BBC Radio 4 LW

Shipping Forecast

The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping

Shipping Forecast: 23/04/2009

23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Shipping Forecast, 23/04/2009Close menu

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.

News Briefing

News Briefing: 23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News Briefing, 23/04/2009Close menu

Prayer for the Day

Prayer for the Day: 23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Prayer for the Day, 23/04/2009

Daily prayer and reflection, with Bishop George Stack.

Farming Today

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

Farming Today: 23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 23/04/2009

Europe begins major fishing policy reforms.

Charlotte Smith reports on Europe's admission that the Common Fisheries Policy is not working and is in need of fundamental reform. A new approach should be in place by 2013.

News and issues in rural Britain with Charlotte Smith. 

Charlotte reports on Europe's admission that the Common Fisheries Policy is not working and is in need of fundamental reform. A new approach should be in place by 2013. She also hears what fishermen and conservationists want from the changes.

Today

Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme; including Thought for the Day

Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme; including religious reflections from Thought for the Day at 0748

Today: 23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Today, 23/04/2009

Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.

With Sarah Montague and Evan Davis. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.

Presented by Sarah Montague and Evan Davis.

Sir Christopher Kelly says he is not surprised that political leaders did not reach an agreement about expenses. 

Director of the IFS Robert Chote explains what he made of the Budget figures.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair says extremism will continue to grow in countries like Afghanistan.

Professor Stanley Wells and art historian Sir Roy Strong discuss if a portrait of William Shakespeare is genuine.

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne gives his reaction to the budget.

British furniture designer Tom Dixon discusses what makes a good chair and to what extent a classic design can be reinvented.

Thought for the day with the Reverend Angela Tilby, vicar of St Bene't's Church in Cambridge.

Former director of public prosecutions Sir Ken McDonald says intercept evidence should be allowed in court.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said the UK economy would return to growth by the end of 2009 and expand by 3.5 per cent in 2011 in his Budget speech. He discusses his forecasts and the 'tough' future for public sector spending. 

A clip from the BBC's broadcast of the Spithead Royal Naval review from 1937.

British surgeon Paul McMaster, who is working with Medecins Sans Frontieres, describes the scene in a Sri Lankan hospital.

Indians are going to the polls in the second round of its month-long general election. South Asia correspondent Chris Morris reports from one of the states voting - Bihar.

Winners of the Orwell Prize for political writing, journalism and blogging have been unveiled. Prize director Jean Seaton gives the details.

Correspondent Matthew Price reports from Barack Obama's home city of Chicago, where there is a growing sense that the areas he worked in as a community leader are 'slipping back' as the recession bites.

Historian Michael Wood and Professors Mark Ormrod and Pat Thane discuss great turning points in British history.

In Our Time

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas, people and events that have shaped our world.

In Our Time: The Building of St Petersburg

The Building of St Petersburg

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, The Building of St Petersburg

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the building of St Petersburg.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the building of St Petersburg, Peter the Great's showcase city for a modern, European Russia.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the building of St Petersburg, Peter the Great's showcase city for a modern, European Russia. It  is a city of ideas. of progress and the Baroque, of Russian identity and Tsarist power. The building of St Petersburg is a testament to Tsarist power but it is also a city of ideas; of progress, of the Baroque and Russian identity. Beset by fire and flood, the city was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 to symbolise a new Russia, one that faced away from the Slavic East and towards the European West. To this end Peter and his heirs imported European architects, craftsmen and merchants to fashion his new capital.The result is a grandiose European city set amidst the freezing swamps of the Baltic coast; a Venice or Rome of the North. Indeed, the Venetian art connoisseur, Francesco Algarotti called St Petersburg ‘a window through which Russia looks on Europe’. It is a city of beauty built upon the cruelty of a tyrant and to this day encapsulates many of the contradictions of Russia.With Simon Dixon, Sir Bernard Pares Professor of Russian History at University College London; Janet Hartley, Professor of International History at the London School of Economics; Anthony Cross, Emeritus Professor of Slavonic Studies at the University of Cambridge

Daily Service

Spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.

A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.

Daily Service: 23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Daily Service, 23/04/2009

Christian worship and music with Mark Coffey.

Woman's Hour

Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.

Woman's Hour: Sandra and Michael Howard; Violinist Sarah Chang

Sandra and Michael Howard; Violinist Sarah Chang

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Sandra and Michael Howard; Violinist Sarah Chang

Sandra and Michael Howard on the shifting balances in their relationship.

Sandra and Michael Howard on the shifting balances in their relationship. Plus, violinist Sarah Chang on leaving behind the child prodigy label; and the increase in women truckers.

Crossing Continents

Series focusing on foreign affairs issues

Crossing Continents: Thailand

Thailand

BBC Radio 4 - Crossing Continents, Thailand

Lucy Ash travels to the heartland of Thailand's Red Shirt protesters.

Lucy Ash travels to the heartland of Thailand's Red Shirt protesters to discover who they are and why poor villagers and rice farmers are demanding to be heard.

Violent clashes in Bangkok have revealed a deep political divide in Thailand. As the Red Shirts prepared to descend on the capital, Lucy Ash joined them in their heartland in the north east of the country. 

She watched the build up to the massive protest in Bangkok and discovered who the Red Shirts are, how they organise themselves and why poor villagers and rice farmers are now demanding to be heard.

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

The Hull Truck Story

BBC Radio 4 Extra - The Hull Truck Story

The story of the Hull Truck Theatre company and its move to new premises.

The story of the Hull Truck Theatre company and its move from a former chapel to a purpose-built venue in the city centre. From April 2009.

Charting the build-up to the move of the Hull Truck Theatre company from its intimate home in a former chapel to a new and larger, purpose-built venue in the centre of Hull.

The programme also tells the story of how the company and its creative director, playwright John Godber, have come to occupy a special place in the hearts of many theatregoers.

BBC Radio 4 Extra

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

News Headlines; Shipping Forecast

News, weather and Shipping Forecast updates. 

News Headlines; Shipping Forecast: 23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News Headlines; Shipping Forecast, 23/04/2009

National and international news and the shipping forecast.

The latest national and international news headlines, followed by the shipping forecast.

Budget Call

BBC Radio 4 - Budget Call

Vincent Duggleby answers listeners' calls on how the Budget will affect them.

Vincent Duggleby and the Money Box team answer listeners' calls on how the Budget will affect them.

Weather

Weather: 23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Weather, 23/04/2009Close menu

World at One

Forty-five minutes of news, analysis and comment, with Sarah Montague.

World at One: 23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - World at One, 23/04/2009

National and international news with Martha Kearney.

National and international news with Martha Kearney. Examining the details of the Budget, particularly the prospects for public spending in health and education.

National and international news with Martha Kearney. 

The chairman of the Environment Agency, Lord Smith, discusses the government's plans for a new generation of coal-fired power plants. The carbon dioxide created by the power stations would be
stored underground in an effort to combat climate change.

Plus a closer look at the details of the Budget, in particular the prospects for public spending in health and education, and the latest news from the South African general election.

Costing the Earth

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

Costing the Earth: Virtual Warming

20/04/2009

Virtual Warming

BBC Radio 4 - Costing the Earth, Virtual Warming

The contribution to global CO2 emissions of huge ICT dataprocessing warehouses.

Counting the carbon cost of our love affair with computers, the programme discovers that every twitter or Facebook posting has an energy demand far higher than we might realise.

Every twitter, Facebook posting and You Tube video viewed has a carbon cost that is becoming increasingly dear, as our use of computers grows exponentionally.
The expanding digital cloud contributes 2 per cent of global emissions of carbon dioxide, about the same as aviation, and it's rising.  The high energy demands of the massive data centres needed to store all our information are of growing concern to both the government and industry. But how can they be made greener and more efficient? Costing the Earth investigates.

The Archers

An intense and gripping week of events unfolds in Ambridge. Listen to all the drama here.

The Archers: 22/04/2009

22/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - The Archers, 22/04/2009

Helen persuades Tom to do the delivery to Ambridge Organics, to avoid seeing Pat or Tony. As Helen and Annette leave for the shop, Helen sees Brenda approaching, so hurries Annette into the car, leaving Tom alone with Benda. Their conversation's awkward but Brenda finds herself telling Tom she might move away to find work once she's finished her finals. Not knowing what else to say, Tom finds himself wishing her luck.

Mike's still buzzing from last night's dancing. A new lady, Vicky, seems to have stood out. But, after bumping into Tom, Brenda's in no mood to appreciate Mike's enthusiasm. 

Annette quizzes Helen about Brenda. Helen tries to get her to concentrate on work but when Kirsty arrives Annette wants her opinion too. Helen explains that Kirsty used to go out with Tom, so asks her to be careful, but Annette still questions Kirsty at the first opportunity.

When Helen asks Tom how he got on with Brenda, it's clear that he's feeling equally deflated. Brenda's obviously planning her future, so what can he say. Helen invites him round for dinner again. That's great news to Annette, especially when he offers to help her write her CV.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.

Drama on 4

Drama from BBC Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra.

Afternoon Play

Drama on 4: The Iceman Goeth

The Iceman Goeth

BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, The Iceman Goeth

Drama documentary by Steve Jacobi about actor Ian Holm and the play The Iceman Cometh.

Drama documentary by Steve Jacobi about actor Ian Holm and his involvement in Howard Davies' 1976 production of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh.

Drama documentary by Steve Jacobi about actor Ian Holm. 

Featuring a candid interview with Holm, who talks about his childhood, his acting and the death of his brother. It is intercut with a drama set in the summer of 1976, in the build-up to Howard Davies' production of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh, which Holm had to leave after suffering a sudden attack of stage fright. 

Ian Holm ...... Ian Glen
Bee Gilbert ...... Charlotte Emmerson
Howard Davies ...... Malcolm Raeburn
Norman Rodway/Doctor ...... David Fleeshman
Patti Love ...... Kathryn Hunt 
Joel Grey ...... Stephen Hogan.

Open Country

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of Britain

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles

Open Country: Border Mires of Keilder

18/04/2009

Border Mires of Keilder

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Border Mires of Keilder

Matt Baker investigates the work of the Border Mires Project in the Keilder Forest.

Matt Baker investigates the work of the project which has spent one million pounds on restoring the fragile ecosystem of the Border Mires of the Keilder Forest in Northumberland.

Matt Baker investigates the work of the Border Mires Project, which has spent one million pounds and uses 21st-century machinery to undertake the difficult work of restoring the fragile ecosystem of the 10,000-year-old Border Mires of the Keilder Forest in Northumberland.

Home to rare dragon flies, damselflies and plantlife, the Border Mires may also store carbon more efficiently than the many trees of the forest that surround them.

With so much attention now focused on the benefits of trees in storing carbon it seems a harsh decision to cut them down but for the ecologists and forestry professionals of Keilder the rare habitat that can be recovered makes harvesting trees worthwhile. 

In fact as Matt discovers the forest has only been here a shortwhile. Planted after the first and second world wars to provide timber this is a landscape shaped by conflict. Hadrian's Wall runs between the recovered Mires and at RAF Spadeadam the need to prepare for battle continues. Spadeadam is the only facility in Europe where aircrews can practise manoeuvres and tactics against a variety of threats and targets that they face in contemporary warfare and it is also home to some of the best preserved bog habitat in the country.

Radio 4 Appeal

Highlighting a charity and appealing for donations. The presenters donate their time.

A weekly programme highlighting the work of a charity and appealing for donations. The presenters give their time without payment.

Radio 4 Appeal: Cerebra

19/04/2009

Cerebra

BBC Radio 4 - Radio 4 Appeal, CerebraSearch BBC

Jules Hudson appeals on behalf of Cerebra.

Jules Hudson appeals on behalf of Cerebra. Donations to this appeal should be sent to Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal, please mark the back of your envelope Cerebra. Credit cards: Freephone 0800 404 8144. Or you can give via the website.

Cerebra supports children with a wide range of neurological conditions. Their grant scheme funds expensive equipment that parents often cannot afford.

If you are a UK tax payer, please provide Cerebra with your full name and address so that they can claim the Gift Aid on your donation worth another 25 per cent. The online and phone donation facilities are not currently available to listeners without a UK postcode.

Registered Charity No: 1089812.

Afternoon Reading

Short stories or abridged books, often from new writers

Afternoon Reading: Penelope's People

Afternoon Reading: Penelope's People: Episode 3: Pills

Episode 3

Episode 3: Pills

Penelope's People

Pills

BBC Radio 4 - Afternoon Reading, Penelope's People, PillsSearch BBC

By Eric Pringle. Former dancer Alice needs all her strength to face an uncertain future.

By Eric Pringle. Alice's life has not fulfilled its early promise, but the determination that drove her to pursue a stage career gives her the strength to face an uncertain future.

In Pills by Eric Pringle, we meet Alice Black, a dancer whose career came to an abrupt end when she was still a young woman. Now, trapped in a loveless marriage, she occasionally feels bitter and resentful that her life has not fulfilled its early promise.

But the determination that first drove her to pursue a career on the stage gives her strength as she faces a very uncertain future.

Reader: Penelope Keith

Producer: David Blount
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.

Series of three monologues performed by Penelope Keith

Series of three monologues performed by Penelope Keith, presenting resourceful characters responding very differently to big changes in their lives

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Men of Fashion

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Men of Fashion: Episode 14: The New Man? - Fashion in the '80s

Episode 14

Episode 14: The New Man? - Fashion in the '80s

The New Man? - Fashion in the '80s

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Men of Fashion, The New Man? - Fashion in the '80s

How did fashion in the 1980s reflect the greedy consumerism of the times?

Big hair, big shoulders, big salaries and big hangovers. Laurence wonders whether fashion reflected 1980s greedy consumerism.

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen tells the story of dandyism and male peacockery through the ages

Open Book

Programme looking at new fiction and non-fiction books

Programme looking at new fiction and non-fiction books, talking to authors and publishers and unearthing lost classics

Open Book: Elmore Leonard, Jane Austen's continuing cultural significance, and The Heart of a Dog.

Elmore Leonard, Jane Austen's continuing cultural significance, and The Heart of a Dog.

BBC Radio 4 - Open Book, Elmore Leonard, Jane Austen's continuing cultural significance, and The Heart of a Dog.

Mariella Frostrup talks to US crime writer Elmore Leonard about his new novel.

Mariella Frostrup talks to US crime writer Elmore Leonard about his new novel. Claire Harman and Deborah Moggach debate popular culture's continuing fascination with Jane Austen.

Mariella Frostrup talks to American crime novelist Elmore Leonard, whose work has found heavyweight fans such as Saul Bellow and Martin Amis as well as enjoying success in film adaptations such as Get Shorty. He talks about his new book, Comfort To The Enemy, and explains why he thinks he has made the most of his limitations.

With a book called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies becoming an unexpected bestseller, Mariella and her guests discuss Jane Austen's continuing cultural significance. Claire Harman, the author of Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World, and Deborah Moggach, who adapted Pride and Prejudice for the 2005 film starring Kiera Knightley, look at Austen's rediscovery in the 19th century and reinvention in the 20th.

Plus the novelist Andrey Kurkov, author of the cult classic Death and the Penguin, celebrates another satirical masterpiece, Mikhail Bulgakov's 1925 novel The Heart of a Dog.

Material World

Science programme reporting on developments across the disciplines

Science programme reporting on developments across the disciplines. Each week, scientists describe their work, conveying the excitement they feel for their research projects

Material World: 23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Material World, 23/04/2009

How machines are learning to recognise and express emotions.

Quentin Cooper talks emotions in machines at a Royal Society conference, to a lawyer about doomsday asteroids and to the UK innovator of a cheap genome sequencing device.

Quentin Cooper and guests discuss how machines are learning to recognise and express emotions. He meets Professor Roddy Cowie and Professor Rosalind Picard, two researchers hoping to develop robots that can read our moods. 

In Nebraska, space lawyers gather to thrash out how the world might deal with the threat of Near Earth Objects: asteroids that might one day crash to earth with devastating consequencies. Even if we have the technology to do something about it, how would the nations of the world best agree to get on with it? Ben Baseley-Walker of the Secure World Foundation, co-sponsor of the conference, hopes that talking about the legal niceties now rather than later could save valuable time should the warning ever come. 

Plus, after chancellor Alistair Darling announced  a 750 million pound fund to help innovation and emerging technologies, Hagan Bayley, Professor of Chemical Biology at Oxford University, visits the studio on his way to pick up an enterprise award for a cheap DNA sequencing device.

Afternoon news and current affairs programme

Afternoon news and current affairs programme, reporting on breaking stories and summing up the day's headlines

PM: 23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - PM, 23/04/2009

Coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair.

Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Eddie Mair. Plus Weather.

Six O'Clock News

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4

Six O'Clock News: 23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Six O'Clock News, 23/04/2009

National and international news from BBC Radio 4.

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by Weather.

4 Stands Up

Stand-up comedy show featuring big names from the circuit

4 Stands Up: Series 3: Episode 4

Episode 4

Series 3

BBC Radio 4 - 4 Stands Up, Series 3, Episode 4

Chris Addison introduces Gareth Richards, Dan Antopolski and Zoe Lyons

Chris Addison with more big names from the comedy circuit - Gareth Richards, Dan Antopolski and Zoe Lyons. From April 2009.

Chris Addison hosts the stand-up comedy series.

Featuring some of the top names on the circuit.

With:

Gareth Richards
Dan Antopolski 
Zoe Lyons

Producer: Sam Michell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2009.

4 Stands Up: Series 3

The Archers: 23/04/2009

BBC Radio 4 - The Archers, 23/04/2009

Phil takes a trailer ride down memory lane.

Phil's old NFU friends are at Brookfield for his birthday. David's organised a tour of the farm and Bert's in fine form, delighted that he also remembers some of the faces. Phil's loving it - and seems to think he's back in charge.

Kenton's new waitress, Naomi, is good but nowhere near as flexible as Emma. Kenton insists he'll work his charm on her but he fails, and so is unable to leave her to lock and cash up while he goes round to see Phil. 

Eventually, Kathy arrives at the café with a present for Phil but it's too late for her to go with Kenton - she's got to get to a parents' evening. She's also bought Meriel's birthday present. Kenton can't believe he's not seen her for four years and thinks they should take Jamie over for a visit. Kathy agrees to think about it - but some other time. Kenton needs to get to Brookfield quickly, so Kathy offers to stay and cash up.

Phil's birthday's a great success all round. Kenton arrives just in time, and Phil's delighted with his present. He appreciates the trouble everyone's been to. The family are just pleased Phil had such a happy birthday.

Episode written by Tim Stimpson.

Front Row

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

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Shipping Forecast

23/04/2009

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Weather

23/04/2009

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Open Country

Border Mires of Keilder

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Shipping Forecast

23/04/2009

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Weather

23/04/2009

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Weather

23/04/2009

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Shipping Forecast

23/04/2009

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