Authors
Choosing the 2011 Reith lecturer
Choosing the Reith lecturer every year is one of the privileges of the job. It is a rather wonderful piece of patronage (for me, at any rate) and poses numerous challenges. I look every year for something original - and someone who is a good communicator. Topicality can be an advantage, but wit...
The George Orwell collection
Editor's note: The pace is really picking up over at BBC Archives. Since I asked Steve Darling to write this post about the George Orwell collection, two further collections have been published: Princess Elizabeth: the making of a Queen and Arena: Miller meets Mandela. The BBC archive collectio...
New digital programmes - and a new name for Radio 7
Today we announced a series of new programmes which will be appearing on our digital radio stations. Also, we confirmed that we are changing the name of BBC Radio 7 to BBC Radio 4 Extra in April. You can find all the details in the press release. Some people have questioned why we are altering ...
22 years of The Archers: Editor Vanessa Whitburn's Top Storylines
The outgoing Archers editor, Vanessa-Whitburn, picks some of her favourite storylines.
Advice of a rather unnatural kind
I can always tell when we've recorded a good edition of The Bottom Line: it is one where I have not had to speak very much. Don't get me wrong. I love speaking. It's what I'm paid to do. And before we record the programme I always make sure that I have plenty to say on the topics we're discus...
In Business: A Cyclist's View of the Euro
Years ago, in a previous millennium, I made a programme called The Cyclist's Guide to the Euro. It was curious... so curious that I still cannot understand how we managed to convince Radio 4 to commission it. The idea was a simple one: take a bicyclists' look at the great Euro project. Cy...
The 2011 Nick Clarke Award
Nick Clarke presenting the World at One The judges have decided to give the 2011 award to Steve Hewlett, presenter of BBC Radio 4's The Media Show for his interview with the former chair of the Press Complaints Commission, Lady Peta Buscombe. Steve's live interview, against the clock, ...
Poetry Please is 30
The first time I came down the hill on my bike and turned into the back gate of the BBC in Bristol, I tried to cycle as I tell my actors to read the poems for Poetry Please - ordinarily, as if for the first time, as if nothing was easier in the world, as if there wasn't a microphone in front of ...
Don't Log Off: Discovering the real life dramas behind online profiles
It was a simple enough brief - I was to lock myself away for one week to talk to people on the internet, to tap into this babble of voices and experiences and explore the global phenomenon of social networking. It was a venture which would eventually have me talking to a single parent snowb...
Cambridge Spies
A season of prgrammes relating to The Cambridge Spies. A mix of comedy, dramas and features which relive the espionage scandal that rocked the nation.
The Public Philosopher: Sharing The American Dream
Editors note: You can hear The Public Philosopher on Radio 4 at 9am on 23 and 30 Oct 2012. Here, Mukul Devichand who worked on the programme with Professor Sandel talks about the issues raised in the second programme. PMcD "If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you ...
BBC Food and Farming Awards - An Update
We've big news about the next BBC Food & Farming Awards. Read this blog post for details.
"Urmm – That's Sir Christopher Lee": Natalie Dormer on the making of Neverwhere
"Very rarely do you see actors taking photos on their phones before a table read starts." Actress Natalie Dormer recounts the star-studded read-through for the radio adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.
One to One: Lyse Doucet
Editor's note: One to One is a new series of interviews on Radio 4 in which broadcasters follow their personal passions by talking to the people whose stories interest them most. The first set of interviews will be presented by Lyse Doucet in conversation with Afghans - young and old, living at ...
Far From the Madding Crowd
Editor's Note: The first episode of Far From the Madding Crowd, adapted from the classic Thomas Hardy novel, is being broadcast on Radio 4 at 3pm on Sunday 23rd September. Producer and director Jessica Dromgoole writes below about adapting the book for Radio 4's Classic Serial - CM. ...
Six Suspects: assembling the party scene (and some audio extras)
Editor's note. Here is producer John Dryden's final Six Suspects blog post - this time about the process of recording the pivotal party scene - used throughout the adaptation. Fascinating. And after it (scroll down), something marvelous: eight deleted and extended scenes, nearly twenty minutes o...
Desert Island Discs: Aung San Suu Kyi
Desert Island Discs Series Producer, Cathy Drysdale, tells the story behind the recording of Kirsty Young's interview with Aung San Suu Kyi for Desert Island Discs at her home in Naypyitaw, Burma on 18 December 2012.
Miriam Margolyes and James and the Giant Peach on 4 Extra
One of the most enjoyable elements of producing The 4 O'Clock Show is the stories - part of my job involves spending bits of the working day listening to children's stories, and choosing content for the programme inspired by those stories. So it was a real treat to find myself in studio prod...
