Radio 4 Podcasts
SELECTED PODCAST
Friday Night Comedy
Radio 4's topical comedy classics. The News Quiz and Now Show teams take a satirical look on the week's news.
Podcasts A-Z
Professor Marcus du Sautoy argues that mathematics is the driving force behind modern science. Ten fifteen minute podcasts that reveal the personalities behind the calculations from Newton to the present day. How do these masters of abstraction find a role in the real world?
Welcome to A History of the World. Below you can find all 100 episodes in the series. Although the series has ended, you can continue to listen to the episodes on this page or download them to keep on your computer or mp3 player by following the links on the right.
Weekly reflections on topical issues from a range of contributors including historian Lisa Jardine, novelist Sarah Dunant and writer Alain de Botton.
BBC Radio 4's daily consumer programme is presented by Julian Worricker, Winifred Robinson and Peter White. You and Yours brings news, discussion and special investigations on a wide range of consumer subjects, everyday between 12 noon and 1. Topics include health, energy, leisure, retail and disability, and the podcast features the best of the week's programmes, with a new episode published every Friday.
An insider’s guide to the stories and people shaping the USA today. From Washington DC and broadcast every Sunday, at 7.15pm. Discussion and insight from some of the best known names and voices in America.
Analysis makes sense of the ideas that change the world. What made Islam political, whether the Government can make us go green, why we think the market in human organs is repugnant are just some of the subjects the series tackles. With thought-provoking and expert presenters, Analysis aims to make the world of policy and ideas both interesting and surprising. There are 26 episodes a year, in three series. Podcasts are available for a week after transmission while the programme is on air.
Audiences ask the questions about the big news stories of the week. Chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby and a panel of personalities from the worlds of politics, media and elsewhere.
The BBC Natural History Unit produces a wide range of programmes that aim to immerse a listener in the wonder, surprise and importance that nature has to offer.
Insight, analysis and expert debate as key policy makers are challenged on the latest news stories.
Debates exploring the place of religion and faith in today's complex world. Ernie Rea is joined every week by a multi-faith panel who discuss how their religious traditions affect their values and perspectives on a variety of topics, often revealing hidden and contradictory truths. In each programme guests listen to a personal story which challenges their point of view and forces them to place their faith and values within the context of real life experiences.
This podcast features Open Book, Bookclub and A Good Read. Mariella Frostrup and James Naughtie talk to leading authors about their work, and Harriett Gilbert and a range of guests discuss their favourite titles.
News, discussion & a few gags. The Sunday papers & the BH quiz. Broadcast every Sunday morning on BBC Radio 4 between 9 and 10. Presented by Paddy O'Connell. Each week discussion about the key themes in the news, there's a review of the Sunday newspapers and a quiz with a special prize. Updated each Sunday. Subscribe to the BH Newsletter and the podcast at www.bbc.co.uk/bh
Countryside magazine featuring people, walks and wildlife from rural Britain. Clare Balding’s ‘Ramblings’ and ‘Open Country’ with Matt Baker and Helen Mark join forces to bring you a weekly tour of the best of the British countryside. In ‘Ramblings’ Clare joins her guests on a country walk that’s been significant in their lives. ‘Open Country’ travels to a different corner of the British Isles every week, seeking out the wildlife, the landscapes and the controversies that excite the passions of local people. Each twenty-five minute programme is broadcast on Saturday at 6.07am and repeated on Thursday at 3pm. New episodes are added every Saturday morning.
Brighten your week with an episode of the latest Radio 4 comedy. Every Monday we bring you a fantastic variety of comedians including Mark Thomas, Lenny Henry and Tom Wrigglesworth alongside classic shows such as Just A Minute and Ed Reardon.
Discover cooking techniques and tips to help you perfect your cooking know-how. Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey are joined by leading chefs and food writers who share their secrets for perfect home-cooked dishes. Part of Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
Man's effect on the environment, questioning accepted truths, challenging those in charge and reporting on progress towards improving the world. Presenters, Tom Heap and Dr Alice Roberts, travel the UK and the world in search of solutions to the challenges facing the natural world and the people and wildlife that live in it. Broadcast at 21.00 on Mondays, Costing the Earth runs for 27 weeks of the year, split into three series. Podcast episodes are added weekly.
On the ground reporting from around the world which focuses on the human dimension of the big international stories.
Castaways choose eight records, a book and a luxury to take with them to the mythical desert island. Full listings can be found on the Desert Island Discs website. Archive episodes are broadcast on Radio 4 Extra, Wednesdays 10.00 and Sundays 10.00
Castaways choose eight records, a book and a luxury to take with them to the mythical desert island. Full listings can be found on the Desert Island Discs website. Archive episodes are broadcast on Radio 4 Extra, Wednesdays 10.00 and Sundays 10.00
Castaways choose eight records, a book and a luxury to take with them to the mythical desert island. Full listings can be found on the Desert Island Discs website. Archive episodes are broadcast on Radio 4 Extra, Wednesdays 10.00 and Sundays 10.00
Kirsty Young asks castaways to choose eight records, a book and a luxury to take with them to the mythical desert island. Sundays at 11.15 repeated Friday at 0900.
The Documentary of the Week podcast brings you our pick of the week's documentaries on BBC Radio 4. A new episode is published every Friday.
Frank Skinner and Katherine Parkinson star in a series that explores the great art of arguing. Well observed, clever and funny, Don't Start is a scripted comedy with a deceptively simple premise - an argument. Written by Frank Skinner.
Travellers' Tales from home and around the world: their destinations, experiences and issues arising from their journeys are discussed with Sandi Toksvig or John McCarthy from 1000 to 1030 am on Saturdays.
All rural life is here: daily news of food, farming, the countryside and the environment with analysis and context from the BBC's experts in the field. Presented by Anna Hill and Charlotte Smith, Farming Today goes out every weekday on Radio 4 at 0545 (14 minutes)and at 0635 on Saturdays (22 minutes).
Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations. Roger Bolton airs listeners' views on BBC radio programmes and policy.
A podcast offering Radio 4's award winning, flagship investigative series File on 4.
Provenance and pleasure, history and health - Radio 4's weekly look at food. Making sense of food, from the kitchen and canteen, to the farm and factory. We place food in its historical and cultural context; call to account policy makers and industry decision makers; and celebrate the sheer pleasure of good food.
Four Thought talks include stories and ideas which will affect our future, in politics, society, the economy, business, science, technology or the arts. Recorded live, the talks are given by a range of people with a new thought to share.
Bringing you a satirical take on the week's news with The News Quiz and The Now Show from BBC Radio 4. Enjoy a satirical take on the week’s news with the cream of UK comedy talent.
Insight, wit and analysis as the BBC's foreign correspondents take a closer look at the stories behind the headlines. Presented by Kate Adie. Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the UK on Thursdays at 1100 (local time) and Saturdays at 1130 (local time) for about 25 weeks of the year. BBC World Service broadcasts on Saturdays and Sundays all year round, presented by Alan Johnston. For more information, a full list of programme broadcast times and the podcast Terms of Use go to www.bbc.co.uk/fromourowncorrespondent
Interviews with leading novelists, musicians, film directors, artists and more, from Radio 4's flagship arts show, presented by Mark Lawson, Kirsty Lang and John Wilson. Front Row is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening at 7.15 - 7.45pm. New editions will be available each night following the live broadcast.
Interviews with leading novelists, musicians, film directors, artists and more, from Radio 4's flagship arts show, presented by Mark Lawson, Kirsty Lang and John Wilson. Front Row is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening at 7.15 - 7.45pm
As well as fresh ideas and inspiration, the Gardeners' Question Time podcast offers solutions to most of your gardening problems. Packed full of practical advice from a panel of expert gardeners here's 45 minutes of top gardening tips, from vegetable growing to wildlife, new plants to dealing with garden pests.
Biography series exploring the greatest people who ever lived. Matthew Parris interviews an eminent guest and an expert to reveal the truth behind their history heroes.
The history of ideas discussed by Melvyn Bragg and guests including Philosophy, science, literature, religion and the influence these ideas have on us today.
The history of ideas discussed by Melvyn Bragg and guests including Philosophy, science, literature, religion and the influence these ideas have on us today.
The history of ideas discussed by Melvyn Bragg and guests including Philosophy, science, literature, religion and the influence these ideas have on us today.
The history of ideas discussed by Melvyn Bragg and guests including Philosophy, science, literature, religion and the influence these ideas have on us today.
The history of ideas discussed by Melvyn Bragg and guests including Philosophy, science, literature, religion and the influence these ideas have on us today.
The history of ideas discussed by Melvyn Bragg and guests including Philosophy, science, literature, religion and the influence these ideas have on us today.
News, views and information for people who are blind or visually impaired. Presented by Peter White every Tuesday evening from 20:40 on BBC Radio 4.
Radio 4’s obituary programme, marking the lives of significant figures who have died recently, presented by Matthew Bannister and broadcast every Friday at 16.00. The podcast episode is published on Friday evening.
Kenneth Branagh and David Tennant star in an eight-hour dramatisation of Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. Thirteen episodes will be broadcast from 18 to 25 September on Radio 4. This epic masterpiece, centred around the bloody battle of Stalingrad, charts the fate of both a nation and a family in the turmoil of war. Completed in 1960, the novel was deemed so dangerous by the KGB that the book itself was arrested. Due to rights restrictions, episodes are only available for 14 days.
Making History explores ordinary people's links with the past. The programme is presented by Vanessa Collingridge and is broadcast on Tuesday at 3pm for 26 weeks a year in two series.
Weekly science conversation, on everything from archaeology to zoology, from abacus to the antipodean rodent zyzomys, by way of meteorites. Presented by Quentin Cooper, and airing every Thursday, 4:30 pm.
BBC Radio 4's topical programme The Media Show, presented by journalist and former TV executive Steve Hewlett, featuring the latest stories and opinion from the fast-changing world of media in all its forms - print, television, radio, online and telecommunications.
The latest medical information and advice from Radio 4's health programmes. In Case Notes Dr Mark Porter takes an in-depth look at a different topic each week, speaking to doctors, patients and researchers about the latest treatments. In All in the Mind, psychologist, Claudia Hammond examines how we think and why we behave as we do.
Diverse conversation with Libby Purves and her four guests. The focus of Midweek is personal experience, the story behind the story. A mix of the famous, the infamous, and first time broadcasters. Forty-five minutes of lively conversation to start the day.
All that matters about money with Paul Lewis. News of savings and investments, credit cards and loans, pensions, banking, benefits and giving to charity. The UK’s premier weekly round-up of personal finance from the BBC. Programme broadcast each Saturday at 1204 BST and episodes added each Saturday afternoon. You will also receive podcasts of Money Box Live – the interactive programme answering questions about personal finance issues, hosted by either Paul Lewis or Vincent Duggleby. Broadcast each Wednesday at 1502 BST and with episodes added every Wednesday afternoon. For more information go to www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox
Tim Harford and the More or Less team investigate numbers in the news. Numbers are used in every area of public debate. But are they always reliable? More or Less tries to make sense of the statistics which surround us. A half-hour programme broadcast at 1330 on Friday afternoons and repeated at 2000 on Sundays on Radio 4.
Daily programme highlights from BBC Radio News. Interviews and reports from BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 live, the BBC Asian Network and the BBC World Service.
One to One - A series of interview programmes in which well respected broadcasters follow their personal passions by talking to the people whose stories interest them most
Insights into the business world with Peter Day - featuring content from his Radio 4 In Business programme, and also Global Business from the BBC World Service.
Every Friday we bring you a new play from Radio 4 or Radio 3. Exercise your imagination with some of the best writers and actors on radio. Storytelling at its very best.
Series of profiles of people who are currently making headlines. Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Saturdays at 7pm.
The home of intelligent and challenging quiz games on BBC Radio 4. With Quiz Masters including Paul Gambaccini, Tom Sutcliffe and Russell Davies.
The 2011 BBC Reith Lectures will be delivered by two speakers – Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and former Director-General of MI5, Baroness Manningham-Buller. They will be broadcast on Radio 4 and the BBC World Service in June and September, respectively. The lectures, entitled Securing Freedom, arise out of an extraordinary period of global convulsion. Aung San Suu Kyi’s lectures from Burma will focus on the struggle for democracy inside an authoritarian regime. Back in the UK, on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Eliza Manningham-Buller discusses how, once secured, a country maintains its freedom. The five lectures will all be available for download.
Series of annual radio lectures on significant contemporary issues, delivered by leading figures from the relevant fields. Please note that relatively few recordings survive from this period.
Series of annual radio lectures on significant contemporary issues, delivered by leading figures from the relevant fields
Real life but not as you know it. Radio 4's Saturday morning show is full of the stuff that matters, extraordinary stories, inheritance tracks, guerrilla reports, secret lives, poetry and more.
Tom Sutcliffe and guests discuss the week’s cultural highlights on BBC Radio 4.
It's a phenomenon which seems to have come from nowhere, but in fact computer-based social networks have been around for decades. In this three-part series the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan Jones traces the hidden story of social networking, from the early days of computing and the 60s counterculture through to the businesses worth billions today. From their roots in utopian experiments in California, online social networks spread around the world. In the past few years companies such as Facebook and Twitter have captivated millions of users. But what will be the next big thing in social networking, and how is it changing our lives? This series was originally broadcast in three weekly parts from 26 January 2011.
Start The Week sets the cultural agenda for the week ahead, with high-profile guests discussing the ideas behind their work in the fields of art, literature, film, science, history, society and politics.
Ed Stourton presents religious news and analysis of the top stories from the UK and abroad. From Christianity to Islam, Hinduism to Judaism, every week.
Contemporary drama in a rural setting from the world's longest running soap opera. Follow the residents of the fictional farming community of Ambridge. Original programmes broadcast 1900 hrs Sunday - Friday. Episodes added daily (except Saturdays).
The full week’s events in Ambridge, available every Sunday. The Archers is a contemporary drama in a rural setting.
Insight into business from the people at the top. Evan Davis meets influential business leaders for a round table conversation about the issues that matter to their companies and their customers. The BBC produces two radio versions of this programme - one for the UK audience that can be heard on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday evenings at 20:30 GMT, and one for the international audience that can be heard on BBC World Service on Fridays at 22:06 GMT.
Interviews and analysis from the world of cinema. Francine Stock talks to directors, writers and critics about the latest film releases, classics on DVD and movies on television.
A series that revisits the childhood homes and neighbourhoods of influential Britons. Presenter Wendy Robbins meets politicians, poets, scientists and entrepreneurs, and uncovers the experiences which shaped the lives of well-known public figures.
Award winning science/comedy chat with Brian Cox, Robin Ince and guests. Witty, irreverent look at the world according to science with physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince. New Series starting on BBC Radio 4, Monday November 21st at 4.30pm (repeated on Tuesday evenings at 11pm) for 6 weeks.
Each week, Jim al-Khalili invites a leading scientist to tell us about their life and work. He'll talk to Nobel laureates as well as the next generation of beautiful minds to find out what inspires and motivates them and what their discoveries might do for us.
Uncovering the real stories behind the news. Simon Cox and fellow reporters delve beneath the headlines. The Report airs every Thursday evening at 8pm on Radio 4 for 38 weeks a year. The programme lasts 28 minutes.
When it comes to daily news, The World Tonight takes international events seriously and covers them in depth. Using the BBC's international network of correspondents we report on what is going on, put it in context and provide a forum for debate on the big issues facing us all. The programme is presented by Robin Lustig or Ritula Shah. It is broadcast Monday to Friday at 10pm on BBC Radio 4 and lasts for 45 minutes.
Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works and discusses current ideas on how we live today.
A unique reflection from a faith perspective on topical issues and news events. Speakers from across the world's major faiths offer a spiritual insight rooted in the theology of their own tradition. This brief, uninterrupted interlude has the capacity to plant a seed of thought that stays with listeners during the day. Thought for the Day is broadcast during the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 every morning at around 7.45am.
BBC correspondents report from Westminster on the most significant of the day's stories in Parliament.
Inspirational family history stories and key genealogy advice. Sally Magnusson and Nick Barratt uncover personal perspectives on social history and give listeners the tools to become family history detectives.
Top political commentators reflect on the week's political events in discussion with MPs, Peers and others.
The big political stories with lively discussion and expert comment and analysis. Presenter Carolyn Quinn is joined by politicians and journalists every Sunday night at 10pm on BBC Radio 4.
What The Papers Say takes a look at how the broadsheets and red tops treat the week's news.
Radio 4's Woman's Hour brings you topical subjects in the news, interviews and discussions on issues affecting women around the world. Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey bring you the big celebrity names and leading women in the news and subjects range widely from politics to health, law, education, arts, parenting, relationships, work, fiction, food and fashion. Woman's Hour is broadcast Monday to Friday on BBC Radio 4 from 10.00 - 11.00. The podcast features highlights from each day's programme and will be published daily Monday to Friday. Find out more at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour
iPM is the news programme that starts with its listeners. A weekly companion to the nightly PM, it's where the expertise and insights of the Radio 4 audience shape a programme that sees news differently. Presented by Jennifer Tracey and PM's Eddie Mair.
Podcast Links
bbc.co.uk navigation
Site links
BBC links
© 2011
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.