03/05/2009

This week’s edition of Something Understood is presented by the Canadian broadcaster Chris Brookes. Recently, he received payment for one of his programmes in the form of a tab, set up at his local pub in St John’s, Newfoundland. This set him wondering about the nature and value of payments in cash and in kind. He draws upon poems by Benjamin Zephaniah and others, music by Martin Carthy, Ernest Bloch and Billie Holiday and reflections on life in Newfoundland to explore the two main currencies that we deal in - money and human kindness. That’s The Currency Exchange, this week’s Something Understood.