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BBC Radio 4 Podcasts

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Topical comedy from the sharpest satirical minds in the business. Listen first on BBC Sounds, every Friday. Is the news driving you up the wall? You’re not alone. Let the comedians take the strain and work out what’s been funny this week. Features BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz, Dead Ringers, The Naked Week and Too Long; Didn’t Read. Listen on BBC Sounds, seven days earlier than anywhere else, and subscribe to make sure that you don’t miss an episode.
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Uncanny

BBC Radio 4

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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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Armando Iannucci hosts the programme that gives you a cast-iron guarantee to be laser-focused on decoding the baffling world of political language. Each week he'll be joined by a guest to crack open the political phrasebook and attempt to demystify 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 p ...
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Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires and motivates them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future
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Arts & Ideas

BBC Radio 4

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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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Screenshot

BBC Radio 4

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Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode guide us through the expanding universe of the moving image revealing fascinating links and hidden gems from cinema and TV to streaming and beyond.
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Take Four Books

BBC Radio 4

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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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Americast

BBC 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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You're Dead to Me

BBC Radio 4

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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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When Antony Easton's enigmatic father passes away, he begins sorting through a suitcase filled with cryptic family clues. Neatly stacked German money, a family tree stretching back generations, and books filled with sprawling notes. He also finds his father's birth certificate, but bearing a different name. Confronting his dad's double identity, Antony begins a ten-year quest to uncover the truth. Piece-by-piece he comes to understand his family's dark history. Large numbers of his relatives ...
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Illuminated

BBC Radio 4

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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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At this week's Labour Conference, Kier Starmer warned that Britain faces a 'fork in the road'. Helping Andy Zaltzman decide which way to turn are Ian Smith, Celya AB, Hugo Rifkind and Zoe Lyons. Written by Andy Zaltzman. With additional material by: Cody Dahler, Eve Delaney and John TothillProducer: Georgia Keating and James RobinsonExecutive Produ…
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A five-part drama about a family - and a society - divided by far-right populist extremism. When Louise a senior officer in the Garda Síochána sees her brother Frank on the news, taking part in an aggressive far-right protest she is shocked. Not least because she is and she had no idea Frank had been influenced by the populist extremists who hurl a…
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A brand-new tale of terror for the Halloween season Written and presented by Danny RobinsResearcher: Nancy BottomleyEditing and sound design: Charlie Brandon-KingMusic: Evelyn SykesTheme music by Lanterns on the LakeHead of Production: Kerry LuterCommissioning executive: Paula McDonnellCommissioning editor: Rhian RobertsProduced by Danny Robins and…
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How did Bruce become The Boss, and what did it cost him to get there? Laura Barton explores the extraordinary life story of Bruce Springsteen, taking a front-row seat at five important gigs to reveal the life behind the legend. Bruce’s story begins in the small factory town of Freehold, New Jersey. His father, Douglas, is distant. The love from his…
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The writer Marian Keyes was cast away by Kirsty Young in 2017. It’s thirty years since she published her first novel, Watermelon. Her books have sold in their millions, and many of her bestsellers have been adapted for the screen. She spoke to Kirsty about how she feels when she’s finished writing a book. You can listen to the full episode on BBC S…
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There will be no U-turn on the government’s plans for inheritance tax for farmers, according to the Farming Minister. Dame Angela Eagle says planned changes will go ahead in next month’s budget, in spite of press reports to the contrary. We also ask her about the Sustainable Farming Incentive. Some farmers are furious because they say the latest sc…
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Greg Jenner is joined by Dr Caroline Dodds Pennock and comedian Desiree Burch in the 15th century to learn all about the Columbian Exchange, which is often described as the start of globalisation. In this episode, we go beyond the expeditions of Christopher Columbus to share the bigger story of a monumental exchange of plants, foods, animals, mater…
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How will the agreement to meet affect President Zelensky's prospects of getting American Tomahawk missiles to strengthen Ukraine's arsenal? Also on the programme: the Prime Minister has condemned a decision to ban Israeli football fans from a match in Birmingham next month; and Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of Edmund Hillary’s 1953 Ever…
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Guillermo Del Toro talks about his new Frankenstein film and our critics deliver their verdict. Julia Roberts plays a college professor whose career becomes entangled in campus sexual politics, in Luca Guadanino's After The Hunt.Hollie McNish's poetry collection "Virgin" unpicks the meaning of the word and the man-made concept beneath it. Presenter…
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The head of MI5 has said Chinese state operatives present a daily national security threat to the UK and expressed frustration about the collapse of a case into alleged spying on behalf of Beijing in Britain. Also: The Chancellor says she's planning targeted action in her Budget next month to tackle cost of living challenges. And a lucky thirteen f…
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Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis broke the sport’s world record again this week at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. It’s the 14th consecutive time he’s broken the record. Professor of Sports Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University, Steve Haake, joins Victoria Gill to discuss this monumental feat of athleticism, and to explain the…
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As Rachel Reeves approaches a tricky budget, her job has got that much harder. Some of our most fundamental economic data, statistics that policymakers are used to accepting at face value, suddenly have major question marks over their accuracy. The UK’s top stats agency, the Office for National Statistics, finds itself under considerable pressure a…
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One of the most revered and prolific British classical musicians, Thomas Adès made his name with his 1995 opera Powder Her Face, written when he was just 24 years old. His orchestral composition Asyla was nominated for the Mercury Prize for album of the year in 1999. Recordings of his opera The Tempest and, more recently, his score for the ballet T…
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One one hand, the world is going to hell, on the other, the age of terror and death has ended, so which is it? Stewart Lee joins Armando to take a look at this maximal approach to political language. How do you do moderate politics with caps lock on? What's the smart way to diffuse complex arguments about politics? And given the details still to be…
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More Halloween horrors from Danny Robins... dare you listen? Written and presented by Danny RobinsResearcher: Nancy BottomleyEditing and sound design: Charlie Brandon-KingMusic: Evelyn SykesTheme music by Lanterns on the LakeHead of Production: Kerry LuterCommissioning executive: Paula McDonnellCommissioning editor: Rhian RobertsProduced by Danny R…
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"Too little too late", that’s what we’re hearing from some farmers who’ve already ploughed up and planted fields that were being farmed for nature. They say this is because the government took too long to come up with an extension to their environmental funding. A House of Lords Committee says the Windsor Framework, the post-Brexit agreement betwee…
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The footballer David Beckham was cast away by Kirsty Young in 2017. Born and raised in East London, he spent hours as a child kicking a ball around at the local park with his father. At the age of seven, he played for his first team, Ridgeway Rovers, before coming to the attention of Manchester United. He spoke to Kirsty about how his love of footb…
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As the government publishes key witness statements at the centre of a collapsed case involving two men accused of spying for China, we hear reaction from the former head of Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, Dominic Grieve. Also on the programme: former Downing Street Adviser Dominic Cummings claims that there was a serious breach of…
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Singer songwriter Richard Ashcroft - former frontman of The Verve - talks about the material on his new album Lovin You, and about supporting Oasis on their reunion tour this summer. A play without a script which questions the impact of AI on our lives and celebrates the ingenuity of human actors: Writer Nathan Ellis and actor Roisin Gallagher join…
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Since losing to Donald Trump in last year’s presidential election, Democrats across the U.S have been working behind the scenes to change the party’s image and its policies. In places like New York, Zohran Mamdani has led a progressive campaign that’s caught global attention. Does the rest of the party need to follow suit? In today’s episode, Sarah…
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Sir Keir Starmer has said the government will publish key evidence at the centre of a row about the collapse of a case involving two men accused of spying for China. Also: A former funeral director in Hull admits 35 counts of fraud linked to his running of the business. And vets insist they're ready to help pet owners struggling with bills after th…
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When Antony Easton’s enigmatic and distant father passes away, he discovers a suitcase filled with cryptic clues. Neatly stacked German money, a family tree he doesn’t recognise, and books filled with sprawling notes. He also finds his father’s birth certificate, but bearing a different name. Confronting his dad’s double identity, Antony begins a t…
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Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: The Conservative party conference has been told that millions of people are getting free cars from the government because they have ADHD and anxiety. Is that right? The chair of the Labour party says that only 3% of farmers will be affected by proposed changes to inheritance tax. …
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A chilling tale of the supernatural for Halloween. Written and presented by Danny RobinsResearcher: Nancy BottomleyEditing and sound design: Charlie Brandon-KingMusic: Evelyn SykesTheme music by Lanterns on the LakeHead of Production: Kerry LuterCommissioning executive: Paula McDonnellCommissioning editor: Rhian RobertsProduced by Danny Robins and …
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The great American writer Maya Angelou was cast away back in 1987. She told Michael Parkinson about the disturbing reason she became temporarily mute during her childhood, which in turn led to her love of poetry. Some listeners may find her description of events upsetting. You can find the full episode on BBC Sounds. Details of organisations offeri…
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Ragnar and the family try to understand what the confession from the basement means. Is it the truth? Or was it just another story that Jimmy spun? Determined to find something to disprove the statement, they head to the National Archive in search of answers. While the family have been grappling with the confession and what it means for them, Louis…
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In 1995, a mysterious man phones the O’Connors. He wants to get something off his chest. Sensing something potentially huge, Nemone secretly records their meeting. What happened next could have change everything. The secret the mysterious man wants to share? He knows who killed Donk Ambridge. Meanwhile Ragnar is forced to confront everything he tho…
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This week on Money Box Live we're looking at a topic that's very difficult but very important. What happens to your finances when the worst happens? How do you plan for your financial future when you've been diagnosed with a life-limiting or terminal illness? It's a question a group of MPs have been asking too. The All Party Parliamentary Group for…
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The families of Israeli hostages killed in Gaza have expressed frustration and anger at the delays in the return of remains to Israel. Hamas agreed to return the bodies of 28 people under the terms of the ceasefire agreement. While all 20 living hostages have been returned, only four bodies have been sent back. Hamas officials have warned that some…
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Sam Ryder talks to Samira about his career, gaining Eurovision success with Space Man and he performs the song Armour live, a track from his forthcoming album Heartland. With chart topping songs and a global smash hit animated film, directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans talk about creating the phenomenon that is KPop Demon Hunters. The Pulitzer…
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People coming to the UK to work are to face tougher English language rules, requiring them to meet an A-Level standard in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Also: A man is sentenced to five years in jail for threatening to kill the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. And YouTube sets out a new approach to preventing young people viewing misleadin…
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BEAR by Marian Engel, chosen by novelist Sarah WatersTHE TRUE BELIEVER by Eric Hoffer, chosen by film editor Walter MurchTHE VISITOR by Maeve Brennan, chosen by presenter Harriett Gilber Sarah Waters, acclaimed author of Fingersmith and The Night Watch, and Walter Murch, legendary film editor of Apocalypse Now and The English Patient choose the boo…
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Many people will be familiar with Parkinson’s disease: the progressive brain disorder that causes symptoms including tremors and slower movement, leading on to serious cognitive problems. You might not know that it’s the fastest-growing neurological condition in the world. Today it affects around 11.8 million people and that’s forecast to double by…
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Danny Robins brings more daily horrors for Halloween. Written and presented by Danny RobinsResearcher: Nancy BottomleyEditing and sound design: Charlie Brandon-KingMusic: Evelyn SykesTheme music by Lanterns on the LakeHead of Production: Kerry LuterCommissioning executive: Paula McDonnellCommissioning editor: Rhian RobertsProduced by Danny Robins a…
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A new report says that the presence of microplastics in seafood has been overstated by the media. The paper, by researchers at Heriot-Watt University, says although media reports tended to concentrate on seafood contamination, the levels of microplastics in seafood is no greater than in other foodstuffs. It also says that dust and indoor air contai…
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An arctic explorer is trapped in a snow drift the size of a coffin. How will he survive frostbite and make it out alive? In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge. Danish born Peter Freuchen looked like a Viking, 6ft 7, huge beard, massive furs. His life was one…
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In a speech to the Knesset the US President hailed a ‘historic dawn’ in the Middle East as Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees return home under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. We hear from voices on the ground and the BBC’s Tim Franks in Jerusalem to assess what the chances are of a lasting peace.…
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Pianist Lang Lang's 2019 album Piano Book was one of the best selling classical albums that year, with over a billion streams and counting. He’s now followed it up with Piano Book 2, an eclectic selection of 32 short works from both classical and contemporary composers. He came into the studio to talk to us about the album and to play for us. Diane…
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The U.S. president has hailed a “historic dawn of a new Middle East” on the day the last 20 living hostages were returned by Hamas to Israel, and almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were also released. It was an integral part of the peace agreement brokered by the United States, and Donald Trump was welcomed with cheers as he addressed…
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There have been celebrations across Israel and the Palestinian territories, as a major hostage and prisoner exchange marked a significant step towards ending two years of war in Gaza. Also: The Conservatives urge the government to "come clean" about the collapse of the China spying case. And the Nobel Prize in Economics has been awarded to three pr…
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"The area I mostly work in is generally known as free - the free music area. And free is one of those four letter words, like rock or jazz or punk maybe. It started out meaning something." Derek Bailey Born in 1930 in Sheffield, Bailey worked as a session musician in dance bands and orchestras before turning his back on that world. Free improvisati…
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Of the 7,000 languages estimated to exist, half will have disappeared by the end of this century. That’s the stark warning from the Director of the Endangered Languages Archive, Mandana Seyfeddinipur. The evolution of languages, and their rise and fall, is part of human history, but the speed at which this is happening today is unprecedented. Manda…
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A new short story from the Uncanny Inbox. Written and presented by Danny RobinsResearcher: Nancy BottomleyEditing and sound design: Charlie Brandon-KingMusic: Evelyn SykesTheme music by Lanterns on the LakeHead of Production: Kerry LuterCommissioning executive: Paula McDonnellCommissioning editor: Rhian RobertsProduced by Danny Robins and Simon Bar…
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England's current approach to planning for floods is "underpowered and fragmented". That's according to a report from MPs which is published today. The Environmental Audit Committee says the Government should set up a single joint flood reporting and information service and spend more on flood resilience, with a fairer funding formula for rural are…
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