Radio
Claudia Winkleman’s new Radio 2 show gets off to a brainless start
Last Saturday on Radio 2 Claudia Winkleman was inaugurated as the host of what was formerly Graham Norton’s mid-morning spot.…
The funniest current affairs show since Brass Eye: Into the Grey Zone reviewed
It was something a friend said to me about The Revenant, Leonardo diCaprio’s bloody-minded and brutal Oscar vehicle: ‘The problem…
The music we need right now: James MacMillan’s Christmas Oratorio reviewed
The two most depressing words in contemporary classical music? That’s easy: holy minimalism. I know, I know. Lots of people…
Enjoyably tasteless: Power – The Maxwells reviewed
This year marks three decades since Robert Maxwell fell naked to his death from the deck of his yacht, The…
Is the hottest new podcast, The Apology Line, worth sticking with?
With the arts world still largely in hibernation, the launch of a big podcast is as close as we get…
Pleasant, cheerful and a little exhausting: Graham Norton on Virgin Radio reviewed
In my parents’ house, the radio is always tuned to one of two stations: Magic FM and LBC. When Magic…
Most artistic careers end in failure. Why does no one talk about this?
Rosie Millard dispels the myth that persistence is always rewarded
Enjoyably bad-tempered: The Lock In with Jeremy Paxman reviewed
‘I used to be Mr Nasty! That was good! Mr Nasty was easy!’ Jeremy Paxman bellows at Michael Palin on…
Boldly going where hundreds have gone before: Brave New Planet podcast reviewed
Since technology is developing at such light-speed pace, why does it feel so strangely slow? There is a sense that…
A beautiful radio adaptation: Radio 4’s The Housing Lark reviewed
Nineteen fifty-six: the Suez crisis, the first Tesco, Jim Laker takes 19 wickets in a match. But also: Trinidadian pianist…
The most important book on black Britishness has one flaw: its author was white
Can people of one race really understand the experience of another? asks Colin Grant
BBC sports coverage is becoming unwatchable
BBC sports coverage is becoming unwatchable
The Archers is a masterclass in how not to write a monologue
If you’ve been listening to The Archers lately, you’ll know how tedious monologues can be. The BBC has received so…
Hats (and knickers) off to the hosts: The Naked Podcast reviewed
I spent half an hour this week listening to a woman make a plaster cast of her vulva. Kat Harbourne,…
Why haven’t podcasts cracked the recipe for audio drama?
In Beeb-dominated Britain, the commercial triumph of podcasting — epitomised by Spotify’s recent £100 million deals with Joe Rogan and…
The festivalisation of TV
Televising Glastonbury has changed the festival, and in turn transformed television, says Graeme Thomson
Adapting Wodehouse for the radio is a challenge – but the BBC has succeeded brilliantly
Everyone knows a Lord Emsworth. Mine lives south of the river and wears caterpillars in his hair and wine on…
I've lost patience with podcasts and their presenters
‘To be recognised and accepted by a peregrine,’ wrote J.A. Baker in 1967, ‘you must wear the same clothes, travel…
Why do Radio 3 presenters adopt the tone stupid adults use when addressing children?
Anyone who has listened regularly to Radio 3 over the decades — not to mention the Third Programme, which Radio…
Ill-disciplined and self-indulgent: The Guilty Feminist podcast reviewed
With theatres shut, radio must lighten the darkness. The Guilty Feminist is a wildly popular podcast performed by Deborah Frances-White…
Why do writers enjoy walking so much?
Writers like walking. When people ask us why, we say it’s what writers do. ‘Just popping out to buy a…
The joy of Radio 3’s Building a Library
So, you’ve fallen in love with a piece of classical music and you want to buy a recording. The problems…
Radio 4's new H.P. Lovecraft adaptation will give you the chills
Of all the many things I’ve learned from the radio so far this decade, the most deranging is that the……
How podcasts have transformed radio
As if on cue, Lemn Sissay’s new series for Radio 4 tackles all those questions we would rather ignore in…
Why everyone loves Dolly Parton
When her musical 9 to 5 opened at the Savoy Theatre earlier this year, Dolly Parton stayed at the Savoy…
