'The first bite is with the eye.' Writer Pete Brown investigates the perils of seeking food perfection, including the rise and fall of the Red Delicious, America's favourite apple. Show more

A visit to a fruit industry trade show leaves Pete Brown longing for the natural rhythms of an orchard; seeking inspiration, he heads to Somerset to pick apples in Avalon Orchard. Show more

Pete Brown discovers the importance of winter dormancy in the life cycle of an apple tree then learns the careful art of tree pruning in a Herefordshire orchard. Show more

Pete Brown follows the cycle of an orchard's year to illuminate the hand-in-hand history of humanity and our most familiar fruit: the apple. Show more

4 Extra Debut. Composer Philip Glass recalls a happy Baltimore childhood and acceptance to Chicago University at only 15. Read by Kerry Shale. Show more

Composer Philip Glass studies music at Juilliard in New York, whilst working at a steel mill for funds. Read by Kerry Shale. Show more

Glass spends the mid-1960s in Paris studying with acclaimed teacher of musical composition Nadia Boulanger. Read by Kerry Shale. Show more

After decades of juggling jobs to fund Glass’s career, a breakthrough comes with ‘Einstein on the Beach’. Read by Kerry Shale. Show more

A new avenue for Glass’s music composition when writing the score for a visionary 1982 documentary. Concluded by Kerry Shale. Show more

Tenor Ian Bostridge examines Schubert's enigmatic masterpiece Winterreise, or Winter's Journey; considered one of classical music's most powerful compositions. Show more

Ian Bostridge explores Schubert's masterpiece Winterreise. He focuses on Einsamkiet (Loneliness), Die Post (The Post) and Der greise Kopf (The Old Man's Head). Show more

'I'm at an end with all dreams/why should I linger among the sleepers?' Ian Bostridge discovers how Schubert challenged social and political order in his masterpiece, Winterreise. Show more

Wrestling with notions of home and belonging, and grief for the untimely death of his father, Malachy Tallack sets out from Shetland on a journey around the sixtieth parallel. Show more

In search of wilderness and 'otherness', Malachy Tallack's journey around the sixtieth parallel takes him to Alaska, America's self-proclaimed 'Last Frontier'. Show more

Ian Bostridge explores the political context of Schubert's song-cycle masterpiece Winterreise. He focuses on song five 'The Linden Tree' and song ten 'Rest'. Show more

Literature, religion and the hurdy-gurdy man. Ian Bostridge concludes his exploration of Franz Schubert's existential song-cycle masterpiece, Winterreise (Winter's Journey). Show more

Journalist Rose George boards a freighter bound for Singapore to shine a light on the massive but invisible global shipping industry. Show more

The freighter Kendal sails into dangerous waters, as Rose George comes face to face with the scourge of modern shipping - piracy. Show more

4 Extra Debut. Helena Attlee’s journey through Italy and why citrus holds a special place in the Italian imagination. Read by Francesca Dymond. From April 2014. Show more

In the bergamot groves of Calabria citrus oil is harvested for use in perfume and Earl Grey tea. Read by Francesca Dymond. Show more