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  1. '... during Eclipse phases things will seem a little dimmer ...' (my paraphrase)

    [ light received in UK path 10% but eyes/vision-system will perceive it as 50% ]

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCPMProgramme

  2. '... during Eclipse phases things will seem a little dimmer ...' (my paraphrase)

    [ light received in UK path 10% but eyes/vision-system will perceive it as 50% ]

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCPMProgramme

  3. '... during Eclipse phases things will seem a little dimmer ...' (my paraphrase)

    [ light received in UK path 10% but eyes/vision-system will perceive it as 50% ]

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCPMProgramme

  4. '... during Eclipse phases things will seem a little dimmer ...' (my paraphrase)

    [ light received in UK path 10% but eyes/vision-system will perceive it as 50% ]

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCPMProgramme

  5. '... during Eclipse phases things will seem a little dimmer ...' (my paraphrase)

    [ light received in UK path 10% but eyes/vision-system will perceive it as 50% ]

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCPMProgramme

  6. The midnight BBCNews on Radio4 finally got to the "releasing more dangerous prisoners than [those convicted of manslaughter]" argument.

    #BBCRadio4 #ukpol

  7. The midnight BBCNews on Radio4 finally got to the "releasing more dangerous prisoners than [those convicted of manslaughter]" argument.

    #BBCRadio4 #ukpol

  8. The midnight BBCNews on Radio4 finally got to the "releasing more dangerous prisoners than [those convicted of manslaughter]" argument.

    #BBCRadio4 #ukpol

  9. The midnight BBCNews on Radio4 finally got to the "releasing more dangerous prisoners than [those convicted of manslaughter]" argument.

    #BBCRadio4 #ukpol

  10. The midnight BBCNews on Radio4 finally got to the "releasing more dangerous prisoners than [those convicted of manslaughter]" argument.

    #BBCRadio4 #ukpol

  11. (BBCDrama have been doing some adaptations of centuries old works that actually have very contemporary issues -- this one is like listening to scambuster cautionary tales)

    Episode Six
    The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
    Episode 6 of 10

    A classic comic novel from the 18th century.

    Life is good to the Reverend Dr Primrose, in his idyllic country parsonage, surrounded by his beloved family. But then his world unravels in a series of misfortunes and calamities.

    Episode 6
    Dr Primrose is briefly reunited with his son George, before continuing his search for Olivia.

    Oliver Goldsmith was born in Ireland in 1728. The Vicar of Wakefield was published in 1766. An essayist, dramatist and poet, his other works include the play She Stoops To Conquer and the poem An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog. He died in 1774.

    Writer: Oliver Goldsmith
    Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
    Reader: Edmund Kingsley
    Producer: Jeremy Osborne

    A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BookAtBedtime #BBCBookAtBedtime

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300l6

  12. (BBCDrama have been doing some adaptations of centuries old works that actually have very contemporary issues -- this one is like listening to scambuster cautionary tales)

    Episode Six
    The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
    Episode 6 of 10

    A classic comic novel from the 18th century.

    Life is good to the Reverend Dr Primrose, in his idyllic country parsonage, surrounded by his beloved family. But then his world unravels in a series of misfortunes and calamities.

    Episode 6
    Dr Primrose is briefly reunited with his son George, before continuing his search for Olivia.

    Oliver Goldsmith was born in Ireland in 1728. The Vicar of Wakefield was published in 1766. An essayist, dramatist and poet, his other works include the play She Stoops To Conquer and the poem An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog. He died in 1774.

    Writer: Oliver Goldsmith
    Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
    Reader: Edmund Kingsley
    Producer: Jeremy Osborne

    A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BookAtBedtime #BBCBookAtBedtime

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300l6

  13. (BBCDrama have been doing some adaptations of centuries old works that actually have very contemporary issues -- this one is like listening to scambuster cautionary tales)

    Episode Six
    The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
    Episode 6 of 10

    A classic comic novel from the 18th century.

    Life is good to the Reverend Dr Primrose, in his idyllic country parsonage, surrounded by his beloved family. But then his world unravels in a series of misfortunes and calamities.

    Episode 6
    Dr Primrose is briefly reunited with his son George, before continuing his search for Olivia.

    Oliver Goldsmith was born in Ireland in 1728. The Vicar of Wakefield was published in 1766. An essayist, dramatist and poet, his other works include the play She Stoops To Conquer and the poem An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog. He died in 1774.

    Writer: Oliver Goldsmith
    Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
    Reader: Edmund Kingsley
    Producer: Jeremy Osborne

    A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BookAtBedtime #BBCBookAtBedtime

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300l6

  14. (BBCDrama have been doing some adaptations of centuries old works that actually have very contemporary issues -- this one is like listening to scambuster cautionary tales)

    Episode Six
    The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
    Episode 6 of 10

    A classic comic novel from the 18th century.

    Life is good to the Reverend Dr Primrose, in his idyllic country parsonage, surrounded by his beloved family. But then his world unravels in a series of misfortunes and calamities.

    Episode 6
    Dr Primrose is briefly reunited with his son George, before continuing his search for Olivia.

    Oliver Goldsmith was born in Ireland in 1728. The Vicar of Wakefield was published in 1766. An essayist, dramatist and poet, his other works include the play She Stoops To Conquer and the poem An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog. He died in 1774.

    Writer: Oliver Goldsmith
    Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
    Reader: Edmund Kingsley
    Producer: Jeremy Osborne

    A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BookAtBedtime #BBCBookAtBedtime

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300l6

  15. (BBCDrama have been doing some adaptations of centuries old works that actually have very contemporary issues -- this one is like listening to scambuster cautionary tales)

    Episode Six
    The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith
    Episode 6 of 10

    A classic comic novel from the 18th century.

    Life is good to the Reverend Dr Primrose, in his idyllic country parsonage, surrounded by his beloved family. But then his world unravels in a series of misfortunes and calamities.

    Episode 6
    Dr Primrose is briefly reunited with his son George, before continuing his search for Olivia.

    Oliver Goldsmith was born in Ireland in 1728. The Vicar of Wakefield was published in 1766. An essayist, dramatist and poet, his other works include the play She Stoops To Conquer and the poem An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog. He died in 1774.

    Writer: Oliver Goldsmith
    Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
    Reader: Edmund Kingsley
    Producer: Jeremy Osborne

    A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BookAtBedtime #BBCBookAtBedtime

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300l6

  16. Writing Our Mothers
    Archive on 4

    ‘Mothers have such a weight of idealisation and expectation landed upon their bodies and their minds and what women writers can do is to take that apart and explore
    its underbelly,’ says feminist writer Jacqueline Rose.

    Whether worshipped or vilified, treated as lifetime confidantes or rarely trusted, the mothers we meet when we write them are re-inventions. Some may be closer to the
    truth than others. Many of them will have roots in the life experiences of the daughter-writer. Virginia Woolf, who lost her mother at the age of 13, said she was obsessed with writing her mother. Eventually she also argued that it was ‘the occupation of the woman writer to kill’ what she called ‘The Angel in the House’ – the perfect, self-sacrificing mother – who may well have been her own maternal influence.

    Drawing on interviews with Maya Angelou, we hear how for her to write her mother was to ‘write about a hurricane in its perfect power’. She describes how the influence of a mother who ‘abandoned’ her as a child forced her most urgent examinations of class, race and, importantly love. In another frank interview with Marguerite Duras from 1968, she describes writing as a search for connection with her raging and ‘mad’ mother. For Sylvia Plath, the process of writing about becoming a mother herself in the 1950s produced work of a psychic intensity rarely seen before.

    What the archive ultimately reveals is that a mother, whether present or absent, loving or cruel, might be as formative an influence on a writer’s work, as in life. ‘When I read about motherhood, I want to be shaken loose from whatever limitations I have when I think about what that means,’ says the writer Siri Hustvedt.

    With contributions from Susie Orbach, Jacqueline Rose, Kit de Waal and Siri Hustvedt, and narration from Amaka Okafor.

    Produced by Sarah Cuddon
    A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

    Archive sources:
    Desert Island Discs with Arundhati Roy (2017)
    A Chance to Meet ... Edna O'Brien (1971)
    Sylvia Plath, Peter Orr interview (1962)
    Audre Lorde, Pacifica Radio Archives and Academy of American Poets www.poets.org
    Maya Angelou, BBC News (1985)
    Jeannette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (BBC, 1990) and Face To Face (BBC, 1994)
    Marguerite Duras, Worn Out With Desire To Write (1985)
    Toni Morrison, Brief Encounters (BBC, 2001)
    Jackie Kay, Book of the Week (The Waters Company for BBC R4, 2015)
    Elena Ferrante, Lying Lives of Adults (BBC, 2020)


    Available now

    57 minutes

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCArchiveOn4

    #ArundhatiRoy #EdnaOBrien
    #SylviaPlath #AudreLorde
    #MayaAngelou #JeannetteWinterson
    #MargueriteDuras #ToniMorrison
    #JackieKay #ElenaFerrante

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001k7s1

  17. Writing Our Mothers
    Archive on 4

    ‘Mothers have such a weight of idealisation and expectation landed upon their bodies and their minds and what women writers can do is to take that apart and explore
    its underbelly,’ says feminist writer Jacqueline Rose.

    Whether worshipped or vilified, treated as lifetime confidantes or rarely trusted, the mothers we meet when we write them are re-inventions. Some may be closer to the
    truth than others. Many of them will have roots in the life experiences of the daughter-writer. Virginia Woolf, who lost her mother at the age of 13, said she was obsessed with writing her mother. Eventually she also argued that it was ‘the occupation of the woman writer to kill’ what she called ‘The Angel in the House’ – the perfect, self-sacrificing mother – who may well have been her own maternal influence.

    Drawing on interviews with Maya Angelou, we hear how for her to write her mother was to ‘write about a hurricane in its perfect power’. She describes how the influence of a mother who ‘abandoned’ her as a child forced her most urgent examinations of class, race and, importantly love. In another frank interview with Marguerite Duras from 1968, she describes writing as a search for connection with her raging and ‘mad’ mother. For Sylvia Plath, the process of writing about becoming a mother herself in the 1950s produced work of a psychic intensity rarely seen before.

    What the archive ultimately reveals is that a mother, whether present or absent, loving or cruel, might be as formative an influence on a writer’s work, as in life. ‘When I read about motherhood, I want to be shaken loose from whatever limitations I have when I think about what that means,’ says the writer Siri Hustvedt.

    With contributions from Susie Orbach, Jacqueline Rose, Kit de Waal and Siri Hustvedt, and narration from Amaka Okafor.

    Produced by Sarah Cuddon
    A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

    Archive sources:
    Desert Island Discs with Arundhati Roy (2017)
    A Chance to Meet ... Edna O'Brien (1971)
    Sylvia Plath, Peter Orr interview (1962)
    Audre Lorde, Pacifica Radio Archives and Academy of American Poets www.poets.org
    Maya Angelou, BBC News (1985)
    Jeannette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (BBC, 1990) and Face To Face (BBC, 1994)
    Marguerite Duras, Worn Out With Desire To Write (1985)
    Toni Morrison, Brief Encounters (BBC, 2001)
    Jackie Kay, Book of the Week (The Waters Company for BBC R4, 2015)
    Elena Ferrante, Lying Lives of Adults (BBC, 2020)


    Available now

    57 minutes

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCArchiveOn4

    #ArundhatiRoy #EdnaOBrien
    #SylviaPlath #AudreLorde
    #MayaAngelou #JeannetteWinterson
    #MargueriteDuras #ToniMorrison
    #JackieKay #ElenaFerrante

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001k7s1

  18. Writing Our Mothers
    Archive on 4

    ‘Mothers have such a weight of idealisation and expectation landed upon their bodies and their minds and what women writers can do is to take that apart and explore
    its underbelly,’ says feminist writer Jacqueline Rose.

    Whether worshipped or vilified, treated as lifetime confidantes or rarely trusted, the mothers we meet when we write them are re-inventions. Some may be closer to the
    truth than others. Many of them will have roots in the life experiences of the daughter-writer. Virginia Woolf, who lost her mother at the age of 13, said she was obsessed with writing her mother. Eventually she also argued that it was ‘the occupation of the woman writer to kill’ what she called ‘The Angel in the House’ – the perfect, self-sacrificing mother – who may well have been her own maternal influence.

    Drawing on interviews with Maya Angelou, we hear how for her to write her mother was to ‘write about a hurricane in its perfect power’. She describes how the influence of a mother who ‘abandoned’ her as a child forced her most urgent examinations of class, race and, importantly love. In another frank interview with Marguerite Duras from 1968, she describes writing as a search for connection with her raging and ‘mad’ mother. For Sylvia Plath, the process of writing about becoming a mother herself in the 1950s produced work of a psychic intensity rarely seen before.

    What the archive ultimately reveals is that a mother, whether present or absent, loving or cruel, might be as formative an influence on a writer’s work, as in life. ‘When I read about motherhood, I want to be shaken loose from whatever limitations I have when I think about what that means,’ says the writer Siri Hustvedt.

    With contributions from Susie Orbach, Jacqueline Rose, Kit de Waal and Siri Hustvedt, and narration from Amaka Okafor.

    Produced by Sarah Cuddon
    A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

    Archive sources:
    Desert Island Discs with Arundhati Roy (2017)
    A Chance to Meet ... Edna O'Brien (1971)
    Sylvia Plath, Peter Orr interview (1962)
    Audre Lorde, Pacifica Radio Archives and Academy of American Poets www.poets.org
    Maya Angelou, BBC News (1985)
    Jeannette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (BBC, 1990) and Face To Face (BBC, 1994)
    Marguerite Duras, Worn Out With Desire To Write (1985)
    Toni Morrison, Brief Encounters (BBC, 2001)
    Jackie Kay, Book of the Week (The Waters Company for BBC R4, 2015)
    Elena Ferrante, Lying Lives of Adults (BBC, 2020)


    Available now

    57 minutes

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCArchiveOn4

    #ArundhatiRoy #EdnaOBrien
    #SylviaPlath #AudreLorde
    #MayaAngelou #JeannetteWinterson
    #MargueriteDuras #ToniMorrison
    #JackieKay #ElenaFerrante

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001k7s1

  19. Writing Our Mothers
    Archive on 4

    ‘Mothers have such a weight of idealisation and expectation landed upon their bodies and their minds and what women writers can do is to take that apart and explore
    its underbelly,’ says feminist writer Jacqueline Rose.

    Whether worshipped or vilified, treated as lifetime confidantes or rarely trusted, the mothers we meet when we write them are re-inventions. Some may be closer to the
    truth than others. Many of them will have roots in the life experiences of the daughter-writer. Virginia Woolf, who lost her mother at the age of 13, said she was obsessed with writing her mother. Eventually she also argued that it was ‘the occupation of the woman writer to kill’ what she called ‘The Angel in the House’ – the perfect, self-sacrificing mother – who may well have been her own maternal influence.

    Drawing on interviews with Maya Angelou, we hear how for her to write her mother was to ‘write about a hurricane in its perfect power’. She describes how the influence of a mother who ‘abandoned’ her as a child forced her most urgent examinations of class, race and, importantly love. In another frank interview with Marguerite Duras from 1968, she describes writing as a search for connection with her raging and ‘mad’ mother. For Sylvia Plath, the process of writing about becoming a mother herself in the 1950s produced work of a psychic intensity rarely seen before.

    What the archive ultimately reveals is that a mother, whether present or absent, loving or cruel, might be as formative an influence on a writer’s work, as in life. ‘When I read about motherhood, I want to be shaken loose from whatever limitations I have when I think about what that means,’ says the writer Siri Hustvedt.

    With contributions from Susie Orbach, Jacqueline Rose, Kit de Waal and Siri Hustvedt, and narration from Amaka Okafor.

    Produced by Sarah Cuddon
    A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

    Archive sources:
    Desert Island Discs with Arundhati Roy (2017)
    A Chance to Meet ... Edna O'Brien (1971)
    Sylvia Plath, Peter Orr interview (1962)
    Audre Lorde, Pacifica Radio Archives and Academy of American Poets www.poets.org
    Maya Angelou, BBC News (1985)
    Jeannette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (BBC, 1990) and Face To Face (BBC, 1994)
    Marguerite Duras, Worn Out With Desire To Write (1985)
    Toni Morrison, Brief Encounters (BBC, 2001)
    Jackie Kay, Book of the Week (The Waters Company for BBC R4, 2015)
    Elena Ferrante, Lying Lives of Adults (BBC, 2020)


    Available now

    57 minutes

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCArchiveOn4

    #ArundhatiRoy #EdnaOBrien
    #SylviaPlath #AudreLorde
    #MayaAngelou #JeannetteWinterson
    #MargueriteDuras #ToniMorrison
    #JackieKay #ElenaFerrante

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001k7s1

  20. Writing Our Mothers
    Archive on 4

    ‘Mothers have such a weight of idealisation and expectation landed upon their bodies and their minds and what women writers can do is to take that apart and explore
    its underbelly,’ says feminist writer Jacqueline Rose.

    Whether worshipped or vilified, treated as lifetime confidantes or rarely trusted, the mothers we meet when we write them are re-inventions. Some may be closer to the
    truth than others. Many of them will have roots in the life experiences of the daughter-writer. Virginia Woolf, who lost her mother at the age of 13, said she was obsessed with writing her mother. Eventually she also argued that it was ‘the occupation of the woman writer to kill’ what she called ‘The Angel in the House’ – the perfect, self-sacrificing mother – who may well have been her own maternal influence.

    Drawing on interviews with Maya Angelou, we hear how for her to write her mother was to ‘write about a hurricane in its perfect power’. She describes how the influence of a mother who ‘abandoned’ her as a child forced her most urgent examinations of class, race and, importantly love. In another frank interview with Marguerite Duras from 1968, she describes writing as a search for connection with her raging and ‘mad’ mother. For Sylvia Plath, the process of writing about becoming a mother herself in the 1950s produced work of a psychic intensity rarely seen before.

    What the archive ultimately reveals is that a mother, whether present or absent, loving or cruel, might be as formative an influence on a writer’s work, as in life. ‘When I read about motherhood, I want to be shaken loose from whatever limitations I have when I think about what that means,’ says the writer Siri Hustvedt.

    With contributions from Susie Orbach, Jacqueline Rose, Kit de Waal and Siri Hustvedt, and narration from Amaka Okafor.

    Produced by Sarah Cuddon
    A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

    Archive sources:
    Desert Island Discs with Arundhati Roy (2017)
    A Chance to Meet ... Edna O'Brien (1971)
    Sylvia Plath, Peter Orr interview (1962)
    Audre Lorde, Pacifica Radio Archives and Academy of American Poets www.poets.org
    Maya Angelou, BBC News (1985)
    Jeannette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (BBC, 1990) and Face To Face (BBC, 1994)
    Marguerite Duras, Worn Out With Desire To Write (1985)
    Toni Morrison, Brief Encounters (BBC, 2001)
    Jackie Kay, Book of the Week (The Waters Company for BBC R4, 2015)
    Elena Ferrante, Lying Lives of Adults (BBC, 2020)


    Available now

    57 minutes

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCArchiveOn4

    #ArundhatiRoy #EdnaOBrien
    #SylviaPlath #AudreLorde
    #MayaAngelou #JeannetteWinterson
    #MargueriteDuras #ToniMorrison
    #JackieKay #ElenaFerrante

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001k7s1

  21. Margot Fonteyn

    Lauren Cuthbertson on Margot Fonteyn
    Great Lives

    Margot Fonteyn was an icon: a ballerina who helped build and indeed embodied the traditional image of a dancer, just as the artform was finding its feet on the British cultural scene.

    From humble beginnings she became an international star, enjoying a dazzling career with the Royal Ballet, a glamorous social life as a diplomat’s wife, and an electric dancing partnership with Rudolf Nureyev. But it was also a life infused with disappointment, controversy and heartbreak; much of which seems to have been hidden behind Margot's smiling public facade.

    Dedicated listeners might remember that Margot Fonteyn has been the subject of a previous episode and although we rarely revisit past greats, when we do it’s an opportunity to look afresh and see more. So today, with the assistance of nominating guest Lauren Cuthbertson - herself a dancer who has been with the Royal Ballet for more than 20 years - we take a closer look at the highs and lows of Margot's life.

    Joining Matthew and Lauren to share their expert perspectives are Rosie Gerhard, a Lecturer in Dance Studies at the Royal Academy of Dance and creator of the blog 'British Ballet Now & Then'; and the film director and author Tony Palmer, who directed the 2005 film ‘Margot’.

    Presented by Matthew Parris and produced for BBC Studios Audio by Lucy Taylor.

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    28 minutes


    Last on

    Today
    23:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCGreatLives #MargotFonteyn #MatthewParris

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00268nb

  22. Margot Fonteyn

    Lauren Cuthbertson on Margot Fonteyn
    Great Lives

    Margot Fonteyn was an icon: a ballerina who helped build and indeed embodied the traditional image of a dancer, just as the artform was finding its feet on the British cultural scene.

    From humble beginnings she became an international star, enjoying a dazzling career with the Royal Ballet, a glamorous social life as a diplomat’s wife, and an electric dancing partnership with Rudolf Nureyev. But it was also a life infused with disappointment, controversy and heartbreak; much of which seems to have been hidden behind Margot's smiling public facade.

    Dedicated listeners might remember that Margot Fonteyn has been the subject of a previous episode and although we rarely revisit past greats, when we do it’s an opportunity to look afresh and see more. So today, with the assistance of nominating guest Lauren Cuthbertson - herself a dancer who has been with the Royal Ballet for more than 20 years - we take a closer look at the highs and lows of Margot's life.

    Joining Matthew and Lauren to share their expert perspectives are Rosie Gerhard, a Lecturer in Dance Studies at the Royal Academy of Dance and creator of the blog 'British Ballet Now & Then'; and the film director and author Tony Palmer, who directed the 2005 film ‘Margot’.

    Presented by Matthew Parris and produced for BBC Studios Audio by Lucy Taylor.

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    28 minutes


    Last on

    Today
    23:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCGreatLives #MargotFonteyn #MatthewParris

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00268nb

  23. Margot Fonteyn

    Lauren Cuthbertson on Margot Fonteyn
    Great Lives

    Margot Fonteyn was an icon: a ballerina who helped build and indeed embodied the traditional image of a dancer, just as the artform was finding its feet on the British cultural scene.

    From humble beginnings she became an international star, enjoying a dazzling career with the Royal Ballet, a glamorous social life as a diplomat’s wife, and an electric dancing partnership with Rudolf Nureyev. But it was also a life infused with disappointment, controversy and heartbreak; much of which seems to have been hidden behind Margot's smiling public facade.

    Dedicated listeners might remember that Margot Fonteyn has been the subject of a previous episode and although we rarely revisit past greats, when we do it’s an opportunity to look afresh and see more. So today, with the assistance of nominating guest Lauren Cuthbertson - herself a dancer who has been with the Royal Ballet for more than 20 years - we take a closer look at the highs and lows of Margot's life.

    Joining Matthew and Lauren to share their expert perspectives are Rosie Gerhard, a Lecturer in Dance Studies at the Royal Academy of Dance and creator of the blog 'British Ballet Now & Then'; and the film director and author Tony Palmer, who directed the 2005 film ‘Margot’.

    Presented by Matthew Parris and produced for BBC Studios Audio by Lucy Taylor.

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    28 minutes


    Last on

    Today
    23:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCGreatLives #MargotFonteyn #MatthewParris

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00268nb

  24. Margot Fonteyn

    Lauren Cuthbertson on Margot Fonteyn
    Great Lives

    Margot Fonteyn was an icon: a ballerina who helped build and indeed embodied the traditional image of a dancer, just as the artform was finding its feet on the British cultural scene.

    From humble beginnings she became an international star, enjoying a dazzling career with the Royal Ballet, a glamorous social life as a diplomat’s wife, and an electric dancing partnership with Rudolf Nureyev. But it was also a life infused with disappointment, controversy and heartbreak; much of which seems to have been hidden behind Margot's smiling public facade.

    Dedicated listeners might remember that Margot Fonteyn has been the subject of a previous episode and although we rarely revisit past greats, when we do it’s an opportunity to look afresh and see more. So today, with the assistance of nominating guest Lauren Cuthbertson - herself a dancer who has been with the Royal Ballet for more than 20 years - we take a closer look at the highs and lows of Margot's life.

    Joining Matthew and Lauren to share their expert perspectives are Rosie Gerhard, a Lecturer in Dance Studies at the Royal Academy of Dance and creator of the blog 'British Ballet Now & Then'; and the film director and author Tony Palmer, who directed the 2005 film ‘Margot’.

    Presented by Matthew Parris and produced for BBC Studios Audio by Lucy Taylor.

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    28 minutes


    Last on

    Today
    23:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCGreatLives #MargotFonteyn #MatthewParris

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00268nb

  25. Margot Fonteyn

    Lauren Cuthbertson on Margot Fonteyn
    Great Lives

    Margot Fonteyn was an icon: a ballerina who helped build and indeed embodied the traditional image of a dancer, just as the artform was finding its feet on the British cultural scene.

    From humble beginnings she became an international star, enjoying a dazzling career with the Royal Ballet, a glamorous social life as a diplomat’s wife, and an electric dancing partnership with Rudolf Nureyev. But it was also a life infused with disappointment, controversy and heartbreak; much of which seems to have been hidden behind Margot's smiling public facade.

    Dedicated listeners might remember that Margot Fonteyn has been the subject of a previous episode and although we rarely revisit past greats, when we do it’s an opportunity to look afresh and see more. So today, with the assistance of nominating guest Lauren Cuthbertson - herself a dancer who has been with the Royal Ballet for more than 20 years - we take a closer look at the highs and lows of Margot's life.

    Joining Matthew and Lauren to share their expert perspectives are Rosie Gerhard, a Lecturer in Dance Studies at the Royal Academy of Dance and creator of the blog 'British Ballet Now & Then'; and the film director and author Tony Palmer, who directed the 2005 film ‘Margot’.

    Presented by Matthew Parris and produced for BBC Studios Audio by Lucy Taylor.

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    28 minutes


    Last on

    Today
    23:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCGreatLives #MargotFonteyn #MatthewParris

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00268nb

  26. Brendan Behan #BrendanBehan

    It Must Be Wonderful to Be Free
    Archive on 4

    Irish novelist Megan Nolan presents an intimate study of the late playwright, singer and novelist, Brendan Behan. She reveals a poetic socialist, a fiercely anti-establishment artist concerned with class solidarity, outcasts, liberation, self-revelation and empathy. And she trashes the trivial, stereotyped memory of Behan, as Ireland’s most famous drunk.

    She tells his story through the lens of his most prolific years, 1954 - 1958. It was a time of explosive creativity for Behan, which saw the release of three of his most remarkable works - his plays The Quare Fellow and The Hostage, and his work of auto-fiction Borstal Boy. She hears about his determination in these years to recruit language rather than the militarised violence of his youth as a means to valorise life, dignity, humour and queer love, and to advance his vision for his country, forged in his working class roots.

    His words paint a picture of a complex character. An intelligent, anti-establishment writer, an Irish beatnik whose talents “would make Jack Kerouac weep with terror” and who even Bob Dylan couldn’t find the courage to “touch the hem of his garment”. A man who met a tragic end, addicted to alcohol and wielding his fame and power in cruel ways.

    Marking the 60th anniversary of his death, Megan hears from historians, writers and members of Behan’s family, as well as from the rich archive of the man himself.

    Producer: Cat Gough
    Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson

    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    With thanks to Iris Klein and Semiotexte for providing archival interview recordings with Brendan Behan made by journalist Sylvere Lotringer in Paris in 1961

    Show less

    Available now

    57 minutes

    On air

    Today
    22:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCArchiveOn4 #MeganNolan

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001xfd0

  27. Brendan Behan #BrendanBehan

    It Must Be Wonderful to Be Free
    Archive on 4

    Irish novelist Megan Nolan presents an intimate study of the late playwright, singer and novelist, Brendan Behan. She reveals a poetic socialist, a fiercely anti-establishment artist concerned with class solidarity, outcasts, liberation, self-revelation and empathy. And she trashes the trivial, stereotyped memory of Behan, as Ireland’s most famous drunk.

    She tells his story through the lens of his most prolific years, 1954 - 1958. It was a time of explosive creativity for Behan, which saw the release of three of his most remarkable works - his plays The Quare Fellow and The Hostage, and his work of auto-fiction Borstal Boy. She hears about his determination in these years to recruit language rather than the militarised violence of his youth as a means to valorise life, dignity, humour and queer love, and to advance his vision for his country, forged in his working class roots.

    His words paint a picture of a complex character. An intelligent, anti-establishment writer, an Irish beatnik whose talents “would make Jack Kerouac weep with terror” and who even Bob Dylan couldn’t find the courage to “touch the hem of his garment”. A man who met a tragic end, addicted to alcohol and wielding his fame and power in cruel ways.

    Marking the 60th anniversary of his death, Megan hears from historians, writers and members of Behan’s family, as well as from the rich archive of the man himself.

    Producer: Cat Gough
    Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson

    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    With thanks to Iris Klein and Semiotexte for providing archival interview recordings with Brendan Behan made by journalist Sylvere Lotringer in Paris in 1961

    Show less

    Available now

    57 minutes

    On air

    Today
    22:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCArchiveOn4 #MeganNolan

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001xfd0

  28. Brendan Behan #BrendanBehan

    It Must Be Wonderful to Be Free
    Archive on 4

    Irish novelist Megan Nolan presents an intimate study of the late playwright, singer and novelist, Brendan Behan. She reveals a poetic socialist, a fiercely anti-establishment artist concerned with class solidarity, outcasts, liberation, self-revelation and empathy. And she trashes the trivial, stereotyped memory of Behan, as Ireland’s most famous drunk.

    She tells his story through the lens of his most prolific years, 1954 - 1958. It was a time of explosive creativity for Behan, which saw the release of three of his most remarkable works - his plays The Quare Fellow and The Hostage, and his work of auto-fiction Borstal Boy. She hears about his determination in these years to recruit language rather than the militarised violence of his youth as a means to valorise life, dignity, humour and queer love, and to advance his vision for his country, forged in his working class roots.

    His words paint a picture of a complex character. An intelligent, anti-establishment writer, an Irish beatnik whose talents “would make Jack Kerouac weep with terror” and who even Bob Dylan couldn’t find the courage to “touch the hem of his garment”. A man who met a tragic end, addicted to alcohol and wielding his fame and power in cruel ways.

    Marking the 60th anniversary of his death, Megan hears from historians, writers and members of Behan’s family, as well as from the rich archive of the man himself.

    Producer: Cat Gough
    Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson

    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    With thanks to Iris Klein and Semiotexte for providing archival interview recordings with Brendan Behan made by journalist Sylvere Lotringer in Paris in 1961

    Show less

    Available now

    57 minutes

    On air

    Today
    22:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCArchiveOn4 #MeganNolan

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001xfd0

  29. Brendan Behan #BrendanBehan

    It Must Be Wonderful to Be Free
    Archive on 4

    Irish novelist Megan Nolan presents an intimate study of the late playwright, singer and novelist, Brendan Behan. She reveals a poetic socialist, a fiercely anti-establishment artist concerned with class solidarity, outcasts, liberation, self-revelation and empathy. And she trashes the trivial, stereotyped memory of Behan, as Ireland’s most famous drunk.

    She tells his story through the lens of his most prolific years, 1954 - 1958. It was a time of explosive creativity for Behan, which saw the release of three of his most remarkable works - his plays The Quare Fellow and The Hostage, and his work of auto-fiction Borstal Boy. She hears about his determination in these years to recruit language rather than the militarised violence of his youth as a means to valorise life, dignity, humour and queer love, and to advance his vision for his country, forged in his working class roots.

    His words paint a picture of a complex character. An intelligent, anti-establishment writer, an Irish beatnik whose talents “would make Jack Kerouac weep with terror” and who even Bob Dylan couldn’t find the courage to “touch the hem of his garment”. A man who met a tragic end, addicted to alcohol and wielding his fame and power in cruel ways.

    Marking the 60th anniversary of his death, Megan hears from historians, writers and members of Behan’s family, as well as from the rich archive of the man himself.

    Producer: Cat Gough
    Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson

    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    With thanks to Iris Klein and Semiotexte for providing archival interview recordings with Brendan Behan made by journalist Sylvere Lotringer in Paris in 1961

    Show less

    Available now

    57 minutes

    On air

    Today
    22:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCArchiveOn4 #MeganNolan

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001xfd0

  30. Brendan Behan #BrendanBehan

    It Must Be Wonderful to Be Free
    Archive on 4

    Irish novelist Megan Nolan presents an intimate study of the late playwright, singer and novelist, Brendan Behan. She reveals a poetic socialist, a fiercely anti-establishment artist concerned with class solidarity, outcasts, liberation, self-revelation and empathy. And she trashes the trivial, stereotyped memory of Behan, as Ireland’s most famous drunk.

    She tells his story through the lens of his most prolific years, 1954 - 1958. It was a time of explosive creativity for Behan, which saw the release of three of his most remarkable works - his plays The Quare Fellow and The Hostage, and his work of auto-fiction Borstal Boy. She hears about his determination in these years to recruit language rather than the militarised violence of his youth as a means to valorise life, dignity, humour and queer love, and to advance his vision for his country, forged in his working class roots.

    His words paint a picture of a complex character. An intelligent, anti-establishment writer, an Irish beatnik whose talents “would make Jack Kerouac weep with terror” and who even Bob Dylan couldn’t find the courage to “touch the hem of his garment”. A man who met a tragic end, addicted to alcohol and wielding his fame and power in cruel ways.

    Marking the 60th anniversary of his death, Megan hears from historians, writers and members of Behan’s family, as well as from the rich archive of the man himself.

    Producer: Cat Gough
    Executive Producer: Robert Nicholson

    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    With thanks to Iris Klein and Semiotexte for providing archival interview recordings with Brendan Behan made by journalist Sylvere Lotringer in Paris in 1961

    Show less

    Available now

    57 minutes

    On air

    Today
    22:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCArchiveOn4 #MeganNolan

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001xfd0

  31. ( ... there are possibly some David Sedaris fans out in Fediverseland ... )

    David Sedaris
    Take Four Books

    Presenter James Crawford speaks to American author and humourist David Sedaris on his new collection of essays, The Land and Its People. From navigating the realities of ageing to reflecting on his personal relationships, Sedaris explores a wide range of experiences across the book's 28 essays.

    He also discusses the three works that inspired the collection: Raymond Carver's Cathedral (1981), Joy Williams's Taking Care (1982), and Alan Bennett's Talking Heads (1988).

    Producer: Rachael O’Neill
    Editor: Gillian Wheelan
    This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    29 minutes

    On air

    Today
    16:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #DavidSedaris #BBCTakeFourBooks

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00301w4

  32. ( ... there are possibly some David Sedaris fans out in Fediverseland ... )

    David Sedaris
    Take Four Books

    Presenter James Crawford speaks to American author and humourist David Sedaris on his new collection of essays, The Land and Its People. From navigating the realities of ageing to reflecting on his personal relationships, Sedaris explores a wide range of experiences across the book's 28 essays.

    He also discusses the three works that inspired the collection: Raymond Carver's Cathedral (1981), Joy Williams's Taking Care (1982), and Alan Bennett's Talking Heads (1988).

    Producer: Rachael O’Neill
    Editor: Gillian Wheelan
    This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    29 minutes

    On air

    Today
    16:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #DavidSedaris #BBCTakeFourBooks

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00301w4

  33. ( ... there are possibly some David Sedaris fans out in Fediverseland ... )

    David Sedaris
    Take Four Books

    Presenter James Crawford speaks to American author and humourist David Sedaris on his new collection of essays, The Land and Its People. From navigating the realities of ageing to reflecting on his personal relationships, Sedaris explores a wide range of experiences across the book's 28 essays.

    He also discusses the three works that inspired the collection: Raymond Carver's Cathedral (1981), Joy Williams's Taking Care (1982), and Alan Bennett's Talking Heads (1988).

    Producer: Rachael O’Neill
    Editor: Gillian Wheelan
    This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    29 minutes

    On air

    Today
    16:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #DavidSedaris #BBCTakeFourBooks

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00301w4

  34. ( ... there are possibly some David Sedaris fans out in Fediverseland ... )

    David Sedaris
    Take Four Books

    Presenter James Crawford speaks to American author and humourist David Sedaris on his new collection of essays, The Land and Its People. From navigating the realities of ageing to reflecting on his personal relationships, Sedaris explores a wide range of experiences across the book's 28 essays.

    He also discusses the three works that inspired the collection: Raymond Carver's Cathedral (1981), Joy Williams's Taking Care (1982), and Alan Bennett's Talking Heads (1988).

    Producer: Rachael O’Neill
    Editor: Gillian Wheelan
    This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    29 minutes

    On air

    Today
    16:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #DavidSedaris #BBCTakeFourBooks

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00301w4

  35. ( ... there are possibly some David Sedaris fans out in Fediverseland ... )

    David Sedaris
    Take Four Books

    Presenter James Crawford speaks to American author and humourist David Sedaris on his new collection of essays, The Land and Its People. From navigating the realities of ageing to reflecting on his personal relationships, Sedaris explores a wide range of experiences across the book's 28 essays.

    He also discusses the three works that inspired the collection: Raymond Carver's Cathedral (1981), Joy Williams's Taking Care (1982), and Alan Bennett's Talking Heads (1988).

    Producer: Rachael O’Neill
    Editor: Gillian Wheelan
    This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    29 minutes

    On air

    Today
    16:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #DavidSedaris #BBCTakeFourBooks

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00301w4

  36. Episode 1
    Drama on 4
    Libra Episode 1 of 2

    Don DeLillo’s fictionalised reimagining of the events surrounding the 1963 assassination of John F Kennedy, adapted for audio by Ben Lewis.
    Starring Fisher Stevens and Tucker St. Ivany.

    A CIA analyst is tasked with pulling together all the facts, theories and suppositions surrounding this founding moment in recent American history. Drawing them together, he tries to imagine how and why JFK was killed. Cutting between the story of Lee Harvey Oswald’s life and two men conspiring to assassinate the president, it builds a picture of a fractured America during the cold war era.

    This is a work of fiction inspired by fact. Don DeLillo’s novel - and this adaptation - draw on real events and on some real people. But characters, incidents and dialogue are predominantly works of fiction. Real people have been placed in imagined situations whilst other characters have been created entirely for the purposes of storytelling.

    Part of Radio 4’s Story of America - a major collection of dramatisations of milestone American titles marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of the United States.

    Cast:
    The Analyst… Fisher Stevens
    Lee Harvey Oswald…Tucker St. Ivany
    The conspirators…Tyler Collins and Michael Nardone
    Marguerite Oswald…Nicole Cooper
    The Marine…Michael Guest
    Bobby Dupard…Reuben Joseph
    Marina Oswald…Holly Howden Gilchrist
    George de Mohrenschildt…Grant O’Rourke
    David Ferrie…Robin Laing

    All other parts were played by the company

    BBC Audio Scotland Production
    Production Co-ordinators: Bethany Woodhead and Minnie Harrop
    Studio Production and sound editing: Andrew Hay and Gav Murchie
    Sound Design and original scoring: Danny Krass

    Adapted by Ben Lewis
    Directed by Kirsty Williams

    Archive: CBS Evening News, November 22nd 1963

    Show less

    Release date:09 August 2026
    57 minutes


    On radio

    Today
    15:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #DonDeLillo #BBCDrama #BBCIssues #BBCOpeningLines #BBCRadio4 #BBCDramaOn4

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00301w1

  37. Episode 1
    Drama on 4
    Libra Episode 1 of 2

    Don DeLillo’s fictionalised reimagining of the events surrounding the 1963 assassination of John F Kennedy, adapted for audio by Ben Lewis.
    Starring Fisher Stevens and Tucker St. Ivany.

    A CIA analyst is tasked with pulling together all the facts, theories and suppositions surrounding this founding moment in recent American history. Drawing them together, he tries to imagine how and why JFK was killed. Cutting between the story of Lee Harvey Oswald’s life and two men conspiring to assassinate the president, it builds a picture of a fractured America during the cold war era.

    This is a work of fiction inspired by fact. Don DeLillo’s novel - and this adaptation - draw on real events and on some real people. But characters, incidents and dialogue are predominantly works of fiction. Real people have been placed in imagined situations whilst other characters have been created entirely for the purposes of storytelling.

    Part of Radio 4’s Story of America - a major collection of dramatisations of milestone American titles marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of the United States.

    Cast:
    The Analyst… Fisher Stevens
    Lee Harvey Oswald…Tucker St. Ivany
    The conspirators…Tyler Collins and Michael Nardone
    Marguerite Oswald…Nicole Cooper
    The Marine…Michael Guest
    Bobby Dupard…Reuben Joseph
    Marina Oswald…Holly Howden Gilchrist
    George de Mohrenschildt…Grant O’Rourke
    David Ferrie…Robin Laing

    All other parts were played by the company

    BBC Audio Scotland Production
    Production Co-ordinators: Bethany Woodhead and Minnie Harrop
    Studio Production and sound editing: Andrew Hay and Gav Murchie
    Sound Design and original scoring: Danny Krass

    Adapted by Ben Lewis
    Directed by Kirsty Williams

    Archive: CBS Evening News, November 22nd 1963

    Show less

    Release date:09 August 2026
    57 minutes


    On radio

    Today
    15:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #DonDeLillo #BBCDrama #BBCIssues #BBCOpeningLines #BBCRadio4 #BBCDramaOn4

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00301w1

  38. Episode 1
    Drama on 4
    Libra Episode 1 of 2

    Don DeLillo’s fictionalised reimagining of the events surrounding the 1963 assassination of John F Kennedy, adapted for audio by Ben Lewis.
    Starring Fisher Stevens and Tucker St. Ivany.

    A CIA analyst is tasked with pulling together all the facts, theories and suppositions surrounding this founding moment in recent American history. Drawing them together, he tries to imagine how and why JFK was killed. Cutting between the story of Lee Harvey Oswald’s life and two men conspiring to assassinate the president, it builds a picture of a fractured America during the cold war era.

    This is a work of fiction inspired by fact. Don DeLillo’s novel - and this adaptation - draw on real events and on some real people. But characters, incidents and dialogue are predominantly works of fiction. Real people have been placed in imagined situations whilst other characters have been created entirely for the purposes of storytelling.

    Part of Radio 4’s Story of America - a major collection of dramatisations of milestone American titles marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of the United States.

    Cast:
    The Analyst… Fisher Stevens
    Lee Harvey Oswald…Tucker St. Ivany
    The conspirators…Tyler Collins and Michael Nardone
    Marguerite Oswald…Nicole Cooper
    The Marine…Michael Guest
    Bobby Dupard…Reuben Joseph
    Marina Oswald…Holly Howden Gilchrist
    George de Mohrenschildt…Grant O’Rourke
    David Ferrie…Robin Laing

    All other parts were played by the company

    BBC Audio Scotland Production
    Production Co-ordinators: Bethany Woodhead and Minnie Harrop
    Studio Production and sound editing: Andrew Hay and Gav Murchie
    Sound Design and original scoring: Danny Krass

    Adapted by Ben Lewis
    Directed by Kirsty Williams

    Archive: CBS Evening News, November 22nd 1963

    Show less

    Release date:09 August 2026
    57 minutes


    On radio

    Today
    15:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #DonDeLillo #BBCDrama #BBCIssues #BBCOpeningLines #BBCRadio4 #BBCDramaOn4

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00301w1

  39. Episode 1
    Drama on 4
    Libra Episode 1 of 2

    Don DeLillo’s fictionalised reimagining of the events surrounding the 1963 assassination of John F Kennedy, adapted for audio by Ben Lewis.
    Starring Fisher Stevens and Tucker St. Ivany.

    A CIA analyst is tasked with pulling together all the facts, theories and suppositions surrounding this founding moment in recent American history. Drawing them together, he tries to imagine how and why JFK was killed. Cutting between the story of Lee Harvey Oswald’s life and two men conspiring to assassinate the president, it builds a picture of a fractured America during the cold war era.

    This is a work of fiction inspired by fact. Don DeLillo’s novel - and this adaptation - draw on real events and on some real people. But characters, incidents and dialogue are predominantly works of fiction. Real people have been placed in imagined situations whilst other characters have been created entirely for the purposes of storytelling.

    Part of Radio 4’s Story of America - a major collection of dramatisations of milestone American titles marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of the United States.

    Cast:
    The Analyst… Fisher Stevens
    Lee Harvey Oswald…Tucker St. Ivany
    The conspirators…Tyler Collins and Michael Nardone
    Marguerite Oswald…Nicole Cooper
    The Marine…Michael Guest
    Bobby Dupard…Reuben Joseph
    Marina Oswald…Holly Howden Gilchrist
    George de Mohrenschildt…Grant O’Rourke
    David Ferrie…Robin Laing

    All other parts were played by the company

    BBC Audio Scotland Production
    Production Co-ordinators: Bethany Woodhead and Minnie Harrop
    Studio Production and sound editing: Andrew Hay and Gav Murchie
    Sound Design and original scoring: Danny Krass

    Adapted by Ben Lewis
    Directed by Kirsty Williams

    Archive: CBS Evening News, November 22nd 1963

    Show less

    Release date:09 August 2026
    57 minutes


    On radio

    Today
    15:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #DonDeLillo #BBCDrama #BBCIssues #BBCOpeningLines #BBCRadio4 #BBCDramaOn4

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00301w1

  40. Episode 1
    Drama on 4
    Libra Episode 1 of 2

    Don DeLillo’s fictionalised reimagining of the events surrounding the 1963 assassination of John F Kennedy, adapted for audio by Ben Lewis.
    Starring Fisher Stevens and Tucker St. Ivany.

    A CIA analyst is tasked with pulling together all the facts, theories and suppositions surrounding this founding moment in recent American history. Drawing them together, he tries to imagine how and why JFK was killed. Cutting between the story of Lee Harvey Oswald’s life and two men conspiring to assassinate the president, it builds a picture of a fractured America during the cold war era.

    This is a work of fiction inspired by fact. Don DeLillo’s novel - and this adaptation - draw on real events and on some real people. But characters, incidents and dialogue are predominantly works of fiction. Real people have been placed in imagined situations whilst other characters have been created entirely for the purposes of storytelling.

    Part of Radio 4’s Story of America - a major collection of dramatisations of milestone American titles marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of the United States.

    Cast:
    The Analyst… Fisher Stevens
    Lee Harvey Oswald…Tucker St. Ivany
    The conspirators…Tyler Collins and Michael Nardone
    Marguerite Oswald…Nicole Cooper
    The Marine…Michael Guest
    Bobby Dupard…Reuben Joseph
    Marina Oswald…Holly Howden Gilchrist
    George de Mohrenschildt…Grant O’Rourke
    David Ferrie…Robin Laing

    All other parts were played by the company

    BBC Audio Scotland Production
    Production Co-ordinators: Bethany Woodhead and Minnie Harrop
    Studio Production and sound editing: Andrew Hay and Gav Murchie
    Sound Design and original scoring: Danny Krass

    Adapted by Ben Lewis
    Directed by Kirsty Williams

    Archive: CBS Evening News, November 22nd 1963

    Show less

    Release date:09 August 2026
    57 minutes


    On radio

    Today
    15:00
    BBC Radio 4

    #DonDeLillo #BBCDrama #BBCIssues #BBCOpeningLines #BBCRadio4 #BBCDramaOn4

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00301w1

  41. Libra - Episode One

    Opening Lines

    For the 100th title to be explored in Opening Lines, John Yorke picks up the 1998 novel Libra by the heavyweight American writer, Don DeLillo. The book centres around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the event DeLillo says marked ‘a turning point in consciousness’ for Americans. He presents a fragmented portrait of the country at the height of the Cold War, following the misfortunes of disaffected loner Lee Harvey Oswald - as well as the large cast of rogue operators planning to use him to bring the President down.

    In the first of two-parts, John looks to find what makes this widely acclaimed novel stand out from the hundreds of other books and films spawned by the world-shaking events in Dealey Plaza back in November 1963. He speaks with, among others, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Jennifer Egan, a self-proclaimed DeLillo acolyte, who says of Libra that the “sense of the chaos and the noise of contemporary life invading the narrative I was very drawn to, and, you know, have tried to emulate, frankly.”

    John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4.

    Libra by Don de Lillo is the 100th title covered by Opening Lines. The series began in January 2023 with Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Since then John Yorke has explored novels from Anna Karenina to Gone with the Wind, plays from Shakespeare to Eugene O’Neill and ground-breaking non-fiction like John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Each episode provides background, context and some expert discussion in advance of Radio 4’s Sunday afternoon drama, and all 100 titles can be heard on BBC Sounds.

    Contributors: Pullitzer Prize winning author Jennifer Egan & Professor Jesse Kavadlo.
    Sound:
    Researcher: Henry Tydeman
    Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams
    Producer: Geoff Bird
    Executive Producer: Sara Davies

    A Pier production for BBC Radio 4

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    14 minutes


    On air

    Today
    14:45
    BBC Radio 4

    #DonDeLillo #BBCDrama #BBCIssues #BBCOpeningLines #BBCRadio4

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300kp

  42. Libra - Episode One

    Opening Lines

    For the 100th title to be explored in Opening Lines, John Yorke picks up the 1998 novel Libra by the heavyweight American writer, Don DeLillo. The book centres around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the event DeLillo says marked ‘a turning point in consciousness’ for Americans. He presents a fragmented portrait of the country at the height of the Cold War, following the misfortunes of disaffected loner Lee Harvey Oswald - as well as the large cast of rogue operators planning to use him to bring the President down.

    In the first of two-parts, John looks to find what makes this widely acclaimed novel stand out from the hundreds of other books and films spawned by the world-shaking events in Dealey Plaza back in November 1963. He speaks with, among others, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Jennifer Egan, a self-proclaimed DeLillo acolyte, who says of Libra that the “sense of the chaos and the noise of contemporary life invading the narrative I was very drawn to, and, you know, have tried to emulate, frankly.”

    John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4.

    Libra by Don de Lillo is the 100th title covered by Opening Lines. The series began in January 2023 with Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Since then John Yorke has explored novels from Anna Karenina to Gone with the Wind, plays from Shakespeare to Eugene O’Neill and ground-breaking non-fiction like John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Each episode provides background, context and some expert discussion in advance of Radio 4’s Sunday afternoon drama, and all 100 titles can be heard on BBC Sounds.

    Contributors: Pullitzer Prize winning author Jennifer Egan & Professor Jesse Kavadlo.
    Sound:
    Researcher: Henry Tydeman
    Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams
    Producer: Geoff Bird
    Executive Producer: Sara Davies

    A Pier production for BBC Radio 4

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    14 minutes


    On air

    Today
    14:45
    BBC Radio 4

    #DonDeLillo #BBCDrama #BBCIssues #BBCOpeningLines #BBCRadio4

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300kp

  43. Libra - Episode One

    Opening Lines

    For the 100th title to be explored in Opening Lines, John Yorke picks up the 1998 novel Libra by the heavyweight American writer, Don DeLillo. The book centres around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the event DeLillo says marked ‘a turning point in consciousness’ for Americans. He presents a fragmented portrait of the country at the height of the Cold War, following the misfortunes of disaffected loner Lee Harvey Oswald - as well as the large cast of rogue operators planning to use him to bring the President down.

    In the first of two-parts, John looks to find what makes this widely acclaimed novel stand out from the hundreds of other books and films spawned by the world-shaking events in Dealey Plaza back in November 1963. He speaks with, among others, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Jennifer Egan, a self-proclaimed DeLillo acolyte, who says of Libra that the “sense of the chaos and the noise of contemporary life invading the narrative I was very drawn to, and, you know, have tried to emulate, frankly.”

    John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4.

    Libra by Don de Lillo is the 100th title covered by Opening Lines. The series began in January 2023 with Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Since then John Yorke has explored novels from Anna Karenina to Gone with the Wind, plays from Shakespeare to Eugene O’Neill and ground-breaking non-fiction like John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Each episode provides background, context and some expert discussion in advance of Radio 4’s Sunday afternoon drama, and all 100 titles can be heard on BBC Sounds.

    Contributors: Pullitzer Prize winning author Jennifer Egan & Professor Jesse Kavadlo.
    Sound:
    Researcher: Henry Tydeman
    Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams
    Producer: Geoff Bird
    Executive Producer: Sara Davies

    A Pier production for BBC Radio 4

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    14 minutes


    On air

    Today
    14:45
    BBC Radio 4

    #DonDeLillo #BBCDrama #BBCIssues #BBCOpeningLines #BBCRadio4

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300kp

  44. Libra - Episode One

    Opening Lines

    For the 100th title to be explored in Opening Lines, John Yorke picks up the 1998 novel Libra by the heavyweight American writer, Don DeLillo. The book centres around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the event DeLillo says marked ‘a turning point in consciousness’ for Americans. He presents a fragmented portrait of the country at the height of the Cold War, following the misfortunes of disaffected loner Lee Harvey Oswald - as well as the large cast of rogue operators planning to use him to bring the President down.

    In the first of two-parts, John looks to find what makes this widely acclaimed novel stand out from the hundreds of other books and films spawned by the world-shaking events in Dealey Plaza back in November 1963. He speaks with, among others, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Jennifer Egan, a self-proclaimed DeLillo acolyte, who says of Libra that the “sense of the chaos and the noise of contemporary life invading the narrative I was very drawn to, and, you know, have tried to emulate, frankly.”

    John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4.

    Libra by Don de Lillo is the 100th title covered by Opening Lines. The series began in January 2023 with Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Since then John Yorke has explored novels from Anna Karenina to Gone with the Wind, plays from Shakespeare to Eugene O’Neill and ground-breaking non-fiction like John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Each episode provides background, context and some expert discussion in advance of Radio 4’s Sunday afternoon drama, and all 100 titles can be heard on BBC Sounds.

    Contributors: Pullitzer Prize winning author Jennifer Egan & Professor Jesse Kavadlo.
    Sound:
    Researcher: Henry Tydeman
    Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams
    Producer: Geoff Bird
    Executive Producer: Sara Davies

    A Pier production for BBC Radio 4

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    14 minutes


    On air

    Today
    14:45
    BBC Radio 4

    #DonDeLillo #BBCDrama #BBCIssues #BBCOpeningLines #BBCRadio4

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300kp

  45. Libra - Episode One

    Opening Lines

    For the 100th title to be explored in Opening Lines, John Yorke picks up the 1998 novel Libra by the heavyweight American writer, Don DeLillo. The book centres around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the event DeLillo says marked ‘a turning point in consciousness’ for Americans. He presents a fragmented portrait of the country at the height of the Cold War, following the misfortunes of disaffected loner Lee Harvey Oswald - as well as the large cast of rogue operators planning to use him to bring the President down.

    In the first of two-parts, John looks to find what makes this widely acclaimed novel stand out from the hundreds of other books and films spawned by the world-shaking events in Dealey Plaza back in November 1963. He speaks with, among others, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Jennifer Egan, a self-proclaimed DeLillo acolyte, who says of Libra that the “sense of the chaos and the noise of contemporary life invading the narrative I was very drawn to, and, you know, have tried to emulate, frankly.”

    John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters - now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for R4.

    Libra by Don de Lillo is the 100th title covered by Opening Lines. The series began in January 2023 with Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Since then John Yorke has explored novels from Anna Karenina to Gone with the Wind, plays from Shakespeare to Eugene O’Neill and ground-breaking non-fiction like John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Each episode provides background, context and some expert discussion in advance of Radio 4’s Sunday afternoon drama, and all 100 titles can be heard on BBC Sounds.

    Contributors: Pullitzer Prize winning author Jennifer Egan & Professor Jesse Kavadlo.
    Sound:
    Researcher: Henry Tydeman
    Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams
    Producer: Geoff Bird
    Executive Producer: Sara Davies

    A Pier production for BBC Radio 4

    Show less
    Download
    Choose your file
    Higher quality (128kbps)
    Lower quality (64kbps)

    Available now

    14 minutes


    On air

    Today
    14:45
    BBC Radio 4

    #DonDeLillo #BBCDrama #BBCIssues #BBCOpeningLines #BBCRadio4

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300kp

  46. Shadow World

    Breakin' the Cycle Episode 2 of 6
    2. A Hood Story

    As Colin and D begin turning their prison-written script into a real production, they recruit former pop stars and emerging actors, building a cast captivated by the promise of an authentic Black British crime story. Their film starts to feel like a genuine cultural moment. But most of the cast and crew are unaware of the true story behind the pair or their journey to becoming film-makers.

    Beneath the excitement of the production, the money, power, and instincts that built “Love of Money” are still very much in play. When D’s commitment to turning away from crime is tested, he is drawn back to familiar instincts.

    Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow
    Series Producer: Emma Barnaby
    Producer: Louis Hollis
    Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage
    Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie
    Script Editor: Jason Lewis
    Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore
    Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho
    Production Executive: Letisha Kidza
    Head of Production: Nicky Murphy
    Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton
    Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle.
    Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong.
    Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
    Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

    A Raw Production for BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCShadowWorld #BreakinTheCycleEpisode #StreetCream #MakinMovies #ProductionHell

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002zsxg

  47. Shadow World

    Breakin' the Cycle Episode 2 of 6
    2. A Hood Story

    As Colin and D begin turning their prison-written script into a real production, they recruit former pop stars and emerging actors, building a cast captivated by the promise of an authentic Black British crime story. Their film starts to feel like a genuine cultural moment. But most of the cast and crew are unaware of the true story behind the pair or their journey to becoming film-makers.

    Beneath the excitement of the production, the money, power, and instincts that built “Love of Money” are still very much in play. When D’s commitment to turning away from crime is tested, he is drawn back to familiar instincts.

    Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow
    Series Producer: Emma Barnaby
    Producer: Louis Hollis
    Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage
    Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie
    Script Editor: Jason Lewis
    Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore
    Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho
    Production Executive: Letisha Kidza
    Head of Production: Nicky Murphy
    Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton
    Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle.
    Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong.
    Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
    Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

    A Raw Production for BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCShadowWorld #BreakinTheCycleEpisode #StreetCream #MakinMovies #ProductionHell

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002zsxg

  48. Shadow World

    Breakin' the Cycle Episode 2 of 6
    2. A Hood Story

    As Colin and D begin turning their prison-written script into a real production, they recruit former pop stars and emerging actors, building a cast captivated by the promise of an authentic Black British crime story. Their film starts to feel like a genuine cultural moment. But most of the cast and crew are unaware of the true story behind the pair or their journey to becoming film-makers.

    Beneath the excitement of the production, the money, power, and instincts that built “Love of Money” are still very much in play. When D’s commitment to turning away from crime is tested, he is drawn back to familiar instincts.

    Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow
    Series Producer: Emma Barnaby
    Producer: Louis Hollis
    Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage
    Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie
    Script Editor: Jason Lewis
    Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore
    Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho
    Production Executive: Letisha Kidza
    Head of Production: Nicky Murphy
    Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton
    Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle.
    Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong.
    Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
    Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

    A Raw Production for BBC Radio 4

    #BBCRadio4 #BBCShadowWorld #BreakinTheCycleEpisode #StreetCream #MakinMovies #ProductionHell

    bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002zsxg