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Latest Radio 4 Newsletter

Friday 25 (Christmas Day) - Friday 1 December 2009 Hello fellow listeners, Here we go with your second newsletter from us today. The next edition will be coming to you on Monday 4 January. Our Saturday Live colleagues have chosen their favourite  Inheritance Tracks and put them all on one page for your convenience. So, take a look at The Saturday Live Stocking Filler of Top 10 Inheritance Tracks. Thanks to everyone who's donated money to the Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal. So far we've received more than £500,000, with most of it coming from online donations. So hurrah us! Needless to say, there's still time to donate if you haven't yet. For a comprehensive list of all our programmes, see our schedule pages. Don't forget that items and guests can and do change in the live topical programmes, and that some links in this newsletter will be live later today, or later in the week.
	Friday 25 December, Christmas Day A Point of View, 8.50-9.00pm, repeated Sunday 8.50-9.00am Clive James reflects on the human condition and celebrates the scope for progress as long as liberal democracy is allowed to flourish.
	Saturday 26 December Brandreth’s Pills, 10.30-11.00am Gyles Brandreth tells the story of how his ancestor made a fortune in America. Money Box, 12.00-12.30pm, repeated Sunday 9.00-9.30pm Paul Lewis presents. Melanie Bien, Savils Finance; Martin Roberst, Homes Under the Hammer; and Simon Rubinsohn, RIC, talk about the property market. News Review of the Year, 1.10-2.00pm Carolyn Quinn looks back at the stories that hit the headlines in 2009. The Saturday Play: Educating Rita, 2.30-3.30pm By Willy Russell. The relationship between a feisty working-class Open University student and her tutor. With Laura Dos Santos and Bill Nighy. From Fact to Fiction, 7.00-7.15pm, repeated Sunday 5.40-6.00pm A writer creates a fictional response to a topical issue. Writer and subject still to be confirmed. Archive on 4: Doctor Who: The Lost Episodes, 8.00-9.00pm, repeated Monday 3.00-3.45pm Shaun Ley investigates what happened to 108 missing episodes of Doctor Who from the 1960s.
	Sunday 27 December Radio 4 Appeal, 7.55am, repeated 9.26pm, and Thursday 3.27pm Kay Parkinson appeals on behalf of Alstrom Syndrome UK. Desert Island Discs, 11.15-noon, repeated Friday 9.00-9.45am Kirsty Young’s guest is David Tennant.
	Monday 28 December Start the Week, 9.00-9.45am, repeated 9.30-10.00pm Andrew Marr’s guests are Sir Roy Anderson, Barbara Sahakian, John Shepherd, and Richard Dawkins. Vincent Van Gogh - the Letters, 9.45-10.00am, repeated 12.30-12.45am Mark Rylance, Julius D'Silva and Joseph Cohen-Cole read from Van Gogh's correspondence, edited by Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten and Nienke Bakker. Woman’s Hour, 10.00-10.45am Men who have appeared on Woman’s Hour. My Mad Grandad, 10.45-11.00am, repeated 7.45-8.00pm By Mike Scott. After being moved away from bad influences to live in a quiet village, 12-year-old Gil finds his new best mate is his Grandad. Living with the In-Laws, 11.00-11.30am Perminder Khatkar explores the realities for Asian women who move in with their in-laws. You and Yours, 12.00-1.00pm Olympics Special: interview with Paul Deighton, Chief Exec, LOCOG; tickets for events; cities bidding for visitors to come to pre-Olympic training camps; interview with Sir Steve Redgrave; Olympics’ food; Paralympics brand; Steve Punt shares his views on opening ceremonies. Beyond Belief, 4.30-5.00pm New series. Ernie Rea and Father Gregory Hallam, Emma Heathcoate-James, and Christopher French, discuss angels and contemporary angel experiences; Lorna Bryne talks about seeing and talking to angels since her childhood. The Unbelievable Truth - New Year’s Special, 6.30-7.00pm David Mitchell chairs, with guests Rob Brydon, John Lloyd and Stephen Fry. Front Row, 7.15-7.45pm Mark Lawson reports on the art of the literary biography. With Selina Hastings on her acclaimed life of Somerset Maugham, Martin Stannard on the complex life of Muriel Spark, and John Carey on the surprises he discovered when writing the biography of William Golding.
	Tuesday 29 December Woman's Hour, 10.00-10.45am Interview with Sarah Jessica Parker; female shamans in Siberia; mothers who gamble; what to wear in bed. Affluent Workers Revisited, Revisited, 11.00-11.30am Sarfraz Manzoor revisits a 1980s sociological study of Luton with Professor Fiona Devine. Van Gogh: Seeing Red, 11.30am-noon Richard Cork explores the mind of Vincent Van Gogh through his correspondence. Call You and Yours, 12.00-1.00pm Spoilt children. Bright Young Things, 3.30-3.45 Tues: Jeeves and the Yuletide Sprit by PG Wodehouse, read by Julian Rhind-Tutt. Wedn: The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield, read by Romola Garai. Thurs: Bernice Bobs Her Hair by F Scott Fitzgerald, read by Laurel Lefkow. Front Row, 7.15-7.45pm Mark Lawson finds out whether the rise of the electronic reader will lead to the eventual extinction of the printed book, including the views of writers including Peter James and Douglas Coupland.
	Wednesday 30 December Woman's Hour, 10.00-10.45am Interview with singer Dionne Bromfield; women and technology in the noughties; boy babysitters; discussion about the Sex Disqualification Removal Act - 90th Anniversary, with Dr Cheryl Law and Judith Bourne. UK Confidential, 11.00am-12.00noon As previously secret government files are released to the public, Martha Kearney talks to government ministers about the headlines from 1979. You and Yours, 12.00-1.00pm Ticket rip-off round-up; FSA food campaigns in 2009 and what’s next; Nigel Warburton shares the wisdom of the ancients about growing old; Yorkshire Dales waterfall said to have inspired Elgar is for sale; the car scrappage scheme. Afternoon Play: What Did I Say?2.15-3.00pm By Mark Lawson. Max Coleman is suspended from work for an allegedly offensive remark. With Neil Pearson and Amy Marston. Money Box Live, 3.00-3.30pm Paul Lewis and his guests Clare Francis, Moneysupermarket; Justin Urquhart Stewart, Seven Investment Management; and Graham Hooper Bestinvest, take your calls on savings and investments. You can email the programme from now. Front Row, 7.15-7.45pm John Wilson reports on the rise of a new generation of female singers and songwriters: he meets Florence and the Machine, La Roux, Bat for Lashes, Lily Allen and Mercury Prize-winner Speech Debelle. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qsq5 All Bar Luke: Christmas Special, 11.00-11.30pm By Tim Key. Luke ferries Lee and Hayley between Christmas dinners with their parents.
	Thursday 31 December Woman's Hour, 10.00-10.45am A celebration of women poets, with archive recordings of Sharon Olds, Carol Ann Duffy, Rita Dove, Alice Oswald, Grace Nichols, Laura Dockrill, and Sylvia Plath plus interviews with poet Jen Hadfield and Fiona Sampson, editor of Poetry Review. You and Yours, 12.00-1.00pm Forestry Commission and flood defences; file sharing; Asos fashion website; Chorley revisited; the retail sector’s prospects; low energy lightbulbs. Afternoon Play: Fireworks at the Villa Lucia, 2.15-3.00pm By Paul Mendelson. A struggling writer tries to sell his dog-eared screenplay. With Philip Whitchurch, Samantha Bond, and Kerry Shale. Front Row, 7.15-7.45pm Mark Lawson considers the art and craft of the actor: interviews with Clint Eastwood, Bob Hoskins and Johnny Depp.
	Friday 1 January, New Year’s Day Woman's Hour, 10.00-10.45am Upstairs/downstairs: discussion with Julian Fellowes and Clare Jenkins about legacy of life above and below stairs; archive of Miss Cochrane talking about life in service before World War I; discussion about today’s Mrs Mopps and the professionalisation of domestic help; Cranford; food above and below stairs and the hierarchy of the kitchen staff. Spitting in Russian, 11.00-11.30am Roger Law, co-creator of Spitting Image, discusses a Russian version of the programme on which he advised in the 1980s. At the time he never found out if it was aired. Afternoon Play: Lamia, 2.15-3.00pm Keat’s narrative poem about the love affair between the serpent Lamia and the innocent mortal Lycius is performed by Paterson Joseph, Charlotte Emmerson, Tom Ferguson, and Jonathan Keeble. With music by John Harle, the singer is Sarah Leonard. Front Row, 7.15-7.45pm Kirsty Lang reports on the rise of a new generation of playwrights, including interviews with Lucy Kirkwood, Lucy Prebble, Chloe Moss, Ella Hickson, Alia Bano and Polly Stenham. Correspondents’ Look Ahead, 8.00-8.50 BBC correspondents join Stephen Sackur to reveal their predictions for 2010. A Point of View, 8.50-9.00pm, repeated Sunday 8.50-9.00am New series. Lisa Jardine with her take on a topical issue. If you want more, you can meet and chat to your fellow listeners on the Radio 4 messageboards. That's all for this week. Have a great weekend and see you next week. Anna, and the Radio 4 interactive team. Read this newsletter on our website
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