Visual Arts
I Expected the Worst
Tuesday 29 March
3:30pm - 3:45pm
BBC Radio 4
My Last Breath
1/3
My Last Breath, by Luis Bunuel, the first of three readings in which famous directors provide an insight into their experiences in the movie industry. The Spanish film-maker reveals how he used money borrowed from his mother to make Un Chien Andalou, and describes the stress of awaiting the audience's reaction following its first airing in the 1920s. Read by Ian McDiarmid.
The View
Tuesday 29 March
11:15pm - 11:55pm
RTE1
Film producer Bill Hughes, theatre director Annie Ryan and journalist Anna Carey join John Kelly to review Nick Hamm's drama Killing Bono, starring Robert Sheehan, Ben Barnes and Pete Postlethwaite in his last role before his death in January. Also examined are Oranges and Sunshine, the debut film by Ken Loach's son Jim, and Jennifer Egan's latest novel A Visit from the Goon Squad.
I Expected the Worst
Wednesday 30 March
3:30pm - 3:45pm
BBC Radio 4
Francois Truffaut: Letters
2/3
The letters of French director Francois Truffaut, offering an insight into his life and work, including his opinions on actors, music, freedom of speech and favourite recipes. Read by Ben Miles.
Civilisation
Wednesday 30 March
10:00pm - 10:50pm
BBC HD
The Light of Experience
8/13
Art historian Kenneth Clark explores the widespread rejection of Romantic subjectivism in painting in favour of realism toward the end of the 19th century.
I Expected the Worst
Thursday 31 March
3:30pm - 3:45pm
BBC Radio 4
Wings of Desire
3/3
Wings of Desire, by Wim Wenders. The author explains how he tried to capture the ethereal qualities of his actors during the filming of his famous film. He also discusses whether angels should be shot in black and white or colour. Read by Stephanie Dillane.
The Essay
Thursday 31 March
11:00pm - 11:15pm
BBC Radio 3
Under the Influence
4/5
Photographer Tom Hunter's most famous image is of a young woman by a window, reading a letter; an infant in a bright red pullover lies nearby. It is called Woman Reading a Possession Order. Anyone who has seen Vermeer's A Girl Reading at an Open Window will recognise the composition immediately, yet Hunter's picture is a work of art that influenced the world he was depicting. The woman was a neighbour living in a squat, who had received an eviction order. The response to Hunter's photograph was so strong that the eviction did not take place. In this essay, Hunter considers how his art, influenced by the old master Vermeer, can focus on real people and the issues affecting their lives.
Culture
Walls of Sound
Saturday 26 March
8:00pm - 9:00pm
BBC Radio 4
Radio historian Sean Street visits the British Library's Sound Conservation Centre where sound archives are being saved, restored, digitised, catalogued and opened to the public. He explores the collection, which includes Nelson Mandela's trial and James Joyce reading from his novel Ulysses, arguing that this new project represents a fundamental change in attitude towards the preservation of sound.
Goldie's Band: By Royal Appointment
Saturday 26 March
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC2 Northern Ireland
1/3
New series. Three-part documentary following the DJ and a team of industry experts as they select 12 young musicians from around the nation, who will perform at Buckingham Palace, in the presence of guest of honour Prince Harry. In the first episode, Goldie is joined on his search by composer Guy Chambers, jazz artist Soweto Kinch, singer-songwriter Cerys Matthews and MC Ms Dynamite.
(BST) New York Rock at the BBC
Sunday 27 March
2:05am - 3:05am
BBC4
Celebrating the cream of the New York rock scene, featuring archive performances by Ramones, New York Dolls, Television, Blondie and Lou Reed.
Man Versus God
Sunday 27 March
4:30pm - 5:00pm
BBC Radio 4
Seema Anand explores Pakistani author Muhammad Iqbal's epic Urdu poem Shikwa, first publicly recited by the author in Lahore in 1911. She examines its depiction of the relationship between mankind and divinity, and discovers why it caused an outcry among Islamic scholars.
Civilization: Is the West History?
Sunday 27 March
8:00pm - 9:00pm
Channel 4
Medicine
4/6, series 1
Niall Ferguson looks back at the colonisation of Africa by European powers, and explains how the spread of Western values across the continent was aided by 19th-century advances in medical science. Though the imperialists spoke of their desire to improve the continent's standard of living, their means of bringing about change varied from democracy to brutality, and Ferguson charts how rivalries between the Western nations led to conflicts around the world.
Imagine: The Trouble with Tolstoy
Sunday 27 March
10:45pm - 11:50pm
BBC1 Northern Ireland
At War with Himself
1/2
Part one of two. Alan Yentob travels by train through Russia to explore the life of novelist Leo Tolstoy, the author of works including War and Peace and Anna Karenina. He begins by learning how Tolstoy's experiences as a young soldier in Chechnya and the Crimea inspired his literary career, and made him a devout pacifist.
Sunday Feature
Sunday 27 March
9:30pm - 10:15pm
BBC Radio 3
Among the Ranks of Angels - Rainer Maria Rilke
Martyn Crucefix explores the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), whose best-known work the Duino Elegies has had a considerable impact on English readers and writers. As early as the 1930s a translation by Stephen Spender appeared. Seamus Heaney has translated Rilke's sonnets and Jo Shapcott the poems he wrote in French toward the end of his life. Crucefix talks to these writers and others about what makes him Rilke engaging, his ideas of the role of the imagination and inspiration, and how he renders the subtlest of experiences in language of great beauty.
Words and Music
Sunday 27 March
10:15pm - 11:30pm
BBC Radio 3
Labyrinth
A programme on the theme of labyrinths, including works by George Herbert, Thelonious Monk, Arvo Pärt, Erik Satie, Jorge Luis Borges, Edwin Muir, Bach and Francis Seyrig. With readers Rory Kinnear and Anna Maxwell Martin.]
Abandoned Projects
Monday 28 March – Fiday 1st April
11:00am - 11:15am
BBC Radio 7
Gone but Not Forgotten
1/5
Playwright and screenwriter Alan Plater recounts tales of projects of his that were never made. With Maureen Lipman and Brian Blessed.
The Essay
Tuesday 29 March
11:00pm - 11:15pm
BBC Radio 3
Under the Influence
2/5
Emma Rice is associated with Kneehigh, the Cornish theatre company renowned for its epic outside productions, and tours of tiny village halls. Her vivid stagings of The Red Shoes and The Wooden Frock explore the violence, sexual undercurrents and power structures of traditional tales. She has reimagined film and re-created it as live theatre. The physical theatricality of her shows have struck a chord with audiences, and taken her work from Bodmin to Broadway. In this essay, she steps back from the stage and the rehearsal room to reflect on the influences that have shaped her work.
Ludwig Koch and the Music of Nature
Thursday 31 March
11:30am - 12:00pm
BBC Radio 4
Sean Street looks at the life of the broadcaster, the David Attenborough of his day. Koch was the first person to record sounds of the natural world and came to Britain as a refugee from the Nazis. In 1940 he joined the BBC and was beloved by comedians because of his resolute pronunciation of English as if it were German.
The Artiness of Naughtiness
Friday 01 April
11:30am - 12:00pm
BBC Radio 4
Toby Amies explores how pranksters have turned an unruly form of fun into art, and why some people are willing to risk getting into serious trouble to make a point or raise a laugh. He compares court jesters to the hoaxes of Jonathan Swift and Orson Welles, and to the modern-day comedy of Sacha Baron Cohen and Joey Skaggs.
Psychology / Society
Charlotte White's Musical Fight
Sunday 27 March
1:30pm - 2:00pm
BBC Radio 4
Josie d'Arby discovers how profoundly disabled teenager Charlotte White learned to play a cello piece by Bach using assistive computer technology, and hears why the challenge of performing and composing classical music inspired her in ways that more traditional forms of therapy could not.
Mothers and Sons
Monday 28 March
11:00am - 11:30am
BBC Radio 4
Three listeners' stories sent to Woman's Hour to celebrate the special bond between mother and son. The programme focuses on the experiences of a man who announced his plans to marry at the age of 19 and became estranged from his parents for 10 years, a patient in a secure mental health unit who reached out to his mother, and a woman who gave birth during an Israeli raid in the Gaza strip.
Neil Morrissey: Care Home Kid
Monday 28 March
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC2 Northern Ireland
1/2
Part one of two. The actor explores his childhood in care, hoping to understand how the experience has affected him as an adult. He tries to find out the reason for being separated from his parents and brothers, and is reunited with two of his fellow residents from Penkhull Children's Homes in Stoke-on-Trent. He also visits youngsters and workers at Lothian Villa in east Scotland to discover the realities of life in care today, and explores allegations of abuse at the home where his brother was taken. The concluding part can be seen on Thursday.
Families in the Wild
Monday 28 March
9:35pm - 10:35pm
RTE1
3/4
The three families continue to work with clinical psychologist David Coleman as they near the end of their week away in the wilds of Kerry. For some, nerves are beginning to show as thoughts of home come to the fore.
The Brain: A Secret History
Monday 28 March
11:20pm - 12:20am
BBC2 Northern Ireland
Mind Control
1/3
Michael Mosley tries to further his understanding of the human mind by tracing the history of mankind's efforts to examine and manipulate the brain. He learns about the high-risk psychological experiments that would not be approved by a modern ethics committee, and explores the world of neuroscience, acting as a guinea pig to see what he can learn about himself and the freedom behind the decisions people make.
On the Ropes
Tuesday 29 March
9:00am - 9:30am
BBC Radio 4
5/5
Adam Ant, the flamboyant 1980s pop star who produced the hit single Stand and Deliver, reveals how his success in the music business was directly linked to manic depression. He explains how the illness inspired and damages his career, and caused him to spend long periods of time in psychiatric care. Last in the series.
My New Best Friend
Thursday 31 March
8:00pm - 9:00pm
BBC4
London
3/3
Following the four children in the ethnically diverse London district of Islington as they move on to inner-city secondary school. Having heard stories of bullying by bigger students, Demian and Azad aim to stick together, while starting the process of meeting new people. For twins Katriye and Semra, moving into this world of playground politics means spending time apart, even if they do share a best friend.
Neil Morrissey: Care Home Kid
Thursday 31 March
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC2 Northern Ireland
2/2
Conclusion. The actor explores what happens to young people when they leave care and investigates how it compares with his own experiences. He meets a foster carer in Bristol who has looked after some 80 children, and returns to the Isle of Dogs, where he discovers how he transferred many of the habits learned from the children's home to his student life.
Love Me, Love My Face
Thursday 31 March
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC3
Documentary following Jono Lancaster's search for his birth parents. The 25-year-old was born with a rare genetic condition, Treacher Collins syndrome, which has affected his appearance and hearing. He was given up for adoption by his family 36 hours after his birth, but has now decided to find his blood relatives in the hope of showing them how much he has achieved.
Media And Communications
Ad of the Year
Sunday 27 March
4:05pm - 5:05pm
ITV1 London
Ben Shephard narrates a countdown of the 20 best TV commercials of 2010 as voted for by viewers, including the advert that made a hit of Billy Joel's 1977 song She's Always a Woman, as well as ones featuring roller-skating babies and rapping farmers. There are interviews with the stars of some of the shortlisted ads, including opera singer Wynne Evans discussing his role in promoting a price-comparison website and Countdown presenter Jeff Stelling on his part in a World Cup classic. Featuring contributions by Keith Lemon, Lorraine Kelly and Emmerdale star Danny Miller (Aaron Livesy).
Sex and the Sitcom
Tuesday 29 March
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC4
Documentary exploring how sitcoms responded to the sexual revolution, exploring frustration as a recurring theme, the changing role of women and the British love of innuendo. The programme also considers the changing language of the genre, and contrasts the nation's comedy with that of America. Featuring contributions from Leslie Phillips (Casanova 73), Wendy Craig (Butterflies), and Lesley Joseph (Birds of a Feather).
The Narrowcasters
Tuesday 29 March
9:30am - 9:45am
BBC Radio 4
The Poker Channel
4/5, series 1
Nigel Cassidy visits the Poker Channel, a tiny television network that is hoping to transform late-night card games into compulsive viewing.
Science / Nature
Wonders of the Universe
Sunday 27 March
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC2 Northern Ireland
Messengers
4/4
Professor Brian Cox reveals how the unique properties of light provide an insight into the origins and evolution of both mankind and the universe. He charts the importance of light in the development of the world's ancient civilisations, and explains how the speed of light allows the measurement of both distance and time - before pinpointing one of the most important moments in the evolution of life on Earth. Last in the series.
Everything and Nothing
Monday 28 March
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC4
Nothing
2/2
Part two of two. Professor Jim Al-Khalili explores the science behind `nothingness' and the deepest mysteries of the universe. In the concluding part of the documentary, he sets out to prove that everything came from nothing, and the quantum world of the super-small shaped the vast universe Earth inhabits today.
Is Surgery Scientific?
Tuesday 29 March
9:00pm - 9:30pm
BBC Radio 4
Geoff Watts follows up on reports suggesting that although 30 per cent of people admitted to hospital require surgery, only two per cent of medical research funding is allocated to the field. He sets out to determine the effectiveness of subjecting surgical procedures to clinical trials, and examines whether it is possible to apply scientific scrutiny to operations - despite the fact that they are influenced by variables, including the surgeon, the patient, and the problem being treated.
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