With Judy Merry.

With Charlotte Smith.
Producer David Street

With John Humphrys and James Naughtie.
6.25,7.25,8.25 Sports News
7.45 Thought for the Day With Seamus Heaney.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss ideas and events which have influenced our time. Repeated at 9.30pm

Melvyn Bragg discusses the history of the concept of Utopia, examines real and fictional examples, and explores why we are as enthralled as ever by the idea of it. Show more

For National Poetry Day, Radio 4 has commissioned 14 new poems from distinguished writers chosen by the poet laureate
Andrew Motion , to be broadcast throughout the day. Each poem is about the time of day at which it will be heard and will be read by the author. Here, Andrew Motion introduces some of the works and contributes a new poem of his own. Producer Julian May

Jenni Murray hosts lively interviews and discussions from a woman's point of view.
Drama: Vital Signs by Peter Straughan. Part 19. Drama repeated at 7.45pm. For details see Monday

Kate Adie introduces the stories behind the news With correspondents worldwide. Producer Tony Grant

Author Lynne Reid Banks, best known for The L-Shaped Room, reflects on the literature that has given her pleasure throughout her life. With excerpts from the Jewish Passover service, Romeo and Juliet, and Nancy Mitford 's The Pursuit of Love.
Producer Mary Ward Lowery.
Repeated Wednesday 11.30pm

PM With Liz Barclay and John Waite.

With Nick Clarke at the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool.

Richard Uridge with more stories from the British Countryside.

Repeated from yesterday 7pm

By Peter R Simpkin. The glamour, and particularly the corruption, of the international art trade is Anthony Bent's business. In the first of two adventures, the theft of a Constable painting from a London gallery leads to death, a mysterious, patriotic "art Lover", and to Spain.
Director Ned Chaillet

With Peter White. Editor Chris Burns

An appeal for Hemi-Help, a charity which provides for children who suffer from hemiplegia and supports their families. Shortened repeat ofSunday7.55am

4: / Never Wanted You to Promise Me a Rose Garden. Peter White experiences the perils of being led up the scented garden path. For details see Monday (R)

29: 939 - Edward VIII and Unemployment Fordetails see Monday

The programme about language and the way we speak. Punch-Drunk. In the last of the current series, Michael Rosen goes six rounds with the language and metaphor of boxing.
Producer Mark Burman. E-MAIL: [address removed]
Repeated Sunday 8.30pm

Trevor Phillips examines space dust and meteorites for signs of life beyond our planet. Producer John Watkins. E-MAIL: [address removed]

With Clare English and Charlie Lee-Potter .

In a new six-part series, BBC controller of entertainment Paul Jackson chats to comedy writers and performers about their lives and work.1:Caroline Aherne Producer chrisNeiii

The Grundys take notice. Repeated tomorrow 2pm

Francine Stock chairs the arts programme, featuring a new poem from Simon Armitage as part of the National Poetry Day celebrations. Producer Stephen Hughes

By Peter Straughan. Thursday. Mr Kristoff takes matters into his own hands. Carol delivers an ultimatum but gets more than she bargained for. Part 19. Repeated from 10.45am. For details see Monday

Ten years ago, Communism collapsed in eastern Europe. In six programmes, historian
Misha Glenny talks to decision makers and ordinary people about the extraordinary story of the liberation of eastern Europe.
2: 1985 tol989- Round the Table
The Communist authorities in Poland and Hungary are forced into dialogue with the opposition. Mikhail Gorbachev arrives at the Kremlin.
Producers Maria Balinska

The Foreign Office. Michael White , political editor of The Guardian, looks at how the Government today acts on the world stage and pursues our interests abroad. How successful have we been in rebranding Britain to promote a different image to potential investors? And has the pledge to keep in mind an ethical dimension in foreign policy stood the test of the rigours of a harsh and Often Cynical world? Producer Dennis Sewell

In the first of two programmes, Geoff Watts finds out why the land of the eastern Mediterranean is prone to earthquakes and explores what can be done to predict when the next one is likely to hit. Producer Rami Tzabar. E-MAIL: [address removed]
9.30 Melvyn Bragg - in Our Time Repeated from 9am

Melvyn Bragg discusses the history of the concept of Utopia, examines real and fictional examples, and explores why we are as enthralled as ever by the idea of it. Show more

Feet By Salman Rushdie. Part 14. For details see Monday

Alan Davies stars in his own comedy series. Alan Francis and Ronnie Ancona play his long-suffering friends Murray and Kate, and they all try to sort out this week's dilemma. Written by Tony Roche , Ben Silburn and Alan Davies. Producer Jane Berthoud (R)

Michael Bakewell's five-part dramatisation of the Agatha Christie novel stars June Whitfield as Miss Marple.

The recollections of a bewildered elderly clergyman prove to be of vital importance.

(R)

AM By Ian McEwan. 9: Clive travels to Amsterdam for the performance of his Millennium Symphony, determined to wreak revenge on Vernon. For details see Monday