Front Row

Original version

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)

Magazines & Reviews

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music

BBC Radio 4 LW

Front Row: Martin Scorsese film, John le Carré’s legacy, Madonna on Tour

Martin Scorsese film, John le Carré’s legacy, Madonna on Tour

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, Martin Scorsese film, John le Carré’s legacy, Madonna on Tour

Martin Scorsese, John le Carré’s legacy, Madonna on Tour.

Madonna is still in the spotlight 45 years after bursting onto the pop scene in the 1980s, inspiring fashion, dance and youth culture, as well as being the world’s best-selling female artist of all time.  Author of the biography Madonna: A Rebel Life, Mary Gabriel explores what’s behind her enduring influence and music critic Pete Paphides assesses last night’s Celebration tour performance, rescheduled after her recent serious health scare. 

The latest film from director Martin Scorcese focuses on the Osage Nation community, who back in the 1920s had become rich overnight when oil was discovered beneath their land in Oklahoma.  Based on a true story, Killers of the Flower Moon sees an improbable romance develop between Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest and Lily Gladstone’s indigenous Mollie, as members of her Osage tribe are murdered under mysterious circumstances, killings which are investigated by what was to become the FBI. 

Published in 2015, Adam Sisman wrote what is considered to be the definitive biography of John le Carré.  What he left out about the author befits a Cold War spy novel:  he was secretive, self-mythologizing and even deceptive.  Sisman’s new book, The Secret life of John le Carré, reveals for the first time the frustrating process of writing a biography about the writer who hid his infidelities and inconsistencies.

The Forward Prizes are among UK and Ireland’s most coveted poetry awards.  These include best poetry collection, first collection, single poem - written and, new for this year, best single poem – performed.  Tonight in Leeds the judges will announce the winners as Front Row is on-air - and we should know who has won the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem – Written, and be able broadcast the poet reading it.

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

Front Row

Martin Scorsese film, John le Carré’s legacy, Madonna on Tour

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4