BBC Radio 4 LW

Shipping Forecast

The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping

Shipping Forecast: 12/11/2009

12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Shipping Forecast, 12/11/2009Close 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: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News Briefing, 12/11/2009Close menu

Prayer for the Day

Prayer for the Day: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Prayer for the Day, 12/11/2009

Daily prayer and reflection with Rev Lesley Carroll.

Farming Today

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

Farming Today: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 12/11/2009

Charlotte Smith hears that hill farming could die out within a decade.

Charlotte Smith investigates the Liberal Democrats' claims that hill farming could die out within a decade, and their accusations that Natural England are ignoring the issue.

The Liberal Democrats say that hill farming could die out within a decade, and accuse Natural England of ignoring the issue. 

Charlotte Smith hears that new government legislation could help the marine environment, but might harm the fishing industry. 

And, as the UK needs to build more than 5,000 wind turbines in the next decade to meet government targets, Charlotte meets villagers who have come to love their turbines.

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: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Today, 12/11/2009

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

With John Humphrys and Justin Webb. Including Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day; Yesterday in Parliament.

Presented by John Humphrys and Justin Webb.

Rail passengers in south-east England face a day of disruption because of an absence of train drivers. The union Aslef has stressed the drivers are not on strike but are refusing to work overtime. District organiser for Aslef Mick Whelan discusses the dispute. 

The House of Lords has voted in favour of government plans for secret inquests, allowing proceedings into controversial deaths to be held in private. Inquests which involve sensitive information such as intercept intelligence are to be held before a judge, not a jury. Daniel Machover, solicitor for the family of the only inquest to have been held in private, examines the implications on justice. 

The US ambassador in Kabul, Karl Eikenberry, has advised President Obama against sending more combat troops to Afghanistan, according to a leaked private letter. Correspondent Martin Patience analyses the comments. 

The Department of Health is publishing a review into the use of anti-psychotic drugs on dementia sufferers in England. Critics have warned that the powerful drugs - commonly known as "chemical coshes" - are being prescribed inappropriately for people with dementia in order to keep them quiet. Jeremy Wright MP, chairman of the All Party Group on Dementia, and Nadra Ahmed, chairman of the National Care Association, discuss the use of the drugs.

Concerns are growing that escalating violence in Bosnia could lead to a new civil war. Ethnic tensions and corruption have remained unresolved since the civil war ended 15 years ago. Correspondent Edward Stourton reports from Bosnia. 

The use of shorthand has long been an important journalistic tool, but the growing use of recording devices is threatening the skill. Kim Fletcher, chairman of the National Council for the Training of Journalists, comments on the future of shorthand, and Today presenter John Humphrys tests his shorthand skills. 

Thought for the day with the writer Rhidian Brook. 

The House of Lords has passed a law allowing the use of secret inquests for deaths involving the disclosure of delicate information. Tory MPs who had been against the measure abstained from voting, allowing the law to pass. The law has been strongly criticised and was previously blocked by the Lords. Shadow justice secretary Dominic Grieve and Liberal Democrat Baroness Miller who opposed the measure, discuss its implications. 

All new nurses in England will need to have a degree from 2013. The minimum level for pre-registration courses will be raised from diploma to degree level, making nurses better equipped to improve the quality of patient care. Chief nursing officer Christine Beasley, and Gail Adams, head of nursing at trade union Unison, discuss the implications of increasing the educational level of nurses. 

A year after hurricanes devastated Haiti, deforestation has greatly reduced the country's ability to protect itself from further natural disasters. Ninety-eight percent of the country's forests have been chopped down for charcoal and firewood, leaving little to slow raging flood waters that create deadly mud slides. Correspondent Mike Thomson, who reported from the country in the aftermath of the hurricanes, returned to see how its inhabitants are surviving. 

Are horses intelligent? Today sports presenter Garry Richardson posed the question to champion jockey Richard Dunwoody yesterday. Equine behaviourist Emma Massingale describes horses' intellect. 

Ethnic tensions have remained unresolved in Bosnia since the civil war ended more than a decade ago. The international community has failed to find a solution to governance in the country and the continued lack of dialogue between Bosnia's Muslim, Serb and Croat factions. Lord Ashdown, former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, examines the current political crisis. 

A 93-page booklet advising police officers how to cycle has been published by Association of Chief Police Officers. The Police Cycle Training Doctrine comes in two volumes and offers advice on how not to fall off and how to avoid obstacles such as kerbs and rocks. Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Dave Holladay, a member of the National Cycling Organisation, discuss the tips. 

The Copenhagen environmental summit will hear a good deal about ways in which the world must and should combat carbon emissions in order to save the planet. But others say that the fundamental premise - that global warming is caused to a significant extent by carbon emissions and that we can do something about it - is wrong. Professor Ian Plimer from Adelaide University in Australia is among the sceptics. 

The results of a two-year study into office gossip are being published in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. The study analysed the gossip between teachers at a primary school. Dr Tim Hallett of the University of Indiana which conducted the research, reveals its findings.

In Our Time

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

In Our Time: Radiation

Radiation

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, Radiation

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the discovery of radiation, from radio waves to gamma rays

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of the discovery of radiation, from the idea that light consisted of waves, through electromagnetism to the naming of gamma rays.

Melvyn Bragg and guests Jim Al-Khalili, Frank Close and Frank James discuss the history of the discovery of radiation.Today the word 'radiation' conjures up images of destruction. But in physics, it simply describes the emission, transmission and absorption of energy, and the discovery of how radiation works has allowed us to identify new chemical elements, treat cancer and work out what the stars are made of.Over the course of the 19th century, physicists from Thomas Young, through Michael Faraday to Henri Becquerel made discovery after discovery, gradually piecing together a radically new picture of reality. They explored the light beyond the visible spectrum, connected electricity and magnetism, and eventually showed that heat, light, radio and mysterious new phenomena like 'X-rays' were all forms of 'electromagnetic wave'.  In the early 20th century, with the discovery of radioactivity, scientists like Max Planck and Ernest Rutherford completed the picture of the 'electromagnetic spectrum'. This was a cumulative achievement that transformed our vision of the physical world, and what we could do in it.Jim Al-Khalili is Professor of Theoretical Physics and Chair in the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Surrey; Frank Close is Professor of Physics at Exeter College, University of Oxford; Frank James is Professor of the History of Science at the Royal Institution.

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: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Daily Service, 12/11/2009

Christian worship and music led by Rev Dr Martyn Atkins.

Woman's Hour

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

Woman's Hour: Romola Garai; Dementia care; Canine chic

Romola Garai; Dementia care; Canine chic

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Romola Garai; Dementia care; Canine chic

Actor Romola Garai interviewed. Plus, canine chic; and who pays for dementia care?

Actor Romola Garai on her role in Glorious 39. Plus, model Caprice on canine chic; and what are a family's financial entitlements when caring for a relative with dementia?

From Our Own Correspondent

Kate Adie introduces insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents and writers.

Kate Adie introduces insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers telling stories from around the world.

From Our Own Correspondent: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - From Our Own Correspondent, 12/11/2009

Kate Adie introduces BBC foreign correspondents with the stories behind the headlines.

Bitter criticism of the Indian government and its handling of a Maoist uprising; how the fed-up Lebanese have learned to ignore their ruling classes. Introduced by Kate Adie.

Kate Adie introduces BBC foreign correspondents with the stories behind the headlines.

Bitter criticism of the Indian government and its handling of a Maoist uprising which now stretches across six states in the heart of the country. The prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh has described the rebels as the country's single largest internal security threat. Mark Tully wonders if once again the root of the problem is Indian governments' inability to provide what those they govern rightly feel is their entitlement.
 
Natalia Antelava on how the fed-up Lebanese have learned to ignore their ruling classes, and the new government which has emerged in Beirut after months of wrangling and which many believe stands little chance of success.
 
US military drones take off from The Seychelles in the search for Somali pirates. But on the islands themselves Will Ross finds that there is still interest in the pirates who operated there in the 18th century, and one lot in particular who are believed to have buried a horde of priceless treasure.
 
There's anger in paradise as people in the British Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean accuse London of being heavy handed and undemocratic. Direct rule from London was introduced there back in the summer after accusations of corruption and dishonesty, and Mike Thomson says that some of the islanders believe the time is now right for independence. 
 
And no sleep at all in Congo as the citizens of Lubumbashi celebrate the best thing to have happened to their city for many a year. Steve Vickers travelled there to watch the local football team TP Mazembe compete and win in the finals of the African Champions League trophy.

Brel et Moi: Alastair Campbell on Jacques Brel

06/09/2008

BBC Radio 4 - Brel et Moi: Alastair Campbell on Jacques Brel

Alastair Campbell reveals his passion for the music of Belgian singer Jacques Brel.

Former Labour strategist Alastair Campbell reveals his passion for the music of Jacques Brel, more than 30 years on from the Belgian singer/songwriter's death.

Alastair Campbell, former director of communications for Tony Blair, reveals his little-known but lifelong passion for the music of Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel. 

Campbell happened across Brel's music during the time he spent hitchhiking across France as a student in the late 1970s, and has been hooked ever since. Now, over 30 years after Brel's death, Campbell travels to Paris to delve into the secrets of the singer's life and music. Though he is revered in France, Brel is still little known in Britain. With songs like Ne Me Quitte Pas he was willing to explore much deeper, darker emotions than most pop music. On stage, he was hugely popular for his intense, ferocious live performances. But behind his public image, he led a complicated personal life. 

Campbell meets Brel's friends and family to find out more about the personality that produced his powerful, emotional music. The programme includes contributions from Brel's co-writer Jean Corti, journalist and author Olivier Todd and another Brel fanatic, comedian Mel Smith.

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

News Headlines; Shipping Forecast

News, weather and Shipping Forecast updates. 

News Headlines; Shipping Forecast: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News Headlines; Shipping Forecast, 12/11/2009

National and international news and the shipping forecast.

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

You and Yours

You and Yours: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours, 12/11/2009

Consumer news and issues with Winifred Robinson.

Weather

Weather: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Weather, 12/11/2009Close menu

World at One

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

World at One: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - World at One, 12/11/2009

National and international news with Martha Kearney.

Off the Page

Series featuring new writing and stimulating discussion.

Off The Page  

Off the Page: I'm H.A.P.P.Y

I'm H.A.P.P.Y

BBC Radio 4 - Off the Page, I'm H.A.P.P.Y

Miriam Akhtar, Dr Phil Hammond and Lucy Mangan describe what makes them H.A.P.P.Y.

From euphoria to contentment - Miriam Akhtar, Dr Phil Hammond, Lucy Mangan and Dominic Arkwright focus on happiness. From 2009.

From euphoria to contentment.

Miriam Akhtar, Dr Phil Hammond, Lucy Mangan and Dominic Arkwright focus on happiness. 

Producer: Paul Dodgson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2009.

The Archers

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

The Archers: 11/11/2009

11/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - The Archers, 11/11/2009

Matt and Lilian sadly part company as Lilian heads to the airport. She calls Jennifer before she boards, tearfully reporting that she's coming home alone. However, once she's on the plane, Matt joins her. He tells her that there was no point in facing life without her so instead he'll go home and face the music. Delighted Lilian calls Russell and tells him to let Jennifer know. She and Matt are coming home together. They should be back in time for the hearing tomorrow...

Adam reports that the planning meeting went well, so he can start looking for quotes on polytunnels. Meanwhile, Lynda reports that the editor of Borsetshire Life secured an exclusive with Lee Mason, rather than print the photos from Grey Gables. Lynda is delighted that she and Robert are to play host to Robert's daughter Coriander and new baby Oscar when Justin goes to work in the States for a few weeks.

Later, Jennifer is relieved to hear that Lilian is coming home. Russell talks to Brian, saying that there's still a long way for Matt to travel before he lands in the UK...and plenty of time for him to change his mind.

Episode written by Joanna Toye.

Drama on 4

Drama from BBC Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra.

Afternoon Play

Drama on 4: The Railway Siding

The Railway Siding

BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, The Railway Siding

By Jonathan Holloway. An architect encounters a garrulous guard on the overnight train.

By Jonathan Holloway. When struggling architect Jack is forced to take the overnight train from Haverfordwest to Paddington, he meets a garrulous guard and a familiar young woman.

By Jonathan Holloway. When struggling architect Jack is forced to take the overnight train from Haverfordwest to Paddington, he encounters a garrulous guard and a spookily familiar young woman. All is not quite what it seems. 

Jack ...... Sam Dale
Train Guard ...... Ewan Hooper
Hope ...... Lydia Leonard
Stationmaster/Tom ...... Mark Lewis

Directed by David Hunter.

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: Owenstown

07/11/2009

Owenstown

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Owenstown

Matt Baker explores plans to create a new Lanarkshire town based on Robert Owen's ideals.

Matt Baker looks at plans for Owenstown, a Lanarkshire settlement based on the ideals of the 19th-century social reformer Robert Owen.

The philanthropist Robert Owen brought about sweeping social reforms in his model village of New Lanark. Workers in the mill town were given improved housing and working conditions while the children were taken out of the mills and schooled instead. But his vision for a self-sufficient community was never fully realised in his lifetime. 

Matt Baker explores new plans for Owenstown, a new town of 20,000 planned just a few miles from New Lanark. The co-operative society will be encouraged to foster a sense of community and the town will be carbon neutral, generating its own power from wind and waste. Matt also visits the nearby village of Rigside; once riding high on the jobs and prosperity of the coal pit, it is now facing severe decline and hopes that some of the excitement and prosperity from Owenstown will benefit their area. 

However, the site chosen for the new town has no natural resource to provide jobs, unlike Rigside's mine and New Lanark's river to power the mills. Matt asks how the planners envision starting their town from scratch.

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: Bhopal Medical Appeal

08/11/2009

Bhopal Medical Appeal

BBC Radio 4 - Radio 4 Appeal, Bhopal Medical AppealSearch BBC

Jon Snow appeals on behalf of Bhopal Medical Appeal.

Jon Snow appeals on behalf of Bhopal Medical Appeal.

Donations to Bhopal Medical Appeal should be sent to FREEPOST BBC Radio 4 Appeal, please mark the back of your envelope Bhopal Medical Appeal. Credit cards: Freephone 0800 404 8144. If you are a UK tax payer, please provide Bhopal Medical Appeal with your full name and address so they can claim the Gift Aid on your donation. The online and phone donation facilities are not currently available to listeners without a UK postcode. 

Registered Charity No: 1117526.

Afternoon Reading

Short stories or abridged books, often from new writers

Afternoon Reading: The Diaries of Edith Appleton

Afternoon Reading: The Diaries of Edith Appleton: Episode 3

Episode 3

The Diaries of Edith Appleton

BBC Radio 4 - Afternoon Reading, The Diaries of Edith Appleton, Episode 3Search BBC

It is 1918 and Edie is based at a military hospital on the cliffs above Treport.

It is 1918 and Edie is based at a hotel which has been turned into a military hospital, on the cliffs above Treport. Anticipation is growing that the war could be coming to an end.

Series of readings featuring extracts from the diaries of Edith Appleton, a nurse working close to the front line during the First World War. 

It is 1918 and Edie is based at a grand hotel which has been turned into a military hospital, on the cliffs above Treport. Anticipation is growing that the war could be coming to an end. 

Read by Rachel Atkins

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.

Extracts from the diaries of Edith Appleton, a nurse working near the front line in WWI

Series of three readings featuring extracts from the diaries of Edith Appleton, a nurse working close to the front line during the First World War

Whatever Happened to the Teapots?

Whatever Happened to the Teapots?: Episode 4

Episode 4

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Whatever Happened to the Teapots?, Episode 4

Roger Law talks to artists about the division in ceramics between art and industry.

Spitting Image's Roger Law talks to ceramic artists to see if the division between art and industry can be reconciled. From November 2009.

In the 1980s, Roger Law of Spitting Image went to Stoke-on-Trent to get some novelty Margaret Thatcher teapots made. Now Roger returns to meet up with the craftsmen who helped him get a handle on Mrs T.

Designer pottery and the bottom line. Roger talks to artists about the division in ceramics between art and industry to find out if the two can ever be reconciled.

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.

Roger Law of Spitting Image meets the craftsmen who made his 1980s Mrs Thatcher teapots

In the 1980s, Roger Law of Spitting Image went to Stoke-on-Trent to get some novelty Margaret Thatcher teapots made. Now he returns to meet the craftsmen who made them

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: Neglected Classics Results, David Malouf, and Gothic Fiction 

Neglected Classics Results, David Malouf, and Gothic Fiction 

BBC Radio 4 - Open Book, Neglected Classics Results, David Malouf, and Gothic Fiction

Mariella Frostrup unveils the results of the two programmes focusing on neglected classics

Mariella Frostrup unveils the results of the two previous editions of the programme focusing on neglected classics, in which listeners voted for one of ten forgotten books.

Mariella Frostrup announces the hotly-anticipated result of Neglected Classics, Open Book's quest for literature's most unfairly overlooked masterpiece - and the winner joins her to celebrate victory.  John Mullan and Jenny Hartley also survey the hundreds of other books mentioned by listeners in response to the vote.

Plus, Mariella talks to the Australian novelist David Malouf, whose novel Ransom is based on an incident from the Trojan War. He explains how a story he first heard aged nine in wartime Canberra made a lifelong impression on him, and why he thinks Australia's greatest writer is Shakespeare.

And the gothic fiction expert Robert Mighall discusses the Terrific Register, a collection of exciting, odd and sometimes gory stories which was the favourite reading material of the young Charles Dickens.

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: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Material World, 12/11/2009

Quentin Cooper presents a special edition from Cardiff University.

Quentin Cooper presents a special edition from Cardiff University. Including the latest thoughts on the ecological impact of the proposed Severn Barrage.

1989: Day by Day

1989: Day by Day: Episode 39: 12th November 1989

Episode 39

Episode 39: 12th November 1989

12th November 1989

BBC Radio 4 - 1989: Day by Day, 12th November 1989

The mayors of East and West Berlin shake hands at a new border crossing at Potsdamerplatz.

The mayors of East and West Berlin shake hands at a new border crossing at Potsdamerplatz; El Salvador declares a curfew as fighting between troops and rebels leaves 78 people dead.

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago.

The mayors of East and West Berlin shake hands at a new border crossing at Potsdamerplatz; El Salvador declares a curfew as fighting between troops and leftist rebels leaves 78 dead in the capital, San Salvador; pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy returns to Moscow for the first time in 26 years to conduct the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago

Afternoon news and current affairs programme

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

PM: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - PM, 12/11/2009

Coverage and analysis of the day's news with Edward Stourton.

Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Edward Stourton. Plus Weather.

Six O'Clock News

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4

Six O'Clock News: 12/11/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Six O'Clock News, 12/11/2009

National and international news from BBC Radio 4.

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

Bleak Expectations

Comedy Victorian adventures by Mark Evans

Bleak Expectations: Series 3: A Sort of Fine Life De-Niced Completely

A Sort of Fine Life De-Niced Completely

Series 3

BBC Radio 4 - Bleak Expectations, Series 3, A Sort of Fine Life De-Niced Completely

Pip wants to save the poor and Harry Biscuit wants swans.

Pip wants to save the poor and Harry Biscuit wants swans. Mark Evans's Dickensian spoof starring Tom Allen. From 2009.

Pip Bin strives to improve working conditions in his bin factory. 

But will his quest distract him from a dastardly plan to steal London and sell it to the French?

Mark Evans's epic comedy in the style of Charles Dickens.

Sir Philip Bin ...... Richard Johnson
Gently Benevolent ...... Anthony Head
Young Pip ...... Tom Allen
Harry Biscuit ...... James Bachman
Dr Wackwallop ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Ripely Fecund ...... Sarah Hadland
Pippa ...... Susy Kane

Producer: Gareth Edwards

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2009.

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Shipping Forecast

12/11/2009

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1989: Day by Day

Episode 39: 12th November 1989

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Shipping Forecast

12/11/2009

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Weather

12/11/2009

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Weather

12/11/2009

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Shipping Forecast

13/11/2009

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