resigns as Defence Secretary

Mr Healey quits the government saying its investment plan "falls well short of what is required for defence" of the UK. A co-author of the strategic review gives us his reaction. Plus: Belfast residents respond to another night of disorder on its streets.


THU 13:45 Politically (m002xjr0)
Ten Years After Brexit

4: Northern Ireland

When the UK voted to leave the EU, Northern Ireland became one of the most contentious aspects of the Brexit negotiations. The prospect of a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland threatened to undermine the Good Friday agreement, and resurfaced divisions about Irish reunification. Although the Windsor Framework was eventually introduced in 2023, the political and economic uncertainty of the negotiation years has had lasting implications.

Alex Forsyth is joined by John Campbell, BBC Northern Ireland’s Business and Economics Editor, and Katy Hayward, Professor of Political Sociology at Queens’ University, Belfast, to look at how Brexit has shaped Northern Ireland in the decade since the referendum vote.

Presenter: Alex Forsyth
Producers: Sally Abrahams
Editor: Richard Vadon
Studio engineer and sound mix: James Beard
Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley


THU 14:00 The Archers (m002xdpz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama on 4 (m002xgzp)
The Goalkeeper’s Guide to Absurdism

Algiers, 1930. Albert Camus, philosopher, novelist, playwright, journalist, future Nobel Prize winner and current goalkeeper is about to play the football match of his life… the game that would be his last.

Before Albert Camus was causing existential crises, he was saving goals. Step inside the mind of one of the world’s greatest thinkers as he plays the final game of his career before succumbing to ill-health. As he stands in goal, he falls into the grip of a fever dream and is assailed by the greatest minds - Hegel, Aristotle, Kierkegaard - all offering advice on the biggest questions:
what is the meaning of life?
Does God exist?
And what is the offside rule?

Written by Paul Sirett

Cast:
Albert Camus... Arthur Darvill
Amandine ...Cecelia Appiah.

Directed by Carl Prekopp
Sound Design by Jon Nicholls

Produced by Wilkinson Productions for BBC Radio 4
Production Co-ordinator : Eleanor Mein
Script supervisor/Associate Producer : Emily Reader
Producer : Richard Shannon
Senior Producer : Andy Wilkinson
Executive Producer : Lucinda Mason Brown

Artwork by Thea Mae


THU 15:00 Ramblings (m002xgzr)
Mending Footpaths in Eryri

Clare walks with a group of British Mountaineering Council volunteers who’ve been working to repair footpaths in Eryri, formerly known as Snowdonia National Park.

These ‘Get Stuck In’ events give people a chance to spend time with like-minded folk, in beautiful landscapes, improving the paths that walkers depend upon.

The work takes place over two days under the guidance of experienced volunteer leaders and a local ranger, followed by a shared walk, giving the group a chance to enjoy the landscape they've been working in.

Clare joined volunteers and staff from the BMC and the National Trust at the start their walk on the shores of Llyn Ogwen at Grid Reference SH659602 on OS Map OL17 Yr Wdffya/Snowdon. They hiked under the dramatic peak of Tryfan in the Ogwen Valley.

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/en/get-involved-volunteering

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor
Ramblings is a BBC Studios Audio production.


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m002xdbn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Word of Mouth (m002xgzt)
Smell

Michael Rosen on the words used to describe the qualities of smells in different languages. Asifa Majid is Professor of Cognitive Science at Oxford and her research has found that some do it much better than others. She puts Michael to the test to see how English stacks up.
Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University
Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz


THU 16:00 Rethink (m002xgzw)
Rethink... how we age

Have you ever wondered why some people age better than others?

We all know someone who looks great for their age, and is also in robust health. And yet someone else who is exactly the same age might look older, and may be living with an age-related illness.

Chronological age is not always be a good indicator of how well someone is maturing. So, if our skin - which is our largest organ - suggests how well, or badly, we're aging, then the state of our other organs and the systems that keep them running may also indicate how old we are.

This measure is called your biological age.

And there are many ways of measuring biological age, from the simple - the strength of your hand grip, to the detailed - looking at the changes in chemical markers attached to your DNA, called epigenetic markers.

They lie "on top of" the DNA, without changing it - much like an instruction written on a post-it note attached to a piece of sheet music. The instruction means the music can be expressed differently, without changing the tune. Epigenetics explains why the DNA in every one of our cells is the same, and yet the cells can look very different from one another. They can be heart cells, blood cells, hair cells and so on, because the markers cause different genes on the same DNA to be expressed.

Epigenetics has allowed scientists to create clocks to tell you your biological age: the latest one can even tell you how fast you're aging. Advances in epigenetics have led to the new science of cellular regeneration.

And the world's first clinical trials are underway in the USA for a treatment that transforms old, dysfunctional and damaged cells into young healthy ones - treating aging itself.

Presenter: Ben Ansell
Producer: Ravi Naik
Editor: Damon Rose

Contributors:
Andrew Steele PhD, author of Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old. and director of the Longevity Initative
Dr Nessa Carey, molecular biologist, visiting Professor at Imperial College London and author of The Epigenetics Revolution
Dr Daniel Belsky, Associate Professor of Epidemiology in the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, and developer of the algorithm for the DunedinPACE epigenetic clock
Dr Sharon Rosenzweig-Lipson, Chief Scientific Officer at cellular rejuvenation company Life Biosciences


THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (w3ct977q)
How do you build an unbuildable tower?

After 144 years the tallest tower on the Sagrada Familia is finally complete, but when Gaudi first designed it, the technology to build the tower didn’t exist. We’re joined by Tristram Carfrae, structural engineer and designer at Arup who was tasked with this impossible feat over a decade ago.

With the reappearance of screwworm in North America, we ask – is it ever acceptable to intentionally drive a species to extinction? Tom is joined by Dr Gregory Kaebnick from the Hastings Center for Bioethics to dive into the science that could make it happen and the ethics stopping us.

Four in five of us will check the weather daily, but do we really know what our apps are telling us? Meteorologist Simon King guides us through the complex models behind these forecasts that govern our daily decisions.

Plus, science journalist Caroline Steel is in the studio bringing us the scientific discoveries the headlines missed, but that you need to know.

Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Kate White
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth


THU 17:00 PM (m002xgzz)
PM under pressure after Defence Secretary resigns

John Healey criticises Keir Starmer's defence investment plans. We hear reaction from former head of the British Army, General Sir Nick Carter, and former Labour Defence Secretary, Lord John Hutton. As Belfast reels from a second night of riots, we bring you local reaction and speak to former adviser on the Good Friday Agreement, Lord Paul Bew. Plus, as the World Cup kicks off, comedian Kevin Bridges tells us about his search for the soul of the beautiful game. Today's programme is presented by Ben Wright.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002xh01)
Defence Secretary John Healey Resigns

The defence secretary, John Healey, said he had "no option" but to resign over the financial settlement for the government's defence investment plan. In a letter to the Prime Minister he said that the Treasury had been "unwilling" and that Sir Keir Starmer was "unable" to provide the necessary resources to keep the country safe. In other news: for the first time, the government has published the number of NHS patients in England receiving care outside formal treatment areas; and the 2026 World Cup is due to get under way.


THU 18:30 Ellie Taylor's Safe Space (m001l2bw)
Series 3

4: Billionaires

Ellie Taylor welcomes you to "Safe Space", a place where anyone can offload their controversial opinions without fear of judgment.

She talks to members of the public about their gripes and dislikes. In the final episode of this series, she tries to convince her audience that billionaires are actually a good thing. They're high achievers and set us an example of something to aim for, plus without billionaire Jeff Bezos we wouldn't be able to order Amazon Prime next day delivery.

Joining Ellie to prove her point is regular sidekick Robin Morgan.

With special guest: Journalist and curator of The Sunday Times Rich List, Robert Watts. He chats to Ellie about how people actually become billionaires, why there are more male billionaires in the world and if he thinks they can be useful for society.

This series was first broadcast in March 2023.

Written by and starring Ellie Taylor and Robin Morgan.

Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Co-ordinator: Becky Carewe-Jeffries
Sound editor: Marc Willcox

A BBC Studios production for Radio 4


THU 19:00 The Archers (m002xgx2)
Stella tells Pip her genomic test kit has arrived and suggests doing it straight away. Pip demurs, asking whether Stella will still want to marry her if it’s bad news. Upset Stella wonders how Pip can even ask that, before walking out. Pip then reveals to Ruth that she ordered the test. Ruth assumed they’d at least talk it over first, but Pip explains both her and Stella couldn’t cope with the stress of waiting, while acknowledging the result will have implications for all the family. Ruth admits she’s a little hurt but not cross, then apologises for not being as supportive as she might have been. Pip reasons that she won’t do the test until after the wedding, explaining to Stella that she doesn’t want anything to spoil their big day. Stella was too worked up earlier to understand, but she does now, before inviting Pip and Rosie to move into the bungalow.

Tracy and Susan discuss Bert settling in well at Clive’s flat, though neither of them really believes the glowing reports they’re getting. Susan encourages Tracy to take the full-time job in the Dairy, but Tracy’s worried she’ll end up looking after Bert once more. Susan offers to share the care if it comes to that, before Tracy talks to Helen and explains her dilemma. She’s realised that caring for Bert over the years stopped her being there more for Chelsea and Brad. Helen’s sympathetic, managing to talk Tracy into accepting her offer. Later, proud Susan insists on buying Tracy’s lunch to celebrate her new job.


THU 19:15 Front Row (m002xh03)
Review: Steven Spielberg's alien film Disclosure Day

Film producer Jason Solomons and Guardian columnist Zoe Williams join Tom Sutcliffe to discuss Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day – a film which looks at whether aliens are really out there.

John D. MacDonald’s psychological thriller The Executioners has inspired two Cape Fear films and now there’s a 10-part TV series starring Amy Adams and Javier Bardem. Jason and Zoe give their verdicts.

They also talk about M. C. Escher’s major exhibition at Somerset House. Famous for drawing optical illusions, impossible buildings, and endless patterns, the Dutch artist’s work has inspired film scenes in Labyrinth and Christopher Nolan’s Inception.

Plus we will be revealing the winners of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and Non-Fiction.

Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Claire Bartleet


THU 20:00 When It Hits the Fan (m002xdpn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Wednesday]


THU 20:15 The Media Show (m002xdpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:15 on Wednesday]


THU 21:00 Loose Ends (m002xd6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


THU 21:45 Strong Message Here (m002xgz3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 today]


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m002xh05)
UK defence secretary and armed forces minister both resign

The armed forces minister quits hours after the defence secretary steps down over the government's military spending plans. A new defence secretary has now been appointed. We talk to two Labour MPs about how to pay for extra defence spending, and where this leaves the prime minister.

Also on the programme: We're live in Mexico City after the men’s football World Cup's opening game. How is disorder on the streets of Belfast being coordinated on social media? And, following the popularity of weight loss jabs, the medicines regulator approves a weight loss pill for private prescription.


THU 22:45 Jensen: Black Water by Heidi Amsinck (m002xh07)
Episode 4

A new case, set in Copenhagen, for the investigative reporter.

Jensen is now a single mother, and her own mother, Marion, is living with her to help with childcare. But not even an eight month old daughter is going to stop Jensen from working as she has always worked, digging deepest into a case and annoying her old flame DI Henrik Jungersen.

Late at night, celebrity vegan chef Sonny Velin is found dead in the basement of his prestigious Michelin-starred restaurant, Plant. Some things point to suicide, but if so, why was he found arranged in such a peculiar manner?

And why did he arrange for Jensen to be first on the scene?

Episode 4
Jensen and Gustav keep digging, meeting with a former colleague of Sonny’s and visiting Katrine at her home.

Copenhagen-born Heidi Amsinck has written numerous short stories for radio. Her collection Last Train To Helsingør, was published in 2018. The fifth novel in her ‘Jensen’ series, The Woman In The Wall, was published in April 2026.

Writer: Heidi Amsinck
Reader: MyAnna Buring
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


THU 23:00 Radical with Amol Rajan (m002xh09)
The End of Endless Growth: Should We Put the Brakes on Economic Expansion? (Kate Raworth)

What if growth wasn’t the main goal for economic prosperity? Kate Raworth, the author and economist behind Doughnut Economics, tells Amol why she thinks that measuring success by GDP growth is unsustainable, immoral, and an unfit economic model for the 21st century. Kate’s thesis goes against centuries of economic consensus and has radical ideas for how to overhaul the system by prioritising nature and wellbeing. She argues that real abundance is possible, but only if we learn from nature and live within the planet’s limits.

GET IN TOUCH:

* WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480

* Email: radical@bbc.co.uk

Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and Monday.

Amol Rajan presents the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 and hosts University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was the BBC’s media editor and the editor of The Independent newspaper.

Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Oscar Pearson and Julian Paszkiewicz. Digital production was by Daniel Raza. Technical production was by Mike Regaard. The series producer is Rufus Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002xh0c)
Alicia McCarthy reports on moves by the government to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a threat to national security.

FRIDAY 12 JUNE 2026

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m002xh0f)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


FRI 00:30 The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard (m002xgz9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002xh0h)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002xh0m)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:00 News Summary (m002xh0r)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


FRI 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002xh0t)
Sean Curran reports on Government moves to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a threat to national security.


FRI 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002xh0w)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002xh0y)
World Day Against Child Labour

Prayer for the Day presented by Rabbi Warren Elf of the Liverpool Reform Synagogue.

Good morning.

Today is the 25th World Day Against Child Labour. Established in 2002, numerous events are held around the world on June 12th to mark the World Day Against Child Labour and call attention to the problem.

Child labour is especially rampant in many developing countries - but even in industrialised nations many children are forced to work.

In 2011, there were an estimated 215 million children having to work in the world - 115 million of whom were involved in hazardous work.

Since 2000, the world had been making steady progress in reducing this. But recent conflicts, crises and the COVID-19 pandemic, plunged more families into poverty – and forced millions more children into child labour.

This is unacceptable and we need to do everything we can to address this. We need to reduce and eradicate child exploitation, stand up for children’s rights and transform the lives of vulnerable children.

Child trafficking, sexual exploitation and dangerous work are the worst forms but we need to call out all forms of child labour and exploitation.

So, I pray that we find ways of protecting more children, of challenging the abusive employment practices that harm so many of them. I pray that we in our communities and as a society can reach out to help end child labour and trafficking in every situation.

I pray for a fairer world where children can live, grow and develop positively and healthily, in freedom.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m002xh10)
12/06/26 Sustainable Farming Incentive, Cereal farming in Cumbria

The Department for Envrionment Food and Rural Affairs has announced how much money it’s making available to farmers in England through the Sustainable Farming Incentive - or SFI - for 2026. It’s something farmers and environmental organisations have been keenly anticipating. There’s a total budget of £240 million pounds., with the first application opening later this month.
The SFI is the DEFRA ‘public money for public goods’ scheme that pays for farming in ways that protect and benefit the environment, support food production and improve productivity. Some farming and conservation groups say the budget isn't big enough.

And all this week we’re talking about growing cereals, things like grain and oats. The latest figures just out from the industry body the AHDB, that’s the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, show that UK farmers are growing less barley than they have for the last 16 years, while oilseed rape and wheat have climbed back from last year’s lows.
The Eden Valley in Cumbria is possibly better known for its livestock than its crops. But over the past couple of years, father and son Thomas and Harry Ewbank have been bucking that trend. Guided by local agronomist, Steven Gate, they've abandoned ploughing in favour of what’s called ‘one-pass drilling’, and they’ve expanded their range of crops to maximise yields and increase sustainability.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Challoner.


FRI 06:00 Today (m002xgwk)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

Credits for Glengarry Glen Ross item:
The Glengarry Glen Ross movie was directed by James Foley, produced by Zupnik Enterprises/ New Line Cinema
David Mamet interview was from the Studs Terkel Radio Archive, WFMT Chicago/ The Chicago History Museum


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m002xdc1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002xgwm)
Women's Prize winners, Weight, T20 World Cup, Mental healthcare

Last night, two debut authors received the Women’s Prize for Fiction and Non-Fiction, each worth £30,000, respectively. Anita Rani speaks to the two winners, novelist Virginia Evans and Lyse Doucet, known to listeners as the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent.

Last week, Hannah Murray, who played Gilly in Game of Thrones, told Anita that during the final season of the show, the papers wrote she was pregnant - when she wasn't. Hannah said that maybe this was the only acceptable way for a woman in the public eye to gain weight. Following a strong listener response to that item we discuss if there is a right way to talk about women’s weight. Anita is joined by Alex Light, a body confidence activist and author and Dr Dolly Van Tulleken, food policy researcher, policy consultant and visiting researcher at the MRC epidemiologist unit in Cambridge University.

England is hosting the 2026 T20 Women's World Cup this summer, and England and Sri Lanka launch the competition with their match at Edgbaston today. This is the first time that 12 teams will competing for the World Cup trophy – an increase on previous years. Anita talks to Melissa Story, a cricket player for Gloucestershire and a commentator for BBC’s Test Match Special, about how the tournament works, the players to watch - and the matches we can’t miss.

This week the Royal College of Psychiatrists launched its first ever Women’s Mental Health Strategy. It was instigated by Dr Lade Smith, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists who chose women’s mental health as a key focus when she took up her post three years ago. As Lade steps down from that role, she joins Anita to talk about why she thinks that the women’s mental healthcare is in crisis and her vision for improvements.

When bride-to-be Kayley Stead was left alone at the altar on her wedding day in 2022, she did what few would think to do - she let the wedding continue. Kayley's photos of enjoying her wedding alone, including the speeches, the first dance and cutting the cake, went viral. Other women congratulated her for celebrating herself and still enjoying the day. Four years on, she's found love again - she's engaged! - and she says she wants her wedding to be "a big party." She joins Anita.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Rebecca Myatt


FRI 11:00 The Food Programme (m002xgwp)
Food on the Move

Sheila Dillon heads out on the highway to investigate the world of food at motorway service stations. Historically they have been a place viewed as a functional stop-off for a "tea and a pee" and often maligned for the quality of their food. Motorway services enthusiast Dr David Lawrence from Kingston University talks through a short history of the Great British service station from Watford Gap and Newport Pagnell in 1959 through to present day.

AA President Edmund King briefs Sheila on how his membership views motorway service food and Robin Markwell reports on the opinions of lorry drivers from Chippenham Pit Stop on the M4 in Wiltshire where more healthy eating options are now appearing on the menu. Dan Sutton from Roadchef - one of the largest motorway service operators - also gives his thoughts on what the British motorist is looking for when wanting to be fed on the motorway and argues that familiarity of brands is key.

Sheila takes a trip to Tebay Services on the M6 in Cumbria to understand a different way of providing motorway service food. She meets the Dunnings family who have since opened services at Gloucester, Cairns Lodge in Lanarkshire and will soon open another at Tatton in Cheshire. Their ethos includes an emphasis on locally sourced, homecooked food. Sheila meets with their coffee and bread suppliers as well as touring their farm to understand how service areas might also be an engine for the local economy.

Produced by Robin Markwell in Bristol for BBC Audio.


FRI 11:45 The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard (m002xgwr)
Episode 5

Lea Korsgaard searches for all of Denmark’s butterfly species in one year. She discovers secret places and learns about the rich natural and symbolic history of butterflies.

Butterflies are an intrinsic part of the ecosystem, pollinating plants and acting as food for larger creatures. Their existence is entwined with the plant life and landscapes they make home, but habitats are reducing and with this, butterfly populations are under threat.

Learning about the potential loss of habitat and butterflies, journalist Lea Korsgaard goes on a quest to see all of Denmark’s 64 butterfly species in a single year.

She is a butterfly novice, but over the course of the year, she learns about the extraordinary facts of butterfly metamorphosis, meets passionate experts who show her the secret places where butterflies still proliferate and finds out about the history of collectors for whom butterflies had become an obsession. She finally learns that she has become as hooked as the experts she has met.

In this episode, Lea learns about the concept of an endling - the very last of a species before it becomes extinct - and she wonders if she’s looking at the endlings of the rare butterflies she’s journeyed around Denmark to find. She spots the extraordinarily beautiful silver washed fritillary, but she still has many more to find before the year is over. She mulls on the marvels she has seen, all she has learnt, and how much she cares about butterflies now and wonders if it will matter in the end, if she doesn’t complete her task.

Read by Nicola Walker
Abridged by Sara Davies
Produced by Lisa Lipman
Sound design by Jon Calver
Executive producer: Jo Rowntree
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 12:00 News Summary (m002xgwt)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:04 Rare Earth (m002xgww)
Hotter Than Hell

How can Britain- and the world- prepare itself for extreme heat? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski hear from the experts and from the people facing up to the hottest temperatures on the planet.

David Shukman, former BBC Science Editor asks how Britain should react to the threat in his new book, The Response, while Alex Riley, author of Super Natural guides us through the strategies used by animals that thrive in the hottest places on Earth. Tom and Helen are also joined from Bangalore by Chandni Singh of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements who shares her knowledge of the Indian response to heatwaves that can push the mercury to 48 degrees centigrade and make human life impossible to sustain.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Assistant Producer: Toby Field


FRI 12:57 Weather (m002xgwy)
The latest weather forecast


FRI 13:00 World at One (m002xgx0)
Prime Minister defiant over defence spending

Keir Starmer vows to fight on, after ministers John Healey and Al Carns resign over defence spending. Also on the programme, David Hockney dies at the age of 88. We look back on the life of one of Britain's best loved artists, and hear from those he painted and those he relied on. We speak to Scarlett Clark, granddaughter of British designer Celia Birtwell, who were both the subject of Hockney portraits.


FRI 13:45 Politically (m002xjr4)
Ten Years After Brexit

5: The Union

When Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016, politicians in Scotland and Wales hoped that the UK’s departure would mean more freedom for their governments over national matters. But in the decade since, uneasy constitutional questions have surfaced. Is devolution compatible with strengthened Westminster parliamentary sovereignty? And has Brexit deepened support for independence amongst the devolved nations?

Alex Forsyth speaks to Nicola McEwen, Professor of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Glasgow, and Richard Wyn-Jones, Professor of Welsh Politics at Cardiff University about how Wales and Scotland viewed the referendum, and the political ramifications that the Brexit vote continues to have today.

Presenter: Alex Forsyth
Producers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzie
Editor: Richard Vadon
Studio engineer and sound mix: James Beard
Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley


FRI 14:00 The Archers (m002xgx2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Limelight (m002xgx4)
The Courier

Episode 2

Tormented by his conscience, Mo drifted into the dead woman's funeral and now her stepdaughter Elli, who is convinced that it wasn't suicide, has persuaded him to help her solve the mystery of what really happened to Rosa. Elli's pretty certain the death had something to do with the notorious Parnell family. How long can Mo keep lying to her, to his best friend Omar, and his mother? Will he get out of this tangled web before something else goes wrong?

Series creators: Eno Mfon and Darragh Mortell

Episode 2 by Eno Mfon

CAST
Mo - Mohamed Elsandel
Elli - Maeve Courtier-Lilley
Omar - Ali Goolyad
Mama - Alaa Taha
Amna - Fatima Seedahmed
Henry Parnell - Rick Yale
Mrs Parnell - Zoe Davies
Ryan Parnell - Callum Lloyd
Rosa - Laura dos Santos
Newsreader - Ben Crowe

Original Music by Tom Tripp
Oud Music by Nabra
Sound: Catherine Robinson and Rhys Morris
Production Coordinators: Maggie Olgiati and Eleri McAuliffe
Script consultant: Majid Hassan
Director: John Norton
A BBC Audio Drama Wales Production


FRI 14:45 The Hackers (m0012q2m)
Series 1

End User

In the past, state sponsored hacking focused on espionage, stealing sensitive information and disrupting technological system. Nowadays, the focus has shifted. Rather than hacking technology, state sponsored hackers are targeting people. Biella speaks with Darren Linvill about a new kind of malevolent hacking, and how by playing to the algorithms on various social networks, these professional agents can sow chaos, and rope lay users into spreading rage and misinformation across societies.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002xgx6)
Harmondsworth - Citrus, Geums and Patio Planting

Peter Gibbs and the GQT panel visit the charming village of Harmondsworth, just moments from the bustle of Heathrow.

Peter is joined by James Wong, Frances Tophill and Bunny Guinness as they tackle horticultural conundrums, submitted by an audience of local gardeners. From growing citrus trees from supermarket fruit pips to distinguishing wild geums from their cultivated cousins, the panel share practical advice and horticultural insight.

There’s guidance on reusing compost, choosing hydrangeas for tricky shady spots and selecting the right planting choices to create year-round impact on a patio.

Later in the show, Frances explores the benefits of horticultural therapy with a local practitioner, Hardip Singh Lawana MBE, uncovering how gardening can support wellbeing and bring people together.

And to finish, the panel reveal which weeds they’d be, with answers ranging from charming to mischievous.

Producer: Dan Cocker, Rahnee Prescod and Alison Vernon-Smith
Assistant Producer: William Norton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4

* If listening on BBC Sounds and you wish to view the plant list, please go to the Gardeners' Question Time website and open this week's episode page.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qp2f/episodes/guide


FRI 15:45 Short Works (m002xgx8)
The Silence by Mahsuda Snaith

In this new story from Mahsuda Snaith, a woman struggles to keep a deathbed promises as she comes to terms with the loss of her dad.
Read by Anjli Mohindra

Mahsuda Snaith is a writer of novels and short stories. An ‘Observer New Face of Fiction’, her novel ‘How to Find Home’ was a Fiction Serial on BBC Radio 4. She is the winner of the SI Leeds Literary Prize and Bristol Short Story Prize. Her short story ‘The Panther’s Tale’ is included in ‘Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold’ and Mahsuda is currently working on her third novel.

Anjli Mohindra has starred in dramas Saviour (ITV), Half Man (BBC) and The Lazarus Project (Sky).


FRI 16:00 Last Word (m002xgxb)
Founder of the ‘MOBOs’ and champion of black music – Kanya King

For thirty years, Kanya King was a champion of Black music. She was the founder and guiding light of the Music of Black Origin Awards, the ‘MOBOs’. Launched in 1996, the awards became a highly successful annual event.

Sir Alex Younger was one of the longest serving chiefs of the Secret Intelligence Service MI6. He held the role known as “C” from 2014 to 2020. In that time, he headed the security operation to protect the 2012 Olympics and led Britain’s response to the Salisbury Novichok poisoning.

Diane Carlson Evans served as a nurse with the US Army during the Vietnam War and led the campaign for a memorial to the women who had served alongside her.

And Marjane Satrapi, the French-Iranian graphic novelist and film maker who created Persepolis, a story of growing up in 1980s Iran. The book, that was designed to make western readers reflect on the humanity of Iranian people, sold millions of copies around the world before being made into an Oscar nominated film in 2007.

Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy

Archive:
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, 26/02/2020; Trevor Nelson, Rhythm Nation, BBC Radio 1, 9/11/1997; Saturday Live, BBC Radio 4, 4/10/2014; BBC News at 10 05/03/2018; Today Programme: Theresa May Guest Editor, 31/12/2025; Newscast, 30/09/21; Start the Week, Radio 4, 09/12/2024;
PERSEPOLIS | Official Trailer; BBC News at 10, 28/09/2022; Woman’s Hour, Radio 4, 30/12/2003; Front Row, Radio 4, 19/03/24


FRI 16:30 More or Less (m002xdny)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]


FRI 17:00 PM (m002xgxd)
David Hockney dies aged 88

As tributes are paid to a 'giant' and 'true icon' of British art, we'll look back at his life with those who knew him. Also on PM, Elon Musk becomes the world's first trillionaire as his company Space X goes public. We'll be watching the share price and discussing the significance of the listing. We'll bring you the latest as Iran and the US both say they're close to some kind of agreement and we're joined by actor Damien Lewis to tell us about his move into music.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002xgxg)
Art Legend David Hockney Dies

The King and Queen have led the tributes to David Hockney - one of the most influential British artists of the past century - who's died at the age of 88. His large canvases, featuring boldly colourful landscapes and portraits, such as The Big Splash, hang in some of the most prestigious galleries in the world. In other news: SpaceX has officially started trading on the open stock market; and the prime minister has insisted that defence and security are his number one priorities for the country - despite the resignations yesterday of his defence secretary, John Healey, and armed forces minister, Al Carns, over the government's new defence investment plan.


FRI 18:30 Dead Ringers (m002xgxj)
Series 27

Keir v Kemi

The iconic impressions show returns to lampoon the week’s biggest headlines. This week World Cup fever, Government resignations and a Downing Street haunting keep the cast busy.

Starring Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis Macleod, Duncan Wisbey and Jess Robinson.

Executive Producer: James Robinson
Produced by Jon Holmes
Production Co-ordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu

A BBC Studios Production


FRI 19:00 The Archers (m002xgxm)
Alistair greets Jakob with news that the minibus taking them to the World Cup cricket match is stuck with a flat tyre, but thanks to a suggestion by Jakob they manage to fix it. Later, at Edgbaston cricket ground, Tracy is thrilled just to be there, while Alistair’s determined nothing will stop Jim having a wonderful day with his friends. Tracy is delighted that Jakob is relaxing and enjoying himself, before Alistair tells them this is Jim’s unofficial leaving do as he’s catching the Eurostar in the morning then following an extensively researched itinerary known only to him.

Adam phones Brian, chasing up some budget forecasts that need updating. Brian tells him the forecasts are none of his concern now and Adam gives up trying to persuade him otherwise. However, Adam turns up later wanting to check some other figures and Brian again does his best to put him off, before telling Adam he’s going to train Ed to use their system. Adam is astonished, suggesting it makes no sense. Brian reckons Adam no longer has a say in running Home Farm, to which Adam retorts that no-one trusts Brian after a series of embarrassing errors. Adam produces a solicitor’s letter starting legal proceedings to remove Brian from the business, as he’s displaying signs of dementia. But Brian trumps this with a letter of his own, proving that his mental capacity is just fine. If Adam challenges it, he’ll fight him to the bitter end. Brian then tells Adam triumphantly to get off his land!


FRI 19:15 Add to Playlist (m002xgxp)
Guy Pratt and Amy Harman and the art of hocketing

Bass guitarist, composer and songwriter Guy Pratt and bassoonist Amy Harman are Jeffrey and Anna's studio guests as they add five more tracks. Starting with an early ska classic, they explore the art of 'hocketing' before heading to the beach with Einstein.

Producer Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe

The five tracks in this week's playlist:

Miss Jamaica by Jimmy Cliff
Rock On by David Essex
Finale of Symphony No 6 in B Minor by Tchaikovsky
Hockets for Two Voices: 1 by Meara O’Reilly
Knee Play 5 from Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass

Other music in this episode:

Ain't No Doubt by Jimmy Nail
Like a Prayer by Madonna
The Reason by Celine Dion
I'm Alive by Vybz Kartel
Be My Guest by Fats Domino
Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed
The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
9th Symphony by Gustav Mahler
Zap Mama by Babanzélé
Gamelan by the Bali Gamelan Orchestra
Money by Pink Floyd
Welcome to the Machine by Pink Floyd


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m002xgxr)
Stephen Gethins MSP, Helen McDade MSP, Michael Shanks MP, Lorna Slater MSP

Alex Forsyth presents political debate from Crail Parish Church in Fife, with Scottish Government minister for Europe, external affairs and energy, Stephen Gethins; Reform UK's shadow cabinet secretary for health, Helen McDade; UK Government energy minister, Michael Shanks; and the Scottish Green Party shadow cabinet secretary for public service reform, Lorna Slater.

Presenter: Alex Forsyth
Producer: Paul Martin
Assistant producer: Lowri Morgan
Production co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Editor: Andrea Kennedy


FRI 20:55 This Week in History (m002xdp4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:40 on Wednesday]


FRI 21:00 Free Thinking (m002xgxt)
Satire and Gulliver's Travels

300 years after the publication of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Matthew Sweet looks at satire, past and present. How can satirists reflect critically and humorously on political events in an age of social media saturation and at a time when reality can seem stranger than fiction?

He is joined by:

Andrew Hunter Murray, comedian, writer and host of Radio 4's The Naked Week. His new book is Bad Deeds.

Jan Ravens, actor and impressionist, known for her work on Spitting Image and Radio 4's Dead Ringers

Rosie Holt, actor and comedian. Rosie's shows Churchill's Urinal and Rosie Holt: The Illegal Aliens have landed! will both be at Edinburgh Festival.

Tom Peck, Parliamentary sketch writer for The Times

and

Siôn Parkinson, artist, Research Associate at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and 2026 AHRC/BBC New Generation Thinker.

Producer: Eliane Glaser


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m002xgxw)
Elon Musk becomes world's first trillionaire after SpaceX stock market debut

Elon Musk's satellite, AI and rocket company, SpaceX, has enjoyed a successful first day on the Nasdaq stock exchange, reaching a value of $2.2 trillion. Can the valuation be justified? We ask economist Dr Mohamed El-Erian.

Also on the programme: Sir Grayson Perry responds to news of the death of fellow artist David Hockney at the age of 88. And we report from Scotland, where football fans are preparing to watch their men’s team return to the World Cup after a 28 year absence.


FRI 22:45 Jensen: Black Water by Heidi Amsinck (m002xgxy)
Episode 5

A new case, set in Copenhagen, for the investigative reporter.

Jensen is now a single mother, and her own mother, Marion, is living with her to help with childcare. But not even an eight month old daughter is going to stop Jensen from working as she has always worked, digging deepest into a case and annoying her old flame DI Henrik Jungersen.

Late at night, celebrity vegan chef Sonny Velin is found dead in the basement of his prestigious Michelin-starred restaurant, Plant. Some things point to suicide, but if so, why was he found arranged in such a peculiar manner?

And why did he arrange for Jensen to be first on the scene?

Episode 5
Jensen and Gustav are closing in on the identity of Sonny’s killer. But just who is “Sausage Else”?

Copenhagen-born Heidi Amsinck has written numerous short stories for radio. Her collection Last Train To Helsingør, was published in 2018. The fifth novel in her ‘Jensen’ series, The Woman In The Wall, was published in April 2026.

Writer: Heidi Amsinck
Reader: MyAnna Buring
Producer: Jeremy Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 23:00 Americast (w3ct8lz6)
The battle in rural America against AI data centres

The world’s largest data centre (62sq miles) has been approved in Utah, but there is growing opposition towards the project. At twice the size of Manhattan with promises to create thousands of jobs, we look at the bi partisan opposition against it.
In this episode, Justin and Anthony discuss the enormous buildings being built across rural America, to house the huge amounts of data that A.I companies work with. Tech bosses say the centres are essential to the growth of Artificial Intelligence. Also, for many of these companies, now valued at billions of dollars, their stock price is based on data centres which need to be approved and built.
But there are growing bi partisan which range from the environmental impact, water pollution, electricity usage, sound pollution, falling property prices and their impact on the landscape of rural America.
We hear from the journalist and author Robert Bryce, who is an energy specialist and Substack columnist. He has been geographically tracking the development and opposition to data centres across the United States and has interesting observations on how this compares with the development of wind and solar energy.

HOSTS:
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter
• Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent

GUEST:
• Robert Bryce, Energy journalist, author and Substack columnist

GET IN TOUCH:
• Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB
• Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480
• Email Americast@bbc.co.uk
• Or use #Americast

This episode was made by Tom Gillett, Ellie House, Alix Pickles and Purvee Pattni. The technical producer was Stephen Bailey. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app.

You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers.

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Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.

Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl
Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd


FRI 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002xgy2)
Susan Hulme reports on the challenges to the country's security in the wake of the resignation of the defence secretary.