SATURDAY 04 JULY 2026

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m002ycc2)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:30 Mr Jefferson's Library (m002yc9t)
Slavery

Thomas Jefferson was not so much a bibliophile as a bibliomaniac of the first rank. He read books, copied them out and annotated them. So much of his reading was distilled into the Declaration of Independence.

Jefferson ultimately accumulated 6000 volumes during his life. They form the basis of America's Library of Congress in Washington DC. Michael Goldfarb visits the Library of Congress and Jefferson's home at Monticello in Virginia to tell the story of how Jefferson's reading shaped the American Revolution and the beginnings of American history, along the way he tells the story of why and how British America decided to declare its independence.

Episode 5: Slavery - The man who wrote all men are created equal owned hundreds of slaves throughout his life. In the final episode of this series, Michael talks about Jefferson's books on agriculture and slave life at Monticello with Andrew Davenport, a descendant of a man enslaved there.

Presenter: Michael Goldfarb
Producer: Julia Hayball
Sound design: Chris Maclean

A Certain Height production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002ycc4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002ycc6)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SAT 05:30 News Summary (m002ycc8)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002yccb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002yccd)
Planning

Prayer for the Day presented by Rumbi Tauro.

Good morning,

As an independent musical artist, there are many things I need to plan ahead for: rehearsals, performances, and events. In 2024, I began preparing for my headline Northern tour. My band and I worked hard, rehearsing new material and pushing ourselves creatively. Along the way, I faced a few hurdles, but I learned valuable lessons.

When planning the run of shows, I tried to account for possible issues and think of solutions in advance. However, unexpected costs, such as limited venue equipment and challenging travel logistics, especially late Sunday train journeys, needed more attention than I expected. I like to create a clear plan and hope everything unfolds exactly as imagined, but I have learned that this is not always the case.

A friend reminded me that if this tour is going to be what it needs to be, I must remember that God is in control. If He can create our beautiful planet, then He surely cares about my hopes and dreams for these shows. When I am trying something new and expanding my skills, I do not need to remain in fear of the unknown.
Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Dear God, help me to reach out to You when I need strength in my daily life. You know the areas where I feel uncertain. Thank You for being with me each day. Today, I choose to lean on Your strength. Guide my steps, calm my worries, and help me trust Your perfect timing always. Amen.


SAT 05:45 Living on the Edge (m001mlj2)
Hastings

Ten coastal encounters, presented by Richard King.

Today: at Bottle Alley in Hastings with the painter Ben Fenton.

Not simply town or countryside, the coastline is a place apart – attracting lives and stories often overlooked.

In these ten programmes, the writer Richard King travels around the UK coast to meet people who live and work there – a sequence of portraits rooted in distinct places, which piece together into an alternative portrait of the UK: an oblique image of the nation drawn from the coastal edge.

Producer: Martin Williams


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m002ykf0)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 06:07 Ramblings (m002yblc)
In the Footsteps of Little Nell

Clare joins Alistair MacNichol for part of his long‑distance walk from Holborn in London to Tong in Shropshire as he recreates the journey made by Little Nell and her grandfather from Charles Dickens’s novel The Old Curiosity Shop. The 166‑mile route has been meticulously researched by Alistair, who for many years has questioned whether this fictional adventure could ever be mapped onto real English landscapes.

Preparing for the walk has taken him deep into Dickens’s world: re‑examining the novel, studying nineteenth‑century maps, and delving into many decades of Dickensian research. He has even carefully traced Dickens’s own travels through the Midlands using the author’s diary entries and letters.

Alistair hopes to complete the walk in eleven days. As a veteran of long‑distance trail walking, including a 1,514‑mile hike from Cape Cornwall to Cape Wrath, the challenge is well within his reach, although averaging a little under fifteen miles per day represents a considerable test.

Clare joins him for part of day six, walking from Wroxton in Oxfordshire to Warmington in Warwickshire, and asks how his twin passions for walking and the works of Charles Dickens have come together in this, his latest adventure.

Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m002ykf2)
04/07/26 Farming Today This Week: Groundswell regenerative agriculture, the Environment Secretary on the 25 year Farming Roadmap

Ten years of the regenerative farming festival Groundswell - we talk to farmers who were at the first event about how it's changed the way the farm.

Chris van Tulleken says farmers and doctors want the same thing, for people to want to buy more real, unprocessed food.

What will the Government's new 25 year Farming Roadmap mean for farmers? We ask the Secretary of State.

Presented by Anna Hill and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


SAT 06:57 Weather (m002ykf4)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 07:00 Today (m002ykf6)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m002ykf8)
Ralf Little, Mark Foster, Katriona O'Sullivan and the Inheritance Tracks of Clare Grogan

Joining Adrian Chiles on this week's programme is Mark Foster, for a good while the fastest swimmer on the planet.

We have author and psychologist Katriona O’Sullivan, a woman raised in poverty in Coventry, who went on to get a PhD from Trinity College, Dublin.

And the remarkably gifted Ralf Little, who we know as an actor but might equally have been a doctor or a footballer.

Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the singer-songwriter Clare Grogan.

Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Assistant Producers: Catherine Powell and Imy Harper
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy


SAT 10:00 You're Dead to Me (m002ykfb)
Francis Galton: Victorian scientist and pioneer of eugenics

Greg Jenner is joined in Victorian England by historian and curator Subhadra Das and comedian Desiree Burch to learn all about the life of scientist and eugenics pioneer Francis Galton. He was many things: a Victorian gentleman scientist, an inventor of whacky devices, a pioneer of fingerprinting technology, the less famous cousin of superstar naturalist Charles Darwin, and an important figure in the development of statistics. But more importantly – and more troublingly – Francis Galton originated the now discredited science of eugenics. His theories about how to apply principles of good breeding to humans, and his advocacy of ways to improve Britain’s so-called ‘racial health’, led directly and indirectly to many horrors in the decades after his death, from the forced sterilisation of certain groups to the Holocaust. This episode traces his life from child prodigy to prolific scientist, exploring his obsession with understanding the world through measurement and statistics, and how this mindset eventually led him to pioneer eugenic theories. Along the way it takes in his African travels, unwise self-experimentation during his medical degree, and his troubling views on women.

If you’re a fan of debunked scientific theories, whacky historical inventions and the unsavoury origins of modern beliefs, you’ll love our episode on Francis Galton.

If you want more biographies with Desiree Burch, listen to our episodes on Pythagoras, Paul Robeson or Lena Horne. And for more on the history of eugenics, check out our episodes on the Kellogg Brothers and Victorian Bodybuilding.

You’re Dead To Me is the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Every episode, Greg Jenner brings together the best names in history and comedy to learn and laugh about the past.

Hosted by: Greg Jenner
Research by: Naomi Weaver
Written by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner
Produced by: Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner
Audio Producer: Steve Hankey
Production Coordinator: Gill Huggett
Senior Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse
Executive Editor: Philip Sellars


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m002ykfd)
Series 53

Spalding

Jay Rayner and the panel are in Spalding discussing Lithuanian cooking and exciting recipes for potatoes.

Joining Jay to offer their tips, tricks and recipes are chefs, cooks and food writers, Rob Owen brown, Mallika Basu, Sophie Wright and food historian, Dr Annie Gray.

Situated in the herb capital of the UK, the panel discuss interesting recipes with sage, the best way to cook a succulent pork chop, and the question on everyone’s mind - how do we make cabbage edible?

Later on, Jay is joined by local Lithuanian baker, Daiva Razguniene to discuss the flavours, traditions and techniques of making traditional Lithuanian food.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m002ykfh)
Sonia Sodha discusses the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan, which was published this week, with the former Conservative Security minister Tom Tugendhat and the Labour MP and former Royal Marine Fred Thomas.

To review Andy Burnham's devolution plans, Sonia speaks to the Labour Mayor of the East Midlands Claire Ward and Greg Clark, a former Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who was one of the architects of devolution policy when the Conservatives were in government.

Following a series of maternity scandals, Baroness Amos published her independent review this week. The Liberal Democrat MP, Layla Moran, who chairs the Health Select Committee and the Labour MP Michelle Welsh, who is the government's national maternity adviser discuss what has gone wrong.

And to discuss Brand Burnham, Sonia brought together Rachel Cunliffe, the Associate Political Editor of the New Statesman and Farzana Baduel, the co-founder of Curzon PR and presenter of BBC Radio 4’s ‘When It Hits the Fan’.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002ykfk)
Venezuela Earthquakes: Rescue and Recovery

Kate Adie introduces stories on Venezuela's earthquake recovery efforts, the rapid start of Hungary's new PM, a post-Soviet reunion at a border-town bazaar, and does the American Dream still hold up as America celebrates 250 years of independence.

In Venezuela, family and friends have joined rescue workers in trying to find survivors after two earthquakes hit the country’s north last week. It was the country’s deadliest natural disaster in a century. Will Grant returned to his old neighbourhood in the capital Caracas, where he met locals still searching for news of their loved ones.

Hungary's new Prime Minister Peter Magyar has been in office for less than 60 days, but has quickly set about rolling back laws and dismantling institutions built up by former strongman PM Viktor Orban, Such is this political whirlwind, it's become must-see TV. Nick Thorpe reports from Budapest.

The break- up of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to the independence and redrawing of the borders of its fifteen republics, including central Asian countries like Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Ibrat Safo, who grew up in Uzbekistan, tells the story of how his family became separated for decades - and how a new border-town bazaar became the scene of a poignant reunion.

And it’s the 4th of July – which this year marks 250 years of American independence. This year’s anniversary has prompted much introspection about what the USA stands for as a nation, and recent surveys have found a shrinking number of Americans still believe in their country as the land of opportunity. Asma Khalid reflects on her own family’s pursuit of the American Dream.

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


SAT 12:00 News Summary (m002ykfm)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (m002ykfp)
Child Trust Fund "Injustice" and Pension Opt-Outs

Parliament was asked this week to help tens of thousands of young adults get access to their own money. It is sitting in the state-backed Child Trust Funds set up more than 15 years ago with contributions from the government, parents and other relatives. However, because these young people have learning disabilities the legal process for getting hold of their own money can cost more than the couple of thousand pounds typically in their fund. What happens next?

New figures reveal that in a single year half a million people said 'no thanks' to joining a workplace pension. Like everyone taking up a new job they were automatically enrolled into a pension, but they opted out before it even began. How might that impact their future?

Capita has missed the deadline to return services to normal for civil servants facing long delays in getting their pensions sorted.

And, a major change to the Lifetime ISA could see it replaced with a new product designed solely for First Time Buyers. How will it work?

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Meghan Owen
Researcher: Catherine Lund
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson

(First broadcast 12pm Saturday 4th July 2026)


SAT 12:30 Dead Ringers (m002ycbj)
Series 27

Much Ado About North-ing

Like Andy Burnham’s No.10, Dead Ringers is in the North, at the Crossed Wires Podcast Festival in Sheffield. This week: Chris Mason is giddy, Zia Yusuf is everywhere, and The Rest is Politics has gone mad for it.

Starring Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Duncan Wisbey and Kieran Hodgson.

Produced by Jon Holmes
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Co-ordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.


SAT 12:57 Weather (m002ykfr)
The latest weather forecast


SAT 13:00 News (m002ykft)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m002ycbq)
Stephen Bush, Stephen Doughty MP, Baroness Fall, Danny Kruger MP

Alex Forsyth presents political debate from the Barnfield Theatre in Exeter with Stephen Bush from the Financial Times; foreign office minister Stephen Doughty; Conservative peer Baroness Fall; and the head of Reform UK's Preparing for Government Unit, Danny Kruger.

Presenter: Alex Forsyth
Producer: Paul Martin
Assistant producer: Jo Dwyer
Production co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Lead broadcast engineer: Nick Ford
Editor: Andrea Kennedy


SAT 14:05 Any Answers? (m002ykfw)
Listeners respond to the issues raised in the preceding edition of Any Questions?


SAT 14:45 The Archers (m002ycbl)
Martyn mobilises a team with water tankers to help David remedy the equestrian ring at the Showground. Delighted David buys the drinks at the Bull. Neil catches Ed to find out what’s going on with him and Martyn. Neil’s horrified as Ed explains Martyn’s offer of some lucrative tree work in exchange for informing on Brian at Home Farm.

Keira feels pressured by her family to show the Texels for Ed at the Borchester Show, but admits to George she doesn’t want to be centre of attention. As George pressures Keira to face up to responsibility she makes a pointed comment about him not refusing the Gordons’ cot, before escaping George after his clumsy remark about her running away.

Neil encourages George to start listening to Keira, before talking about how George can be a good parent. He steers George to realise the Grundy cot is best. George asserts the other one can stay at the Gordons’ place. He thanks Neil for setting him straight.

George apologises to Keira. She jokes the apology should be for the last four years. They work together to choose a Texel ewe for the show. George is pleased they’re talking and insists he’s not giving up on them. Keira starts to soften. After reluctantly agreeing to be filmed halter training by George, the two chat and Keira opens up about her feelings towards George and her parents. Keira agrees to show the Texels. She still needs to say her piece to George, and will let him know when she’s figured it out.


SAT 15:00 The Master Builder (m000yt9b)
Episode 1

The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen. Adapted by David Hare based on a literal translation by Torkil Heggstad.

Episode 1.
The master builder Halvard Solness, is a self-made man, without professional qualifications. He has achieved ruthless domination in the town, but is increasingly frightened of being displaced by the next generation. A young woman, Hilde Wangel , appears from the mountains, claiming to have known Solness ten years previously, and telling him of a promise he made to her when she was thirteen. A searing tale of middle aged male hubris, with mystical undertones and resonances for the #MeToo movement.

Solness.......................David Schofield
Aline............................Siobhan Redmond
Hilde..........................Laura Aikman
Brovik........................Paul Bradley
Dr Herdal.................Jonathan Tafler
Kaja...........................Shannon Hayes
Ragnar.....................Joseph Ayre
Director/Producer Gary Brown.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (m002ykfy)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Women's Finances and Feminist Fairytales

Annabel Rook dedicated her life to supporting vulnerable women, yet her own life was violently taken by her partner. Annabel co-founded MamaSuze, a creative grassroots arts organisation in North London to enhance the lives of women who have survived violence. Her co-founder, Catherine Milne and Annabel's sister Sophie join Chloe Tilley to discuss Annabel's impact and what people can learn from their loss.

Money is broken for women, according to the founders of Female Invest - a subscription-based financial education app founded in Denmark. In their new book, It’s a Rich Man’s World, they explore the life events and systemic obstacles that women face in building and holding on to wealth. Krupa Padhy talks to co-founder Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen about the possible solutions.

As part of Radio 4's Once Upon a Time season we're looking at fairytales through a feminist lens. Award-winning author Kirsty Logan joins us down the line from Glasgow and the mythologist and psychologist Dr Sharon Blackie joins us from Cumbria. They tell Nuala McGovern why they believe women need fairy tales now more than ever and, crucially, why we should keep re-writing them for ourselves.

In the week that Baroness Amos released her long-awaited National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation into maternity service failings in England, we hear reaction from the Labour MP and Government Maternity Advisor Michelle Welsh.

When the award-winning poet Helen Mort became a stepmother, she went in search of literary role models, but was sadly disappointed by portrayals from the fairytale ‘wicked queen’ to the put-upon parent of the modern blended family. She talks to Anita Rani about creating her new collection, Stepmother, to re-write the role.

Presenter: Krupa Padhy
Producer: Kirsty McQuire


SAT 17:00 PM (m002ykg0)
Full coverage of the day's news


SAT 17:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m002ykg2)
What went wrong for Starmer: Morgan McSweeney gives his side of the story

In his first ever interview, the Prime Minister's former Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney lifts the lid on winning power, dealing with Trump, and how project Starmer fell apart.

Producer: Hannah Wilkinson.


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002ykg4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SAT 17:57 Weather (m002ykg6)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002ykg8)
Author of major review of senior policing in England and Wales tells the BBC the service isn't good enough

The former Home Secretary, Lord Blunkett, has told the BBC that the police service in England and Wales isn't good enough, and that its leadership needs, in his words, an 'ethical reset'. The Labour peer has carried out a review of police leadership, which will say there are significant causes for concern. Also: Vast crowds of Iranians loyal to the Islamic Republic have gathered in Tehran to pay their respects to the country's former supreme leader. And: Prince Harry will not be joined by his wife and their two children when he visits London next week.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m002ykgb)
Adrian Lester, Kathy Lette, Alexandra Burke, Sir Grayson Perry, Katie Norris

Adrian Lester on the art of simultaneously sword-fighting while reciting poetry in his starring role in the RSC's acclaimed Cyrano de Bergerac.

Alexandra Burke pays tribute to Chaka Khan in her new show I'm Every Woman and sings a beautiful Loose Ends special version of Ain't Nobody.

Sir Grayson Perry is putting the fun into dysfunctional with a comedy musical about his life, he describes it as the "most expensive therapy ever".

Kathy Lette's new novel explores what happens when the sisterhood goes sour and how to put it right.

Plus musical comedy from Katie Norris's Edinburgh-bound show Mother Succubus.

Presenter Clive Anderson
Producer Olive Clancy
Assisstant producer Sam Nixon
Technical Producers Gayl Gordon and Dave O'Neill
Production Coordinator Pete Liggins


SAT 19:00 Profile (m002ykgd)
Donna Ockenden

Donna Ockenden is a senior midwife and healthcare leader who has spent more than 35 years reforming patient safety in UK maternity services.

Born in South Wales, she overcame a difficult childhood marked by poverty, family breakdown, and a period of homelessness.

As a young midwife she cared for a baby named Gina who died from substandard care. This tragic event led to her lifelong 'Gina promise' to devote her career to making childbirth safer for mothers and infants.

Ockenden qualified as both a nurse and a midwife, before moving into senior NHS leadership roles. She transitioned into a formidable independent investigator, widely known for uncovering systemic NHS failures.

In 2017, she was appointed to chair the Ockenden Review into Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. Her landmark 2022 final report exposed severe deficiencies connected to the deaths of over 200 babies and nine mothers, shifting national perspectives on maternity clinical governance.

Ockenden was later chosen to lead the largest maternity investigation in NHS history at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Her 2026 report has identified hundreds of cases of avoidable harm and prompted national safety reforms.

Outside of healthcare she is an active community advocate, founding the Four Streets Project charity in Chichester to support the local homeless population.

Stephen Smith speaks to friends, families and colleagues who know her best.

Production:
Presenter: Stephen Smith
Producers: Bethan Ashmead Latham, Annabel Deas
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele, Siobhan Reed
Sound: Rod Farquhar
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith


SAT 19:15 This Cultural Life (m002ybkq)
Tania Bruguera

Cuban performance and conceptual artist Tania Bruguera talks to John Wilson about her career and cultural influences. Her work explores freedom of speech, political oppression and social justice, often encouraging her audiences to become active participants in her performances, blurring the boundaries between art and viewer.
Bruguera has exhibited at international museums including MOMA and the Guggenheim in New York, and at Tate Modern, where she made a major work for annual Turbine Hall commission. A new artwork of hers was in the inaugural exhibition at V&A East. Throughout her career in her homeland, Tania Bruguera has been repeatedly censored, arrested and detained by the Cuban authorities because of her political activism. She now lives in the US where she is senior lecturer at Harvard University.

Producer: Edwina Pitman


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m002ykgg)
Born on the Fourth of July

As Americans mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, James Naughtie looks at how Americans celebrate 4th July, and how its meaning has changed over time.

John Adams, America's second president, once wrote that Independence Day would be celebrated with "Pomp and Parade, with Shows, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and illuminates from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more." In the years since, Americans have done their best to do just that.

But the Declaration was animated by a set of ideas as much as by a wish for a new nation to strike out on its own. And in the centuries since, those ideas have been interpreted and re-interpreted, contested and sometimes fought over - underlying many of the debates in American public life. So as James explores the long history of how Americans have celebrated 4th July, and indeed joins some of their celebrations, he also delves into those deeper currents.

Producer: Giles Edwards.


SAT 21:00 Moral Maze (m002ybpb)
Are America's founding ideals a reality or a myth?

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal, endowed with unalienable rights... life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. During his lifetime Jefferson owned more than 620 slaves. As America marks 250 years since the Declaration, that contradiction is impossible to look past: a document of universal liberty, written by men who denied it to the women in their households, the people they enslaved, and the nations whose land they were settling.

One reading says this was hypocrisy - that "all men" never meant all men, that the rhetoric of equality was cover for the interests of rich, white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants, and that the centuries of struggle since have been a slow correction of a lie dressed up as a promise. Another reading says something genuinely radical was set loose that day - a principle larger than its authors, one that would eventually demand Abolition, Enfranchisement and the end of Segregation, precisely because the words of the Declaration meant more than the men who put their names to it could envisage. On this account, the Founding Fathers endorsed an ideal and left their descendants to grow into it.

That same split runs through America today. The current presidency has departed from constitutional norms everyone had assumed were solid - over courts, elections, the press and the limits of executive power. One view says this is a crisis the Republic will survive: a serious one, but a blip in the two and a half centuries during which American institutions have weathered civil war, economic depression, and social upheaval, and during which the founding ideals have always held firm. The soul of America gets shaken, but it holds. The other view says the Republic was never held together by Constitutional Law - it was held together by a myth - a shared belief, perhaps deluded, that Americans would behave decently and that the norms would prevail. Once a leader has tested every one of those boundaries and paid no price, the myth shatters, and there is nothing to stop the next leader from going further. On this view, the current administration is a distorted reflection of what America truly is.

Chair: Michael Buerk
Panel: Giles Fraser, Carmody Grey, Matthew Taylor and Tim Stanley.
Witnesses: Richard Carwardine, Aziz Rana, Adam White and Claire Ainsley.
Producer: Dan Tierney
Assistant Producer: Pater Everett
Editor: Tim Pemberton


SAT 22:00 News (m002ykgj)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m002yc9r)
Howzat? The Story of the Cricket Tea

Chef and broadcaster Romy Gill heads to the pavilion to explore cricket's relationship with food. She discovers that the supposedly British institution of the cricket tea was in fact a tradition imported from Australia in the 1880s. She visits Lord's - the Home of Cricket - and is given access to the kitchens to watch tea being prepared as well as receiving a tour of the Lord's museum to look through their culinary archives. She's made to feel welcome by the BBC Test Match Special team and reminisces over her own childhood cricket teas growing up in West Bengal in India.

Romy explores the health of the cricket tea at a club level and heads to Stainland Cricket Club near Halifax in West Yorkshire to meet the inspirational Trish Wood who has helped bring cricket teas back to her club and John Fuller of Cricket Yorkshire who devised a competition to find the best cricket tea in the county.

Robin Markwell reports from Stoke Gifford in South Gloucestershire on a decision by cricket clubs around Bristol who voted to no longer make cricket teas compulsory in their league after the pandemic.

Presented by Romy Gill and produced by Robin Markwell for BBC Audio in Bristol with thanks to the BBC Test Match Special team.


SAT 23:00 Parish Matters (m0024vpf)
Series 1

1. "Don't come crying to me when the robots take over!"

A new sitcom-sketch hybrid made in Belfast and starring voices from all over Ireland. Each week we join the eccentric inhabitants of the parish in their weekly council meeting to air their problems and grievances.

The parish is in the grip of a technological revolution and the council meets to try to understand what exactly it all means and where they can noisily wade in. So what will they do about the gargantuan data centre in the good field? Why do the drone deliveries keep blowing up? How did two council members nearly die? What’s the update on the upcoming Manifestival? And can the best (and only) cop in town solve the case of the man going round stealing everyone’s jobs?

Parish Matters is a window into an everlasting argument and an energetic and original comedy show written by Michael McCullagh and Phil Taggart and starring the writers alongside Michael Fry, Ciara Knight, Hannah Mamalis, Mary Flanigan, Michael Stranney and Peter McGann.

Producer: Keith Martin
Executive Producer: Sam Michell

A Fabel Radio production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 23:30 Your Number's Up (m002y8zk)
1. How many Yorkshire puddings in Yorkshire?

A brand-new, number-crunching comedy quiz for Radio 4 hosted by presenter, comedian and YouTuber Max Fosh. In the Every Answer Counts round, players must solve general knowledge equations such as adding the number of US Supreme Court justices to the number of Strictly Come Dancing judges. In Bestimate Guesstimate, players must calculate how many eggs Nigella Lawson would need to make a Yorkshire pudding for everyone in Yorkshire, and how much it would cost Lou Bega to send a Valentine’s card to all of the women named in Mambo No. 5. In Twenty-One – the quizzing equivalent of blackjack – players must try and build a winning hand using countries and the number of times they have won the Eurovision Song Contest.

Presenter: Max Fosh
Writers: Benjamin Sutton, James Trickey and James Rawson
Line Producer: Natascha McQueen
Assistant Producer: James Rawson
Producer: Benjamin Sutton
Executive Producers: Simon Urwin and Kitty Walshe

A QITV production for BBC Radio 4

SUNDAY 05 JULY 2026

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m002ykgl)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 00:15 Take Four Books (m002y8zh)
Tahmima Anam

The Bangladeshi-born British writer, Tahmima Anam, speaks to Take Four Books about her latest novel, Uprising, and together with presenter James Crawford, they explore its connections to three other works of fiction. Set on a fictional, sinking island, Uprising, is told from the perspective of a group of children who witness their mothers living lives of cruelty and servitude.

Tahmima Anam is a multi-award-winning writer and journalist. In 2013 she was named as one of the 'Best Young British Novelists' by Granta. She also holds a PHD in anthropology from Harvard University.

For her three influences, Tahmima chose: The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka, from 2012; Sultana’s Dream by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain from 1905; and Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed, also from 2012.

This episode was recorded at the Hay Festival.

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


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002ykgn)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002ykgq)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


SUN 05:30 News Summary (m002ykgs)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002ykgv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m002ykgx)
The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul in Washington, USA.

Bells on Sunday comes from the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Washington, USA. In 1791 President Washington commissioned a plan for the nation’s capital that included a great church for national purposes. However, it wasn’t until 1907 that the first foundation stone of the Cathedral was laid with construction then taking eighty three years to complete. The central tower holds a peal of ten bells that was installed in 1963 by the Whitechapel Foundry of London. The Tenor weighs thirty two hundredweight and is tuned to D. We hear them ringing Stedman Caters.


SUN 05:45 In Touch (m002ybc7)
Cooking: Tips and Tricks

Whether you are a confident cook or complete novice, In Touch provides tips on how to navigate the kitchen with a visual impairment. We have gathered a panel of blind and partially sighted people with an interest in cooking and who have a range of experience, levels of vision and kitchen set ups, to provide their tips, tricks and work-arounds.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Kim Agostino
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio’ in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.


SUN 06:00 News Summary (m002ymvl)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 06:05 Thinking Allowed (m002ybbq)
Charity Shops and Pocket Money

What does it really mean to give something away - or to buy something second-hand? And what, in the process, are we choosing not to see?
Laurie Taylor talks to Gaby Harris, Sociologist and Lecturer in Fashion Cultures at Manchester Metropolitan University, about her research on teenage girls and pocket money. Drawing on interviews with 15–17-year-olds, she shows that “pocket money” is far from simple. From parental allowances to part-time work and reselling clothes: how is money is negotiated within families, shaped by rules, expectations and inequalities, and how do young people use it to carve out autonomy in their social lives?

Triona Fitton, Senior Lecturer in Sociology from the University of Kent, asks questions about charity shops and second-hand consumption. Drawing on research inside charity shops, Triona explores the tension between charitable ideals and commercial pressures, describing a “quiet economy” of hidden labour and everyday decision-making. While donating or buying second-hand can feel virtuous, she argues that this can obscure a more complex global system where large quantities of our second hand goods are dumped or burned, with environmental and social consequences.

Producer: Natalia Fernandez
Series Editor: Robyn Read


SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m002ymvn)
The Rock Farm

Nathan Morrow is a farmer with a deep sense of history. He tells Kathleen Carragher that the farm has been in his family for more than 500 years and he has many stories about the land, the people, the customs and the occasional discoveries of archaeological treasures, including a gold cross, found by his great grandfather.

Growing up on the farm he helped his father to mend the dry stone walls which are such a distinctive feature of the farm and surrounding countryside. It was this work which nurtured his passion for stone masonry. He became fascinated with the heritage side of the craft and as well as running the farm, he now has his own stone masonry business. He has worked on many prestige projects, including Royal Residence at Hillsborough Castle and Queen's University in Belfast. He also runs stone masonry courses.

Nathan tells Kathleen that he and his father traditionally farmed sheep and dairy cattle but found it unprofitable. Now he raises beef cattle – a very distinctive breed called the Irish Speckle Park. It was developed in Canada and introduced to the Glens in the 1980s. Nathan says he fell in love with the breed, so much so that he undertakes the hard and expensive work of breeding his herd from embryos.

"The embryos are sent over from Canada," he says. "It's quite a gamble. I have a success rate of about fifty percent but it 's worthwhile. They're lovely cows... so docile and easy to work with and they produce premium marbled beef."

Nathan is helped on the farm by his partner, Ceara, who didn't come from a farming background but now plays an important role when his stone masonry work takes him off farm. The couple plan to increase the herd over the next few years and develop a farm shop to sell directly to customers. Nathan is converting a barn so he can run stone masonry classes from the Rock Farm and spend more time at home.

Kathleen joined Nathan on a visit to one of his more unusual jobs, at the world famous Giant's Causeway, further up the Antrim coast. He says: "Visitors often lodge coins into the cracks of the iconic hexagonal pillars in the belief that it brings good luck. Unfortunately, the coins expand, get stuck in the cracks and if they're left there the coin metal will damage and discolour the basalt. We need to chisel them out very delicately to avoid lasting damage."

Nathan says his heritage work with stone masonry has given him a particular perspective on managing the family farm. " It changes your mindset. You have to learn about a place, its history and cultural significance before you fix things and it's the same on a farm. You don't just take out a hedge or ditch. It was there for a reason.

"I love this place.. it means everything to me – the fields and the dry stone walls - and I hope my care of it will make it even better."


SUN 06:57 Weather (m002ymvq)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m002ymvs)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 07:10 Sunday (m002ymvv)
Ayatollah Khamenei's Funeral, 'Conversion Therapy', Football Fever in Mexico

As mourners gather in Iran to pay their respects to the country's former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, we hear from Tehran about the significance of the six-day funeral. His body is currently lying in state at the Grand Mosalla mosque and will travel to several religiously significant cities before a burial in his hometown of Mashhad. Authorities expect 15-20 million people to attend the ceremonies across Iran and Iraq which take place more than four months after Khamenei was killed in US and Israeli strikes.

So called 'conversion therapy' is set to be criminalised under draft legislation put before Parliament. This is the practice where someone tries to change or suppress a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the draft Conversion Practices Bill perpetrators of abusive practices could face up to five years in prison. We dissect the different views around the Bill, from an advocate who argues it will offer essential protection, to those who say it could criminalise preachers simply offering help and support.

And with all eyes on Mexico ahead of England's round of 16 tie against the country at the Azteca Stadium, we hear from the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City which has allowed a statue of the Christ child to be dressed in the national team's shirt and put on the altar.

Presenter: Emily Buchanan
Producers: James Graham, Rebecca Kelly and Liberty Phelan
Studio Managers: Teifi James and Helen Williams
Editor: Dan Tierney


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m002yl29)
The Living Paintings Trust

David Hall, father of 10 year old Monty who is blind, and a trustee of The Living Paintings Trust, presents the Radio 4 appeal on behalf of the charity. It adapts published books by adding tactile pictures, braille and audio descriptions, then distributes them to visually impaired children across the UK via a free postal library service.

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 Living Paintings Trust’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘The Living Paintings 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: 1049103. If you’d like to find out more about the charity’s work visit *https://livingpaintings.org/
*The BBC is not responsible for content on external websites

Producer: Katy Takatsuki


SUN 07:57 Weather (m002ymvx)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m002ymvz)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m002ymw1)
Faith and Fairytales

Sunday Worship visits Hereford Cathedral with fantasy author and priest Luke Aylen to explore the links between faith and fairytales. The Cathedral is home of the Mappa Mundi, which is not just a map, but a story of the world as understood in the 1300s. The Christian narrative is at the heart of it, with Christ reigning in glory at its top, yet it is filled with images of mythical beasts and distant lands. In the evocative Chained Library, we find our reading in the historical treasure of the Cathedral, the Hereford Gospels, beautifully illustrated texts from the 8th Century. Traditional storyteller, Amy Scott Robinson, explores the connections between the logic of fairytales and the Kingdom of God - where treasure is either worth everything, or nothing at all. The Revd Canon James Pacey, Chancellor of the Cathedral, unpacks the importance of stories in his faith journey and how the treasure of the Cathedral is not the historical objects it holds, but in the faith found in the pilgrims who travel there.

Music:

He who would valiant be, featuring the Hereford, Worcester and Gloucester Cathedral Choirs (ARCHIVE RECORDING)
O Choruscan Lux Stellarum, by Hildegard Von Bingen featuring Sequentian and Barbara Thornton
Psalm 19 sung by the Hereford Cathedral Choir (ARCHIVE RECORDING)
Blessed Assurance sung by the Choir of Methodist Central Hall
Magnificat in G Major sung by Hereford Cathedral Choir (ARCHIVE RECORDING)
When a knight won his spurs sung by Salisbury Cathedral Choir

Bible readings:
Proverbs 30:21-23
Matthew 13:44-46

Produced by Abi Thomas.


SUN 08:48 Witness History (w3ct74kd)
The American Freedom Train

In April 1975, the American Freedom Train set out on a tour across the United States to celebrate 200 years of American independence.

On-board were more than 500 priceless artefacts, documenting important moments in America's history - including an original copy of the Constitution, Thomas Edison's first working light bulb and a NASA lunar rover.

Over the next 21 months, seven million people visited the travelling museum as it made its epic journey around 48 states.

Jacqueline Paine speaks to former train security guard Lou Nelson, about taking America's history to the people, as the country prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: People in Archbold, Ohio queue to see the American Freedom Train, June 1975. Credit: AP)


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m002ymw3)
Liz Berry on the Rock Dove

Poet Liz Berry writes about her love for feral pigeons or rock doves, and how they rule the roost in Birmingham.

Produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio Production in Bristol.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m002ymw5)
Farage denies rules broken after reports benefits from ally were not declared

Nigel Farage's spokesman says the Reform UK leader didn't break parliamentary rules despite fresh reports that benefits from ally weren't declared. Sunday Times investigative editor Gabriel Pogrund has the details. Also on BH Lyse Doucet in Iran, actor and mountaineer Brian Blessed on England's World Cup bid at altitude. The renaissance of the Lido. North America Editor Sarah Smith on USA's 250th anniversary. A mother and son separated in the forced adoption scandal tell their story. On the news review broadcaster Daisy McAndrew, bestselling author Sarah Perry and former Culture minister Ed Vaizey.


SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m002ym78)
Professor Liz Morris, glaciologist

Professor Liz Morris is a glaciologist whose work in some of the earth’s most inhospitable environments has broadened humanity’s understanding of climate change and polar science. Her accolades include the prestigious Polar Medal and an OBE for services to Polar Science.

Liz was born in London in 1946 and family legend has it that she fell in love with snow and ice the following year during what was known as the Big Freeze - one of the most severe and punishing winters in British history.

She studied physics at Bristol University and applied for a role at the British Antarctic Survey in the early Seventies. At that time the institute did not have any female scientists working in the field and her application was rejected.

Liz bided her time and eventually did get to work at the BAS, becoming head of the Ice and Climate Division in 1986. The following year she became the first British woman to undertake tent-based research in Antarctica, arriving just as the ozone hole discovery was breaking.

Liz completed her last field trip in 2014. In 2020 the Antarctic Place-Names Committee named a glacier in her honour.

Liz divides her time between the Cotswolds and Scotland.

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley


SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m002ymw7)
28th June – 3rd July 2026
Writer: Oliver Turner
Director: Rosemary Watts
Editor: Jeremy Howe

Brian Aldridge … Charles Collingwood
David Archer … Timothy Bentinck
Helen Archer … Louiza Patikas
Natasha Archer … Mali Harries
Tom Archer … William Troughton
Chris Carter … Wilf Scolding
Neil Carter … Brian Hewlett
Susan Carter … Charlotte Martin
Ian Craig … Stephen Kennedy
Martyn Gibson .... Jon Glover
Amber Gordon … Olivia Bernstone
Ed Grundy … Barry Farrimond
George Grundy … Angus Stobie
Keira Grundy … Mollie Kruczek
Kate Madikane … Perdita Avery
Kirsty Miller …Annabelle Dowler
Lottie Summers … Bonnie Baddoo
Bill Gordon … Matthew Gravelle


SUN 12:15 Profile (m002ykgd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 12:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m002ybh7)
Series 85

4. Garden or Bedroom

The godfather of all panel shows returns to the Cambridge Corn Exchange. On the panel are Miles Jupp, Tony Hawks, Lucy Porter and Henning Wehn, 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


SUN 12:57 Weather (m002ymw9)
The latest weather forecast


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m002ymwc)
How should Germany respond to economic decline and populist politics?

As Germany's economy splutters, the populist AfD holds their annual conference. Will German chancellor Friedrich Merz's long-awaited reforms lead to some much needed economic growth? And can Germany's political centre hold in the face of political populism? We hear from a former senior CUD minister and the AfD's deputy leader in the Bundestag.


SUN 13:30 Currently (m002ykn6)
The Artificial University

Kathryn Claire Higgins is a working academic in the UK; and wants to raise the alarm.

An extraordinary proportion of her students are becoming increasingly reliant on large language models like ChatGPT and Claude to complete their research and their writing. In both popular and university culture, students are being encouraged to make use of these tools, seen as an essential part of the economy of the future - the same economy universities are trying to prepare them for. Students are often overwhelmed, working jobs alongside degrees, with chatbots offering an irrestistible shortcut through their workload.

Academic teaching has long relied on the essay as a means of teaching students how to build an argument, to research evidence and express your ideas. Now a polished looking essay is available at the click of a button.

Some argue that universities need to embrace the AI revolution, focusing on teaching students how to use these tools responsibly. For others, they fear a world where students leave with a degree, but without the criticial thinking and writing skills it's supposed to vouch for. What everyone agrees on is that higher education is at an existential crossroads. How universities respond to the arrival of AI will reshape their future role in society.

Kathryn sets out to meet the people at the front line of this battle - students, academics and university administrators.

At a time of deep crisis in UK universities over funding, academic morale and the value of a degree, is AI a path out? Or is it the last straw?

Presenter: Kathryn Claire Higgins
Producer: John Rogers
Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson

A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002ycb6)
Winterbourne House and Garden: Tomatoes, Topiary and Japanese Gardens

Kathy Clugston and the panel are in Edgbaston at the University of Birmingham’s beautiful Winterbourne House and Garden, an Arts and Crafts era gem packed with horticultural interest.

Joining Kathy to answer questions from a keen audience of local gardeners are Bethan Collerton, Marcus Chilton‑Jones and Dr Chris Thorogood. The team tackle everything from leggy tomatoes, to the challenge of designing a cohesive border that spans both sun and shade.

There’s practical advice for dealing with the devastation caused by box tree moth, creative planting ideas for Japanese‑inspired gardens using unusual and architectural plants.

Also, Bethan takes a walk around the Winterbourne grounds with head gardener Paul Cooke to discover how Gertrude Jekyll’s influence continues to shape the garden today.

Producers: 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.


SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m002ykn2)
Anna Christie - Episode 1

In the first of two episodes, John Yorke looks at “Anna Christie” by Eugene O’Neill - one of American theatre’s founding fathers, and the only American dramatist to have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The play is about a young woman who goes in search of her estranged father, a sea captain, and falls in love with a sailor.

Debuting in 1921, “Anna Christie” is one of O’Neill’s early works – less well known and less successful than his later plays, like Long Day’s Journey into Night or The Iceman Cometh – but, as John Yorke explains, “Anna Christie” is significant both for what it tells us about one of American theatres key figures, and as a story that captures a nation at a moment of transition.

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 Radio 4.

Contributors:

Robert M. Dowling, professor of English at Central Connecticut State University, author of the biography Eugene O’Neill: A Life in Four Acts.

Thomas Kail, director of a 2026 production of “Anna Christie” at St Ann’s Warehouse, New York, speaking on the WNYC podcast All Of It with Alison Stewart.

From the BBC archives:

Jude Law, The Radio 2 Arts Show, 5 August 2011
Ruth Wilson, Front Row, 5 August 2011.
Writer and critic Sarah Churchwell, Front Row 10 August 2011.

Credits:

Readings by Eric Stroud.

Excerpts from “Anna Christie” by Eugene O’Neill, 1921, including Natasha Richardson in the 1990 Young Vic production and Ruth Wilson and Jude Law in the 2011 Donmar Warehouse production.

Researcher: Henry Tydeman
Sound: Sean Kerwin
Producer: Jack Soper
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4 & BBC Sounds


SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m002ymwf)
Anna Christie

Part 1

Anna Christie has spent fifteen years waiting for a father who never came. When she finally arrives on the New York waterfront to find him, she brings with her a past she has told nobody, and a fury at the world that has shaped her whole life. What she doesn't expect is the sea itself, and what it might do to her.

Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama is one of the towering works of American theatre: a searingly honest portrait of people trying to outrun their histories, until a shipwrecked Irish stoker arrives out of the fog and gives Anna a reason to stop running.

Adapted for radio by Lucy Catherine.

Story of America is a major collection of dramatisations of milestone American titles marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of the United States.

Anna . . . . . Julianna Jennings
Chris . . . . . David Threlfall
Mat . . . . . Ciarán Owens
Marthy . . . . . Heather Craney
Johnny . . . . . Parker Sawyers
Larry . . . . . Kenndrick Horton

Director: Sasha Yevtushenko
Technical producers: Keith Graham & Sam Dickinson
Editor: Peter Ringrose
Production co-ordinator: Ben Hollands

A BBC Studios production.


SUN 16:00 Bookclub (m002ymwj)
Anne Sebba

Historian and writer Anne Sebba, speaks this month to Bookclub, presented by James Naughtie, about her award-winning biography, That Woman: The life of Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor. ‘That Woman,’ as she was referred to by the Queen Mother and other members of the Royal Family, became a hate figure for allegedly ensnaring a British king. Born in 1896 in Baltimore under the name, Bessiewallis Warfield, she had an impoverished and comparatively obscure childhood which, Anne Sebba writes, inflamed a burning desire to rise above her circumstances.

This episode was recorded at the Borders Book Festival.

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


SUN 16:30 Your Number's Up (m002ymwl)
2. How many satanists in Bungay, Suffolk?

A brand-new, number-crunching comedy quiz for Radio 4 hosted by comedian and YouTuber Max Fosh. In the Every Answer Counts round, players must solve general knowledge equations such as multiplying the pH of pure water by the number of PHs in Philadelphia. In Bestimate Guesstimate, quizzers must calculate the value of a solid gold Max Fosh and how long it would take for Dolly Parton to sing Islands in the Stream on every island of the Philippines. And in the fast-paced Facts & Figures round - where extraordinary facts provide frankly useless clues to a series of tricky equations – they must work out the world record for the number of bees in a human mouth… or 763 divided by 7.

Presenter: Max Fosh
Writers: Benjamin Sutton, James Trickey and James Rawson
Line Producer: Natascha McQueen
Assistant Producer: James Rawson
Producer: Benjamin Sutton
Executive Producers: Simon Urwin and Kitty Walshe

A QITV production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct747g)
World War Two’s Shetland Bus

During World War Two, whilst Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany, a group of Norwegian sailors set up a base on the Shetland Islands and began aiding their country’s resistance.

Named “The Shetland Bus” they made perilous journeys across the North Sea in fishing boats - smuggling agents, equipment and ammunition into Norway.

Their most famous skipper was Leif Larsen. He made more than 50 journeys to and from occupied Norway during the war and became one of the highest decorated naval officers of World War Two.

Tim O’Callaghan tells his story using archive interviews Leif gave to the BBC in 1981 and 1985.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: The Shetland Bus crew, Leif Larsen second from left next to agent in white coat. Credit: David Howarth)


SUN 17:10 The Patch (m002ybgl)
Blackley, North Manchester

One random postcode and a story you probably haven't heard before. In North Manchester, producer Polly Weston stumbles on a roadside memorial covered in Manchester City shirts and flowers, and discovers the extraordinary story behind it.

With thanks to everyone on Chapel Lane.

Produced and presented by Polly Weston
Editor: Chris Ledgard
Mixed by Ilse Lademann
Theme music by Jair Claudino Rodrigues, Guilherme Lopes Rodrigues and Pablo Love
Additional music is Forest Floor by Kayla Painter


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002ymwp)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping


SUN 17:57 Weather (m002ymwr)
The latest weather reports and forecast


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002ymwt)
Reform denies rules broken by Nigel Farage over ally benefits

Reform UK has rejected claims that its leader Nigel Farage failed to declare benefits provided by a crypto-entrepreneur, who was jailed for fraud in the United States nine years ago. The Sunday Times says George Cottrell provided Mr Farage with security and social media support before he was elected, as well as use of a rented property in central London. In other news, Police Scotland say they're making inquiries after a complaint was made about the finances of Yes Scotland - a group which campaigned in favour of independence during the 2014 referendum. And England are taking on Mexico in their crucial World Cup knock-out game in Mexico City.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m002ymww)
Shahidha Bari

This week, as always there’s radio mishaps and mayhem as well as some memorable moments to be found on Radio 4. Over on Radio 3, Scottish musician Colin MacIntyre takes us to Mull in the search for island music, and Elizabeth Alker takes us even further afield - to the moon, in fact. Plus, there’s a fairytale or two being spun, like a retelling of Cinderella in Jazz Age America with the help of Helena Bonham Carter; meanwhile the Moomins find themselves in a spot of peril from an errant (but fashionable) piece of headgear.

Presenter: Shahidha Bari
Producers: Anthony McKee and Sue Dougan
Editor: Steven Hobson
Production Coordinators: Caoilfhinn McFadden and Sylvie Conway

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.

Programmes featured in this episode include:

Any Answers, 27/06
Gardeners' Question Time: From the Archives: A Tribute to Matthew Biggs
Shipping Forecast, 27/06: Al Ryan's farewell to longwave radio
The Essay: Our Island Music - Isle of Mull
Take Four Books - Tahmima Anam
Being Greek: Star of Stage and Temple
Front Row, 29/06: Remembering Penelope Keith
This Cultural Life: Anish Kapoor
In Touch: Modified Exam Papers
Once Upon a Time... Cinderella and the Duke by Katherine Rundell
Drama on 4: Finn Family Moomintroll
The World this Weekend, 28/06: Life after the International Space Station
Unclassified, 28/06: By moonlight


SUN 19:00 The Archers (m002ykn0)
As Chris packs his and Martha’s things ahead of Harrison’s return from Yorkshire, he shares with Fallon his hopes that his flat will be ready soon. Last time he lived at Susan and Neil’s, they almost sent him doolally. Hannah calls, letting Chris know that one of the farriers for the Borchester Show has been injured and will have to pull out of the pairs. Fallon suggests that Chris takes his place. Later, he worries about demonstrating his skills in front of his peers, but Fallon speculates on the real reason for his reticence – Chris lacks the sun-kissed glow of many of the farriers on social media!
At Tracy’s, she and Susan are shocked to see the arrival of Bert by taxi. Thinner and unshaven, Bert insists that Clive has cared well for him, but Clive’s new job means it’s impractical now, so he’s back – and unimpressed to find his bedroom being used for laundry.
Bert is not impressed that Susan is going to a Fleetwood Mac tribute and Tracy’s working at The Bull. Nor is he happy that she’s taken on more dairy work. Treating him to a meal and a pint, Tracy takes him to work and Bert reluctantly lets Brian sit with him. Brian listens to Bert’s grumbles about his family and being made to feel a burden but reproaches him – Bert should be proud to have such hardworking, caring daughters. Put out, Bert fires back that Brian is high and mighty and has no right to interfere, considering his own family’s issues.


SUN 19:15 Illuminated (m002ymwy)
Later Life Letter

This is a love letter to a special kind of letter, a 'later life letter' - a letter that can 'speak across the years', telling an adopted child where they come from, and helping them understand who they might be now.

In this documentary, poet Luke Wright opens his 'later life letter' and shares what it reveals, and why he keeps it in his bedside drawer. It's one of the most meaningful documents anyone can read. It tells a child about their birth family and their history, when there may be no-one who remembers or knows these details. Luke's letter is handwritten, and has come to mean so much more to him than an official document.

When Luke received his later life letter as a teenager, he didn’t pay it too much attention. But now, married to a social worker and seeing the care she takes with these letters, he re-examines it, writing poetry about the letter itself, the life he might have had, and appreciating the care a social worker took in 1982 to tell the story of his surprise birth and his earliest weeks on earth.

He wants to understand how it was written, to imagine the social worker who wrote it in her own hand - and to say thank you to her in person if he can.

Presented by Luke Wright - his new collection is 'Later Life Letter' (Fleet)
Produced by Faith Lawrence
Mix by Sharon Hughes (Shush)


SUN 19:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m001s5c6)
Have a Laugh

Laughter really is good medicine. From releasing pain-killing endorphins to improving your memory, laughter can have many benefits on your body and brain - it’s even been shown to boost “gamma” brainwaves, which are associated with higher level brain processes, like learning and memory. In this episode, Michael shares a chuckle with cardiologist Professor Michael Miller from the University of Pennsylvania in the US to discuss how laughter can help your heart health, keep your blood vessels young, and be the antidote to stress. Meanwhile, our volunteer Manpreet enjoys the benefits of a glorious cackle.

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 Feedback (m002yblf)
News coverage of Andy Burnham. BBC Cuts. The Archers

Andrea Catherwood hears your comments on the cuts to BBC Radio 4 news programmes and talks to a former Radio commissioner about her experience of bringing in changes to Radio 4.

Also, our listeners share their views on the news coverage over the past few weeks as Keir Starmer announced his resignation as Prime Minister and Andy Burnham, the newly elected MP for Makerfield, arrived at London Euston station to a press pack.

And a recent distressing episode of a dog attack on sheep in The Archers has motivated listeners to get in touch.

A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4


SUN 20:30 Last Word (m002ycbb)
The Good Life of Dame Penelope Keith

Dame Penelope Keith became a household name for her performances in two classic TV comedy shows of the 1970s and early 80s: The Good Life and To The Manor Born. We share her story through her own words, with interviews from the BBC Archives.

David Hencke was an award-winning investigative journalist who worked for the Guardian newspaper for over thirty years. His scoops brought to light wrongdoing in many spheres of public life. His friend and colleague Francis Beckett reveals where his drive to uncover the truth came from.

The solitary nun, Sister Maggie Ross, born Martha Reeves, extolled the virtues of silence. A renowned theologian, she spent part of her time in the wilderness of Alaska with a tamed raven. Her bishop protector, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, pays tribute.

Marion Fossett was an Irish contortionist, and Eurovision hopeful, who became a fourth generation circus performer by joining the family business. She started young, brought in to the circus ring as an 18 month old baby, by an elephant. Marion became one of the industry’s few ringmistresses. Her niece, Sonya Fossett, takes us inside the world of Fossett's Circus.

Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea Kennedy

Archive:
BBC One, Wogan, 13.09.1985; BBC Radio 4, In Conversation… with Penelope Keith, 28.10.1999; BBC One, The Heaven and Earth Show, 24.08.2003; BBC One, The Good Life: "Silly, but it's fun”, 26.12.1977; BBC One, The Good Life: “A Tug of the Forelock”, 24.09.1976; BBC Four, Penelope Keith Remembers To The Manor Born, 02.01.2024; BBC One, To The Manor Born: “Grantleigh”, 30.09.1979; BBC News, 20.10.1994; BBC Two, Westminster Daily, 26.10.1994; BBC News, 23.12.1998; BBC Two, Limits of Freedom: “Who Is Big Brother?”, 10.10.1983; BBC Radio 4, Museum of Curiosity, 26.03.2008; The Gilded Thread with Irene O’Brien, 23.05.2023


SUN 21:00 Money Box (m002ykfp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m002yl29)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002ykfk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:30 on Saturday]


SUN 22:00 Westminster Hour (m002ymx0)
Challenges facing the new PM on defence, foreign affairs and social care

Ben Wright is joined by Labour MP Anna Dixon, Conservative former minister Jesse Norman and commentator Miranda Green from the Financial Times. They discuss Keir Starmer's attempt to frame his legacy, and the domestic and international challenges facing the new Prime Minister. James Heale - deputy political editor of The Spectator - brings additional insight and analysis. Ben also interviews Layla Moran - Lib Dem chair of the Health and Social Care Committee - about the prospects for reforming adult social care, if Andy Burnham enters Downing St.


SUN 23:00 In Our Time (m002ybkj)
Seashells

Misha Glenny and guests discuss a familiar feature of our beaches: seashells, from their astonishing shapes and patterns that teach us about Earth’s oceans, to the ways that humans have treasured shells throughout history. Seashells appear in the mythologies of countless cultures across the world - think of Botticelli’s Venus emerging from a giant scallop shell, Vishnu's sacred horn panchajanya, or the Aztec god Quetzalcōātl’s talisman cut from a conch shell. The urge to collect shells seems to be as old as our species. We’ve used them as decoration, currency, and musical instruments. But shells aren’t just beautiful objects washed up on our beaches. Many belong to one of the most diverse groups of the animal kingdom, Mollusca, and the remarkable morphology of forms and structures they grow in offer insight into the past, present, and future of the marine world.

With

Suzanne Williams
Merit Researcher at the Natural History Museum

Liz Harper
Professor of Evolutionary Malacology in the Department of Earth Sciences and Fellow at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge

Helen Scales
Marine biologist and Author.

Producer: Martha Owen

Reading list:

S. Peter Dance, Shells (DK, 2022)

A.R. Irwin, S.T. Williams, D.I. Speiser and N.W. Roberts, ‘The marine gastropod Conomurex luhuanus (Strombidae) has high-resolution spatial vision and eyes with complex retinas’ (Journal of Experimental Biology 225:16, 2022)

Michael F. Land and Dan-Eric Nilsson, Animal Eyes (Oxford University Press, 2012)

Andreia Salvador, Interesting Shells (The Natural History Museum, 2022)

Helen Scales, Shell Day: A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Molluscan Lives (University of Chicago Press, 2026)

Helen Scales, The Shell Spotter's Guide (National Trust Books, 2024)

Helen Scales, What a Shell Can Tell: Where They Live, What They Eat, How They Move, and More (Phaidon Press, 2022)

Helen Scales, Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2015)

Paul D. Taylor, Fossils: The Essential Guide (University of Chicago Press, 2025)

Suzanne Williams, ‘Molluscan shell colour’ (Biological Reviews, 2017)

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.


SUN 23:45 Short Works (m002ycb8)
Kelvin Sweat by Andy Grace Edwards

In Andy Grace Edwards’ new original work, a signed-off councillor descends into absurdity and desperation in this dark humour story about the lengths one goes to in the pursuit for wellness.
Andy Grace Edwards is a playwright and dramaturg living in Glasgow. They’ve written for page, stage, screen, and radio, including commissions for National Theatre of Scotland and BBC Radio 4. Grace published their first collection, ‘Career Ending Incidents’, in 2025 – a series of short stories about transition and failure, spanning bodies, employments and galaxies. Grace previously wrote criticism for Exeunt Magazine and Neon Books, reviewing contemporary dance, live art, and video games. Beyond the page, they are a Mental Health and Disability Advisor at the University of Strathclyde.
‍’Kelvin Sweat’ is read by Elysia Welch and produced by Bethany Woodhead. It is a BBC Audio Scotland production for BBC Radio 4.

MONDAY 06 JULY 2026

MON 00:00 Midnight News (m002ymx2)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 00:15 The Artificial Human (m002ybp2)
When will robots have their Chat GPT moment?

AI startups in New York are offering free home cleaning—as long as it’s okay to have everything filmed in order to train robots. Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong ask: how far off is a ChatGPT moment for robotics?

Robots are nothing new, and online you’ll find endless videos of cutting-edge machines doing everything from backflips to breakdancing. So with all the breakthroughs in other areas of AI, why aren’t we seeing robots on our streets and in our homes?

We hear from Grace Shao in Hong Kong, who’s been observing recent efforts in China to push the frontiers of robotics. While Subramanian Ramamoorthy, Professor of Robot Learning and Autonomy at the University of Edinburgh, explains just how complicated it is to get robots functioning in our messy human world—and why our expectations may need to be lowered, at least for now.

Presenters: Aleks Krotoski and Kevin Fong
Producer: Peter McManus
Soound: Laura Hay


MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m002ykgx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002ymx4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002ymx6)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


MON 05:00 News Summary (m002ymx8)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


MON 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002ymxb)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament


MON 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002ymxd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002ymxg)
Wisdom to the wise

Prayer for the Day presented by Rumbi Tauro.

Good morning,

In life, there are many moments where I find myself unsure of what the next step should be. Whether it’s decisions about my career or personal life, I’ve realised that not every answer comes instantly. Recently, I’ve been reminded of something simple but powerful: I don’t have to figure everything out on my own.

Wisdom isn’t something I need to create within myself; it’s something I can ask for. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” What stands out to me is that there’s no hesitation from God. He doesn’t give wisdom reluctantly or only when we’ve earned it. He gives generously and without judgement.

That means even in my uncertainty, even when I feel like I should have it all together, I can still come to Him honestly and ask for guidance. I’m learning that wisdom isn’t always about having all the answers straight away. Sometimes it’s about having the peace to take the next step, trusting that God is guiding me even when the full picture isn’t clear.

So when I feel unsure, instead of rushing or overthinking, I’m learning to pause and ask. To invite God into the process and trust that He will lead me.

Dear God, thank you that I don’t have to rely on my own understanding. Thank you that I can access you anytime in prayer. Help me to trust you and walk in your wisdom each day, and when I feel lost may I draw closer to you. Amen.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (m002ymxj)
Farmers who graze their livestock on what’s called Common Land in England were being excluded from the government’s new farming environmental support schemes - not because they didn't qualify, but because the Rural Payments Agency's computer system wasn’t up to the job of processing their applications. However, campaigners say that the system's being changed and commoners will now be able to apply.

Changing sea temperatures, rising fuel costs and offshore windfarms are all challenges for the fishing industry. All week we'll be exploring the state of the sector. We start off by asking the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations about fishing stocks, recruitment and an octopus bloom off UK waters. ,

The combination of higher fertiliser and fuel prices, and challenging weather mean farmers have their thinking caps firmly on their heads when considering long-term options for how they farm in the future. Should they use less fertiliser and fuel, to save costs and help the environment and can they do that, while still producing enough of the food we all need? We bring to together a buying cooperative, a university professor and a potato grower to discuss.

Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney


MON 05:57 Weather (m002ymxl)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for farmers


MON 06:00 Today (m002ykm8)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


MON 09:00 Common Ground (m002ykmd)
Language

In Common Ground, Evan Davis travels around the UK to find out how divided we really are. The series asks whether our society is really becoming increasingly polarised and what people across the country are doing to build stronger communities and connections. In this episode, Evan travels to Leicester to explore language and how it interacts with integration of immigrant communities. Is the number of people who don’t speak English increasing or decreasing? What is stopping people from learning? And how important is a common language for the way communities integrate? He’ll also be joined by an expert panel to discuss the role of language in how well we live together: Author and campaigner, Dame Jasvinder Sanghera and Jacqui Broadhead, director of the Global Exchange on Migration at Oxford University.

Presenter: Evan Davis
Producers: Scott Adam, Emma Close and Katie Haseldine
Editor: Alicia Queiro
Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Neil Churchill


MON 09:30 Politically (m002ybgf)
Reflections: Series 4

Jerry Brown

The former Governor of California oversaw the world's fifth largest economy for sixteen years, ran three times for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, and over the course of his public life has known every president from John F. Kennedy to Donald Trump.

In this interview with James Naughtie, Jerry Brown reflects on the importance of limits in the Jesuitical and Buddhist traditions, and how he took that idea into politics; on how his views on forgiveness informed his decisions to commute the sentences of people on California's Death Row; and on why if, in his words, you believe that inclination of the soul is to sin "you have to be somewhat sceptical about politics".

Producer: Giles Edwards.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002ykmg)
AI images and children, Emergency contraception, Charlotte Edwardes

Parents are being warned about the risks of posting images of their children online due to an increase in AI-generated child abuse imagery. The Internet Watch Foundation found 3,440 AI-generated videos of child sexual abuse in 2025, compared with just 13 in 2024. The National Crime Agency says it is increasingly seeing offenders exploit AI technologies to target children in new ways. What's behind this rise, and what advice is there for parents? Nuala McGovern is joined by Emma Hardy, Director of Communications at the Internet Watch Foundation and Dr Elaine Kasket, cyberpsychologist and the author of Reset: Rethinking your Digital World for a Happier Life.

Should emergency contraception – sometimes referred to as the morning after pill – be available to buy next to the condoms on the supermarket shelf? President of the College of Sexual and Reproductive Health Dr Zara Haider thinks so and joins Nuala to discuss.

Schools have already broken up for summer in Scotland and schools in England and Wales will begin their holidays later this month. The Great British Summer Savings scheme is, a UK government initiative that recently came into effect with the aim of helping families enjoy the weekend treats, the days out, the small plans that make life enjoyable during the cost of living squeeze. To explain more about what is being made available and the difference this could make to families, Nuala hears from marketing expert and CEO of Get Savvy, Catherine Shuttleworth.

At least 11 people have been killed in Kyiv following a second night of Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital in a week, the city's top military administrator has said. For more than four years Ukrainians have been enduring Russian attacks on their cities.  Ukraine is now also carrying out its own drone strikes on targets deep inside Russia.  With no end to the war in sight people in Ukraine have found different ways to cope.  Some women turn to beauty and fashion as a way of dealing with the trauma of war, and as a sign of defiance. Isabella Jewell reports from Kyiv.

Trouble Was is the debut novel by the journalist Charlotte Edwardes. It’s the story of a mother who takes her children to live with relatives in Devon in the long hot summer of 1976 – and the unravelling of family secrets, all told from the perspective of nine-year-old Frank. Charlotte joins Nuala to talk about the baby blues, breakdowns and the realities of ‘70s life that she has fictionalised.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Dianne McGregor


MON 11:00 The Patch (m002ykmj)
North Oxford

One random postcode and a story you probably haven't heard before. In North Oxford, producer Polly Weston is told to visit a salon which has become the centre of the community, and discovers somewhere which does much more than cut hair. A place where nothing goes to waste.

Produced and presented by Polly Weston


MON 11:45 On Thin Ice: A Memoir of Siberia, Surveillance and Survival by Charlie Walker (m002ykml)
Episode 1

Charlie Walker is an award winning explorer and writer. He has travelled tens of thousands of miles, crossing extreme territories such as deserts, wilderness and jungles, fascinated by the land and the people he meets. He has published books about cycling to the ends of the world (Through Sand and Snow) and through Asia and Africa (On Roads that Echo).

In On Thin Ice, he is in Siberia, the coldest inhabited place on earth where in the long winters temperatures can fall to minus 50 degrees and the rivers are so frozen trucks can drive along them. Your breath can freeze in mid-air: "A strange phenomenon occurs: a delicate hissing can be heard, similar to the sound of running sand, as the moisture in one’s own breath crystallises and falls through the cold, dry air. The indigenous Sakha people call this 'the whisper of the stars.'"

Facing ridiculously low temperatures, he skis and walks his way from one small isolated town or village meeting both kindness and distrust. It quickly becomes clear that the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, the FSB, know he is there. The FSB are suspicious at the best of times, but Charlie’s voyage has unwittingly coincided with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine leaving him shocked how so many he meets do not question Putin’s motives or the lies told about the Ukrainian people, unsure how or if he is ever going to get home, and realising all his bank cards have stopped working.

His expedition ends, unexpectedly, in a Russia jail.

Written and read by Charlie Walker
Abridged by Libby Spurier
Produced by Caroline Raphael
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare
Sound by Matt Bainbridge
Production Coordinator: Dawn Williams

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


MON 12:00 News Summary (m002ykmp)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 You and Yours (m002ykmr)
Weight Loss Pills, Gazumping, Intentional Technology

From today, GLP-1 weight loss pills will be available for the first time through certain private pharmacies. The pills are expected to provide a cheaper and less invasive alternative to the widely used GLP-1 injections. An estimated 1.6 million people in the UK are already using this medication and its already having an impact on our consumer behaviour.

We’ll hear from a listener that contacted us about a long-running dispute with a Sainsbury's Local that is next to his house. Since moving in, his front garden wall has been demolished twice and crashed into six times by Sainsbury's lorries. Now, the constant weight of these lorries is also impacting the structural integrity of his property. Consumer Lawyer Gary Rycroft provides advice on what you can do if you have a dispute with your neighbour.

Technology may be woven into almost every part of modern life, but in recent years many consumers have been starting to push back. As a result, a growing market is emerging for products designed to not interrupt your day or demand your attention. These devices are known as intentional or in-between tech, and demand for them is growing. Would you buy a mobile phone or tech product that is intentionally basic?

Last month, the government announced proposed reforms to the way we buy and sell houses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They hope it may solve many things, including the issue of Gazumping. Gazumping is when a seller accepts a higher offer from a buyer, even though they have already accepted an offer from someone else. We’ll hear about what it’s like in Scotland, where Gazumping is close to impossible, and discuss what the new system might look like.

PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON

PRODUCER: CHARLIE FILMER-COURT


MON 12:57 Weather (m002ykmt)
The latest weather forecast


MON 13:00 World at One (m002ykmw)
News, analysis and comment from BBC Radio 4


MON 13:45 Understand (m002ykmy)
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement

6. Arctic 30

“Helicopter” - an activist yells. Then gun-wielding agents in balaclavas abseil down, onto the Greenpeace ship, to tow it to Russia.

This is the story of a campaign against oil drilling in the arctic that takes a dangerous turn. And the debate it sparks within the movement - should the organisers have better anticipated the risks of their campaign? Who is responsible for activists’ safety?

Presenter: Justin Rowlatt
Producer: Alix Pickles
Series Producer: Ellie House
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound Design and Mix: James Beard
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele, Brenda Brown, Sabine Schereck
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

Archive:
Prirazlomnaya Gazprom Oil Rig Protest in the Pechora Sea, Russian Investigative Committee, 18/9/2013
Other archive footage provided by Greenpeace


MON 14:00 The Archers (m002ykn0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Alone (m000vx3w)
Series 3

Best Man Wins

A sitcom about five single, middle aged neighbours living in flats in a converted house in North London .- written by Moray Hunter and starring Angus Deayton, Abigail Cruttenden, Pearce Quigley, Kate Isitt and Bennett Arron,

Mitch (Angus Deayton) is a widower and part-time therapist who is looking to put his life back together now that he is single and living with Will (Pearce Quigley), his younger, more volatile and unhappily divorced half-brother. Elsewhere in the building are schoolteacher Ellie (Abigail Cruttenden) who is shy, nervous and holds a secret candle for Mitch. Overly honest, frustrated actress Louisa (Kate Isitt), and socially inept IT nerd Morris (Bennett Arron) complete the line-up of mis-matched neighbours.

In the sixth and final episode, Best Man Wins, Mitch turns down Ellie’s request to partner her to a wedding and Will offers to accompany her instead. This causes Mitch to regret his decision and panic, as Ellie and Will seem to really hit it off while preparing for their big day out.

Cast:
Angus Deayton- Mitch
Abigail Cruttenden- Ellie
Pearce Quigley- Will
Kate Isitt- Louisa
Bennett Arron- Morris

Created and Written by Moray Hunter
Script Edited by Ian Brown and James Hendrie
Directed by Moray Hunter and Gordon Kennedy
Recorded and Edited by Jerry Peal
Production Manager: Sarah Tombling
Based on an original idea developed in association with Dandy Productions
Recorded at The Soundhouse Studios
Produced by Gordon Kennedy

An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4


MON 14:45 Opening Lines (m002ykn2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Sunday]


MON 15:00 A Good Read (m002ykn4)
Daisy Dunn and Andrew Hunter Murray

The classicist and the author talk about books they love with presenter Harriett Gilbert. One of the books is eerily prescient about the state of the world today.

The books are:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, chosen by classicist Daisy Dunn
Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household, chosen by podcaster and author Andrew Hunter Murray
A Life's Music by Andreï Makine, translated by Geoffrey Strachan, chosen by presenter Harriett Gilbert

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Beth O'Dea
Join us over on instagram @agoodreadbbc

Photo credit: Timothy Foster


MON 15:30 You're Dead to Me (m002ykfb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]


MON 16:00 Currently (m002ykn6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:30 on Sunday]


MON 16:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m002ykfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


MON 17:00 PM (m002ykn8)
Football fury after Fifa red card controversy

The football world is in uproar after Fifa effectively overturned a ban for an American player who was sent off in the USA's last match. President Trump confirmed he asked Fifa to review the case, and said he didn't think the offence was a foul. The USA are playing Belgium in their next game - a Belgian MP speaks to us. And the man who chaired Fifa's governance committee before he was dismissed by football's world governing body tells PM that this is symptomatic of how Fifa works.

Also on the programme, a family drama writ large, as Prince Harry's trip to the UK is embroiled in confusion over where he is staying and what he is doing.

And with the news of its takeover by Sky, what will become of some of ITV's most famous programmes?


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002yknb)
President Trump confirms he asked Fifa to review US striker's red card

President Trump has confirmed he called the head of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, to ask him to review the suspension given to the US striker Folarin Balogun. Also: Prince Harry is told he can't stay at Buckingham Palace because he didn't accept the invitation soon enough. And Sky buys ITV's media and entertainment divisions and promises hit shows will remain free to watch for now.


MON 18:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m002yknd)
Series 85

5. Chat Up Turn Downs

The godfather of all panel shows visits the Leeds Grand Theatre. On the panel are Joe Lycett, Pippa Evans, Miles Jupp and Ian Smith 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 (m002ykng)
David updates Brian on the dog attack. Frustratingly, until the dog is identified, he can’t claim compensation for the loss of his sheep from its owner.

David praises Tony for the progress he’s made with Bridge Farm’s garden. Joining Tony to dig, they discuss the investment into another milking parlour or polytunnels, until Tony’s spade hits metal – John’s childhood model Fordson Major. David encourages him in a new project to clean it up.

Over lunch with Alice, Brian asks after Martha and apologises that he can’t help out with her more. He offers help with the extra costs of care in the holidays, but Alice insists she’s fine. Brian’s glad she’s found someone like Rex who’ll stand up for her and confides that he really misses Miranda. He’s afraid he’ll end up like Bert Horrobin, miserable and alone in The Bull.

Ian is fretting that now he’s so involved at Grey Gables, Adam is not up to speed with school admin and Xander’s needs. Bringing a peace lily to the hotel, Adam concedes that Ian did so much under the radar for Xander. Later, Adam reveals his shock at the invoice from his solicitor. Ian thinks his siblings should share the high cost, as they’d benefit from any settlement. Adam doesn’t want to rock the boat and thinks he should cut his losses – Brian will never let this fight go. But Ian’s determined not to let Brian walk all over them. He won’t let Adam give up after giving 20 years of his life to Home Farm.


MON 19:15 Front Row (m002yknj)
Madonna's Confessions II album, Daphne du Maurier, Sky buying ITV

Confessions II is Madonna's first album in 7 years. Novelist Matt Cain and journalist and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer discuss going back to the dancefloor.

Sky TV has offered £1.6 bn pounds for ITV's free to air channel and its streaming platform ITVX. Jake Kanter, journalist for the screen industry website Deadline, considers what it will mean for British television.

With a new play about Daphne du Maurier - Daphne, The Secret Lives of Daphne Du Maurier - at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter, the playwright Rosie Race joins Samira Ahmed, along with Helen Taylor, author of a detailed biographical guide to her work, The Daphne du Maurier Companion to discuss her life and work.

And with last weekend’s 4th of July celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of US independence from Britain, actor and filmmaker Tara Gadomski looks at the impact of the cultural events taking place across the country.

Presenter: Samira Ahmed
Producer: Andrea Kidd


MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m002yblh)
Iran: If the war is over...who won?

Two weeks ago a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Americans and the Iranians aiming at ending a bomb, missile-and-drone conflict that has lasted four months. Victory has been claimed by everyone and on behalf of everyone. So is the US/Israeli/Iranian war effectively over bar the seemingly inevitable bombast? If so did anyone win? On what terms? And where does it leave the rest of us?

Guests:

Shashank Joshi, The Economist’s Washington bureau chief
Ali Vaez, Project Director, Iran at the Crisis Group in Washington DC
Suzanne Maloney, VP and director of the Foreign Policy programme at the Brookings Institution

Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Ben Carter and Kirsteen Knight
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound engineer: Neil Churchill
Production co-ordinator: Siobhan Reed


MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (w3ct977t)
How do you immortalise natural history?

During this year’s visit to the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London, Tom Whipple discovers how sea urchins are being used to develop techniques to digitally preserve natural history, why we haven’t got robot butlers just yet, and what it takes to bottle lightning.

Plus, in his ongoing quest to assemble a World Cup squad of science Tom recruits health reporter James Gallagher to scout out the best football science from around the world. This week, we want to know if there is robust evidence for a home advantage.

We speak with Associate Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology Laura Porro from University College London, Dr Alice Leavey and Dr Fernando Alvares from the University of Southampton, Professor Ingmar Posner who leads the Applied Artificial Intelligence Lab at the University of Oxford and Dr Daniel Mitchard who is co-lead of Cardiff University’s Lightning Laboratory.

Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producers: Katie Tomsett, Kate White & Tabby Taylor Buck
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth


MON 21:00 Common Ground (m002ykmd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 21:30 Political Thinking with Nick Robinson (m002z8jj)
The Treasury was in denial: John Healey on why he resigned as defence secretary

In his first interview since resigning from Keir Starmer's government, the former Defence Secretary John Healey talks about the threats we face, his hopes for a Burnham government, and why he thinks the Treasury is in denial.

Producer: Hannah Wilkinson


MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m002yknl)
Trump confirms he asked Fifa to review Balogun ban

Donald Trump asked Fifa president Gianni Infantino to review US striker Folarin Balogun's ban, which has since been suspended. We hear the reaction of former Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce.

Also on the programme: National Rally leader Marine Le Pen will find out on Tuesday whether or not she can run for the French presidency in next year's elections. And we speak to classicist Professor Dame Mary Beard as she heads into the premiere of Sir Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey.


MON 22:45 Operation Rex by Damian Barr (m002yknn)
Saturday 26th August 1939: Official Advice to Animal Owners

During one shocking week at the start of the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of pet owners faced an impossible choice. Inspired by real events, Damian Barr imagines one lonely boy's quest to save his much-loved dog.
Read by John Paul Hurley
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie


MON 23:00 Limelight (m001jvht)
Galapagos

3. The Green, Green, Screens of Home

Speculative thriller about big tech, data manipulation and the undermining of democracy, by Simon Scardifield and Andrew Day.

Bryony is increasingly excited by her new role working for Sydney and Shapeshift, using the very latest data manipulation AI. And Sydney's promised to arrange specialist cancer treatment for sister Gaynor in the US. But journalist Sam is on Bryony's tail and she's asking uncomfortable questions.

Bryony.....Hannah Daniel
Sydney.....Ashleigh Haddad
Gaynor.....Sara Gregory
Omar.....Danny Ashok
Euan…..Jamie Redford
Sam…..Claire Cage

Production Co-ordinators.....Eleri McAuliffe and Lindsay Rees
Sound Design.....Catherine Robinson and Nigel Lewis
Directed by Philippa Swallow, John Norton and Emma Harding, BBC Audio Drama Wales


MON 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002yknr)
Alicia McCarthy reports from Westminster a new rules are announced to restrict the influence of foreign donors on UK politics

TUESDAY 07 JULY 2026

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m002yknt)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 00:30 On Thin Ice: A Memoir of Siberia, Surveillance and Survival by Charlie Walker (m002ykml)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002yknw)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002ykny)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


TUE 05:00 News Summary (m002ykp0)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


TUE 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002ykp2)
Susan Hulme reports as MPs question the government about new rules to tighten up on political donations.


TUE 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002ykp4)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002ykp6)
Loving Others

Prayer for the Day presented by Rumbi Tauro.

Good morning,

Loving others sounds like something that should come naturally. It seems simple: be kind, be patient, show care. But in reality, it can be one of the most challenging things to live out consistently. There are moments when loving others feels easy, when people are kind, supportive, and understanding. But there are also times when it’s not so simple, when misunderstandings happen, emotions run high, or we feel hurt, overlooked, or frustrated.

I’ve come to realise that in those moments, love becomes a choice rather than just a feeling. It’s choosing patience when it would be easier to react. It’s choosing grace when we feel wronged. It’s choosing to see people beyond a single moment or mistake.

In John 13:34, it says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” What stands out to me is the standard of that love, “as I have loved you.” That is a deep, selfless, unconditional kind of love. It’s not based on how others treat us, but on how we have been loved first, and that challenges me.

It means loving beyond convenience and comfort. Loving with patience, forgiveness, and compassion, even when it’s difficult. I’m learning that loving others isn’t about getting it right every time, but about being willing to try again.

So today, I want to be more intentional, to slow down, respond with love, and reflect the love that has been shown to me.

Dear God, thank you for loving me unconditionally. Help me grow daily in patience, grace, and understanding. Help me to love others the same way, showing kindness and compassion in every situation. Amen.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m002ykp8)
It seems we might have started a particular conversation about the very dry harvest in parts of the country. We spoke to a farmer, whose feed barley was a third drier than it should be. As a result, his crop was going to weigh less which means he'd get less money for it. Now he is considering adding moisture to the grain, after it leaves storage. We ask an arable expert whether that's something we'll see in future, and whether it's a good idea.

We're discussing many of the challenges the fishing industry faces throughout the week. For those working in the sector, the pressures can be huge, from extreme weather to rising costs and unpredictable catches. Many fishermen run small family businesses in what can be a precarious enterprise. So how do you remain resilient when there are so many changing factors? We find out about a health initiative in Wales to support fishing communities.

Many farms have an education string to their bows nowadays - but perhaps not quite on the scale of a farm near Kendal that’s been hosting primary school visits for the Westmorland County Agricultural Society for the last 25 years. Hundreds of children from 42 different schools from a 30-mile radius flocked to Roger Mason’s farm to learn what farming’s all about. It’s a huge event spread over two days with 300 volunteers from the Agricultural Society alone, not counting the hundred or so teachers and parents who help out too.

Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney


TUE 06:00 Today (m002ym1f)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 Ancient Lives with Mary Beard (m002ym1h)
Being Greek

The Odyssey of Gamma 58

When the German archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, pulled a shining mask from the bone-dry earth of Mycenae he is said to have telegraphed the King of Greece with the words, ‘I have gazed upon the face of Agamemnon’. The unearther of Troy was convinced that he had found more proof that the stories of Homer were based on historical fact. Here was the grave of one of the legendary commanders of the Greek forces in the Trojan War.

Later analysis rubbished Schliemann’s romantic notions, but the graves on this hillside high above the Aegean hold many more fascinating secrets and, in this episode, Mary asks what we can learn from the bones and elaborate grave goods of a Mycenaean woman that archaeologists have labelled, Gamma 58.

Homer’s stories of war, adventure, family and homecoming never lose their appeal. Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is released in cinemas this month and Ralph Fiennes played Odysseus in last year’s highly acclaimed The Return. That film's director, Uberto Pasolini joins Mary and the novelist and historian Emily Hauser in a search for the real people that lie between myth and history. Gamma 58 isn’t Helen of Troy or Odysseus’s Penelope but she has her own story to tell of male power and female agency.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Researcher: Anna Charalambou

Expert Contributors: Emily Hauser of Exeter University, Pontus Skoglund and Eirini Skourtanioti of the Francis Crick Institute and Rachel Phillips of the British School at Athens

Special thanks to the British School at Athens, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and the Francis Crick Institute


TUE 09:30 Inside Health (m002ym1k)
Could CAR-T therapy transform autoimmune disease?

An experimental treatment to “reset” the immune systems of people with autoimmune disease is showing transformative results in early trials.

James visits the NIHR Clinical Research Facility in Manchester to meet Kathy. She was diagnosed with lupus just after the birth of her baby and in 2024 became the first person in the UK to try CAR-T therapy as part of a clinical trial. How is she feeling now?

We’ll also hear from Kathy’s rheumatologist Professor Ben Parker, who led the trial Kathy took part in and explains how the therapy works, the astonishing early results - and whether the effects on the immune system are long lasting.

Also this week, James visits the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to meet some lab-grown British mosquitoes and find out whether they’re out to get us for longer periods of the year and how worried we should be about the threat of disease, with medical entomologist Dr Mojca Kristan and virologist Professor Roger Hewson.

And we look at the latest online trend of “spermmaxxing” with urologist Professor Vaibhav Modgil. Why are men trying to optimise their sperm by dipping their testicles in iced water and abstaining from porn - and is there any evidence for these tactics?

Presenter: James Gallagher
Producer: Gerry Holt
Editor: Ilan Goodman
Production coordinator: Stu Laws
Sound engineer: Mary Stone


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002ym1m)
Finding love, Using donor eggs, VAWG in Northern Ireland

New research into IVF and donor eggs suggests that older women face a lower chance of fertility treatment working, even when using young donor eggs - with a marked drop-off from around the age of 49. Experts studying more than 1700 women say the findings challenge the idea that donor eggs can fully "reset" the reproductive clock - BUT that they should not put older couples off trying. Researchers believe age-related changes in the womb lining may be the cause. Nuala McGovern is joined by Dr Ippokratis Sarris, who is chair elect of the British Fertility Society, and writer Grace Ackroyd who had a baby at 47 using donor eggs.

Have you ever found love in an unexpected place? At a gig? A restaurant?... What about a library? Four couples have found love in the stacks of Anlaby Park Community Library, in Hull. Nuala is joined by one of them, Mandy and Adrian Strickland, who share their story.

What do we know about domestic violence in post-conflict societies, and how important is this knowledge for tackling violence against women in Northern Ireland? Do we see the history of conflict in Northern Ireland reflected in patterns of abuse and violence that women face today? Our guests share their views. Monica McWilliams is a long-standing peace activist and Emeritus Professor at the Transitional Justice Institute Ulster University and Aisling Swaine is Professor of Peace, Security and International Law in Uni College Dublin.

Trish Patterson, a 41-year-old mother of twins, has just set a new world record for the National Three Peaks challenge, running 425 miles over five days. We talk to her about her extraordinary feat and what motivates her to keep going.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Kirsty Starkey


TUE 11:00 Screenshot (m002ycbn)
Fairy Tales

From Disney classics such as Cinderella and Snow White, to the fantastical The Red Shoes, darker tales from European cinema like Bluebeard or Pan's Labyrinth, or stories within stories such as The Princess Bride or The Fall - Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore the magical spell fairy tales have continued to cast over cinema history.

Featuring interviews with director Julia Jackman, Tarsem Singh and cultural historian, Sir Christopher Frayling.

Producer: Queenie Qureshi-Wales
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 11:45 On Thin Ice: A Memoir of Siberia, Surveillance and Survival by Charlie Walker (m002ym1p)
Episode 2

Charlie Walker is an award winning explorer and writer. He has travelled tens of thousands of miles, crossing extreme territories such as deserts, wilderness and jungles, fascinated by the land and the people he meets. He has published books about cycling to the ends of the world (Through Sand and Snow) and through Asia and Africa (On Roads that Echo).

In On Thin Ice, he is in Siberia, the coldest inhabited place on earth where in the long winters temperatures can fall to minus 50 degrees and the rivers are so frozen trucks can drive along them. Your breath can freeze in mid-air: "A strange phenomenon occurs: a delicate hissing can be heard, similar to the sound of running sand, as the moisture in one’s own breath crystallises and falls through the cold, dry air. The indigenous Sakha people call this 'the whisper of the stars.'"

Facing ridiculously low temperatures, he skis and walks his way from one small isolated town or village meeting both kindness and distrust. It quickly becomes clear that the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, the FSB, know he is there. The FSB are suspicious at the best of times, but Charlie’s voyage has unwittingly coincided with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine leaving him shocked how so many he meets do not question Putin’s motives or the lies told about the Ukrainian people, unsure how or if he is ever going to get home, and realising all his bank cards have stopped working.

His expedition ends, unexpectedly, in a Russia jail.

Written and read by Charlie Walker
Abridged by Libby Spurier
Produced by Caroline Raphael
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare
Sound by Matt Bainbridge
Production Coordinator: Dawn Williams

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 12:00 News Summary (m002ym1r)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 You and Yours (m002ym1t)
Call You & Yours: Have you used weight loss drugs, and what difference have they made?

Today on Call You & Yours we want to talk about weight loss drugs....

Have you used weight loss drugs, and what difference have they made?

The weight loss drug WegoVy will now be available in daily pill form, rather than a weekly injection. It's set to see demand for weight loss drugs rocket- with pharmacies already reporting a rise in demand.

1 in 6 households now have a person taking weight loss drugs, but the criteria to get it prescribed on the NHS is strict, with some nations like Northern Ireland not prescribing it on the NHS at all right now.

Buying it is most people's option and it can be expensive; depending on your dose it can cost £100s of pounds a month. Consumers are hoping the pill form will bring costs down.

But interestingly weight loss drugs are saving people money in other areas of their lives: they're buying less food, eating out less, even drinking less. But it can be more expensive; you might have to buy some new clothes if you've lost weight.

Have you used weight loss drugs, and what difference have they made?

You can call us on 03700 100 444 at 11am

Or email us youandyours@bbc.co.uk

PRESENTER: WINIFRED ROBINSON
PRODUCER: LYDIA THOMAS


TUE 12:57 Weather (m002ym1w)
The latest weather forecast


TUE 13:00 World at One (m002ym1y)
Nigel Farage to release statement on political future

The leader of Reform UK has faced questions over millions of pounds received in gifts and benefits. Also on The World at One; a French court has banned Marine Le Pen from holding public office, where does that leave her hard-right party ahead of the elections next spring? As NATO allies convene in Turkey. With support for Ukraine high on the agenda, Russia's former deputy foreign minister says his country should get to the negotiating table. And, the new children's laureate joins us to discuss the power of books to bring people together.


TUE 13:45 Understand (m002ym20)
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement

7. Impenetrable

Mountain gorillas are thriving in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The formerly ‘critically endangered’ population has blossomed, hailed around the world as a conservation success story.

But to save the gorillas, humans were shut out of the forest. An indigenous community who for centuries called this area their ancestral homeland was evicted - they say, illegally. And now they are fighting to go back.

 This struggle over land, resources, and who has a voice in conservation will go all the way to Uganda's highest court.

Presenter: Justin Rowlatt
Series Producer: Ellie House
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound Design and Mix: James Beard
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele, Brenda Brown, Sabine Schereck
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke


TUE 14:00 The Archers (m002ykng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Our Friends in the North (m0017ck6)
Episode 7: 1984

Peter Flannery once famously said of Our Friends in the North, "I've always said 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 1960s. The series tackles corporate, political and police corruption in the 1960s, the rise and fall of the Soho porn empires in the 1970s, the nouveau riche and 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.

In episode 7 it’s now 1984 and the miners’ strike dominates political life throughout the country. Mary is leader of Newcastle City Council and supports the miners. Her son Roy is a young police constable, with divided loyalties. Nicky’s career as a photographer is taking off and Tosker, with his new wife Elaine, is becoming a wealthy businessman. No one knows where Geordie is.

Cast
Felix: Trevor Fox
Florrie / Claudia Seabrook: Tracey Wilkinson
Mary: Norah Lopez Holden
Nicky / Christopher Collins: James Baxter
Anthony: Luke MacGregor
Eddie Wells: James Gaddas
Tosker / Toby Roddy: Philip Correia
Alan Roe / The Close Encounterer / Tony Hirst
Superintendent: Darren Kuppan

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

A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 15:00 Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley (m002ym22)
Lady on Trial

Audrey Jacob - Murder on the Dancefloor

Lucy Worsley goes to a glittering ball in Western Australia to investigate the sensational case of Audrey Jacob. It’s the 1920s, the era of bobbed hair and daring hemlines, and a ball at the Government House in Perth is in full swing. A young woman pushes her way through the throng of dancers, and before a ballroom packed with startled witnesses, she produces a concealed pistol and fires. Cyril Gidley, her former fiancé, falls dead at her feet.

What follows is a courtroom drama that’s still debated to this day. Is Audrey a cold blooded murderess? Surely an all-male jury will find her guilty?

Lucy is joined by historian Professor Leigh Straw and criminal defence barrister Laura Stockdale to untangle this case. They discover a story of passion, abuse and betrayal, with a ruthless defence lawyer who will stop at nothing in his pursuit of freedom for his glamorous young client.

Producer: Emily Hughes
Readers: Clare Corbett, Jonathan Keeble, Ruth Sillers and William Hope
Historical consultant: Professor Leigh Straw
Head of Production: Claire Myers
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
Senior Producer: Julia Hayball
Executive Producer: Kirsty Hunter

A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:30 Thinking Allowed (m002ym24)
Ageing and Society

What does it mean to grow older in Britain today? Laurie Taylor explores the changing realities of later life, from health and independence to inequality and support.

Professor Judith Phillips OBE, Professor of Gerontology at the University of Stirling, is the former Research Director of the UKRI Healthy Ageing Challenge - a major national programme which brought together researchers, businesses and communities to develop new ways of supporting people to remain active, independent and socially connected as they age. She describes projects including older people using virtual reality headsets to help design better layouts and living spaces in their homes. You can find out more about that here https://www.deshca.co.uk/resources/

Dr Kingsley Purdam, of the University of Manchester, discusses research done with his colleague Jill Ebrey, which examined the quieter, often hidden experience of financial insecurity in later life, and the barriers that prevent many older people from accessing the support they need.

Producer: Natalia Fernandez
Series Editor: Robyn Read


TUE 16:00 Artworks (m002ym26)
The Art of Isolation: Hikikomori Stories

First identified in Japan in the 1990s, Hikikomori are socially isolated people, often, though not always, young. Over the last few years Hikikomori have created and featured in music, video games, manga comics and novels.

Christopher Harding explores the closed world of the Hikikomori in the UK, France, Italy and Japan and asks whether art can provide a pathway out of isolation.

He travels to Paris to meet the artist Ymane Chabi-Gara who, in response to a period of depression and isolation, painted herself into images she discovered of male hikikomori in their bedrooms.

Writer Takeshi Chin discusses his novel about the relationship which develops between a hikikomori and the Social Reintegration Worker who is sent to encourage him to re-engage with the world.

And Japanese actor Naoyuki Ikeda explains how his own experience as a hikikomori informed his performance as a Japanese father struggling with his son's social isolation in the Independent film Americcan Hikikomori.

Can the art of isolation help socially isolated young people find pathways to the outside world?

A Soundworks Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 16:30 What's Up Docs? (m002ybbv)
How can we look after our amazing lungs?

Welcome to What's Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the ideas shaping our health and wellbeing.

In this episode, recorded live at Crossed Wires Festival in Sheffield, they are joined by Professor Robin Condliffe, Consultant Respiratory Physician at Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

Together, they explore the extraordinary science of the lungs: how they work, how they keep us alive, and what happens when they start to go wrong. From asthma, COPD and lung cancer to air pollution, smoking and respiratory infections, they discuss some of the biggest challenges facing lung health today.

Along the way, they examine the links between lung health, deprivation and the environment, reflect on Sheffield's industrial heritage, and explore the latest advances in respiratory medicine. Finally, they ask what we can all do to keep our lungs healthier for longer.
If you want to get in touch, you can email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk.

Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Guest: Professor Robin Condliffe
Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis
Editor: Jo Rowntree
Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar
Researcher: Grace Revill
Production Manager: Lisa Lipman
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Social Media: Leon Gower
Digital Lead: Richard Berry
Composer: Phoebe McFarlane
Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby

At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts

A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 17:00 PM (m002ym2b)
Nigel Farage triggers by-election

The Reform UK leader says he will stand and says it will be a fight between 'the people and the establishment'. Restore, the Lib Dems and the Conservatives criticise the move and say they won't stand. Paddy O'Connell reports from Clacton-on-Sea, and we speak to Reform's Sarah Pochin and Tim Montgomerie, Labour's Anna Turley and Sir John Curtice.

Plus, the latest as Prince Harry loses his privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail, news about toxic, biting pufferfish off the coast of Greece, and we discuss the next generation of smart glasses. What is acceptable when it comes to filming others without them knowing?


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002ym2d)
Nigel Farage says he's resigning as an MP to trigger a by-election in which he'll stand

The leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, has announced he will be standing down as the member of parliament for Clacton, triggering a by-election he will stand in. Also: Prince Harry and six other defendants including Sir Elton John, have lost their privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers. And a signed first edition of a Virginia Woolf book found in a charity shop has fetched more than £25,000 at auction.


TUE 18:30 Meet David Sedaris (m001jl2x)
Series 9

2. Fresh Caught Haddock

“When George Floyd was killed and seemingly overnight all of New York came to smell like fresh plywood, I thought of Schenectady…”

“Fresh Caught Haddock” is David’s response to the BLM marches which took place in New York City, during the Covid pandemic and following the death of George Floyd. It was a period of tremendous social upheaval across the United States but not without humour, and in this story, David reflects characteristically on his experiences as a wry observer on the foibles of human behaviour.

The programme wraps up with a brief question and answer session with the studio audience, where we learn what David thinks about learning foreign languages.

Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 19:00 The Archers (m002ym2g)
Chatting to Ian at Honeysuckle Cottage, Alice can’t believe they want to take Brian to court. All Alice wants is for Martha to have a peaceful relationship with her grandfather – that’s more important than money. When Adam arrives home, Alice is on the attack but he stops her – he’s been to see his solicitor and has called it all off. When Alice leaves, a stunned Ian questions the change of heart – with his share of the profits Adam could have something worthwhile to show for his years in farming. Adam responds that a court case will create even more bad blood. He has his achievements in Kenya, he has Xander and Ian, and that’s what counts. It may not be fair, but Brian will not change and they need to accept it.

Grumbling about the heat in his window, Bert makes his way to the shop, getting in Susan’s way and finally settling with some humbugs behind the counter. As Susan creates a display, she reveals her idea for a taster session at the shop to encourage more volunteers. She probes further about Clive’s care and Bert disputes that he came back in a state. It’s been a relief not to be preened and prodded all the time. He likes being at the shop after a miserable homecoming – perhaps he should volunteer! At Tracy’s, Susan shares her idea – Bert should move to Ambridge View for a change of scene and to take the pressure off Tracy. Tracy wishes her sister luck as she will need to approach Neil with the concept.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (m002ym2j)
Ai Weiwei in Manchester

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei has just created his largest site-specific exhibition - Ai Weiwei: Button Up! - which has now opened at Aviva Studios in Manchester. Xiaowen Zhu, Director of esea contemporary art gallery, has been to see the monumental works on show and shares her thoughts on whether in this case bigger is truly better.

Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour on his ground-breaking play, White Rabbit Red Rabbit. He's joined by the actor Lucian Msamati who has taken on one of the performances in the latest run of the play in which neither the actor or the audience know what the play is about until the actor opens an envelope on stage.

Journalist Stephen Armstrong reflects on the Jackass phenomenon as Jackass: Best and Last, the final film in the franchise, is released.

As Discofoot, a fusion of dance and football, premieres in the US as part of the country's World Cup celebrations, visual artist Alina Akbar, winner of this year's Football Art Prize with her video piece - Footwork - discusses why football and dance make great partners.

Presenter: Nick Ahad
Producer: Ekene Akalawu


TUE 20:00 Today (m002ym2l)
The Today Debate

An expert panel consider a topical issue in front of a live audience.


TUE 20:45 In Touch (m002ym2n)
Redress for Failed Passenger Assistance, Funding for Visually Impaired Musicians

Passenger Assistance is a service rail users can book for help with things like navigating unfamiliar stations and catching connecting trains. When it goes right, it can be a service that boosts independence and travel confidence, but it can often go wrong. So now the Office of Rail and Road, who are the regulator for Britain's railways, are consulting on a new framework that aims to make the process of putting things right for passengers fairer. The regulator's Head of Consumer Jacqui Russell explains what is in their framework and how you can respond to their consultation. More details of how to do respond below:

Consultation webpage: orr.gov.uk/search-consultations/consultation-framework-determining-redress-booked-assistance-not-provided
If you need the consultation documents in large print, audio recording or braille, contact ORR on: 0207 282 2000 (select option 3)
You can also email consultation responses to: ATP@orr.gov.uk

The Elizabeth Eagle-Bott Memorial Fund is provided by the RNIB and it helps visually impaired musicians with additional costs, such as access technology, instruments and music tuition. The fund celebrated its 25th anniversary recently with a concert in London and it featured performances from the fund's alumni. Kevin Satizabal Carrascal attended the concert for In Touch and spoke to musicians about the kinds of things the fund has helped them with. RNIB's Daisy Higman also provides information on how you can apply for next year's fund.

Presenter & Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Helen Surtees
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio’ in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.


TUE 21:00 Intrigue (m002ym2q)
To Catch a King

8. Return of the King

The search for a convicted people smuggler who put money in the UK planning for retirement.

This investigation stems from a tip-off: a convicted smuggler once dubbed the most successful in history, is currently living in the UK and running a string of businesses here. Could it be true?

Sue and Rob go on the hunt for Twana Jamal – a smuggler who had so many aliases he had to write them on his baseball cap to remind himself which he was using. In court, prosecutors said he and his gang were making £4 million a year and they believed he was funnelling his money into UK businesses: car washes and mini-markets.

The search for Twana Jamal starts in the north of England, where migrants report seeing Twana driving a BMW and exuding an air of wealth. They remember how feared he was in the Calais camp: it was migrants there who reported him to police. His gang was the first to industrialise the lorry crossings, which featured so heavily in 2016 as thousands waited to reach Britain.

After a smuggling conviction and five-year prison sentence in France, Twana Jamal entered the UK and is believed to have given a different alias to the Home Office. Sue and Rob track him down to an English village, where he’s running a string of stores selling vapes, sweets and alcohol. Over several days they watch his movements to find out more about his life here. When the moment is right, they plan to confront him.

The series is researched and recorded by Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie.
It is produced and overseen by Joel Moors.
Original music is by Mom Tudie.
Sound design and mix is by Tom Brignell.
Editorial, legal, production and commissioning decisions are overseen by Tracy Williams, Dan Clarke, Joe Kent, Will Drysdale, Lynne Jones and Ross Allen.


TUE 21:30 The Bottom Line (m002ybkx)
The Costs and Benefits of Business Regulation

Few disagree we need business regulations to protect the rights of workers and consumers, ensure markets operate fairly and set standards for a whole host of industries. However, one thing some business owners get frustrated about is the amount of regulation they have to comply with. It's not just that we over-regulate, they also complain that we're slow to regulate too, causing unnecessary and expensive delays. Evan Davis explores the nature of the regulatory landscape in the UK and assesses whether we fairly weigh up the costs and benefits.

Presenter: Evan Davis
Producer: Sally Abrahams & Nick Holland
Sounds: Neil Churchill and Rod Farquhar
Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison
Editor: Sam Bonham

Guests:
John Fingleton: CEO of Fingleton Consultancy
Polly Dhaliwal: COO of Enterprise Nation
David Buttress: Co-Founder of Just Eat


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m002ym2s)
Farage resigns as an MP to fight by-election

Nigel Farage has announced he will stand down as an MP for Clacton and fight a by-election. The Reform UK leader was under investigation by a parliamentary watchdog for allegedly failing to declare a £5m gift from billionaire cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborn. The other major parties have said they will not run candidates in the by-election, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch describing it as a “gimmick”.

Also on the programme: as a public consultation about adult social care in England is launched, we hear how two members of the public have navigated the system; and a 700-year-old manuscript of Arthurian legends goes up for auction.


TUE 22:45 Operation Rex by Damian Barr (m002ym2v)
Sunday 27th August 1939: Homes in the Country Urgently Required

War is coming and government advice is to relocate pets to the countryside - or have them put down. Jack will never give up on his dog Rex so the pair have a journey ahead of them. Damian Barr's new serial is inspired by real historical events.
Read by John Paul Hurley
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie


TUE 23:00 Uncanny (m002ym2x)
Summer Specials 2026

Summer Special 1: Live from Hay Festival 2026

Peter has been experiencing strange phenomena at work - footsteps out of nowhere, motion sensors being triggered, and mugs that have been smashed in a locked room. Then his colleagues see a phantom entity in his office on a work video call. What's going on?

Ciaran O'Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow help Danny Robins sort the paranormal from the merely odd in a special episode recorded at the Hay Festival 2026.

Written and presented by Danny Robins
Editing and sound design: Charlie Brandon-King
Music: Evelyn Sykes
Theme music by Lanterns on the Lake
Commissioning executive: Paula McDonnell
Commissioning editor: Rhian Roberts
Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard

A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002ym2z)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament

WEDNESDAY 08 JULY 2026

WED 00:00 Midnight News (m002ym31)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


WED 00:30 On Thin Ice: A Memoir of Siberia, Surveillance and Survival by Charlie Walker (m002ym1p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002ym33)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002ym35)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


WED 05:00 News Summary (m002ym37)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


WED 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002ym39)
The latest from Westminster and Cardiff Bay. Alicia McCarthy reports as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood defends her plans to make migrants to the UK wait longer for the right to stay here.


WED 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002ym3c)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002ym3f)
Summer is here

Prayer for the Day presented by Rumbi Tauro.

Good morning,

After a long winter in the north, there’s something special about stepping outside early again. The light returns gently in the early morning and everything feels like it’s beginning to wake up. Manchester feels different too. Where it was once grey and cloudy (of course we still have the occasional spells) but overall it’s a pleasant vibe within the city.

There’s movement and a pleasant bustle within each corner. It’s the kind of moment you want to hold onto, though it rarely translates fully in a photograph. There’s more to it than what you can capture: the atmosphere, the stillness, the sense of something deeper going on. And maybe that’s true of people as well. When we take time to really notice one another, beyond the surface, there’s a depth there, a kind of beauty that isn’t always obvious at first glance. It speaks to what Jesus taught about loving God with all our soul: a way of seeing that goes deeper, that recognises something sacred in the everyday.

So, stepping into a new day becomes more than routine. It’s an invitation: to pay attention, to be present, and to recognise that deeper beauty in the world around us, and in each other.

Dear God, Help me to notice what I might otherwise overlook. To see with depth, and to recognise the quiet beauty around me. And to remain grounded in You through each new day. Amen.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (m002ym3h)
The Environment Agency has produced its first ever annual report into agriculture and water in England. It takes data from the last five years, to assess the impact of agricultural pollution from farms, and how water availability is being managed. Over the last five years there've been 19,018 inspections and 49 serious category one pollution incidents caused by farming. Non-Compliance with water regulations has dropped, but 40% of farmers are still breaking the rules. We speak to the Deputy director of Agriculture and Land at the Environment Agency.

Fishing communities around the UK say they are struggling to survive because of multiple pressures on the sector. All week we're talking about the fishing industry, from marine conservation to the cost of getting a catch. Along the coast of County Down, in Northern Ireland, boats are increasingly tied up in harbour because their owners say it's not worth putting out to sea.

Many of us have been sweltering in the third official heatwave of the summer. For farmers with livestock there's the continual worry that their animals might be overheating, or not drinking enough water. However the heat and lack of grass, can have wider implications than you might imagine for animal health. We speak to a farm vet about the impact heat stress can have on the fertility of cows.

Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney


WED 06:00 Today (m002ymyw)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 More or Less (m002ym84)
Does the average teacher really earn £54,000?

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

(00:32) A government minister has informed the nation that average teacher pay in England is around £54,000. Radio 4 listeners are howling at the radio in disbelief. Surely someone from the IFS would be able to explain all this? We interview someone from the IFS to explain all this.

(06:32) A headline in the Independent suggests that Russian soldiers survive an average of 20 minutes when they get to the front line, citing a historian, citing Russian bloggers. Is the number a good one? We take a peek into the murky information ecosystem that surrounds the war in Ukraine.

(15:00) A loyal listener has resent a burning question that - mortifyingly - he first asked us nearly three years ago: why is air travel cheaper than rail travel? We push our guilt deep, deep down then make it worse by challenging the premise of the question.

(21:18) Is every shuffle of a deck of cards an unprecedented event in the history of the universe? It’s a bold claim, but maths YouTuber and comedian Matt Parker has done his homework. We invite him into the studio to make his case - and show off his shuffling skills.

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:
Luke Sibieta - Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies
Andrey Vladov - BBC Monitoring
Mark Galeotti - author of Forged in War - A Military History of Russia from its Beginnings to Today
Simon Calder - Travel Correspondent at the Daily Telegraph
Matt Parker - Mathematician, comedian and YouTuber (Stand-up Maths)

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


WED 09:30 Shadow World (m002x6dk)
Stolen Years

2. Without a Trace

Who is Mr B? In Shadow World: Stolen Years, a DNA match reopens a 20 year old rape case that should have been solved years earlier.

As police investigate the new suspect, Andrew Malkinson begins to reckon with the damage of a wrongful conviction and whether recovery after so many years in prison, is possible.

Shadow World: Gripping stories from the shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

Presenter and Producer: Jemma Gander
Series Producer and Editor: Fran Robertson
Assistant Editor: Christopher Whyte
Composer: Sholto
Sound design and mix: Chris Maclean
Executive Producer for Goldhawk: Kate Holland
Commissioning executive: Tracy Williams
Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke

A Two Step Films production in association with Goldhawk for Radio 4


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002ymyy)
Businesswoman Emma Grede, Pregnancy termination for medical reasons, New foster care support

Emma Grede is a British serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and mother of four. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of Good American, and a founding partner of SKIMS. Recognised for her achievements, Emma has been featured on Forbes' America’s Richest Self-Made Women list. She made history as the first woman of colour to serve as a judge on ABC’s Shark Tank. Emma joins Nuala McGovern to discuss her book Start With Yourself, a bold and empowering guide with advice on how women can build meaningful success on their own terms.

Today the goverment will announce plans to boost support for foster carers. The aim is to encourage more people to provide homes for vulnerable children in England. It’s the latest step in the government’s drive to recruit an additional ten thousand foster carers, as they announced back in February. BBC's Social Affairs Editor, Alison Holt explains.

At least 5,000 pregnancies a year in the UK end due to Termination for Medical Reasons, but the persistent taboo in society can mean that families keep it secret, in fear of other people’s reactions. The stigma and silence around it mean people can feel incredibly alone in their grief and often feel excluded from the wider baby loss community, increasing their sense of isolation. July is Bereaved Parents’ Awareness Month and to discuss this issue, Nuala talks to a grief coach and bereaved mother, Tanya Wilkinson and to Tommy’s Co Midwifery Manager, Amina Hatia.

What do you do with your wedding and or engagement rings after divorce? It’s been reported that a growing number are said to be turning them into something entirely new. The so-called "divorce ring" trend is seeing women reset engagement diamonds into bold pieces that symbolise independence and a fresh start. So what's driving the trend, and what does it tell us about the changing meaning of jewellery after marriage? Nuala is joined by gemmologist and jewellery expert, Helen Dimmock and author and jewellery historian Rachel Church, to discuss.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern
Producer: Simon Richardson


WED 11:00 Today (m002ym2l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Tuesday]


WED 11:45 On Thin Ice: A Memoir of Siberia, Surveillance and Survival by Charlie Walker (m002ymz0)
Episode 3

Charlie Walker is an award winning explorer and writer. He has travelled tens of thousands of miles, crossing extreme territories such as deserts, wilderness and jungles, fascinated by the land and the people he meets. He has published books about cycling to the ends of the world (Through Sand and Snow) and through Asia and Africa (On Roads that Echo).

In On Thin Ice, he is in Siberia, the coldest inhabited place on earth where in the long winters temperatures can fall to minus 50 degrees and the rivers are so frozen trucks can drive along them. Your breath can freeze in mid-air: "A strange phenomenon occurs: a delicate hissing can be heard, similar to the sound of running sand, as the moisture in one’s own breath crystallises and falls through the cold, dry air. The indigenous Sakha people call this 'the whisper of the stars.'"

Facing ridiculously low temperatures, he skis and walks his way from one small isolated town or village meeting both kindness and distrust. It quickly becomes clear that the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, the FSB, know he is there. The FSB are suspicious at the best of times, but Charlie’s voyage has unwittingly coincided with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine leaving him shocked how so many he meets do not question Putin’s motives or the lies told about the Ukrainian people, unsure how or if he is ever going to get home, and realising all his bank cards have stopped working.

His expedition ends, unexpectedly, in a Russia jail.

Written and read by Charlie Walker
Abridged by Libby Spurier
Produced by Caroline Raphael
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare
Sound by Matt Bainbridge
Production Coordinator: Dawn Williams

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


WED 12:00 News Summary (m002ymz2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:04 You and Yours (m002ymz4)
Virgin Media Fine; BNPL Rules; Home Ownership

Virgin Media has been fined £28 million by the regulator for deliberately and repeatedly preventing customers from cancelling contracts. We hear from someone who experienced that. Plus legal expert from consumer group Which? Lisa Webb explains why this is such a shocking case.

From next Wednesday, buy now pay later lenders will have to operate within strict new rules. Changes include affordability checks for the first time and they'll also have to offer the same section 75 consumer protections that come with credit cards. We hear from a listener who has experienced problems in the past with buy now pay later. Peter Tutton is the director of policy at the debt charity Step Change - he explains whether the changes will mean better protections against that happening in the future. We also hear from Dave Jones head of UK Consumer at PayPal, it operates an online payment system with buy now pay later options.

Home ownership is a dream for most people but that dream starts to die if people haven't got on the housing ladder by the time they are in their mid forties. That's according to new research from the Yorkshire Building Society. Tom Simpson joins Winifred Robinson to explain what they found and why it matters.

PRODUCER - CATHERINE EARLAM
PRESENTER - WINIFRED ROBINSON


WED 12:57 Weather (m002ymz6)
The latest weather forecast


WED 13:00 World at One (m002ymz8)
President Trump: Iran ceasefire 'is over'

Following last night's airstrikes - is this a return to war? Or just Trumpian rhetoric? Plus, we examine the unanswered questions left by Nigel Farage's statement yesterday in which he confirmed his plan to resign as an MP and fight the resulting by election. And, we profile Arthur Fery - the British wildcard about to take to Centre Court for a Wimbledon semi-final.


WED 13:45 Understand (m002ymzb)
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement

8. Shutdown

There are competing protests on either side of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. It’s 2023, on the eve of the final shutdown of the country's last three remaining nuclear power plants.

On one side, anti-nuclear campaigners and politicians celebrate their victory. This is a new, clean, dawn for the German power grid, they say.

On the other side of the gate, a small but vocal group of pro-nuclear greens condemn what they believe is a grave mistake. And as other countries pledge to increase their nuclear energy capacities, this group is playing the long game. They believe they may have lost the battle here in Germany, but they will win the war.

How did the green-on-green struggle over the German energy system go nuclear?

Presenter: Justin Rowlatt
Producer: Rachel Naylor
Series Producer: Ellie House
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound Design and Mix: James Beard
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele, Brenda Brown, Sabine Schereck
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

Archive:
Saubere Energien kämpfen gegen schmutzige, Nuklearia, 13/5/2023
Footage of Fridays For Future protest in Berlin, @digitalwerber and Nuklearia, 24/9/2021


WED 14:00 The Archers (m002ym2g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama on 4 (m000ykqc)
Keeping the Wolf Out

The Great Tree Gang

Philip Palmer's crime drama set in Hungary during the Cold War. Will the arrival of a senior spymaster from the Romanian security services spell the end for Franciska's career in the Ministry? Bertalan is caught up in an undercover operation to destroy youth gangs in Budapest.

Bertalan Lazar ..... Leo Bill
Franciska Lazar ..... Clare Corbett
József Szabados ..... Joseph Ayre
Hadik ..... Hasan Dixon
Orsolya ..... Ria Marshall
Ioveanu ..... Tony Turner
Police Officer ..... Simon Ludders

Directed by Toby Swift
Sound design by Caleb Knightley


WED 15:00 Money Box (m002ymzd)
Money Box Live: Would you let AI manage your money?

We look at whether artificial intelligence is a help, or a hazard when it comes to helping you with your personal finances.

One in five adults in the UK - around 11 million people - are already open to the idea of using AI to manage their finances, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. But using AI to manage our money is not without risk. The FCA, the organisation tasked with keeping us financially safe, says that regulators are in an "arms race" to keep up with AI in financial services. We speak to the man behind its new report, Sheldon Mills.

And with the increase in AI useage likely to attract the scammers and the deepfakers, just how will regulation evolve to protect us?

Alongside presenter Ruth Alexander and taking listener questions is Simon Belshaw who is Chief Client Officer at the investment company Hargreaves Lansdown. And we hear from Elle Farrell-Kingsley, and advocate for AI ethics who has previously worked on artificial intelligence for one of the big tech companies.

Presenter: Ruth Alexander
Producer: Craig Henderson
Researchers: Niamh McDermott, Catherine Lund
Editor: Jess Quayle
Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson

Pictured: Sheldon Mills, Financial Conduct Authority

(This edition was first broadcast on Wednesday July 8, 2026)


WED 15:30 The Day the Jellyfish Came (m002ymzg)
The oceans cover more than 70 percent of our planet. And yet, most of us live unaware of what lies beneath those waters – and what impact our actions might be having there. In the summer of 2025, Gravelines Nuclear Power Station shut down after a “massive and unpredictable” bloom of jellyfish clogged its filters. Weeks later, the same thing happened at a second plant along the French coast. How could such simple creatures disrupt infrastructure – and what might they reveal about what is going on in the oceans?

Part poem, part plea, part love letter to the sea, BAFTA Games Award-nominated actor, best known for Baldur's Gate 3 and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Samantha Béart explores the complex relationship between humans and jellyfish – and asks a question that sounds like video game science fiction: in the face of a global environmental crisis could jellyfish inherit the oceans?

Through conversations with science writer Juli Berwald, marine biologist Dr Cathy Lucas and endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh The Day the Jellyfish Came uncovers how jellyfish live, reproduce and form vast blooms – seasonal explosions that can disrupt industries and reshape ecosystems.

Reflecting both the concerns of the scientific community and the frustration many feel at the ongoing climate crisis and human interference in natural environments, Samantha asks what these charismatic, gelatinous creatures might be telling us about the future of our planet.

Producer: Elizabeth Ann Duffy
Researcher: Minnie Harrop
Sound Engineer: Murray Collier


WED 16:00 When It Hits the Fan (m002yl2w)
Me Against the World

Whether you're a multimillionaire or the son of a King, sometimes it can still feel like everyone is out to get you.

And so we turn to Nigel Farage and Prince Harry. Both are dealing with huge PR fallouts on which the dust is nowhere near settling.

This week, David Yelland and Farzana Baduel discuss why even the most powerful people claim the whole world is against them. It's certainly a tried and tested PR tactic - painting yourself as the lone wolf, the outsider, you against the Establishment.

It can help create a useful diversion to what the actual story is - a reframing of the narrative to tell the story you want to tell, as opposed to the media.

It can illicit sympathy - but it can also just look like moaning.

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 (m002yl2y)
Nigel Farage and the media, Prince Harry legal case, doorstepping

In a packed week for media news, Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins talk to Sunday Times investigative journalist Gabriel Pogrund about their article into Nigel Farage's finances which triggered a strong reaction, culminating yesterday in Mr Farage's resignation as an MP and his decision to run again in a by-election. Journalists Michael Crick and Brendan O'Neill discuss Nigel Farage's relationship with the media, his claims about press treatment over two decades, and the wider debate over how public figures are scrutinised. Media lawyer Susan Aslan is on hand to explain the reasons why Prince Harry lost his legal case against the publisher of the Daily Mail. And Michael Crick and the BBC's Sue Mitchell discuss the art and ethics of 'doorstepping'.

Producer: Tim Bano


WED 17:00 PM (m002ymzj)
President Trump threatens to hit Iran 'hard again overnight'

His comments come after declaring the ceasefire over. KT McFarland, his deputy national security adviser during his first Trump Administration, joins us live. The BBC's climate editor Justin Rowlatt reports on the impact increasing temperatures are having on marine life. We have news of an unstable skyscraper in New York, and as the Office turns 25, we speak to Jane Root, the former controller of BBC Two, who commissioned it.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002ymzl)
President Trump declares the ceasefire with Iran over

President Trump has threatened to hit Iran 'hard" again after declaring the ceasefire agreed three weeks ago 'over'. Also: Nigel Farage defends his decision to trigger a by-election in his Clacton constituency. And the British wildcard, Arthur Fery, triumphs at Wimbledon.


WED 18:30 Ivo Graham's Obsessions (m00244m8)
Series 1

4. Fatiha El-Ghorri & Paul Gorton

Ivo Graham brings 2 more celebrity guests to Radio 4, to tell us about their obsessions.

Comedian Fatiha-El Ghorri and Paul Gorton of the hit BBC show 'The Traitors' join Ivo this week. Fatiha El-Ghorri is obsessed with trainers, and judges the audience on theirs while Paul details the hours he spends in his gaming room. Ivo also delves into the audience to find out what their obsessions are, and finally Ivo is joined by a Very Obsessed Person, or 'VOP'. This week, Ailish Morrison comes on to tell us about her unexpected twin passions of cheerleading and Lord of the Rings.

Hosted by Ivo Graham
Featuring Fatiha El-Ghorri, Paul Gorton and Ailish Morrison

Written by Ivo Graham and Zoe Tomalin

Additional Material by Cody Dahler, Christina Riggs and Peter Tellouche

Recorded at the Marylebone Theatre by Duncan Hannant
Sound edited by Charlie Brandon-King
Production Coordinators: Katie Baum and Jodie Charman
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies, a BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4

An EcoAudio certified production
Show image: Matt Stronge


WED 19:00 The Archers (m002yl23)
On the Green, Susan notices the new cot in Amber’s car. Amber explains that she’s returning it to her parents – she and George want to use the Grundy cot and don’t need the Gordons’ money. As Susan advises sensitivity with returning it, Amber becomes faint. Amber explains that she’s exhausted with the amount of social media work for the Borchester Show. She’s not slept well and hasn’t started her maternity leave. Susan asks if George can help more, and insists that she helps Amber by returning the cot for her. At the showground, Amber is furious to discover that George has been helping Bill to move cars instead of working on the socials. She makes a point of telling her father that they won’t be needing the cot, and that Susan will be returning it to them in the coming days. She’s also angry with George - not only is he banned from driving, she’s having to do everything herself!

In the horse box, Chris pulls on his hoodie while the fake tan he’s applied develops. When Lottie arrives and wants to take advantage of the cute living quarters, Chris is resistant to undress and ushers her out to the showground. Later, Chris ignores Lottie’s request for a kiss goodbye and runs back to the shower at the horse box – he’s forgotten to rinse off the mousse! Embarrassed, he reveals his orange arms to Lottie. He’d only wanted to look less pasty by the other farriers. The only option is to keep scrubbing and Lottie flirts and offers to help.


WED 19:15 Front Row (m002ymzn)
Lynval Golding of The Specials on the band's swansong album

Lynval Golding of two-tone and ska legends The Specials , on the band’s final album, Live from the Cathedral, which was recorded in Coventry Cathedral. and which pays tribute to the band's late frontman Terry Hall.

Photographers Tish Murtha and Sandra George, whose work represented disadvantaged and marginalised communities in Newcastle and Edinburgh respectively, were not given the recognition they deserved in their lifetimes. Now with major exhibitions at Baltic Gateshead and City Art Centre in Edinburgh, we discuss the significance of their work.

David Thomson is renowned as the doyen of film criticism, but his latest book - A Sudden Flicker of Light - is billed as a revisionist history of the movies and asks us whether the film industry has given us false expectations of life. He speaks to us from California.

And we're joined live in the studio by the artist who's won an international competition to create a permanent memorial to author Dame Muriel Spark in Edinburgh, the city of her birth.

Presenter : Kirsty Wark
Producer : Mark Crossan


WED 20:00 AntiSocial (m002yc9y)
Is air conditioning irresponsible?

The recent record-breaking heatwave prompts calls for more air conditioning in the UK, but some argue this could actually make the planet even hotter and obscures the reality of climate change. We find out how and why AC has become such a hot topic and hear what impact it has on climate change. Some say aircon should be a last resort - we hear what other measures people can adopt to keep their homes cooler. And we look back to the long, hot summer of 1976 and find out whether the UK really did just keep calm and carry on.

Presenter: Chris Warburton
Production team: Simon Tulett, Lucy Sheppard, and Mhairi MacKenzie
Studio manager: Hal Haines
Production coordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Penny Murphy


WED 20:45 Café Hope (m002q2qp)
Change Please

Cemal Ezel, from Change Please, tells Rachel Burden how they help address homelessness by selling coffee. The social enterprise trains homeless people for employment through the sale of coffee, offering them a living wage, housing and therapy support.

Café Hope is our virtual Radio 4 coffee shop, where guests pop in for a brew and a chat to tell us what they're doing to make things better in big and small ways. Think of us as sitting in your local café, cooking up plans, hearing the gossip and celebrating the people making the world a better place.

We're all about trying to make change. It might be a transformational project that helps an entire community or it might be about trying to make one life a little easier. And the key here is in the trying. Not everything works, and there are struggles along the way. But it's always worth a go.

You can contact us on cafehope@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rachel Burden
Series Producer: Uma Doraiswamy
Sound Design: Nicky Edwards
Editor: Clare Fordham


WED 21:00 Ancient Lives with Mary Beard (m002ym1h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Tuesday]


WED 21:30 Inside Health (m002ym1k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Tuesday]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m002ymzr)
Disability benefits could face massive overhaul in Timms Review

A landmark review into Personal Independence Payments - known as PIP - is due tomorrow. The Timms Review is expected to call for significant reform of disability benefit. We look ahead to what it might bring, get the views of senior politicians - and hear the hopes of someone who claims the benefit.

Also on the programme: we speak to the granddaughter of the last woman to be hanged in the UK - Ruth Ellis - who has been given a conditional pardon by the King. And the British wildcard wonder Arthur Fery marches on to the semi-finals - we hear from one of his former coaches.


WED 22:45 Operation Rex by Damian Barr (m002ymzt)
Monday 28th August 1939: The 11.25 from London to Lewes

During one shocking week at the start of the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of pet owners made an impossible choice. Inspired by real events, Damian Barr imagines one lonely boy's quest to save his much-loved dog.

Jack's dad seems reluctant to rock the boat by fighting for Rex's life, so the boy takes matters into his own hands.
Read by John Paul Hurley
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie


WED 23:00 Sunil Patel: An Idiot's Guide To (m002ymzw)
Living Forever

1: How to Become a Sex God

Comedian Sunil Patel is trying to make a documentary that young people will like. It’s sexy, it’s vice, it’s Hunter S. Thompson, but he’s already completely blowing it. Listen to Sunil embarrass himself on national radio and be forced to change tack immediately.

Starring Sunil Patel

Featuring Helen Bauer

Written by Sunil Patel, Charlie Dinkin, Em Humble and Benjamin Sutton

Produced by Benjamin Sutton and Laura Shaw

A Daddy’s SuperYacht Production for BBC Radio 4


WED 23:15 Damien Slash (m0015bfs)
The Damien Slash Mixtape. Series 4

Episode 2

Multi-character YouTube star Damien Slash is back for a fouth round of zeitgeisty sketches in this new fast-paced, one-man sketch comedy show.

This episode sees Xavier Landing explores his boundaries, TV execs choose the next big hit, and an A&R man gives his music tips for 2022.

Written by and starring Damien Slash (aka Daniel Barker)
Additional material by Tom Savage

Guest starring Natasia Demetriou.

Production Coordintator: Sarah Sharpe
Sound Editor: Rich Evans

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios production


WED 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002ymzz)
Sean Curran reports as the deputy prime minister, David Lammy, takes questions from MPs.

THURSDAY 09 JULY 2026

THU 00:00 Midnight News (m002yn01)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


THU 00:30 On Thin Ice: A Memoir of Siberia, Surveillance and Survival by Charlie Walker (m002ymz0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002yn03)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002yn05)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


THU 05:00 News Summary (m002yn07)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


THU 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002yn09)
Susan Hulme reports on (deputy) Prime Minister's Questions. With Sir Keir Starmer at the Nato summit, David Lammy faced MPs.


THU 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002yn0c)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002yn0f)
Strength of the Lord

Prayer for the Day presented by Rumbi Tauro.

Good morning,

We all have different talents, and like many others, we may not always be aware of what we’re passionate about from a young age. Sometimes we grow into that passion over time. With the return of the World Cup, it’s exciting to see athletes from across the world showcase their dedication and hard work. Footballers travel from many nations, hoping to bring the trophy home.

There are moments when athletes feel like they have nothing left to give, no matter how much they have prepared. I've felt the same within my career too; being a music artist, I'm always thinking about what I'm doing right now and also what's to come. As fun as it is, sometimes it does become exhausting, but I know that I can rely on the strength of the Lord.

There have been many times in my life when I’ve felt unsure of which way to go. Finding the strength to keep going after a difficult season can be challenging. But the good news is that God’s strength is always available.

Psalm 18:32 says: “It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.” Spending time in God’s word strengthens my faith and reminds me that whatever I face, He is with me.

Dear God, Help me to turn to you when I need strength in my daily life. You know the areas where I feel unsure. Thank you for being with me each day. Today, I choose to lean on your strength. Guide my steps and help me trust you. Amen.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (m002yn0h)
09/07/26 Growing crops in a mine, scallop fishing, RHS Badminton

How practical would it be to grow our food underground? It’s a question being investigated by researchers at the University of Shefffield who are growing crops more than a kilometre below ground-level in a working mine near Whitby. They’re collaborating with Farm Urban, a company that specialises in vertical farming, but usually going up vertically rather than down; and they reckon this is the world’s deepest vertical farm.

We’re taking a close look at commercial fishing all this week. Ten years on from the Brexit vote leading to the UK leaving the EU, some in the industry say that decision has had a lasting impact on their businesses, and not a good one. We hear from a scallop business in Scotland which says the industry needs more support.

This year, the Royal Horticultural Society’s annual show which is usually at Hampton Court has upped sticks and moved to the Badminton Estate in Gloucestershire. It’s not just a good excuse for some of us to get out the floaty dress and sunhat for a summer’s day out, events like this are an important showcase for the commercial nurseries who grow and sell the plants we buy for our gardens.

Presenter = Caz Graham
Producer = Rebecca Rooney


THU 06:00 Today (m002yl1c)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 Artworks (m002yl1f)
Who Did We Think We Were?

1. National Remembrance and the 1924 Empire Exhibition

75 years after the Festival of Britain offered a tonic to a Blitz-hit nation, Neil MacGregor, former director of the British Museum, returns to Radio 4 with a three-part series, examining how celebrations of British identity and togetherness over the past century or so can help us better understand and define who we are now. 

"The question of who we are, of national identity, of the Union Jack itself, is now the subject of angry political debate," Neil says. "In these three programmes I want to take a step back – to look at six moments over the last hundred years when, as a country, we came together to assert a national purpose, to celebrate and to explore who we thought we were, and to consider our place in the world."

"Asking 'who did we think we were then?' might help us answer the question - 'who do we think we are now?'.  And to understand why – as a country – we have, for over a century, found that question so difficult to answer."

In this first programme, Neil looks at the aftermath of World War One. After conflict in which nearly a million servicemen of the British Empire were killed, how should a nation honour that huge human sacrifice? The immediate answer was to create a National Hall of Remembrance, lined with newly-commissioned memorial art - art that shocked its first viewers. And 1924 saw the opening of a vast Empire Exhibition in Wembley, re-asserting Britain's place in an unstable post-war world. Across two years, the Exhibition attracted 27 million visits - an astonishing number at the time. So what did it say about us? What drew people in such numbers? And what might we conclude from it today?

Producer Katy Hickman


THU 09:30 Artworks (m002yl1j)
Art That Conquered the World

Ophelia

John Everett Millais's Ophelia is an art world celebrity. It's a star of Tate Britain, attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors to a recent exhibition in Shanghai and floats serenely across the internet, racking up huge numbers of likes and memes. But how and why did Ophelia hit the big time?

In this series, art historian Dr James Fox traces the twists of fate and happy accidents that pushed a handful of artworks to the forefront of global pop culture. Painted in 1851, Ophelia's fame is a story of fashion and feminism. And, as James discovers, the unlikely combination of Shakespeare, Ken Russell, Elizabeth Siddal, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Taylor Swift and the most famous bath-tub in the history of art.

In conversation with James are the art historian Dr Rebecca Marks, tattooist Jessica Stratton, the actress Judith Paris, curator Hannah Squire and Lord Lloyd Webber.

Producer – Julia Johnson
Executive Producer – Jonathon Mayo
Junior Producer – Jamie Adam
Sound Design - Tom Burchell
Production Manager – Sera Baker

A TBI Media production for BBC Radio 4


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002yl1l)
Shahrnush Parsipur remembered, Fibroids, Grief and clothing, Olympian health

Iranian writer, Shahrnush Parsipur, who spent her life documenting what it meant to be a woman living under repression in Iran, died this week in the US, at the age of 80. Anita Rani talks to Iranian journalist Paxima Mojavvezi about Shahrnush, a pioneer of feminist literature, whose book Women Without Men was banned in Iran, but nevertheless became an underground bestseller.

According to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, around two-thirds of women will develop at least one uterine fibroid during their lifetime - that's a non-cancerous growth that develops in or around the womb. Despite being a common reproductive health issues, fibroids remain under-discussed and can leave some women without the knowledge to seek treatment. Anita is joined by a gynaecologist Dr Michelle Griffin, author of a new book, Fibroids: Everything You Need to Know from Symptoms to Diagnosis and Beyond and Dawn Heels who suffered for decades with fibroid symptoms and is now a campaigner for the condition.

Many of us are familiar with the onerous, often painful process of sorting through the wardrobes of our loved ones who have died. It raises difficult choices about what to do with clothes that can carry emotional weight and evoke many memories. Anita discusses what people can do to keep memories alive with Sophie Lewis, founder of The Reincarnation Club, a service which creates new outfits out of old and Pip Housam, general manager of Love Keep Create, a company which transforms cherished clothing into lasting keepsakes.

Is it correct to assume that a former elite athlete is always healthy? A research project from the University of Edinburgh is exploring just that by looking at the current health status of retired female Olympians and how this compares to females in the general population. Anita speaks to lead researcher Dr Lauren Guilfoyle and five-time Olympian runner, Jo Pavey.

Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Corinna Jones


THU 11:00 How Boarding Schools Shaped Britain (m0027l57)
1. Building men of Empire

Boarding schools have long been synonymous with leadership, privilege and tradition. Woven into the fabric of British society, these institutions have played a significant role in shaping the nation's leaders - from Empire builders to politicians.

In the first of three programmes, Nicky Campbell unravels the complex history of boarding schools, from their humble origins as day schools for the poor to their transformation into elite institutions that have defined power and influence.

But does early separation from family and loved ones come at a cost? And what impact has Britain's most enduring educational tradition had on the rest of British society?


THU 11:45 On Thin Ice: A Memoir of Siberia, Surveillance and Survival by Charlie Walker (m002yl1n)
Episode 4

Charlie Walker is an award winning explorer and writer. He has travelled tens of thousands of miles, crossing extreme territories such as deserts, wilderness and jungles, fascinated by the land and the people he meets. He has published books about cycling to the ends of the world (Through Sand and Snow) and through Asia and Africa (On Roads that Echo).

In On Thin Ice, he is in Siberia, the coldest inhabited place on earth where in the long winters temperatures can fall to minus 50 degrees and the rivers are so frozen trucks can drive along them. Your breath can freeze in mid-air: "A strange phenomenon occurs: a delicate hissing can be heard, similar to the sound of running sand, as the moisture in one’s own breath crystallises and falls through the cold, dry air. The indigenous Sakha people call this 'the whisper of the stars.'"

Facing ridiculously low temperatures, he skis and walks his way from one small isolated town or village meeting both kindness and distrust. It quickly becomes clear that the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, the FSB, know he is there. The FSB are suspicious at the best of times, but Charlie’s voyage has unwittingly coincided with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine leaving him shocked how so many he meets do not question Putin’s motives or the lies told about the Ukrainian people, unsure how or if he is ever going to get home, and realising all his bank cards have stopped working.

His expedition ends, unexpectedly, in a Russia jail.

Written and read by Charlie Walker
Abridged by Libby Spurier
Produced by Caroline Raphael
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare
Sound by Matt Bainbridge
Production Coordinator: Dawn Williams

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


THU 12:00 News Summary (m002yl1q)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:04 The Bottom Line (m002yl1s)
Imposter Syndrome

Success doesn't always bring confidence. In fact, some of the most accomplished people privately worry they're not as capable as everyone believes. They live with a nagging fear that one day, they'll be exposed as a fraud. It’s often called imposter syndrome, and can affect anyone, at any stage of their career.

Evan Davis and guests explore what imposter syndrome really is, why it happens and how it can hold people back. And they'll share practical tips and strategies for quietening that inner critic and building confidence.

Guests:
Andy Ransom, former CEO, Rentokil and now chair designate, Teenage Cancer Trust
Katy Leeson, former MD, Social Chain and founder of Courageous
Dr Valerie Young, co-founder, the Imposter Syndrome Institute

Production team:
Presenter: Evan Davis
Producers: Sally Abrahams and Nick Holland
Production co-ordinator: Liam Morrey
Sound engineer: Dave O’Neill
Editor: Justine Lang


THU 12:32 Sliced Bread (m002yl1v)
Sliced Bread - Series 17

Robotic Lawnmowers

Can robotic lawnmowers save you time without hassling hedgehogs?

Listener Pat has seen adverts for robotic lawnmowers and has lots of questions: Do they cut effectively? How do they manage with edges and flower borders? And what about avoiding wildlife and other objects in the garden?

To find out, presenter Greg Foot is joined by BBC Gardeners' World magazine's tech reviewer Harry Duncton, alongside Dr Sophie Lund-Rasmussen (aka 'Dr Hedgehog'), who has carried out research into the dangers to hedgehogs posed by robotic lawnmowers.

All of our episodes start with YOUR suggestions. If you’ve seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener, email us at sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk OR send a voice note to our WhatsApp number, 07543 306807.

RESEARCHER: JULIA RAVEY
PRODUCERS: SIMON HOBAN AND GREG FOOT


THU 12:57 Weather (m002yl1x)
The latest weather forecast


THU 13:00 World at One (m002yl1z)
Iran claims US strikes land near its nuclear power plant

Iranian state-linked media accuses the US of striking near a nuclear power plant, while Jordan says it intercepted eight missiles fired by Iran. We update on this latest exchange of fire. Plus: Bonnie Tyler dies aged 75. Suzi Quatro looks back over her life.


THU 13:45 Understand (m002yl21)
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement

9. Crackdown

Just Stop Oil is “hanging up the hi vis” after three years of throwing soup at paintings, interrupting theatre performances, and blocking roads. It’s 2025. They’ve been racking up arrests - and opponents - and now, the UK government has passed a string of new laws cracking down on disruptive protest.

They say they’ve achieved their aims - a ban on new oil and gas licenses - but were they policed to extinction? With their hardcore campaigning for the climate, did these activists prompt a change in law that made all green activism harder?

Presenter: Justin Rowlatt
Producer: Alix Pickles
Series Producer: Ellie House
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound Design and Mix: James Beard
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele, Brenda Brown, Sabine Schereck
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

Archive:
‘Just Stop Oil is Hanging up the Hi Vis’, Just Stop Oil, 27/3/2025
Just Stop Oil Louise M25 protest, Just Stop Oil, 7/11/2022
Lord Deben on Just Stop Oil, ITV Robert Peston, 5/7/2023
Rupert Read talking about The Climate Majority Project, Some Dare Call It Conspiracy podcast, 24/4/2024


THU 14:00 The Archers (m002yl23)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama on 4 (m002yl25)
B&B

B&B - the tale of Brian and Brenda. These lifelong chums are just opening a small Bed and Breakfast in the Shropshire hills, by the Welsh border. But is ‘cosy crime’ also on the menu?

Martin Jarvis directs this comedy drama, where perhaps not everything is quite so cosy. Murderous, in fact?

The cast includes Nina Wadia (EastEnders, National Theatre, Goodness Gracious Me) as Brenda, and Michael Simkins (Father Brown, Silent Witness, National Theatre) as Brian.

Does everyone in this ingenious play have something to hide? Rose Williams (Sanditon, Reign) as a downtrodden young wife? Adam Sopp (Call The Midwife, Harry Potter video games) as her personal-trainer husband? Or Lorna Laidlaw (Coronation Street, Doctors) playing garrulous Mrs Marigold, and Toyin Omari-Kinch(Cloudfall, An Enemy Within) as her mild grandson Joe-Joe?

Which of them might not be all they seem?

Written by David Semple (Father Brown, Shakespeare & Hathaway, Casualty, Doctors)

Cast:
Brenda…Nina Wadia
Brian…Michael Simkins
Sue…Lorna Laidlaw
Ellie…Rose Williams
Karl…Adam Sopp
Joe-Joe…Toyin Omari-Kinch

Sound design: Olly Thompson
Music composed and played by A-Mnemonic
Producer: Rosalind Ayres
Director: Martin Jarvis

A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4


THU 15:00 This Natural Life (m002yl27)
Judi Dench

Judi Dench is one of the nation's best loved actors, but she is also well-known for her love of trees. In this programme, Martha Kearney meets Judi at her woodland garden in Surrey, where she learns that every time a friend dies, Judi plants a tree in their memory. Judi gives Martha a tour of the woodland, and talks about the many references to the natural world which can be found in Shakespeare's plays. She points out some of the trees in her woodland which hold special significance for her.

Producer: Emma Campbell


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (m002yl29)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Feedback (m002yl2c)
BBC Investigative Journalism, and Cuts to Programming

The BBC recently reported that they'd tracked down Twana Jamal, one of the most prolific people smugglers in recent history - who had previously been arrested in France but was living and working in the UK. The investigation was carried out by journalists Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie for Radio 4's Intrigue series To Catch a King, and they found Jamal ahead of the police or the Home Office.

This sparked a question from a listener - about how journalists interact with authorities to uncover serious crimes. Presenter Andrea Catherwood sits down with journalist Sam Poling, whose own work on BBC documentary and podcast Who Killed Emma led to an arrest and later a conviction, to ask how it works.

We also return to the subject of BBC cuts. We'll hear more of your thoughts and from an expert on the topic of the cuts and charter renewal. Dr Tom Chivers from Goldsmiths, University of London, gives his views on how much the cuts will affect the BBC's relationship with the public as the corporation prepares for a new chapter.

Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Pauline Moore
Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie
Executive Producer: David Prest

A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4


THU 16:00 The Briefing Room (m002yl2f)
Relationship recession: Why are fewer people coupling?

For previous generations, coupling was something only trains did. Then it became a word to describe the business of finding a partner. An important business for the future of the species. But today in the developed world - and even beyond - the data shows that coupling is significantly down. Increasingly, people are just not forming those relationships. There are all kinds of theories out there now about why this is happening, ranging from the intriguing to the improbable. So what do we know about this noncoupling and its implications?

Guests:

Dr Alice Evans, visiting Associate Professor at Stanford and author of the upcoming book The Great Gender Divergence
John Burn-Murdoch, columnist and chief data reporter for the Financial Times

Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Ben Carter and Kirsteen Knight
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound engineer: Gareth Jones, Neil Churchill
Production co-ordinator: Siobhan Reed, Maria Ogundele

Image credit: Malte Mueller, Getty Images


THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (w3ct977v)
Are we one step closer to creating life in a lab?

Synthetic biologist Kate Adamal and her team at the University of Minnesota published their research into the lab-created ‘SpudCell’ in a significant step towards building life from scratch. Science journalist, Kai Kupferschmidt, joins us to discuss the implications of this research, as well as the controversies.

Nature reporter Lizzie Gibney tells us how science has helped us better understand the route that the famous Carthaginian general, Hannibal – and not forgetting his elephants – took across the Alps.

Plus, in this week’s scout of science stories behind the ‘beautiful game’ we learn of research carried out at a Tokyo football match, monitoring seismic waves made by the vigorous celebrations of thousands of fans.

Presenter: Tom Whipple
Producer: Kate White, Alex Mansfield, Katie Tomsett, Tabitha Taylor Buck
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth


THU 17:00 PM (m002yl2k)
Continued heatwaves threaten UK food security

The author of the National Food Strategy sets out how we can become more resilient. Also on PM, Andy Burnham has officially entered the Labour Party leadership election. Our political editor joins us live and we hear from a leading economist who is encouraging Mr Burnham to overhaul the tax system. And, Bonnie Tyler has died aged 75. Sir Tim Rice joins us to share what makes her greatest hit 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' so brilliant.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002yl2m)
Jersey assisted dying legislation is formally approved

Jersey has become the first part of the British Isles where legislation to allow assisted dying has been formally approved by Royal Assent. Also: calls for an apology from the leader of the Restore Britain party, after comments he made about the Dunblane school shootings. And the singer Bonnie Tyler has died at the age of 75.


THU 18:30 P.O.V. (m002yl2p)
Series 2

S2 E4: Are You A Laugh?

This week in P.O.V. you'll hear a day in the life of an anti-woke warrior, an attempt to unsubscribe, and the answer to the question, Are You A Laugh?

Written and performed by Davina Bentley, Jake Bhardwaj, Kylie Brakeman, Stephen Buchanan, The Exploding Heads, Rachel Fairburn, Daniel Foxx, Matt Green, Farrel Hegarty, Sooz Kempner, Larry & Paul, and Ed Night & Paddy Young.

Additional material by James Clarke.

Recorded at The Soundhouse Studios and Guilt Free Post, London; Sonido Studios, Clydebank; Maximum Fun, Los Angeles; and Oscillate Recordings, Manchester.

Sound design: Rich Evans at Synbox Post.

Producer: Ed Morrish
Executive producer: Lyndsay Fenner

A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4


THU 19:00 The Archers (m002yl2r)
Tony’s impressed by David in his traditional bowler hat as an official of The Borchester Show. George reports a problem with a water leak at one of the handwashing stations near the livestock. As Tony finds a spanner and George tightens the pipe, David is drenched. Disaster is also averted when a calf breaks free - George catching it and Tony grabbing its mother. David asks Tracy to alert the committee that he’ll be delayed while he finds dry clothes. Thinking she’s addressing a committee member, Tracy explains to HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh that David has been delayed. Embarrassed by her mistake, Tracy goes on to explain that she’s representing Bridge Farm, and is impressed to hear that Her Royal Highness has tasted Borsetshire Blue. As President of LEAF - Linking Environment and Farming, the Duchess is keen to connect people with where their food comes from, so Tracy issues an invitation to the dairy.
The Duchess gives a speech praising a very special organic farmer. The winner of the lifetime achievement award is – Tony Archer! Reflecting, Tony doesn’t feel he deserves it on his own, he’s only achieved it with the help of Pat and the children. He realises that his role at the show has been a ruse but David insists he’s been essential. They all have something to celebrate – Keira’s Texel lamb coming first in its class, Chris and his partner coming second in the farrier competition, and David in particular, having pulled together an exceptional show.


THU 19:15 Front Row (m002yl2t)
Review Show: The Rolling Stones album Foreign Tongues

Critic and columnist Dr Kate Maltby and author Michael Donkor join Tom Sutcliffe to review Robota, the inaugural large-scale production at the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities in Oxford. The production explores what happens to humanity when the line between human and machine blurs.

They also discuss Country People by Pulitzer Prize nominated author Daniel Mason. The novel explores a year in the life of a family as they strike out into the unknown.

And talk about Foreign Tongues the 25th studio album by the Rolling Stones.

Plus, as the 2016 global hit Moana is turned into a live action film, critic Larushka Ivan- Zadeh assesses why Disney remakes films and whether they are any good.

Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe
Producer: Claire Bartleet


THU 20:00 When It Hits the Fan (m002yl2w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Wednesday]


THU 20:15 The Media Show (m002yl2y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:15 on Wednesday]


THU 21:00 Loose Ends (m002ykgb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


THU 21:45 The Cows Are Mad (m001rrhx)
1. Zombie Apocalypse

Hidden deep in the heart of the Kent countryside is an abandoned factory with a dark past. In the 1980s and 1990s it processed tens of thousands of dead cows - some of which are thought to have been infected with a disease that would devastate British farming.

Then, when early human cases of BSE began to emerge in people living close to the rendering plant, paranoia also infected Kent’s countryside communities. People wanted answers - but there were none.

Today, science has failed to definitively answer two major questions about mad cow disease - where did it originally come from and how did humans get it?

Written, presented and produced by Lucy Proctor.


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (m002yl30)
Iran buries Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

The burial of Iran's second supreme leader took place at the country's holiest site; the Shrine of Imam Reza in Mashad. Iran and the US have continued to trade strikes as fears grow of a return to full-scale conflict. We hear from the BBC's chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet.

Also on the programme; outrage from victims' groups over government plans to allow people convicted of serious crimes to leave prison early; and why women are more likely to suffer during summer heatwaves.


THU 22:45 Operation Rex by Damian Barr (m002z858)
Tuesday 29th August 1939: Your Mother’s Son

During one shocking week at the start of the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of pet owners made an impossible choice. Inspired by real events, Damian Barr imagines one lonely boy's quest to save his much-loved dog.

Jack has fled to Lewes to beg his estranged grandparents to shelter Rex - but unbeknownst to the boy, a mysterious figure is on their tail.

Read by John Paul Hurley
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie


THU 23:00 Radical (m002yl32)
We Need to Talk About Class: Is It Time to Abolish Private Schools? (Sophie Pender)

Sophie Pender grew up on council estates in North London, became the first in her family to go to university, trained as a corporate lawyer - then walked away from a six-figure salary to fight Britain’s class problem.

She’s the founder of ‘The 93% Club’, a network for state-educated students and professionals, named after the proportion of people in Britain who go to state schools. But Sophie argues that “social mobility” has become too polite a phrase for something much deeper: how much class, accent, money and private education shapes who gets power – and who doesn’t.

In Amol’s final Radical interview, Sophie explains why she’s made it her life’s mission to make private schools redundant, why networks matter as much as talent, and what it would take to build an old boys’ network for everyone else.

GET IN TOUCH:

* WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480

* Email: radical@bbc.co.uk

Episodes of Radical 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.

Series producer: Rufus Gray

Producers: Oscar Pearson, Julian Paszkiewicz

Digital producers: Leona Gasper, Joe Wilkinson

Technical producer: Jonny Hall

Senior news editor: Sam Bonham


THU 23:30 Today in Parliament (m002yl34)
Susan Hulme reports on the latest plans for welfare reform.

FRIDAY 10 JULY 2026

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m002yl36)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


FRI 00:30 On Thin Ice: A Memoir of Siberia, Surveillance and Survival by Charlie Walker (m002yl1n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002yl38)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002yl3b)
BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.


FRI 05:00 News Summary (m002yl3d)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4


FRI 05:04 Yesterday in Parliament (m002yl3g)
News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament


FRI 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002yl3j)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002yl3l)
Patience in Love

Prayer for the Day presented by Rumbi Tauro.

Good morning,

I often find that patience doesn’t come to me naturally, especially in a world that moves so quickly. There are moments when I feel rushed, misunderstood, or tested by others. In those times, it can be easy to react rather than respond with care.

I’ve learnt that patience is not simply about waiting; it’s about how I choose to act while I wait. Whether I’m in conversation, facing delay, or encountering differences, I’m reminded that every person I meet is carrying something I may not see.

Gentleness and humility are quiet strengths. They may not stand out, but they shape the way I treat others in lasting ways. Choosing to listen, pause, and show kindness can often speak louder than words.

Ephesians 4:2 says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” These words challenge me to look beyond my frustrations and lead with love. They remind me that patience is an expression of compassion.

When I feel stretched or impatient, I can turn to God to soften my heart and steady my response. Through Him, I can approach others with grace, even when it feels difficult.

Dear God, Help me to be humble and gentle in all that I do. Teach me to be patient, especially when I feel challenged. Guide me to treat others with love and grace each day. Amen.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m002yl3n)
10/07/26 Calls to ban bottom trawling to protect dolphins, Wimbledon strawberries

Calls for wider bans on fishing with heavy gear that drags along the seabed to protect dolphins and porpoises.

We visit Hugh Lowe Farms in Kent, who have been providing strawberries to Wimbledon for over 25 years.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.


FRI 06:00 Today (m002ym76)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m002ym78)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002ym7b)
Ann Widdecombe remembered, Widow's Fight campaign, Bayeux tapestry replica

This programme was recorded before the police announced an investigation into Ann Widdecombe’s death.

Ann Widdecombe's political career spanned decades, serving as Conservative MP for Maidstone for 23 years, and a minister in John Major's government, then later becoming an MEP and joining Reform UK in 2023. She was also well known for her TV appearances including taking part in Strictly Come Dancing. Kylie speaks to her colleague in the Conservative party Baroness Anne Jenkin and BBC political correspondent Nick Eardley.

Campaigners and a cross-party group of MPs and peers presented a petition to Downing Street yesterday, signed by over 100,000 people, urging the government to increase bereavement support for the first time in nearly a decade. Widow’s Fight – who started the petition - say bereaved young families are falling into poverty. Kylie is joined by Holly O’Connor from Widow's Fight and Caroline Voaden, Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, who was widowed when her children were young, and is supporting the campaign.

The Bayeux Tapestry arrived in London in the early hours of this morning, under the cover of darkness, the first time it has left France for over 900 years. Meanwhile in Cambridgeshire, one woman has been painstakingly recreating the tapestry for the last decade.  Mia Hansson joins Kylie to explain why she took on this massive project.

This week we have heard about three different new diagnostic tests being developed for endometriosis, a condition thought to affect one in 10 women. We find out what these tests are, how long before they are available, and whether they could reduce the average nine year wait for a diagnosis in the UK. Kylie Pentelow hears from Evelyn Scott, author of A Bloody Scandal - How Medicine Fails Women in Pain and Elisabeth Bean, an NHS consultant gynaecologist and diagnostics chair of the British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy.

Saint Olga of Kyiv, patron saint of Ukraine has her saint’s day tomorrow. In Ukraine, she’s a beloved religious figure, but she was also a real woman, known for exacting brutal revenge on those who crossed her. BBC Ukrainian’s Irena Taranyuk joins Kylie to discuss Olga’s mythological story, what she symbolises for Ukrainians and why her story is still relevant to women today.


FRI 11:00 The Food Programme (m002ym7d)
How Pistachios Took Over

They’re in your chocolate, your gelato, even your coffee - pistachios seem to be everywhere at the moment - bolstered by the craze for Dubai Chocolate. In this episode Leyla Kazim asks what happens when the world seems to fall in love with one ingredient.

She explores how the United States came to overtake traditional producers in the Middle East to become the world's largest pistachio grower, and hears about the nut's long history in countries such as Iran from Iranian-American food writer Anna Ansari. Meanwhile, Honey & Co.'s Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich demonstrate how versatile pistachios can be, creating both sweet and savoury dishes.

Nick Moss, nuts market reporter at Expana, explains what's happening to pistachio prices and why forecasts for this year's harvest are lower than usual.

Leyla also visits Green Lanes in Haringey, home to many Turkish and Middle Eastern businesses, to discover how pistachios have long been central to traditional desserts - and hears how rising prices are changing that. Finally, she meets Charlie Tebbutt, whose south London company Food & Forest imports nuts, including pistachios, from farms that are either avoiding irrigation or using agroforestry methods, as an alternative to the vast monocrops that supply most of the world's pistachios.

Produced by Natalie Donovan for BBC Audio in Bristol


FRI 11:45 On Thin Ice: A Memoir of Siberia, Surveillance and Survival by Charlie Walker (m002ym7g)
Episode 5

Charlie Walker is an award winning explorer and writer. He has travelled tens of thousands of miles, crossing extreme territories such as deserts, wilderness and jungles, fascinated by the land and the people he meets. He has published books about cycling to the ends of the world (Through Sand and Snow) and through Asia and Africa (On Roads that Echo).

In On Thin Ice, he is in Siberia, the coldest inhabited place on earth where in the long winters temperatures can fall to minus 50 degrees and the rivers are so frozen trucks can drive along them. Your breath can freeze in mid-air: "A strange phenomenon occurs: a delicate hissing can be heard, similar to the sound of running sand, as the moisture in one’s own breath crystallises and falls through the cold, dry air. The indigenous Sakha people call this 'the whisper of the stars.'"

Facing ridiculously low temperatures, he skis and walks his way from one small isolated town or village meeting both kindness and distrust. It quickly becomes clear that the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, the FSB, know he is there. The FSB are suspicious at the best of times, but Charlie’s voyage has unwittingly coincided with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine leaving him shocked how so many he meets do not question Putin’s motives or the lies told about the Ukrainian people, unsure how or if he is ever going to get home, and realising all his bank cards have stopped working.

His expedition ends, unexpectedly, in a Russia jail.

Written and read by Charlie Walker
Abridged by Libby Spurier
Produced by Caroline Raphael
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare
Sound by Matt Bainbridge
Production Coordinator: Dawn Williams

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 12:00 News Summary (m002ym7j)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:04 AntiSocial (m002ym7l)
Pink Pill: Has women's empowerment gone toxic?

A contestant on Love Island prompts debate over her interactions with the men on the reality TV show. Some viewers suggest Jasmine has been "pink-pilled" - a reference to a mindset that sees women's relationships with men as adversarial, and is a reaction to the manosphere. Others think Jasmine shouldn't be vilified for some of the same traits displayed by men on the show, and in real life. We find out what pink pill content is, and where it came from. Plus, how does this mindset play out in real life? We explore female dating strategy.

Presenter: Adam Fleming
Production team: Simon Tulett, Mhairi MacKenzie, Annabel Deas and Lizzy McNeill
Studio manager: Jack Wilfan
Production coordinator: Janet Staples
Editor: Richard Vadon


FRI 12:57 Weather (m002ym7n)
The latest weather forecast


FRI 13:00 World at One (m002ym7q)
Labour MPs call on Andy Burnham to change course on Immigration

The man set to be PM had offered backbenchers more freedom, so how will he respond? At least 11 people are dead as wildfires tear through Southern Spain. We'll have the latest, with local authorities suggesting four of the victims may be British. From the floor of the Commons to the Strictly dancefloor - John Sergeant remembers former minister Ann Widdecombe, who has died aged 78 And, we'll discuss fans - those trying to keep us cool and those packed onto Centre Court as British Wildcard Arthur Ferry chases a place in the Wimbledon final.


FRI 13:45 Understand (m002ym7s)
Ten Fights That Made the Green Movement

10. Rival Visions

Facing climate fatigue and denial, a backlash against green policy, and increasingly urgent warnings from scientists, the green movement is shifting into a new era.

Two environmentally-minded politicians spell out their opposing visions for where the movement should go next.

Zack Polanski is the leader of the Green Party, preaching a message of ‘eco-populism’. John Gummer is a Conservative Lord and former head of the Climate Change Committee; he thinks the most powerful tool to make change is the free market.

What is the future of the green movement?

Presenter: Justin Rowlatt
Series Producer: Ellie House
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound Design and Mix: James Beard
Production Coordinators: Maria Ogundele, Brenda Brown, Sabine Schereck
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

Archive:
Doechii at Glastonbury, Glastonbury and Doechii filmed by BBC, 28/6/2025
Green Party Hustings at Glastonbury Speakers Forum, The Green Gathering, filmed by Zoe Broughton, 8/7/2025
Margaret Thatcher speech to the United Nations General Assembly, C-SPAN, 8/11/1989


FRI 14:00 The Archers (m002yl2r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Limelight (m002ym7v)
Central Intelligence: Series 3

Episode 1

1964. Chile is preparing to vote — and Washington is watching nervously. With the memory of Cuba still raw, LBJ fears another communist foothold in the Americas. Inside Langley, the CIA is told to help deliver the right result before the ballot box produces the wrong one. For Eloise Page, Richard Helms and John McCone, that means money, media, pressure, persuasion — and the fine art of interference without fingerprints.

The Agency faces its first major test under President LBJ: how far do you go to protect democracy from itself?

Eloise Page..........Kim Cattrall
Lyndon Baines Johnson..........Kelsey Grammer
Richard Helms..........Johnny Flynn
Young Eloise Page..........Elena Delia
Desmond Fitzgerald..........Donald Sage Mackay
John McCone..........Tim Ahern
Helene Boatner..........Carlyss Peer
Virginia Hall..........Jennifer Armour
Henry Hecksher..........David Menkin
Charlie Michaels..........Christopher Ragland
Augustin ‘Gus’ Edwards..........Joseph Balderrama
Tom Karamessines ..........Akie Kotabe
Gerri Whittington..........Nettie Chickering
Judge Sarah T Hughes..........Laurel Lefkow
Security Guard..........Tyreke Leslie

All other parts played by cast

Original music by Sacha Puttnam

Production:

Written by Greg Haddrick, who created the series with Jeremy Fox

Sound Design and Editing by Adam Woodhams, Andreina Gomez Casanova and John Scott Dryden
Assistant Director: Flynn Hallman
Sonica Studio Sound Engineers: Mat Clark & Paul Clark
Sonica Runner: Lily Lefkow

Director: John Scott Dryden
Producer & Casting Director: Emma Hearn
Executive Producers: Howard Stringer, Jeremy Fox, Greg Haddrick and John Scott Dryden.

A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 14:45 Living on the Edge (m001mt56)
Jaywick Sands

Ten coastal encounters, presented by Richard King.

Today: a tour of Jaywick Sands with Maria Revell.

Not simply town or countryside, the coastline is a place apart – attracting lives and stories often overlooked.

In these ten programmes, the writer Richard King travels around the UK coast to meet people who live and work there – a sequence of portraits rooted in distinct places, which piece together into an alternative portrait of the UK: an oblique image of the nation drawn from the coastal edge.

Producer: Martin Williams


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002ym7y)
Spalding: Ant Infestation, Pot-Bound Olive Tree and Watering Seedlings

Gardeners’ Question Time visits the stunning Springfields Festival Gardens in Spalding, 15 acres of beautifully designed and diverse planting, created for visitors of all ages to explore and enjoy.

Peter Gibbs is joined by a panel of horticultural experts - Matthew Wilson, Christine Walkden and Bunny Guinness - to answer questions from an enthusiastic audience of local gardeners. Together, they tackle a wide range of gardening dilemmas, from reviving a pot-bound olive tree to dealing with ants that have taken up residence in an exotic potted palm.

The panel also offers practical advice on watering seedlings effectively, encouraging a mature philadelphus to flower, and successfully overwintering hollyhocks.

Also, Grow Your Own expert Julia Parker shares her top tips for successional planting, helping gardeners enjoy a continuous harvest throughout the growing season.

Producer: Dominic Tyerman
Producer: Matthew Smith
Producer: Rahnee Prescod
Assistant Producer: William Norton

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:45 Short Works (m002ym80)
I Love You, Mr Demille

A silent movie writer finds her voice in this new story by Sara Sheridan.

Inspired by the true story of Lorna Moon and her close friendship with darling of the silver screen Mary Pickford.

Sara Sheridan is a writer and activist who is interested in diverse readings of history. She has written more than 20 books. Truth or Dare, her first novel won the Scottish Library Award. On Starlit Seas, was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Prize. In 2022, The Fair Botanists was Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year and was also a season 7 pick for The Queen’s Reading Room. The Secrets of Blythswood Square was longlisted for The Saltire Award in 2024. Val McDermid said she was ’the natural heir of Robert Louis Stevenson’ after reading latest historical novel, The Jewel Keepers. An occasional journalist, Sara has reported for BBC Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent and on ‘being a lady’ for Women’s Hour. Sara has written 3 radio plays, including Robert Burns: His Psychotherapy and Cure, which was voiced by Elaine C Smith. In 2019 Sara re-mapped Scotland according to women’s history for Historic Environment Scotland – the resulting book, Where are the Women, was one of the David Hume Institute’s Books of the year 2019. In it, she imagined several monuments to Scotland’s accused witches alongside commemorating over 1250, mostly-forgotten Scottish women.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (m002ym82)
Bonnie Tyler: How the "sweet soul singer" found her growl

Bonnie Tyler, went from a Welsh council house to topping the international charts with songs like: ”Lost In France”, “Holding out for a Hero” and “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Born Gaynor Hopkins in South Wales she grew up in a passionately religious family, which is where young Gaynor’s first experience of performing came – singing “All Things Bright and Beautiful” at her local chapel. Fellow Welsh musician and broadcaster Mal Pope tells Matthew about her life. 

Dissident Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee was arrested and held for more than four hundred days by the Chinese authorities. They were investigating the publications sold at his Causeway Bay Bookstore, some of which were critical of the Communist regime on the mainland. He became a symbol of freedom of speech after he revealed his incarceration at a news conference. The journalist and author Emily Feng interviewed him. 

In 1988 Colonel Abdul Ahad Momand became the first, and so far only, Afghan citizen to travel into space. He was part of the three-person crew that launched from Kazakhstan on board the Soviet Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft. During the trip, Colonel Momand, who was a Muslim, became the first person to read from the Koran on TV while in orbit. General Khyan Zadran was a friend and colleague of Colonel Momand.

TV and radio director Kay Patrick was best known for her work on Coronation Street, where she oversaw 250 episodes in 20 years. During that time, she steered some of the show’s most memorable storylines including the death of Hayley Cropper, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh - Julie remembers her sensitive and talented director.

Presenter: Matthew Bannister
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards

Archive:
BBC One, Top of the Pops, 24/02/1983; BBC Two, On Show, 30/03/2005; BBC World Service, Witness, 22/06/2026; YouTube, Hong Kong Free Press, 21/06/2016; ITV Studios, Coronation Street, Episode 8305, 20/01/2014; Dr Who: Toby Hadoke’s Time Travels, 18/09/2023; BBC Four, The Spaceman of Afghanistan, 13/10/2014


FRI 16:30 More or Less (m002ym84)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]


FRI 17:00 PM (m002ym86)
Murder investigation into Ann Widdecombe death

We hear the latest after police launch a murder investigation into the death of the former Conservative minister Ann Widdecombe, who found fame in the media and later campaigned for the Brexit Party and Reform UK - her colleague and friend Reform UK MP Andrew Rosindell joins us live. Also on PM, we hear from a British resident in Spain as Europe's heatwave fuels wildfires across the continent.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002ym88)
Murder inquiry launched into the death of Ann Widdecombe

A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering the former government minister Ann Widdecombe. Also: Officials in Spain say four British citizens are believed to be among 12 people who have been killed by a big wildfire in the south of the country. And the British wildcard Arthur Fery has crashed out of Wimbledon in the semi-finals.


FRI 18:30 Dead Ringers (m002ym8b)
Series 27

The President’s for Overturning

The Dead Ringers team train their vocal firepower on the week’s news. This week: Trump turns tricks, Tuchel talks tactics, and Count Binface is unmasked.

Starring Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Jess Robinson, Duncan Wisbey and Lewis MacLeod.

Produced by: Jon Holmes
Executive Producer:James Robinson
Production Co-ordinator: Giulia Lopes Mazzu

A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (m002ym8d)
Bert and Lynda arrive for the shop volunteer taster session – Lynda to see if anything’s changed since her last stint. She is critical of the shop’s layout and Bert adds niggles – the strength of the door and the volume of the bell. Lynda decides it’s not changed enough to entice her back. Susan is surprised that her father wants to volunteer, and that the change of scene he’d longed for was company at the shop, not a change of house. She doesn’t think he’s quite suited to being a volunteer. But why not become Susan’s personal assistant and keep her company sitting at the counter?

Lynda is pleasantly surprised when Fallon agrees to join the fete committee. Fallon is looking forward to a homecoming staycation with Harrison. They’ll also be celebrating his new dream job, finally becoming a Rural Crime Officer.

Ian turns up unexpectedly at Home Farm to address with Brian what Adam is owed from the partnership. Brian is pleased to hear that Adam’s not pursuing a legal case, but doesn’t see anything else to discuss. Ian claims that Brian has always kept Adam at arm’s length. Brian disputes this – he raised him as a farmer and gave him every opportunity, but was stabbed in the back. Ian blurts out that he knows about Ruairi and George – and that proves what Brian has done for a son he really cares about. Ian threatens Brian with telling George the truth, unless he gives Adam what he is due.


FRI 19:15 Screenshot (m002ym8g)
Hospital Dramas

As the world’s longest-running prime time TV medical drama Casualty turns 40, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode look at the small screen’s long love affair with hospitals.

Mark speaks to media academic Dr Hannah Hamad about the evolution of the hospital drama, from the reassuring bedside manner of 1950s and 60s series like Dr Kildare and Emergency Ward 10, to the relentless intensity of American hits ER and The Pitt.

Ellen talks to psychiatrist-turned-screenwriter Dr Grace Ofori-Attah about Malpractice, the ITV drama she began writing while still working as a junior doctor, and about the relationship between the realities of modern medicine and the stories we see on screen.

And to mark Casualty's 40th anniversary, Ellen also speaks to the series creators, Paul Unwin and Jeremy Brock, about its origins, the controversies it has weathered, and why it continues to stay relevant four decades on.

Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4


FRI 20:00 Any Questions? (m002ym8j)
Laila Cunningham, Baroness Hodge, Mike Martin MP, Sir Andrew Mitchell MP

Alex Forsyth presents political debate from Furze Platt Senior School in Maidenhead, with Reform UK's Laila Cunningham; Labour peer Baroness Hodge of Barking; Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin; and the Conservative MP Sir Andrew Mitchell.

Producer: Paul Martin
Assistant producer: Jo Dwyer
Production co-ordinator: Sam Grist
Lead broadcast engineer: Kate Barker
Editor: Andrea Kennedy


FRI 20:55 This Week in History (m002ym8l)
July 6th - July 12th

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

10th July 1553: Lady Jane Grey becomes Queen for 9 days.

8th July 1947: The Roswell Incident sparks UFO conspiracy culture.

8th July 1776: The US Declaration of Independence is read publicly for the first time.


FRI 21:00 Free Thinking (m002ym8n)
The Ethics of Knowledge

Do we have a responsibility to inform ourselves about the state of the world? Is the experience of some people valued more highly than that of others? Matthew Sweet investigates the ethics of knowledge in Radio 4's round table discussion programme.
With:
Quassim Cassam, philosopher and author of Intellectual Vices
Havi Carel, a philosopher who's worked extensively on imbalances of knowledge in healthcare and other areas
Ian Kidd, philosopher specializing in the ethics of knowledge
Ebony Reid, author of Trapped Lives
Marianna Spring, the BBC's misinformation correspondent
Producer: Luke Mulhall

Part of a series of programmes across Radio 4 looking at what drives us apart and how to bring us together – look for Common Ground.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m002ym8q)
Man arrested on suspicion of murder after Ann Widdecombe found dead

A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of Ann Widdecombe, police say. Widdecombe, a former Conservative minister turned Reform UK spokeswoman, served as the MP for Maidstone in Kent for 23 years. We hear from her former Commons colleague Edwina Currie and her long-time friend, broadcaster Iain Dale.

Also in the programme: we speak to a family that's fled wildfires in southern Spain that have left at least 12 people dead. And as England prepares for its football World Cup quarter-final on Saturday, we hear an operatic version of the national sporting anthem Three Lions.


FRI 22:45 Operation Rex by Damian Barr (m002ym8s)
Friday October 12th 1984: You Are Invited to a Retrospective

During one shocking week at the start of the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of pet owners made an impossible choice. Inspired by real events, Damian Barr imagines one lonely boy's quest to save his much-loved dog.

Decades after he moved heaven and earth to save Rex's life, a violent blast in the middle of the night reminds Jack of everything he's been through.

Read by John Paul Hurley
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie


FRI 23:00 Americast (w3ct8lzb)
The battle for Charlie Kirk’s legacy

After Charlie Kirk’s death, will young people still vote Republican, and could the battle for his legacy cost Donald Trump crucial votes in this year’s midterm elections?

This week marks the start of hearings which will determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring a murder case against Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson. The hearings have once again highlighted Charlie Kirk’s influence on young people and the battle among some Republicans to secure his legacy.

His death remains the subject of conspiracy theories among prominent far-right influencers such as Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens while candidates in this year’s midterm elections have used his endorsement in campaign ads. But alongside this is also an administration that is increasingly unpopular with young people who voted for Trump in part to deal with cost-of-living pressures and a desire for no more wars.

Can the Republican Party keep hold of the voters that Charlie Kirk helped deliver, and where will they go if they don’t vote for the party?

HOSTS:
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter
• Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
• Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent

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 George Dabby and Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Jonathan Greer. 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.

US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155

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
Top Comment: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mssm
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 (m002ym8v)
Does it matter that MPs face a six-week wait before they can question the new prime minister? Sean Curran talks to expert Dr Ruxandra Serban. Also, we look at what Andy Burnham's agenda might mean for Westminster, MPs investigate the fall-out from recent public disorder in Northern Ireland and there's a call for voting to be made compulsory.