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Leaving Normal: a new comedy about gay adoption
I was recently at the home of Hari and Matt (I've changed the names) - a friend from childhood and his partner, respectively - now new adoptive gay dads to two older children. The kids come from troubled backgrounds and are having difficulty settling into their new homes. They're testing both th...
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That's easy for you to say...
ANNOUNCERS' WEEK: DAY FIVE Many years ago, there was a rookie girl announcer reading the travel news on Radio 4. There was a spot of bother near Towcester, which she confidently names Toe-chester. The phone rang. Peter Donaldson (for it was he) said: "It's Toaster, dear girl, as in pop-up". The...
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Technology, Manipulation and Mischief in Chris Morris' Blue Jam
The author of 'Disgusting Bliss: The Brass Eye of Chris Morris' reflects on the how technological advances fed the creative sound of the cult radio series Blue Jam.
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Radio 4 Extra: Frankly Speaking
Frankly Speaking was considered 'risky' and 'unkempt' when it originally aired in the 1950s. Now, as Radio 4 Extra rebroadcasts a selection of high profile interviews from the series, Caroline Raphael sheds light on an archive jewel …
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Radio 4 goes inside the cage
Editor's note: The video shows a real cage fight and if you're uncomfortable with the kind of aggression that characterises 'mixed martial arts' you may not want to click 'play' - SB. As a radio producer I think it's very healthy to make programmes that challenge one's own ingrained ideas. I ha...
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Top Kitchen Hacks
To celebrate The Kitchen Cabinet's move to Saturdays Jay Rayner puts together a list of top tips from the first episode of this series, recorded in Liverpool.
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Beyond Belief - dealing with serious issues in a serious way
I gave up my day job as Head of Religious Broadcasting at the Beeb in January 2001 and began presenting Beyond Belief in January 2002. It was just three months after 9/11 and the events of that day gave it a context: All of a sudden everyone was interested in world religions. Britain woke up to ...
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Cocktails, nuts and anachronisms
Editor's note: the final instalment of Ed Reardon's midwinter diary puts the final nail in the coffin of the season of goodwill - SB. People sometimes say to me "What must it be like being you?" - most recently at my local greengrocer's, when I tried to take back and exchange a dozen or so alm...
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Crikey DM! David Jason's Tribute to Cosgrove Hall
Producer Kellie Redmond describes the thrill of recording with national treasure Sir David Jason and the animation legend Brian Cosgrove, creator of the animation power house which created Danger Mouse, The Wind In The Willows, Jamie And The Magic Torch and Chorlton And The Wheelies.
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A Fabulous Festive Feast from 4 Extra
Whether you fancy some Ho! Ho! Ho! or a merry melodrama or two, BBC Radio 4 Extra has got it all for you this season:
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America, Empire of Liberty
Editor's note: Radio 4's 90-part history series America, Empire of Liberty, ends today at 1545. Writer and presenter Professor David Reynolds reflects on the experience. "I hear you're doing some programmes about US history. How many?" "Ninety", I would say, a little sheepishly. Pause. Frown...
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The Art of Monarchy: An Audience with the Spanish Infantas
Editor's note: To coincide with the Art of Monarchy, the Radio 4 blog is running a series of posts by the Royal Collection's curators on different aspects of the collection. In this post Anna Reynolds considers the portrait of the Spanish Infantas - CM. Supplied by Royal Collection Trust / ...
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The truth about Travellers
Up until last month, I had never set foot on a Traveller site or thought I ever would. Few non-Travellers tend to be allowed into this closed, tight knit community. Therefore, it was a great surprise and privilege not only to be invited onto a Traveller site, but to be given the run of the place...
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The House I Grew Up In: New series and podcast
If you're not familiar with The House I Grew Up In, it's a series in which I get to visit the childhood homes and neighbourhoods of influential Britons, uncovering the experiences which shaped their lives. This year, for example, in the first programme of the new series, Baroness Shirley Will...
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The Beauty of The Once and Future King
As T.H. White's retelling of the King Arthur story comes to Radio 4, Adam Roberts, Professor of 19th Century Literature at Royal Holloway and sci-fi author, shares his love of White's The Once and Future King.
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The Cold Swedish Winter: Six Ways To Become a Swede
Comedian and writer, Danny Robins writes about his new comic drama on Radio 4 - The Cold Swedish Winter.
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Afternoon Play: Floating
Editor's note: The Radio Times described this fantastical Afternoon Play: Floating as "a maritime Passport to Pimlico, with the locals relishing their unexpected autonomy and selecting a leader". The Guardian review said that Floating has "a delightfully quirky presence, and a poignant conclusio...
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The British Library and the Listening Project
(Editor's note: This week sees the launch of a new partnership between the BBC and the British Library. The Listening Project asks people up and down the country to share an intimate conversation with a close friend or relative. Here, British Library curator Jonathan Robinson talks about the ...
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Treating radio 4 output as data
Editor's note: BBC techies have been working with their counterparts at The Guardian and elsewhere to build new sources of data - in this case data about the media appearances of our MPs - SB. At the end of July the Guardian held an internal hackday at their offices in King's Cross. They invite...
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Book at Beachtime: Red Joan
The inspiration for Red Joan came from the story of Melita Norwood, who was exposed as the KGB's longest-serving Cold War spy, at the age of 87.
