Programme Details

One hundred years ago the government of the time introduced 'An Act to amend the Law with regard to Aliens' - a victory for the opponents of unrestricted access into Britain. The Aliens Act of 1905 was a response to the anti-alien agitation that followed the arrival of large numbers of Eastern European Jewish immigrants at the end of the 19th century. On Night Waves, Susan Hitch will be considering the conditions in Britain and across the world that led to the introduction of the act, and what this first Act set in motion. She'll be joined live by Dr Anne Kershen, founder and director of the Centre for the Study of Migration at Queen Mary College; Dr Tony Kushner, Director of Southampton University's Parkes Centre for Jewish/non-Jewish relations; and by Robert Winder, whose recent book Bloody Foreigners focused on issues of immigration over the centuries.

Also in the programme, an interview with the American novelist Russell Banks. A two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, he has written 14 books, including The Sweet Hereafter - filmed by Atom Egoyan - and Affliction, a movie version of which was directed by Paul Schrader. His ambitious new political thriller The Darling is about colonialism and its legacy on modern-day Africa, in which violence, terrorism and clash of cultures bring about personal and political turmoil.

The international theme continues in a new documentary on Channel 4 this week. The Search for the Northwest Passage focuses on historic attempts by explorers to find a northerly route that links Europe with the Far East, passing through the Arctic, rather than the usual route via Cape Horn. But this was indeed a truly treacherous route, as Sir John Franklin discovered in 1845. Roald Amundsen had better luck but at great personal cost. Travel writer and Polar specialist Sara Wheeler will be discussing it live with Susan Hitch.

Night Waves, live at 9.30pm here on BBC Radio 3. 


Presenter: Susan Hitch
Producer: Jerome Weatherald



Additional Information:
1) Closing the Door? Immigrants to Britain 1905-2005 - is at The Jewish Museum, London, from March 23 - August 21 www.jewishmuseum.org.uk
2) The Darling by Russell Banks is published by Bloomsbury
3) The Search for the Northwest Passage is on Channel 4 at 9pm on Thursday March 24 http://www.channel4.com/history