Feedback

In Feedback this week, you ask: where are all the right-wing comedians? Left-wing comic Jeremy Hardy returned to airwaves last week with his series of lectures 'Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation'. Never one to be shy about his political views, Jeremy had many of you laughing but others felt the joke just wasn't funny anymore and called for balance on the network. Roger puts your points to Caroline Raphael, commissioning editor for Radio 4 Comedy, and asks her whether she is actively looking for right-wing comics.And what's it like to report for the Today programme for the first time? Last week, Sally Marlow, an academic researcher from King's College London, had her first report on Today. Sally was one of 30 'expert women' who took part in a BBC Academy Training Day in January, which sought to encourage more women experts for TV and radio in areas such as science, engineering, business and politics. We asked Sally and her Today producer to fill us in on the process and find out whether the training day helped.Also, how much attention do you pay to sound effects in dramas? We hear from listeners who think they've spotted mistakes and programme makers discuss the role of realism in drama.And listeners applaud Libby Purves, who narrated the Afternoon Drama The Silence at the Song's End, based on the writing of her son Nicholas Heiney,Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

This week in Feedback, we ask whether listeners should be warned about strong language before it is broadcast. Many of you have written to us with your views on potentially offensive language, some in support of the realism swearing can provide, others saying there is no place for it on the wireless. But when Radio 4's Six o'clock news chose to broadcast a racially abusive term, it prompted you to ask why some programmes carry warnings ahead of transmission when others don't, and whether it is acceptable to remove a factual component of a news report. We took your questions to Richard Clark, editor of the Radio Newsroom, to hear how he makes these difficult decisions.Also this week, could you make it onto the Radio 4 quiz Brain of Britain? When Barry Simmons, a star of BBC 2's Eggheads quiz, appeared on Brain of Britain, many of you questioned why someone who might be termed a 'professional quizzer' was allowed to appear on the long-running quiz. We asked Brain of Britain producer Paul Bajoria to explain how the contestants are chosen.And how would you feel about starring in a new Radio 4 comedy? Well, if you were in the audience for late-night programme The Guns of Adam Riches, you might find yourself appearing in one of Adam's sketches which rely on audience participation. But how does experimental comedy establish itself amongst stalwarts such as Just a Minute or the News Quiz? To find out, Roger took two Feedback listeners along to meet Adam Riches and comedy producer Simon Mayhew-Archer.Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Scaremongering or top notch investigative journalism? We hear your views on the BBC's horsemeat coverage. Roger Bolton asks Sheila Dillon, food journalist and presenter of BBC Radio 4's Food Programme, and Jeremy Hayes, the editor of Farming Today and the Food Programme to address your questions and finds out about their approach to covering this complex story.Also in this week's Feedback, is it ok to make jokes about Jimmy Savile on the BBC anymore, whether they are new jokes or from the BBC archives? Last weekend, BBC Radio 4 Extra aired an impression of Jimmy Savile from the 1980s in an archive programme - twice. We find out how this happened and ask David Jordan, the BBC's Director of Editorial Policy and Standards, does the BBC censor the past?7 million of us wake up to it on a weekly basis, so when the Today programme failed to appear last Monday, it's no wonder many Feedback listeners were thrown off kilter. As a result of industrial action, BBC Radio 4 replaced its usual news programmes like Today, The World at One and PM, with a selection of programmes including a 45 minute documentary about Pope Benedict XVI, re-runs of Soul Music and Loose Ends. We ask Radio 4's Head of Scheduling, Tony Pilgrim, how do you (temporarily) replace Humphrys and co.?And when is bad language ok? Well, according to our inbox, when it's in Radio 4's broadcast of V. by Tony Harrison. The swearword-laden poem received its first ever radio broadcast last Monday, 25 years after it caused a media storm when it was first broadcast on Channel 4.Plus.we have a listener story to warm the cockles.Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations.Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you.Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Is BBC Radio 4 dancing to the tune of the McCartney family? Many of you wrote to Feedback with complaints after You and Yours welcomed Mary McCartney, daughter of Linda and Sir Paul McCartney, onto the programme to discuss the re-launch of the family's vegetarian food brand - just a few days after Sir Paul joined Sheila Dillon on the Food Programme for an extended interview about his life in food. Was this advertising? Roger speaks to BBC Radio 4's compliance editor Roger Mahony about the rules.What's the difference between curating a music show and being a DJ? Roger Bolton feels the beat as he puts your questions about specialist music programmes to radio legend Whispering Bob Harris and BBC 6 Music producer Paul Sheehan.Also this week - is iPlayer radio out of tune with its users? We put your issues about iPlayer, listening online, podcasts and all things on demand to the man in charge, Daniel Danker.And was the Today programme off the mark when they decided not to broadcast news of a crucial victory by the England Women's cricket team and instead announced that rain had stopped play for the men's team in New Zealand?Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

BBC Radio 2 has just announced record audience figures, but is the network satisfying all its listeners? Following changes to Sunday Half Hour, a new presenter for the Folk programme and a clutch of technical difficulties, Roger Bolton puts your concerns to Controller Bob Shennan.Also, Roger speaks to the Head of the BBC's Newsroom, Mary Hockaday, to get her views on the story that won't go away - the gender imbalance on air. With other major broadcasters signing up to a pledge to give female presenters, correspondents and experts at least 30% of the airtime, we ask if there should be a quota of women in the BBC news.Aye Aye Cap'n! Plugwatch is back. You've been on the lookout for book plugs across BBC Radio.Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Why aren't there more female experts on BBC Radio programmes? Feedback puts your questions and comments to Philip Sellars, Editor of Documentaries at Radio 4, and Deborah Cohen, Editor of the Radio Science Unit. And we report from the BBC Academy's Women Experts Training Day, asking women themselves what they think is holding them back.Too fast - and you're furious. We hear from listeners who scrambled to buy tickets to CarFest - the festival brainchild of Radio 2's Chris Evans - only to have their efforts thwarted by a technical hitch.Also, who would you appoint as Radio 4's Writer-in-Residence? We hear from Feedback listeners who are dusting off their dictionaries in anticipation and speak to the BBC World Service's very own Writer-in-Residence, Hamid Ismailov, who has some advice for his future Radio 4 counterpart.And, we give ourselves a slap on the wrist as we correct our grammatical faux pas.Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

The BBC is a commercial free zone so why do so many guests on BBC radio shows always seem to be plugging something? One Feedback listener tackles the BBC's Director of Editorial Policy and Standards, David Jordan, on the issue. And are there enough female voices on the radio? Many of you don't think so. Earlier this week Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams acknowledged criticism that certain programmes were skewed overwhelmingly towards men. You highlight some of the worst offenders. Also, how should BBC Radio deal with discussion of suicide? We hear your feedback on Will Self's controversial A Point of View, "Terminal Thoughts", and discuss it with the editor of the programme. And Roger travels to the BBC Belfast newsroom as trouble returns to the streets. Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Karen Pirie and Katherine Godfrey A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

As the New Year chimes beckoned in 2013, many Feedback listeners bemoan the loss of some of the most well-known and well-loved voices on BBC Radio - from presenters to continuity, across the networks. In their place is a swathe of new talent. We welcome in the New Year with your views on the changes. Also, reporting climate change. This week, many listeners to bulletins in the Today programme contacted Feedback via Twitter and email to say they were dismayed by the reporting of Met Office research on climate change. The Met Office's chief scientist says she also had lots of correspondence after the broadcast. BBC local radio has lost its regional evening programmes, and they are being replaced by a single broadcast across all stations - the Mark Forrest Show. We bring a dedicated panel of local radio listeners together with one of the programme's developers, to air their views on the new show. And can local radio save your life? We hear from one listener who says he's still here because of it. Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations. Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. In a week when the BBC's own troubles have filled the schedules, what do you think of the way the Corporation has covered its crisis? Have programmes like Today, Call You and Yours and the Media Show restored your faith in the BBC's journalism or indulged in pointless navel-gazing? Also, Feedback goes to the Radio Festival in Salford to participate in a session about the relationship between programme makers and their audience. The Festival was packed with industry types - but light on listeners. So we decided to take three listeners along to hear their views on the matter.And as the BBC marks its 90th anniversary, the Radio 4 comedy The Golden Age satirises the early days of broadcasting. But some listeners felt that the comedy missed the mark and was inappropriate given the BBC's recent troubles.Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. Can the future of radio really be digital when only 5% of the UK's 34 million vehicles have digital car radios? Earlier this week the Drive 2 Digital conference aimed to spread D-Love about digital on the move, but Feedback listeners still have questions. Roger invites one listener to join Tim Davie, the BBC's Director of Audio and Music, and Ford of Britain's Steve Humbles to find out more about DAB coverage at home and on the move.And Feedback's postbag has been brimming over with messages of alarm after BBC East announced it would be axing its popular The Naked Scientists programme from January. "Vital for public understanding of science", "making listeners more science literate", were just some of the things said about the programme. But does it fulfil the BBC's remit for local radio? Mick Rawsthorne, Head of Local and Regional Programming for BBC East, doesn't think so.Finally, where would the BBC be without its listeners? Well it would certainly have some bigger gaps in its archive. No 'Music While You Work' or John Peel's early 'Top Gear' Radio 1 shows. That is, at least, until the Listeners' Archive was launched to mark the Corporation's 90th birthday. Since then, home-grown recordings have been sent into the BBC to help plug the gaps. We meet the team sifting through the gems. Presenter: Roger Bolton Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations. Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you. Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you.Are radio programmes about prisoners too sympathetic? In this week's Feedback, Roger meets two programme makers to discuss your questions on the rights and wrongs of radio about prisons. Rex Bloomstein is the presenter and co-producer of Radio 4's Dying Inside, which looked at the experiences of the growing number of older prisoners, over 40% of whom are men convicted of sexual offences. Rosie Dawson produced The Bishop and the Prisoner following the Rt Rev James Jones, the Church of England's Bishop for Prisons, as he talked to prisoners, politicians and pundits about the prison system. One listener has tried six times to get a ticket to watch the recording of Just a Minute - and still had no luck. Another was turned away from a recording of the Today programme even though she had a ticket. She compares the BBC to a low-cost airline. We put your concerns about radio recordings to Francesc Rivas, Studio Audience Manager.As the allegations surrounding Jimmy Savile continue to make the news, we hear your reactions to the way the BBC is covering the story.Plus the art of reading aloud. After many listeners were underwhelmed by the acclaimed actress Anna Maxwell Martin's rendition of a recent Book of the Week, we ask what makes a good reader?Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you.If the Prime Minister hasn't given a speech yet, why report on it? When a politician speaks, what does he really mean? In this week's Feedback, Roger Bolton gets a lesson in political code-breaking from chief political correspondent Ben Wright. Ben takes us behind the scenes at BBC Westminster and answers your questions about the dark art of political reporting.A heartfelt plea from listeners who can only get long wave - get rid of the cricket! Radio 4's Network Manager Denis Nowlan responds to listeners who are fed up with losing their regular Radio 4 schedule when the cricket is on. And if the men's cricket deserves it's long wave spot, why not the women's? We hear from disappointed fans who feel that airing the women's cricket on digital-only stations keeps the sport away from bigger audiences.Plus the return of the Chicken Forecast. After a brief clip in last week's programme left listeners clamouring for more, we reveal the full story of the cult phenomenon sweeping the nation.Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations.Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you.Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

This week saw the end of the Labour Party Conference in Manchester - but not before an interview with Ed Miliband on the Today programme prompted a flurry of angry emails to the Feedback inbox. For many listeners, Evan Davis's technique proved infuriating. Talking over his interviewee, interrupting, grandstanding and answering his own questions, were some of the complaints. We get a response from the Today programme and also glean insight on the art of the political interview from Radio 4's Week in Westminster presenter, Steve Richards. Roger Bolton also takes a trip to the BBC's legendary music studios at Maida Vale and is shown the sights and sounds by BBC 6 Music presenter and musician, Cerys Matthews. Along the way he learns about the art of recording live music for radio and what the listeners at home get out of it.And was it worth flying to New York for an interview? The BBC's disability's affairs correspondent Peter White, presenter of No Triumph, No Tragedy, explains.Presented by Roger BoltonProducer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Is an apology really an apology if you keep repeating the original offence? No it isn't, say many Feedback listeners. After security correspondent Frank Gardner told the Today programme about remarks made to him by the Queen, the BBC has apologised for a breach of confidence. But in this week's Feedback, listeners explain why they feel that by reporting the story, the BBC is in fact repeating the mistake.Many, if not most listeners find it hard to hear a programme if speech is competing with music. So do producers really appreciate this fact when using music in programmes? Roger Bolton talks to Victoria Shepherd, producer of the series A History of the Future, about the thinking behind her use of music. And Operation Drop Out is resurrected after a flurry of technical problems plague the networks. Radio 2 explains why programmes disappeared off air for over a minute, and Radio 4 goes one better with multiple glitches plaguing a recent edition of Any Questions. Feedback talks to the plucky announcer who kept the show on the road.And is Ed Stourton "a plonker"? After mispronouncing the name of the Scottish town Banchory in a recent edition of Profile, many of its inhabitants think he might be. Do you know how to pronounce it?Presented by Roger BoltonProducer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Serious news or tabloid tittle-tattle? Some Feedback listeners feel those photos of the Duchess of Cambridge got too much coverage on Radio 4's news output. Roger put your concerns to Mary Hockaday, Head of the BBC Multimedia Newsroom. And the BBC's new Director General George Entwistle, barely settled behind his desk, finds Feedback knocking at the door with a bulging volume of listener comments and suggestions. Mr Entwistle has already announced that he holds the audience closest to his heart, so listen in George, the Feedback audience has plenty of ideas for you.And a new era of the Radio 1 Breakfast show begins on Monday when Nick Grimshaw starts his reign. But what makes a great Breakfast Show? Feedback sends out a man well equipped to find out - avid Radio 1 fan, 16 year old Ollie Dean. Speaking to previous hosts Sara Cox and Tony Blackburn and the man brave enough to produce Chris Evans, Dan McGrath, Ollie uncovers some vital advice for new boy Nick.And finally, have you ever wondered what happened to Tony Blackburn's on-air canine friend Arnold? Tune in to find out. Presenter: Roger BoltonProducer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Were the Olympic and Paralympic Games just a crazy summer fling? Or will the enthusiasm of the audience have a lasting impact on the way BBC 5Live covers sport, particularly minority sport? Roger Bolton puts your questions to 5Live controller Adrian Van Klaveren. Roger also meets Breakfast presenter Rachel Burden, editor Scott Solder and 5Live's Head of News Steve Mawhinney to discuss what difference the move to Salford has made to the sound of the programme.As Chris Moyles leaves the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, listeners want to know how different mornings will be with new presenter Nick Grimshaw at the mic. BBC Radio 1's Director of Programmes, Rhys Hughes, reveals all. And he addresses the pressing question of outrageous bias when it comes to selecting Breakfast presenters: why are so many from the North?And as this week sees the announcement that BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day will not be opened up to non-religious speakers, Roger puts listener comments to Aaqil Ahmed, the BBC's Head of Religion and Ethics. Presenter: Roger BoltonProduced by Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

When it comes to music, variety is the spice of life at BBC Radio 2. Its database of tracks carries some 14,000 hits from every decade since the 40s. But it's the network's much vaunted playlist that every band and musician is itching to get on. This list of around 30 songs guarantees regular plays on the BBC's most popular radio station. Every week the great and the good of BBC Radio 2 gather for the playlist meeting, and this week Roger gets in on the action. Will it be the end for The Beach Boys? Will rockstars Muse make it on? Or is there a surprise joker in the pack? Feedback finds out. Roger will also talk to Radio 2's Head of Music, Jeff Smith, to discover just how the playlist is put together - and finds out what makes the ultimate Radio 2 song.And listeners respond to Radio 4's Chain Reaction, the series in which public figures choose who they want to interview, with their subject, in turn, turning interviewer. Too chummy? Or entertaining, unguarded and revealing discussions? Roger talks to the programme's producers, and to interviewee, turned interviewer - Caitlin Moran (warning some answers may include Bernie Clifton and his ostrich).And finally, you say twenty-twelve, I say two-thousand and twelve - let's call the whole thing off. Luckily the BBC Pronunciation Unit is on hand to help Roger out. Presented by Roger BoltonProducer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

Is BBC radio suffering from an increase in technical problems? Many listeners think so, and over the last few months have sent in a flood of examples as part of Feedback's Operation Drop Out. Dropped lines, disappearing interviewees and correspondents who sound like Daleks. Roger asks technology controller Peter Coles what is going on. And the Today programme's Foreign Affairs Correspondent Mike Thomson reveals how a dropped line left him AWOL in North Korea.History was made this week when Radio 4's Woman's Hour and 5Live's Men's Hour got together for a joint programme, broadcast simultaneously on both networks. Was it love across a crowded studio? And what did the listeners make of it? Roger gets the gossip from presenters Jane Garvey and Tim Samuels and editors Alice Feinstein and Gloria Abramoff.In the hunt for Feedback's very own jingle, we reveal some lyrical, wry and frankly epic listener compositions. Do keep them coming.And finally, we plan to hand a bound volume of your suggestions to the new Director General George Entwistle on his first day in the job, Monday 17th September. So let us know what you think should be in his in-tray.Presented by Roger BoltonProduced by Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

Do you know which Hitchcock film features a scene set at the very top of the statue of Liberty? No? Well, according to several listeners the producers of Radio 4's landmark series The New Elizabethans don't either. Listeners think they have spotted a clutch of factual inaccuracies in the series. In the first of the new series of Feedback, Roger asks the editor Andrew Smith if they are right. He also discusses the reservations of one listener who actually featured in the series, the New Elizabethan Professor Stuart Hall. How is the BBC performing in the marathon that is this summer of sport? In the brief lull between the Olympics and Paralympic Games we hear your verdict on the coverage. And why were listeners abroad unable to hear many Radio 4 programmes when the Games began?Plus the latest instalment of Operation Drop Out, and Feedback wants to have its very own jingle. All musical (and non-musical) styles accepted. Please send us your magnum opuses. Or should that be magna opera?Presenter: Roger BoltonProduced by Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

Are sensational storylines ruining The Archers? Some listeners think familiar characters are acting out of character, simply to crank up the tension. Roger Bolton meets Acting Editor John Yorke and longstanding Archers' writer Keri Davies, to ask at what point does the dramatic veer into the unbelievable?With only three weeks to go until the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Roger talks to 5 Live's Controller Adrian Van Klaveren about the network's preparations for covering the world's biggest sporting event. He also puts other listener questions to 5 Live's boss. Is the network over-infatuated with Richard Bacon? And is the station alienating its older listeners?Finally, what is it with the Today programme presenters and telling the time? Why so many slip ups? Feedback visits Justin Webb at the Today studios to investigate and ensure the correct time-telling instruments are present and correct. This is the last in the current series of Feedback, but the team are still keen to hear from you over the break, so do get in touch.Presenter: Roger BoltonProducer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

The History of an Epic Struggle: last week marked the end of Richard Holloway's 20-part Honest Doubt series, which explored 3,000 years of faith jostling with doubt. It had a profound effect on many Radio 4 listeners. A one-sided attack on Christianity, or an insightful exploration of an often controversial subject? Roger talks to Richard Holloway, and the editor behind the commission, Radio 4's Jane Ellison.From the spiritual to the virtual, big changes to all 55 of the BBC Radio websites are scheduled for the Autumn, but web users are getting a sneak peak by using a Beta version of the sites - a test version which runs alongside the old sites. Roger uploads a friendly, virtual companion to help him navigate the new websites and discovers what changes will be made in conversation with Mark Friend, controller of BBC Audio and Music Interactive.And, we follow up on Drop Out Watch. Keen-eared listeners have been in touch with more examples of content cut short by technical glitches. And Roger receives a listener comment about....himself. No one, not even Mr Bolton, can escape the forensic attention of Feedback.Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Does Radio 1 have too many celebrity presenters? Are they too old? And is Chris Moyles going to leave the Breakfast Show? In this week's Feedback two listeners meet controller Ben Cooper and quiz him about his station. Plus, as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend music festival comes to East London, Roger finds out what Radio and 1Xtra are doing to encourage new radio talent. Presenter Chantelle Jones tells him why she thought someone from her background could never be on the radio.Last weekend Radio 4 had a Bloomfest to mark Bloomsday, celebrating James Joyce's novel with a five and a half hour dramatisation. Was it awesome or awful? We put your reactions to the commissioning editor for drama, Jeremy Howe, and ask him if he plans to give any other novels the one day treatment.Plus, we launch Drop Out Watch. Many listeners feel the number of programmes dropping off air or correspondents disappearing mid-sentence is increasing. Is it? If so, what's the cause? Send us any examples from any BBC network and we will attempt to diagnose the condition.Presented by Roger BoltonProducer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Do you ever sing along to the radio? Many listeners to BBC Radio 3's Choral evensong confess they love to join in with the hymns - but recently they have suddenly found themselves singing solo. The programme has disappeared off the air without warning on no less than four occasions. Roger Bolton asks Christine Morgan, Head of Radio for Religion and Ethics, to explain what went wrong. Could it happen again?Roger is granted an audience with the golden-throated denizens of Continuity, and puts your questions to announcer Corrie Corfield. What does the job involve? What do they do if something goes wrong? And do they fight to the death for the chance to read the clips on the News Quiz?And after BBC Radio 4's World at One accidentally misattributed an archive clip to Richard Dimbleby, one sharp-eared listener calls Roger to reveal just who the mystery voice is.Producer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

A right Royal let down? In this week's Feedback, listeners get the chance to express their views on the BBC coverage of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. We hear from many of you who got in touch with the Feedback team to comment on the BBC's handling of the event across the main radio networks. Roger Bolton looks for answers from Alan Yentob, Creative Director of the BBC, and speaks to Kevin Marsh, a former Editor of Today, about how coverage of major events like this are planned.Is Albert Square really coming to Ambridge? John Yorke, controller of BBC drama production, is acting editor of the Archers and his comments about darker storylines have sent ripples through the programme's loyal fan base. And Roger talks to Tony Phillips, the Commissioning Editor behind BBC Radio 4's landmark series The Listening Project. The idea of capturing the nation in conversation has entranced many - but raised questions about scheduling and presentation. Presenter: Roger BoltonProducer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

Have you ever listened to the radio and felt that what you were hearing was too private for broadcast? In the first of the new series of Feedback, Roger is joined by a group of programme makers to discuss how they tread the line between gripping radio - and exploitation. Editor Philip Sellars discusses Radio 4's recent series The Trouble with Kane, which follows the treatment of a twelve year old boy arrested for cannabis possession. Editor Louisa Compton talks about Victoria Derbyshire's 5Live broadcast from an abortion clinic. And Foreign Correspondent Mike Thomson describes a harrowing interview with a woman who had suffered greatly at the hands of rebel Rwandan soldiers.As the BBC's Delivering Quality First plans are finally approved, Feedback listener Andy Boddington asks the managing editor of his local station, BBC Radio Shropshire, what impact the cuts will have.And we hear a plea for restraint in the face of the Jubilee jamboree.Presenter: Roger BoltonProducer: Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations. Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. The extension of World at One, changes to Saturday morning programmes and thoughts on the next Director General of the BBC - Gwyneth Williams, the controller of Radio 4 takes listeners' questions and gives her thoughts on what this summer holds for her network. Making the unmissable... er... missable. Why were so many programmes not available on iPlayer last weekend and why had so many podcasts gone awol? Was everyone on holiday? Young news junkies form a Feedback Listening Club to pick apart Radio 1's Newsbeat programme. More tense discussion over use of the historic present on In Our Time, Midweek and The Long View. Producers: Kate Taylor and Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Presented by Roger BoltonCan anything be done to make Radio 4 comedy appeal to a wider audience? The writers of Ed Reardon's Week and North by Northamptonshire, along with Radio 4's comedy commissioning editor, discuss. The BBC's Complaints system is being overhauled. Find out more about how you can have your say on what needs to be done to make it better. It's been five months since BBC local radio listeners first complained about the strange clicks, crackle and pops they hear when listening online. So why is it still not fixed? The man in charge tries to explain what's gone wrong. And the producer of Start the Week explains how she goes about slashing a third of the programme every week for the shortened evening repeat.Producer: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Last week critics of Radio 4's Count Arthur Strong aired their views - and outraged his many fans. They contacted the programme in droves, demanding satisfaction. So, in this week's programme the Count's supporters meet his detractors for a fight to the comedy death - well nearly. Which side will win? Is the programme Strong or weak? Roger Bolton officiates and there is a special appearance from Count Arthur himself.Roger meets Today presenter Justin Webb and 5Live's Victoria Derbyshire to discuss the delicate art of interviewing ordinary people with extraordinary stories to tell.And is In Our Time killing the past tense? By repeatedly discussing past events in the present tense, worried listeners feel that the programme may permanently mangle the language.Presenter: Roger BoltonProducers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

Who are all those people laughing on Count Arthur Strong's Radio 4 comedy show? Not Feedback listeners who want to know why he's still on air after seven series.Listeners find all the spin and speculation ahead of Wednesday's budget a turn-off. Can't we just wait until we actually know what the Chancellor is going to say they wonder?Paddy O'Connell opens the doors of Broadcasting House during a special recording of the programme at the More Than Words Festival in Bristol. But does anyone want to come in?And are the pauses in The Archers getting longer and what could you fill them with?Presenter: Roger BoltonProducers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

After The Now Show this week tackled gay marriage, child abuse and the Catholic church some Feedback listeners contacted us with concerns. Roger asks Jane Berthoud, BBC Radio's head of comedy, how her team assesses controversial material and whether in this case the right decisions were made.Robust and challenging - or simply a slanging match? When presenter Justin Webb first joined the Today programme he said he'd be gentle and let politicians have their say. Then he changed his mind. In this week's programme he joins BBC Radio 5Live's Victoria Derbyshire to discuss the difference between aggression and persistence in the political interview.And after many Feedback listeners reported hearing the repeated use of "Facades" by composer Philip Glass in an array BBC Radio programmes. we finally hear from the man himself. Ahead of his installment as BBC Radio 3's Composer of the Week, Philip Glass offers his own slightly surreal insight into the popularity of this particular piece.Presenter: Roger BoltonProducers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

This week the news carried tough stories about the situation in Syria, and about the death of 15 year old Kristy Bamu, at the hands of his sister and her partner. Too much information said some listeners, especially as some reports did not include a warning about the graphic content. Several other reports did carry a warning - which other listeners found patronising. Richard Clark, head of the BBC Radio Newsroom, tells Roger why a warning may or may not be added, and why he feels it can be the right decision to include disturbing detail. He also tackles your objections about the amount of coverage being given to the US presidential primaries.Is it the end of the road for BBC Radio 2's traffic reports? With websites, apps and local radio providing up to the minute information that's relevant to you wherever you are, some listeners think the end is nigh for traffic on national radio. Sally Boazman, aka Sally Traffic, tells Roger in no uncertain terms why she and her ilk are still providing a vital service.And over-emotional ranters or real people speaking truth to power? Presenters Steven Nolan and Victoria Derbyshire reveal all about the art of the phone-in.Presenter: Roger BoltonProducers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

The fate of BBC local radio is once more under the microscope this week, as independent media consultant John Myers publishes his report on the best way to cut costs and keep quality. He recommends scrapping the plan to share afternoon programmes across regions, and suggests that cutting back on management could save two million pounds. Roger meets David Holdsworth, the controller of English Regions, to find out what this will mean for listeners.As the BBC World Service turns 80, it has thrown open the doors to its news conference. For the first time the daily meeting where editors discuss the news agenda was broadcast around the world. Feedback went along to find out how much the great and the good consider what the audience wants to hear.And do you know your Angry Birds from your Grand Theft Auto? On BBC Radio 4 a recent edition of Front Row focused on computer games. About time too said many listeners. So will there be more discussion of the topic in the future? Roger meets editor John Goudie to find out.Presenter: Roger BoltonProducers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations.Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you.Producer: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Did the death of singer Whitney Houston and the acquittal of football manager Harry Redknapp deserve to top the news bulletins? Many listeners feel that important events at home and abroad were shunted aside unjustifiably. In this week's Feedback Roger asks Mary Hockaday, head of the BBC's newsroom, whether the right decisions were made.During a particularly robust episode of the Moral Maze, many listeners felt debate gave way to a dust-up. Michael Buerk tells Roger how he tries - and sometimes fails - to ensure the discussion generates more light than heat.Last week teacher Deborah Mole and her student Kevin agreed to listen exclusively to each other's favourite station for a whole week. After a traumatic week of BBC 1Xtra for her and BBC 6Music for him they reveal what the experience has taught them.Plus by special request there's a soul-stirring valentine's message from velvet-voiced announcer Zeb Soanes ...Presenter: Roger BoltonProducers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Have you ever settled down to listen to a programme on iPlayer - only to find that the last two minutes have been chopped off? Or had to wade through several minutes of unrelated content before your chosen programme begins? In this week's Feedback Roger Bolton asks Andrew Scott, Head of Radio and Music for Future Media, why iPlayer editing is letting listeners down.There are five months still to go until the Olympics, but have Radio 4 listeners already had enough of sport? Following Clare Balding's series Sport and the British - and her appearance on Midweek - Roger hears from listeners who want to keep the station a sport-free zone. And the Feedback Listening Club returns, with three listeners gathering to discuss Radio 4's Saturday Live. If you'd like to take part in a Listening Club, please contact the programme.Plus a new Radioswap begins, as teacher Deborah Mole agrees to swap BBC 6Music for her student Kevin's favourite station, 1Xtra. Tune in next week to find out how they get on.Presenter: Roger BoltonProducers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

A clearer focus on news and more coverage of minority sports. That's the order from the BBC Trust, which has just completed its review of 5Live. Do you agree? The recent audience research RAJAR report shows a drop in the station's listening figures. So we find out if listeners think the Trust has got the answer.Are you experiencing a sense of deja entendu? When it comes to radio dramas, many listeners feel the rate of repeats has increased. Roger asks Jeremy Howe, commissioning editor of Radio 4 drama, if we really have heard it all before. And while From Our Own Correspondent almost always gets it right, should the correspondent have been reporting on a wedding so soon after an attempted coup? Roger talks to editor Tony Grant about finding the stories behind the headlines.And a listener wants to apply for the job of Director General of the BBC. She says she'd spend the salary on programmes. What would you do?Presenter: Roger BoltonProducers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

The decision to end Radio 4's Home Planet has dismayed many listeners. The programme has been answering listeners' environmental science questions for the last 10 years. This week two listeners meet commissioning editor Mohit Bakaya to ask - what on earth is going on? They also talk to the newly appointed science editor David Shukman about his plans for science on BBC radio.And Happy 70th Birthday Desert Island Discs. Executive producer Cathy Drysdale tells Roger how this weekend - each BBC local radio station as well as BBC Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are running special programmes dedicated to the music choices and personal stories of hundreds of listeners. We also hear your reactions to news that the BBC Trust has ordered BBC managers to rethink cuts to local radio budgets. Presenter: Roger BoltonProducers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

The Radio 2 breakfast show is normally captained by Chris Evans. But, during a recent absence, Richard Madeley filled the presenter chair instead - and many listeners wish he hadn't. In the first programme of the new series, Roger Bolton talks to Lewis Carnie, head of programmes at Radio 2, about the delicate business of finding suitable stand-in presenters.After countless tales of woe from listeners trying to contact programmes, Roger issues a challenge to Radio 4's network manager Denis Nowlan. Can he negotiate the website and deliver a listener's message? And will it be read? Feedback, of course, faithfully reads every message, so do send in your experiences, whether of triumph or disaster, of contacting any programme on any BBC station.And what are your hopes and fears for radio in 2012? Listeners share their aspirations, and presenter Jane Garvey provides a sneak peak of what 2012 will hold for Woman's Hour listeners. Presenter: Roger BoltonProducers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Less than two years ago the BBC Asian Network faced extinction. It was spared, but now its budget is set to be cut by almost half. What will this mean for the station, and for its audience? Listener Ravinder Sondh relies on the Tommy Sandhu breakfast show to get her family out of bed in the morning, so Roger goes behind the scenes to meet Tommy and his team in the studio. Roger also talks to Husain Husaini, the Asian Network's head of programmes, about how the station will manage the cuts. Are you filling in the Delivering Quality First consultation document? If so you still have plenty of time, the deadline is 21st December 2011. But some listeners feel the document itself isn't delivering much in the way of quality; too dense, too long and too much jargon. Roger enlists the help of Marie Clair of the Plain English Campaign. And after a Radio 4 news report accidentally declares the speed of light to be many thousand times slower than it really is, Feedback sorts out all this pesky business with neutrinos and relativity once and for all.Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations. Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you.Producers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

In her first year in the job, Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams has instigated the biggest shake-up of the Radio 4 schedule for more than 10 years. She has cut Americana, commissioned The Life Scientific and most recently extended The World at One by 15 minutes - to the delight of some listeners and the dismay of others. She has also steered the station through the proposed Delivering Quality First cuts relatively unscathed. In this week's programme Roger asks her to explain her choices, and to reflect on her first year in the hot seat. And while Radio 4's Remembrance Day coverage is praised, some listeners feel some of the comedy broadcast in the days surrounding Remembrance Day was inappropriate. And this week's Feedback Listening Club is formed of three tenors from a community choir in Blackburn. They turn their forensic listening abilities to Woman's Hour, and (whisper it) one of them is a man...Presenter: Roger Bolton Producers: Karen Pirie and Kate Taylor A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

The World at One now has 15 extra minutes to fill, following the shake-up of the afternoon schedule on Radio 4. Some listeners are delighted - others less so. Roger asks Nick Sutton, the programme's editor, what he plans to do with the time and how much investigation he has done into what the audience really wants to hear. Feedback itself will be staying the same length, but the Friday edition moves to 4:30 in the afternoon.The BBC Trust has launched a review into the impartiality of the BBC's reporting of the Arab Spring. Alison Hastings, chair of the Trust's Editorial Standards Committee, explains the reasons for the review and the scope of its inquiry.And a keen-eared listener who is also a ferret fan questions the identity of Eddie Grundy's ferret, Daphne. Judging by the sounds she makes, he accuses her of being... a guinea pig. All will be revealed.Presenter: Roger BoltonProducer: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

This week Feedback drops into the Radio Academy Radio Festival in Salford. There Radio Shropshire listener Andy Boddington asks David Holdsworth, controller of English Regions, if BBC local radio can really survive the 12 per cent savings it's being asked to make under the Delivering Quality First scheme. Meanwhile in London, listener John Kennedy leads a protest outside Broadcasting House against the cuts to his beloved BBC London. Next week sees the start of the new afternoon schedule on Radio 4. As the World At One stretches to 45 minutes and other programmes shift along to make room, Feedback itself will be moving to a new time of 4:30 in the afternoon. Tony Pilgrim, Head of Planning and Scheduling, explains the thinking behind the new schedule. Plus there's a novel suggestion for how composer Philip Glass's piece Facades could spice up the Archers..Producer: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Why were listeners' views on the two biggest news stories of last week not covered in Any Answers? Roger Bolton asks the programme's editor Clare McGinn why calls on the row over the St Paul's protest, school results and downsizing of homes left no room for listeners' views on Gaddafi's death and the proposed EU referendum. It's the beginning of the end for long wave. Tens of thousands of small-time mariners, who can't afford expensive equipment and currently rely on hearing the Shipping Forecast on long wave, will have to find other ways of checking the weather once the signal is switched off.Your verdict on Radio 4's new Sunday night schedule. Finnemore fans call for a second series of his Souvenir Programme and mixed reviews for Tonight with Rory Bremner.Producer: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

As the BBC's 40 local radio stations confront spending cuts, Roger hears your views about the impact on local democracy and community interaction. Listeners face having to share some programmes with neighbouring stations during off-peak times, and will see specialist evening programmes replaced with one England-wide show. No bad thing, say some of you. But others agree with the listener who described the plan as "destroying quality first".Roger drops into the offices of The Last Word, Radio 4's obituary programme, to find out how he can ensure his slot on the show (in the fullness of time of course).And hot on the heels of the Man Booker prize announcement, the contributors to the inaugural Feedback Listening Club cast their expert ears over Open Book. If you'd like more information about taking part in a future Listening Club, please contact the programme.Producer: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Did Radio 4 really get off that lightly in last week's BBC cuts? Roger Bolton talks to Tim Davie, the BBC's head of radio about the true impact of those Delivering Quality First proposals on news programmes in particular.The BBC has also signalled the death of longwave. Roger asks Denis Nolan, Radio 4's network manager, why alternatives can't be found, and how much will be saved by the axing of this service which is still crucial to so many listeners.Plus Feedback's Glasswatchers find another example of repeated use of minimalist composer Philip Glass's Facades, and the final instalment of "Strife and Fate" the gripping tale of a Radio 3 controller. Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you.Producer: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

"Inane", "patronising" and "cultural vandalism" are just a few of the comments you have made about the recent changes to the BBC Radio 3 schedule. This week Roger puts your concerns to controller Roger Wright, discussing new programmes including Essential Classics, and listener criticism that breakfast is sounding more like Classic FM.As the results of the "Delivering Quality First" consultation are finally announced, we'll be finding out what this cost-cutting strategy is going to mean for listeners. Roger will analyse the announcement with Torin Douglas and then discuss it's impact with Lord Patten, chair of the BBC Trust.And we introduce a brand new feature: the Feedback Listening Club. We are looking for small groups of Feedback listeners to select a BBC radio programme, listen to it, and then get together for a recorded discussion of their thoughts on their chosen programme. First up is 'Open Book'. If you're interested and would like more information, please email [email protected]: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

Is it possible to give listeners access to the riches of the BBC archive - without releasing material that was deemed acceptable when it was made but is offensive now? As you voice concerns about Orwellian attitudes, Roger ask David Jordon, director of Editorial Policy and standards what the rules are. And following a furore in the press Roger finds out if it's really no longer acceptable to use the terms AD and BC, instead of CE and BCE, on the airwaves? We celebrate the 50th birthday of In Touch, BBC Radio 4's programme for blind and partially-sighted people, and ask whether the BBC is doing enough for listeners with disabilities. Liz Carr, presenter of the irreverent podcast Ouch!, drops in on the different networks to find out what's on offer.And a listener has sent in a play-let. It's set in a dark basement, features fingernail extraction, and stars a character called Roger Wright, apparently the controller of Radio 3...Presented by Roger Bolton, this is the place to air your views on the things you hear on BBC Radio. This programme's content is entirely directed by you.Producer: Karen Pirie A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.