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National and international news from BBC Radio 4.

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Bishop Sarah Mullally Show more

Howard Shannon meets an 18-year-old man with no background in farming who has just been awarded a council farm tenancy. What are his plans and what does his dad make of it all? Show more

Alison Steadman provides a seasonal offering from Tweet of the Day for the Christmas period. Show more

News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.

Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View of racism in sports crowds, comparing recent incidents in international and domestic football with a notorious 1810 bare knuckle Boxing bout. Show more

In a seasonal edition of Fifty Things That Made The Modern Economy, Tim Harford explores the history of Christmas consumerism across the years and around the world. Show more

The Real Derry Girls, actor and writer Joanna Scanlan in Dracula this Christmas, Christmas Day in Hospital, and the Abba exhibition at the O2. Show more

The daily life of a Victorian country curate. After a restless night of toothache and laudanum-induced dreams, Kilvert goes to a dance where he falls hopelessly in love. Show more

Today it’s assumed that a dad should be there for the birth of his child. But what’s the real impact of birth on dads and should they have more of a choice? Fi Glover investigates. Show more

Can we measure the popularity of the monarchy and of the Queen by representations on stage and screen? From the coronation to The Crown, Professor Kate Williams investigates. Show more

Lyra and Pantalaimon investigate the murdered man’s belongings. However the Magisterium’s agents are already in Oxford. A Book at Bedtime read by Simon Russell Beale. Show more

Christmas can be daunting if you are a single parent. Tell us what your first one was like by emailing YouandYours@bbc.co.uk Show more

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Mon-Thurs: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Sarah Montague. Fri: Analysis of news and current affairs, presented by Mark Mardell.

Andrea Sella, Professor of Chemistry at UCL, picks five elements that enhance our lives. Today it's aluminium, once fashionable as cutlery but now used in cans, bicycles and tinsel Show more

It’s Jim’s big night and Jazzer comes to the rescue. Show more

Ben Crompton's warm hearted, magical, seasonal drama. Show more

Live from the candlelit chapel of King's College, Cambridge. Christmas carols and hymns sung by the world-famous chapel choir. Show more

Janice Turner nominates Enid Blyton for giving her a sense of adventure when she was a child. Show more

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

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Prince Philip joins Royal Family at Sandringham after leaving hospital in London

Kelly Macdonald reads a new Christmas story from Alexander McCall Smith. Show more

Christmas jokes and songs from the Punslinger extraordinaire as he invites the Great British Public to tell him some Christmas stories. Show more

Tom gets suspicious and Joy makes a guest appearance.

The Trial of Christine Keeler screenwriter Amanda Coe; films so bad they're good; writer Diana Evans Show more

The daily life of a Victorian country curate. After a restless night of toothache and laudanum-induced dreams, Kilvert goes to a dance where he falls hopelessly in love. Show more

Nadim Ednan-Laperouse talks to Emily Buchanan about his extraordinary religious experience when his daughter, Natasha, died from an allergic reaction. Show more

A flautist, singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist swap stories about making it in their chosen profession. Can blindness give you an advantage in music? Show more

What letters to Father Christmas tell us about the history of play; why play is important; negotiating the balance between playing outside and video games. Show more

Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View of racism in sports crowds, comparing recent incidents in international and domestic football with a notorious 1810 bare knuckle Boxing bout. Show more

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

Lyra and Pantalaimon investigate the murdered man’s belongings. However the Magisterium’s agents are already in Oxford. A Book at Bedtime read by Simon Russell Beale. Show more

Josie Long presents festive short documentaries for Christmas Eve. Show more

The Mass of the Nativity of the Lord, live from St George's Cathedral Southwark. Celebrant and preacher: The Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Revd John Wilson. Show more

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