23/06/2017

Available for over a year

Ed Miliband has spent the week in an unfamiliar position; sitting in for Jeremy Vine on Radio 2. Iain Duncan Smith, the former conservative leader, has his turn next week. So far, most listeners are loving the experiment. Roger Bolton sits down with programme editor Phil Jones to get his take on how his new presenter has performed, and to ask why Radio 2 felt using politicians instead of more experienced broadcasters was worth the risk. Last week, Andrew Scott came on to explain why the BBC felt it necessary to make signing in to the iPlayer website compulsory. But many listeners remain unconvinced. Sue Lawley has presented the Reith lectures for 16 years. She speaks to Roger about what makes a great Reith lecture, why she willingly left a dream job fronting Desert Island Discs and reveals the Reith lecturer who ran out of material with 10 minutes left to fill. Also, listeners weigh in on whether the BBC should be more careful with its use of language when reporting major incidents; and is Radio 4's Only Artists up to the challenge of replacing the much missed Midweek.