SATURDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2018

SAT 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jmt2)
Operation Luna
Episode 5
The stalled rocket ship stops Captain Jet Morgan and his crew from returning to Earth.
Futuristic tale set in 1965 as first broadcast in 1953.
Stars Andrew Faulds as Jet Morgan, Alfie Bass as Lemmy Barnett, Guy Kingsley-Poynter as Doc, David Williams as Mitch, Other parts by David Jacobs.
Music composed and orchestra conducted by Van Phillips.
Written and produced by Charles Chilton.
Though first heard in 1953, the original recordings were wiped.
Re-recording first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1958.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (m00016h0)
Seven Deadly Sins
Playwright Amy Rosenthal and sociologist Frank Furedi join Chris Bigsby to discuss Pride, Lust and the other vices.
In each programme, Professor Bigsby introduces a duo of writers of fact and fiction: new talent and established names. In the context of a discussion of one of the ideas and pre-occupations of our times, each presents a piece on this week's topic.
The best new writing and the freshest conversation from 2002.
SAT 01:00 High Table, Lower Orders (m00016gp)
Series 2
Episode 5
While Simon is distracted with his murder investigation, the fellows find themselves undergoing individual performance assessments.
The Master finds the whole idea appalling. The Dean, on the other hand, seems to be relishing every moment
Mark Tavener's comedy thriller set in a Cambridge College riven by argument between traditionalists and modernisers.
Starring Geoffrey Palmer as Gilbert, Samuel West as Simon, Sharon Small as Zoe, Jonathan Coy as Bernard and Michael Maloney as The Dean.
With Michelle Fairley, Kim Wall, Rachel Atkins, Thomas Wheatley, Anthony Glennon, Zoe Gardner and Tom Price.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2006.
SAT 01:30 Young, Gifted and Black (b00scjx2)
Adjoa Andoh reflects on the brief but highly influential career of the African American playwright and social activist.
In 1959, Hansberry became the first black woman to have a play produced on Broadway and the youngest recipient of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. An eloquent and impassioned orator for civil rights, Lorraine Hansberry quickly became one of the most famous women in the country.
Friend to the likes of Paul Robeson, James Baldwin and Nina Simone, who composed 'To Be Young, Gifted and Black' in her honour, Hansberry's prescient speeches and artfully constructed drama played a key role in the ongoing civil rights struggle.
In this programme we hear from her sister Mamie Hansberry, poet and playwright Jackie Kay, Chicago Southside historian Timuel Black and theatre directors Michael Buffong and Paulette Randall.
Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 02:00 Thomas Love Peacock (m00016gy)
Nightmare Abbey
5. The Bringer of Mystery
A beautiful mysterious stranger enters Scythrop’s life, to fill a recently created void.
Kenneth Williams continues the Gothic satire poking fun at the Romantic Movement in English literature of the time and its obsession with the morbid.
First published in 1818, ‘Nightmare Abbey’ follows the fortunes of widower Christopher Glowry, who lives with his son, Scythrop, in the dilapidated family mansion- in Lincolnshire, on a dry stretch of land between the sea and the fens.
Abridged in eight parts and produced by Martin Remes.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1979.
SAT 02:15 A History of the Brain (b016x4t1)
The Spark of Being
Dr Geoff Bunn's 10 part History of the Brain is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of this complex organ in our heads. From Neolithic times to the present day, he reveals the contemporary beliefs about what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
While referencing the core physiology and neuroscience, this is a cultural, not a scientific history. What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
In Episode 5: The Spark of Being, the focus is on electricity and communication, within the brain and between the brain and the rest of the body. When John Walsh showed, in 1776, that an eel could generate electricity, it became possible that human consciousness also relied on sparks fizzing within the brain. Coming at a time when Benjamin Franklin - an acknowledged expert on electricity - was signing the Declaration of Independence which asserted that all men are created equal, it generated a new perspective on the workings of the brain; the old hierarchical model was discarded in favour of the doctrine of equipotentiality.
The series is entirely written and presented by Dr Geoff Bunn of Manchester Metropolitan University, with actors Paul Bhattacharjee and Jonathan Forbes providing the voices of those who have written about the brain from Ancient Egypt to the present day, and actor Hattie Morahan giving the Anatomy Lesson which establishes the part of the brain to be highlighted in each episode - in this instance the Corpus Callosum. The original, atmospheric score is supplied by composer, Barney Quinton.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b08w1d87)
Stories from Hay el Matar
Episode 5
As Sumayya takes full control of the hospital, the fake medicines warehouse is now the centre of everyone's attention.
Stories from Hay el Matar is set in a suburb of Damascus where people of all backgrounds attempt to live their lives while the war is fought around them. It's made by a team of Syrian writers and actors who are themselves living through the kinds of events depicted in the drama.
This is an adaptation from an Arabic language original produced by BBC media Action that is also made on location in Beirut, Lebanon, by a Syrian and Lebanese team, many of whom commute from inside Syria.
Stories from Hay el Matar is written in Arabic by Syrian writer Hozan Akko, adapted into English by British dramatist Jonathan Myerson, and recorded on location in Beirut.
The drama offers a rare glimpse of how normal life is lived inside Damascus during these extraordinary times.
Sound Moe Choicair, Sandra Tabet (DB Studios) and Alisdair McGregor
Music Ziad Ahmadiye
Studio management Karim Beidoun, Guerilla Studios
Translation Samira El Agha
Adaptation Jonathan Myerson
Writer Hozan Akko
Producer/Director Boz Temple-Morris
A Holy Mountain production for BBC Radio 4, adapted from an original BBC Media Action Production.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b03mj8ls)
Man Belong Mrs Queen
Episode 5
As a bookish child with a posh accent, growing up on Merseyside in the 1980s, Matthew Baylis identified with the much-mocked Prince Philip as a fellow outsider. He even had a poster of him on his bedroom wall.
Years later, as an anthropology student, Baylis learned of the existence of a Philip cult on the South Sea island of Tanna. Why was it there? Nobody had a convincing answer. Nobody even seemed to want to find one.
His curiosity fatally piqued, he travelled over 10,000 miles to find a society both remote and slap-bang in the shipping-lanes of history. It's a place where US airmen, Lithuanian libertarians, and Graeco-Danish Princes have had as much impact as the missionaries and the slave-traders. On the rumbling slopes of this remarkable volcanic island, banjaxed by frequent doses of the local narcotic, suffering from a relentless diet of yams and regularly accused of being a divine emissary of the Duke, Baylis attempted to get to the bottom of this bizarre cult. In doing so he draws some ironic lessons about our own island 'myths' and comes to respect the pragmatic realpolitik of his South Seas hosts.
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company Production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 03:00 Archive on 4 (b00tk7sf)
Barbara
An appraisal of Barbara Castle in the centenary of her birth.
Barbara Castle - the Red Queen, clever, sexy and single-minded she was the most important female politician the Labour party has produced.
2010 is the centenary of her birth and in this archive hour , her official biographer Anne Perkins, examines her life and legacy. The further we move from the 20th century, the more remarkable her achievements seem. In one of the ironies of politics, she paved the way for Margaret Thatcher .She embodied the spirit of the starry-eyed landslide Labour government of 1945 and was a unique participant in the history of the left.
We hear of her early life growing up in a Yorkshire family -more bourgeois than she'd admit - devoted to the Independent Labour Party and William Morris; tales of climbing out of college windows at Oxford with her friend, the pioneering broadcaster Olive Shapley; her devotion to the open air which led to the founding of the Pennine Way - she tramped the inaugural walk in a tweed skirt and brogues, alongside Hugh Dalton.
Then there were her dogged campaigns for equal pay and child benefit. And that's before we get to the breathalyser and the Unions. Her passionate skills of oratory leap out of the archive, crackling with energy and fire.She was a feminist but was always puzzled by what she saw as the "stridency" the movement took on in the seventies and initially resisted the idea of all-women shortlists.
She wasn't averse to using her great personal charm to negotiate her way out of some of the most monumental political battles of the era - dressed impeccably and no stranger to the hairdresser's. Did she stand out precisely because she was that rare creature : a colourful woman amongst all the grey suits ? Or was it her potent mix of lightning wit, passion, diligence, red bouffant and fierce intellect that helped carve out a place in history for her . And could she have achieved all she did if she'd had children?
We hear intimate archive interviews with Barbara Castle recorded before her death, and new interviews including Baroness Shirley Williams , Baroness Betty Boothroyd ,Janet Anderson , and the veteran political commentator Geoffrey Goodman.
Producer Lindsay Leonard.
SAT 04:00 Guess What? (b061fth0)
Episode 2
Animal, vegetable or mineral?
Barry Took hosts a revised version of popular radio parlour game of 20 questions.
Regular Geoffrey Durham is joined by Hattie Hayridge and Dick Vosburgh.
Written by Michael Dines.
Producer: Andy Aliffe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.
SAT 04:30 Smelling of Roses (m00016gt)
Series 1
A Good Cause
Rosie’s company is tasked to put together a charity gala concert in aid of the Afghans.
But there’s confusion over whether it’s for the people or the dogs?
Rosie’s company hosts a management team building course. It all goes well until the murder mystery dinner, but it isn't Rosie who makes a killing.
Prunella Scales stars in the first of four series of Simon Brett's sitcom following the trials and tribulations of Rosie Burns and her event management company based in Brighton.
With Arabella Weir as Kate, Rebecca Callard as Jo, Duncan Preston as Bob, Annette Badland as Tess, Joanna Munro as Ginnie and Celia Imrie as Lady Helen.
Producer: Maria Esposito
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2000.
SAT 05:00 The Right Time (b0076mmf)
Series 4
Episode 5
Musing on middle-age and a near-death experience turns out mundane.
Sketch show about growing older disgracefully.
Stars Eleanor Bron, Dudley Sutton, Roger Blake, Paula Wilcox. Clive Swift and Barry Cryer.
Written by Colin Bostock-Smith, Jill Brodie & John Pidgeon, Barry Cryer, Dave Dixon, Jan Etherington, Alan Stafford and Chris Thompson & Pete Reynolds.
Script editor: George Poles.
Music by Ronnie & The Rex.
Producer: Katie Marsden
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2004.
SAT 05:30 A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics (b06j2gfy)
Series 1
The Rat-catchers of Yonville
By John Nicholson, Richard Katz and Javier Marzan
In 19th-century provincial France, a pair of vermin controllers seek their fortune. Arriving in the market town of Yonville, things start to go wrong when their rat-catching kit goes missing and then when they find themselves entangled in the marital woes of the town's doctor.
In this new series the comedy troupe Peepolykus assume the roles of minor characters in great works of fiction and derail the plot of the book through their hapless buffoonery.
Cast:
Emma . . . . . Ingrid Oliver
John . . . . . John Nicholson
Javier . . . . . Javier Marzan
Charles . . . . . Richard Katz
Tuvache . . . . . Leo Wan
Hippolyte . . . . . Stephen Critchlow
Justin . . . . . Caolan McCarthy
Homais . . . . . Chris Pavlo
Madame Codoux . . . . . Jessica Turner
Felicite . . . . . Rebecca Hamilton
Director . . . . . Sasha Yevtushenko
SAT 06:00 Richard Huggett - Weekend with Willie (m00016bc)
John and Daphne Maitland are an unsophisticated couple flattered to be invited to dinner by celebrated author W Somerset Maugham at his French villa.
But if they'd known the other guests were to be Willie's brother Freddie. his ex-wife Syrie, and his American friend, Gerald, they might have treated the invitation with slightly more caution...
Richard Huggett's drama stars David March as W. Somerset Maugham AKA Willie; Prunella Scales as Syrie Maugham; Richard Huggett as Sir Frederick Maugham; Barry Dennen as Gerald Haxton; Robert Beatty as John D Hackerman; Andrew Secombe as Pierre; Hayden Wood as John Maitland; and Shirley Cooklin as Daphne Maitland.
Director: David Johnston.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1981.
SAT 07:30 Unmasking the English (m00016bf)
Sir Walter Raleigh
Andrew Marr continues to explore Englishness with the multi-faceted, possibly misunderstood, Sir Walter Raleigh.
Was he a ruthless parvenu who fell from grace, or a multi-faceted Renaissance Man? And is there perhaps more Englishness in the reaction to Raleigh, than in Raleigh himself?
With contributions from AA Gill, Peter York, Anita Anand, Professor Andrew Lambert and Colonel John Blashford-Snell.
Producer: Tom Alban
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b00tk7sf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 03:00 today]
SAT 09:00 Steve Penk's Radio Nightmares (m00016bk)
Broadcaster Steve Penk digs out some of the funniest clips of live radio mistakes and provides listeners with exclusive access to his own collection of audio material from around the world.
Radio bloopers have been around for as long as radio itself. They’re mainly endearing and add a humanising element to the radio and to the presenters on it. A blooper is defined as an embarrassing public blunder, but as long as it's someone else's mistake, most of us are quite capable of getting past the embarrassment to enjoy the humour. The immediacy of live-to-air radio is part of its strength, but also very exposing. If there's a slip of the tongue, it's broadcast into the ether moments later, especially in the early days of broadcast radio when almost everything was done live on the air. There have been some celebrated 'bloopers' over the years - from 'colourful' language, to laughing fits, technical glitches to amusing mispronunciations.
This collection includes new interviews with broadcasters Paul Gambaccini, John Waite and Anna Foster recalling their radio nightmares and archive programmes from Jonathan Hewat presenting a compilation of his series Can I Take That Again and Emily Buchanan introducing a blooper reel from A World In Your Ear.
Producer: Stephen Garner
SAT 12:00 Elephants to Catch Eels (b00v2pbf)
Series 2
Awards
18th-century smuggler Tamsyn Trelawny wants to win the coveted Smuggling Personality of the Year award at the annual Jethro awards.
It's 1793 and in the small Cornish village of Drumlin Bay, heroic smuggler Tamsyn Trelawny is still running rings around the customs men, assisted by her drunken father Jago.
Written by Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain.
Starring Sheridan Smith as Tamsyn Trelawny, John Bowe as Jago Trelawny, Cameron Stewart as Major Thomas Falconer, Andrew McGibbon as Captain Marriot, Martin Hyder as Squire Bascombe, Mark Felgate as Dewey, Mark Perry as Hobbs and India Fisher as Mum.
Producer: Jan Ravens.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2004.
SAT 12:30 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00cbltk)
Series 3
Episode 6
Murray worries that his tubby dad Tommy and Sheila have more rolls than roles.
Ageing showbiz couple Tommy Franklin and Sheila Parr continue their second stab at fame.
Series 3 of Mike Coleman’s six-part sitcom stars June Whitfield and Roy Hudd.
With Pat Coombs, Julian Eardley, Edward Halstead and Tracy-Ann Oberman.
Music by Frido Ruth.
Producer: Steve Doherty
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2001.
SAT 13:00 Children in Need: D for Dexter (m00016bn)
D For Dexter Series 5 Omnibus 2/2
Skye and Dexter are back in this award-winning serial, one of the highlights of the BBC Children in Need Appeal on BBC Radio 4.
Their mum Jak hasn’t had a drink for 11 months now and she’s doing alright. They’ve even got a morning routine. She forgets words sometimes, but she might not have known them in the first place. And that’s how it is, in recovery.
Skye is 15 and Dexter's six, and they live in Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. Skye has always had to look out for Dex. But now Skye ‘s going on a school trip, if she can be sure that Jak will stick to the plan.
This year's story was developed with the help of Action for Young Carers, a free and confidential service that supports young carers in Nottingham, and receives funding for specific projects from BBC Children in Need.
Skye...Sydney Wade
Dexter...Alfie Johnson-McCann
Jak...Una McNulty
Pearce...Beau Anten
Alex...Don Gilet
Alisha...Megan Huntley
Alice...Lauren Bowler
Poem by Octavia Bettis
Writer...Amanda Whittington
Director...Mary Ward-Lowery
Music by The Breeders and David Bowie, performed by Tom Constantine.
First broadcast in five parts on BBC Radio 4 in November 2018.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (m00016bq)
Adam Henson
Farmer and Countryfile presenter Adam Henson chooses Golden Brown by The Stranglers and Life on Mars by David Bowie.
Adam also remembers his father Joe Henson, a farmer and TV presenter, who worked with the likes of Johnny Morris; and his grandfather, Leslie Henson, an entertainer, who knew Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2018.
SAT 14:15 Women in Politics (m00016bs)
It's 100 years since the 1918 The Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act was passed allowing women to stand for Parliament on 21st November 1918.
This programme, not heard since its original broadcast in 1972, finds out what it felt like to be a female politician. The presenter is Anthony King.
In 1972, 54% of the electorate were women - yet out of 630 MPs, there were only 26 women and only one in the Cabinet.
Why do so few women enter politics? Why is there so much prejudice against them?
Anthony King investigates what was happening in the early 1970s with Barbara Castle MP, Pat Hornsby-Smith MP, Margaret Thatcher MP and Shirley Williams, and recordings from BBC Sound Archives, including the first woman in Parliament, Nancy Astor, and the first woman Cabinet Minister, Margaret Bondfield.
Producer: Anne Buncan-Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1972.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b00tk7sf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 03:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Richard Huggett - Weekend with Willie (m00016bc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Unmasking the English (m00016bf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Colin Finbow - Emily's Ghost (b05p2h6p)
Young Emily goes to live with her family in an inherited country house. When she begins to see and hear strange things, Emily fears that she is being haunted.
Colin Finbow's unusual ghost story is set in Victorian England.
Stars Anna Jones as Emily, Kate Buffery as Mama, John Rowe as Papa and Anna Massey as Miss Rabstock.
Director: Cherry Cookson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1994.
SAT 19:00 Steve Penk's Radio Nightmares (m00016bk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Paul Sinha's History Revision (b04v3cxr)
Series 1
Communication
In Paul Sinha's History Revision the acclaimed stand-up and eleventh best UK quizzer Paul Sinha looks through all of human history and examines how we came to be where we are. He starts with something everyday, something we all know to be true; he then reveals the quirks of history and the fascinating stories that led up to this point.
In this first edition, Paul looks at the modern's youth's obsession with a device that can be used to email, text, surf the web, play games and, very occasionally, make telephone calls - the telephone. The story of how it came, legally, into being obviously involves electro-shock therapy and an exploding boat. Paul also looks at a more positive aspect of young people, and tells a story of how the introduction of gin to the United Kingdom inspired the seventeenth century equivalent of the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Paul Sinha is an acclaimed stand-up who was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy award for his show Saint or Sinha?. He frequently appears on The News Quiz, The Now Show, and Fighting Talk. He is a resident 'chaser' on the ITV quiz show The Chase. He wrote and starred in one-offs The Sinha Test (2011) and The Sinha Games (2012) on Radio 4 and in 2013 had his own four-part series, Paul Sinha's Citizenship Test.
Written and performed by Paul Sinha.
Produced by Ed Morrish.
SAT 22:30 Chain Reaction (b00tq1vw)
Series 6
Stephen Merchant interviews Jarvis Cocker
The last in the current series of the tag team talk show where last week's guest, multi award-winning co-creator of The Office and Extras, and famously tall funny man Stephen Merchant takes the microphone to interview Pulp frontman and successful solo artist, dandy Englishman Jarvis Cocker.
Stephen asks Jarvis about the perils of being a glasses wearer, his protests against pop and what really happened with that famous Michael Jackson incident.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0001c1q)
Kerry Godliman 1/2
From 10.00pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Arthur Smith chats to Kerry Godliman.
SAT 23:00 Rhod Gilbert's Bulging Barrel of Laughs (b00tml87)
Episode 2
Welsh comic Rhod Gilbert introduces regulars Lloyd Langford and Greg Davies, plus Sarah Millican who takes a weekly look at The Six Stages of Woman.
With live music from Athlete, including hits Superhuman Touch and Half Light.
Guest comedian is Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Russell Kane.
Hear Rhod rant on road rage, plus Rhod’s Confessions where Lloyd Langford reveals an unusual passion for Star Wars figures and see if Greg Davies can tempt you with his Indecent Proposal.
Producers: Julia Mckenzie and Lianne Coop.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in September 2010.


SUNDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2018

SUN 00:00 Colin Finbow - Emily's Ghost (b05p2h6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Children in Need: D for Dexter (m00016bn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (m00016bq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Women in Politics (m00016bs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b00tk7sf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 03:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Richard Huggett - Weekend with Willie (m00016bc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Unmasking the English (m00016bf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Stories from Hay el Matar (Omnibus) (b08w92nd)
Sumayya Hilmi must decide the future of the family-run hospital.
Syrian writers and actors provide a rare glimpse of how life is lived in contemporary Damascus.
Running a hospital in Damascus is hard enough for the Hilmi family but, when Louai expands the counterfeit pharmaceuticals business to raise extra cash, things start to go very wrong indeed.
Stories from Hay el Matar is set in a suburb of Damascus where people of all backgrounds attempt to live their lives while the war is fought around them. It's made by a team of Syrian writers and actors who are themselves living through the kinds of events depicted in the drama.
This is an adaptation from an Arabic language original, produced by BBC Media Action, also made on location in Beirut, Lebanon, by a Syrian and Lebanese team, many of whom commute from inside Syria.
Written in Arabic by Syrian writer Hozan Akko and adapted into English by British dramatist Jonathan Myerson, and recorded on location in Beirut.
The drama offers a rare glimpse of how normal life is lived inside Damascus during these extraordinary times.
Sound: Moe Choicair, Sandra Tabet (DB Studios) and Alisdair McGregor
Music: Ziad Ahmadiye
Studio management: Karim Beidoun, Guerilla Studios
Translation: Samira El Agha
Director: Boz Temple-Morris
A Holy Mountain production for BBC Radio 4, adapted from an original BBC Media Action Production.
First broadcast in five parts in 2017.
SUN 07:15 Alun Richards - The Scandalous Thoughts of Elmyra Mouth (m000169t)
Elmyra doesn’t like her husband’s job as a BBC cameraman. When he’s out for the night in Cardiff, her thoughts run away with her.
Written by Alun Richards and read by Donna Edwards.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1996.
SUN 07:30 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (b03zy1c6)
Series 1
Virgil
A fresh look at the ancient world.
Natalie Haynes, critic, writer and reformed stand-up comedian, brings the ancient world entertainingly up to date. In each of the four programmes she profiles a figure from ancient Greece or Rome and creates a stand-up routine around them. She then goes in search of the links which make the ancient world still very relevant in the 21st century.
Episode 3: Virgil. Natalie Haynes considers the work of the Roman poet Virgil, ranging from his hints on bee-keeping to his great work The Aeneid. Dido is the classic wronged woman and the Aeneid contains the best ding-dong between a man and a woman in all Latin literature, culminating in Dido's memorable promise "If you go I'm going to kill myself and then I will pursue you from beyond death with black fires!" Natalie is joined by Pamela Helen Stephen who has sung Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, bee-keeper Gordon Cutting and Dr Llewelyn Morgan to talk about the greatest poet in the Roman world.
Producer: Christine Hall.
SUN 08:00 The Jason Explanation of... (b007jpzh)
Love, Sex and Marriage
David Jason tries to crack relationships via computer dating and Punch and Judy.
With Sheila Steafel and Royce Mills.
Following in the footsteps of Lord Clark, Dr Bronowski and Professor Galbraith, David Jason unravels the mysteries of the universe and the meaning of life.
Scripted by Colin Bostock Smith, Andy Hamilton, Barry Pilton and Paul Leigh.
Music by John Owen Edwards
Producer: Geoffrey Perkins
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in September 1977.
SUN 08:30 A Life of Bliss (m000169w)
Two Dozen Red Roses
When an old boyfriend calls, David’s sister Anne suddenly feels taken for granted. Shy bachelor David tries to help.
Stars George Cole as David Bliss, Diana Churchill as Anne Fellows, Colin Gordon as Tony Fellows, , Sheila Sweet as Zoe Hunter and Percy Edwards as 'Psyche' the Dog.
Godfrey Harrison's sitcom about shy, bumbling bachelor David Alexander Bliss.
Beginning in 1953, it ran for six series of 118 episodes concluding in 1969 - but few survive in the BBC archive. (A TV series was made in 1969). For the first 7 episodes, David Tomlinson played David, but the rest starred the future star of The St Trinian's films - destined to find great fame as the dodgy Arthur Daley in ITV's Minder - George Cole.
Producer: Leslie Bridgmont
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1958.
SUN 09:00 Armistice 1918 (Omnibus) (m000169y)
Five historians explore the global impact of the 1918 armistice and the legacy it has left in our world - from the fringes of Europe to the Middle East. They challenge the conventional narrative about the end of the First World War and the peace settlements that followed, with repercussions still felt today.
Presented by Professor Heather Jones, Professor Santanu Das, Professor Patricia Clavin, Professor Mustafa Aksakal and Professor Jorn Leonhard.
Readings by Helen Ayres, Will Hubbard and Susheel Kumar
Produced by Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 10:10 The Listening Project (b04brvjf)
William and Elizabeth - Finding Love in Orkney
Fi Glover introduces a couple who moved to Orkney as business partners and now reflect on how they fell in love with the remote islands and with each other, proving again that it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b06q5sww)
Comedians
Tim Minchin
From Deep Purple to Muddy Waters. Comedian and musician Tim Minchin shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From May 2012.
SUN 11:00 The Moth Radio Hour (m00016b0)
Series 8
You Say Goodbye
True stories told live in in the USA: Meg Bowles introduces stories on saying farewell to family, the past and places.
The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.
The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.
Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart-breaking.
The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange.
SUN 12:00 The Jason Explanation of... (b007jpzh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 A Life of Bliss (m000169w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Stories from Hay el Matar (Omnibus) (b08w92nd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Alun Richards - The Scandalous Thoughts of Elmyra Mouth (m000169t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Book at Bedtime (m00016b2)
Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years
Omnibus 2/2
The third book in the exquisitely funny Adrian Mole series by Sue Townsend, one of our most celebrated comic writers. The Wilderness Years is read by Harry McEntire
Following on from The Secret Diary and The Growing Pains, it is now 1991 and our diarist is 23.
Adrian is still infatuated with his childhood sweetheart Pandora and is living in her box room in Oxford. Already in possession of a husband and a boyfriend, and sick of his attentions, Pandora recommends a therapist to help Adrian move on.
Unfulfilled by his job at the Department of the Environment, Adrian’s aspirations to become a poet and author are undimmed. Whilst working on his first novel, ‘Lo! The Flat Hills of my Homeland’, he is plagued by the literary success of his old nemesis, Barry Kent.
Adrian struggles to understand why he is so unsuccessful with women but his perseverance eventually pays off. How the female brain works remains a mystery to him, however.
As he continues to battle valiantly with the slings and arrows that life throws at him, Adrian starts to feel less of an outsider and more at ease with himself.
Abridged by Sara Davies
Produced by Alexa Moore
A Pier Production
SUN 15:45 The Generation Gap (b00qszyz)
Series 1: Respect
Policemen
Series of programmes in which two people from different generations discuss a topic that reveals the changing nature of Britain.
The theme of the first five programmes is Respect.
Two policemen who have seen changes on the beat in levels of respect from society.
A Juniper production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 16:00 Gaston Leroux - The Perfume of the Lady in Black (m00016b4)
France’s most dangerous man, Frederic Larson, is finally laid to rest. But who is the mysterious woman at his graveside?
Journalist, Joseph Rouletabille is intrigued but must look to his own past to solve the mystery...
Written by Gaston Leroux, author of The Phantom Of The Opera, and dramatised by Stephen Sheridan.
Nicholas Boulton stars as Rouletabille; Charles Simpson is Sainclair; Geoffrey Whitehead is Larson; and Suzanna Hamilton is Mathilde.
Director: David Blount.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (m00016b6)
Lost Voices of Afghanistan
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with 'Lost Voices of Afghanistan'.
When BBC Correspondent Jonathan Charles made an appeal on BBC World Service for Afghan civilians to send in their war poetry, little did he anticipate the flood of writing it would inspire.
Here, he explores a selection of those poems and interviews the authors.
Producer: Laura Parfitt
A White Pebble Media production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2011.
SUN 17:30 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (b03zy1c6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Jonathan Hall - The Midnight House (b0076xfv)
Jonathan Hall's period ghost story mixing fact and fiction is set in the Welsh tin quarries that housed the nation's treasures during the Second World War.
Ian Hanson ...... Roger Morlidge
Ruth Paget ...... Caroline John
Nigel Collins ...... James Nickerson
Specially commissioned music from Christopher Madin.
Director Polly Thomas.
SUN 18:45 Ghost Story (m00016b8)
A Little Place Off The Edgware Road by Graham Greene
On a rainy night, a chilling encounter in a dark theatre leads a man to question his sanity.
Read by Joss Ackland. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1986.
SUN 19:00 The Moth Radio Hour (m00016b0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 20:00 Armistice 1918 (Omnibus) (m000169y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 The Listening Project (b04brvjf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b06q5sww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (b03zy1c6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 My First Planet (b04bw6ny)
Series 2
One Small Naughty Step for Man
Day 32 and the colony teacher tells Carol & Richard to go and sit in the naughty airlock. Meanwhile Lillian has to face a deadly rival, armed only with a marker pen and the common cold
The return of the hit sitcom starring Nicholas Lyndhurst and Vicki Pepperdine ("Getting On") set on a shiny new planet.
Welcome to the colony. We're aware that, having been in deep cryosleep for 73 years, you may be in need of some supplementary information.
Personnel:
Unfortunately, Burrows the leader of the colony has died on the voyage so his Number 2, Brian (Nicholas Lyndhurst), is now in charge. He's a nice enough chap, but no alpha male, and his desire to sort things out with a nice friendly meeting infuriates the colony's Chief Physician Lillian (Vicki Pepperdine), who'd really rather everyone was walking round in tight colour-coded tunics and saluting each other. She's also in charge of Project Adam, the plan to conceive and give birth to the first colony-born baby. Unfortunately, the two people hand-picked for this purpose - Carol and Richard - were rather fibbing about being a couple, just to get on the trip.
Add in an entirely unscrupulous Chief Scientist, Mason and also Archer, an idiot maintenance man who believes he's an "empath" rather than a plumber, and you're all set to answer the question - if humankind were to colonise space, is it destined to succumb to self-interest, prejudice and infighting? (By the way, the answer's "yes". Sorry.)
Written by Phil Whelans
Produced and Directed by David Tyler.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0001c1n)
Kerry Godliman 2/2
From 10.00pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Arthur Smith chats again to Kerry Godliman.
SUN 23:00 On the Hour (b007k3zk)
Series 1
Episode 4
Why cream maybe good for you - and another motorway goes missing...
All the news as it happens, if it happens – and the sport must go on for a bereaved Alan Partridge.
Savagely satirical award-winning comedy starring Chris Morris.
With Steve Coogan, David Schneider, Rebecca Front, Patrick Marber and Doon Mackichan.
Written by Chris Morris, Richard Herring, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, David Quantick and Stewart Lee.
Editor: Armando lannucci
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1991.
SUN 23:30 Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking (b00bg3gf)
Series 2
Episode 1
The comedy award-winner finds 1001 uses for peas, misses a meeting and shuns a caravan owner. With Ben Moor. From May 2008.


MONDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2018

MON 00:00 Jonathan Hall - The Midnight House (b0076xfv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:45 Ghost Story (m00016b8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:45 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Stories from Hay el Matar (Omnibus) (b08w92nd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Alun Richards - The Scandalous Thoughts of Elmyra Mouth (m000169t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Book at Bedtime (m00016b2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 The Generation Gap (b00qszyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Gaston Leroux - The Perfume of the Lady in Black (m00016b4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (m00016b6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (b03zy1c6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 High Table, Lower Orders (m00016g6)
Series 2
Episode 6
Simon is convinced he knows who the killer is - but can he find the evidence to prove it, and prevent another murder?
Mark Tavener's comedy thriller set in a Cambridge College riven by argument between traditionalists and modernisers.
Starring Geoffrey Palmer as Gilbert, Samuel West as Simon, Sharon Small as Zoe, Jonathan Coy as Bernard and Michael Maloney as The Dean.
With Michelle Fairley, Stephen Hogan, Emily Bowker, John Baddeley and Joseph Garton.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2006.
MON 06:30 Metal at 40 (b008kjc4)
In 1968, Britain's first heavy metal bands were formed, transforming rock music around the world, forever. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple each had their own unique sound, but shared an approach that embraced "heavy" guitar riffs, powerful lead vocals and thunderous percussion. Since then, heavy metal has flourished and diversified, spawning sub-genres such as grindcore, thrash and death metal, ever eager to embrace extreme subject matter. Horror film actor and writer Emily Booth tells the story of the loudest, darkest form of rock, with the help of many of metal's leading musicians.
Presented by Emily Booth
Produced by Bob Dickinson
MON 07:00 The Older Woman (b03bsg2p)
Series 2
Episode 6
After his TV documentary, Roy Hitchcock has, at last, achieved recognition, but at what price?
Reputations and relationships are put on the line and some extreme weather conditions seem to be contributing towards an ending of apocalyptic proportions.
The final episode of Tony Bagley’s romantic comedy drama serial mixing fantasy with reality.
Starring Martin Clunes as Roy Hitchcock, Geraldine James as Jane Gallaghan, Nicky Henson as Chad Mann, David Troughton as Colin, Rebecca Front as Mrs Churchill and Tilly Vosburgh as Marina
Other parts played by Alistair McGowan, Melanie Hudson, Peter Serafinowcz and Paul Panting.
Producer: Paul Schlesinger:
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1994.
MON 07:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m00013p0)
Series 70
Episode 1
The 70th series of Radio 4's multi award-winning ‘antidote to panel games’ promises yet more quality, desk-based entertainment for all the family.
The series starts its run at the Lighthouse concert hall in Poole where regulars Tim Brooke-Taylor and Barry Cryer are joined on the panel by Tony Hawks and local boy John Finnemore, with Jack Dee as the programme's reluctant chairman.
Regular listeners will know to expect inspired nonsense, pointless revelry and Colin Sell at the piano.
Producer - Jon Naismith.
It is a BBC Studios production.
MON 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00802l8)
Series 5
The Publicity Photograph
The lad's new image leads to a major makeover away from the camera.
Stars Tony Hancock. With Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.
Producer: Tom Ronald
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1958.
MON 08:30 Parsley Sidings (b01p8pl1)
Series 1
The Excursion
Railway Station Master Horace Hepplewhite decides Parsley Sidings needs to boost passenger numbers with train excursions.
Starring Arthur Lowe as Horace, Ian Lavender as Bert, Kenneth Connor as Percy, Liz Fraser as Gloria and John Graham as the American Tourist.
Jim Eldridge's eponymous series is set in a sleepy railway station. The Hepplewhites have run 'Parsley Sidings' station for generations and the current Station Master, Horace, hopes that his son Bert will continue the line. Mild-mannered Ticket Clerk Bert wants to work anywhere but on the railways. His colleague, Station Announcer Gloria Simpkins, secretly loves him. Porter Percy Valentine is an archetypal wheeler-dealer and the ancient Signalman, Bradshaw, causes havoc and dispenses home-made remedies in equal measure. The 'Parsley Sidings' nemesis is Phineas Perkins, the station master of Potwhistle Halt, one stop down the line.
Re-created Announcements by Keith Skues.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1972.
MON 09:00 Just a Minute (m00016g8)
Series 61
From 08/08/2011
Ventriloquism and PAs. Nicholas Parsons welcomes Paul Merton, Tony Hawks, Shelia Hancock and Graham Norton. From August 2011.
MON 09:30 Snap (m00016gc)
Series 2
Episode 6
Doug and Molly go on a secret date in the countryside.
They both want to be together again, but now they've told each other, getting close isn't as simple as they thought it would be...
Paul Mendelson’s sitcom stars Rebecca Lacey as Molly, Paul Venables as Doug, Soumaya Keynes as Kaz, Jessie Sullivan as Ryan, Marlene Sidaway as Annie, Samantha Spiro as Dawn and Jonathan Tafler as Raymond and Richard Firth as Ansel.
Producer: David Ian Neville
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2004.
MON 10:00 The Barchester Chronicles (b04ws12p)
Anthony Trollope's The Small House at Allington
Episode 3
Anthony Trollope's The Small House at Allington by Michael Symmons Roberts
As Lily Dale fights scarlet fever, Dr Crofts is a frequent visitor at the Small House. His patient, however, is not the only focus of his attentions. In London, Johnny Eames struggles to extricate himself from his tangled romance with Amelia. Meanwhile Crosbie begins to understand just exactly what kind of life he is marrying into as preparations for his wedding with Lady Alexandrina move on apace.
MRS BAXTER .... Maggie Steed
LILY DALE .... Scarlett Alice Johnston
JOHNNY EAMES .... Sam Barnett
CROSBIE .... Blake Ritson
SQUIRE DALE .... Clive Mantle
LORD DE GUEST / SIR RAFFLE BUFFLE ... David Bamber
MRS DALE / MRS HEARN .... Alexandra Mathie
CRADELL .... Griffin Stevens
BELL DALE .... Lisa Brookes
DR CROFTS .... Lucas Smith
AMELIA/ ALEXANDRINA .... Emily Pithon
Music composed by David Robin, Jeff Meegan and Julian Gallant
Written by Michael Symmons Roberts
Directed by Gary Brown
Produced by Charlotte Riches
The Small House of Allington is the fifth instalment of The Barchester Chronicles, Anthony Trollope's much-loved series of witty, gently satirical stories of provincial life set within the fictional cathedral town of Barchester and the surrounding county of Barsetshire. With a focus on the lives, loves and tribulations of the local clergy and rural gentry, the canvas is broad and colourful, with a wonderful set of iconic characters whose lives we become intimately involved in as they grow up, grow old and fall in or out of love and friendship across the years.
MON 11:00 Anton Chekhov (b00qbb8r)
Stories by Anton Chekhov
Bad Weather
Or to put it another way, what has the husband been up to in Moscow? Alistair McGowan reads Constance Garnett's translation. From January 1998.
MON 11:15 Georgia Pritchett (b007jw2q)
Showing Up
Georgia Pritchett - Showing Up
When Sheila Martin welcomes back the son she gave up for adoption into her family, she doesn’t guess the home truths his reappearance will uncover.
Georgia Pritchett’s family dramas stars Paula James as Sheila, Edna Doré as Mum, Iwan Thomas as Brian, Caroline Strong as Julie, Peter Kenny as Phil and Jenny Lee as Matron.
Director: Marilyn Imrie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
MON 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00802l8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Parsley Sidings (b01p8pl1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 High Table, Lower Orders (m00016g6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 Metal at 40 (b008kjc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Thomas Love Peacock (m00016gj)
Nightmare Abbey
6. The Spectators of Spectres
A disenchanted poet pays a visit. Can it be that the old mansion contains both a ghost and a mermaid?
Kenneth Williams reads the Gothic satire poking fun at the Romantic Movement in English literature of the time and its obsession with the morbid.
First published in 1818, ‘Nightmare Abbey’ follows the fortunes of widower Christopher Glowry, who lives with his son, Scythrop, in the dilapidated family mansion- in Lincolnshire, on a dry stretch of land between the sea and the fens.
Abridged in eight parts and produced by Martin Remes.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1979.
MON 14:15 A History of the Brain (b0174dzk)
The Beast Within
Dr Geoff Bunn's ten-part History of the Brain is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of this complex organ in our heads. From Neolithic times to the present day, he reveals the contemporary beliefs about what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
While referencing the core physiology and neuroscience, this is a cultural, not a scientific history. What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
Episode 6: The Beast Within, focuses on localisation. Following a macabre accident when an iron rod shot through his head, Phineas Gage, a mild-mannered railway worker in Vermont, became capricious and profane. Meanwhile in France Paul Broca established that damage to another part of the brain caused aphasia. While phrenology had it that the brains of 'degenerates' differed from those of poets or scientists, British neurologist John Hughlings Jackson incorporated evolutionary ideas into his theory of brain function: higher centres with more recent evolutionary origins kept lower, more primitive ones in check.
The series is entirely written and presented by Dr Geoff Bunn of Manchester Metropolitan University, with actors Paul Bhattacharjee and Jonathan Forbes providing the voices of those who have written about the brain from Ancient Egypt to the present day, and actor Hattie Morahan giving the Anatomy Lesson which establishes the part of the brain to be highlighted in each episode - in this instance the four lobes. The original, atmospheric score is supplied by composer, Barney Quinton.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
MON 14:30 EM Forster (b007k2cz)
Where Angels Fear to Tread
Episode 1
English prejudices clash with Italian passions when a young widow is sent abroad to avoid a man's clutches. With Sian Thomas. From May 2003.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b03nsrhy)
Michael Paterniti - The Telling Room
Episode 1
"Captures the true essence of happiness" Ferran Adria (Chef, El Bulli)
In the picturesque Spanish village of Guzmán, villagers have gathered for centuries in 'the telling room' to share their stories. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti listened as Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras spun an odd and compelling tale about a cheese made from an ancient family recipe. Reputed to be among the finest in the world - one bite could conjure long-lost memories. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong.
Paterniti was hooked. Relocating his young family to Guzmán, he was soon sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery - a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot. As the village began to spill its long-held secrets, Paterniti found himself implicated in the very story he was writing.
Michael Paterniti is a journalist and has been nominated eight times for the National Magazine Award. One of his stories was chosen for True Stories: A Century of Literary Non-fiction, joining four other writers as the best examples of literary journalism from the last hundred years. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book Driving Mr Albert. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Reader: Will Adamsdale
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 The Barchester Chronicles (b04ws12p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Just a Minute (m00016g8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 Snap (m00016gc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 The Older Woman (b03bsg2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m00013p0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jmtk)
Operation Luna
Episode 6
Captain Jet Morgan decides to investigate the dark side of the moon before the ship returns to Earth.
Futuristic tale set in 1965 as first broadcast in 1953.
Stars Andrew Faulds as Jet Morgan, Alfie Bass as Lemmy Barnett, Guy Kingsley-Poynter as Doc, David Williams as Mitch, Other parts by David Jacobs.
Music composed and orchestra conducted by Van Phillips.
Written in 13 parts and produced by Charles Chilton.
Though first heard in 1953, the original recordings were wiped.
Re-recording first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1958.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (m00016gm)
Adam Sisman and Tim Lott
Sue MacGregor and her guests - biographer, Adam Sisman and novelist, Tim Lott discuss books by John Wyndham, Jean Rhys and David Almond.
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Publisher: Penguin Modern Classics
The Fire-Eaters by David Almond
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
MON 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00802l8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Parsley Sidings (b01p8pl1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 High Table, Lower Orders (m00016g6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 Metal at 40 (b008kjc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Anton Chekhov (b00qbb8r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Georgia Pritchett (b007jw2q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m00013p0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Date With Fate (b0090x8s)
Nice Little Number
Vernon Hedges sets out to prove that Lady Luck does not exist. Stars Charles Gray and Toby Longworth. From February 1996.
MON 22:45 My Booze Hell, by Little Johnny Cartilage (b010j4pd)
And Cue Supersonic
The washed-up TV star finds himself 'In the Psychiatrist's Chair' with Dr Anthony Clare. With Ben Miller. From October 1996.
MON 23:00 The Now Show (m000150t)
Series 53
Episode 4
Hugh Dennis presents the week via topical stand-up and sketches. This week he tackles the fallout from the Brexit withdrawal agreement and the fast moving news that followed it.
Ahir Shah has an upbeat piece about the world collapsing around him, Lucy Porter takes on sugar, and Beardyman brings us a beat-boxing Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Gemma Arrowsmith and Luke Kempner provide additional voices.
It was written by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis, with additional material from Robin Morgan, Katie Storey, Sophie Duker, Laura Major and Mike Shephard.
The production coordinator was Sarah Sharpe
It was a BBC Studios production.
MON 23:30 Concrete Cow (b0076jvx)
Series 1
Episode 4
King Midas is not sure whether life is as good as gold. Sketch show with Robert Webb and Olivia Colman. From September 2002.


TUESDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2018

TUE 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jmtk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (m00016gm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 High Table, Lower Orders (m00016g6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Metal at 40 (b008kjc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Thomas Love Peacock (m00016gj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 A History of the Brain (b0174dzk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 EM Forster (b007k2cz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b03nsrhy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 The Barchester Chronicles (b04ws12p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (m00016g8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Snap (m00016gc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 The Older Woman (b03bsg2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m00013p0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m00016rx)
Blind Man's Buff
The case of a missing cat takes a sinister turn when fantasizing blind detective Jack Dunroody gets embroiled in the death of singer Sacha D'Amour.
Chandleresque noir-fiction from the pen of Marius Brill.
Paul B Davies stars as Jack Dunroody, with Prunella Gee as Suzi D'Amour; Jo Anderson as Gladys Trump, William Eedle as Thomas Underwood and Timothy Carlton as Freddy. Other parts by Tim Meats.
Director: Andy Jordan.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.
TUE 06:30 Fly Me to the Reverend Moon (b00s08g6)
When American Studies student John Waite was approached in Manchester in the early 1970s and offered the chance of a free trip to America, he jumped at the opportunity. Only once he, and a plane load of other sudents, actually arrived at a large estate in upstate New York, did he learn that the people footing the bill were the Unification Church, known to tabloid readers across the world as The Moonies. Over the course of the following days and weeks John and the students were kept on the estate as the Church tried to win them over, in order that its message might be taken back to Britain with these bright young things. In "Fly Me to the Moon", John goes back for the first time to tell the story of what happened to him and the rest of the students when they were taken in by one of the most controversial religious groups of the day. He meets up with people who went on the trip with him as well as former Church members who were active in the organisation at the time - and reflects on how the experience as a young man ready for adventure has shaped him in the decades since.
TUE 07:00 A Whole New Ball Game (b00cb1m8)
Series 1
Hungry
Robert's mum is doing so much work for the church he can't get enough to eat. And it seems his friends and family can’t seem to get enough of something else.
A six-part black comedy by Martin Davies
Stars Desmond Barrit as Father Benedict, Brenda Blethyn as Mrs Patterson, Paul Parris as Robert Patterson, Charlotte Coleman as Barbara Patterson, Martino Lazzeri as Guy Entwhistle, Mark Straker as Andy, Claire Skinner as Janet and Jill Meers as Lady At Counter and Gordon Reid as Father Hugh
Producer: Lissa Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1993.
TUE 07:30 Gloomsbury (m00014yg)
Series 5
Don't Mention The Gooseberry Fool
Vera and Henry are in Paris with Ginny and Lionel - a last-minute irresponsible whirlwind of pleasure before the war starts.
But it’s not the carefree, scintillating city of their youth. The atmosphere is oppressive - everyone is preparing for war. Nevertheless, Gertrude Klein’s parties of the literati beckon, and Hammingaway escorts Henry and Lionel to the Folies Bergere afterwards.
Venus reappears briefly with the awful news that Hitler has invaded somewhere or other, it begins with a P, and the foursome scuttle home, arriving on the very evening when Sizzlinghurst is rocked by a massive explosion.
Cast:
VERA SACKCLOTH-VEST................................MIRIAM MARGOLYES
HENRY MICKLETON..........................................JONATHAN COY
GINNY FOX..........................................................ALISON STEADMAN
LIONEL FOX........................................................NIGEL PLANER
MRS GOSLING....................................................ALISON STEADMAN
MR GOSLING...................................................... NIGEL PLANER
ERNEST HAMMINGAWAY............................. .JOHN SESSIONS
GERTRUDE KLEIN............................................. JOHN SESSIONS
VENUS TRADUCES........................................... MORWENNA BANKS
JAMES VOYCE....................................................JOHN SESSIONS
WAITER ...............................................................JOHN SESSIONS
A Little Brother production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 08:00 The Code of the Woosters (m00016s0)
Strange Behaviour of a Curate
Bertie and Jeeves find themselves on the top of a wardrobe
PG Wodehouse romp adapted by Chris Miller.
Starring Michael Hordern as Jeeves, Richard Briers as Bertie Wooster, Patrick Cargill as Sir Watkyn Bassett, Miriam Margolyes as Stiffy Byng, Douglas Blackwell as Harold Pinker and Tony McEwan as PC Oates.
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1973.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b01b38kf)
Ban the Wotsit
Lamb clears out a lot of rubbish, but the junk is mistaken for a secret weapon.
The first of 14 shows not kept in the archive and re-recorded in 1980 – previously never broadcast in the UK, until the arrival of BBC Radio 4 Extra.
‘The Men from the Ministry’ ran for 14 series between 1962 and 1977.
Stars Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler (who replaced Wilfrid Hyde-White from 1966).
With Norma Ronald, Ronald Baddiley and John Graham.
Written and produced by Edward Taylor.
Re-recording of ‘A Terrifying Weapon' made in April 1980.
TUE 09:00 Whose Line Is It Anyway? (b008s32f)
Episode 5
Clive Anderson marshals more improvisations with Stephen Fry, John Sessions, John Bird and Jimmy Mulville. From January 1988.
TUE 09:30 Gilbert Without Sullivan (m00016s2)
Series 2
Tom Cobb or Fortune's Toy
Tom Cobb is engaged to Matilda O'Fipp - but the course of true love never runs smooth.
The second series of short stories by WS Gilbert dramatised by Stephen Wyatt.
Starring Jonathan Coy as Gilbert, Bertie Carvel as Tom Cobb, Sarah Corbett as Matilda O'Fipp, Stephen Hogan as Colonel O'Fipp, James Howard as Tim Whipple, Bella Merlin as Caroline Effingham and Jason Chan as Bulstrode.
Playwright and humourist, Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911) is best known for his comic opera collaborations with Sir Arthur Sullivan, which first captivated audiences across the English-speaking world in the late 19th century.
Director: Jenny Stephens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
TUE 10:00 Sir Walter Raleigh - A Devon Man (m00016s4)
1. Love, Power and Conquest
Sir Walter Raleigh strives to gain the approval of Queen Elizabeth I. John Nettles narrates his drama documentary about fellow Devonian Sir Walter Raleigh.
With John McAndrew as Sir Walter and Jane Wymark as Queen Elizabeth I.
Producer Oliver Ings.
First broadcast on BBC Radio Devon in October 2018.
TUE 11:00 Evelyn Waugh Short Stories (b007jwv8)
Cruise
Sailing round the Mediterranean, a young lady writes about the upper-class antics on board ship. Read by Abigail Docherty. From March 2003.
TUE 11:15 Afternoon Drama (m00016s7)
Roger Williams - Duckie
Matinee idol and celebrated composer Ivor Novello is struggling to come to terms with being sent to prison at the height of his fame. Will his career be shattered by the scandal, or will his many admirers keep the flames of his popularity burning?
Stars Michael Fenton Stevens as Noel Coward; Martyn Ellis is Bobbie Andrews; Alex Alderton is Dora Constable; Nickie Rainsford is Minnie Raynor; David Holt is Noel Coward and Eddie; and Robert Harper is Charles Heywood and Barry.
Written by Roger Williams. Directed by Geni Hall-Kenny.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
TUE 12:00 The Code of the Woosters (m00016s0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b01b38kf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m00016rx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Fly Me to the Reverend Moon (b00s08g6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Thomas Love Peacock (m00016s9)
Nightmare Abbey
7. The Exposer of Secrets
Scythrop’s personal sanctuary is breached and he finds himself torn between the two women in his life.
Kenneth Williams continues the Gothic satire poking fun at the Romantic Movement in English literature of the time and its obsession with the morbid.
First published in 1818, ‘Nightmare Abbey’ follows the fortunes of widower Christopher Glowry, who lives with his son, Scythrop, in the dilapidated family mansion- in Lincolnshire, on a dry stretch of land between the sea and the fens.
Abridged in eight parts and produced by Martin Remes.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1979.
TUE 14:15 A History of the Brain (b0174gkl)
Mind the Gap
Dr Geoff Bunn's ten-part History of the Brain is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of this complex organ in our heads. From Neolithic times to the present day, he reveals the contemporary beliefs about what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
While referencing the core physiology and neuroscience, this is a cultural, not a scientific history. What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
Episode 7: Mind the Gap, focuses on how the microscope allowed neurologists to detail the structure of brain cells. While Sigmund Freud, who started out as a neurologist, had hoped his gold chloride staining method would revolutionise brain research, it was in fact Camillo Golgi's La Reazione Nero, using silver nitrate, that enabled brain scientists to see the cell composition more clearly. Combined with the Gudden microtome, which provided extremely thin sections of brain tissue, neurologists began to explore how neurons are connected, with Charles Sherrington coining the term synapse to describe the gap between them.
The series is entirely written and presented by Dr Geoff Bunn of Manchester Metropolitan University, with actors Paul Bhattacharjee and Jonathan Forbes providing the voices of those who have written about the brain from Ancient Egypt to the present day, and actor Hattie Morahan giving the Anatomy Lesson which establishes the part of the brain to be highlighted in each episode - in this instance the nerve cell or neuron. The original, atmospheric score is supplied by composer, Barney Quinton.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
TUE 14:30 EM Forster (b007k2fd)
Where Angels Fear to Tread
Episode 2
The romanticism of Italy has cast a spell on widowed Lilia, and she is engaged to be married. Stars Teresa Gallagher. From May 2003.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b03nt8hn)
Michael Paterniti - The Telling Room
Episode 2
In the picturesque Spanish village of Guzmán, villagers have gathered for centuries in 'the telling room' to share their stories. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti listened as Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras spun an odd and compelling tale about a cheese made from an ancient family recipe. Reputed to be among the finest in the world - one bite could conjure long-lost memories. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong.
Paterniti was hooked. Relocating his young family to Guzmán, he was soon sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery - a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot. As the village began to spill its long-held secrets, Paterniti found himself implicated in the very story he was writing.
Michael Paterniti is a journalist and has been nominated eight times for the National Magazine Award. One of his stories was chosen for True Stories: A Century of Literary Non-fiction, joining four other writers as the best examples of literary journalism from the last hundred years. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book Driving Mr Albert. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Reader: Will Adamsdale
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:00 Sir Walter Raleigh - A Devon Man (m00016s4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 The 3rd Degree (b08vxt13)
Series 7
The University of Liverpool
A funny and dynamic quiz show hosted by Steve Punt - this week from the University of Liverpool with specialist subjects including Physiology, Egyptology and Psychology and questions ranging from the great god Ammit, the Eater of the Dead, to Buzz Aldrin and from gallstones to Gershwin.
The programme is recorded on location at a different University each week, and it pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in an original and fresh take on an academic quiz.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the Highbrow and Lowbrow round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, sport, and quite possibly Justin Bieber. In addition, the Head-to-Head rounds see students take on their Professors in their own subjects, offering plenty of scope for mild embarrassment on both sides.
Other Universities featured in this series include Roehampton, Hull, Queen's University Belfast and St John's College, Cambridge.
Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 16:30 Up the Garden Path (b007x080)
Series 1
Punch Ups and Put Downs
With several other men vying for her attention, Izzy tries to break up with Razors.
Tumbling from one love entanglement to another, 30 something teacher Izzy Comyn has a predilection for inappropriate men.
Adapted by Sue Limb from her 1984 novel into 3 radio series which ran from 1987 to 1993. Granada also adapted the series for ITV.
Imedla Staunton stars as Izzy. With Marty Cruickshank as Maria, Nicholas Le Prevost as Michael, Mike Grady as Dick and Sion Probert as Gwyn.
With Cheryl Miller, Kelda Holmes and Melissa Wilson as Class 4C.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1987.
TUE 17:00 A Whole New Ball Game (b00cb1m8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Gloomsbury (m00014yg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jmvs)
Operation Luna
Episode 7
As Captain Jet Morgan's crew are pursued on the dark side of the moon, they drift dangerously off course.
Futuristic tale set in 1965 as first broadcast in 1953.
Stars Andrew Faulds as Jet Morgan, Alfie Bass as Lemmy Barnett, Guy Kingsley-Poynter as Doc, David Williams as Mitch, Other parts by David Jacobs.
Music composed and orchestra conducted by Van Phillips.
Written and produced by Charles Chilton.
Though first heard in 1953, the original recordings were wiped.
Re-recording first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1958.
TUE 18:30 My Life in Five Songs (b01pf1ng)
Series 5
Seth Lakeman
Seth Lakeman has established himself as a leading folk musician. A celebrated singer he's also a multi-instrumentalist and respected songwriter.
Growing up in Devon with musical parents Geoff and Joy it is little wonder he and his brothers Sam and Sean became musicians.
Seth tells Phil Cunningham how music was always a feature of the family home along with a good dose of healthy rivalry. The annual highlight was when they all went on family busking holidays in France where they performed as the Frantic Five.
Now in demand throughout the country Seth has several albums to his name and recalls playing on BBC Scotland's Hogmanay Live along with Phil.
Phil's association with the family goes back many years having played at Geoff Lakeman's 40th birthday celebrations where a young Seth knew him as Mr Monkey!
Phil opens the show with Seth's song Lady of the Sea before Seth picks these five tracks:
Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli - Shine
Randy Newman - Short People
Richard Thompson - 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
Joan Osborne - St Teresa
Toots and the Maytals - Louie Louie
Phil closes the show with the track Hard Road from Seth's latest album, Tales from the Barrel House.
TUE 19:00 The Code of the Woosters (m00016s0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b01b38kf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m00016rx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Fly Me to the Reverend Moon (b00s08g6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Evelyn Waugh Short Stories (b007jwv8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Afternoon Drama (m00016s7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Gloomsbury (m00014yg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Little Britain (b008p522)
Series 2
Episode 2
Back where it started out. Matt Lucas and David Walliams' oddball TV smash hit without the cameras. From February 2002.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0001cgr)
Luke Kempner 1/3
From 10.00pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Paul Garner chats to Luke Kempner.
TUE 23:00 The Skivers (b00jd5jn)
Series 3
Episode 4
Hypnotist Paul McKenna gets a taste of his own medicine. Sketch show with Nick Golsen and Tim de Jongh. From January 1997.
TUE 23:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b03jz1hz)
Series 9
Blood of the Reardons
Ed Reardon leads us through the ups and down of his week, complete with his trusty companion, Elgar, and his never-ending capacity for scrimping and scraping at whatever scraps his agent, Ping, can offer him to keep body, mind and cat together.
Ed discovers that he has diabetes and his daughter, Eli, turns up to be his calorie counter- in-chief. To escape Eli's gluten free falafel salad, Ed enrols on a clinical trial, and that's when his son, Jake turns up in the hope of a fly-on-the-wall documentary, although as Ping Points out, it will only be marketable if Ed dies!
Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas
Produced by Dawn Ellis.


WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2018

WED 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jmvs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 My Life in Five Songs (b01pf1ng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m00016rx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Fly Me to the Reverend Moon (b00s08g6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Thomas Love Peacock (m00016s9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 A History of the Brain (b0174gkl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 EM Forster (b007k2fd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b03nt8hn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Sir Walter Raleigh - A Devon Man (m00016s4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 The 3rd Degree (b08vxt13)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Up the Garden Path (b007x080)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 A Whole New Ball Game (b00cb1m8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Gloomsbury (m00014yg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m0001722)
Donne To Death
Blind detective Jack Dunroody tackles a brutal murder at a country house.
Wronged by Sir George Moore in the 17th century, poet John Donne is said to haunt the family home once a year to exact a deathly revenge....
Chandleresque noir-fiction from the pen of Marius Brill.
Paul B Davies stars as Jack Dunroody, with Rebecca Front as Terry Moore, Judy Parfitt as Valerie Moore, Jane Whittenshaw as Mark/Mary Moore, Peter Yapp as Bob Moore, David Collings as Thelonious the monk; and David Holt as Nigel Wavers & the Dog.
Director: Andy Jordan.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.
WED 06:30 In Search of Nic Jones (b037t1rk)
Laura Barton tracks down the legendary lost figure of folk music, Nic Jones.
Nic Jones has been hailed as the greatest talent the British folk scene has ever produced. An expert, idiosyncratic guitarist and songwriter, his 1980 album Penguin Eggs is way a high-water mark for British folk music. And it proved to be the last record Nic Jones would ever make.
On the way home from a folk club booking in 1982, Nic's car crashed head-on into a fully loaded lorry. His guitar was the one thing that remained unbroken in the crash. In the years that followed the prospect of Nic Jones performing on stage again seems very remote indeed.
But recently, thirty years after it seemed like his music career had ended, with his final album hailed as a formative influence on a raft of current artists-from Kate Rusby to Laura Marling- Nic Jones has unexpectedly returned to the stage in a series of - at first tentative - but always emotional concert appearances.
Producer: Martin Williams.
WED 07:00 Bookcases (b00srvks)
1. Bronte Country
London 1853: The orderly life of religious publishers, Spavin and Spavin, is set to transformed by an actress and her son.
Cordelia is setting her sights on one of the partners, while her son Primus fancies taking over the firm, starting with hopes of 'acquiring' Charlotte Bronte...
Martyn Wade’s four-part comedy stars Michael Cochrane as Primus, Maggie Steed as Cordelia, David Horovitch as Gerald, Elizabeth Spriggs as Edith, Geoffrey Whitehead as Reverend Bronte, Sarah Jane Holm as Charlotte, Frances Jeater as Mrs Gaskell/Emily Bronte and David Antrobus as Equity.
Director: Cherry Cookson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1998.
WED 07:30 Ankle Tag (m00013vn)
Series 2
The Falklands
Alice's mum has a new boyfriend, and Bob doesn't like him.
Bob – Steve Speirs
Gruff – Elis James
Alice – Katy Wix
Jeffrey – Simon Greenall
Elaine – Felicity Montagu
Anthony – Mike Wozniak
Written by Benjamin Partridge & Gareth Gwynn
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
A BBC Studios Production
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b01kv7h1)
Series 6
The Sicilian Secret Agent
When the crew of HMS Troutbridge sets off to pick up an MI5 man in the Med, Phillips takes a wrong turning.
Stars Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Stephen Murray as the Number One, Richard Caldicote as Captain Povey, Ronnie Barker as AS Johnson and Michael Bates as Commander Bracewell and Tenniel Evens as Taffy Goldstein .
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1963.
WED 08:30 Beyond Our Ken (m0001726)
From 07/05/1959
Kenneth Horne gets an invite from the scouts and ‘Hornerama’ investigates showbiz.
With Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill Pertwee.
Written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took
Music from Pat Lancaster, the Fraser Hayes Four and the BBC Variety Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Announcer: Douglas Smith
A madcap mix of sketches and songs, Beyond Our Ken hit the airwaves in 1958 and ran to 1964 – featuring regulars like Arthur Fallowfield, Cecil Snaith and Rodney and Charles.
The precursor to ‘Round The Horne’ – sadly only 15 shows survive from the original run of 21 episodes in Series 2. Audio restored using both home and overseas (BBC Transcription Service) recordings.
Producer: Jacques Brown
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1959.
WED 09:00 Who Goes There? (b00ftbnp)
Series 3
Episode 5
Martin Young chairs the quiz which looks at the noteworthy and the notorious from history.
Tackling the biographical teasers are team captains Francis Wheen and Fred Housego with guests Amanda Foreman and Maria McErlane.
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2000.
WED 09:30 Elephants to Catch Eels (b00v7v1j)
Series 2
Highwaymen
Major Thomas Falconer attempts to become more of a cad to win Tamsyn, but she’s more concerned er disloyal fans are being poached by "Boyz 2 Rob", the hunky band of highwaymen that is taking Drumlin Bay by storm.
It's 1793 and in the small Cornish village of Drumlin Bay, heroic smuggler Tamsyn Trelawny is still running rings around the customs men, assisted by her drunken father Jago.
Written by Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain.
Starring Sheridan Smith as Tamsyn Trelawny, John Bowe as Jago Trelawny, Cameron Stewart as Major Thomas Falconer, Andrew McGibbon as Captain Marriot, Martin Hyder as Squire Bascombe, Mark Felgate as Dewey, Mark Perry as Hobbs and India Fisher as Alice.
Producer: Jan Ravens.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2004.
WED 10:00 Sir Walter Raleigh - A Devon Man (m000172d)
2. A New King - and a Dead Man Walking
The Renaissance man lives dangerously under James VI. John Nettles narrates his drama documentary about the life and times of Sir Walter Raleigh.
With John McAndrew as Sir Walter, Sylvester McCoy as King James VI and Jane Wymark as Queen Elizabeth I.
Producer Oliver Ings.
First broadcast on Radio Devon in October 2018.
WED 11:00 Evelyn Waugh Short Stories (m000172j)
Portrait of Young Man with Career / The Sympathetic Passenger
A showcase of the author's wit and irony - two tales of an unwanted guest and an outspoken hitch-hiker. Read by Crawford Logan.
WED 11:15 Pam Zinnemann-Hope - On Cigarette Papers (b03nt9vw)
When her mother died, poet Pam Zinnemann-Hope found a cache of letters and notes in the attic and an envelope marked 'Don't throw away'. Inside were fragile cigarette papers and pencilled on them, in poor Russian, recipes. Intrigued, Pam started researching her parents' love story that started in 1930s Germany.
It's a poignant story of families nearly wrecked by betrayal, imprisonment, escape and dislocation and drawn from the tips of the icebergs that the letters and recipes hint at.
The poems in 'On Cigarette Papers' are taken from the book of the same name. Pam is a prizewinning poet and performer and has had work published in various journals. This is her first radio drama.
Cast:
Pam ..... Pam Zinnemann-Hope
Lottie ..... Emma Fielding
Kurt ..... Greg Wise
Oma Leah ..... Eleanor Bron
Grossma Hertha ..... Susan Engel
Grossvater Erich ..... Timothy Morand
Officer ..... Sean Baker
Russian Translator ..... Dolya Gavanski
Little Pam .....Eliza Rayner
Written by Pam Zinnemann-Hope
Producer: Janet Whitaker
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b01kv7h1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Beyond Our Ken (m0001726)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m0001722)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 In Search of Nic Jones (b037t1rk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Thomas Love Peacock (m000172n)
Nightmare Abbey
8. The Anticipator of Portent
Still unable to choose between Marionetta and Celinda, Scythrop makes an appointment with destiny.
Kenneth Williams concludes the Gothic satire poking fun at the Romantic Movement in English literature of the time and its obsession with the morbid.
First published in 1818, ‘Nightmare Abbey’ follows the fortunes of widower Christopher Glowry, who lives with his son, Scythrop, in the dilapidated family mansion- in Lincolnshire, on a dry stretch of land between the sea and the fens.
Abridged in eight parts and produced by Martin Remes.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1979.
WED 14:15 A History of the Brain (b0174h6b)
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Dr Geoff Bunn's 10 part History of the Brain is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of this complex organ in our heads. From Neolithic times to the present day, he reveals the contemporary beliefs about what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
While referencing the core physiology and neuroscience, this is a cultural, not a scientific history. What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
Episode 8: The Agony and the Ecstasy, focuses on the collaborative work between Otto Loewi in Austria and Henry Dale in England. They established that communication within the brain is chemical and not electrical. Thanks to the work of many exiles from Nazism (and a leech smuggled out by one of them) the vital role of acetylcholine became known. This work laid the foundation for the neuropharmalogical gold rush of the 1950s, with the discovery of drugs to help those suffering from schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.
The series is entirely written and presented by Dr Geoff Bunn of Manchester Metropolitan University, with actors Paul Bhattacharjee and Jonathan Forbes providing the voices of those who have written about the brain from Ancient Egypt to the present day, and actor Hattie Morahan giving the Anatomy Lesson which establishes the part of the brain to be highlighted in each episode - in this instance the neurotransmitters acetylcholine and adrenalin. The original, atmospheric score is supplied by composer, Barney Quinton.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
WED 14:30 EM Forster (b007jrw4)
Where Angels Fear to Tread
Episode 3
English conventions are confounded by Italian romanticism, as Lilia tries to adapt to life as a wife. Stars Teresa Gallagher.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b03nt87n)
Michael Paterniti - The Telling Room
Episode 3
In the picturesque Spanish village of Guzmán, villagers have gathered for centuries in 'the telling room' to share their stories. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti listened as Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras spun an odd and compelling tale about a cheese made from an ancient family recipe. Reputed to be among the finest in the world - one bite could conjure long-lost memories. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong.
Paterniti was hooked. Relocating his young family to Guzmán, he was soon sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery - a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot. As the village began to spill its long-held secrets, Paterniti found himself implicated in the very story he was writing.
Michael Paterniti is a journalist and has been nominated eight times for the National Magazine Award. One of his stories was chosen for True Stories: A Century of Literary Non-fiction, joining four other writers as the best examples of literary journalism from the last hundred years. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book Driving Mr Albert. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Reader: Will Adamsdale
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 Sir Walter Raleigh - A Devon Man (m000172d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Who Goes There? (b00ftbnp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Elephants to Catch Eels (b00v7v1j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 Bookcases (b00srvks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Ankle Tag (m00013vn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jmw8)
Operation Luna
Episode 8
Captain Jet Morgan and his crew find themselves on a curiously familiar planet as visitors arrive.
Futuristic tale set in 1965 as first broadcast in 1953.
Stars Andrew Faulds as Jet Morgan, Alfie Bass as Lemmy Barnett, Guy Kingsley-Poynter as Doc, David Williams as Mitch, Other parts by David Jacobs.
Music composed and orchestra conducted by Van Phillips.
Written and produced by Charles Chilton.
Though first heard in 1953, the original recordings were wiped.
Re-recording first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1958.
WED 18:30 How Tickled Am I? (b007jt19)
Series 3
Gracie Fields
Mark Radcliffe profiles the major film and music hall star, Grace Fields, who never forgot her Rochdale roots.
Gracie Fields was one of Lancashire's best-loved exports. Yet the press accused her of treachery when she and her Italian husband moved to America during the Second World War, despite the huge sums she raised abroad for the British war effort.
Mark Radcliffe presents a tribute to the film and music hall star once described as "the British nation's favourite big sister".
Series exploring the tradition of influential northern comedians of the past.
Producer Libby Cross
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b01kv7h1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Beyond Our Ken (m0001726)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m0001722)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 In Search of Nic Jones (b037t1rk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Evelyn Waugh Short Stories (m000172j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Pam Zinnemann-Hope - On Cigarette Papers (b03nt9vw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Ankle Tag (m00013vn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Shedtown (b040hy5w)
Series 3
Emu
A big, funny, daft poem to the sea, not burdened by common sense or what's gone before.
Different realities and different states of consciousness are emerging on Shedtown's new pier.
As the waters of change are silently rising - Dave is reunited with a badly behaved childhood 'sweetheart'.
Narrated by Maxine Peake
Written and Directed by Tony Pitts
Music by Richard Hawley and Paul Heaton
Produced by Sally Harrison
A Woolyback production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0001cjt)
Luke Kempner 2/3
From 10.00pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Paul Garner chats again to Luke Kempner.
WED 23:00 Arthur Smith's Balham Bash (b00lk09w)
Series 1
Episode 2
Arthur Smith invites an audience into his home for music and comedy.
Benjamin Zephaniah, Stephen K Amos and Matt Holness join regular contributor Pippa Evans, as singer-songwriter Loretta Maine.
WED 23:30 Dan and Nick: The Wildebeest Years (b0089lxf)
Turning 40
Dan Freedman and Nick Romero's pun-fest, with a distraught Robin Wood turning 40 and The Archers goes sci-fi. From August 1998.


THURSDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2018

THU 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jmw8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 How Tickled Am I? (b007jt19)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m0001722)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 In Search of Nic Jones (b037t1rk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Thomas Love Peacock (m000172n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 A History of the Brain (b0174h6b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 EM Forster (b007jrw4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b03nt87n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Sir Walter Raleigh - A Devon Man (m000172d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Who Goes There? (b00ftbnp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Elephants to Catch Eels (b00v7v1j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Bookcases (b00srvks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Ankle Tag (m00013vn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m00017ky)
Blind Devotion
Blind detective Jack Dunroody is hired by Thelonious, a monk worried about the fate of his Abbot at an island monastery...
Chandleresque noir-fiction from the pen of Marius Brill.
Paul B Davies stars as Jack Dunroody, with Rebecca Front as Terry Moore, David Collings as Thelonious the monk, David Waring as the Abbot, John Turner as the Councillor, Natasha Pyne as Rose Scarlet, David Holt as Watson the dog and Damian, John Hartley as Underwood, Ian Masters as Boots and Jonathan Keeble as the parrot.
Director: Andy Jordan.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.
THU 06:30 Camel Train (b0076yyp)
Matthew Parris joins the traders and their camels following the ancient salt route in Ethiopia's Danakil Depression. From 2006.
THU 07:00 One Flat Summer (b00752my)
The Eclipse Stakes
A big loss on the Derby has shattered Ken's gambling partnership with Betting-Shop Curly, so now he turns to Racecourse Rita and the legendary Tam Robertshaw.
Dave Sheasby's six-part comedy drama.
Starring as Gerard McDermott as Ken, Gillian Bevan as Margaret, Anthony Ofoegbu as Curly, Rachel Atkins as Christine, Keith Marsh as Dad, Andrea Pickering as Janice, Stephen Thorne as Tanker, David Brooks as Super Yankee, Tracy-Ann Oberman as the Shop Assistant, Hugh Dickson as the Bank Manager, Janet Maw as Rita and Tom Georgeson as Tam.
Director: David Hunter
First broadcast on BBC Radio in September 1997.
THU 07:30 Stand-Up Specials (b09ztzpw)
Tom Allen Is Actually Not Very Nice
A new one-off show as part of Radio 4's season of Sunday night stand-up specials from Tom Allen, star of The Royal Variety Performance, 8 out of 10 Cats and Mock The Week amongst many others.
Tom Allen is Actually Not Very Nice explores what happens when Tom's calm and collected exterior collapses, be it when confronting some rowdy teenagers on a bus or arguing with his Mum's friend Joyce about ham. He used to be such a nice boy but what has happened to turn him naughty?
With help from the assembled studio audience, Tom works out how best to navigate some tricky social situations and how to keep a lid on his fury when confronted with life's small injustices.
Featuring Gabby Best.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.
THU 08:00 Something to Shout About (m00017l0)
Series 2
Episode 1
Maggie wins an award for a cold cure advert – then catches a cold before the ceremony.
"A light-hearted exposé of the advertising world!". Set in a London ad agency called 'Apsley, Addis, Cohen, Barbican, Blythe, Giddy & Partners'.
Starring Michael Medwin as Michael, Fenella Fielding as Janet, Joan Sims as Mavis, Eleanor Summerfield as Maggie and Nicholas Phipps as Adrian. Other parts by Warren Mitchell.
Series two (of three) written by Myles Rudge with Ronnie Wolfe.
Producer: Eric Miller
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1961.
THU 08:30 The Goon Show (b007jp3m)
The Burning Embassy
Peking's British embassy catches fire, so fireman Seagoon posts off parcels of water. Stars Spike Milligan. From October 1957.
THU 09:00 Puzzle Panel (b00yjr5c)
Episode 7
More testing brain teasers with Chris Maslanka, Victor Bryant, Val Gilbert and Professor David Singmaster. From July 1998.
THU 09:30 Romantic Friction (b00764mh)
Episode 4
Brian has gone to the Shetland Isles to make giant fibreglass ducks and romance writer, Anna's head is throbbing because she's been hitting the cooking sherry.
Her book is on hold, her characters are unhappy and her publisher is nagging her for a finished copy. Is there any chance of a happy ending?
Michelle Read's four-part comedy-drama stars Samantha Bond and Hugh Bonneville.
With Beth Chambers, Michelle Read, Kammy Darweish, Adjoa Andoh, Andrew Wincott, Sue Elliott-Nicholls, Michael Fenton Stevens and Ewan Bailey.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2001.
THU 10:00 Classic Serial (b011zldj)
LP Hartley - The Hireling
Episode 1
Dramatised by Judith Adams from the novel by L.P.Hartley.
In this 1957 thriller by the author of The Go-Between, L.P.Hartley, ex-Sergeant Stephen Leadbitter, raised from an unhappy working class childhood between the wars, is on a peacetime mission to business success as a chauffeur and car for hire.
He uniformly despises his clients, especially the ladies, until the young, widowed, naive and immensely rich Lady Franklin hires him to take her on trips to cathedrals which she had visited with her late husband. Lady Franklin has been in mourning for her late husband 'a man considerably older than her and an invalid' for two years, and is finding it impossible to return to normal life.
In the confines of the car, and in search of a cure for her depression, she shares her burden with him. He obliges with a story of his own, a fiction, which grows, monster-like, to plague the inventor. Two alien classes are put on a collision course, causing salvation or destruction to all involved, from the epicentre of an unexpected burst of love.
Simon Day (The Simon Day Show (R4), The Fast Show) stars as the lonely damaged anti-hero and Lisa Dillon (Cranford, Bright Young Things) as the hugely rich and very young widow who is the unwitting cause of his downfall. Kenneth Cranham narrates.
Cast:
Narrator ..... Kenneth Cranham
Steve Leadbitter ..... Simon Day
Lady Franklin ..... Lisa Dillon
Hughie ..... Joseph Millson
Constance ..... Ursula Burton
Clarice ..... Nicola Duffett
Simmonds ..... Anthony Gleave
Bert Standing ..... Kevin James
Landlady ..... Jane Purcell
Porter ..... Andrew Cullimore
Producer: Chris Wallis
An Autolycus production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 11:00 Evelyn Waugh Short Stories (m00017l4)
The Manager of The Kremlin
A refugee from the Russian Revolution finds himself running a successful night club in Montmartre. Read by Crawford Logan.
THU 11:15 The Drought (b007jw1l)
Jean's former home, submerged in a reservoir, has been uncovered by a drought. Her visit there does not bring back the happy memories her nurses expect.
Drama by Stephen Dunstone.
Stars Kathleen Helme as Jean, Angela Winter as Ernestine, Tessa Worsley as Nurse 1, Becky Hindley as Nurse 2, Seamus O'Neill as Grandad, Olwen May as Mother, Ben Frain as Kenneth, Malcolm Scates as Mr Dacre, Susan Cookson as Young Jean, Rebecca George as Little Jean 1, Rebecca Harper as Little Jean 2, Adam Binns as Harry and Royston Bayfield as Norman.
Producer: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.
THU 12:00 Something to Shout About (m00017l0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jp3m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m00017ky)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Camel Train (b0076yyp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Roald Dahl (b06wdqb5)
The Umbrella Man
The Umbrella Man
It's raining, and a seemingly kind old gentleman offers a mother and her daughter an umbrella, for a price. Read by Oona Beeson. From March 1990.
THU 14:15 A History of the Brain (b017528x)
All or Nothing
Dr Geoff Bunn's ten-part History of the Brain is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of this complex organ in our heads. From Neolithic times to the present day, he reveals the contemporary beliefs about what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
While referencing the core physiology and neuroscience, this is a cultural, not a scientific history. What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
Episode 9: All Or Nothing, focuses on the invention of the electroencephalograph, which made our brain waves visible. Invented by Hans Berger, one of its main proponents was the eccentric English robotics pioneer and neuroscientist, William Grey Walter. Until a near fatal accident, Walter was one of 15% of the population who can't produce the resting, alpha wave - only the active, beta wave. After the accident he could emit alpha waves. Meanwhile, at Cambridge, Edgar Adrian, no fan of the EEG, established the 'all or nothing' principle of nerve transmission to explain simple reflex actions.
The series is entirely written and presented by Dr Geoff Bunn of Manchester Metropolitan University, with actors Paul Bhattacharjee and Jonathan Forbes providing the voices of those who have written about the brain from Ancient Egypt to the present day, and actor Hattie Morahan giving the Anatomy Lesson which establishes the part of the brain to be highlighted in each episode - in this instance the cerebral cortex. The original, atmospheric score is supplied by composer, Barney Quinton.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
THU 14:30 EM Forster (b007jrwl)
Where Angels Fear to Tread
Episode 4
Misery in Monteriano, as English Lilia and Italian Gino's marriage starts to deteriorate. With Sian Thomas and Tom George.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b03nt88s)
Michael Paterniti - The Telling Room
Episode 4
In the picturesque Spanish village of Guzmán, villagers have gathered for centuries in 'the telling room' to share their stories. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti listened as Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras spun an odd and compelling tale about a cheese made from an ancient family recipe. Reputed to be among the finest in the world - one bite could conjure long-lost memories. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong.
Paterniti was hooked. Relocating his young family to Guzmán, he was soon sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery - a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot. As the village began to spill its long-held secrets, Paterniti found himself implicated in the very story he was writing.
Michael Paterniti is a journalist and has been nominated eight times for the National Magazine Award. One of his stories was chosen for True Stories: A Century of Literary Non-fiction, joining four other writers as the best examples of literary journalism from the last hundred years. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book Driving Mr Albert. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Reader: Will Adamsdale
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Classic Serial (b011zldj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 Puzzle Panel (b00yjr5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Romantic Friction (b00764mh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 One Flat Summer (b00752my)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Stand-Up Specials (b09ztzpw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jmwq)
Operation Luna
Episode 9
Captain Jet Morgan and his crew have returned to Earth, but it's not as they left it.
Futuristic tale set in 1965 as first broadcast in 1953.
Stars Andrew Faulds as Jet Morgan, Alfie Bass as Lemmy Barnett, Guy Kingsley-Poynter as Doc, David Williams as Mitch, Other parts by Deryck Guyler.
Music composed and orchestra conducted by Van Phillips.
Written and produced by Charles Chilton.
Though first heard in 1953, the original recordings were wiped.
Re-recording first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1958.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b01f5mmf)
Series 27
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas, arguably Wales's most famous poet, comes under scrutiny on Great Lives. A man famous both for his linguistic exuberance and his chaotic, alcohol-fuelled private life, Dylan Thomas is proposed by another Welsh poet in a specially recorded programme at Bristol's More Than Words Listening Festival.
Owen Sheers is one of Britain's brightest young writers and the author of Resistance, and he is keen to bust some myths about his fellow Welshman's reputation. Joining him on stage is presenter Matthew Parris along with Damian Walford-Davies of Aberystwyth University. The programme includes archive recordings of Dylan Thomas's famous voice, and also Richard Burton reading the opening of Under Milk Wood.
The producer is Miles Warde.
THU 19:00 Something to Shout About (m00017l0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jp3m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m00017ky)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Camel Train (b0076yyp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Evelyn Waugh Short Stories (m00017l4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 The Drought (b007jw1l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Stand-Up Specials (b09ztzpw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Newsjack (m00017l7)
Newsjack Unplugged, Series 2
Episode 5
Made for 4 Extra. A scrapbook sketch show written entirely by the great British public.
THU 22:45 All the World's a Globe (b007jwt1)
Episode 5
From St Francis to Buddhism, the National Theatre of Brent offers its definitive history of Earth. Stars Jim Broadbent. From May 1990.
THU 23:00 That Mitchell and Webb Sound (b03lph8r)
Series 5
Episode 4
Last in the series of comedy sketches from David Mitchell, Robert Webb, Olivia Colman and James Bachman, including a horror story for slugs; the Escalator brothers inventing the world's first horseless staircase; and the very last programme the BBC ever does...
THU 23:25 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0001cm6)
Luke Kempner 3/3
From 10.00pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Paul Garner chats again to Luke Kempner.
THU 23:30 Hut 33 (b00vy861)
Series 2
Pigs n Spivs
The codebreakers run out of rations. Can special new recruit Willis save their bacon? Stars Robert Bathurst. From May 2008.


FRIDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2018

FRI 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jmwq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b01f5mmf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m00017ky)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Camel Train (b0076yyp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Roald Dahl (b06wdqb5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 A History of the Brain (b017528x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 EM Forster (b007jrwl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b03nt88s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Classic Serial (b011zldj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Puzzle Panel (b00yjr5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Romantic Friction (b00764mh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 One Flat Summer (b00752my)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Stand-Up Specials (b09ztzpw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m00018cy)
More Than Meets The Ear
Detective Jack Dunroody is trapped in a cave, with the tide rising - and a monastery murder still to solve...
Chandleresque noir-fiction from the pen of Marius Brill.
Paul B Davies stars as Jack Dunroody, with Rebecca Front as Terry Moore, David Collings as Thelonious the monk, John Turner as the Councillor, Natasha Pyne as Rose Scarlet, David Holt as Watson the dog & Damian; John Hartley as Underwood; Ian Masters as Boots and Jonathan Keeble as the parrot
Director: Andy Jordan.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.
FRI 06:30 Bombay's Beatle (b00hv1dt)
Sarfraz Manzoor visits Mumbai to visit some of the musicians who were recruited in 1968 by George Harrison to help him record the soundtrack to the psychedelic film Wonderwall
FRI 07:00 The Right Time (b0076mqw)
Series 4
Episode 6
The wine police are called - and a couple take up Satanism.
Sketch show about growing older disgracefully.
Stars Eleanor Bron, Dudley Sutton, Roger Blake, Paula Wilcox. Clive Swift and Barry Cryer.
Written by Nicholas Barber & Glenn Dakin, Jill Brodie & John Pidgeon, Barry Cryer, Jan Etherington, Ronnie Golden, Mike Haskins, Simon Littlefield, George Poles and Chris Thompson & Pete Reynolds.
Script editor: George Poles.
Music by Ronnie & The Rex.
Producer: Katie Marsden
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2004.
FRI 07:30 A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics (b06kdxsg)
Series 1
A Fistful of Sand
By John Nicholson, Richard Katz and Javier Marzan
Richard Wilson plays Robinson Crusoe in an irreverent re-boot of Daniel Defoe's classic.
After cheating their captain of the ship's treasure, a couple of sailors go into hiding on a deserted island. Their plans to lay low are rumbled when they're discovered by a long-forgotten castaway and his Spanish manservant.
In this new series the comedy troupe Peepolykus assume the roles of minor characters in great works of fiction and derail the plot of the book through their hapless buffoonery.
Director . . . . . Sasha Yevtushenko.
FRI 08:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00j3pnr)
Series 9
Episode 3
Radio Prune takes a pop at Radio 1 DJs, and James T Kink camps it up in Star Trek.
Starring Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Sketches written by Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie.
Originating from the Cambridge University Footlights revue ‘Cambridge Circus’, ISIRTA ran for 8 years on BBC Radio and quickly developed a cult following.
Music and songs by Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden, Liam Cohen and Dave Lee.
Producers: David Hatch/Bob Oliver Rogers
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 2 in November 1973.
FRI 08:30 The News Huddlines (m00018d0)
From 07/11/1979
Back to the headline-makers of 1979 – from Margaret Thatcher and James Callaghan to ABBA.
Roy Hudd stars with Chris Emmett and Janet Brown.
Music by the Nic Rowley Quintet.
Main writers Andy Hamilton, Laurie Rowley, Terry Ravenscroft, Jeremy Browne & Richard Quick.
Producer: John Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 1979.
FRI 09:00 Guess What? (b0627zhy)
Episode 3
Animal, vegetable or mineral?
Barry Took hosts a revised version of popular radio parlour game of 20 questions.
Regular Geoffrey Durham is joined by Jeremy Hanley and Helen Atkinson-Wood.
Written by Michael Dines.
Producer: Andy Aliffe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.
FRI 09:30 Life in London (b01167w4)
1. In Training for a Swell
A tour of the sprawling post-Regency Metropolis in the years before the Victorians turned up and made everything boring - in the company of garrulous author Pierce Egan, cocksure urbanite Corinthian Tom, his naive Somerset cousin Jerry Hawthorn and their drunken compatriot Bob Logic.
Written by Pierce Egan and adapted in six parts by Dan Tetsell.
Pierce Egan .... Geoffrey McGivern
Corinthian Kate .... Amanda Abbingdon
Corinthian Tom .... Greg Wise
Old Hawthorn .... Christopher Douglas
Jerry Hawthorn .... Mark Gatiss
Mrs Belcher .... Laura Shavin
Bob Logic .... James Bachman
Mr Primefit .... Dave Lamb
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2006.
FRI 10:00 Classic Serial (b0122r2m)
LP Hartley - The Hireling
Episode 2
In this 1957 thriller by the author of The Go-Between, L.P.Hartley, ex-Sergeant Stephen Leadbitter, raised from an unhappy working class childhood between the wars, is on a peacetime mission to business success as a chauffeur and car for hire. He uniformly despises his clients, especially the ladies, until the young, widowed, naive and immensely rich Lady Franklin hires him to take her on trips to cathedrals which she had visited with her late husband.
Lady Franklin has been in mourning for her late husband - a man considerably older than her and an invalid - for two years, and is finding it impossible to return to normal life. In the confines of the car, and in search of a cure for her depression, she shares her burden with him. He obliges with a story of his own, a fiction, which grows, monster-like, to plague the inventor. Two alien classes are put on a collision course, causing salvation or destruction to all involved, from the epicentre of an unexpected burst of love.
Simon Day (The Simon Day Show (R4), The Fast Show) stars as the lonely damaged anti-hero and Lisa Dillon (Cranford, Bright Young Things) as the hugely rich and very young widow who is the unwitting cause of his downfall. Kenneth Cranham narrates.
Dramatised by Judith Adams from the novel by L.P.Hartley.
Cast:
Narrator ...... Kenneth Cranham
Steve Leadbitter ..... Simon Day
Lady Franklin ..... Lisa Dillon
Hughie ..... Joseph Millson
Constance ..... Ursula Burton
Clarice ..... Nicola Duffett
Simmonds ..... Anthony Gleave
Bert Standing ..... Kevin James
Landlady ..... Jane Purcell
Porter ..... Andrew Cullimore
Producer/Director: Chris Wallis
An Autolycus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:00 Podcast Radio Hour (m00018d2)
Made for 4 Extra. Amanda Litherland and her guest recommend some of the best podcasts.
FRI 12:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00j3pnr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The News Huddlines (m00018d0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m00018cy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Bombay's Beatle (b00hv1dt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Roald Dahl (b07ccqys)
Beware of the Dog
Beware of the Dog
On his way back to base following a mission, a badly injured Spitfire pilot is forced to bail out. Read by James Aubrey. From September 1986.
FRI 14:15 A History of the Brain (b017551t)
Einstein's Brain
Dr Geoff Bunn's ten-part History of the Brain is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of this complex organ in our heads. From Neolithic times to the present day, he reveals the contemporary beliefs about what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
While referencing the core physiology and neuroscience, this is a cultural, not a scientific history. What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
Episode 10: Einstein's Brain focuses on how advances in neurology have influenced our understanding of human's as 'neurochemical selves'. Examining the recent trend to explain every aspect of personality by underlying brain processes, Geoff Bunn highlights how disciplines from aesthetics to sociology have felt the impact of neuroscience. He acknowledges the benefits supplied by MRI scanning but points out the flaws in promoting an understanding of humanity based entirely on analysis of the brain. If the dissection of Einstein's brain were all we had to go on, we wouldn't know much about the famous physicist's life and character.
The series is entirely written and presented by Dr Geoff Bunn of Manchester Metropolitan University, with actors Paul Bhattacharjee and Jonathan Forbes providing the voices of those who have written about the brain from Ancient Egypt to the present day. The original, atmospheric score is supplied by composer, Barney Quinton.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRI 14:30 EM Forster (b007jrx0)
Where Angels Fear to Tread
Episode 5
The peace of Sawston is disturbed by the latest news from Italy about Lilia. With Teresa Gallagher and Tom George.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b03ntb28)
Michael Paterniti - The Telling Room
Episode 5
In the picturesque Spanish village of Guzmán, villagers have gathered for centuries in 'the telling room' to share their stories. It was here, in the summer of 2000, that Michael Paterniti listened as Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras spun an odd and compelling tale about a cheese made from an ancient family recipe. Reputed to be among the finest in the world - one bite could conjure long-lost memories. But then, Ambrosio said, things had gone horribly wrong.
Paterniti was hooked. Relocating his young family to Guzmán, he was soon sucked into the heart of an unfolding mystery - a blood feud that includes accusations of betrayal and theft, death threats, and a murder plot. As the village began to spill its long-held secrets, Paterniti found himself implicated in the very story he was writing.
Michael Paterniti is a journalist and has been nominated eight times for the National Magazine Award. One of his stories was chosen for True Stories: A Century of Literary Non-fiction, joining four other writers as the best examples of literary journalism from the last hundred years. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book Driving Mr Albert. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Read by: Will Adamsdale
Abridged by Eileen Horne
Produced by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Classic Serial (b0122r2m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 Guess What? (b0627zhy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Life in London (b01167w4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 The Right Time (b0076mqw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics (b06kdxsg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jmx1)
Operation Luna
Episode 10
Stranded in Earth's past, the Voice tries tempting Captain Jet Morgan and his crew out into the city of the aliens.
Futuristic tale set in 1965 as first broadcast in 1953.
Stars Andrew Faulds as Jet Morgan, Alfie Bass as Lemmy Barnett, Guy Kingsley-Poynter as Doc, David Williams as Mitch, Other parts by Deryck Guyler.
Music composed and orchestra conducted by Van Phillips.
Written and produced by Charles Chilton.
Though first heard in 1953, the original recordings were wiped.
Re-recording first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1958.
FRI 18:30 Off the Page (m00018d5)
Competition
Chris Bigsby talks competition with laid-back writer Howard Jacobson and highly driven FT columnist Mrs Moneypenny. From April 2002.
In each programme, Professor Bigsby introduces a duo of writers of fact and fiction: new talent and established names. In the context of a discussion of one of the ideas and pre-occupations of our times, each presents a piece on this week's topic.
The best new writing and the freshest conversation from 2002.
FRI 19:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00j3pnr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The News Huddlines (m00018d0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 S-Laughter In the Dark (m00018cy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Bombay's Beatle (b00hv1dt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Podcast Radio Hour (m00018d2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 22:00 A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics (b06kdxsg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Henry Normal's Encyclopaedia Poetica (m00018d7)
Volume 3
Henry Normal opens volume three of his Encyclopaedia Poetica, celebrating the rich tradition of the poet as a revolutionary, in a cardigan.
This week's poems cover politics, class, bouncy castles, and the buses, trams and trains of Manchester.
Henry is joined on stage at the Contact Theatre, Manchester, by the poets Kevin Fegan and Lemn Sissay.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1994.
FRI 23:00 The Mary Whitehouse Experience (b007jmqb)
Series 3
From 17/03/1990
Your chance to own Now That's What I Call Satire! Stars Rob Newman, Rebecca Front, Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. From March 1990.
FRI 23:30 Will Smith's Midlife Crisis Management (b00g3dcp)
Will Smith's Midlife Crisis Management
Episode 2
Comedy series in which comedian Will Smith seeks help and advice - primarily from his godfather Peter - on coping with the onset of middle age. Peter invites Fashion presenter Kathy to help Will dress better.
With Roger Allam, Morwenna Banks, Janice Acquah, Jill Cardo, Gunnar Cauthery, Lobo Chan, Donnla Hughes, Dan Starkey, Tom Wu.