BBC Radio 4 LW

Shipping Forecast

The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping

Shipping Forecast: 17/12/2009

17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Shipping Forecast, 17/12/2009Close 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: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - News Briefing, 17/12/2009Close menu

Prayer for the Day

Prayer for the Day: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Prayer for the Day, 17/12/2009

Daily prayer and reflection with Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra.

Farming Today

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

Farming Today: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 17/12/2009

Charlotte Smith hears how the Defra fund available for flooded farmers is not enough.

Charlotte Smith hears from one farmer how the Defra fund available for flooded farmers is not enough and the programme visits a Brussels sprout farmer in Lincolnshire.

Charlotte Smith hears from one farmer how the Defra fund available for flooded farmers is not enough  and the programme visits a Brussels sprout farmer in Lincolnshire as he gathers in the Christmas crop. And in light of the recent scathing report on the Rural Payments Agency, one farmer tells of his experiences with the agency.

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: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Today, 17/12/2009

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

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

Test Match Special

Test Match Special: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Test Match Special, 17/12/2009

Coverage of the second day of the First Test between South Africa and England in Pretoria.

Coverage of the second day of the First Test between South Africa and England from Centurion Park, Pretoria. Commentary by Jonathan Agnew, Gerald De Kock and Simon Mann.

Coverage of the second day of the First Test between South Africa and England from Centurion Park, Pretoria. Commentary by Jonathan Agnew, Gerald De Kock and Simon Mann and summaries from Michael Vaughan, Geoff Boycott and Vic Marks.

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

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: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Daily Service, 17/12/2009

Christian worship and music led by John Forrest.

Coverage of the second day of the First Test between South Africa and England from Centurion Park, Pretoria. Commentary by Jonathan Agnew, Gerald De Kock and Simon Mann and summaries from Michael Vaughan, Geoff Boycott and Vic Marks. 

Including Shipping Forecast.

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: Colum McCann Interview and The Future of Bookshops

13/12/2009

Colum McCann Interview and The Future of Bookshops

BBC Radio 4 - Open Book, Colum McCann Interview and The Future of Bookshops

Mariella Frostrup talks to Colum McCann and hosts a discussion on the future of bookshops.

Mariella Frostrup talks to Colum McCann about his new novel, which won the National Book Award. Plus a discussion on the future of the bookshop with industry insiders.

Mariella Frostrup talks to Colum McCann about his new novel Let The Great World Spin, which won the 2009 prestigious National Book Award in America. With Philippe Petit's breathless 1974 tightrope walk between the then unfinished World Trade Center Towers at its axis, it focuses on the lives of a disparate group of New York characters, including the viewpoint of Petit himself, whose own story was the subject of the award winning documentary Man on Wire. The novel celebrates the richness and diversity of New York through a range of rich and varied characters.  

After Borders bookshop chain announced it was going into administration, the CEO of Hachette UK, Tim Hely Hutchinson; editor of The Bookseller, Neill Denny; and independent bookseller Patrick Neale discuss the future of the bookshop on the high street. Author Patrick Gale provides the writers' perspective. 

There are over 1500 independent bookshops and 300 Waterstones, but the threat from online selling, the supermarket and the arrival of the e-book have all had an impact on where books are sold, and we consider the serious threat to the bookshop.

Producer Hilary Dunn.

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: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Material World, 17/12/2009

Predicting our climate future; revealing heat of cosmic creation; mapping cancer's genome.

Carbon dioxide levels three million years ago and predicting our climate future; telescope reveals heat of cosmic creation; lung and skin cancer's are genetically mapped.

In the long term, if carbon emissions are not controlled, global warming may be even greater than current predictions, according to new research. Quentin Cooper hears how a study of climate three million years ago - the last time carbon dioxide levels were high - suggests that long-term changes to vegetation and ice caps will lead to an even warmer world. 

Also in the programme, how burning coal in China may change cancer rates as well as the climate. A new British telescope, VISTA, to reveal the heat of creation and a breakthrough in understanding cancer as the genome of lung and skin cancers are mapped for the first time.

1989: Day by Day

1989: Day by Day: Episode 74: 17th December 1989

Episode 74

Episode 74: 17th December 1989

17th December 1989

BBC Radio 4 - 1989: Day by Day, 17th December 1989

Labour select Peter Mandelson to stand as an MP.

Sir John Tusa looks back at the events making the news 20 years ago. Labour select Peter Mandelson to stand as an MP.

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

Labour select Peter Mandelson to stand as an MP.

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: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - PM, 17/12/2009

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.

Weather

Weather: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Weather, 17/12/2009Close menu

Six O'Clock News

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4

Six O'Clock News: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Six O'Clock News, 17/12/2009

National and international news from BBC Radio 4.

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.

Andy Zaltzman's History of the Third Millennium, Series 1 of 100

Andy Zaltzman's History of the Third Millennium, Series 1 of 100: Episode 2: The Global Economy

Episode 2

Episode 2: The Global Economy

The Global Economy

BBC Radio 4 - Andy Zaltzman's History of the Third Millennium, Series 1 of 100, The Global Economy

Andy Zaltzman applies his twisted logic to banking, corporate fraud and the credit crunch.

Andy Zaltzman applies his twisted logic to subjects including banking, corporate fraud and the credit crunch. Where did it all go wrong?

Political comedian Andy Zaltzman presents a decade-by-decade comic analysis of the third millennium, covering the 2000-2009 period of what is already shaping up to be a troubled thousand years. 

Andy applies his twisted logic to subjects including banking, corporate fraud and the credit crunch. Where did it all go wrong?

With Rory Bremner, Bridget Christie, Lucy Montgomery and Kim Wall.

Andy Zaltzman presents a decade-by-decade comic analysis of the third millennium

Political comedian Andy Zaltzman presents a decade-by-decade comic analysis of the third millennium, covering the 2000-2009 period of what is already shaping up to be a troubled thousand years

The Archers

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

The Archers: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - The Archers, 17/12/2009

Lynda won't tell Robert why she's feeling a bit low. He takes her shopping in Felpersham as a treat. She eventually confides in Robert that she feels a failure as Caz's visit hasn't gone as anticipated. Robert sets her mind at rest. Once Caz recovers from feeling tired, she will realise how important Lynda is to Caz and Oscar. 

Back home, Lynda is delighted at Caz's friendly and positive response to the sweater that Lynda has bought for Justin.

While out shopping in Borchester, Fallon jokes with Kirsty about Jazzer's bunch of carnations. They spot Leon taking a girl - not Helen - into a pizzeria and decide to watch him. Kirsty confronts Leon but accepts his explanation that the girl, Jolanta, is Polish and has just started working at Whispers. He is giving her a guided tour in return for her advice to him on buying Helen's Christmas present. He offers to show Kirsty and Fallon what he has bought, but they say it's not necessary. 

When he's gone they agree how nice it was of him to think things through to that extent. He's a great guy and that Helen's so lucky to have him.

Episode written by Carole Simpson Solazzo.

Front Row

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

Front Row: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, 17/12/2009

Catherine Tate; Rope on screen and stage; artist Conrad Shawcross; audio books.

Arts news and reviews with Kirsty Lang. Catherine Tate; Rope on screen and stage; artist Conrad Shawcross; audio books.

Catherine Tate talks about reinventing A Christmas Carol with her foul-mouthed Nan as Scrooge and David Tennant as The Ghost of Christmas Present.

The notorious 1924 murder of a 14-year-old boy by two wealthy 18-year-olds inspired Patrick Hamilton's 1929 play Rope, Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 film, the 1990s film Swoon and John Logan's play Never The Sinner. Adrian Wootton examines the plays and films inspired the Leopold and Loeb murder case.  

Conrad Shawcross on the inspiration he gets from the Science Museum in London, where he is Artist in Residence for a year.

Christina Hardyment reccommends audio books, from an Apache helicopter pilot on ops in Afghanistan to Ralph Fiennes reading TS Eliot's Four Quartets.

15 Minute Drama

Classic and contemporary original drama and book dramatisations

15 Minute Drama: Mike Walker - Scumdog Millionaires

15 Minute Drama: Mike Walker - Scumdog Millionaires: Episode 4

Episode 4

Mike Walker - Scumdog Millionaires

BBC Radio 4 - 15 Minute Drama, Mike Walker - Scumdog Millionaires, Episode 4

Tim discovers that the subject of the FSA probe is really his billionaire banker father.

Disgraced trader Tim discovers that the subject of the FSA's investigation is really his billionaire banker father. Stars David Tse Ka-Shing.

Financial thriller by Mike Walker. 

Disgraced City trader Tim Ng has been offered immunity from persecution by the FSA, but it soon becomes clear that the real subject of their investigations is Tim's father, a billionaire banker living in Hong Kong. 

Tim Ng ...... David Tse Ka-Shing
Kathy ...... Michelle Tate
Mother ...... Pik-sen Lim
Father ...... Lobo Chan
Politician ...... Nigel Hastings
Spook ...... Rhys Jennings
Restaurateur ...... Kate Layden

Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.

FSA fraud investigator Angela Chapman works to expose the existence of a secret bank

Financial thriller. FSA fraud investigator Angela Chapman works to expose the existence of a secret bank whose debts threaten the entire the world financial system

The Report

Original insights into major news stories and topical investigations

The current affairs series combining original insights into major news stories with topical investigations

The Report: Ambulance Response Times

Ambulance Response Times

BBC Radio 4 - The Report, Ambulance Response Times

Gill Dummigan investigates how ambulance crews are meeting tough new government targets.

Gill Dummigan investigates how 999 ambulance crews are meeting tough new government targets for response times. Critics say it's resulting in some areas getting inadequate cover.

On the eve of what 999 ambulance crews have dubbed Black Friday -traditionally their busiest day of the year - Gill Dummigan investigates how they are meeting tough new government targets for response times. Critics say it's resulting in some areas getting inadequate cover with critically ill patients enduring long waits for medical help.

In Business

Series about the world of work from vast corporations to modest volunteers

Series of programmes about the whole world of work, public and private, from vast corporations to modest volunteers

In Business: Let Me Entertain You

Let Me Entertain You

BBC Radio 4 - In Business, Let Me Entertain You

Peter Day finds out what businessmen can learn from rock musicians and comedians.

What can business leaders learn from rock musicians and improvisational comedians? Peter Day finds out.

What Scientists Believe

What Scientists Believe: Episode 2

BBC Radio 4 - What Scientists Believe, Episode 2

Stephen Webster talks to Professor Clare Lloyd, who runs a medical research lab.

Stephen Webster talks to Professor Clare Lloyd, who runs a medical research lab. Clare explains how she provides her researchers with a productive environment to work in.

Philosopher Stephen Webster investigates the links between scientists' personal beliefs and their scientific work. He wants to know how an individual scientist's personal, psychological and intellectual qualities map onto their chosen area of science. How much of a scientist's personality is reflected in their work? Should subjective private beliefs be a part of objective scientific outcomes? What happens if tensions develop between a scientist's beliefs and the formal demands of science? If tensions arise, how can they be resolved?

Stephen meets Clare Lloyd, Professor of Respiratory Immunology, who runs a busy medical research lab at Imperial College, London. Her lab investigates asthma and how allergens can inflame nasal airways, especially in small babies. Clare talks to Stephen about the pressures of running a research lab, and how she goes about providing her team with a productive working environment. As a Principal Investigator, Clare has to encourage and inspire her researchers. She also has to secure finance for her research projects and make sure the lab runs smoothly and effectively, because ultimately, Clare's success as a scientist will be judged by her academic results.

Stephen Webster investigates the links between scientists' personal beliefs and their work

Philosopher Stephen Webster investigates the links between scientists' personal beliefs and their scientific work

1989: Simpson Returns

1989: Simpson Returns: Episode 3

Episode 3

BBC Radio 4 - 1989: Simpson Returns, Episode 3

John Simpson returns to Bucharest 20 years after the bloody overthrow of Nicolae Ceausescu

John Simpson returns to Bucharest 20 years after the bloody overthrow of Nicolae Ceausescu's regime to assess what has happened since.

The BBC's World Affairs Editor John Simpson tells the story of 20 years of post-communist life. Through personal stories, he traces the different roads that East Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania have taken since 1989. 

John witnessed at first hand the bloody overthrow of the Ceausescu regime. The brutal dictator and his wife were executed on Christmas Day 1989, with the dramatic scenes played out on TV. John returns to Bucharest 20 years later to assess what has happened since.

BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson tells the story of 20 years of post-communist life

The BBC's World Affairs Editor John Simpson tells the story of 20 years of post-communist life

The World Tonight

In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and major breaking news from a global perspective

The World Tonight: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - The World Tonight, 17/12/2009

National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah.

National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah. Robin Lustig reports from Copenhagen on the latest news from the climate change summit.

National and international news and analysis with Ritula Shah.

Robin Lustig reports from Copenhagen on the latest news from the climate change summit.
 
Examining union tactics in the BA dispute.
 
A report on the Irish school system.

Book at Bedtime

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and world literature

Readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and literature from around the world

Book at Bedtime: The Ingoldsby Legends

Book at Bedtime: The Ingoldsby Legends: Episode 4: Bloudie Jacke

Episode 4: Bloudie Jacke

The Ingoldsby Legends

Bloudie Jacke

BBC Radio 4 - Book at Bedtime, The Ingoldsby Legends, Bloudie Jacke

A grisly and comic poetic tale concerning a local Bluebeard intent on causing havoc.

A grisly and comic poetic tale concerning a local Bluebeard, intent on causing havoc wherever he roams. Read by Nicholas Murchie and Lucy Robinson.

Nicholas Murchie and Lucy Robinson read from a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poetry supposedly written by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, but actually penned by the Rev Richard Barham, first published in book form in 1840. 

A grisly and comic poetic tale concerning a local Bluebeard, intent on causing havoc wherever he roams.

Abridged by Robin Brooks.

A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.

Collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poetry by the Reverend Richard Barham

Nicholas Murchie and Lucy Robinson read from a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poetry by the Rev Richard Barham, first published in book form in 1840

Chain Reaction

Series in which public figures choose others to interview

Chain Reaction: Series 4: Richard Wilson Interviews Arabella Weir

Richard Wilson Interviews Arabella Weir

Series 4

BBC Radio 4 - Chain Reaction, Series 4, Richard Wilson Interviews Arabella Weir

The famous TV pensioner passes the baton to the Fast Show gal in the relay chat show.

The famous TV pensioner passes the baton to the Fast Show gal in the relay chat show. From March 2008.

TV's famous grumpy pensioner passes the baton to the Fast Show gal in the relay chat show.

Richard Wilson Interviews Arabella Weir.  

Chain Reaction is the tag talk show with a twist where the guest becomes the interviewer in the next show.

Based on the original 1991 BBC Radio 5 programme of the same name, Chain Reaction is a simple idea of big name stars from the world of entertainment interviewing others whose work they appreciate and admire.

Recorded with an audience, the interviews focus on the life, career and the passions of the interviewee but often prove to be as revealing about the interviewer.

Producer: Tilusha Ghelani.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2008.

Chain Reaction: Series 4

Chat show in which last week's interviewee becomes this week's interviewer

Today in Parliament

News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament

Today in Parliament: 17/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Today in Parliament, 17/12/2009

News, views and features on today's stories in Parliament with Mark D'Arcy.

Midnight News

The latest news and weather forecast from BBC Radio 4.

Midnight News: 18/12/2009

18/12/2009

BBC Radio 4 - Midnight News, 18/12/2009

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

Book of the Week

Serialised book readings, featuring works from various genres

Serialised book readings, featuring works of non-fiction, biography, autobiography, travel, diaries, essays, humour and history

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Shipping Forecast

17/12/2009

Genres

Brand

1989: Day by Day

Episode 74: 17th December 1989

Genres

Series

Shipping Forecast

17/12/2009

Genres

Brand

Weather

17/12/2009

Genres

Brand

Weather

17/12/2009

Genres

Brand

Shipping Forecast

18/12/2009

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 LW

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