#bbcradio4 — Public Fediverse posts

(yet another look at UK education)

Comps
Archive on 4

Financial 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 Brunert

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57 minutes

On air

Today
20:00
BBC Radio 4
More episodes

#BBCRadio4 #BBCArchiveOn4

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00316l1

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 McFadden

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42 minutes

Last on

Thu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4

#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300dc

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 McFadden

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Download
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42 minutes

Last on

Thu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4

#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300dc

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 McFadden

Show less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
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42 minutes

Last on

Thu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4

#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300dc

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 McFadden

Show less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
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42 minutes

Last on

Thu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4

#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300dc

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 McFadden

Show less
Download
Choose your file
Higher quality (128kbps)
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42 minutes

Last on

Thu 13 Aug 2026
21:00
BBC Radio 4

#BBCRadio4 #BBCLooseEnds #Fleadh
#StuartMaconie #EmmaSouthon

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00300dc

#shippingforecast #radio4shippingforecast #BBCradio4 #webradio

🖥️ 📻️ 🔊 ⚓️

In a couple of minutes, at 00 h 48 BST 🇬🇧 on BBC Radio 4, it's the shipping forecast.

Happy listening ! 🙂 👋

https://www.bbc.com/audio/schedules/bbc_radio_fourfm

https://www.programmes-radio.com/fr/stream

#shippingforecast #radio4shippingforecast #BBCradio4 #webradio

🖥️ 📻 🔊 ⚓

In a couple of minutes, at 00 h 48 BST 🇬🇧 on BBC Radio 4, it's the shipping forecast.

Happy listening ! 🙂 👋

https://www.bbc.com/audio/schedules/bbc_radio_fourfm

https://www.programmes-radio.com/fr/stream-byaPnr8CZh2qeLNwjam8tU/ecouter-BBC-Radio-4

(fascinating documentary about someone I've never heard of who spouted a load of bollocks which fascinated easily confused idiots (imho))

Alan Watts: The Brahman of Bromley
Archive on 4

Jarvis Cocker wasn’t exactly enthusiastic when his bandmate suggested they listen to some old Buddhist lectures to while away the hours on their tour bus. But when the captivating voice of Alan Watts floated through the speakers, it transformed the way he saw the world.

Alan Watts is considered by many to have been a key translator of Eastern spiritual ideas in the 20th century. His books and lectures took the complex and often intangible concepts of Buddhism, Zen and Taoism, and unpacked them for Western ears with startling clarity and wry humour.

Born in Chislehurst in 1915, Watts moved to America just before the Second World War, where he became a popular public intellectual, “philosophical entertainer” and a thought-leader for the Beat Generation and emergent hippy counterculture.

In the years since his death in 1973, Watts’ reputation has only grown - first in esoteric New Age circles, and now with the millions of viewers online who take comfort from his archive of recorded lectures on YouTube and social media.

With access to his extensive recorded archive, Jarvis Cocker examines Watts’ life, work and digital legacy - featuring interviews with Watts enthusiasts and family members, historians and experts, as well as artists and filmmakers inspired by his work.

Access to Alan Watts' audio lectures provided by Mark Watts at the Alan Watts Organization.

Written and produced by Tom Harrad.
Executive producer: Ant Adeane
Sound mix: Alex Portfelix

A Small Blue production for BBC Radio 4

Available now

57 minutes

Last on

Yesterday
20:00
BBC Radio 4

#JarvisCocker #AlanWatts
#BBCArchiveOn4 #BBCRadio4

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002z5q2

Mwynhau dyddiau olaf Radio 4 ar LW.

#radio #longwave #bbcradio4 #bbc #bbcradio #radio4 #analogue

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

Overuse of interference in telephony service when callers are talking about Iran this week.

#BBCRadio #BBCRadio4 #BBCAnyQuestions #BBCAnyAnswers #BBCRadio5 #GCHQ

2026-03-10 2100-2130

The plans to limit jury trials in England and Wales
The Law Show

The 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 Bigwood

Contributors:
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 Association

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28 minutes

#BBCRadio4 #BBCTheLawShow #DavidLammy #SingleJusticeProcedure

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002s4hz

The rhythm & calm authority of the #ShippingForecast; for 100 years on the #BBC, it’s guided sailors & soothed listeners across the #BritishIsles. 🌧️🌊

My paintings #AttentionAllShipping & #SailingBy capture a little of that magic, the #poetry of weather, sea & sound.

See my paintings here 💙
👉 https://bit.ly/ShipFore

#MaritimeArt #BBC #SeaAreas #Cartography #BritishCulture #UKHeritage #NauticalArt #Painting #Seascape #MetOffice #NationalTreasure #bbcradio4
#wordsofwisdomwednesday #wednesdaywisdom

The rhythm & calm authority of the #ShippingForecast; for 100 years on the #BBC, it’s guided sailors & soothed listeners across the #BritishIsles. 🌧️🌊

My paintings #AttentionAllShipping & #SailingBy capture a little of that magic, the #poetry of weather, sea & sound.

See my paintings here 💙
👉 https://bit.ly/ShipFore

#MaritimeArt #BBC #SeaAreas #Cartography #BritishCulture #UKHeritage #NauticalArt #Painting #Seascape #MetOffice #NationalTreasure #bbcradio4
#wordsofwisdomwednesday #wednesdaywisdom

The rhythm & calm authority of the #ShippingForecast; for 100 years on the #BBC, it’s guided sailors & soothed listeners across the #BritishIsles. 🌧️🌊

My paintings #AttentionAllShipping & #SailingBy capture a little of that magic, the #poetry of weather, sea & sound.

See my paintings here 💙
👉 https://bit.ly/ShipFore

#MaritimeArt #BBC #SeaAreas #Cartography #BritishCulture #UKHeritage #NauticalArt #Painting #Seascape #MetOffice #NationalTreasure #bbcradio4
#wordsofwisdomwednesday #wednesdaywisdom

The rhythm & calm authority of the #ShippingForecast; for 100 years on the #BBC, it’s guided sailors & soothed listeners across the #BritishIsles. 🌧️🌊

My paintings #AttentionAllShipping & #SailingBy capture a little of that magic, the #poetry of weather, sea & sound.

See my paintings here 💙
👉 https://bit.ly/ShipFore

#MaritimeArt #BBC #SeaAreas #Cartography #BritishCulture #UKHeritage #NauticalArt #Painting #Seascape #MetOffice #NationalTreasure #bbcradio4
#wordsofwisdomwednesday #wednesdaywisdom

The rhythm & calm authority of the #ShippingForecast; for 100 years on the #BBC, it’s guided sailors & soothed listeners across the #BritishIsles. 🌧️🌊

My paintings #AttentionAllShipping & #SailingBy capture a little of that magic, the #poetry of weather, sea & sound.

See my paintings here 💙
👉 https://bit.ly/ShipFore

#MaritimeArt #BBC #SeaAreas #Cartography #BritishCulture #UKHeritage #NauticalArt #Painting #Seascape #MetOffice #NationalTreasure #bbcradio4
#wordsofwisdomwednesday #wednesdaywisdom

BBC "In Touch" #BBCRadio4 #BBCInTouch #BlindMastodon

Online Safety Act - verification services for those with vision issues

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002htvr

#reform #yusuf #farage #BBCRadio4 #news for redouble his effort I read doubled his funding into the #fascists war chest. Cunning stunt. #justsaying #antfa ✊

Keep Longwave – The campaign to maintain our radio heritage https://keeplongwave.co.uk/

#radio #LW #Longwave #radio4longwave #Radio4 #bbcradio4 #bbc #petition #saveradio #shippingforecast #radio4shippingforecast #TheArchers

Keep Longwave – The campaign to maintain our radio heritage https://keeplongwave.co.uk/

#radio #LW #Longwave #radio4longwave #Radio4 #bbcradio4 #bbc #petition #saveradio #shippingforecast #radio4shippingforecast #TheArchers

Keep Longwave – The campaign to maintain our radio heritage https://keeplongwave.co.uk/

#radio #LW #Longwave #radio4longwave #Radio4 #bbcradio4 #bbc #petition #saveradio #shippingforecast #radio4shippingforecast #TheArchers

Keep Longwave – The campaign to maintain our radio heritage https://keeplongwave.co.uk/

#radio #LW #Longwave #radio4longwave #Radio4 #bbcradio4 #bbc #petition #saveradio #shippingforecast #radio4shippingforecast #TheArchers

Keep Longwave – The campaign to maintain our radio heritage https://keeplongwave.co.uk/

#radio #LW #Longwave #radio4longwave #Radio4 #bbcradio4 #bbc #petition #saveradio #shippingforecast #radio4shippingforecast #TheArchers

The completely brilliant and lovely lovely lovely Alice Roberts on Desert Island Discs:
https://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download/proto/https/vpid/p0hls17r.mp3
#AliceRoberts #DiD #DesertIslandDiscs #DiggingForBritain #Archaeology #Osteology #Anatomy #Humanism #BBC #BBCRadio4 #BBCRadio4Extra #medicine #rollerblades #education #biology