Including at 6.15 Pause for Thought.
Hip tunes. Plus guest Michael Aspel.
2/6. Alexei Sayle looks at the history of "alternative" comedy and its lasting impact on Britain's cultural sensibility. Today he explores character comedy, from music hall to Steve Coogan.
1.30 Alan Carr and Friends at the Fringe
2/2. Alan Carr with top comics from this year's Edinburgh International Festival. Repeated from Thursday
(Maconie on the Mercury Prize: p28)
Psychedelia-inspired Brighton rock resident Paul Steel performs a live set. Plus a phone chat with gifted comic actor David Schwimmer (Friends).
With America's Greatest Hits.
Don Letts demystifies Rastafari beyond its everyday links with dreadlocks, Bob Marley and spliffs in a programme exploring the religious movement's impact on Jamaicans following years of British colonial rule and enforced slavery. Letts draws particular attention to its musical voice - roots reggae - which from the 1970s, spoke to Jamaica's poor and oppressed.
Expect a survey of reggae's greatest, from Burning Spear to Black Uhuru, and a look at the music's huge pull here in the UK. Contributors include Max Romeo, Johnny Clarke, Stephen Marley, the Abyssinians, the Mighty Diamonds, Steel Pulse, Matumbi, Ranking Miss P and Rico Rodriguez.
Music choices: page 120
Manic chat.
Podcast: highlights available at www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/brand
Including at 2.30 Pause for Thought.
6.15 as 2.30
