))
Dr Adam Rutherford and guests illuminate the mysteries and challenge the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.
Download the best satirical comedy from Radio 4, every Friday. Features The News Quiz, The Now Show and Dead Ringers.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of ideas
Historical themes, events and key individuals from Akhenaten to Xenophon.
Seriously is home to the world’s best audio documentaries and podcast recommendations, and host Vanessa Kisuule brings you two fascinating new episodes every week.
Short documentaries and adventures in sound presented by Josie Long.
Witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists' eyes. With Brian Cox and Robin Ince.
David Aaronovitch presents in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.
Science sleuths Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Hannah Fry investigate everyday mysteries sent by listeners.
Tim Harford and the More or Less team try to make sense of the statistics which surround us. From BBC Radio 4
Brighten your week with the latest BBC Radio 4 comedy, introduced by Darren Harriott.
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.
From Altruism to Wittgenstein, philosophers, theories and key themes.
Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.
Programme examining the ideas and forces which shape public policy in Britain and abroad, presented by distinguished writers, journalists and academics.
Women's voices and women's lives - topical conversations to inform, challenge and inspire.
Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future.
Insight, wit and analysis as BBC correspondents, journalists and writers take a closer look at the stories behind the headlines. Presented by Kate Adie and Pascale Harter.
Aleks Krotoski explores the digital world
Scientific principles, theory, and the role of key figures in the advancement of science.
Reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news.
Award-winning current affairs documentary series investigating major issues at home and abroad
Every Friday we bring you a new drama from BBC Radio 4 or Radio 3. Exercise your imagination with some of the best writers and actors on radio. Storytelling at its very best.
The latest news from the world of personal finance plus advice for those trying to make the most of their money.
A panel of horticultural experts answer gardening questions from a live audience. Recorded in a different location each week
New research on how society works
Intelligent and challenging quiz games on BBC Radio 4. Featuring Round Britain Quiz, Counterpoint and Brain of Britain with Quiz Masters including Paul Gambaccini.
Popular culture, poetry, music and visual arts and the roles they play in our society.
Combative, provocative and engaging live debate examining the moral issues behind one of the week's news stories. #moralmaze
Investigating every aspect of the food we eat
Series that demystifies health issues, separating fact from fiction and bringing clarity to conflicting health advice.
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and major breaking news from a global perspective
Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact
A frank look behind the scenes with broadcasters Jane Garvey and Fi Glover as guests from Radio, TV and podcasting share stories they probably shouldn't. Released every Friday.
A weekly reflection on a topical issue.
Clare Balding joins notable and interesting people for a walk through the countryside
Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles
An insight into the character of an influential figure making news headlines
Presenters recommend their favourite podcasts and speak to the people who make them.
Led by James Naughtie, a group of readers talk to acclaimed authors about their best-known novels
Discussion of religious movements and the theories and individuals behind them.
Series exploring the world of words and the ways in which we use them
Your weekly fix of brand new stories written specially by today’s best writers. Brought to you by BBC Radio 4, home of the Modern Short Story.
Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
Insight, analysis and expert debate as key policy makers are challenged on the latest news stories. From BBC Radio 4's Today programme
This podcast features Open Book and A Good Read. Open Book talks to authors about their work. In A Good Read Harriett Gilbert discusses favourite books.
Series focusing on foreign affairs issues
A satirical review of the week's news with Andy Zaltzman and guests Andrew Maxwell, Ayesha Hazarika, Scott Bennett and Kiri Pritchard-McLeanIt's the last in the current series and there are pressing issues on the agenda from climate change to the story of an incorrectly measured man.Written by Andy Zaltzman with additional material from Alice Frase…
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the man who, according to Machiavelli, was the last of the Five Good Emperors. Marcus Aurelius, 121 to 180 AD, has long been known as a model of the philosopher king, a Stoic who, while on military campaigns, compiled ideas on how best to live his life, and how best to rule. These ideas became known as his Meditation…
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the man who, according to Machiavelli, was the last of the Five Good Emperors. Marcus Aurelius, 121 to 180 AD, has long been known as a model of the philosopher king, a Stoic who, while on military campaigns, compiled ideas on how best to live his life, and how best to rule. These ideas became known as his Meditation…
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the man who, according to Machiavelli, was the last of the Five Good Emperors. Marcus Aurelius, 121 to 180 AD, has long been known as a model of the philosopher king, a Stoic who, while on military campaigns, compiled ideas on how best to live his life, and how best to rule. These ideas became known as his Meditation…
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspectiveBy BBC Radio 4
F
Front Row
1
Crime writer Martina Cole has been awarded the Crime Writers' Assocation Diamond Dagger
28:19
28:19
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:19
As she is awarded one of British crime writing’s top accolades, the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger, Samira talks to crime novelist Martina Cole. Hailed as the Queen of Crime Drama, Cole has written 25 novels and sold 10 million books since records began but her work is rarely reviewed - so what’s her secret?Under the road map unveiled by…
S
Six O'Clock News
1
24/02/21 Alex Salmond controversy 'a crisis of credibility' for Holyrood
30:37
30:37
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
30:37
Scottish politicians have warned of the harm being done by the Alex Salmond saga.By BBC Radio 4
Who will take care of your affairs if you can't and how do you go about giving someone the right to manage your money? It can be a big step for everyone involved but setting up a power of attorney is one way to allow someone to control your money and personal needs. One or more people can help with dealing with your bank, paying your bills, and arr…
On Wednesday, ministers have pledged more money towards the catch-up funding for pupils in England, taking the total allocated since last year to £1.7bn. Today programme's Mishal Husain spoke to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, as well as Glynn Potts, head teacher at Oldham's Catholic High School and Lee Elliott Major, Professor of Social Mobi…
It's been announced that around 31,000 women in England will be offered the opportunity to do a smear test at home. It's all part of a trial by the NHS and experts hope it'll be a way to encourage more women to screen for the early warnings of cervical cancer. It's another step in helping women take charge of their own reproductive health. There ar…
24 FEB 21By BBC Radio 4
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspectiveBy BBC Radio 4
I
Inside Health
1
Sexual health, contraception and tackling waiting lists
27:48
27:48
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
27:48
What has the pandemic done to our sex lives? We’ll hear if there’s been a baby boom with Dr Margaret McCartney and Dr Rebecca Thomson-Glover has the lowdown on sexually transmitted infections. We’ll also explore changes to contraception and sexual health services. Meanwhile it feels like we’re on the march to normality, but what about the backlog o…
Millions of us each year pick up our phone and swipe right in the hope of finding ‘the one’, and with the pandemic limiting even the most basic of social interactions, statistics suggest more of us are using apps than ever before. For the majority of us these apps are a useful tool to connect in a busy world, but to criminals they serve as a playgr…
F
Front Row
1
Keats, Bonnie Tyler, Museums and contested heritage
28:37
28:37
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:37
John Keats was just 25 when he died in Rome 200 years ago. To mark the anniversary The Poetry Society has commissioned new work from award-winning contemporary poets responding to Keats’s work, and two of them – Rachael Boast and Will Harris – join us to share their poems and discuss why Keats is still important to contemporary writers 200 hundred …
S
Six O'Clock News
1
23/02/2021 Scotland to ease coronavirus restrictions from 26th April
30:42
30:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
30:42
Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has unveiled her 'cautious' route out of lockdown.By BBC Radio 4
B
Books and Authors
1
A Good Read:Amrou AL-Kadhi & Peter Bazalgette
28:05
28:05
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:05
The writer/drag performer and the television executive talk books with HarriettBy BBC Radio 4
Josie Long presents short documentaries and audio adventures about letter writing - Mother’s Day cards travelling thousands of miles home, love letters that are cherished, hidden and lost, and a one-way correspondence bringing comfort during chemotherapy. Letters to My Dear LoversProduced by Sofia SaldanhaYou Go FirstFeaturing Helene IshikawaProduc…
It was a dark and stormy night. A secret message arrived addressed to Rutherford & Fry from a mysterious woman called Heidi Daugh, who demanded to know: "Why do people like to be scared? For example, going on scary amusement park rides and watching horror movies that make you jump.”What followed was an investigation, which would test our intrepid d…
23 FEB 21By BBC Radio 4
W
Woman's Hour
1
Leadership and the effect of Covid-19 on leadership styles, Sex, Gender & the Census, Breast Reduction
42:34
42:34
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
42:34
Is being a tough guy (or girl) no longer the key to getting on? How important is empathy in leadership now that we know the effect that working from home, juggling child-care, concerns about unemployment and dealing with grief are having on mental health and well being. Can businesses afford to be empathetic? Emma speaks to Chef Angela Hartnett and…
There's a long and winding road before the destination of June 21st when the hope is that most restrictions in England will be lifted. Nick Robinson speaks to the Health Secretary Matt Hancock about the prime minister's plan and with Martha Kearney, puts listener questions to our chief political correspondent Adam Fleming. Our correspondent Jon Kay…
T
The Life Scientific
1
Richard Bentall on the causes of mental ill health
41:01
41:01
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
41:01
For a long time people who heard voices or suffered paranoid delusions were thought to be too crazy to benefit from talking therapies. As a young man working on a prison psychiatric ward, Richard Bentall thought otherwise. Together with a small group of clinical psychologists, he pioneered the use of the talking therapy CBT for psychosis and conduc…
S
Seriously...
1
The Battersea Poltergeist – Ep1: 63 Wycliffe Road
31:04
31:04
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
31:04
63 Wycliffe Road is an ordinary house on a quiet South London street, but in 1956, it becomes famous as the site of an alleged poltergeist. The strange events focus around teenager Shirley Hitchings – but is it a haunting or hoax? Ghost hunter Harold Chibbett arrives to investigate.This series blends drama and documentary to explore an intriguing p…
T
The World Tonight
1
Boris Johnson sets out roadmap to end of lockdown
38:01
38:01
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
38:01
In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspective.By BBC Radio 4
George Orwell chastised the "boiled rabbits of the Left" for disliking what he called "the spiritual need for patriotism". He was writing in 1940 during Hitler's Blitz of London and other British cities. But Orwell also poses a challenge to those on the Left today who find patriotism redolent of flag-waving chauvinism, uncomfortably at odds with th…
F
Front Row
1
Huw Stephens on The Story of Welsh Art, Prequels, reaction to the covid roadmap
28:24
28:24
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:24
As the Prime Minister sets out his roadmap to ending the Covid lockdown we get reaction from Dominique Frazer, Founder of the Boileroom, a music venue in Guildford, and Hamish Moseley, Managing Director of an independent film distribution company Altitude Film Entertainment, and ask if this offers them enough information to start to plan for the ye…
S
Six O'Clock News
1
22/02/2021 PM announces plans for lifting lockdown in England
30:27
30:27
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
30:27
Boris Johnson said that restrictions would be eased in four stages, starting next month.By BBC Radio 4
Aleks Krotoski explores the power of toys and play in shaping our technological future. Apple's Tim Cook has said he began working on the smartwatch aged 5 after seeing the cartoon character Dick Tracy's wristwatch two way radio. So how much of our technological present has been prescribed by future visions of the past? Clearly many innovators imag…
The last semi-final in this year's tournament of the music quiz with Paul GambacciniBy BBC Radio 4
22 FEB 21By BBC Radio 4
W
Woman's Hour
1
Women in Jazz, What women think about during sex, Japan: Women in meetings, One punch assaults.
42:06
42:06
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
42:06
Are women in the UK jazz scene facing discrimination and sexual harassment? Sarah Raine, an academic and anthropologist, carried out research of ten interviews with anonymised female jazz musicians of a “notable level of success” who performed at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival event in 2019. Emma discusses the issues with Sarah, who is an academic at…
Outdoor sport could be permitted from March 29 - but what about gyms?(Image: people doing cardio training on treadmills in gym. Credit: Getty Images)By BBC Radio 4
C
Comedy of the Week
1
Eleanor Tiernan: Success Without a Sex Tape
28:38
28:38
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:38
Stand-up comedy from Eleanor Tiernan, arguing with herself on the merits of releasing a sextape.So you still haven't made your most intimate sexual acts available on pay per view? What?! Not even willing to tweet as much as a naked pic? How old school! In our click-bait, "no such thing as bad publicity" world, one woman dares to stand against the t…
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's journey to head the World Trade Organisation has been particularly note-worthy. She is the first woman and the first african in hold that position. A trained economist, she was at The World Bank during the financial crisis and, as Nigeria’s finance minister, she faced down corruption. But it's not just her career that sets …
S
Six O'Clock News
1
21/02/2021 PM to publish 'roadmap' out of lockdown tomorrow
15:40
15:40
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
15:40
Ministers have been putting the final touches to their plan to ease England's lockdown, ahead of its publication tomorrowBy BBC Radio 4
B
Books and Authors
1
Johny Pitts talks to Caleb Azumah Nelson about Open Water, his hotly anticipated debut
27:43
27:43
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
27:43
Johny Pitts talks to Caleb Azumah Nelson about Open Water, his hotly anticipated debutBy BBC Radio 4
The past 12 months have been tumultuous for us all. But imagine, for one second, how it would have been without a cup of tea? In the first three months of lockdown, we spent an additional £24 million on tea and coffee according to research firm Kantar. And despite tea trends diverging from the traditional cuppa over the years, the UK and Ireland re…
Sophia Loren is the first performer to win the Best Actress Academy Award for a role in a foreign language film. She won in 1962 for her performance in Vittorio De Sica’s film Two Women in which she played a mother trying to protect her 12-year-old daughter in war-torn Italy. In 1991, she picked up a second Oscar when the Academy presented her with…
S
Six O'Clock News
1
20/02/2021 Care homes welcome plans to allow visitors
15:36
15:36
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
15:36
Relatives of care homes residents in England and Scotland have welcomed plans to allow some visitors next month, with strict coronavirus safety measures in place.By BBC Radio 4
W
Woman's Hour
1
Weekend Woman's Hour: Women at breaking point, Revenge porn, The term 'witch'
17:57
17:57
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
17:57
Why the latest lockdown has left so many women feeling at breaking point as they try to juggle home schooling and working from home simultaneously. Annie tells us her story and we hear from Leann Cross the Director of Homestart Greenwich and Sam Smethers the former Chief Exec of the Fawcett Society,. Model and TV personality, Zara McDermott talks a…
The impact long delays have when customers repeatedly call their bank's fraud line. Money Box hears about wait times of hours and hours. Paul Lewis explores why consumers are being asked to pay additional costs on online goods they have bought from overseas and why students are fighting not to pay for rooms they don't use during lockdown. In the po…
20 FEB 21By BBC Radio 4
South Africa’s former President, Jacob Zuma failed to appear at a corruption inquiry this week - an inquiry he himself set up when he was in power. But now he has been called to testify, he has accused the judge of carrying out a personal vendetta against him. The case has split the country’s ruling party, the African National Congress. In the eyes…
M
More or Less: Behind the Stats
1
Covid 19 death count: which countries are faring worst?
8:58
8:58
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
8:58
Are different countries counting deaths from Covid 19 in the same way? Tim Harford finds out if we can trust international comparisons with the data available. We discover Peru currently has the most excess deaths per capita over the course of the pandemic, while Belgium has the highest Covid death count per capita.Tim speaks to Hannah Ritchie from…
T
The World Tonight
1
Harry and Meghan confirm they will not return as working Royals
38:20
38:20
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
38:20
In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspectiveBy BBC Radio 4
As a psychotherapist, Susie Orbach spends her working days helping people find words to express their emotional dilemmas. But the seesaw of the pandemic presents particular challenges. "We are not simply able," she writes, "to breathe into a difficult situation, roll up our psychological sleeves or dig ourselves in without the emotional cost of fee…
F
Front Row
1
The Color Purple, Niven Govinden, U-Roy remembered, John Barber
41:21
41:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
41:21
Leicester Curve’s recent award-winning revival of the musical The Color Purple, based on Alice Walker’s novel, has been reimagined, filmed and is being streamed for audiences. Dreda Say Mitchell and David Benedict review. David Rodigan joins us to celebrate the life of the great Jamaican musician U-Roy, who died recently. He was a master of the toa…
S
Six O'Clock News
1
19/02/2021 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex lose their titles
30:30
30:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
30:30
Prince Harry and Meghan stripped of honorary titles after telling the Queen they will not return as working Royals.By BBC Radio 4
