cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/5860007

Philosopher John Gray chooses as his great life the iconic British writer of dystopian and speculative fiction, J.G. Ballard, in conversation with the author's daughter Bea Ballard.

Matthew Sweet tells the extraordinary story of the hiatus between Doctor Who's cancellation in 1989 and its spectacular revival in 2005.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/5089833

To celebrate 50 years since the cult horror The Wicker Man came to our cinemas, BBC Radio 4 Extra is ‘sacrificing’ its normal evening schedule to bring you five hours of drama, comedy, documentaries and conversations connected to this unique film, its cast and its music.

The evening will be presented by writer, paranormal psychologist and Celtic pagan, Evelyn Hollow (Uncanny and The Battersea Poltergeist), who will be introducing highlights such as the world radio debut of an adaptation of The Wicker Man starring Brian Blessed (21:05) and the first broadcast of Christopher Lee’s Desert Island Discs in over 25 years (20:15).

Evelyn will also be offering up archive featuring among others, Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland and Ingrid Pitt, and in a specially recorded interview Evelyn will be speaking to the Olivier award-winning actress - who not only played the mischievous schoolgirl Daisy Pringle in the film, but who also sang on some of The Wicker Man’s iconic songs - Lesley Mackie (18:45 & 20:55). Come, it is time to keep your appointment with The World of The Wicker Man…

It’s the time of year for spectacular displays around the country, but for many of our pets, the loud sounds and bright lights can make them feel nervous and anxious.

That’s why at Classic FM, we bring you special shows of relaxing classical music to help keep you and your furry and feathered friends calm and reassured around Bonfire Night.

Classic FM’s Pet Classics returns for its sixth year on-air and will be hosted by our weekend presenter and dog-lover Charlotte Hawkins.

One episode delves into the mystery of MI5 agent ‘Jack King’. During World War II, a network of British fascists gathered secret information that might help the Nazi cause and hasten their own country’s defeat. They thought they were passing these secrets to Jack King, a Gestapo officer who had been planted in England. In 2014, files revealed ‘Jack’ was a man called Eric Roberts – a top secret agent who really worked for MI5.

So who was the man behind ‘Jack King’? How did he infiltrate fascist groups? Was there really a ‘fifth column’ aiming to undermine Britain from within? And if it didn’t exist… would MI5 have to invent it?.

Originally broadcast in September 1952, You Must Listen was written by Nigel Kneale, one of the most admired English science-fiction writers of the last century. His Quatermass trilogy continues to influence generations of admirers and filmmakers, among them Russell T Davies and John Carpenter.

Before his television career, Kneale’s radio drama paved the way for what was to come. It explores many of the same themes that he later addressed in Quatermass, The Stone Tape and The Road, of the paranormal coming into collision with modern science.

For this version, audio producers Bafflegab have returned to Kneale’s original script – fortunately kept by the late writer as no recording of the original play exists.

Here’s the premise for You Must Listen:

A solicitor’s office has a new phone line connected, but the staff keep hearing a woman’s voice on the phone. Engineer Frank Wilson is called to fix the problem, and gradually the disturbing story of the woman starts to emerge.

This modern version stars Toby Jones, Reece Shearsmith, Caroline Catz, Jessie Cave and John Scougall. Also in the cast are Jason Barnett, Jacqueline King, Dan Starkey and Becky Wright.

Twenty years ago The Da Vinci Code gripped the world with the notion that Jesus Christ married, had a secret honeymoon in France and sired a hidden line of future European rulers. You probably know the story. After all – Dan Brown’s conspiracy thriller sold 80 million copies within five years of its release and spawned a film franchise.

But the story you may not know is that key parts of the theory have their origins not in the archives of The Vatican, but in the vaults of the BBC. Kevin Core, producer of Seriously's Archive on 4: The Holy Blood, tells us the story of the fraud that sparked a conspiracy movement.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/2226061

A shocked woman discovered with an at-home DNA test that her real father was a removals man from Essex whose sperm had been used without his permission by a Harley Street fertility doctor.

The disturbing story is set to be revealed in The Gift, a new BBC radio series which will air from next Monday.

It explores how millions of Britons and others across the world have taken tests sold by firms including Ancestry.co.uk and 23andMe, often after being given them as presents from friends and family.

It's a classic sensationalist (and over-long, I had to cut it in half) headline from the Daily Fail but it's a pretty sensational story of sperm theft but all properly researched and soberly presented and I'd recommend that you listen to the Radio 4 episode, it's a real rollercoaster ride.

The premise of the series is that a lot of British people have taken home DNA tests for genealogical purposes and, while everyone is warned to be careful in case you uncover some hidden family secret, there are some extreme cases which are even more unexpected.

Until recently, Bryan Johnson was paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to infuse one litre of his teenage son’s youthful plasma into his own ageing blood stream every month. “I’ve never paid more attention to what he’s eating … because that was going into my body,” the 46-year-old American tech entrepreneur says on new podcast The Immortals. He also pumped his own plasma into his 70-year-old father’s body to help improve his declining physical and cognitive health: “It was one of the most meaningful moments in his entire life. And it was the same for me.” Johnson continues to pay $2m a year for a research team to investigate how we can live longer – and he is certainly not the only rich guy in Silicon Valley dedicated to the search for eternal life.

“It took us ages to find somebody to talk to us,” says technology reporter and psychologist Aleks Krotoski, who hosts the BBC Radio 4 series. “Strangely, people who take the blood of the young are a bit reserved … ”

Heard anything good on the radio? Let us know.

BBC Radio 2 lost more than a million listeners since Ken Bruce left the station for commercial rival Greatest Hits Radio, according to official audience data.

Bruce spent three decades presenting the same mid-morning timeslot on Radio 2, where his mild-mannered style and Popmaster music quiz helped build the biggest audience in British radio.

Yet BBC bosses failed to nail down their most popular presenter on a new contract, enabling Bruce to jump ship to Greatest Hits Radio to present a show in a similar timeslot. Bruce was also able to take Popmaster from the BBC to his new employer, after personally securing the trademark during the 1990s.

The move has turned out to be an enormous success for Bruce and Greatest Hits Radio, with quarterly Rajar figures showing his new show reached 3 million listeners a week between April and June.

Heard anything good on the radio? Let us know.

This fresh take on the satirical comedy slot will feature new programmes from the likes of Rachel Parris, who will kick off the series with a range of comic characters including digital stars Rosie Holt and Michael Spicer; Dom Joly, who will take a mischievous approach to investigating the week’s biggest stories; Ria Lina, bringing a global perspective to the news with comedians from around the world sharing news from their countries; Catherine Bohart, who will take a deep dive into the roots of a news story; Rhys James, bringing his trademark quick wit to interrogate the news; and Andrew Hunter Murray hosts the latest creation from The Skewer’s Jon Holmes, which takes aim at the way the news is packaged and presented.

The specials will be broadcast in Radio 4’s popular Friday Night Comedy slot this summer, between series of Dead Ringers and The News Quiz. Friday Night Comedy is also hugely popular on BBC Sounds – last quarter, it was among the top ten on demand radio programmes and top twenty most-downloaded programmes globally. Each special will be available after broadcast, first on BBC Sounds and on RSS soon after.

Been filling your ears with good radio? Let us know.