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481 episodes — Page 3 of 10

16/12/2022

BBC News International Editor Jeremy Bowen joins Andrea Catherwood to talk about his experiences reporting in Ukraine and respond to listener comments on how the BBC is covering the conflict.Listeners give us their views on Mishal Husain’s interview with RMT leader Mick Lynch on the Today programme.We hear from Sebastian Baczkiewicz and Paul Cornell, writers of the new Radio 4 drama Splinter Cell: Firewall, set in the world of a best-selling video game.And Mohit Bakaya, Controller of Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra, responds to listeners’ questions and comments on the schedule changes at Radio 4 Extra.Presented by Andrea Catherwood Produced by Gill Davies A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

Dec 16, 202227 min

09/12/2022

Andrea Catherwood is joined by novelist Claire Allan who has been adding her voice to the protests about the proposed cuts to Radio Foyle in Northern Ireland.And Three Counties Local Radio presenter Edward Adoo shares his concerns that the reorganisation of Local Radio in England is going to affect programmes aimed at African, Caribbean and Asian audiences.As the competition in Qatar pushes towards a conclusion, football fan Rob Crossan tells us why the 5 Live radio commentary has been a winner for him at the World Cup.We hear what listeners have to say about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Reith Lecture, the first in this year’s series.And making an impact on our inbox this week was Justin Webb’s interview with RMT leader Mick Lynch on the Today programme. Andrea hears what listeners had to say.Presented by Andrea Catherwood Produced by Gill Davies A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

Dec 9, 202227 min

25/11/2022

The Welsh national football team has made the World Cup for the first time in 64 years. Graham Davies, Managing Editor, Sport at BBC Wales joins Andrea Catherwood to answer listeners’ comments and discuss the challenges of reporting on football and the issues surrounding it at the World Cup in Qatar.The Radio 4 drama Dear Harry Kane by writer James Fritz highlighted the plight of the migrant workers who built the stadiums in Qatar. The play centres around Nisal, played by Hiran Abeysekera, a life-long Spurs fan from Sri Lanka. He travels to Qatar to work on the construction of the stadiums where his hero, Harry Kane, will one day play. But nothing can prepare Nisal for the working conditions he faces. It struck a chord with many of you. Salford flatmates Gabe Brindle and Yonna Rogers are our listeners in the Vox Box. With local radio facing new cuts to programmes, they review BBC Radio Lancashire’s Garry Scott.And comedian turned copper Alfie Moore from Radio 4 comedy It’s a Fair Cop faces a listener interrogation.A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

Nov 25, 202227 min

18/11/2022

Radio 4 series Disaster Trolls investigates how victims of the Manchester Arena bombing and other UK terror attacks have been targeted by conspiracy theorists. Andrea Catherwood puts listeners' comments to BBC Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent Marianna Spring and recovering conspiracist Brent Lee.Assistant Editor, BBC Monitoring, Olga Robinson joins Andrea to talk about her work helping News teams report on disinformation and conspiracy theories.Also, the BBC has been receiving letters from listeners since it started broadcasting 100 years ago. Former BBC Producer Colin Shindler has collected classics for his book “I am Sure I Speak for Many Others" and he shares them with Andrea.And we hear what listeners have had to say about BBC Radio coverage of the recent Just Stop Oil protests on the M25.Presented by Andrea Catherwood Produced by Gill Davies A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

Nov 18, 202227 min

11/11/2022

Fi Glover joins Andrea Catherwood for a chat about the end of the Fortunately podcast, and life at and beyond the BBC.In the week of the US mid-term elections, Jonathan Aspinwall, Senior News Editor, and Marianna Spring, the BBC's Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent join Andrea to discuss listeners views on the new series of the Americast podcast.We have more comments from the audience on the planned cuts to BBC Local Radio programmes and, as a former local radio presenter, Fi Glover also gives her view on the matter,And Feedback listeners Eirene Houston and Lesley Atkins are in the Vox Box this week to listen to the Radio 4 drama documentary Exit Game which explores the ultra-competitive world of the professional men’s football youth system.Presented by Andrea Catherwood Produced by Gill Davies A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

Nov 12, 202227 min

04/11/2022

Andrea Catherwood puts listeners’ comments on the proposed BBC Local Radio cuts to Jason Horton, Acting Director BBC England.Jeremy Howe, Editor of The Archers, and actor Maddie Leslay, who plays Chelsea Horrobin, answer listeners’ comments on the big storyline in recent weeks - Chelsea’s pregnancy.We hear audience views on former leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage’s appearance on The World at One to discuss immigration.And Radio 3’s Soundscape of a Century, celebrating the BBC’s 100th anniversary, featured music and audio from the BBC Archive. Listeners tell us what they thought of the marathon eight-hour broadcast.A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

Nov 4, 202227 min

28/10/2022

Andrea Catherwood explores what it’s like to report on an unprecedented week in politics with Deputy Political Editor of BBC News, Vicki Young, who responds to audience comments on the news coverage. Alexei Sayle joins Andrea to discuss impartiality in comedy and listeners give us their views on his Imaginary Sandwich Bar, back for a fourth series on Radio 4. Toby Jones and his brother Rupert are in the Vox Box this week to listen to their dad, actor Freddy Jones’s Desert Island Discs, recently uncovered in a haul of more than 90 lost editions of the programme.Presented by Andrea Catherwood Produced by Gill Davies A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

Oct 28, 202227 min

21/10/2022

Andrea Catherwood explores True Crime on Radio 4 in discussion with Winifred Robinson, the presenter of The Boy in The Woods, and commissioning editor Dan Clarke. As celebrations continue for the BBC's 100th anniversary, licence fee payers air their views on its future. Also, listeners react to that Miriam Margolyes moment on the Today programme and our Vox Box reviewers Cushla and Lee give their thoughts on the World Service Outlook series, Hip-hop, lies and the ultimate prize. It tells the extraordinary story of two Scottish rappers Silibil n' Brains who made it in the music business by living a lie.Presented by Andrea Catherwood Produced by Gill Davies A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

Oct 21, 202227 min

14/10/2022

In the first programme of a new series, Andrea Catherwood discusses BBC coverage of the Queen’s funeral with Royal Correspondent Jonny Dymond and the BBC’s Director of Journalism, Jonathan Munro.Kate Bush’s musical renaissance featured in a recent Archive on 4. We put two young listeners in our Vox Box to review Kate Bush: The Power of Strange Things.And a panel of listeners from across the UK give us their take on the future of the BBC.Presented by Andrea CatherwoodProduced by Gill Davies A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

Oct 14, 202227 min

26/08/2022

There are 1.4 billion people in China, and one BBC correspondent in Feedback this week, Stephen McDonell, explains how he tries to find out what is really going on in that vast country.Lewis MacLeod of Radio 4’s Dead Ringers explains how he manages to morph seamlessly from Boris Johnson to Donald Trump mid-sentence.And, as he presents the programme for the last time, a listener puts questions from the audience to Roger Bolton on his 23 years at the helm.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 26, 202227 min

19/08/2022

A BBC correspondent recently returned from Afghanistan, Yogita Limaye, tells Roger Bolton what it's like to report from the country, and what restrictions are placed on her by the Taliban.The former government minister Rory Stewart explains what he is hoping to achieve in his Radio 4 series The History of Argument.And two listeners are up with the lark to listen to Farming Today on Radio 4. Was it worth it?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 20, 202227 min

12/08/2022

Radio 4 Drama Commissioner Alison Hindell answers comments from listeners, discusses the changing nature of audio drama and responds to criticism of a drama about David Cameron written by his former director of communications. There has been strong reaction to comments made on the Today programme about the Hillsborough disaster, which were not robustly challenged by the presenter.And a husband and wife critique the World Service programme and podcast, Dear Daughter. Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 12, 202227 min

05/08/2022

Can you believe BBC weather forecasters when they link extreme temperatures with climate change?BBC Meteorologist Tomasz Schafernaker discusses reporting of the recent heatwave and the linking of it to climate change, as well as answering comments from a listener comparing it to the summer of ‘76.The BBC Scotland Editor James Cook explains how he manages to remain impartial, as the independence issue heats up again north of the border.And Jeffrey Boakye tells us whether he has added to his own playlist as a result of co-presenting that eclectic show, Add To Playlist, with Cerys Matthews.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 5, 202227 min

29/07/2022

Do the Culture wars have to be fought to the death? Can either side be persuaded to listen calmly to the other’s point of view? That's what Radio 4 is trying to achieve through its new series AntiSocial. The Editor Emma Rippon explains why, and how.Is lunchtime an appropriate time to discuss menstruation on Radio 4? The Presenter of 28ish Days Later, India Rakusen, tells Roger Bolton why she thinks it is. And is there anything to laugh at in community social media? Two listeners give their views on Radio 4’s Welcome to the Neighbourhood.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Jul 29, 202227 min

22/07/2022

The BBC’s Environment Analyst tells Roger Bolton he is scared about what is happening to the climate. Roger Harrabin, who is shortly to leave the Corporation, gives Feedback a frank and revealing interview about climate change, the way politicians are dealing with it, and the way the BBC covers it.Adam Fleming talks about his new eight part podcast and series on Radio 4 about the origins and downfall of Boris Johnson. Is it too much and too late?And listeners compare live theatre and radio drama.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Alun Beach Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Jul 22, 202227 min

15/07/2022

Are BBC journalists enjoying the Conservative party leadership crisis a little too much? Even delighting in the demise of Boris Johnson? That is the suspicion of some Feedback listeners. Roger Bolton puts this accusation to the Today Programme’s Justin Webb, who also discusses impartiality and what it is like to be in the middle of a political maelstrom.Roger Mosey the former Editorial Director of the BBC gives his thoughts on the proposed move of Radio 4 Extra to online only. And why remake T S Eliot’s The Waste Land as a drama, 100 years on?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Alun Beach Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Jul 15, 202227 min

08/07/2022

Why did Emily Maitlis, the former Newsnight presenter, want to make eight programmes about an American official who died 50 years ago?Roger Bolton asks her about her Radio 4 series which recounted the career of J Edgar Hoover, the man who made presidents tremble and became probably the most powerful non-elected official in the USA. Was he the ‘deep state’ personified?Also, Dr Michael Moseley of Radio 4’s Just One Thing answers a critic who says his advice to eat more oily fish could come at a high environmental price.And in a similar vein, should we be concerned about the future of peat bogs?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Jul 8, 202227 min

20/05/2022

What is it like being the BBC’s Defence Correspondent during the Russian Ukrainian conflict? How does he work out what is fact and what is propaganda? Jonathan Beale answers listeners’ questions. Listeners also give their views on where inevitable cuts are to be made at the Corporation.And do young farmers find the Archers storylines credible?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

May 20, 202227 min

13/05/2022

Should music that accompanies video games be played at the BBC Proms? On Feedback this week the man in charge of the Proms, Radio 3 Controller Alan Davey, will explain why that sort of music forms part of this year’s programme. Also, whether any Russian music or musicians will be taking part. He also responds to listeners’ questions and explains how he plans to get more young people listening to his network.And listeners respond to the censoring of Bob Dylan’s anti-racist classic, Hurricane. Should the N-word ever be heard on the airwaves?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

May 13, 202227 min

06/05/2022

Are there some words which should never be broadcast, even if they are used by Bob Dylan in one of his songs?BBC Radio 6 Music has edited the use of the n-word from his 1976 anti-racist song Hurricane, about the imprisonment of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.In Feedback this week, Sir Trevor Phillips and Marverine Cole give contrasting views about the use of this most offensive of words, particularly in music.And can two non-radio listening music fans be won over by Radio 4's Add to Playlist, hosted by Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

May 6, 202227 min

29/04/2022

What is going on in the mind of Vladimir Putin? A new Radio 4 series has been trying to answer that question. Roger Bolton asks the Presenter of ‘Putin’, Jonny Dymond, if he thinks he knows, and puts listener reaction to himNeil MacGregor discusses his latest Radio 4 series The Museums that Make us. What does he think museums are for?And two non-radio listeners are exposed to a French and Saunders radio comedy. Did they enjoy the experience?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Apr 29, 202227 min

22/04/2022

After almost 40,000 questions over 75 years, is Gardeners’ Question Time in danger of running out of new questions? The programme's presenter Kathy Clugston gives an answer to that, and a range of other listener comments.And what do Radio 4 listeners make of the station’s science programmes?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Apr 22, 202227 min

15/04/2022

What can the BBC’s latest news podcast Ukrainecast offer listeners which its news programmes cannot? Roger Bolton puts that question to the podcast’s Producer Jonathan Aspinwall, and also asks him if his podcast is one-sided.The Producer of Radio 4’s Lent Talks Dan Tierney explains why we need to talk about dying and, 40 years after the Falkland’s War, what do the Out of Your Comfort Zone listeners already know about a war they can’t remember?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Apr 15, 202227 min

01/04/2022

Radio 4’s Tom Sutcliffe responds to listener criticism of Front Row's discussion on the views of JK Rowling.The presenter of Money Box, Paul Lewis, talks about the appalling financial frauds his programme has been investigating.And is the musician Gary Barlow a good interviewer? Two listeners give their verdict.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Apr 1, 202227 min

25/03/2022

As the airwaves and social media are flooded with disinformation, how can listeners find out what is really happening in Ukraine, and see through the conspiracy of lies pouring out of Russia? Roger Bolton talks to the BBC World Service’s Disinformation Editor Rebecca Skippage, about the darkening fog of war.Also, John Wilson talks about Radio 4’s This Cultural Life, and how he tries to get to the heart of the creative process.And has the new Radio 4 adaptation of the award-winning TV serial Our Friends In The North made friends with our listeners?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Mar 25, 202227 min

18/03/2022

Are there some subjects radio comedy programmes should steer clear of? For example, the Russian invasion of Ukraine.The BBC executive in charge of both The News Quiz and The Now Show Julia McKenzie explains why those topical comedies sought to use humour as the prism for this dreadful tragedy.Roger Bolton also examines the commercial logic behind the BBC’s decision to restrict access to its podcasts.And the Out Of Your Comfort Zone listeners discuss the merits of a Radio 4 docudrama.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Mar 18, 202227 min

26/12/2021

Adam Fleming is the main presenter of the BBC’s most popular podcast Newscast. He explains to Roger Bolton what he thinks makes it work.The Archers is the most popular programme on BBC Sounds, and Annabelle Dowler who plays one of its most loved characters, Kirsty, talks about the challenges her character has faced in the last few years.And, have any of the Out of Your Comfort Zone contributors actually changed their listening habits since last appearing on Feedback?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Dec 26, 202127 min

17/12/2021

One of Radio 4’s Factual Commissioning Editors Dan Clarke explains his decision to axe the Film Programme and discusses its replacement Screenshot.He also talks about the new music series Add to Playlist, and why it is broadcast on Radio 4 when so many other BBC networks are devoted to music.And two listeners give their views on another of his commissions Jon Ronson’s Things Fell Apart.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Dec 17, 202127 min

10/12/2021

The audience for the BBC World Service is booming but misinformation and conspiracy theories are flourishing as well.Roger Bolton talks to the outgoing Controller of BBC World Service English, Mary Hockaday, about those concerns and the increasing threats to the lives of journalists.And Jane Garvey explains how she extracts such frank and intimate revelations in her Life Changing series, which includes a former nun describing how she learned about sex at 60.The Out of Your Comfort Zone listeners assess a 5 Live podcast and series presented by husband-and-wife team, Greg James and Bella Mackie, about love and marriage.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Dec 10, 202127 min

03/12/2021

Is BBC Radio 2 so concerned about recruiting younger listeners that it is neglecting its loyal, older audience?In Feedback this week, Roger Bolton puts this and other concerns from listeners to the Head of Station, Helen Thomas, and asks whether Radio 2’s remit has changed.And Martha Kearney, Presenter of Radio 4’s Today programme, gives the behind-the-scenes story on being interrupted live on air by a fire alarm and obliged to flee the studio.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Dec 3, 202127 min

26/11/2021

Why did World at One decide to carry a long interview with one of the brothers of Ghislaine Maxwell? WATO’s Editor Natasha Shallice responds to listeners’ criticisms in an interview with Roger Bolton.Also did Radio 4’s You and Yours do enough to fact check the claims made when it put antivaxxers on the air?And two listeners give their verdict on a podcast about the rise, fall and trial of the Fake Heiress Anna Delvey.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Nov 26, 202127 min

19/11/2021

In a programme broadcast during COP 26, Radio 4’s The Food Programme looked at “how meat and dairy can play a positive role for the future of people and the planet”. Did it analyse the argument or promote it, and did presenter Dan Saladino need to record from inside an abattoir in such graphic detail? He answers these questions and others from listeners.One of the BBC’s key podcast commissioners talks about whether she thinks there is a future for broadcast radio.And two listeners have a sparky reaction to an interview with the film maker Mike Leigh?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Nov 19, 202127 min

12/11/2021

Is the climate crisis so serious that the BBC should start campaigning about it? As COP26 comes to a conclusion, that’s one of the questions from listeners put to the BBC’s outgoing Science Editor David Shukman.And Feedback tries to seduce two listeners with some unusual classical music on a Radio 3 programme, did it work?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Nov 12, 202127 min

05/11/2021

Is the BBC’s journalism impartial? The Government doesn’t think so, which is tricky for the Corporation as it negotiates the next licence fee settlement.The BBC has now produced a ten-point plan to improve matters, Roger Bolton examines it with a member of the BBC Executive Committee, Rhodri Talfan Davies, who is also the BBC’s Director of Nations.Roger also hears from the BBC broadcaster Stephen Nolan on why he is investigating his own employer, and why he is frustrated with the Corporation’s non-co-operation.And was a Radio 4 programme called White Mischief, truly mischievous? Listeners give their views.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Nov 5, 202127 min

29/10/2021

Is the country over the worst of the latest surge in Covid cases, and is there an end in sight to the pandemic? If anyone at the BBC knows the answer to these questions it is surely Health Editor Hugh Pym. Roger Bolton asks him for reassurance - will he get it?Radio 6 Music’s ratings are going up, so why is the station changing its presenter line-up?And can a cricket and crime podcast attract two radio listeners, one of whom doesn’t listen to any BBC radio?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Oct 29, 202127 min

22/10/2021

After ten years of programmes is there still life in The Life Scientific? Presenter Jim Al-Khalili joins Roger Bolton to discuss the programme and science coverage in general on BBC radio. Feedback has been copied-in to an email from the BBC’s Director General responding to a listener critical of Today’s Nick Robinson. Discover what Tim Davie had to say about the interview in which presenter Nick Robinson told the Prime Minister to ‘stop talking’.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Oct 22, 202127 min

15/10/2021

'Stop talking!'; that is what Nick Robinson, as presenter of Radio 4’s Today programme, told the prime minister on air last week. Was this a necessary tactic or a piece of typically pompous presenter rudeness?In the first Feedback of the new series, listeners give their reactions, and Matthew Parris discusses whether the political interview is now dead in the water.And the commissioner of comedy for Radio 4 defends Richard Osman’s the Birthday Cake Game, after complaints from listeners. Roger Bolton asks Sioned Wiliam will it get recommissioned, and how did she decide on who was to be the new presenter of Just a Minute?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Oct 15, 202128 min

27/08/2021

Do people exist as more than through their memory? If you lose it, do you cease to exist? That is the question Sir Jonathan Miller wanted to explore shortly before his death.This week, his son William talks to Roger Bolton about the Archive on 4 programme he made about his polymath father - Jonathan Miller: Lost Memories - and why he wanted to carry on investigating memory after his father’s death. Rory Cellan-Jones is soon to leave his job as the BBC’s Technology Correspondent. He explains how he translates complicated stories for a mainstream radio audience.And two listeners review 5 Live’s Your Call with Nicky Campbell. Will they be ringing back?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 27, 202128 min

20/08/2021

It would appear that leaders of western governments have been caught napping by the speed of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, but was the BBC also taken by surprise? Jamie Angus, Senior Controller, BBC News Output and Commissioning, answers listeners’ questions on the coverage of events.Also, Matthew Syed talks about his Radio 4 series Sideways, which eschews conventional thinking.And two listeners try out the dazzling - or is it daunting - world of podcasts.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Alun Beach Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 20, 202128 min

13/08/2021

The BBC’s departing New York correspondent, Nick Bryant, thinks America has stopped being great. Is this perhaps why he is going? Nick discusses audience comments on the BBC's reporting of Donald Trump, Joe Biden and America in general. Should Radio 4’s Front Row have devoted most of a programme to an interview with Sarah, Duchess of York? Some listeners thought the interview about her first adult novel, a Mills and Boon romance, should not have featured on the arts programme at all.And did Radio 4’s Open Country get lost in Windsor Great Park? Two listeners give their verdict.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 13, 202127 min

06/08/2021

Are a third of us, from both sides of the political spectrum, attracted by authoritarianism? That's a claim made in Radio 4’s The Spark. Roger Bolton asks its presenter Helen Lewis about that claim, and about the sort of sparks she is seeking to create.The series producer of Radio 4's Sunday Worship, Philip Billson, discusses the decision to make an edition of the programme commemorating the anniversary of last year's catastrophic explosion in Beirut.And the Out of Your Comfort Zone listeners get lost in tech speak.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Aug 6, 202128 min

30/07/2021

How does the comedian Mark Steel get away with cheekily satirising towns and cities that he visits in his eponymous Radio 4 programme? Mark Steel’s in Town has been running for over a decade, but now he has broken new ground writing and appearing in a radio sitcom, Unite. Mark tells Roger Bolton he thinks all comedians are actors at heart, and questions whether there is such as think as left-wing comedy.And two listeners review Alun Cochrane: Centrist Dad? Part of a series of stand-up specials on Radio 4.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Alun Beach Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Jul 30, 202127 min

23/07/2021

The Proms are back but will there be a full audience in the Albert Hall to hear them, who will they be listening to, and will the flags be flying for the Last Night? Questions for the Proms Director, David Pickard.Also, Feedback has heard criticism from some listeners about the BBC’s coverage of the riots in South Africa, which many believe pose the greatest threat to the country since the end of apartheid. A leading academic gives his view.And two listeners discuss a Radio 2 documentary about Amy Winehouse, called Legacy of a Lioness. Did it live up to its billing?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Jul 23, 202127 min

16/07/2021

Should BBC sports commentators remain impartial during football matches involving home nations? Some listeners think they are openly biased in favour of England, Roger Mosey, the former Director of BBC Sport, gives his views.Does Radio 4’s Rethink series needs to be rethought for not being radical enough?And 25 years after the Spice Girls crashed through some glass ceilings, did two radio listeners really, really want to listen to a Radio 2 documentary about them?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Jul 16, 202127 min

09/07/2021

The Deputy Director of BBC News Jonathan Munro discusses impartiality, cronyism, and the tendency for guests to disappear at a vital moment in an interview.The writer Jan Etherington talks about her award winning Radio 4comedy series Conversations from a Long Marriage, starring Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam.And in the Out of Your Comfort Zone feature, two listeners examine a documentary which claims that emojis have changed the course of history.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Jul 9, 202127 min

21/05/2021

Listeners have been enjoying the conclusion of long-running Radio 4 fictional serial The Corrupted this week. The author GF Newman explains how he sees corruption everywhere in our most respected circles and how, as a child, his eyes were first opened to it.And what is more important to the new presenter of the News Quiz, who is also the Test Match Special statistician, Andy Zaltzman, comedy or cricket? Andy responds to listener comments and questions.In the Out of Your Comfort Zone feature, a theology graduate gives her view on 5 Live’s early morning science series.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

May 21, 202127 min

14/05/2021

With listeners concerned about cuts to BBC radio drama and asking if it's still a priority for Radio 4, a former head of BBC Radio Drama tells Roger Bolton she shares those concerns.And the Editor of The Reunion discusses the usually acclaimed programme and replies to criticism of an edition about Romanian orphanages, which one listener describes as, “flaunting of British superiority”.And can you make a successful radio programme about cartoon music when you can’t see the cartoons? Two listeners give their views.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

May 14, 202127 min

07/05/2021

The Editor of Woman’s Hour, Karen Dalziel, talks about how her new presenters are bedding into the long-running programme which celebrates its 75th birthday this year. She also discusses the decision to extend the programme to a whole hour at the expense of the daily 15 minute drama.One of the BBC’s journalists gives an insight into reporting from India as the pandemic overwhelms the country’s health services.And two listeners give their views on a BBC 6 Music talk show.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect Production for BBC Radio 4

May 7, 202127 min

30/04/2021

BBC Radio 1 has launched a new streaming service called Relax, Roger Bolton hears the views of listeners and asks the Head of Radio 1, Aled Haydn Jones, whether it really is public service broadcasting, and how he can afford it.Aled also talks about presenter changes at Radio 1, and how they have been reaching out to young DJs around the country.And two listeners review a World Service programme about a sporting personality, before he made his name famous throughout the world.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Apr 30, 202127 min

23/04/2021

Roger Bolton hears more views from listeners about the BBC's coverage of the death of HRH the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.Does Danny Robins, the writer and producer of the Radio 4 programme and podcast The Battersea Poltergeist, believe that ghosts exist? And did making his programme change his mind?And two drama students review Radio 4’s Front Row. Would they recommend it to their college colleagues?Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Dixon Executive Producer: Samir ShahA Juniper Connect production for BBC Radio 4

Apr 23, 202127 min