BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

Radio Four's Pen Pals

Documentaries

Factual

Series celebrating the phenomenon of the international pen pal.

Radio Four's Pen Pals: Series 1

Radio Four's Pen Pals: Series 1: Lyse and Masood

27/12/2017

Lyse and Masood

Series 1

BBC Radio 4 - Radio Four's Pen Pals, Series 1, Lyse and Masood

Lyse Doucet and her Afghan pen pal exchange poignant letters about war, poetry and cancer.

Lyse Doucet's pen pal is Afghan fighter, poet and diplomat Masood Khalili, who she first met in the 1980s. In a poignant series of letters, they discuss war, poetry and cancer.

Lyse Doucet is the BBC's Chief International Correspondent. She first met her pen-pal, Masood Khalili, in the 1980s when she was a young correspondent covering the early years of war in Afghanistan. He is a poet, a former fighter who survived two suicide attacks, and now a diplomat. They revisit their friendship through a series of poignant letters, discussing war, poetry and cancer.

For this series, five favourite Radio 4 voices were asked to chose a pen-pal from anywhere in the world. The task was to write six letters in long-hand and send them through the post. What they wrote about was entirely up to them - but they had to finish before the end of 2017. 

In our globally connected world, how much do we really understand the lives of people born thousands of miles away? By trying to understand the individual, we may gain a better understanding of the bigger picture. And as each presenter learns more about their new friend, they also offer a small window into their own world. 

Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
Executive Producer: David Prest

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Radio Four's Pen Pals

Series 1

Lyse and Masood

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4