Discover 11,122,490 listings and 293,468 playable programmes from the BBC
15 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Sally Bayley traces the art of diary writing from Samuel Pepys to today's culture of blogging. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Will Self reflects on the unsettling nature of time. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Tom Shakespeare says that increasing wisdom in middle age is some compensation for cognitive decline. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Tom Shakespeare thinks that reformed select committees have revitalised Parliament, but he warns against the temptation to play to the gallery and to cross-examine unfairly. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FM
Available for over a year
Tom Shakespeare says that disabled people's right to independent living is under threat as a result of the imminent winding up of the Independent Living Fund. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Howard Jacobson thinks the current focus of male fashion on the ankle region or 'mankle', revealed beneath skimpy suit trousers, shows men are suffering from a self-image crisis. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Howard Jacobson explains why he dislikes the narcissism of the selfie, 'putting the self at the centre of everything we see.'. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Howard Jacobson explains why he prefers art to ideology, especially at election time. 'I consider myself fortunate enough to have been brought up in a state of dogma-free grace.'. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
A weekly reflection on a topical issue. David Cannadine compares the enthusiasm for national commemorations in Britain with the more understated syle in the United States. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
A weekly reflection on a topical issue. American writer PJ O'Rourke gives his view of the UK election. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
David Cannadine says that when Barack Obama's critics accuse him of acting like a king, they're forgetting the origins of the office of president. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
A weekly reflection on a topical issue. AL Kennedy says the election results in Scotland reflect a surge in political engagement. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Adam Gopnik concludes there are no indispensable people in any family or organisation after finding himself supplanted as his family's waffle maker while he was away on a trip. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
A weekly reflection on a topical issue. Adam Gopnik's experience of writing a libretto casts light on the mysterious relationship between words and music. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
A weekly reflection on a topical issue. Adam Gopnik's ten-year family reunion brings into focus the passage of time. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Adam Gopnik wonders why religious people are feeling 'persecuted' following the US Supreme Court ruling making same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Adam Gopnik likes reading collections of private letters but is offended by glee over the publishing of private emails. What should be the limits of privacy in the internet age? Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Adam Gopnik explains why the English are better at watching football than playing it and why the Americans are better at talking about democracy than practising it. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
Adam Gopnik draws a poignant lesson on the nature of true love from the eyesore of love locks in Paris. Show more
10 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Available for over a year
David Cannadine reflects on the history of the Queen's Christmas message and how what had begun as a 'one-off innovation' soon became an 'invented tradition'. Show more
