#bbcradio4 — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #bbcradio4, aggregated by home.social.
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(yet another look at UK education)
Comps
Archive on 4Financial Times columnist turned teacher Lucy Kellaway takes a personal journey through the education revolution launched fifty years ago to replace grammars and secondary moderns with comprehensives. The ambition was noble: the same opportunities for every child. But the story of Comps suggests that when lofty ideals collide with reality, things don’t always turn out as planned.
Lucy visits two very different models of comp trying to reconcile the history and their local demands and priorities, and speaks to three of the most influential politicians responsible for shaping today's state secondary school system - Lords Baker, Blunkett and Gove. She also discovers the deep roots of the tensions and challenges facing today's comps in a journey through a rich archive that charts the evolution of the comprehensive system in the last fifty years.
Producer: Jonathan BrunertShow less
57 minutesOn air
Today
20:00
BBC Radio 4
More episodes -
Loose Ends
Liam Ó Maonlaí, Michael Fry, Emma Southon, Olivia McVeigh, Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin, Clare Sands
Loose Ends
Stuart Maconie finds himself "i lár an aonaigh" - at the heart of craic, ceol, and much more at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as Belfast hosts the festival celebrating Irish music and culture for the very first time.
The Fleadh comes second nature to frontman and lead singer of Hothouse Flowers Liam Ó Maonlaí, who was brought up in a household full of traditional Irish music and song. As the band prepares for their "Greatest Hits" tour later this year, Liam reflects on the poignant story behind their hit single "Don't Go", and the time he was left behind by the band's tour bus.
Olivia McVeigh mightn't be in a band, but alongside her fellow podcasters of The Girls Groupchat she's taking the show onstage, alongside Irish girl group legends B*witched and even to ABBA Voyage. She tells Stuart about how her diagnosis of alopecia changed her entire career trajectory, into a world of advocacy and empowering others with the condition.
Emma Southon may have had a very different career as historian if she hadn't hated history so much at school. She talks about her new book Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which sets out to give readers a full picture of the reality of enslaved people in Ancient Rome.
And Michael Fry muses on how a period of pure boredom pushed him towards comedy, and why he thinks the medium of radio is ripe for laughs, ahead of his third series of Lunchtime with Michael Fry on BBC Radio Ulster.
Plus, musicians Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin and Clare Sands give us just a "blaiseadh beag" - a very small taste of the great music coming out of the Fleadh.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Anthony McKee
Technical Producer: Davy Neill
Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFaddenShow less
Download
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Available now42 minutes
Last onThu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon -
Loose Ends
Liam Ó Maonlaí, Michael Fry, Emma Southon, Olivia McVeigh, Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin, Clare Sands
Loose Ends
Stuart Maconie finds himself "i lár an aonaigh" - at the heart of craic, ceol, and much more at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as Belfast hosts the festival celebrating Irish music and culture for the very first time.
The Fleadh comes second nature to frontman and lead singer of Hothouse Flowers Liam Ó Maonlaí, who was brought up in a household full of traditional Irish music and song. As the band prepares for their "Greatest Hits" tour later this year, Liam reflects on the poignant story behind their hit single "Don't Go", and the time he was left behind by the band's tour bus.
Olivia McVeigh mightn't be in a band, but alongside her fellow podcasters of The Girls Groupchat she's taking the show onstage, alongside Irish girl group legends B*witched and even to ABBA Voyage. She tells Stuart about how her diagnosis of alopecia changed her entire career trajectory, into a world of advocacy and empowering others with the condition.
Emma Southon may have had a very different career as historian if she hadn't hated history so much at school. She talks about her new book Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which sets out to give readers a full picture of the reality of enslaved people in Ancient Rome.
And Michael Fry muses on how a period of pure boredom pushed him towards comedy, and why he thinks the medium of radio is ripe for laughs, ahead of his third series of Lunchtime with Michael Fry on BBC Radio Ulster.
Plus, musicians Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin and Clare Sands give us just a "blaiseadh beag" - a very small taste of the great music coming out of the Fleadh.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Anthony McKee
Technical Producer: Davy Neill
Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFaddenShow less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now42 minutes
Last onThu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon -
Loose Ends
Liam Ó Maonlaí, Michael Fry, Emma Southon, Olivia McVeigh, Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin, Clare Sands
Loose Ends
Stuart Maconie finds himself "i lár an aonaigh" - at the heart of craic, ceol, and much more at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as Belfast hosts the festival celebrating Irish music and culture for the very first time.
The Fleadh comes second nature to frontman and lead singer of Hothouse Flowers Liam Ó Maonlaí, who was brought up in a household full of traditional Irish music and song. As the band prepares for their "Greatest Hits" tour later this year, Liam reflects on the poignant story behind their hit single "Don't Go", and the time he was left behind by the band's tour bus.
Olivia McVeigh mightn't be in a band, but alongside her fellow podcasters of The Girls Groupchat she's taking the show onstage, alongside Irish girl group legends B*witched and even to ABBA Voyage. She tells Stuart about how her diagnosis of alopecia changed her entire career trajectory, into a world of advocacy and empowering others with the condition.
Emma Southon may have had a very different career as historian if she hadn't hated history so much at school. She talks about her new book Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which sets out to give readers a full picture of the reality of enslaved people in Ancient Rome.
And Michael Fry muses on how a period of pure boredom pushed him towards comedy, and why he thinks the medium of radio is ripe for laughs, ahead of his third series of Lunchtime with Michael Fry on BBC Radio Ulster.
Plus, musicians Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin and Clare Sands give us just a "blaiseadh beag" - a very small taste of the great music coming out of the Fleadh.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Anthony McKee
Technical Producer: Davy Neill
Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFaddenShow less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now42 minutes
Last onThu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon -
Loose Ends
Liam Ó Maonlaí, Michael Fry, Emma Southon, Olivia McVeigh, Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin, Clare Sands
Loose Ends
Stuart Maconie finds himself "i lár an aonaigh" - at the heart of craic, ceol, and much more at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as Belfast hosts the festival celebrating Irish music and culture for the very first time.
The Fleadh comes second nature to frontman and lead singer of Hothouse Flowers Liam Ó Maonlaí, who was brought up in a household full of traditional Irish music and song. As the band prepares for their "Greatest Hits" tour later this year, Liam reflects on the poignant story behind their hit single "Don't Go", and the time he was left behind by the band's tour bus.
Olivia McVeigh mightn't be in a band, but alongside her fellow podcasters of The Girls Groupchat she's taking the show onstage, alongside Irish girl group legends B*witched and even to ABBA Voyage. She tells Stuart about how her diagnosis of alopecia changed her entire career trajectory, into a world of advocacy and empowering others with the condition.
Emma Southon may have had a very different career as historian if she hadn't hated history so much at school. She talks about her new book Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which sets out to give readers a full picture of the reality of enslaved people in Ancient Rome.
And Michael Fry muses on how a period of pure boredom pushed him towards comedy, and why he thinks the medium of radio is ripe for laughs, ahead of his third series of Lunchtime with Michael Fry on BBC Radio Ulster.
Plus, musicians Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin and Clare Sands give us just a "blaiseadh beag" - a very small taste of the great music coming out of the Fleadh.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Anthony McKee
Technical Producer: Davy Neill
Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFaddenShow less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now42 minutes
Last onThu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon -
Loose Ends
Liam Ó Maonlaí, Michael Fry, Emma Southon, Olivia McVeigh, Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin, Clare Sands
Loose Ends
Stuart Maconie finds himself "i lár an aonaigh" - at the heart of craic, ceol, and much more at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as Belfast hosts the festival celebrating Irish music and culture for the very first time.
The Fleadh comes second nature to frontman and lead singer of Hothouse Flowers Liam Ó Maonlaí, who was brought up in a household full of traditional Irish music and song. As the band prepares for their "Greatest Hits" tour later this year, Liam reflects on the poignant story behind their hit single "Don't Go", and the time he was left behind by the band's tour bus.
Olivia McVeigh mightn't be in a band, but alongside her fellow podcasters of The Girls Groupchat she's taking the show onstage, alongside Irish girl group legends B*witched and even to ABBA Voyage. She tells Stuart about how her diagnosis of alopecia changed her entire career trajectory, into a world of advocacy and empowering others with the condition.
Emma Southon may have had a very different career as historian if she hadn't hated history so much at school. She talks about her new book Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which sets out to give readers a full picture of the reality of enslaved people in Ancient Rome.
And Michael Fry muses on how a period of pure boredom pushed him towards comedy, and why he thinks the medium of radio is ripe for laughs, ahead of his third series of Lunchtime with Michael Fry on BBC Radio Ulster.
Plus, musicians Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin and Clare Sands give us just a "blaiseadh beag" - a very small taste of the great music coming out of the Fleadh.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Anthony McKee
Technical Producer: Davy Neill
Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFaddenShow less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now42 minutes
Last onThu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon -
https://www.europesays.com/people/214180/ Burnham and Macron discuss small boats and bringing UK closer to Europe #AndyBurnham #BBCRadio4's #Burnham #DowningStreet #EmmanuelMacron #europe #French #macron #No10 #The"megaDinghies" #UK #Ukraine
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Judging from the words of various Radio 4 announcers and newsreaders today, the following are all on loan from France to the UK:
• the Bayeux tapestry
• the Bayeau tapestry
• the Bayou tapestryFor me, this grates horribly. I find it painful and a bit embarrassing. Especially since discovering that the BBC Pronunciation Unit apparently still exists—it suggests they don't even know that the #pronunciation might need checking.
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Judging from the words of various Radio 4 announcers and newsreaders today, the following are all on loan from France to the UK:
• the Bayeux tapestry
• the Bayeau tapestry
• the Bayou tapestryFor me, this grates horribly. I find it painful and a bit embarrassing. Especially since discovering that the BBC Pronunciation Unit apparently still exists—it suggests they don't even know that the #pronunciation might need checking.
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Judging from the words of various Radio 4 announcers and newsreaders today, the following are all on loan from France to the UK:
• the Bayeux tapestry
• the Bayeau tapestry
• the Bayou tapestryFor me, this grates horribly. I find it painful and a bit embarrassing. Especially since discovering that the BBC Pronunciation Unit apparently still exists—it suggests they don't even know that the #pronunciation might need checking.
-
Judging from the words of various Radio 4 announcers and newsreaders today, the following are all on loan from France to the UK:
• the Bayeux tapestry
• the Bayeau tapestry
• the Bayou tapestryFor me, this grates horribly. I find it painful and a bit embarrassing. Especially since discovering that the BBC Pronunciation Unit apparently still exists—it suggests they don't even know that the #pronunciation might need checking.
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Chef celebrates inclusion in top food critic’s book https://www.diningandcooking.com/chefs/5596/ #BBCRadio4's #BBCSounds #Chef #cool" #DumplingKing #JayRayner #JayRayner's #McIntyre #McIntyre's #Rayner #RobMcIntyre #TheKitchenCabinet
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Chef celebrates inclusion in top food critic’s book https://www.diningandcooking.com/chefs/5596/ #BBCRadio4's #BBCSounds #Chef #cool" #DumplingKing #JayRayner #JayRayner's #McIntyre #McIntyre's #Rayner #RobMcIntyre #TheKitchenCabinet
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Chef celebrates inclusion in top food critic’s book https://www.diningandcooking.com/chefs/5596/ #BBCRadio4's #BBCSounds #Chef #cool" #DumplingKing #JayRayner #JayRayner's #McIntyre #McIntyre's #Rayner #RobMcIntyre #TheKitchenCabinet
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Andy Burnham praises UK-EU ties in meeting with Emmanuel Macron
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has praised the UK-EU relationship as he holds talks with French President Emmanuel Macron…
#Europe #EU #andyburnham #BBCRadio4's #Burnham #DowningStreet #EuropeanUnion #French #macron
https://www.europesays.com/europe/129690/ -
Now listening: Crossing Continents - Getting Gaza back online
How amid the tents and the rubble Gaza is developing once again as an unlikely tech hub.
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Interesting episode of More or Less this week, particularly factchecking the greenwash around the “carbon capture” from restoring whale populations (which we should do because it is good to do regardless, not for bullshit financial/monetised benefits).
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Longtime BBC panellist admits ‘I don’t know how long I’ve got to live’ in last appearance on gardening show https://www.allforgardening.com/1770887/longtime-bbc-panellist-admits-i-dont-know-how-long-ive-got-to-live-in-last-appearance-on-gardening-show/ #BbcRadio4 #garden #GardenersQuestionTime #gardening #MatthewBiggs #PalliativeCare #SergeHillProject
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The BBC have said they will stop transmitting BBC Radio 4 on Long Wave, LW, on Sunday 21st June 2026 😭☹️🤬☹️😭
#Radio #BBC #BBCRadio #BBCRadio4 #LW #LongWave #SaveLongWave #SaveRadio #Radio4
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Overuse of interference in telephony service when callers are talking about Iran this week.
#BBCRadio #BBCRadio4 #BBCAnyQuestions #BBCAnyAnswers #BBCRadio5 #GCHQ
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2026-03-10 2100-2130
The plans to limit jury trials in England and Wales
The Law ShowThe courts system in England and Wales is in an unprecedented crisis. The backlog has reached 80,000 cases, and some defendants are being told they won't be able to have a criminal trial until 2030.
The government has introduced the Courts and Tribunals Bill, which contains a raft of measures to tackle delays and bring down the backlog; but the Justice Secretary David Lammy has admitted that things are going to get even worse before they get better.
The most controversial change is a plan to restrict the number of jury trials. The right to judgement by your peers has existed for more than 800 years, but for some offences, that's going to end.
Defendants will lose the right to choose between a jury trial or a magistrate's hearing in so-called "either-way" offences.
Magistrates will get increased sentencing powers - up from 12 months to 18 months.
More serious criminal cases, with likely sentences of up to three years will now be heard by a single judge - and no jury.
And only the most serious "indictable" offences, like murder, manslaughter and rape and any other offence with a sentence of longer than three years will be heard by a jury.
But will the reforms make a difference?
Presenter: Dr Joelle Grogan
Producers: Ravi Naik and Charlotte Rowles
Editor: Tom BigwoodContributors:
Sarah Sackman KC, courts and legal services minister
Chris Kinch, KC, who until 2024 was a senior judge at Woolwich Crown Court in south London
David Ford, national chair of the Magistrates AssociationShow less
Download
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Available now28 minutes
#BBCRadio4 #BBCTheLawShow #DavidLammy #SingleJusticeProcedure
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(... the_WORST_episode_of_this_series_on_BBC_Radio4 ...)
Café Hope -- Change Please
Cemal Ezel, from Change Please, tells Rachel Burden how they help address homelessness by selling coffee. The social enterprise trains homeless people for employment through the sale of coffee, offering them a living wage, housing and therapy support.
Café Hope is our virtual Radio 4 coffee shop, where guests pop in for a brew and a chat to tell us what they're doing to make things better in big and small ways. Think of us as sitting in your local café, cooking up plans, hearing the gossip and celebrating the people making the world a better place.
We're all about trying to make change. It might be a transformational project that helps an entire community or it might be about trying to make one life a little easier. And the key here is in the trying. Not everything works, and there are struggles along the way. But it's always worth a go.
You can contact us on [email protected]
Presenter: Rachel Burden
Series Producer: Uma Doraiswamy
Sound Design: Nicky Edwards
Editor: Clare Fordham(QuangoNote: The interviewee advocates for #PreEmploymentChecks (- and probably adhers to #WorkReady or #JobReady -) which is part of the fuck-knuckle jobnobbling strategy of Ian Duncan Smith, Tim Montgomerie and the neverending identity checks of our lame-ass security-intelligence community. Their approach is a right-wing capitalist one.)
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#TrumpingTheUSA A Trumper on #BBCRadio4 just confidently told us the UK has been destroyed by immigration. I can't say I've noticed. It has been damaged by #Brexit isolationism though. Don't swallow the #fascistpropaganda.
We're all far more likely to be destroyed by lies.