Radio 4
Vampire diaries
The Immortals, which begins on Radio 4 this week, is not for the faint-hearted. While it professes to be about…
Diary
To think I once thought cricket dull. For more than 40 days and 40 nights, I have been gripped by…
All the rage
Welcome back to Room 101, which has returned to the radio – after nearly 30 years on TV – and…
Lost worlds
One so often hears about famous people who are horrible when they think no one important is looking – barking…
Early birds
As the owner of a radio alarm clock, I could theoretically start listening to the Today programme before I’m even…
Elon Musk is right about BBC funding
The BBC has today been using its various news platforms to protest against being described as ‘government funded’ by Twitter.…
Why does Jamie Oliver always get an easy ride?
There are many annoying things about the celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, but none of them grates my gears as much…
Vital statistics
In a week of slim audio pickings, I spent time reacquainting myself with some of the BBC classics and can…
A dose of sanity
Listening to BBC Radios 3 and 4 over the past week has been like meeting an old friend who, after…
Shelley addict
Last week I heard the actor Julian Sands give a virtuoso performance of work by Percy Bysshe Shelley to mark…
Soldiery stuff
The Battlegroundpodcast on the wars of the 20th century, said presenter Saul David happily, ‘will have lots of bombs and…
Cringe benefits
The tagline of This is Dating, a new podcast from across the pond, is ‘Come for the cringe, stay for…
Disappearing doilies
This week marks the beginning of modernism season on BBC Radio 3 and 4, which means it’s time for some…
Moomin marvellous
Moomins do not like winter. In one of Tove Jansson’s stories, Moomin’s Winter Follies, young Moomintroll bumps his head when…
Men and sheds
The interview podcast is a genre immoderately drawn to gimmicks, as the logical space of possible formats is gradually exhausted.…
The trying game
On sketch shows, the wisdom once was that you needed a punchline. That is, a slightly hammy, summative sign-off to…
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Listening to Trees A Crowd, a podcast exploring the ‘56(ish) native trees of the British Isles’, solved one of childhood’s…
Me, myself and I
I thought that this week I would share with you a bunch of words and phrases which are currently overused…
Sins of the father
I’d forgotten what a rich and deep and characterful voice John le Carré had. Listening to author and lawyer Philippe…
Intelligent design
In Our Time is the best thing on Radio 4, possibly the best thing on the radio full stop. It…
They had it coming
This year marks three decades since Robert Maxwell fell naked to his death from the deck of his yacht, The…
Englishness vs California dreaming
On Archewell Audio, Harry and Meghan’s new podcast, ‘love wins’, ‘change really is possible’, and ‘the courage and the creativity…
No more Mr Nasty
‘I used to be Mr Nasty! That was good! Mr Nasty was easy!’ Jeremy Paxman bellows at Michael Palin on…
Spreading the word
Nineteen fifty-six: the Suez crisis, the first Tesco, Jim Laker takes 19 wickets in a match. But also: Trinidadian pianist…
Viva la vulva!
I spent half an hour this week listening to a woman make a plaster cast of her vulva. Kat Harbourne,…
