Rewinder

Original version

BBC Radio 4 LW

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Greg James digs into the BBC's archives, using current stories as a portal to the past.

BBC Radio 4 FM

Rewinder: Tea and Telepathy

Tea and Telepathy

BBC Radio 4 - Rewinder, Tea and Telepathy

Greg James heads deep into the BBC archives to deliver a selection of prime audio.

Greg James heads deep into the BBC archives to deliver a selection of prime and often forgotten audio.

Greg James, host of the Radio 1 Breakfast show and self-confessed 'proud radio nerd', uses his access-all-areas pass to the BBC Archives to track down audio gems, using listener requests, overlooked anniversaries and current stories as a springboard into the vast vaults of past programmes.

This week, with awards season underway, Greg looks back at three generations of acting talent - Dame Judi Dench, Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley - who have all been nominated for Academy Awards this year. He finds early BBC appearances as far back as 1960, with parts ranging from Shakespeare to Holby City. 

Are you thinking what Greg's thinking? Let's find out as he recounts a mass experiment in telepathy on BBC radio in 1927, resurrects a controversial mind transference act from 1949 which had an audience of 20 million, and conducts his own test for listeners at home.

It's now 50 years since the band Chicory Tip topped the charts with Son of My Father, the first number one to feature a synthesiser. This milestone sends Greg on a quest for more musical innovations in the archive, including sounds created by the electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram. 

Following up a request from a listener, Greg explores the history of Children's Hour, the hugely important radio programme that ran from the BBC's birth in 1922 right up until 1964, and was a staple of so many childhoods over those decades.

Producer: Tim Bano

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

Rewinder

Tea and Telepathy

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4