Radio 4 Newsletter

Friday 10 February

Sport and the British - Exporting Football - 1.45pm
A timely focus on football, as Clare Balding charts how Britain spread the passion for football around the world. She particularly looks at South America where the game is central to their way of life.

Front Row - 7.15pm
John Wilson meets Paul McCartney as he releases an album of songs he heard in his childhood, and Boyd Hilton considers the latest European drama aimed at Saturday night TV audiences.

A Point of View - Anniversary Cornucopia - 8.50pm, rpt Sunday 8.50am
Historian David Cannadine with his topical reflections.

Download the Point of View podcast.

Sunday 12 February

The Archers Omnibus - 10.00am
Pat and Ruth join the fight, and Helen gains a new perspective.

Are Pat and Ruth a match for Brian when it comes to the battle of the mega dairy?

Follow The Archers discussion on messageboard, blog or twitter (@BBCTheArchers).

Catch up on previous story lines, Read the Archers Blog or download the Archers Omnibus podcast.

Desert Island Discs - James Corden - 11.15am
Actor and writer, James Corden, joins Kirsty Young to choose his eight tracks, book and luxury item for the desert island.

Open Book - William Boyd - 4.00pm
William Boyd talks to Mariella Frostrup.

Just a Minute - 6.30pm
Nicholas Parsons presents the first of the series which marks the show's 45th birthday. In this show panellists Paul Merton, Ross Noble, Jenny Eclair and Gyles Brandreth are all asked to talk on subjects given out in the first series in 1967.

Monday 13 February

Start the Week - Elizabethans - 9.00am, Rpt 9.30pm
Andrew Marr considers the 'great man' view of history, and how far an age can be represented by its leaders and innovators. Mary Beard looks back to ancient times when history and biography were considered two distinct genres. While John Guy returns to the reign of Elizabeth I, Max Hastings gives an overview of the modern Elizabethan age.

The Degner Defection - 11.00am
Fifty years ago an ultra-talented motorbike racer planned to escape from Communist East Germany. Stephen Evans tells how Degner everything including the life of his young family to flee to the west, taking with him ground breaking technology developed behind the Iron Curtain.

Front Row - 7.15pm
Mark Lawson interviews actor Daniel Radcliffe about life after Harry Potter; novelist A S Byatt discusses a new exhibition about Picasso's influence on British artists, and the producers of the documentary series Big Fat Gypsy Wedding discuss how they gain access to their subjects.

Analysis - Eurogeddon - 8.30pm
Europe thinks the unthinkable - what happens if the Eurozone splits? What would happen to the banking sector, how would a new currency be put in place, could the Euro survive? Policymakers across Europe are putting their contingency plans together. Reporter Chris Bowlby reveals their thinking.

Download the programme.

Tuesday 14 February

The Life Scientific - Chris Stringer - 9.00am
Jim Al-Khalili meets leading palaeoanthropologist Chris Stringer to find who our ancestors were.

Nature - James and the Giant Redwoods - 11.00am
James Aldred travels to California in search of the world's biggest trees.

Soul Music - Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto - 11.30am
Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto, which was famously featured in David Lean's film 'Brief Encounter', is one of the world's most popular pieces of classical. In this programme people describe the way in which Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto has touched and shaped their lives.

The Kitchen Cabinet - 3.00pm
The perfect Valentine's meal, and do supposed aphrodisiacs really work?

Front Row - 7.15pm
John Wilson meets the actor Jon Hamm, best known for his role as Don Draper in the TV series Mad Men; John also reports on how best to create heavy rain on stage, and Sarah Beeny discusses her exhibition about our changing ideas about the design of our homes.

File on Four - 8.00pm
With the EU poised to ban oil imports from Iran, Allan Urry assesses the impact of international sanctions on Britain and Europe. Designed to curb Iran's nuclear programme, the oil embargo could further push up the cost of fuel.

Wednesday 15 February

In Living Memory - Gentleman and Players - 11.00am
The last in the long running series of Gentlemen versus Players cricket matches was played at the Scarborough Festival in September 1962. Chris Ledgard goes to Yorkshire to find out about the game and explore the end of cricket's amateur era.

Sport and the British - Fighting Back - 1.45pm
Clare Balding looks at the relationship between boxing and Britain's ethnic minorities.Through the centuries, immigrants have had to literally fight for recognition in Britain and that means with their fists.

Front Row - 7.15pm
Mark Lawson talks to the tenor Vittorio Grigolo, whose career ranges from roles at the Royal Opera House to pop songs; theatre director Josie Rourke discusses her new production of The Recruiting Officer, with a cast including Mark Gatiss and Mackenzie Crook.

Costing the Earth - Bambi Bites Back - 9.00pm
In 'Costing the Earth' Tom Heap investigates the causes of the deer boom and some of the unexpected impacts. Deer take a heavy toll on young trees and ruining the prospects for ground-nesting birds. They're also meeting increasingly grisly ends, killed by on-coming cars or poachers armed with crossbows or air guns.

Thursday 16 February

In Our Time - The An Lushan Rebellion - 9.00am and rpt 9.30pm
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the An Lushan Rebellion, a major uprising against the imperial rule of the Chinese Tang dynasty. In AD 755 a senior general, An Lushan, orchestrated a plot against the Tang emperor, declaring a rival dynasty in northern China.

Explore the In Our Time archive.

Writing in Three Dimensions - Angela Carter's Love Affair with Radio - 11.30am
Angela Carter's friends, colleagues and admirers remember her innovative plays for radio.

Front Row - 7.15pm
Mark Lawson interviews Alan Gilbert, music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and David Quantick takes a chemistry lesson from the pop charts.

The Report - Tackling Poorly Performing Primaries - 8.00pm
As some of England's 200 weakest primary schools fight Government plans to force them to become sponsored Academies, Simon Cox reports on Michael Gove's drive to improve children's achievement.

Friday 17 February

The Nile - 11.00am
Edward is in the Nile Delta, one of the most intensively farmed areas on the planet.

Front Row - 7.15pm
John Wilson talks to the American crime writer Walter Mosley, and documentary director Phil Agland reflects on his return to the Baka Pygmy community he filmed 25 years ago.