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A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.
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Download the best satirical comedy from Radio 4, every Friday. Features The News Quiz, Dead Ringers, The Naked Week and Too Long; Didn't Read.
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Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain tackle listeners' conundrums with the power of science!
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The Limelight podcast - for fiction and drama serials you won't want to miss from Radio 4.
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Historical themes, events and key individuals from Akhenaten to Xenophon.
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Brighten your week with the latest BBC Radio 4 comedy.
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Tim Harford and the More or Less team try to make sense of the statistics which surround us. From BBC Radio 4
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Lucy Worsley investigates the crimes of Victorian women from a contemporary, feminist perspective.
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NEW on The History Podcast: Half-Life. Drawn to a family legend about his German-Jewish family's dramatic escape from Nazi Germany in 1936, the writer Joe Dunthorne accidentally discovers a far more disturbing history.
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Biographical series in which guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.
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In-depth conversations with some of the world's leading artists and creatives across theatre, visual arts, music, dance, film and more. Hosted by John Wilson.
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From ghostly phantoms to UFOs, Danny Robins investigates real-life stories of paranormal encounters. So, are you Team Believer or Team Sceptic? Written and presented by Danny Robins Editor and Sound Designer: Charlie Brandon-King Music: Evelyn Sykes Theme Music by Lanterns on the Lake Produced by Danny Robins and Simon Barnard A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4
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Insight, wit and analysis from BBC correspondents, journalists and writers telling stories beyond the news headlines. Presented by Kate Adie.
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News-making original journalism documentary series, investigating stories at home and abroad.
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Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.
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In depth reporting, intelligent analysis and major breaking news from a global perspective
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Series that demystifies health issues, separating fact from fiction and bringing clarity to conflicting health advice.
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Radio 4's weekly obituary programme, telling the life stories of those who have died recently
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David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news
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In this new series, Helen Lewis and Armando Iannucci investigate which political buzzwords are strong and stable and which are a crock of covfefe. Each week Helen and Armando will crack open the political phrasebook and attempt to decode the doublespeak. Why does everything now have to be 'turbo-charged'? What's the difference between a 'pledge' and a 'mission'? Why has my local MP been 'weaponised' and should I be worried? You'll be treated to a crash course in the dark arts of political la ...
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National and international news from BBC Radio 4.
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From Altruism to Wittgenstein, philosophers, theories and key themes.
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Reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news.
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Americast is the authoritative US news and politics podcast from the BBC. Each week we provide audiences with the best analysis from across the BBC, with on-the-ground observations and big picture insights about the stories which are defining America right now. The podcast is hosted by trusted BBC journalists including the BBC’s North America editor, Sarah Smith, BBC Radio 4 presenter, Justin Webb, the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent, Marianna Spring, and BBC North Americ ...
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Leading thinkers discuss the ideas shaping our lives – looking back at the news and making links between past and present. Broadcast as Free Thinking, Fridays at 9pm on BBC Radio 4. Presented by Matthew Sweet, Shahidha Bari and Anne McElvoy.
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Presenter James Crawford looks at an author's latest work and delves further into their creative process by learning about the three other texts that have shaped their writing.
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Stories from around the world and the people at the heart of them.
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An insight into the character of an influential figure making news headlines
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The latest news about food, farming and the countryside
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Popular culture, poetry, music and visual arts and the roles they play in our society.
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Unique satire with topical and character-filled sketches which brilliantly capture everything that provokes us; culture, politics, work... and other people.
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Scientific principles, theory, and the role of key figures in the advancement of science.
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Political journalist Jonathan Pie gets a radio phone-in show and as his personal and professional worlds collide we see why he's so incredibly angry about absolutely everything.
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Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music
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Led by James Naughtie, a group of readers talk to acclaimed authors about their best-known novels
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Intelligent and challenging quiz games on BBC Radio 4. Featuring Round Britain Quiz, Counterpoint and Brain of Britain with Quizmasters including Paul Gambaccini, Kirsty Lang and Russell Davies.
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Investigating every aspect of the food we eat
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A panel of horticultural experts answer gardening questions from a live audience. Recorded in a different location each week
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Series exploring the world of words and the ways in which we use them
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Illuminated is BBC Radio 4's home for creative and surprising one-off documentaries that shed light on hidden worlds. Welcome to a place of audio beauty and joy, with emotion and human experience at its heart. The programmes you will find in this feed explore the reality of contemporary Britain and the world, venturing into its weirdest and most wonderful aspects. This is a chance to meet voices that are not normally heard, open secret doors into concealed chambers and, above all, be transpo ...
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New research on how society works
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The latest news from the world of personal finance plus advice for those trying to make the most of their money.
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The comedy podcast that takes history seriously. In each episode of You’re Dead to Me from BBC Radio 4, Greg Jenner is joined by a comedian and an expert historian to learn and laugh about the past. History isn’t just about dates and textbooks – it’s about extraordinary characters, amazing stories, and some very questionable fashion choices. How long did it take to build an Egyptian pyramid? What does the Bayeux Tapestry reveal about medieval life? Why did it take nearly half a millennium fo ...
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Celebrating the music that special guests cherish and would like to bestow to future generations.
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Weekly discussion programme, setting the cultural agenda every Monday
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The big political stories with lively discussion and expert comment and analysis from politicians and journalists, 10pm every Sunday on BBC Radio 4.
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Every Friday we bring you a new drama from BBC Radio 4 or Radio 3. Exercise your imagination with some of the best writers and actors on radio. Storytelling at its very best.
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Andy Zaltzman is joined by Geoff Norcott, Ria Lina, Ava Santina and Alasdair Beckett-King to break down the week in news. The panel discuss the results of the UK local elections, the reaching of a US-UK trade deal, the storm of online misinformation surrounding the India-Pakistan border stand-off, the statutes of statues, and the conclusion of the …
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Benicio Del Toro talks about playing a business tycoon in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme. This aesthetically stylised film, by the director who also made The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel, is reviewed by Tom and critics Larushka Ivan-Zadeh and Rachel Cooke. They also give their verdict on Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckon…
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New estimates show that net migration stood at an estimated 431,000 in the year ending December 2024, down from 860,000 in 2023. This is the biggest fall since the pandemic. Also: The Justice Secretary accepts a series of proposals about the sentencing of offenders in an effort to cut prison numbers. Shabana Mahmood also extends a trial of chemical…
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Why did Trump ambush the South African president?
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South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa went to the White House in hope of a ‘reset’ with the USA on trade and asylum laws. What he got was a choreographed presentation from Donald Trump with allegations of a white genocide taking place in South Africa, with stark parallels to the infamous Zelensky meeting in the Oval Office. Justin, Anthony, and …
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What would cuts to Nasa mean for space science?
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Progress has been made in our search for alien life. So announced a team of scientists from Cambridge university last week who, using a powerful space telescope, have detected molecules which on Earth are only produced by simple organisms. All in all, it’s been a busy week for space science. And all against a backdrop of a US government request to …
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What is ransomware and what can be done to stop it?
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In the past few weeks Marks & Spencer, the Co-op and Harrods have all been grappling with the effects of cyber attacks. The most profitable form of cyber attack at the moment is ransomware where criminals infiltrate computer systems, shut them down and then demand a ransom to restore services, or even to stop them publishing data they’ve stolen. Th…
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Michael Rosen hears the fascinating story of the origin of all Indo-European languages from Laura Spinney, the author of Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an Indo-European language and Laura has been investigating how that came to be.Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with t…
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Pianist James Rhodes was a relative latecomer to a professional music, and was 30 when he performed his first concert. In 2010 he became the first core classical pianist to be signed to the world’s biggest rock music label, Warner Brothers. He has recorded nine albums, including his most recent one, Mania, which features work by Bach, Chopin Brahms…
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22 MAY 25By BBC Radio 4
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Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the great figures in world literature. The French playwright Molière (1622-1673) began as an actor, aiming to be a tragedian, but he was stronger in comedy, touring with a troupe for 13 years until Louis XIV summoned him to audition at the Louvre and gave him his break. It was in Paris and at Versailles that M…
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The Island of Strangers and the Manacled Gimp of Brussels
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Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language. This week, we're looking at inflammatory language. From Immigration to EU deals, we've heard talk of of 'betrayal' 'surrender' 'invasion' and of course 'an island of strangers'. When is this hyperbole appropriate and when is it egregio…
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Trump ambushes South Africa leader in White House meeting
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In an extraordinary moment, Donald Trump used an Oval Office meeting with South Africa's president to play him a video claiming to show a white genocide in his country. A South African government minister gives us his reponse to that diplomatic ambush. Also: We ask how much political damage the government has suffered over its climbdown on Winter F…
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Frontwoman of Garbage, Shirley Manson talks about the band's latest album Let All That We Imagine Be The Light, which is inspired by contemporary events including the killing of George Floyd in Los Angeles, but which presents an optimistic perspective on a dystopian world. We hear from the winner of the International Booker Prize, which was announc…
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The government makes a U-turn on winter fuel
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Sir Keir Starmer has announced plans to ease cuts to winter fuel payments in a U-turn following mounting political pressure. Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, he said the change would allow "more pensioners" to receive the benefit. Also: A White House meeting between South Africa's president and Donald Trump in front of the world's media desc…
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How will Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' change America?
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Donald Trump's ‘one big beautiful bill’ looks set to be his defining piece of legislation for his second term, if he can get it through Congress. It’s an enormous bill which covers everything from the future of Medicaid, the taxes Americans pay, to border spending and national defence. But not all Republicans are on board and the president may face…
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Parents typically pay an average of more than £80 per week for a childminder and £66 per week for after-school club, to cover the hours they're working. That's according to the latest data from the charity Coram Family and Childcare. This week a new trial of free breakfast clubs launched at 750 schools across England, and the government says it'll …
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21 MAY 25By BBC Radio 4
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21/05/2025 The UK-EU deal, badger vaccination, Scottish climate targets
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Border post facilities set up since Brexit to handle import checks could now be scaled down or even dismantled. The UK's new deal with the EU promises progress towards an agreement to reduce the paperwork and border checks involved in trading foods like meat and dairy. It also includes a deal on fishing which would allow EU boats to fish in British…
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The UK government has suspended trade talks with Israel and summoned its ambassador over the decision to allow a basic amount of food to enter the enclave and its continuation of the military offensive in Gaza. The European Union also says it's reviewing its trade agreement with Israel. Also on the programme: is the government planning to row back …
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Musician Rhiannon Giddens on returning to her North Carolina roots after working with Beyoncé
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Musician Rhiannon Giddens on returning to her North Carolina roots after working with Beyoncé. As a huge retrospective of the work of the artist Helen Chadwick opens at The Hepworth Wakefield, art critic Louisa Buck and the exhibition's curator, Laura Smith, discuss why Chadwick should be viewed as the godmother for a golden generation of British c…
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The UK has suspended trade talks with Israel, the Israeli ambassador to the UK has been summoned to the foreign office and fresh sanctions have been imposed on some settlers in the West Bank. Hundreds of people have been killed in Gaza over the past few days. Also: senior figures in the government discuss whether to row back on the policy restricti…
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Lucy Worsley is back with a brand new series of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of swindlers, hustlers and women on the make. Women trying to make it in a world made for men. In this first ep…
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20 MAY 25By BBC Radio 4
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20/05/2025 - The UK-EU Summit agreements, the impact of bovine TB
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The Prime Minister has re-set the trade relationship between the UK and the EU, with a new, and extremely wide-ranging deal. In this programme Anna Hill digs into the impact of changes around fishing and a new agreement around Sanitary and Phytosanitary rules that govern safety and hygiene. Bovine TB costs the tax payer at least a hundred million p…
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Colombia’s second largest city, Medellín, is booming and one of the biggest industries revolves around the city’s live webcam studios which stream women performing sex acts. It’s estimated there are hundreds of studios in the city employing thousands of women and turning over millions of pounds as men – primarily in the US and Europe – pay to watc…
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Is the government's deal with the EU really a reset - and one the public is looking for? We speak to the Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Also tonight: Israel says five trucks carrying baby food, medicines and flour have entered Gaza - after an 11-week aid blockade. In his interview with us, the Foreign Secretary says it's "simply not enough". We hav…
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Americanswers! Why is Biden’s cancer diagnosis prompting new questions?
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Anthony, Marianna and Justin discuss Joe Biden’s announcement that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. They also talk about the political reaction, including US Vice President JD Vance who says Biden and his staff should have been more transparent about the former president’s health whilst in office. They also analyse some MAGA rumours over…
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25 years after Joanne Harris introduced readers to the soothing delights of Chocolat, she's released her new book Vianne. It’s the prequel that explains how her heroine found her way into the world of high end French confectionery. A new exhibition at the British Museum sheds light on the provenance of popular images of the Hindu god Ganesha, the B…
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The Prime Minister signs a new agreement with the EU
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Britain and the European Union have signed what Sir Keir Starmer has described as a "landmark" deal that takes in trade, security, fishing, and travel arrangements. Speaking at the first summit between UK and EU leaders since Brexit, the prime minister said the arrangement was good for both sides. Also: Israel says five aid trucks carrying baby foo…
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Richey Edwards of The Manic Street Preachers
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Richey was, beautiful says Cummins, a natural icon and a gift to photograph. He also believes his writing has been overshadowed by the fact of his disappearance in 1995. "I think nobody has looked beyond that for quite a long time.” Manic Street Preachers biographer, Simon Price, also knew Richey Edwards and says he was "the most intelligent rock s…
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19 MAY 25By BBC Radio 4
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In his new book, Blueprints, Marcus du Sautoy traces the connections between mathematics and art and the ways in which creatives use numbers to underpin their work – unconsciously or otherwise. From the earliest stone circles to the unique architecture of Zaha Hadid, du Sautoy shows us that there are blueprints everywhere and how logic and aestheti…
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We hear Clive Anderson's new word for the mystery of hotel bathrooms, Sindhu Vee's term to measure cuteness, and a nail-biting finish from Ed Gamble. Ever struggled to find the right word for a feeling or sensation? Unspeakable sees comedian Phil Wang and lexicographer Susie Dent invite celebrity guests to invent new linguistic creations, to solve …
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19/05/25 Summit to 'reset' trading between EU and UK. Bovine TB.
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Sir Keir Starmer welcomes EU leaders to London today for a summit to improve cooperation and "re-set" relations in a post Brexit world. Fishing quotas are being talked about as a possible deal breaker. Leaving the EU has had a huge impact on some UK fishing businesses which is why industry leaders are adamant their interests shouldn’t be bartered a…
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Ben Wright and guests discuss the UK-EU summit.By BBC Radio 4
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It's the glorious summer of 1966 and Hollywood has taken over England’s prettiest village. The residents of Castle Combe have made way for the cast and crew of the biggest budget musical of the decade- Doctor Dolittle. Where sheep once grazed there are two-headed llamas, talking macaws, singing chimps and enormous catering trucks. Propping up the b…
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Israel says it is sending troops into Gaza -- after days of missile strikes.By BBC Radio 4
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Kirsty Lang referees a contest between The South of England and Wales.By BBC Radio 4
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In this episode of Take Four Books James Crawford is joined by the multi-award winning Vietnamese-American poet and author, Ocean Vuong. Together with the writer and editor Heather Parry, they discuss Ocean’s latest novel - ‘The Emperor of Gladness’ - and three key influences behind its creation. Set in the fictional town of East Gladness Connecti…
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Classic Desert Island Discs - Colm Toibin
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Kirsty Young interviews writer Colm Toibin in a programme first heard in 2016.By BBC Radio 4
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We speak to CNN's Jake Tapper on the “cover-up” behind Joe Biden’s decline
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The fallout from Joe Biden’s failed presidential campaign continues with a new book that accuses senior White House figures of covering up the former president’s “physical deterioration”. The author, Jake Tapper - who co-authors the book with Alex Thompson of Axios - claims Biden did not recognise George Clooney at a fundraiser last June hosted by …
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Earlier this month the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also made President Trump's National Security Advisor. The last person to undertake both roles simultaneously was Henry Kissinger in the 1970s. The son of Cuban immigrants, Mr Rubio has had a turbo-charged career; rising from junior positions in his home city of Florida, to the US Senate …
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17/05/2025 Second arrest over PM arson attacks
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Second man arrested over fires on properties linked to Sir Keir Starmer.Three Iranians appear in court on espionage charges.By BBC Radio 4
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Investing in Gold and Accessing Child Trust Funds
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Money Box investigates fees being charged of teenagers who are struggling to access their child trust funds. We speak to an 18 year old who agreed to pay a claims management firm 25% of his fund plus VAT, not realising he could do it for free. Lord David Blunkett was in government when Child Trust Funds were created in 2002, he tells Money Box that…
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Robert Macfarlane’s lyrical musings explore and celebrate our relationship with landscape and nature. He’s a prize-winning author, a lyricist, librettist and spoken-word performer and he’s collaborated with artists, musicians and actors, including Willem Dafoe. At the heart of his latest book is the idea that a river is a living being…will that the…
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Kate Adie presents stories from Gaza, Indian-administered Kashmir, Pakistan, Eswatini and Italy. Amid a deteriorating situation in Gaza, as Israel continues its bombardment and the blockade of aid, some Palestinian children are being evacuated to Jordan for medical treatment. As Fergal Keane travelled with two young cancer patients, he reflects on …
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17 MAY 25By BBC Radio 4
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17/05/25 - Farming Today This Week: US Agriculture Secretary, chlorine chicken, call for inheritance tax pause, Balmoral Show
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The first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit the UK is Brooke Rollins, his Agriculture Secretary. Secretary Rollins told journalists the 'historic' trade deal would create billions of dollars in opportunity for U.S. export markets and more choice for British consumers. She also described their notorious 'chlorinated chicken' as a myth. Is it…
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In the early 2020s, a conspiracy theory started circulating online known as the “dead internet theory”. This suggested that, instead of a vibrant digital super-community where people freely share things like cat videos and conspiracy theories, the internet was instead basically dead - an AI dystopia controlled by the deep state, where almost everyt…
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