BBC
The BBC’s Israel problem
Intrepidly, the BBC dared recently to visit Dover, Delaware – source, it implied, of starvation in Gaza. I listened carefully…
Those remaking Threads mustn’t soften the horror
I was 11 years old when I saw the mushroom cloud go up but this wasn’t Hiroshima or Nagasaki in…
The best radio at the moment is on the BBC World Service
Online viewings of Conclave increased threefold following the death of Pope Francis last month. At least some of the traffic…
The BBC’s war on the SAS
The SAS is under fire, not from terrorists or insurgents, but from ill-informed commentators and our state broadcaster. Our Special…
The BBC’s problems go far beyond Gary Lineker
As one might expect from a 103-year-old organisation, the BBC has a very high opinion of itself. Outside Broadcasting House…
When will the BBC ever learn?
They say that death and taxes are the only certain things in this life. I would add BBC bias into…
‘I’ve seen controllers come and go’: Radio 3’s Michael Berkeley interviewed
A few years ago I had a panic-stricken phone call from a female friend. ‘Help!’ she wailed. ‘Remind me what…
Impeccable history of the free market – and from the BBC too
The launch of Radio 4’s Invisible Hands series has been both blessed and cursed by timing. It tells the story…
Heaven is an oeuf en gelée
The cherry blossom was at its finest as I made my last early morning trip through Regent’s Park to Broadcasting…
The liberating, invigorating music of Pierre Boulez
‘When you’re not offensive in life, you obtain absolutely nothing,’ declares a twinkly-eyed Pierre Boulez in one of the archive…
Why did the BBC say ‘Muslim reverts’?
‘Revert’ as a noun rather than a verb sounds like one of those Victorian terms that went out of fashion…
Cracks are appearing in the Cathedral walls
Is the ‘Cathedral’ about to fall down? That’s the name given by the right-wing blogger Curtis Yarvin to denote the…
Booze now has its own Rest is History-style podcast
Intoxicating History is the perfect title for drinks expert Henry Jeffreys and food critic Tom Parker Bowles’s new podcast. Its…
How to catch a traitor
A quarter of a century after the first series of Big Brother, there is still some life in reality TV.…
The Traitors finale was a cruel spectacle
Blame Covid. That’s the origin of the BBC’s hit game-show, The Traitors. Workplaces are still deserted as people sit in…
It’s moving to think how happy Van Gogh was in Brixton
When a phrase really takes off in the political sphere, you will recognise it by the frequency with which it…
The secret of Gary Lineker’s success
The Leicester-born striker was neither exceptionally skilful nor assiduous; but he worked out how to score goals, and later excel in broadcasting, through intelligence and calm resilience
Why I’m obsessed with Farming Today
Farming Today airs at an undignified hour each morning on Radio 4. On the few occasions I’ve caught it live…
Letters: In defence of Radio 3
Vote of no confidence Sir: Rod Liddle is too harsh on those calling for another general election (‘I hope you…
The BBC vs Gregg Wallace
The last time I took my wife to watch Millwall play a home game, a gentleman a few rows in…
Avoids the breathless hype of so many podcasts: Finding Mr Fox reviewed
We are all surely familiar with those stories of naive young Brits who travel abroad and are persuaded by a…
How did Wolf Hall escape the attentions of the BBC’s diversity commissars?
Wolf Hall is one of the few remaining jewels in the BBC’s tarnished crown. Presumably that’s why it was allowed…
I listened to a solid week of Woman’s Hour…
I was a weird kid, and though I harboured the usual innocent girlish ambitions of being a drug fiend and…
Radio 4’s Lord Lucan series is rescued by a brilliant narrator
It was 50 years ago this week, on 7 November 1974, that Lord Lucan fled what was destined to become…
Do you like the century you’re in?
Years ago Lord Patten of Barnes – Chris – was our guest for my Great Lives programme on BBC Radio…
