Saturday 22nd - Friday 28th

Saturday 22^nd

In Search of the Holy Whale

Saturday 22 January
10:30am - 11:00am
BBC Radio 4

Musicians Marc Riley, Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley embark on an unusual journey to search for the elusive whale off the coast of Ireland, encountering rough seas on their voyage. During their adventure, the friends contemplate life, the universe as well as how to stop their glasses falling off.

The Bell Boys

Saturday 22 January
3:30pm - 4:00pm
BBC Radio 4

Poet and amateur campanologist Ian McMillan visits London's Whitechapel district, where he meets foundrymen dedicated to preserving the art of bell-making. He follows the craftsmen's progress as they produce a ring of bells that are set to bring new life to a church tower that has stood silent since the Second World War.

Going to the Flicks

Saturday 22 January
8:00pm - 9:00pm
BBC Radio 4 

2/2

Part two of two. Barry Norman talks to David Puttnam about the rise of cinema from the 1970s, when ticket sales hit an all-time low, to the present day. He explores the impact of the American multiplex on Britain during the 1980s, the challenges of videos and DVDs in the 90s and how attendance figures continue to rise with the advent of 3D.

The Glasgow Boys

Saturday 22 January
8:00pm - 9:00pm
BBC4

Muriel Gray tells the story of the group of 19th-century painters who put Glasgow art on the map. Focusing on John Lavery, James Guthrie, George Henry and EA Hornel, she examines their masterpieces, charts their friendships, and follows in their footsteps to uncover their sources of inspiration.

Between the Ears

Saturday 22 January
9:30pm - 10:00pm
BBC Radio 3 

The Cost of Coal

A feature exploring the fear of being trapped underground, focusing on everything from real-life accounts to the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, using sounds, media archive material, and the words of the mining poet and blogger Mark Nowak. The very natural terror inspired by the thought of of being buried alive, and the contradictions between the low-status work of the miner and the benefits it brings to their employers, are powerful themes that create compelling horror fiction and news stories alike - as demonstrated last autumn, when it was sometimes hard to remember that the situation at the San José copper mine in Chile, as 33 men awaited rescue, was reality, rather than reality TV.

Mr Punch Says That's the Way to Do It

Sunday 23 January
11:00am - 11:30am
BBC Radio 7

Actor Martin Reeve charts the history and tenacious survival of Punch and Judy. He talks to historians, professors and fans to ask how a puppet show has managed to remain in popular culture for more than 250 years.

Pocket Cinema

Sunday 23 January
1:30pm - 2:00pm
BBC Radio 4

Matthew Sweet discovers how mobile phones and other portable technologies are changing the way films are made and watched around the world, and talks to director Gurinder Chadha about her new `pocket film'. The presenter also learns how workshops are using mobile phone technology to introduce children to film-making, and explores the future for the burgeoning `pocket cinema' format, finding out about one production company's plans to expand its operations.

Hill Walks

Sunday 23 January
2:15pm - 2:45pm
RTE1

A tour of one of Ireland's most scenic walking routes.

Words and Music

Sunday 23 January
10:15pm - 11:30pm
BBC Radio 3 

GSOH: Good Sense of Humour

In an edition devoted to works with a humorous theme, Sophie Thompson and Sanjeev Bhaskar read a selection of written material by Ogden Nash, Hilaire Belloc, Shakespeare and Wendy Cope. Music to accompany the literary excerpts includes the laughing aria from Die Fledermaus, some Erik Satie and a smidgen of Sondheim.

Going to the Flicks

Monday 24 January
3:00pm - 3:45pm
BBC Radio 4

2/2, series 1

Part two of two. Barry Norman talks to David Puttnam about the rise of cinema from the 1970s, when ticket sales hit an all-time low, to the present day. He explores the impact of the American multiplex on Britain during the 1980s, the challenges of videos and DVDs in the 90s and how attendance figures continue to rise with the advent of 3D.

Life at 24 Frames a Second

Monday 24 January
3:45pm - 4:00pm
BBC Radio 4 

If It Moves, Shoot It

6/10

David Thomson, author of The Biographical Dictionary of Film, continues his journey through the power of cinema. In this episode he examines the presence of violence in movies.

Stop Stalking Me: Panorama

Monday 24 January
8:30pm - 9:00pm
BBC1 Northern Ireland

Reporter Richard Bilton investigates stalking, which affects an estimated two million people in Britain every year, most of them women. In addition to suggesting the problem is not being adequately tackled, the programme tells the story of a woman who has recorded years of abuse, losing her job, home and child in the process.

Horizon: Science Under Attack

Monday 24 January
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC2 Northern Ireland

3/8

Geneticist and biologist Paul Nurse examines the reasons why public trust in key scientific theories, including the cause of global warming, the safety of GM food and the link between HIV and Aids, seems to have been eroded. He travels to New York to interview scientists and campaigners from both sides of the climate change debate, and meets a man who has HIV but does not believe the virus is responsible for Aids.

Laura Hall: My Battle with Booze

Monday 24 January
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC3

Documentary following a woman who, after more than 40 arrests, received the first-ever National Drinking Banning Order barring her from buying or drinking alcohol anywhere in England and Wales. Laura Hall regularly consumes 150 units of alcohol a week and the film chronicles how the addiction impacts on her life and her determination to change as she enters rehab. Part of the Dangerous Pleasures season.

Introducing the Dangerous Pleasures season on BBC Three  
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/2010/12/introducing-the-dangerous-plea.shtml

The Planets

Monday 24 January
11:50pm - 12:40am
BBC2 Northern Ireland 

Moon

4/8

The mysteries of the moon, examining how it became a political issue during the Cold War, escalating the space race as the superpowers fought for technological supremacy. Twenty years of subsequent lunar exploration shed light on the satellite's cratered surface, but it took an astronomer from Arizona to solve the riddle of its formation.

The Essay

Monday 24 January
11:00pm - 11:15pm
BBC Radio 3

Listener, They Wore It!

1/5

Five writers explore the significance of clothes and accessories in a favourite story, novel, film, painting or song lyric. Suits and dresses, coats and jewels, and even rags, all feature in accounts by a variety of commentators. Tracy Chevalier begins by considering how a set of sparkling stones tease in Guy de Maupassant's famous story The Necklace.

 

The Science of Pain and Pleasure with Michael Mosley

Tuesday 25 January
11:15pm - 12:15am
BBC1 Northern Ireland

The journalist and presenter examines why pleasure and pain are integral to human survival, submitting himself to some of the most extreme forms of both sensations. He reveals how the hottest chilli in the world creates a sense of euphoria in the brain, and explains the biological reasons why parents feel a surge of love for newborn children. He also exposes himself to painful experiments, highlighting the dangers of life without discomfort and discovering how far he is prepared to go to experience one of the world's most pleasurable highs.

The Essay

Tuesday 25 January
11:00pm - 11:15pm
BBC Radio 3 

Listener, They Wore It!

2/5

Five writers reflect on the meaning of clothes and accessories in a particular work of art, continuing as Justin Cartwright thinks about corporate America and how it is vividly caught in Sloan Wilson's 1955 novel The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit.

Hollywood: The Sequel

Tuesday 25 January
9:30pm - 9:59pm
BBC Radio 4

2/2

In the second of two documentaries exploring the rise and fall of the American film empire, Francine Stock asks whether the digital revolution and the growing popularity of independent cinema have caused Hollywood to lose its grip on the global market. She talks to directors Steven Soderbergh, Joe Wright, Peter Weir and Sam Mendes about mid-budget movies, and meets experimental auteur Sally Potter, who released her latest drama Rage - starring Jude Law and Judi Dench - via the internet.

Life at 24 Frames a Second

Tuesday 25 January
3:45pm - 4:00pm
BBC Radio 4 

The Look of Love

7/10, 

David Thomson's personal journey through the power of film sees him turn his attention to themes of longing and romance. He explores why love story plots are so endearing to many cinemagoers.

A Dewey Decimal

Tuesday 25 January
2:30pm - 3:00pm
BBC Radio 7

Mastermind winner Shaun Wallace investigates the origins and efficiency of the traditional system of library cataloguing, created by American Melvil Dewey more than 140 years ago. Considering its position for the future when internet searches are so common, he visits his local library to test the process.

The Secret History of Social Networking

Wednesday 26 January
11:00am - 11:30am
BBC Radio 4

1/3

New series. Technology correspondent Rory Cellan Jones traces the origins and development of social networks, from the early days of computing in the 1960s and utopian experiments in California to the multi-billion pound businesses of the 21st century.

Speak Spirit Speak

Wednesday 26 January
2:30pm - 3:00pm
BBC Radio 7

Ken Hollings investigates electronic voice phenomena, in which mysterious voices can be heard recorded on tape. Some believe the sounds to be ghosts or alien transmissions, while others claim they are merely stray radio transmissions or the products of overactive imaginations.

How TV Ruined Your Life

Wednesday 26 January
10:00pm - 10:30pm
BBC2 Northern Ireland

Fear

1/6

New series. Screenwipe satirist Charlie Brooker reveals how concepts such as love and success often fall short of the mark when depicted on screen. He begins by exploring themes of fear, including ominous public information films and grisly crime dramas. Features archive material from film and TV, as well as sketches and interviews that illustrate the extent of the gulf that exists between fiction and reality.

Ready Steady Drink

Wednesday 26 January
10:00pm - 11:00pm
BBC3

Actress Emily Atack investigates the culture of drinking games and speed-drinking in the UK. She meets people who consume alcohol before a night out, and a group of `vodka eyeballers', as well as spending a night in a new alcohol recovery centre. The actress also watches the London Booze Bus paramedic team in action to learn the consequences of this behaviour, and what is being done to tackle the problem.

The Essay

Wednesday 26 January
11:00pm - 11:15pm
BBC Radio 3 

Listener, They Wore It!

3/5

Art critic Laura Cumming ponders a black dress memorably painted by John Singer Sargent in the 1880s.

 

Life at 24 Frames a Second

Thursday 27 January
3:45pm - 4:00pm
BBC Radio 4 

The Last Flight

9/10

Critic and writer David Thomson examines how flight and film have been intertwined for decades, finding out why early directors took to the air to experience it for themselves, and looking at the immersive effect of a camera swooping through space.

 

Cannabis: What's the Harm?

Thursday 27 January
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC3

1/2

Part one of two. Former EastEnders star James Alexandrou (Martin Fowler) investigates the lengths people will go to get marijuana and discovers exactly where it comes from. He meets a 17-year-old who smokes cannabis with his parents and a mother-of-three who uses the drug to control her emotions. He also follows the police squad clamping down on large-scale growers and travels to California, the first American state to license it for medicinal use.

 

Life at 24 Frames a Second

Friday 28 January
3:45pm - 4:00pm
BBC Radio 4 

Fade to Black

10/10

David Thomson, author of The Biographical Dictionary of Film, continues his exploration of the power of cinema. In the final instalment, he considers whether cinemas are still places where people can dream, despite the spread of other visual media and time-saving technologies.

The Essay

Thursday 27 January
11:00pm - 11:15pm
BBC Radio 3 

Listener, They Wore It!

4/5

The critic Peter Bradshaw discusses two red coats, one worn with sadness and the other with menace, that figure prominently in Nicolas Roeg's 1973 film Don't Look Now.

 

The Planets

Thursday 27 January
12:00am - 12:50am
BBC2 Northern Ireland 

Life

7/8

The hunt for extraterrestrial life, asking whether organisms may have arrived on Earth inside meteorites, and examining the possibility that Mars may not be a dead planet.

 

Teenage Kicks

Friday 28 January
11:00am - 11:30am
BBC Radio 4

Aasmah Mir examines the sexual pressures faced by teenagers in Britain today, from the influence of gang culture to the impact of pornography. He explores the reasons why violent behaviour is on the increase and meets people on the front line who are trying to help youths maintain healthy relationships.

The Essay

Friday 28 January
11:00pm - 11:15pm
BBC Radio 3 

Listener, They Wore It!

5/5

Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman recalls the words of Leonard Cohen's song Suzanne, and how she thinks they influenced the dress-sense of a generation of women.