BBC
The Sunday Feature is one of the most consistently interesting things on Radio 3
The story is likely apocryphal — and so disgraceful I almost hesitate to tell it — but it goes like…
The true enemy of political interviews
The rhythm of the big party conference leader interviews is a strange one. First come days of slow, repetitive, detailed…
In blockbuster Britain, the BBC is being left behind
There’s a great revival under way in the British TV and film industry, but it’s not the BBC that’s behind…
The BBC is being left behind in blockbuster Britain
There’s a great revival under way inthe British TV and film industry,but it’s not the BBC that’s behind it.Netflix is…
Is the life of Jimmy Savile a suitable subject for drama?
Translating the story of Jimmy Savile to stage or screen is a creative minefield, says Jonathan Maitland, who knows from first-hand experience
The central performances are tremendous: Glyndebourne's Luisa Miller, reviewed
Opera buffs enjoy their jargon. We all do it, scattering words like ‘spinto’ and ‘Fach’ like an enthusiastic pizza waiter…
Contains moments of spellbinding banality: Radio 4's The Poet Laureate has Gone to his Shed reviewed
The interview podcast is a genre immoderately drawn to gimmicks, as the logical space of possible formats is gradually exhausted.…
Revealed: the BBC guide for covering climate change
Climate change is once again dominating the news agenda. A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that even if…
Switch over to Eurosport: BBC's Olympic coverage reviewed
I’ve not been allowed anywhere near the TV remote control this week because of some kind of infernal sporting event…
Chris Packham’s suggestions to save the world
On Monday 2 August, the BBC Today programme offered its ‘Countdown to COP26’. For the rest of the month, Amol…
Modern soap operas have lost the plot
Modern soap operas have lost the plot
Why the BBC believed Martin Bashir
If it is true, as Lords Hall and Birt told a Commons committee this week, that Martin Bashir succeeded in…
A breath of fresh airwaves
A couple of decades back the Radio Society asked me to moderate a debate for its summer festival. ‘Between who?’…
How the BBC can save itself
All those esteemed generals of hindsight screeching ‘more governance’ as the cure to BBC’s cover-up of the Martin Bashir’s dishonesty…
Insane and fascinating: BBC World Service's Lazarus Heist reviewed
The narrative podcast remains a form in search of a genre. The template set by the hit show Serial —…
Honest, faithful and fantastically enjoyable: BBC1's The Pursuit of Love reviewed
I’d been expecting the BBC to make a dreadful hash of The Pursuit of Love, especially when I read that…
Who is more upset about Labour's results: Starmer or the BBC?
It’s not just the Labour Party which is institutionally incapable of understanding why the Conservative Party kicked the hell out…
We Lumas have the weight of the world on our shoulders
In the introduction to an anthology of his jazz record reviews, the poet Philip Larkin imagines his readers. They’re not…
Seldom less than gripping: Banged Up podcast reviewed
Prison-based podcast Banged Up, now in its second series, is far more uplifting — and less soapy — than its…
This Is My House has rekindled my love for the BBC
Here’s a thought that will make you feel old. Or worried. Or both. The poke-fun-at-celebrity-houses series Through the Keyhole —…
Why I don’t regret leaving the BBC
I have just had my second jab and it poses a dilemma. As an assiduous Covid rule-taker, I have been…
The strangeness of Britain’s BLM mania
The conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd makes last summer’s Black Lives Matter mania in British…
Simon McCoy's warning shot to the Beeb
It was just a fortnight ago that the BBC’s grumpiest new presenter Simon McCoy announced he was off to join…
It's impossible not to feel snooty watching ITV's Agatha and Poirot
Agatha and Poirot was one of those programmes that had the annoying effect of making you feel distinctly snooty. ITV’s…
Faux fury against the race report is unsurprising
Back in the 1960s, my brother, Asim, and I were smitten by the magical Manchester United trio of Law, Best…
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