Radio 4

Radio 4’s Lord Lucan series is rescued by a brilliant narrator

9 November 2024 9:00 am

It was 50 years ago this week, on 7 November 1974, that Lord Lucan fled what was destined to become…

How Berlin nearly broke Bowie

14 September 2024 9:00 am

This week’s Archive on 4 is a treat for David Bowie fans. Francis Whately, the producer behind several of the…

Glamour or guilt? The perils of marketing the British country house

31 August 2024 9:00 am

The most angst-ridden sub-category of the very rich – admittedly a lucky bunch to start with – must surely contain…

A familiar OE-led balls-up: Rory Stewart’s The Long History of Ignorance reviewed

24 August 2024 9:00 am

In my next life I intend to have my brain removed in order to become a telly executive. You know:…

Rushdie on how the best magical realism transcends fantasy

22 June 2024 9:00 am

Ask the man in the street to quote a line from one of Salman Rushdie’s novels, and he might struggle.…

Under the Taliban, Afghan light entertainment accrued unusual weight

8 June 2024 9:00 am

For a television talent show, Afghan Star had unusually high stakes. When it first hit Afghanistan’s screens in 2005, four…

The jaw-dropping story of the British Museum thefts

25 May 2024 9:00 am

It’s August 2023 when news breaks that artefacts have gone missing, presumed stolen, from the British Museum. I’m about an…

A gripping podcast about America’s obsession with guns

11 May 2024 9:00 am

The love affair between so many Americans and their guns – long a source of international fascination – appears to…

How to live off the land for a year

27 April 2024 9:00 am

Could you live off the land for a year without buying a single thing to eat? This was the challenge…

How did the internet become so horrific?

17 February 2024 9:00 am

Plus: the joy of hearing lawyers argue

I’m not convinced Thomas Heatherwick is the best person to be discussing boring buildings

28 October 2023 9:00 am

Architects are often snobby about – and no doubt jealous of – the designer Thomas Heatherwick, who isn’t an actual…

What happened to the supermodels of the 1990s?

14 October 2023 9:00 am

‘What advice would you give to your younger self?’ has become a popular question in interviews in recent years. It’s…

Enjoyable and informative but where’s the drama? Political Currency reviewed

30 September 2023 9:00 am

The first episode of George Osborne and Ed Balls’s new podcast, Political Currency, opened with an old clip of the…

The rise of vampirism in Silicon Valley

2 September 2023 9:00 am

The Immortals, which begins on Radio 4 this week, is not for the faint-hearted. While it professes to be about…

My run-in with Nigel Farage

5 August 2023 9:00 am

To think I once thought cricket dull. For more than 40 days and 40 nights, I have been gripped by…

Perfect radio for a nation of grumblers: Radio 4’s Room 101 with Paul Merton reviewed

10 June 2023 9:00 am

Welcome back to Room 101, which has returned to the radio – after nearly 30 years on TV – and…

Looking for a male role model? Check out the silverback gorilla

27 May 2023 9:00 am

One so often hears about famous people who are horrible when they think no one important is looking – barking…

Prayer for the Day is the best thing to wake up to

13 May 2023 9:00 am

As the owner of a radio alarm clock, I could theoretically start listening to the Today programme before I’m even…

Elon Musk is right about BBC funding

11 April 2023 1:53 am

The BBC has today been using its various news platforms to protest against being described as ‘government funded’ by Twitter.…

Why does Jamie Oliver always get an easy ride?

28 December 2022 3:10 am

There are many annoying things about the celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, but none of them grates my gears as much…

The genius of More or Less

8 October 2022 9:00 am

In a week of slim audio pickings, I spent time reacquainting myself with some of the BBC classics and can…

BBC radio has excelled itself over the past week

17 September 2022 9:00 am

Listening to BBC Radios 3 and 4 over the past week has been like meeting an old friend who, after…