BBC Radio 4 Podcasts

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand-up and sketches.By BBC Radio 4

Kirsty Lang is in the chair as the South of England take on Northern Ireland.By BBC Radio 4

After Little Mix said goodbye to their fans with their final show on Saturday before going on hiatus, it seems that for the first time in decades, Britain is without a major girl band. Emma is joined by Melanie Chisholm from The Spice Girls and music journalist, Jacqueline Springer.In the wake of the tragic killings of toddlers Star Hobson and Arth…

16 MAY 22By BBC Radio 4

Every moment of the day tiny biological clocks are ticking throughout the body, but Russell Foster, world-renowned expert in circadian neuroscience, warns that modern life is playing havoc with these ancient and delicate mechanisms. In his latest book, Life Time: The New Science Of The Body Clock And How It Can Revolutionise Your Sleep and Health, …

Mike Bubbins is a good bloke, a good husband and a good Dad, but he never quite feels like he fits in. Not in an odd way, he's keen to point out. It's just he dresses like he lives in the 70s, his house looks like a 70s film set, and he drives a 70s Ford Cortina.So yeah, in other words, in an odd way.He's not done bad for a lad who failed his A-Lev…

Carolyn Quinn and guests discuss Northern IrelandBy BBC Radio 4

Finland has formally announced its intention to apply for membership of NATO. In Sweden the ruling Social Democrats said they were abandoning decades of opposition to membership.By BBC Radio 4

40 years ago the BBC broadcast a new TV cooking series called "Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking". It was a first, and showed audiences that Indian food did not rely on curry powder, and that dishes were different depending on what region of India they originated. But that's not all, the series and Madhur Jaffrey's subsequent books (she has written m…

The writer Maya Angelou talks to Michael Parkinson, in a programme first broadcast in 1988. Maya Angelou died in 2014, at the age of 86.By BBC Radio 4

She wants to be a first minister for all, having led her party to a historic election win. Sinn Féin now hold the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly, entitling them to the position of first minister.From local councillor to would-be leader of the power sharing executive, Mark Coles looks at the life and career of Michelle O'Neill, the IRA …

Ukraine says it has forced Russian troops to retreat from its second city.By BBC Radio 4

Emeli Sandé is one of Britain’s most successful songwriters - with 19 million singles sold; including three number one singles, six million albums and four BRIT awards. Emeli joins Emma to discuss her music and career.How are disabled children being affected by the war in Ukraine? There are claims that thousands have been forgotten and abandoned in…

China has been warned by the World Health Organisation that its so-called 'zero covid' approach is unsustainable. Hundreds of millions of people have been kept under lockdown in cities across the country, leaving the economy severely jolted, and critics calling it an abuse of human rights. However, the Chinese authorities seem determined to carry o…

George Parker of the Financial Times is joined by the former chief whip and Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith MP and the Labour leader in the Lords, Angela Smith, who also speaks on Northern Ireland to discuss the Queen's Speech and rising tensions over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland. The former Housing Secretary Robert …

14 MAY 22By BBC Radio 4

Energy bills, the big food shop, the price of filling up the car - everything costs more just now and there’s no sign it’s going to change soon.Felicity Hannah and guests ask where can you look for cheaper options, to make our money go further, but still have some fun?She is joined in the studio by expert deal hunters who promise not to suggest cut…

The price of fuel, fertiliser and feed has risen significantly. We hear what impact that is having on free range egg producers and pig farmers - some of whom are being driven out of business.30,000 people are allowed come to the UK each year to work on fruit, veg and flower farms via the seasonal worker visa scheme. But some who come here say they …

The World Health Organisation recently released some new estimates of the global death toll of the pandemic. But the figures for a few countries have caused controversy. Tim Harford speaks to Professor Jon Wakefield, who worked on the analysis - and Indian data journalist Rukmini S about the debate that’s erupted in India over the figures.(man puzz…

In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspectiveBy BBC Radio 4

'We must never underestimate the power of words to shape public opinion and politics', writes Bernardine Evaristo. This comes in the aftermath of a call from a school authority in South Dakota for the banning of her novel, 'Girl, Woman, Other' on the grounds that it - and four other novels - are unsuitable for seventeen and eighteen-year-olds. Bern…

This week on the Fortunately podcast, Fi and Jane are joined by mother-daughter broadcasters Andi Oliver and Miquita Oliver. Andi is the presenter of Great British Menu, the Sky Arts Book Club and upcoming Radio 4 podcast One Dish. Miquita has hosted the legendary Popworld, the Sunday Times Culture Show and Sunday Brunch. Topics include their recen…

Boris Johnson is to visit Northern Ireland next week, with the power sharing executive and the Stormont Assembly in paralysis over post-Brexit trade controls.By BBC Radio 4

Kathy Clugston and the panel are in Shropshire. This week, the green-fingered experts answering your questions are Bunny Guinness, Matt Biggs and Matthew Pottage. The panel think of some moisture-loving plants and shrubs for around a garden pond, as well as suggesting how we can keep our gardens wildlife-friendly and biodiverse in times of extreme …

13 MAY 22By BBC Radio 4

‘Alice’s Book’ by Karina Urbach tells the story of Karina's grandmother Alice Urbach. Before the Second World War Alice wrote a cookbook called Cooking the Viennese Way! but when books by Jewish authors couldn't be distributed, Alice was taken off it. Karina talks about her family history, intellectual theft by the Nazis and her mission to restore …

Chris Pearson and Scott Bryan suggest new podcast listens for May. Charlie Craggs tells us about making her acting debut in Doctor Who: Redacted,. We'll hear about how it feels to join the Doctor Who family, and the importance of trans representation in the show.Plus, more great new listening for May, with extracts from:RadiomanLususQueer Spaces: B…

By Kaite O'ReillySeren has been feeling livid just recently. Is this the menopause, or some righteous anger resurfacing? And with everything she fought for, how come her daughter Efa refuses to call herself disabled? When she rekindles an old friendship on a lockdown zoom, she remembers her glory days as a disability rights activist, and what ensue…

DEFRA has opened a tree health laboratory in Surrey. Plant diseases, pests and invasive species are thought to cost the UK £1.7 billion per year. Scientists at the Forest Research lab in Alice Holt near Farnham say the £5.8 million facility will enable them to study both known and emerging threats from tree pests and diseases.An £11 million state-o…

On the 25th anniversary of Radiohead’s breakthrough album, admirers from literature, music, science and politics examine the album’s prophetic qualities. Did OK Computer actually shape and predict the future? In June 1997, an also-ran band in the Britpop wars put out a third LP. Moving clear of their musical peers, who were engaged in 60s nostalgia…

In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspectiveBy BBC Radio 4

The election in Northern Ireland saw nationalists, Sinn Fein, win the most votes. Their leader, Michelle O'Neill, becomes first minister. It has been heralded as a historic result. But what will its impact - on Stormont politics, the protocol and the union - end up being? Joining David Aaronovitch in the briefing room are:Enda McClafferty, BBC Nort…

On today's Front Row review, we discuss directors taking a new look at much loved works: Daniel Fish’s Broadway production of Oklahoma!, now at the Young Vic in London, explores the darker aspects of the musical. Conversations with Friends, the debut novel by bestselling author Sally Rooney, has been adapted for television, following the lockdown s…

The Metropolitan Police has handed out another fifty fixed penalty notices for breaches of Covid restrictions in Downing Street and other Government buildings.By BBC Radio 4

The vitamins market is growing fast, with many companies now offering bespoke vitamin plans that claim to produce the perfect personalised prescription just for you.Our listener Gareth wants to know if this could be a quick fix for his low energy and poor diet so Greg is going to find out. He’s got his sights on the popular companies suggesting per…

Could magic mushrooms be the key to a revolution in treating depression? Professor David Nutt, director of the Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research, thinks so. He tells Vic Gill about recent research suggesting that psilocybin - the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms - triggers rewiring of the brain in people with treatment-resistant…

Having grown up in Cornwall Jane Johnson has a deep love of the landscape of the south west. She and her husband Abdel take Clare on a coastal walk along steep rocky footpaths that offer breathtaking views of the Cornish coastline around the Lizard to Lands End. It's a favourite walk for the couple who often see dolphins, whales and basking sharks …

12 MAY 22By BBC Radio 4

While some countries fight to reclaim antiquities that were stolen centuries ago, Cambodian investigators are dealing with far more recent thefts. Many of the country’s prized treasures were taken by looters in the 1980s and 1990s and then sold on to some of the world’s most prestigious museums, including the British Museum and the Victoria & Alber…

H*tler’s Tasters is a dark comedy about the young women who have the “honour” of being Adolf Hitler’s food tasters. The play explores the way girls navigate sexuality, friendship, patriotism, and poison during the Third Reich. Emma Barnett talks to its award winning playwright, Michelle Kholos Brooks After a record number of women are elected to St…

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of our ancestors, Homo erectus, who thrived on Earth for around two million years whereas we, Homo sapiens, emerged only in the last three hundred thousand years. Homo erectus, or Upright Man, spread from Africa to Asia and it was on the Island of Java that fossilised remains were found in 1891 in an expedition l…

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of our ancestors, Homo erectus, who thrived on Earth for around two million years whereas we, Homo sapiens, emerged only in the last three hundred thousand years. Homo erectus, or Upright Man, spread from Africa to Asia and it was on the Island of Java that fossilised remains were found in 1891 in an expedition l…

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of our ancestors, Homo erectus, who thrived on Earth for around two million years whereas we, Homo sapiens, emerged only in the last three hundred thousand years. Homo erectus, or Upright Man, spread from Africa to Asia and it was on the Island of Java that fossilised remains were found in 1891 in an expedition l…

Jon Holmes remixes the news into the award-winning The Skewer. This week Starmer's Survival, Black Rod enters, Doctor Who vs The Racists, Ambient Spaghetti, and Things Go Backwards.An Unusual production for BBC Radio 4By BBC Radio 4

This week we’re talking about spring veg, and ask about one of the big issues facing farmers and growers - who is going to pick it? We’ve reported on problems attracting both people already based in the UK and seasonal workers from abroad onto British farms, especially since Brexit - and the impact of the war in Ukraine. 30,000 people are allowed t…

In-depth reporting, intelligent analysis and breaking news from a global perspectiveBy BBC Radio 4