A. J. Liebling, born in Manhattan in 1904, joined the staff of the New Yorker in 1935 and contributed innumerable articles to the magazine throughout his lifetime, on subjects ranging from food to boxing and France to horse racing. As a war correspondent during the Second World War, he reported from France, England and Algeria, and participated in the Normandy landings. In later life he married the writer Jean Stafford, his third wife. He died in 1963.

A. J. Liebling

A. J. Rosen is an author of YA fantasy and is known as @agatharoza on Wattpad.

A. J. Rosen

A. K. Davidson

A. O. Scott has been a film critic at the New York Times since 2000. His writing has appeared in many other publications, including the New York Review of Books, Slate, the New Yorker and the Nation. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism in 2010, Scott is currently Distinguished Professor of Film Criticism at Wesleyan University. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. 
 
@aoscott

A. O. Scott

A.S. Byatt (1936-2023) was a novelist, short-story writer and critic of international renown. Her novels include Possession (winner of the Booker Prize 1990), the Frederica Quartet and The Children’s Book, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction. She was appointed CBE in 1990 and DBE in 1999, and was awarded the Erasmus Prize 2016 for her ‘inspiring contribution to life writing’ and the Pak Kyongni Prize 2017. In 2018 she received the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award.

A. S. Byatt

A. T. Williams won the George Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2013 for his book A Very British Killing: The Death of Baha Mousa. He lives in Warwickshire.

A. T. Williams

A. W. Chase

Dubbed ‘The new queen of spy fiction’ by the Guardian newspaper, and ‘the real thing’ by the Washington Post, A.C. 'Ava' Glass is the CWA Dagger-shortlisted author of Alias Emma (The Chase), The Traitor and The Trap. The Traitor was a 2023 Richard and Judy Bookclub pick. Alias Emma was a Barnes and Noble book of the month. A former crime reporter and communications consultant, for five years Ava worked closely with spies. Her time in that world fascinated her, and the people she met back then inspire every book she writes.

A.C. Glass

A.E. Housman

Arthur Edward Waite was the designer and co-creator of the now famous Rider Waite Tarot deck. 
 
An American-born British poet and scholarly mystic, his strong interest in all esoteric matters - divination, magic, Kabbalism, alchemy and Freemasony - led to him penning a number of books. These include the Key to the Tarot, The Book of Ceremonial Magic and A New Encyclopedia of Freemasony.

A.E. Waite

A.E. Warren is the author of the Tomorrow's Ancestors series, which consists of Subject Twenty-One, The Hidden Base, The Fourth Species and The Final Rising. 
 
After spending eight years working as a lawyer, she began to write in the evenings and early mornings as a form of escapism from life in a very small cubicle with lots of files. She self-published her first novels in her spare time, which were picked up by Del Rey UK which is the science fiction/fantasy imprint of Penguin Random House. 
 
 She is an avid reader, occasional gamer and fair-weather runner. She lives in the UK with her husband, daughter and hopefully, one day, a wise border terrier named Austen.

A.E. Warren

A.G.D. Maran

A.J. Ayer

A K Benedict writes crime and speculative fiction in a room filled with clowns, mannequins and Doctor Who figures. Her first novel, The Beauty of Murder, was nominated for an eDunnit award and is in development for a major 8-part TV series by Company Pictures. Her second, Jonathan Dark or The Evidence of Ghosts, came out in February 2016. She's written Torchwood audio dramas for Big Finish and her short stories have featured in anthologies including Great British Horror and Best British Short Stories. She lives in St Leonards-on-Sea with her dog, Dame Margaret Rutherford.

A.K.Benedict

A. L. Kennedy has twice been selected as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists and has won a host of other awards – including the Costa Book of the Year for her novel Day. She lives in Essex.

A.L. Kennedy

A.M. Ellis is a speculative fiction author and lover of everything steeped in myth and mystery. Her stories often lean into diverse voices, not only in her identity as a Black woman, but in exploring neurodivergence and mental health. A proud introvert and nostalgic gamer, she lives in Maryland, USA, with her husband and three children. Angelica is also the author of Hunt A Killer, a PERFECT SCORE novel, under the pen name A.M. Ellis, which she wrote as an IP for Scholastic in the US.

A.M. Ellis

A.N. Wilson was born in 1950 and educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he holds a prominent position in the world of literature and journalism. He is an award-winning biographer and a celebrated novelist, winning prizes for much of his work. He lives in North London.

A.N. Wilson

A.W. Priest

A.B.C. Merriman-Labor was a barrister, writer and munitions worker born in Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1877. His published works include A Series of Lectures on the Negro Race and The Story of the African Slave in a Nutshell. He also edited two editions of the Handbook of Sierra Leone. He arrived in the UK in 1904 to study law. In 1907, he organised a centenary commemoration of the abolition of the slave trade in Westminster Abbey. He later embarked on an 'entertainment-lecture' tour called Life and Scenes in Britain, travelling across thousands of miles of West, South West and Central Africa, which he expanded on to create Britons Through Negro Spectacles.

ABC Merriman-Labor

AJ Cronin

AJ Molloy

Aabria Iyengar is an American actress and author.

Aabria Iyengar

Aaliya Jaleel is a freelance illustrator, designer, and visual development artist, currently majoring in Animation at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is also the illustrator of Under My Hijab and Muslim Girls Rise. You can visit her online at www.aaliyamj.com.

Aaliya Jaleel

Aaron Allston

After more than fifteen years of experience as a clinical psychotherapist, Dr Aaron Balick has taken the amazing insights from psychology and psychotherapy out of the consultation room and made them accessible to the wider world. 
 
He has been an ‘agony uncle’ for many years for both CBBC and BBC Radio 1, as well as on television, including BBC Worldwide, BBC 3 and BBC Learning.

Aaron Balick

Aaron Carroll

Aaron Dignan is the founder of The Ready--a global organizational transformation and coaching practice--that helps companies large and small adopt new forms of self-organization and dynamic teaming. Clients include Johnson &amp; Johnson, Microsoft, Lloyds Bank, Citibank, Boeing, Mailchimp, Airbnb, Dropbox, and charity: water. 
 
He is also the founder of Murmur--a SaaS startup that helps teams scale culture through the magic of working agreements. The Murmur platform will allow every team on the planet to define and share their ways of working. 
 
Dignan is the author of Brave New Work (2019) and Game Frame (2011), co-host of the Brave New Work podcast, and a friend to misfit toys.

Aaron Dignan

Aaron Edwards is a senior lecturer in defence and international affairs at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, specialising in terrorism and counter-insurgency. He is the author and editor of several books, including Defending the Realm: The Politics of Britain’s Small Wars Since 1945, and has lectured all over the world on aspects of national and international security. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Aaron Edwards

Aaron Robertson is a writer, an editor, and a translator of Italian literature. His translation of Igiaba Scego’s Beyond Babylon was short-listed for the 2020 PEN Translation Prize and the National Translation Award, and in 2021 he received a National Endowment for the Arts grant. His work has appeared in the New York Times, The Nation, Foreign Policy, n+1, The Point, and Literary Hub, among other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Aaron Robertson

Aaron Shapiro

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Jonathan Sacks

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks speaks to the world's leading thinkers about morality today 
 
In this fascinating series Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks explores what morality means, speaking with globally renowned thinkers, as well as voices from the next generation. 
 
From Steven Pinker and Robert Putnam to Melinda Gates and Jordan Peterson, the guests discuss the free market and the financial crash, selfies and social media, individuals and tribalism, artificial intelligence, role models, and rediscovering politics of the common good. 
 
With each topic, Rabbi Sacks also talks with teenagers from Manchester, London and Hertfordshire about how they engage with moral questions, and what they see as the greatest moral struggles that Generation Z will face. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks 
 
Producer: Dan Tierney 
Series Editor: Christine Morgan 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 3-7 September 2018 
 
Episode 1: Responsibility 
How can we pursue our own interests without feeling vulnerable and isolated? With Jordan Peterson, Noreena Hertz, and Michael Sandel. 
 
Episode 2: Jordan Peterson 
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks speaks to Jordan Peterson, professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, and discusses how moral codes are formed. 
 
Episode 3: Noreena Hertz 
Noreena Hertz, economist, author and broadcaster, gives her verdict on the current state of capitalism and explores the failure of markets to deliver moral outcomes. 
 
Episode 4: The Selfie Generation 
How does a culture of selfies impact the way we live our lives? With Jean Twenge, Professor of psychology at San Diego State University, and David Brooks, political and social commentator and author. 
 
Episode 5: Jean Twenge 
Rabbi Sacks meets with Jean Twenge to explore why children with higher internet usage seem to have the lowest outcomes for happiness, resilience and tolerance. 
 
Episode 6: David Brooks 
David Brooks, the New York Times columnist, shares with Rabbi Sacks his thoughts on how individualism has gone too far. 
 
Episode 7: Is Society a Myth? 
What happens when we move from "we're all in this together" to "I'm free to be myself"? With Jonathan Haidt, Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University, and Robert Putnam, Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University. 
 
Episode 8: Jonathan Haidt 
Rabbi Sacks talks to Jonathan Haidt, who is concerned about the destructive forms of tribalism in society today. 
 
Episode 9: Robert Putnam 
Why have social bonds collapsed in America, and what does that mean for the rest of the world? Rabbi Sacks and Robert Putnam discuss the importance of social capital. 
 
Episode 10: Artificial Intelligence 
How can humans continue to choose our fate in a world of AI? With Mustafa Suleyman, Co-founder and Head of Applied AI at DeepMind, and Nick Bostrom, Philosophy Professor at the University of Oxford. 
 
Episode 11: Mustafa Suleyman 
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks speaks to Mustafa Suleyman at one of the world's leading innovators in Artificial Intelligence, and explores the biggest moral questions around AI. 
 
Episode 12: Nick Bostrom 
In a further examination of the moral challenges of AI, Rabbi Sacks talks again with Nick Bostrom, who was one of the first to warn of the dangers of 'superintelligence'. 
 
Episode 13: Moral Heroes 
Who are the role models of the next generation, and do they provide hope for a better, more ethical and more responsible world? With Steven Pinker, Melinda Gates, Michael Sandel, and Jordan Peterson. 
 
Episode 14: Steven Pinker and Melinda Gates 
Rabbi Sacks meets with Steven Pinker to hear his reasons for hope for a better world, and with Melinda Gates to explore the motivations for her philanthropy. 
 
Episode 15: Michael Sandel 
In the final episode, Rabbi Sacks and the world-renowned political philosopher Michael Sandel discuss how we can return to a politics of the common good. 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Morality in the 21st Century

A BBC Radio 4 Philosophy and Ethics Series

Michael Portillo

Michael Portillo uncovers the forgotten events concealed by famous moments in history 
 
History is complicated, and to make sense of it, we construct a narrative, editing and shaping the past to form a coherent story. But in doing so, there is much we leave out, leading to gaps in our collective memory. In this series, broadcaster and former politician Michael Portillo revisits some of history's best-known moments to fill in some of these gaps, rediscovering forgotten events that augment our understanding and shift our perspective. 
 
Reappraising milestones such as the Spanish Armada, the French Revolution, the First World War and the Great Depression, he probes our selective amnesia, asking what we have mythologised, and what we've ignored. Was Alfred the Great really a bold English hero, or an Anglo-Saxon spin doctor? Why is Georgian England remembered for its elegant architecture and regency refinement when this period of history was full of riots and political strife? And could the Bengal famine of 1943, a horrific event in British India that cost at least 1.5 million lives, have been avoided? 
 
Talking to leading historians and experts, Portillo peels back the layers of history to uncover the uncomfortable truths and murky, ambiguous stories behind iconic events such as the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688, the struggle for Indian independence and the Boston Tea Party. He also reveals a Suffragette plot to assassinate Herbert Asquith; shows how a disastrous attempt at overseas colonisation led to the 1707 Act of Union merging England and Scotland; and takes a look at the real losers of the Battle of Trafalgar - the Spanish. 
 
Not revisionist, but restorative, this fascinating series challenges the orthodox view of history without glossing over its complexities, presenting a surprising, thought-provoking re-evaluation of our past and reminding us that the events we choose to remember are not always those that are the most significant. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Michael Portillo 
Produced by Julia Adamson, Tom Alban, Marya Burgess, Joanne Cayford, James Cook, James Crawford, Neil George, Laurence Grissell, Julia Johnson, Roger Mahony, Neil McCarthy, Paula McGinley and Philip Sellars 
Consultant: Chris Williams of the Open University 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
Series 1 
The Battle of Mers-el-Kebir 16 May 2005 
The Spanish Armada 23 May 2005 
The French Revolution 6 June 2005 
 
Series 2 
Jack the Ripper 27 November 2006 
The First World War 4 December 2006 
The 1945 Labour Government 11 December 2006 
 
Series 3 
On Suffragettes 24 December 2007 
The Darien Scheme 31 December 2007 
The Bengal Famine 7 January 2008 
The Battle of Trafalgar 14 January 2008 
 
Series 4 
The League of Nations 15 December 2008 
Alfred the Great 22 December 2008 
 
Series 5 
Chamberlain and 'Peace for our Time' 1938 14 December 2009 
The Hanseatic League 21 December 2009 
The Glorious Revolution 28 December 2009 
 
Series 6 
King Harold 15 November 2010 
The Violent Side of Indian Independence 29 November 2010 
The Great Depression in the USA 6 December 2010 
 
Series 7 
The Real Boston Tea Party, 1773 13 November 2011 
Police Strike 20 November 2011 
The English Armada 4 December 2011 
 
Series 8 
The Georgian Façade 11 June 2012 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Things We Forgot to Remember

A BBC Radio 4 history series

Andrea Catherwood

Ian Hislop

Allan Little

Jeremy Bowen

A BBC Radio 4 season exploring the history and future of the United Kingdom 
 
In this remarkable collection exploring the state of the United Kingdom and the future of its union, five presenters examine the identities, history and struggles of the nations, and ask what keeps them together as a united country. 
 
In the first episode, Jonathan Freedland and a team of historians and BBC correspondents take The Long View of the Union of the United Kingdom, at the constitutional, economic and cultural bonds between the nations, particularly after Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, and at three moments in the UK's history when its future was under similar scrutiny. 
 
In A Sea Between Us, Andrea Catherwood looks back at the Ireland she left, when the the IRA was still active, the prospect of a united Ireland seemed remote, and unionist parties enjoyed a comfortable majority at the polls. Now, she meets voices from Belfast's unionist community, looks at the Northern Ireland Protocol's potential damage to Northern Ireland's place in the UK, and talks to those from a traditionally pro-union background, who now say they're agnostic about their country's place in the UK. 
 
The Ghost Kingdoms of England sees Ian Hislop telling the stories of the four great Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms - East Anglia, Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex - celebrating their golden ages and trying to understand their journey from groupings of North Sea peoples to powerful kingdoms, and eventually a single entity. He talks to such varied experts as curator of Medieval coinage Gareth Williams, head of archeology at Durham University Sarah Semple, writer Bernard Cornwell, and art historian Janina Ramirez, as he uncovers how the regional identities have left their mark, and how the nations stabilised into becoming 'England'. 
 
In Two Kingdoms, Allan Little presents the epic story of how and why Scotland entered into union with England, why that Union endured for so long, and the historic changes that have brought Scotland closer to independence than it's been since 1707. This is a story about the emergence of a powerful partnership forged in Empire, industry and war, and Allan asks what happens when their values diverge and then clash, with profound consequences for millions of people on both sides of the border. 
 
The final episodes, Being Welsh, see Jeremy Bowen examine what it means to be Welsh, taking in Welsh politics, language, history and culture from the starting point of a Cardiff Stadium rugby match. With contributions from Jac Larner, Martin Johnes, and Siân James, as well as Rhys Jones, Rebecca Thomas, and Uzo Iwobi, Being Welsh investigates the distinct identities across the country, the construction of modern Wales, and the complicated relationship between Wales and England. 
 
'Sensitive but to the point... clear and fair' Guardian 
 
Presented by Jonathan Freedland, Andrea Catherwood, Ian Hislop, Allan Little and Jeremy Bowen 
Produced by Mohini Patel, Conor Garrett, Tom Alban, Jonathan Brunert, Caitlin Smith and Glyn Tansley 
 
The Long View 
Produced by Mohini Patel 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2021 
 
A Sea Between Us 
Produced by Conor Garrett 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2021 
 
The Ghost Kingdoms of England 
Produced by Tom Alban 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2021 
 
Two Kingdoms 
Produced by Jonathan Brunert and Caitlin Smith 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2021 
 
Being Welsh 
Produced by Glyn Tansley 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January and February 2022 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

This Union

A BBC Radio 4 series exploring the history and future of the U.K.

Sunil Khilnani

The lives and afterlives of 50 incredible Indian people from ancient India to the 21st century 
 
 'Essential... whoppingly aurally intense' New Statesman 
 
 '... makes the mind fly across time, place and history. You may smile as, mentally, you walk alongside Khilnani up some flinty slope. You will keep thinking about what he said long after.' The Telegraph 
 
 Historian Sunil Khilnani, Professor of History and Politics at Ashoka University, takes listeners on an immersive, whirlwind journey from ancient India to the 21st century through the life stories of 50 remarkable individuals, exploring their surprising legacies and illuminating both the wonders and the urgent conflicts of India today. 
 
From the 5th century grammarian Panini, a pioneer in algorithmic thinking, to the wandering poetess Mirabai, challenger of the gender and caste order; from Malik Ambar, a 16th century north African who became a Deccan kingmaker, to Dhirubhai Ambani, the 20th century entrepreneur whose son now ranks among the world's richest billionaires; from Lakshmibai, the 19th century queen who enjoyed weightlifting, wrestling and steeplechasing, and who became a lightning rod for India's attitudes to women, to the contemporary painter M.F. Husain, who shaped a distinctive Indian modernism; Khilnani brings to life an extraordinary panorama of India's most revealing and resonant lives. 
 
Guests featured include Javed Akhtar, one of the great songwriters of Indian cinema, renowned actress Sharmila Tagore, historian Romila Thapar, poet Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, artists Howard Hodgkin and Bharti Kher, Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, author and political activist Arundhati Roy, and Sanskrit scholar Sheldon Pollock. 
 
With the help of these experts, Khilnani investigates the lives of political strategists and social reformers, filmmakers and farmers, mathematicians and religious gurus, warriors and saints, artists and slaves, industry titans and freedom fighters, who have co-existed in a country bound together by its people, in all their differences and commonalities. The chosen lives conjure up an India full of relevance and infinite range, celebrating the variety of the country in all its diversity of thought, religion, politics and art. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Sunil Khilnani 
Produced by Mark Savage, Jeremy Grange and Martin Williams 
 
 
Editor: Hugh Levinson 
Music composed by: Talvin Singh 
Researcher: Manu Pillai 
Executive Producer: Martin Smith 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
The Buddha: 11 May 2015 
Mahavira: 12 May 2015 
Panini: 13 May 2015 
Kautilya: 14 May 2015 
Ashoka: 15 May 2015 
Charaka: 18 May 2015 
Aryabhata: 19 May 2015 
Shankaracharya: 20 May 2015 
Rajaraja Chola: 21 May 2015 
Basavana: 22 May 2015 
Amir Khusro: 25 May 2015 
Kabir: 26 May 2015 
Guru Nanak: 27 May 2015 
Krishnadevaraya: 28 May 2015 
Mirabai: 29 May 2015 
Akbar: 1 June 2015 
Malik Ambar: 2 June 2015 
Dara Shikoh: 3 June 2015 
Shivaji: 4 June 2015 
Nainsukh: 5 June 2015 
William Jones: 8 June 2015 
Rammohan Roy: 9 June 2015 
Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi: 10 June 2015 
Jyotirao Phule: 11 June 2015 
Birsa Munda: 12 June 2015 
Deen Dayal: 26 July 2021 
Jamsetji Tata: 27 July 2021 
Vivekananda: 28 July 2021 
Annie Besant: 29 July 2021 
Chidambaram Pillai: 30 July 2021 
Ramanujan: 2 August 2021 
Tagore: 3 August 2021 
Visvesvaraya: 4 August 2021 
Periyar: 5 August 2021 
Iqbal: 6 August 2021 
Amrita Sher-Gil: 9 August 2021 
Subhas Chandra Bose: 10 August 2021 
Gandhi: 11 August 2021 
Jinnah: 12 August 2021 
Manto: 13 August 2021 
Bhimrao Ambedkar: 16 August 2021 
Raj Kapoor: 17 August 2021 
Sheikh Abdullah: 18 August 2021 
Krishna Menon: 19 August 2021 
Subbulakshmi: 20 August 2021 
Indira Gandhi: 23 August 2021 
Satyajit Ray: 24 August 2021 
Charan Singh: 25 August 2021 
MF Husain: 26 August 2021 
Dhirubhai Ambani: 27 August 2021 
 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Incarnations

India in 50 Lives

Christopher Harding

Alex Bellos

Rana Mitter

David Peace

SF Said

Natasha Pulley

Matthew Sweet

Richard Lloyd Parry

Roy Jenkins

Philip Dodd

A captivating anthology of programmes, painting a multi-faceted portrait of a unique country 
 
Japan is a land of complexity, contrast and contradictions. The world's third-largest economy, it is a powerhouse of innovation and a pioneer in technology, fashion and pop culture. But it also has a rich, ancient heritage and a deep reverence for custom, ritual and tradition. This illuminating 2-part radio collection traverses the different aspects of this fascinating country, from its famous historical figures to its diverse cultural landscape. 
 
Part 1: History opens with Japan in Five Lives, in which cultural historian Christopher Harding portrays the lives of five colourful characters from the country's past to answer the question 'Who are the Japanese'? In Killing Time in Imperial Japan, he explores early 20th Century Tokyo, a bustling, cosmopolitan capital where the meaning of 'time' was hotly contested. Dark Blossoms sees him examining the doubts and misgivings accompanying Japan's rapid embrace of modernity, while in Japanese Tsunami, broadcasters Richard Lloyd Parry and Matthew Sweet discuss the devastating natural disaster that rocked the country in 2011. In Land of the Rising Sums, Alex Bellos visits Kyoto to ask why Asian cultures seem so much better at maths; in Japan and Religion, Roy Jenkins discusses the place of religious traditions in modern Japan; and in Supernatural Japan, Christopher Harding looks at how the Japanese have used ghosts and ghost stories to make sense of their world. 
 
Part 2: Culture celebrates Japan's art, literature and film. In Japan Now 2020, Philip Dodd talks to writers Hiromi Ito and Yukiko Motoya and photographer Tomoko Sawada about women's roles in Japanese culture today. Meanwhile, in Images of Japan, illustrator Fumio Obata and manga translator Jocelyne Allen discuss Japanese comic book imagery, and we join novelists Kyoko Nakajima and Yuya Sato in conversation with Christopher Harding. Landmark: Seven Samurai and Landmark: Rashomon see Matthew Sweet and Rana Mitter investigating the stories behind Akira Kurosawa's two most influential films, in the company of guests including film scholar Ian Christie and authors SF Said, David Peace and Natasha Pulley. The Tale of Genji takes us into the shimmering world of mediaeval Japan, as Rana Mitter explores Murasaki Shikibu's masterpiece, widely considered to be the world's first novel. Finally, in Godzilla and Hayao Miyazaki, Christopher Harding considers cinematic depictions of Japanese fear, as exemplified by the legendary monster king and the 2013 animated film The Wind Rises. 
 
Contents 
Japan in Five Lives 
Killing Time in Imperial Japan 
Dark Blossoms 
Japanese Tsunami 
Land of the Rising Sums 
Japan and Religion 
Supernatural Japan 
Japan Now 2020 
Images of Japan 
Landmark: Seven Samurai 
Landmark: Rashomon 
The Tale of Genji 
Godzilla and The Wind Rises 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Japan

A BBC documentary collection

Neil MacGregor

World-renowned art historian Neil MacGregor takes us across Britain to discover local museums and their hidden gems 
 
 
Neil MacGregor, former director of the National Gallery and the British Museum, knows the importance of public museums. In The Museums That Make Us, he takes us around the country to visit twenty local museums and to talk to their curators, staff and local figures about the most prized objects in their collections. Often a child's first experience of valuable objects and historical belongings, these regional spaces can be a wonderful way to recognise local pride and shine a light on buried history. 
 
At Penrhyn Castle in North Wales, the museum strives to tell the story of their rich collection of art while also being truthful about the slave trade that made it possible; on the Isle of Lewis, the Museum Tasglann nan Eilean wants to share the story of land ownership and clearances through their objects; at the Leeds Museum, a Roman child's sandal has been chosen to demonstrate their ambitious and thriving scheme of having exhibits leave the museum to go out to schools; and in Bristol's M Shed Museum, one of the city's old Lodekka Buses is used to tell the story of the successful Bristol Bus boycott of 1963. 
 
Travelling from Stowe, one of the first examples of a vision of Britain outside London, to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, where he looks at an ancient Syrian model clay wagon, possibly a child's toy, to examine how museums can provide for a huge breadth of local people from all over the world, Neil MacGregor uses these invaluable community sites to consider how they are run, who they draw in, and how they can inspire us all. 
 
Episode guide 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
Stowe and the Temple of British Worthies 7 March 2022 
The Tower Museum, Derry Londonderry 8 March 2022 
Penrhyn Castle, North Wales 9 March 2022 
PK Porthcurno - Museum of Global Communications 10 March 2022 
Museum &amp; Tasglann nan Eilean, Stornoway 11 March 2022 
Derby - The Museum of Making 14 March 2022 
The Food Museum, Suffolk 15 March 2022 
The Auckland Project, Bishop Auckland 16 March 2022 
The Hepworth, Wakefield 17 March 2022 
Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton 18 March 2022 
Leicester Museum and Art Gallery 11 April 2022 
Bristol's M Shed Museum 12 April 2022 
Birmingham 13 April 2022 
Liverpool 14 April 2022 
Leeds 15 April 2022 
The National Museum of Scotland 18 April 2022 
The National Museum of NI, Belfast 19 April 2022 
The National Museums of Wales, Cardiff 20 April 2022 
The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 21 April 2022 
What are museums for? 22 April 2022 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Neil MacGregor 
Produced by Tom Alban 
Original music by Phil Channell 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Museums That Make Us

Curating Our Shared History

John Reed

A dramatised retelling of John Reed's thrilling eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution - plus bonus documentary 
 
'Fizzy and fast, but never flippant' The New Statesman 
 
John Reed's first-hand description of the October Revolution was written in early 1918 and published in the USA the following year. The veracity and impact of his dynamic, snapshot-style reportage made the book an instant bestseller, and it has since become a modern classic, inspiring films including Sergei Eisenstein's October and the Oscar-winning Reds. 
 
This fast-paced dramatisation begins in autumn 1917, with news of upheaval in Russia hitting the headlines worldwide. The Tsar has abdicated, and the Provisional Government, formed to replace him, is losing control. American journalists John Reed and Louise Bryant arrive in Petrograd to find the city in chaos. The tension between factions is palpable, and it's only a matter of time before the situation explodes - but in what direction? As revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries struggle to seize power, the duo find themselves at the very heart of the insurrection, experiencing history as it unfolds... 
 
Vividly capturing the anarchy and confusion of those tumultuous days, Reed's sensational blow-by-blow account, adapted by acclaimed dramatist Robin Brooks, transports us to the chilly, mud-churned streets of Petrograd as these world-changing events play out. It is accompanied by a fascinating retrospective documentary, Start the Week: Russian Revolution a hundred years on, in which Tom Sutcliffe travels to Moscow to discover the forces that led to the Revolution, and finds out how far Russians today embrace or reject such a pivotal moment in their country's story. 
 
Production credits 
Written by John Reed 
Dramatised by Robin Brooks 
'The Internationale' sung by Eiry Thomas 
Directed by Alison Hindell 
A BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Cast 
John Reed - Richard Laing 
Louise Bryant - Kelly Burke 
Lenin/Driver/Soldier/Shatov/Colonel/Meshkovsky/Cab Driver - Nicholas Murchie 
Liazonov/Kerensky/Doorman/Kameniev - Ewan Bailey 
Lunacharsky/Trotsky/Comberg - Matthew Gravelle 
Buchanan/Karelin/Commissar/Baklanov - Richard Elfyn 
Doorwoman - Lynn Hunter 
Zorin/Robert/Saratov/Antonov/Leonsky/Student/Zinoviev - Sion Pritchard 
Woman - Sarah Ridgeway 
Spiridonova/Girl - Gwawr Loader 
Oblomov/Sverdlov - Simon Ludders 
Krylenko - Tom Forrister 
Mayor/Nathanson - Philip Fox 
Dybenko - Richard Nichols 
Melcher - Charlie Clements 
Wife - Eiry Thomas 
Other parts played by members of the cast 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9-20 October 2017 
 
Start the Week: Russian Revolution a hundred years on 
Presented by Tom Sutcliffe 
With Konstantin Kosachev, Mikhail Zygar, Arkady Ostrovsky and Zelfira Tregulova 
Produced by Katy Hickman 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 October 2017 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ten Days That Shook The World

A BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation

Greg Jenner

A funny, fascinating and personal look at 100 years of history in the BBC archives 
 
 
Historian Greg Jenner uses a random date generator to visit somewhere in the BBC's vast archives of remarkable sound clips from the last 100 years. Using that clip as a jumping-off point to explore what has changed between then and now, Greg talks to experts and those connected to the archived people, places, and ideas, including Stephen Fry, writer Naomi Alderman, playwright Nell Leyshon, social historian Carol Dyhouse, author and disability campaigner Dr Amit Patel, food historian Annie Gray, and inveterate tennis fan Geoff Dyer. 
 
 
From dance crazes, post-war Christmases and communist sitcoms to pub evolution, life on the waterways and women's political activism, Past Forward provides a rich and thought-provoking look at the oral histories, personal stories, big moments and small joys of the past and the present, and how our history has shaped the people we have become. 
 
 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
The Lambeth Walk 03 January 2022 
1984 - Comrade Dad 04 January 2022 
Christmas 1945 05 January 2022 
Mary Whitehouse 06 January 2022 
Porton Down 07 January 2022 
Match Point 10 January 2022 
Kitty Hart-Moxon 11 January 2022 
If People Can't Let Slip... 12 January 2022 
Traffic 13 January 2022 
England v Argentina 1998 14 January 2022 
Dinner Is Served 21 March 2022 
Get Out of My Pub 22 March 2022 
Talking Technology 23 March 2022 
The Teen Age 24 March 2022 
Louie Hooper sings Lord Rendall 25 March 2022 
Listen with Mother 28 March 2022 
Rebuilding Britain 29 March 2022 
The Corncrake and the Croft 30 March 2022 
Life on the Canals 31 March 2022 
Save our Steelworks 01 April 2022 
 
 
Production credits 
Produced by Dan Potts, Amelia Parker, Martin Williams, Megan Jones, and Eliane Glaser, for BBC Wales 
 
Cover credits 
Photographer: James Gifford-Mead (jamesgiffordmead-photography.co.uk) 
Image adapted by Rabia Ali 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Past Forward: A Century of Sound

Michael Scott

Michael Scott presents this bite-sized history series, exploring key years of change across the world 
 
'Captivating... takes mundane conventional history and turns it on its head' Radio Times 
 
Some dates are indelibly etched into our minds, forever associated with particular historical events. But what else was going on in the world during those climactic years? In this surprising, thought-provoking series, historian Michael Scott looks at seven pivotal historical dates, spinning the globe to discover what was happening away from the geographical centre that makes them so famous. 
 
Beginning with 1605, he discovers that the year of the Gunpowder Plot also saw the printing of the first newspaper and the publication of Don Quixote; while 1066 marked not only the Battle of Hastings, but a brutal massacre in Spain. As World War I broke out in 1914, a new dance craze - the foxtrot - was invented; and in 0BC, as Jesus is born in Judea, another king is born in the Far East: Yuri of Goguryeo. 
 
He also reveals how in 1485, the year that Richard III died in battle, the forces of Ivan the Great seized the city of Tver; finds out how the rest of the world fared in 1929, the year of the Wall Street Crash; and explores the shattering impact of Alexander the Great's sudden death in 323 BC on the ancient Greek world - as well as probing events beyond his influence, such as the circumnavigation of the British Isles by the pioneering explorer and geographer Pytheas of Massalia. 
 
Joining the dots to connect previously diverse cultural, political and economic events, he shows us a new way of thinking about history; demonstrating how different civilisations have developed at different rates and through different phases, only occasionally brushing against each other. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Michael Scott 
Produced by Tom Alban, Sarah Taylor and Mohini Patel 
Production Coordinator: Sue Fleming 
Editor: John Goudie 
Readings by Sean Murray, Joel McCormack, Jude Akuwudike and David Ashton 
 
With contributors including: Justin Champion, Professor Jean-Pierre Kintz, Professor Robert Frost, Professor Krzysztof Lazarski, Dr Sussan Babaie, Jim Adams, Louise McFarlane, Dr Faisal Devji, Roger Croston, Professor Juan Carlos Boue, Len Goodman, Diarmaid MacCulloch, Carol Wright, Peter Layton, Dr Jean Hyun, Dr Mark Byington, Catherine Edwards, Simon Martin, Dr Elizabeth Graham, Philippa Langley, Dr Elizabeth Baquedano, Michael Alpert, Dr Sergei Bogatyrev, Martin Kemp, Professor Forrest Capie, Dr Zoe Laidlaw, Professor Rana Mitter, Dr Eugene Rogan, Professor David Cesarani, Bryony Dixon, Sir Barry Cunliffe, Dr Swati Ray, Dr Marjorie Dryburgh, Professor David Phillipson, Dr Elizabeth Baynham 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
1605 12 November 2013 
1066 19 November 2013 
1914 26 November 2013 
0BC 3 December 2013 
1485 11 November 2014 
1929 18 November 2014 
323BC - The Death of Alexander the Great 25 November 2014 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Spin the Globe

BBC Worldwide

1982 was a historic year, a year in which the battle for a small group of islands in the South Atlantic dominated the news. 
 
From the initial broadcasts of the growing Argentine threat and Mrs Thatcher's speech to the Commons informing them that a Task Force will sail, to the battles for Goose Green and Port Stanley, the Argentine surrender and the controversial sinking of the Belgrano - all these historic moments, together with all the other important events of the Falklands War, are recorded here, in live BBC Radio News coverage. 
 
Released to mark the 40th anniversary of the conflict, this collection of recordings from the BBC Radio News team brings to life the events of the Falklands War and includes speeches and statements from journalists and survivors, as well as key political figures such as Margaret Thatcher and former President of Argentina Leopoldo Galtieri. 
 
 © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

The Falklands War: Recordings from the Archive

A landmark BBC radio collection

Stephen Barlay

Stephen Barlay's gripping Cold War drama about the threat of nuclear war 
 
Laid up in a CIA hospital, recovering from a gunshot wound, British agent Maxon is about to have his peaceful convalescence shattered. As the radio DJ introduces In the Mood, the swinging sound of Glenn Miller is cut off by a shrill, insistent alarm - one signalling imminent, universal death. America's brand new Global Early Warning System has detected an approaching nuclear missile from outer space... 
 
But the attack never takes place. The weapon, launched from an unmanned Soviet space vehicle, was destroyed seconds later - so how did the public alert come to be broadcast? As a member of the elite team responsible for safeguarding GLEW, Maxon is assigned to investigate. Meanwhile, he takes on a second, parallel mission - helping his ex-lover, Jacqueline, prove her scientist husband Kowalski has not turned traitor and leaked GLEW secrets to the Russians. 
 
Searching for answers, Maxon travels to Toronto, where he is framed for murder and forced to go on the run. And when he finally uncovers the shocking truth, he finds himself mired in deceit and treason - and caught up in a deadly game of nuclear poker. With the doomsday clock pointing to two minutes to midnight, can Maxon and Jacqueline avert disaster? 
 
Written by acclaimed novelist Stephen Barlay, this tense espionage thriller stars Ian Hendry as Maxon and Toby Robins as Jacqueline. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Stephen Barlay 
Directed by Peter King 
Music composed and played by Ed Welch (piano) with Ron Aspery (saxophone) 
 
Cast 
Maxon - Ian Hendry 
Jacqueline - Toby Robins 
Disc Jockey/Announcer/MP/Gloucester/Wennstrom - Nigel Graham 
Inspector Wells/President/Doomsday Man - Bob Sherman 
Interviewer/Reporter - Madi Hedd 
Captain - Stuart Milligan 
Guard - Ian Tyler 
Nurse/Nadia- Zhivila Roche 
Reporter/MP/Announcer/Stewardess - Alex Marshall 
Beryov - Peter Gale 
Petrushka - Richard Marner 
Ellsberg - George Coulouris 
The Nachalnik - Paul Hardwick 
Locke - Alan Tilvern 
Kowalski - Carl Duering 
Cabbie - Peter Whitman 
Hostess - Gay Baynes 
Papa Mike - Errol MacKinnon 
Minister/Sandy - Peter Tuddenham 
Call Girl/Operator - Carole Boyd 
Chuck - Bruce Boa 
Inspector - Peter Marinker 
Fergus - James Bryce 
Aram Sarian - Vladek Sheybal 
Saul - Blain Fairman 
Girl - Mary Cornford 
Winston - Stuart Organ 
Tucker - Norman Jones 
Sleet/Reporter - Brett Usher 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 April-19 June 1983 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Price of Silence

A BBC Radio 4 Cold War Sci-Fi Thriller

Melvyn Bragg

In this collection, Melvyn Bragg surveys how English has evolved over 1,000 years. He starts by looking at the disappearance of old dialects like that of Cumbria, and how English has been enriched by foreign languages, from Latin and Old French to dozens more as conquest, trade and immigration played their part in recent centuries. He also examines new coinages, puns and wordplay; how accents and social class are entwined; swear words; attempts to stop the evolution of language in its tracks; and, lastly, the many varieties of English that are spoken around the world today. 
 
Next, it's dialects from around Britain: the Pitmatic of Northumberland, the dialect of (London/Derry), the increasingly elusive Cornish dialect, Pidgin and Shropshire dialect, before finishing up with a speculation on the future of English dialects. Finally, Melvyn examines some of the many different varieties of English spoken around the world today, taking in Spanglish from the USA, Indian English, Caribbean English, Australian English, South African English and a kind of 'international English' used between non-native English speakers. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Routes Of English Complete Series 1-4

Twenty audio portraits telling the story of China through key personalities - plus a bonus edition of In Our Time 
 
Award-winning author and historian Professor Rana Mitter introduces us to some of the remarkable individuals who have shaped the arc of Chinese history. Selecting men and women from ancient times to the modern era - some rich and powerful, others poor and unknown - he explores their sensational life stories, from Mongol emperors to 19th-century factory girls. 
 
Here is China's only female emperor, Wu Zetian, whose path to the top was littered with elite corpses; Mao Zedong, the man who revolutionised China, but at the cost of millions of lives; and Deng Xiaoping, who enabled China's economic miracle, but crushed protests with ferocity in 1989. Alongside them are numerous other extraordinary characters, including celebrated philosopher Confucius, Muslim sailor Zheng He, Jesuit mathematician Matteo Ricci, global film star Bruce Lee - and a pioneering TV documentary series, River Elegy, that started a national debate about regeneration and democracy. 
 
What can Ding Ling's lustful literary creation, Sophie, teach us about 1920s China? What role would kidnapped monk Kumarajiva play in the future of Chinese chanting? And how did Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling become Asia's first power couple? Rana Mitter reveals the answers in this engrossing series, which ranges across time and geography to zoom in on the people and ideas that have made China what it is today. Insightful, stimulating and superbly researched, it shows the astonishing diversity and complexity of Chinese society, painting a multi-dimensional picture of the world's most populous nation. 
 
Also included is an episode of In Our Time, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss China's Warring States period of 400 BC-200 AD, examining how this turbulent epoch sparked a Golden Age of intellectual and cultural productivity and laid the foundations for the first Chinese Empire. 
 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Rana Mitter 
Edited by Hugh Levinson 
Produced by Ben Crighton 
Researcher: Elizabeth Smith Rosser 
 
Contents: 
1. Wu Zetian: The Female Emperor 
2. Chiang Kai-Shek and Soong Meiling: Asian Power Couple 
3. Kumarajiva: Translator Monk 
4. Matteo Ricci: Jesuit and Geometrist 
5. Ding Ling: Sophie, Sensation and Sex 
6. Sima Qian: Grand Historian 
7. Kublai Khan: Cosmopolitan Conqueror 
8. Confucius: Becoming the Sage 
9. Li Qingzhao: Patriotic Poet 
10. River Elegy: River and Ocean 
11. Zheng He: The Admiral Goes to Africa 
12. Robert Hart: Chinese Customs 
13. Lu Xun: Compassionate Cynic 
14. Wang Jingwei: Revolutionary Renegade 
15. Hong Xiuquan v Zeng Guofan: The Duellists 
16. Cixi: Ambivalent Empress 
17. Factory Girls: Modern Girls, Modern Dreams 
18. Mao Zedong: The Man Who Made Modern China 
19. Bruce Lee: Screen Warrior 
20. Deng Xiaoping: Black Cat, Yellow Cat 
21. In Our Time: China's Warring States Period 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Chinese Characters

A BBC History of China in 20 Lives

Philip Palmer

A gritty thriller set behind the Iron Curtain in 1960s Hungary 
 
Budapest, 1963. Special Investigator Bertalan Lázár and his wife, spymaster Franciska Lázár, face formidable challenges as they try to navigate a path through the dangerous underworld of Cold War-era Hungary. Catching the criminals is difficult enough, but there are other more threatening battles raging in higher places. 
 
In these 16 episodes, Bertalan must investigate the murder of a former member of the secret police, fight a turf war as he tries to find a child killer, probe a seemingly straightforward case of GBH that leads him to a rogue cop and enter the uncharted territory of Budapest's underground drugs scene after a rock musician is found dead. 
 
Written by Philip Palmer, this gripping, atmospheric drama expertly conjures up the tense, paranoid world of Communist Hungary, where dissidence was dangerous, the truth was hard to find and pursuing justice could get you killed. Leo Bill stars as Bertalan and Clare Corbett as Franciska, with Andy Linden as Tibor Farkas and Joseph Ayre as József Szabados. 
 
The episodes in this collection are: 
 
 The Wolf 
The Old Days 
Behind the Wall 
Waiting by the River 
Heroes 
Gellert Hill 
Spider's Web 
Carnaby Street 
Gypsy Dancers 
Grandmother's Footsteps 
Mad Dog 
The Light of Dawn 
The Great Society 
Red Pen 
The Great Tree Gang 
The Magical Magyars 
 
Produced and directed by Toby Swift and Sasha Yevtushenko 
Sound Design by Caleb Knightley 
 
Cast 
Bertalan Lázár - Leo Bill 
Franciska Lázár - Clare Corbett 
Tibor Farkas - Andy Linden 
József Szabados - Joseph Ayre 
Gizella - Nicola Ferguson 
Bela Fekete - Sargon Yelda 
Mr Papp - Nick Underwood 
Kitchen Porter - Richard Pepple 
Police Officer/Csaba - Sam Rix 
Lilien Racz - Adie Allen 
Milton Szilard - Philip Fox 
Kristof Szep - Samuel James 
Mr Kiraly - Robert Blythe 
Waiter/Peterke - Tom Forrister 
Mrs Tolnay - Sanchia MacCormack 
Stenographer - Kerry Gooderson 
Dmitri Dragunov - Simon Scardifield 
Márk Mészáros - Michael Bertenshaw 
András Vásáry - David Hounslow 
Priest/Copper - Christopher Harper 
Gyuri Varg/Fabenyi/Police officer/Partygoer - Kenny Blyth 
Dorina Varga - Helen Clapp 
Ministry official/Police officer/Drug dealer/Partygoer - Chris Pavlo 
Hanna Krivosik - Franchi Webb 
Zsófia/Nurse 1 - Sarah Ovens 
PuŠomori Žiga - Debbie Korley 
Mrs Kovacs/Nurse 2/Receptionist - Susan Jameson 
Gyozo Novak - Carl Prekopp 
Florian Hevesi - Luke Nunn 
Sandor Boros - Stephen Greif 
Pathologist - Jane Whittenshaw 
Cop/Detective - Stefan Adegbola 
Mother - Emma Handy 
Kulcsar - Roger Ringrose 
Draskovic - Ewan Bailey 
Billiards player/Prison officer - Ian Dunnett Jnr 
Hadik - Hasan Dixon 
Richard Miklos/Károly Miklós/Laska - Shaun Mason 
Violinist/Márton Kozma/Police Officer/Priest - Simon Ludders 
Réka Kozma/Pathologist - Jane Slavin 
Archivist/Ioveanu - Tony Turner 
Orsolya - Ria Marshall 
Receptionist - David Sturzaker 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Keeping the Wolf Out

The complete BBC Radio 4 full-cast crime series

Don Taylor

An epic 12-part drama about the events leading up to, and following, the execution of King Charles I 
 
'Classy writing... wonderfully crisp, with a brilliant cast' The Spectator 
 
England, 1647. Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army has routed the Royalists, and the King, having fled to Scotland, has been ransomed, sent back across the border and imprisoned. It seems the war is over, but there is trouble ahead. Parliament wants to disband the army and install its own militia - an act that looks, to Cromwell's loyal soldiers, like outright betrayal. 
 
As dissent grows within the ranks, agitators such as Francis White and John Reynolds, and leading Leveller John Lilburne, step up to speak for the common man. What began with a dispute over army demobilisation soon becomes far more, and a radical faction arises demanding freedom, equality and power to the people. But for Cromwell and his Commander-in-Chief, Thomas Fairfax, this is a challenge to Parliament's authority, and smacks of revolution. Facing a schism within the army, Cromwell is torn - but when the King escapes from custody, he and his troops have a new threat to deal with... 
 
Meanwhile, the women at home have troubles of their own. Clever, independent Penelope White is subject to the whims of her intransigent father, who wants her to marry a man of his choosing. And Lilburne's wife, Elizabeth, must risk her life each time she smuggles forbidden political papers into his cell in the Tower of London. As their men prepare to fight once more, what does the future hold for them? 
 
Set between the pivotal years of 1647 and 1649, this classic Civil War drama stars Bernard Hepton as Cromwell, Nigel Anthony as Fairfax, Graham Blockey as Francis White, Christian Rodska as Lilburne, William Eedle as Charles I, Deborah Makepeace as Penelope and Maureen O'Brien as Elizabeth. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Don Taylor 
 
God's Revolution 
Lord General Fairfax - Nigel Anthony 
John Church - Eric Allan 
Francis White - Graham Blockey 
Charles I/Lieut. Colonel Jackson/Cornet Denne - William Eedle 
Oliver Cromwell - Bernard Hepton 
Stephen White - David March 
John Reynolds - Kim Wall 
John Lilburne - Christian Rodska 
James Thompson - Simon Cuff 
Miles Sindercombe/Col. Rainsborough/Sir William Waller/Morrison - John Baddeley 
Corporal Perkins/Silent soldier/Simeon/Joseph/Winstanley/Brother Gerard - Steve Hodson 
Colonel James/Lockyer/Major General Skippon/Huntingdon - Peter Craze 
Edmund White/Major Gooday/Col. Scroop - Cornelius Garrett 
Penelope White - Deborah Makepeace 
Elizabeth Lilburne - Maureen O'Brien 
William Thompson/Captain Musket - Anthony Jackson 
Commissary Ireton - Bill Wallis 
Edward Sexby/Col. Whalley - John Hartoch 
Lady Anne Fairfax - Lin Sagovsky 
Cornet Joyce/Everard - Jonathan Nibbs 
Betty - Zelah Clarke 
Mrs Cromwell/Martha- June Barrie 
John Lilburne - Christian Rodska 
Beggar woman - June Tobin 
John Wildman - Stephen Rashbrook 
Robin - Elizabeth Lindsay 
Isaac - Christopher Asante 
Capt. Hatton - Alan Coveney 
Pride - Norman Eshley 
Mary Overton - Barbara Kellermann 
Mrs Chidley - Ellen Dryden 
Barry - Paul Sirr 
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin and Ronald Mason 
Psalms arranged by Blaise Compton 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 7 October-23 December 1988 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

God’s Revolution

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast historical drama

Fergal Keane

A BBC Radio collection about Ireland and the Irish, hosted by Fergal Keane - plus bonus material 
 
Award-winning BBC foreign correspondent Fergal Keane grew up in Dublin and County Cork, and has always felt a deep attachment to his ancestral homeland. In these six absorbing programmes, he takes a wide-ranging look at Ireland's history, culture and people, in topics ranging from the political to the personal . Also included are two moving autobiographical pieces about fatherhood and his own childhood. 
 
How the Irish Shaped Britain explores the profound influence the Irish have had on the United Kingdom over many centuries. Beginning in the ancient Celtic world, Fergal travels through the time of the Vikings to the 19th and 20th Century and on to the present day, examining how Irish migrants and their descendants have shaped literature, business, sport and the physical landscape. 
 
Troubles Shared sees Fergal and fellow journalist Peter Taylor discussing their experiences of reporting on the Northern Ireland conflict. Over two episodes, they revisit the province to talk about what they saw, and ask what it all means now. Meanwhile, No Man is an Island takes Fergal from the Republic to Northern Ireland, as he charts the seismic changes that have taken place in both regions and reflects on the sectarian feuding which has dominated the history of Ulster. 
 
Keane on Keane... finds him presenting a profile of his uncle, celebrated playwright John B Keane. Visiting Dublin and the dramatist's home town of Listowel, Fergal hears how a country publican became an internationally-acclaimed writer. Another iconic figure is recalled in United Irishman, in which Keane recounts the colourful life of Wolfe Tone, the Protestant founding father of Irish republicanism. 
 
There Will Be Sunlight Later gives Fergal's impressions of life in Northern Ireland, as he talks to the country's citizens and listens to their poetry and music. And in two bonus essays, Letter to Daniel and My Grandmother's House, we receive insights into Fergal's own family life, through his poignant message to his newborn son and his recollections of his early days and his grandparents' home in Cork. 
 
 
How the Irish Shaped Britain 
Presented by Fergal Keane 
Produced by John Murphy &amp; Adele Armstrong 
Mixed by Eloise Whitmore 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11-25 January 2021 
 
Troubles Shared 
Presented by Fergal Keane and Peter Taylor 
Produced by Conor Garrett 
First broadcast BBC Radio Ulster, 31 October-7 November 2020 
 
No Man is an Island 
Presented by Fergal Keane 
Produced by Tony Grant 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 November and 9 December 1996 
 
Keane on Keane... 
With Fergal Keane and John B Keane 
Produced by Chris Spurr 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 January 2005 
 
United Irishman 
Presented by Fergal Keane 
Produced by Chris Bowlby 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 November 1998 
 
There Will Be Sunlight Later 
Presented by Fergal Keane 
Produced by Cathy Packe 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 October 1990 
 
From Our Own Correspondent: Letter to Daniel 
Read by Fergal Keane 
Produced by Tony Grant 
First broadcast as BBC Radio 4, 15th February 1996 
 
My Grandmother's House 
Read by Fergal Keane 
Produced by Tony Grant 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 January 1999 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

How the Irish Shaped Britain

And 5 other BBC documentaries on Ireland

Susan Morrison

The history of Scotland's witch hunts revealed, with Susan Morrison 
 
About 450 years ago, from 16th to the early 18th centuries, witch hunts took place in Scotland. The country was convulsed by waves of savage panics and purges, leading to the judicial murder of thousands of their own citizens, mainly women. Women who were convicted and executed for crimes they not only didn't commit, but which were impossible for anyone to commit. 
 
Over six episodes, Witch Hunt investigates one of Scotland's biggest miscarriages of justice. Susan Morrison, along with Dr Louise Yeoman and a team of expert historians, explores how events aligned to allow this to happen. How did it get to the stage where many innocent people were executed for imaginary crimes? 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Witch Hunt

A BBC Radio Scotland history

Christopher Andrew

Christopher Andrew and guests ask what would have happened if major historical moments had taken a different course 
 
In these 34 intriguing episodes, leading historian Christopher Andrew rewrites history, considering what might have transpired if pivotal events had turned out differently. By altering a single, plausible fact, he explores alternative futures where the Spanish Armada landed on English soil, Pontius Pilate freed Jesus, the Nazis occupied Britain, and many more. 
 
What if George Washington had lost the War of Independence? What if Columbus had never reached the New World? And what if Elizabeth I had married? In the company of an array of guest experts, Andrew tackles these and other questions, imagining a world where cars are banned from our cities, JFK survived the shooting in Dallas, or the Great Fire of London never took place. 
 
Full of thought-provoking hypotheses and lively speculation, this counterfactual history series not only suggests what could have happened, but refreshes our memories of what actually occurred during some of history's key turning points. In contemplating an alternate story, we are reminded how extraordinary it is that things did indeed result in the way that they did. 
 
Episode list 
1. What if Hitler had won the war against Russia in 1941? 
2. What if John F Kennedy had survived the shooting in Dallas? 
3. What if the 1979 referendum had led to Scottish independence? 
4. What if Columbus hadn't reached the New World? 
5. What if we'd kept the trains and banned cars from our main towns and cities? 
6. What if King Edward VIII had married Mrs Simpson and remained on the throne? 
7. What if Pontius Pilate had freed Jesus? 
8. What if the Spanish Armada had landed in Kent in 1588? 
9. What if Labour leader John Smith had lived? 
10. What if either the royalist or parliamentary armies had achieved outright victory at the battle of Edgehill? 
11. What if the NHS had never been introduced in 1948? 
12. What if Britain had not discovered the North Sea Oil? 
13. What if there was no fire of London in 1666? 
14. What if Alfred the Great was defeated in 878? 
15. What if German Emperor Wilhelm I had died ten years earlier? 
16. What if germ warfare were to be used against the US? 
17. What if there was no 1947 Agriculture Act? 
18. What if Martin Luther King had survived the assassination on 4 April 1968? 
19. What if Napoleon had won the Battle of Waterloo? 
20. What if the Diggers had spread in 1649, and there were no slaves, lawyers or accountants? 
21. What if Yasser Arafat had been assassinated in 1968? 
22. What if Mary Tudor had completed the Counter-Reformation as planned? 
23. What if the First Crusade had failed in 1095? 
24. What if Germany had defeated France at the beginning of World War I in 1914? 
25. What if Britain had voted against EU membership in the 1975 EEC Referendum? 
26. What if the Russians had won the Space Race? 
27. What if Alexander the Great had gone West, not East? 
28. What if George Washington had lost the American War of Independence? 
29. What if the Germans had discovered that the Allies had cracked the Enigma code during World War II? 
30. What if the Nazis had occupied Britain in 1940? 
31. What if Elizabeth I had married? 
32. What if the Chinese authorities had not sent tanks into Tiananmen Square in June 1989? 
33. What if the Zulus had defeated the British in 1879? 
34. What if D-Day had failed? 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Professor Christopher Andrew 
 Produced by Ian Bell, Mark Smalley and Isobel Eaton 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 2 January 1991-5 June 2004. 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

What If?

A BBC Radio 4 alternative history

Becky Milligan

David Torrance

Sara Jane Hall

A compelling collection of programmes exploring one of the world's most repressive and dangerous nations 
 
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a highly secretive totalitarian state - and one that poses an increasing threat to the West due to its rapidly expanding nuclear weapons programme. This unique 3-part collection takes an in-depth look at the country, encompassing its history, the human stories behind the regime, and its possible future. 
 
Part 1: Inside North Korea examines the politics, economy and leadership of this isolated nation. The Real Story: How dangerous is North Korea? discusses whether the country's increasing military belligerence rules out any hope for engagement with the rest of the world, while The Inquiry: Is North Korea broke? investigates how the state makes its money, from coffee shops to counterfeiting. And in two illuminating Profile programmes, David Torrance and Becky Milligan scrutinize the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un, and his sister and closest confidant Kim Yo-jong. 
 
In Part 2: The People, North Koreans and Westerners recount their experiences. Assignment: Escape from North Korea talks to the forgotten survivors who made it across Asia's iron curtain, while The Documentary Podcast: North Korea's celebrity defectors discovers how these escapees have become a valuable commodity in South Korea. Seven fascinating Outlook documentaries focus on the extraordinary stories of ordinary individuals, including a defector interrogated for playing Western music; a young man who led a street gang; a female soldier; an author who befriended dictator Kim Il-sung; a former spy; a woman who fled North Koreat twice - and another who claims her defection was a terrible mistake. Trending: North Korea's YouTube Stars looks at the vloggers uploading footage from inside the hermit kingdom, and in an episode of HARDtalk, American missionary Kenneth Bae tells of his arrest and imprisonment in a Pyongyang labour camp. 
 
Part 3: Looking Forward asks, what next for North Korea? Three engrossing episodes of The Inquiry delve into the regime's missile capability and its global repercussions; reveal the conversations inside the war rooms; and consider whether China may hold the key to getting North Korea to step back from its nuclear ambitions. Finally, A Korean Thaw revisits the 2018 Winter Olympics, when North and South Korea competed under a single banner, and poses the question, could sports diplomacy stop a war in the peninsula? 
 
Cast and credits 
The Real Story: How dangerous is North Korea? 
Presented by Ritula Shah. First broadcast BBC Radio World Service, 16 October 2020 
The Inquiry: Is North Korea Broke? 
Presented by Celia Hatton. First broadcast BBC Radio World Service, 24 May 2018 
Profile: Kim Jong-un 
Presented by David Torrance. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 April 2012 
Profile: Kim Yo-jong 
Presented by Becky Milligan. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 May 2020 
Assignment: Escape from North Korea 
Presented by Chris Gunness. First broadcast BBC World Service, 14 May 2003 
The Documentary: North Korea's celebrity defectors 
Presented by Jonathan Griffin and Natalia Zuo. First broadcast BBC Radio World Service, 26 March 2020 
Outlook: I fled North Korea for playing the wrong song 
Presented by Rajan Datar. First broadcast BBC World Service, 26 March 2020 
Outlook: I led a street gang in North Korea 
Presented by Matthew Bannister. First broadcast BBC World Service, 13 October 2016 
Outlook: A Woman Inside North Korea's Army 
Presented by Matthew Bannister. First broadcast BBC World Service, 28 September 2017 
Outlook: My Time with North Korea's Dictator 
Presented by Matthew Bannister. First broadcast BBC World Service, 4 April 2018 
Outlook: I Spied for North Korea 
Presented by Lucy Ash. First broadcast BBC World Service, 21 October 2013 
Outlook: Escaping North Korea Twice 
Presented by Jo Fidgen. First broadcast BBC World Service, 5 March 2018 
Outlook: I Want to Go Back to North Korea 
Presented by Matthew Bannister. First broadcast BBC World Service, 30 September 2015 
Trending: North Korea's YouTube stars 
Presented by Jonathan Griffin. First broadcast BBC World Service, 6 April 2018 
HARDtalk: Former North Korea Detainee - Kenneth Bae 
Presented by Stephen Sackur. First broadcast BBC World Service, 28 August 2017 
The Inquiry: North Korea Deep Dive 
Presented by Ruth Alexander. First broadcast BBC World Service, 22 December 2017 
The Inquiry: What Would War with North Korea Look Like? 
Presented by Neal Razzell. First broadcast BBC World Service, 27 July 2017 
The Inquiry: Can China Solve the North Korea Problem? 
Presented by Neal Razzell. First broadcast BBC World Service, 21 September 2017 
A Korean Thaw 
Presented by Jean Lee. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12 February 2018 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Inside North Korea

A BBC Radio Documentary Collection

For over half a century, Alistair Cooke entertained millions of listeners across the globe with his weekly BBC radio programme 'Letter from America'. An outstanding observer of the American scene, he became one of the world's best-loved broadcasters and had the distinction of presenting the longest running one-man show in radio history. 
 
Following the sad death of Alistair Cooke after 58 years in broadcasting, this impressive collection features all three volumes of Letters from America - The Early Years: 1946-1968, The Middle Years: The 1970s and The Final Years: 1982-2003. The political and social landmarks of the last 50 years are reported on and examined in Cooke's uniquely wise style. Also included is Alistair Cooke at the BBC, a selection of archive recordings, including radio and television interviews, in a fascinating in-depth look at the career of the veteran journalist. 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Letter From America Collection

Gary Younge

Gary Younge explores race, society and Black history in these five fascinating documentaries 
 
Author, broadcaster and sociology professor Gary Younge has won several awards for his books and journalism covering topics such as the civil rights movement, inequality and immigration. In this documentary collection, the former Guardian US correspondent turns his attention to current American political and social issues, including populist conservatism, and African-American identity. 
 
In Thinking in Colour, he examines racial 'passing': light-skinned African-Americans who decided to live their lives as white people. Looking at the topic through the prism of Nella Larsen's 1929 novella Passing, Gary hears three astonishing personal stories, and probes the distinction between race and colour. 
 
Recorded shortly after the historic 2008 election, The Documentary: Opposing Obama follows Gary as he travels through Arkansas and Kentucky, talking to people who see Barack Obama's presidency as nothing but bad news, and hearing their hopes and fears for the future. 
 
In The Wales Window of Alabama, Gary recounts how the people of Wales helped rebuild an Alabama church, where bombers killed four girls in 1963. Hearing of the atrocity, sculptor John Petts rallied his local community to raise money, and subsequently created a new stained glass window that has become a focus for worship and a symbol of hope. 
 
In Ebony: Black on White on Black, we hear the history of Ebony, the magazine that has charted and redefined African-American life since its launch in 1945. But what is its place in the world today, and does it still speak to contemporary African-Americans? 
 
And in Analysis: Tea Party Politics, Gary assesses the Tea Party movement, a US right-wing protest group that objects to big government and high taxes. He finds out what sparked this grass-roots insurgency, who its supporters are, and analyses its impact. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Gary Younge 
 
Thinking in Colour 
Produced by Caitlin Smith 
Executive Producer: Tony Phillips 
With Bliss Broyard, Anthony Ekundayo Lennon, Georgina Lawton and Professor Jennifer DeVere Brody.Excerpts from Passing by Nella Larsen read by Robin Miles 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 May 2021 
 
The Documentary: Opposing Obama 
Produced by Neal Razzell 
First broadcast BBC World Service, 1-8 February 2010 
 
The Wales Window of Alabama 
Produced by Nicola Swords 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 10 March 2011 
 
Ebony: Black on White on Black 
Produced by Mark Burman 
Readers: Ricky Fearon and Amaka Okafor 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 10 June 2013 
 
Analysis: Tea Party Politics 
Produced by Emma Rippon 
With Andrew Neil, Frank Luntz, David Frum and Rand Paul 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 1 March 2010 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Thinking in Colour

Winston Churchill

'The most persuasive and patriotic exhortations to arms since the Agincourt address from Henry V.' - The Guardian. 
 
 
Sir Winston Churchill steered Britain through its darkest hours during World War II. He was one of the 20th century's greatest orators and the speeches that he painstakingly composed, rehearsed and delivered inspired courage in an entire nation. Churchill's output was prolific - his complete speeches alone contain more than 5 million words. On this special recording, the best and most important of those have been brought together in this historic volume. 
 
 
Winston Churchill oversaw some of the most significant events the world has ever seen and he was the most eloquent and expressive statesman of his age. These speeches help reveal the man behind the defiant orator and demonstrate why, in a national poll, Churchill was voted 'Greatest Briton of All Time'. Many of his speeches were recorded after their original delivery because the Houses of Parliament did not have the facility to record live speeches at the time; fortunately, most were committed to tape later and we can today still hear the power of Churchill's oratory. 
 
 
 
Bringing together digitally remastered archive recordings of Winston Churchill with readings by his grandson in the few cases where we can't hear from the great man himself, this collection of speeches includes: 
 
 'Blood, toil, tears and sweat' 
 'Give us the tools' 
 'We can take it!' 
 'A total and unmitigated defeat' 
 'The Few' 
 'This was their finest hour' 
 'An Iron Curtain has descended' 
 'Never give in!' 
 'Sinking of the Graf Spee' 
 'Fall of Singapore' 
 'Review of the war' 
 'Battle of the Atlantic' 
 'Victory in North Africa' 
 'Tribute to George VI' 
 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Winston Churchill's Greatest Speeches

A BBC Collection

Humphrey Ker

David Reed

Thom Tuck

All 10 of the Penny Dreadfuls' riotous revisionist plays, retelling famous fictional tales and historical events 
 
'Terrific stuff' - Radio Times 
'Without exaggeration, they are heirs to the madcap humour that made Monty Python so captivating.' - The Skinny 
 
Sketch trio The Penny Dreadfuls made a name for themselves with The Brothers Faversham, telling the stories of nine extraordinary siblings in the Victorian era. In these ten comedy dramas, they step away from the 19th Century to revisit famous stories from history and literature. Featuring unforgettable characters, from the face of British treason to the last of the Plantagenets, their fresh, funny reimaginings are full of suspense, rip-roaring entertainment and gags galore. 
 
In Guy Fawkes, they take a new look at the Gunpowder Plot; Revolution recounts the entire story of the French Revolution in just one hour (with jokes) and Hereward the Wake asks why this heroic Englishman, responsible for leading the fight against William the Conqueror's occupation, has been forgotten. Macbeth Rebothered tells an alternative tale of this noble King; The Odyssey tackles Homer's epic journey home after the Trojan War and in The Voyage of the Beagle, we hear the story Darwin left out of his tales from his time aboard HMS Beagle. 
 
Le Carré on Spying takes us on an espionage romp through 1960s Berlin; Don Quixote condenses Cervantes' dense classic into an hour of mind-boggling fun and Hadrian's Beard considers the Roman emperor's dilemma: if he builds a wall across England, won't people just go around it in little boats? Finally, Richard III Rebothered combines history and belly laughs as the Penny Dreadfuls explore the notorious 'hunchback King'. 
 
With all ten plays collected together here for the very first time, this release features brand new introductions to each of the episodes, in which The Penny Dreadfuls chat about the making of these hilarious histories. 
 
Written and performed by Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck, these hilarious shows co-star Margaret Cabourn-Smith and feature stellar casts including Richard E Grant, Sally Hawkins, Robert Webb, Sylvester McCoy, Amanda Abbington, Kevin Eldon, Mark Heap, Miles Jupp, Lolly Adefope, Greg McHugh, Susan Calman, Justin Edwards, Vivienne Acheampong, Tony Gardner, Mina Anwar, Marek Larwood, Andrew Pugsley and Celeste Dring. 
 
Production credits 
Starring The Penny Dreadfuls: Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck, plus Margaret Cabourn-Smith 
Produced by Julia McKenzie 
 
Guy Fawkes 
Written by Humphrey Ker, David Reed &amp; Thom Tuck 
Guest starring Kevin Eldon, Miles Jupp &amp; Andrew Pugsley 
 
Revolution 
Written by Humphrey Ker &amp; David Reed 
Guest starring Richard E Grant &amp; Sally Hawkins 
 
Hereward the Wake 
Written by David Reed 
Guest starring Justin Edwards &amp; Marek Larwood 
 
Macbeth Rebothered 
Written by David Reed 
Guest starring Susan Calman &amp; Greg McHugh 
 
The Odyssey 
Written by David Reed 
Guest starring Lolly Adefope &amp; Robert Webb 
 
The Curse of the Beagle 
Written by David Reed 
 
Le Carré on Spying 
Written by David Reed 
Guest starring Mark Heap &amp; Miles Jupp 
 
Don Quixote 
Written by David Reed 
Guest starring Amanda Abbington, Vivienne Acheampong &amp; Sylvester McCoy 
 
Hadrian's Beard 
Written by David Reed 
Guest starring Mina Anwar &amp; Tony Gardner 
 
Richard III Rebothered 
Written by David Reed 
Guest starring Celeste Dring 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Penny Dreadfuls Present...

The complete BBC Radio 4 comedy series

Audrey Gillan

Dan Maudsley

Audrey Gillan revisits her time on the ground with the British Army in Iraq, and the infamous friendly fire incident that killed Matty Hull 
 
'A remarkable listen: detailed, unflinching and revealing about the ripple effects of a wholly avoidable tragedy'Financial Times 
 
Award-winning journalist Audrey Gillan was embedded with British troops during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. She was on the ground with the Household Cavalry's D Squadron when American pilots, firing at what they believed to be the enemy, injured four of its soldiers and killed one: 25-year-old Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull. 
 
Realising their mistake moments later, one pilot is heard muttering to the other 'we're in jail, dude'. But although a 2007 inquest condemned Matty's killing as unlawful and criminal, they were never prosecuted or punished for their actions, nor have they ever offered any apology. Now, years later, Audrey Gillan has joined forces with producer Dan Maudsley to investigate the notorious incident and its aftershocks, and tell the story of D Squadron's war in her own voice and through the eyes of the men she lived alongside. 
 
From interviews with soldiers, fellow reporters, military doctors and relatives, to in-depth analysis of the US pilots' cockpit recordings, this compelling series, shortlisted for Radio/Podcast of the Year by the Foreign Press Association, sheds new and startling light on British soldiers' experiences during the Iraq invasion and the terrifying, tragic 'blue-on-blue' attack that changed their lives forever. 
 
NB: Contains strong language and descriptions of war that some listeners may find upsetting. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised, details of organisations offering information and support can be found on the BBC Action Line website. 
 
Production credits 
Written and recorded by Dan Maudsley and Audrey Gillan 
Edited by Dan Maudsley 
Sound design by Rory Auskerry 
Executive producer: Shelley Jofre 
Title music: 'Ma Wefet' by UTN1 
Image: D8. Studio 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 5live, 13 May-10 August 2020 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

On The Ground

The true story of young soldiers' lives forever changed by 'friendly fire' in Iraq.

Melvyn Bragg explores the pivotal role of England's north in defining modern Britain, and its enduring effect on every part of the globe 
 
'It's impossible not to admire the thrust and sweep of this series' The Telegraph 
 
In this captivating 10-part series, Melvyn Bragg brings all his enthusiasm, experience and expertise to a subject that has enthralled him his entire life: the importance of the North in shaping the United Kingdom. Joined by special guests including Dame Judi Dench, Sir Michael Parkinson, Joan Bakewell, David Hockney, Maxine Peake, Simon Armitage and Sir Geoffrey Boycott, he charts the ebb and flow of Northern power and influence, examining how one smallish geographical region came to have such an enormous effect on our culture worldwide: from science and philosophy to music and sport. 
 
Beginning his story from the top of Hadrian's Wall, Bragg looks at the fall of Rome and the rise of Northumbria, and considers the glorious Northumbrian Renaissance - and the mark left on the North by invading Vikings and Normans. He looks at the turbulent years of rebellion that swept the area and the idea of 'northern speech', and tells of his love for the Northern landscape that inspired Wordsworth, Coleridge, the Brontës and Turner. 
 
Bragg also celebrates the North as the heartland of the Industrial Revolution, and sings the praises of Manchester, the first city of that revolution. He explains how many radical movements had their genesis in the North: from Chartism and the suffragettes to the birth of the Labour Party. Bringing us right up to date, he looks at some great 20th Century cultural icons, such as the Beatles and Coronation Street. Finally, he reflects on 'Northern power', asking what being and sounding Northern means and questioning what the future holds for the North in the wake of the EU referendum. 
 
Also included In Our Time: Hadrian's Wall, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss this famous archaeological monument, and the two-part series North and South: Across the Great Divide, which finds Ian Marchant travelling along England's North/South divide to ask what it really means - and see if it is shifting. 
 
Production credits 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg. Produced by Faith Lawrence 
 
With guests including: Simon Armitage, Syima Aslam, Prof Simon Bainbridge, Dame Joan Bakewell, Maria Balshaw, Prof Hannah Barker, Dr Sarah Bastow, Chris Bonington, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Sir Geoffrey Boycott, Claire Breay, Prof Michelle Brown, Revd Canon Rosalind Brown, Prof Sally Bushell, Prof Robert Colls, Julian Cooper, Ed Cox, Prof Katy Cubitt, Judith Cummins MP, Dame Judi Dench, Prof Richard Gameson, Toby Gordon, Lee Hall, Prof Ian Haynes, Susan Harrison, Prof Nick Higham, David Hockney, Prof Richard Horrocks, Howard Hull, Prof Judith Jesch, Dr Chris Jones, Dr Katy Layton-Jones, Dr Jill Liddington, Bill Lloyd, Natalie McCaul, Jimmy McGovern, Ian McMillan, Dr Katrina Navickas, Sir Michael Parkinson, Maxine Peake, Dr Robert Poole, Irna Qureshi, Canon Apiarist Adrian Rhodes, Lee Rigg, Jonnie Robinson, Prof Dave Russell, Jonathan Schofield, Rommi Smith, Prof Keith Stringer, Dr James Sumner, Dr Matthew Townend, Jenny Uglow, Matthew Watson, Prof Andy Wood 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 29 August-9 September 2016 
 
In Our Time: Hadrian's Wall 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
Produced by Victoria Brignell 
With Greg Woolf, David Breeze and Lindsay Allason-Jones. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 12 July 2012 
 
North and South: Across the Great Divide 
Presented by Ian Marchant 
Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery 
With Sir Michael Darrington, Prof Danny Dorling, Rachel North, Dominic Watt, Prof David Morley, John Langton. First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 21-28 March 2012 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Matter of the North

How the north of England shaped modern Britain

Chloe Hadjimatheou

Helena Merriman

Carrie Grace

Three dramatic true stories, this is investigative journalism at its very best. 
 
'Slick, efficient and professional... hugely engaging' The Spectator (on Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel) 
'Thrilling... a really great listen'The Guardian (on Tunnel 29) 
'Brilliantly produced' The Observer (on Mayday) 
 
In these three gripping series, prominent journalists investigate fascinating human stories, shining a light on history and politics and deepening our understanding of the word we live in. 
 
Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel tells a shocking tale of sex, death and power, as Carrie Gracie delves into the mysterious murder that led to the toppling of charismatic Chinese politician, Bo Xilai, and the rise of his greatest rival, President Xi Jinping. The story of the killing of British businessman and fixer Neil Heywood in Chongqing in 2011 is one the authorities do not want told. Gracie was warned off making this programme, her phones were tapped and her emails hacked. But she would not be silenced. Here, she uncovers a tragedy 'with no heroes but only villains and victims', and takes us into the dark heart of Chinese politics. 
 
In Tunnel 29, Helena Merriman recounts the incredible story of Joachim Rudolph, who, in the early 1960s, joined a group digging a tunnel under the Berlin Wall, and helped smuggle out 29 people. It's a story of the young people who risked everything, the spy who betrayed them, and the terrible price paid by those who were caught - and of the love that developed between the refugees who found freedom. Based on interviews with the tunnellers, thousands of documents from Stasi archives, and recordings from the tunnel, it is an astonishing tale of one of the most daring escape attempts of the 20th Century. 
 
Mayday investigates the extraordinary case of James Le Mesurier, an ex-British army officer found dead in an Istanbul street in 2019. The co-founder of the White Helmets - a civil defence force who pull survivors from bombed-out buildings in Syria - he was a hero to many, awarded an OBE for his efforts. But he also attracted deep suspicion, and accusations of being a spy, faking rescue videos - and involvement in appalling atrocities... Talking to Le Mesurier's widow, friends and colleagues, Chloe Hadjimatheou attempts to discover who he really was and how he died, and unravel a tangle of truth and lies. Also featured is a special extended version of The Canister on the Bed, exploring the events of the Douma massacre. In addition, bonus programme Mayday: The Evidence Gatherers reveals how a Western-funded NGO, responsible for extracting over a million documents from Syria allegedly containing evidence of torture and genocide, is now fighting a disinformation war. 
 
NB: Contains strong language and scenes which some listeners might find upsetting 
 
Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel 
Presented by Carrie Gracie 
Produced by Maria Byrne and Neal Razzell 
Sound mix by James Beard 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 13-17 March 2017 
 
Tunnel 29 
Written, presented and produced by Helena Merriman 
Translation and additional research: Sabine Schereck 
Editor: Richard Knight 
Joachim Rudolph's original interviews voiced by Mark Edel Hunt 
Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 21 October-1 November 2019 
 
Mayday 
Produced, written and presented by Chloe Hadjimatheou 
Editor: Emma Rippon 
Researcher: Tom Wright 
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman 
Sound design and mix: Neil Churchill 
Additional mixing Graham Pudifoot 
Editing assistance: Robbie Wojciechowski 
Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles and Abdul Kader Habak 
Turkish researcher: Nevin Sungur 
Narrative Consultant: John Yorke 
Original music: Nick Mundy and Bu Kolthoum 
End track: Zamilou by Bu Kolthoum 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 9-20 November 2020 
 
Mayday: The Evidence Gatherers 
Produced, written and presented by Chloe Hadjimatheou 
Editor: Emma Rippon 
Researchers: Orla O'Brien and Lara Al Gibaly 
Executive producer Maggie Latham 
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman 
Sound design and mix: Neil Churchill 
Commissioner for Radio 4: Richard Knight 
Prof Paul McKeigue and Ivan played by Mark Fleischman 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 7 April 2021 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Intrigue: 3 explosive true stories

Tunnel 29, Mayday & Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel

Ian Blatchford

Tilly Blyth

The landmark BBC series exploring science in art, developed by Radio 4 in partnership with the Science Museum - with an introduction read by Toby Jones 
 
'A real treat' The Spectator 
 
Art and science are often considered to be in conflict, with art dealing in creativity and science in cold, hard facts. But the two disciplines have always been interconnected, taking inspiration from each other and shaping each other's worlds. In this fascinating 20-part series, Sir Ian Blatchford, Director of the Science Museum, and Dr Tilly Blyth, the Science Museum's Head of Collections, reveal how science's ingenuity has been incorporated into artistic expression - and how art's creativity has stimulated scientific progress and technological change. 
 
Beginning with the Enlightenment and concluding with our modern-day Age of Ambivalence, they take a chronological journey through 250 years of British history, looking at the often surprising relationships between iconic works of art and key scientific objects and ideas. Among the pieces they analyse are Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg's theatrical portrayal of the Industrial Revolution, Coalbrookdale by Night; Constable's cloud paintings; John Nasmyth's extraordinarily detailed photographs of the Moon; Roy Nockolds' Supersonic, the first abstract image to show the breaking of the sound barrier; and Longplayer, a 1000-year-long musical composition created by computer algorithm. 
 
From Joseph Wright's 1776 painting A Philosopher Giving A Lecture On The Orrery, illuminating a new scientific age of wonders, to Cornelia Parker's Einstein's Abstracts and Cold Dark Matter, shining cosmological light on what is yet to be known, we see that science and art are part of the same rich culture, engaged in an ongoing dialogue driven by mutual curiosity, creativity and imagination. 
 
Presented by Sir Ian Blatchford and Tilly Blyth 
Introduction read by Toby Jones 
Readers: Shaun Mason, Katherine Cusack and Sean Baker 
Music composed by Mark Russell 
Produced by Adrian Washbourne, in partnership with The Science Museum Group 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
 
The Scientific Sublime 23 September 2019 
Masters of Spectacle 24 September 2019 
Satirizing Science 25 September 2019 
Observing the Air 26 September 2019 
Tracking Progress 27 September 2019 
Plants on Paper 30 September 2019 
Reaching for the Moon 1 October 2019 
Dyeing to Display 2 October 2019 
Capturing Time 3 October 2019 
Celebrating Speed 4 October 2019 
Art as Protest 7 October 2019 
Humans in the Industrial Machine 8 October 2019 
Forms of Knowledge 9 October 2019 
Supersonic 10 October 2019 
Patterns from Atoms 11 October 2019 
Wonder Materials 14 October 2019 
Polaroid Perceptions 15 October 2019 
Protecting the Earth 16 October 2019 
Patterns of Thought 17 October 2019 
Imagining Matter 18 October 2019

The Art of Innovation

How art and science have inspired each other, a Radio 4 and the Science Museum collaboration.

New Generation Thinkers

The most exciting emerging thinkers of our age present their ideas 
 
Since 2010, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the BBC have joined forces to find the best and brightest academic minds whose cutting-edge research deserves to be shared with a wider audience. Each year, 10 pioneering scholars are selected as New Generation Thinkers, and given the unique opportunity to bring their groundbreaking work to life on radio. New Generation Thinkers have explored the arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond, and continue to share ideas, bring people into their world, and expand horizons everywhere. 
 
To mark ten years of this incredible scheme, this collection brings together the 100 winners from the past decade. Many have gone on to become prominent public figures, and all have fascinating insights to share. Charlotte Blease questions the relationship between doctors and patients; Sarah Dillon explores roles for women in science fiction and whether the genre is sexist; Anindya Raychaudhuri discusses the 1947 Partition of India and how it is remembered; Edmund Richardson tells the story of Alexander the Great's lost city; and Ben Anderson explains how trespassers in the early 20th Century helped create new attitudes to nature by going off-piste. 
 
With topics ranging from a pirate's cookbook to prison breaks, from shaving to Shakespeare and from Berlin techno music to the Glasgow rag trade, these intriguing radio essays will inform, provoke, stimulate and surprise. 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
 
If you'd like to learn more about New Generation Thinkers, visit the Arts and Humanities Research Council website at ahrc.ukri.org

Instant Expert

100 of the best ideas from New Generation Thinkers

Mobeen Azhar

In 1989, the literary world was rocked by an unprecedented event: Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of Revolutionary Iran, issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie, the author of The Satanic Verses. 
 
Rushdie's book was considered by many Muslims to be blasphemy for its depiction of Mohammed, and Khomeini had just ordered Rushdie's death. The book was banned in several countries and led to attacks against those involved in its publication. Hanif Kureishi called the fatwa "one of the most significant events in postwar literary history". 
 
In Fatwa, Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar tell the hidden story of the fatwa - the forces which led to the death sentence and the consequences for all of us. Covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999, they speak to extraordinary voices from often overlooked British communities to explore race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad. 
 
Also included is an interview with Salman Rushdie three years after the fatwa, Life after The Satanic Verses, in which the author talks about his life and work with Christopher Bigsby. Finally in The Book Burners: Salman Rushdie, Mike Wooldridge hears from Muslims who protested against The Satanic Verses twenty years after the fatwa - what do they think it achieved? 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Book Burners

Salman Rushdie, the fatwa, and the consequences for us all

Mike Walker

Mike Walker's thrilling saga of the Habsburg dynasty, who ruled most of Europe - and much of the New World - for almost 600 years 
 
For almost six centuries, the House of Habsburg was one of the most powerful royal families in Europe - and beyond. They established an empire that began with a castle on a crag, and ended up extending over four continents. In these riveting dramas, Mike Walker traces their rise and fall. 
 
Hawk Rising - Brugg, 1230. Summoned to Duke Rudolf of Habsburg's clifftop fortress to tutor his son, Albert, Turkish scholar Ibrahim finds himself accompanying the young man on a Prussian crusade. Rudolf is determined to become Holy Roman Emperor - but he needs the Pope's backing, and Alexander supports the expedition... Starring Philip Arditti as Ibrahim, Mark Lewis Jones as Rudolf and Kai Owen as Albert. 
 
Hawk Hunting - Enthroned as Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf battles to secure his dynasty. If Albert is to succeed him, various enemies must be removed from the scene, including his onetime ally King Ottokar of Bohemia. Meanwhile, Ibrahim is teaching philosophy to Albert's son, Frederick - and making secret deals. Starring Matthew Aubrey as Frederick and John Telfer as Ottokar. 
 
Hawk Wounded - Albert the One-Eyed of Habsburg has supplanted Norbert as Holy Roman Emperor: but Wenceslas is set on revenge. Disenchanted with Frederick, Albert places his trust in another Habsburg, John of Swabia - and Ibrahim confronts his nemesis. Starring Aled Pugh as John. 
 
Wallenstein - 1618. Wallenstein, a brilliant, rebellious Protestant mercenary, strives for advancement in the Holy Roman Empire's army. Guided by astute widow Katherina, he achieves fame and fortune. But this war wolf is hard to tame - can Katherina rein him in? Richard Harrington stars as Wallenstein, with Anamaria Marinca as Katherina. 
 
Redl - Vienna, 1913. Double agent Colonel Alfred Redl believes he is invincible: as unstoppable as the Habsburgs he purports to serve. A pioneer of modern surveillance techniques and a superb story-spinner, he is almost the perfect spy. But when this arch-traitor is himself betrayed, he falls - and the Empire falls with him... Starring Jonathan Forbes as Redl. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Mike Walker 
Directed by Alison Hindell and John Norton 
Sound design: Nigel Lewis 
A BBC Cymru Wales Production 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Castle of the Hawk: An epic chronicle of the Habsburg dynasty

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast drama

A Private Thriller

A series of children's modern classic novels by renowned 20th century children's writers. All the titles in this series have the A Puffin Book logo, contemporary-style covers, and child-friendly endnotes.

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