With the Rev Tony Burnham.
With Mark Holdstock.
With Sarah Montague and James Naughtie.
6.25, 7.25 and 8.25 Sports News
7.48 Thought for the Day With Clifford Longley.
Andrew Marr and guests set the cultural agenda for the week. Producer Alice Feinstein Shortened repeat at 9.30pm
Presented by Jenni Murray.
10.45 Posties Part 1 of the Woman's Hour drama. Drama repeated at 7.45pm
Kidnap is a growth industry: in the last ten years attacks worldwide have risen by 500 per cent. The victims include travellers and business people working abroad. This programme looks at the reasons for the increase, what precautionary measures can be taken and the industry that has sprung up in its wake. With contributions from hostage survivors, including John McCarthy. Producer Kate Bland
By Nick Warburton.
Reg, bitter at being retired prematurely, finds a toad crushed on the road as it was crossing to mate. Now Reg has a mission. In future, none of the toad's fellow creatures will end up looking like flattened gardening gloves.
With Winifred Robinson and John Waite.
With Nick Clarke.
The final heat in the annual contest of music knowledge. Ned Sherrin is in the chair.
Producer Paul Bajoria Repeated on Saturday at llpm
Repeated from yesterday at 7pm
A thriller by Caroline Gawn , set in the 1940s.
Elsie Haworth and Kathleen James are old schoolfriends, working on the rebuilding of Waterloo Bridge. Elsie is heavily pregnant, but will not reveal the father's name to anyone, not even Kathleen. A police inspector starts to dog the two women's footsteps, asking probing questions about the mysterious father.
Director Polly Thomas
Vincent Duggleby and guests answer questions about personal finance. Producer Penny Haslam
Written by and featuring Alan Bennett. With Judi Dench.
A middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman engage in polite conversation in a Torquay seaside hotel. But neither of them is quite whom they appear to be. Who is deceiving whom?
Corpsing with Judi: page 117
In five programmes this week, Lynne Truss looks at the alphabet and how it evolved.
Alphabetical order: it helps us find books in shops and words in dictionaries, but is it fair to list people alphabetically?
Self-sufficiency. Could we grow our own food? Sheila Dillon considers self-sufficiency on an individual and on a national scale. Extended repeat of yesterday
From art to anthropology, sportto science and politics to popular culture, Anne Mackenzie examines the similarities and differences in cultures across the globe. Producer Amber Dawson
With Clare English and Carolyn Quinn.
Joining Nigel Rees to swap favourite quotations and anecdotes forthe last time in the current series are
Susan Greenfield , Paul Heiney , Simon Fanshawe and Charles Collingwood. The reader is William Franklyn. Producer Carol Smith
BBC RADIO COLLECTION: A collection of highlights from this show is available on audio cassette at good retail outlets or www.bbcshop.com Call [number removed]
Poor Greg's lost for words.
(Repeated tomorrow at 2pm)
Francine Stock with arts news, interviews and the verdict on The Matrix Reloaded, the sequel to the 1999 hit in which a computer hacker, played by Keanu Reeves , discovers that the reality of the world around him is Virtual. Producer Martin Smith
Five gentle stories about letters, postal workers and the way communication is changing.
1: Lost Letters, by Julia Darling. Tilley, a young postal worker, is asked to deliver a lost letter, posted in 1960 and found in an old post box. Her search takes her to the Newcastle flat of Amy Heard.
Music by Dave Scott and Neil Blenkinsop
Producer/director Susan Roberts Repeat of 10.45am
The final part of Gavin Esler 's investigation of whether we are becoming closer to Europe or to America. Producer Martin Rosenbaum
"Well, now that we have seen each other," said the unicorn, "if you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you." (Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.)
Kirsty Walker goes in search of the origins of the unicorn. Very early translations of the bible mention it, Alexander the Great reported seeing one, and Queen Elizabeth I owned a unicorn's horn. The horn was said to protect you from poison, and in Chinese culture, the one-horned animal was used to decide who was guilty. It was said that only virgins could capture a unicorn. So, as a "mature" woman, will Kirsty Walker find what she's looking for?
Tree Kangaroos. Evolved from a rock wallaby-like ancestor over 5 million years ago, tree kangaroos now exist only in Australia and New Guinea. Today they face an uncertain future in both countries because of forest fragmentation and hunting. Lionel Kelleway meets the scientists who are studying these strange but beautiful creatures of the rainforest canopy.
Producer Sarah Blunt Repeated tomorrow at 11am
Repeated from 9am
With Sheena MacDonald.
Alan Sillitoe's classic novel set in Nottingham in the 1950s. Abridged in ten parts by Jane Marshall. Read by Paul Copley.
Mrs Bull's malicious gossip makes trouble in the yard.
John Peel takes a wry look at the foibles of family life. Shortened
News, views and features on today's stories as well as a look behind the scenes in committee.
(Repeated from 9.45am)
