Captain Robert Scott's final journey to the South Pole has been called one of history's greatest tales of adventure. And his journals are among the most dramatic and moving documents in the English language. Sensitively read by David Horovitch, this new audio adaptation starts in 1910 as Scott's ship, the Terra Nova, sets sail from New Zealand. The...

An affectionate profile of Dick Barton - Special Agent, presented by John Hosken, including interviews with Noel Johnson, star of the Dick Barton radio series. Dick Barton is the radio character who refuses to lie down. Although it is over fifty years since the daily serial was dropped to make way for The Archers, fans still talk about their hero's...

With George Monbiot, Paul Allen and Peter Harper. Have you got what it takes to get to zero carbon? Our expert panel set one average family the task of eliminating their carbon footprint... and living with the consequences. Originally broadcast in March 2009. Starring Kate Ashfield, Don Gilet, Poppy Lee Friar, Ryan Watson, Malcolm Tierney, Jonathan...

Dolly Parton grew up in poverty in rural East Tennessee, where children only attended school if there was no work to be done on the farm. She came to regard literacy skills as a passport to a better life and in 1995 she launched the 'Imagination Library'. All local children were sent a book a month, from birth to age 5. In 2007, she brought the pro...

Stephen K Amos hosts a selection of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe's best stand-up comedians to present an Idiot's Guide to Holidays and Getting Away. With guest stand-up from: Susan Calman - On Scottish family holidays, W. Kamau Bell - On being an American visiting the UK, Tim FitzHigham - On always reading the instructions when travelling abroad,...

Broadcaster and arts presenter Melvyn Bragg fronts 'The Written World', a five-part BBC Radio 4 series following the origins of writing from its first appearance 6,000 years ago and exploring how it has shaped the world's intellectual history. In the first programme he looks at the technology of writing, and how making signs on clay, wood or parchm...

What caused the financial mess we're in? And how do we get out of it? Two of the great economic thinkers of the 20th century had sharply contrasting views. John Maynard Keynes believed that government spending could create employment and longer term growth. His contemporary and rival Friedrich Hayek believed that investments have to be based on rea...

In Top of the Class, John Wilson meets leading figures in their fields and takes them back to the places and people they left behind. In this episode from the third series, Michael Portillo back to his former school in Harrow. In his day, it was a boys' grammar school and in this visit to celebrate 100 years of the school, Michael is one of the gue...

Cockney comedian Micky Flanagan's debut radio show charts the ups and downs of his life, from Billingsgate fish porter to successful stand-up comic and from Sunblest to panini, tabloids to broadsheets and the street party to the dinner party. Each week's episode focuses on a different decade of Micky's life, and he regales us with autobiographical...

Wolfgang Stoecker is on a mission to explore the cultural meanings of dust. Cologne-based artist Stoecker has collected samples of dust from historic buildings across Europe and beyond. With the help of scientists and an electron-microscope, he has analysed the dust and discovered it contains tiny fossils, particles from the Sahara, pollutants of v...

A 15-part BBC Radio 4 series exploring the origins of the Post Office, how it became a cherished national institution, and how it adapted to globalisation and commercialisation. It s called Royal Mail but it should be known as the People s Post. Launched in 1516 by Henry VIII, it was intended to support royal communications and bolster intelligence...

A practical audio guide to help listeners improve their assertiveness skills. By the end of the programme they will feel that they have had a personal coaching session and put into practice the tips they have been given. It will be the audio self-help guide to expressing oneself clearly and confidently.

The Edinburgh Fringe edition of 'Objective', in which Richard Herring considers the 'See You Jimmy' hat and what it symbolises about our attitudes to Scots and redheads. The 'See You Jimmy' hat is a tartan cap and ginger hair combo, widely available in tourist shops throughout Scotland. In this special episode, recorded at the Edinburge Fringe Fest...

In this BBC Radio 4 series, Richard Herring attempts to reclaim objects that we've grown to fear and hate because of what they symbolise. Via stand-up comedy, vox pops and interviews, he tackles a selection of things that have been given a bad name - including the toothbrush moustache, the hoodie, Dolly the sheep and the St. George's Flag - and deb...

In this BBC Radio 4 series, Richard Herring attempts to reclaim objects that we've grown to fear and hate because of what they symbolise. Via stand-up comedy, vox pops and interviews, he tackles a selection of things that have been given a bad name. This episode sees him tackling the toothbrush moustache on behalf of comedy - taking it back from Hi...

In this BBC Radio 4 series, Richard Herring attempts to reclaim objects that we've grown to fear and hate because of what they symbolise. Via stand-up comedy, vox pops and interviews, he tackles a selection of things that have been given a bad name. In this episode, he looks at the hoodie. How has a tracksuit top with a hood attached come to inspir...

In this BBC Radio 4 series, Richard Herring attempts to reclaim objects that we've grown to fear and hate because of what they symbolise. Via stand-up comedy, vox pops and interviews, he tackles a selection of things that have been given a bad name. In this episode, he's trying to rescue the English National Flag from its associations with far-righ...

In this BBC Radio 4 series, Richard Herring attempts to reclaim objects that we've grown to fear and hate because of what they symbolise. Via stand-up comedy, vox pops and interviews, he tackles a selection of things that have been given a bad name. In this final show from the first series, Richard discusses Dolly the sheep as he examines why we ar...

The RMS Titanic sailed from Southampton en route for New York on her maiden voyage with 2228 passengers and crew on board. On the 14th April at twenty minutes before midnight, sailing at almost full speed, she struck an iceberg and sank in just two and a half hours. Over 1500 lives were lost. This is the story of a great tragedy described by the su...

In Top of the Class, John Wilson meets leading figures in their fields and takes them back to the places and people they left behind. This third series sees him accompanying novelist Andrea Levy as she goes back to her adult education writing class, and taking Michael Portillo back to his old grammar school to meet his former teacher.

Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Lenny Henry, Griff Rhys Jones and Dawn French, and host Clive Anderson, star in the improvisation radio show that spawned the TV phenomenon. Based on comedy suggestions from the studio audience, this is ad-libbed comedy at its best. Regulars Stephen Fry and John Sessions are joined by Lenny Henry, Dawn French, Hugh Laurie,...