Visual Arts
What Would Jesus Eat?
Sunday 10 April
1:30pm - 2:00pm
BBC Radio 4
Food writer Stefan Gates investigates the dishes on the menu at the Last Supper, exploring a new theory that Leonardo da Vinci believed they included grilled eels and sliced oranges. He visits Milan to learn about the artist's masterpiece, and talks to historians of art and food to learn what other depictions of the meal reveal about people's relationship with food.
Culture
Something Understood
Sunday 10 April
6:05am - 6:35am
BBC Radio 4
Colours of Religion
Mark Tully experiences how residents of Delhi celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi, including the lighting of bonfires and copious usage of coloured dyes and waters. The presenter also reflects on the importance of colour in other religions.
Lost Voices
Sunday 10 April
4:30pm - 5:00pm
BBC Radio 4
1/4
New series. Brian Patten highlights the life and poetry of Anne Ridler, who used her writing to share her observations of the natural world, relationships and the rhythms of the 20th century. Featuring readings by Juliet Stevenson.#
Civilization: Is the West History?
Sunday 10 April
8:00pm - 9:00pm
Channel 4
Work
6/6
Niall Ferguson analyses how the West's work ethic contributed to the global dominance of its social model, and argues that the simplicity of capitalism made it easy for societies around the world to adopt. However, he also charts the declining importance of hard work and saving in Europe and America, and asks whether the West's way of life is capable of dealing with the world's problems. Last in the series.
Words and Music
Sunday 10 April
10:15pm - 11:30pm
BBC Radio 3
Idleness
A sequence of music, poetry and prose celebrating idleness, featuring written material by Keats, Jerome K Jerome, Tennyson, Kenneth Grahame and Michel de Montaigne among others. Music includes works by Debussy, Hoagy Carmichael, Vivaldi, Delius and the Kinks. The readers are Claudie Blakley and Tony Haygarth.
The Look of Music, the Sound of Fashion: Malcolm McLaren in His Own Words
Monday 11 April
10:00pm - 11:00pm
BBC Radio 2
The colourful impresario, rock manager, fashion designer and entrepreneur reminisces in conversations recorded at the BBC in 2008, looking back on memorable meetings and musical performances. He recalls working with Vivienne Westwood in their Kings Road punk clothes shop, trying to manage New York Dolls, and his travels in America.
The Great Estate:The Rise & Fall of the Council House
Monday 11 April
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC4
Journalist and author Michael Collins explores the history of council housing, meeting the people whose lives were affected by the social experiment that began with a bang at the start of the 20th century, but ended with a whimper 80 years later. He visits flats in Liverpool and a high-rise structure in Sheffield that has become the largest listed building in the world, as well as an estate on the banks of the Thames that was billed as the `town of the 21st century'. Part of A History of the Home season.
Into the Music Library
Tuesday 12 April
1:30pm - 2:00pm
BBC Radio 4
Jonny Trunk explores the hidden, yet familiar world of `library music', a collection of tracks compiled over the course of decades for use in films, advertising, and TV and radio productions. He explores the archive's history - which dates back to 1909 - naming the people producing the scores and telling the story of the Musicians Union, which managed to ban the recording of library materials in the late 1960s.
At Home with the Georgians
Wednesday 13 April
7:30pm - 8:30pm
BBC4
A Man's Place
1/3
Historian Amanda Vickery explores how the British obsession with homes began 300 years ago. Using the diaries and letters of men and women of the Georgian era, she discovers how a residence became crucial to the success or otherwise of a marriage and uncovers surprising truths about the lives of spinsters and bachelors. Part of A History of the Home season.
Petworth House - The Big Spring Clean
Wednesday 13 April
8:30pm - 9:00pm
BBC4
Putting the House to Bed
1/6
New series. Andrew Graham-Dixon goes behind the scenes at one of Britain's most beautiful stately homes, spending a winter working with the National Trust's conservation team at Petworth House in West Sussex. He gets up close and personal with a Turner painting, vacuums a rare rug and learns the secrets of a book that predates the invention of printing. Part of A History of the Home season.
If Walls Could Talk: The History of the Home
Wednesday 13 April
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC4
The Living Room
1/4
Lucy Worsley, chief curator of the Historic Royal Palaces, explores the British home over the past 800 years, meeting experts, historians and writers along the way. In this first episode, which focuses on the living room, she tries out a communal great hall, holds a candle-lit party in a Georgian drawing room and finds out about the development of taste in a grand country house. She also discovers the impact of gas and electric lighting on Victorian parlours, and experiences 1950s-style leisure. Part of A History of the Home season.
Civilisation
Wednesday 06 April
10:00pm - 10:50pm
BBC HD
The Pursuit of Happiness
9/13
Historian Kenneth Clark examines the art and music of the 18th century, showing how the complex forms and intricate symmetry of rococo architecture echo the works of Bach, Handel, Haydn and Mozart.
Jules Verne's Volcano
Thursday 14 April
11:30am - 12:00pm
BBC Radio 4
Sound recordist Chris Watson travels to the Icelandic volcano that features in Jules Verne's 1864 novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth. He retraces the steps of the author's characters from Reykjavik to the Snaefellsjokull glacier, encountering communities affected by the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in 2010, plus artists and musicians inspired by the landscape.
Psychology / Society
The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting
Monday 11 April
9:45am - 10:00am
BBC Radio 4
1/5
By French psychologist Marie de Hennezel, who explores Western attitudes to ageing, and whether there is a way to transform people's feelings about growing old and to make it a more fulfilling period in life. Read by Alexandra Mathie and abridged by Alison Joseph.
A Home for Maisie
Monday 11 April
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC2 Northern Ireland
Documentary following the progress of a couple who hope to adopt a seven-year-old girl who has been neglected and abused. Jim and Sue, who have successfully adopted eight other children, plan to help Masie confront and come to terms with her traumatic past - but must overcome obstacles in the adoption process before they can act as her parents. Narrated by Sue Johnston.
The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting
Tuesday 12 April
9:45am - 10:00am
BBC Radio 4
2/5
By French psychologist Marie de Hennezel, who tests her thesis that fear of old age is caused by a failure to learn from the ageing process. Read by Alexandra Mathie and abridged by Alison Joseph.
The Brain: A Secret History
Tuesday 12 April
12:20am - 1:20am
BBC2 Northern Ireland
Broken Brains
3/3
Michael Mosley explores how the study of abnormal brain activity has helped reveal the workings of the organ. He meets an alien hand syndrome sufferer whose condition caused one of her hands to persistently attack her and a woman who was unable to recall the names of objects following a stroke. He also visits a centre built to commemorate the life of an amnesiac used in numerous studies. Previously seen on BBC4.
The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting
Wednesday 13 April
9:45am - 10:00am
BBC Radio 4
3/5
By French psychologist Marie de Hennezel, who explores the taboo subject of elderly people's sexuality and offers advice on how to age gracefully. Read by Alexandra Mathie and abridged by Alison Joseph.
Abandoned at Birth: The Gatwick Baby
Wednesday 13 April
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC Three
Documentary following Steven Hyde's worldwide search for his true identity. The 24-year-old was left in a ladies toilet at Gatwick Airport when he was just 10 days old, and was later adopted by a loving family. With the help of DNA testing, he hopes to pinpoint his racial make-up and increase the chances of locating his mother, and along the way he hears the stories of other people's quests to find their birth parents. Part of the Bringing Up Britain season.
The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting
Thursday 14 April
9:45am - 10:00am
BBC Radio 4
4/5
By French psychologist Marie de Hennezel, who explains her belief that old age can be a time of freedom and lightness of spirit. Read by Alexandra Mathie and abridged by Alison Joseph.
The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting
Friday 15 April
9:45am - 10:00am
BBC Radio 4
5/5
Written by French psychologist Marie de Hennezel, who explains that people should not fear death when the inevitable event draws near. Read by Alexandra Mathie and abridged by Alison Joseph.
Media and Communications
David Walliams: Awfully Good Ads
Friday 15 April
10:00pm - 12:10am
Channel 4
2/3
In the second of three programmes to be aired throughout the year, the comedy actor celebrates the best and worst TV adverts. Categories include Ads You'd Never Get Away with Today, Fragrance Ads That Stink and Sports Stars Who Should Have Stuck to Their Day Jobs, plus public information films that reflect the attitudes of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
Science / Nature
How to Archive Yourself
Saturday 09 April
8:00pm - 9:00pm
BBC Radio 4
Toby Amies examines the wealth of affordable technology allowing the archiving of human existence, from the camera phone to genetic sequencing. He investigates the effects of recording the moment rather than living it, and asks whether the human race is on the verge of transferring its consciousness into the digital universe.
The Space Shuttle: A Horizon Guide
Sunday 10 April
8:00pm - 9:00pm
BBC four
Documentary chronicling 30 years of service performed by Nasa's space shuttle to mark its final flight. The film examines the triumphs and tragedies captured in three decades of coverage of space missions and asks if the shuttle will be remembered as an impressive chapter in human space exploration or a flawed endeavour. Part of Space Night.
Storyville - Knocking on Heaven's Door
Sunday 10 April
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC Four
Documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight into space and the inspiration for the mission. The film investigates how the Russian programme was kick-started by a mystic who claimed that science would make humans immortal, and that ideas from this era have survived Communism and adapted themselves into modern scientific theory. Part of Space Night.
Destination Titan
Sunday 10 April
10:00pm - 11:00pm
BBC Four
Documentary following the work of British scientists as they prepare to send a space probe to Saturn's largest moon. The film follows them as they construct the vessel that will travel two billion miles to the satellite, hoping their ambitions will be realised and the ship will survive the descent onto the unknown surface. Part of Space Night.
Being Neil Armstrong
Monday 11 April
7:30pm - 8:30pm
BBC Four
Andrew Smith, author of Moondust, explores the life of the former astronaut, who has become increasingly reclusive during the four decades since he became the first man to set foot on the moon. He travels across America to meet Armstrong's ex-colleagues and friends, who offer an insight into the reluctant hero's behaviour.
Voodoo Wasps and Zombie Worms
Tuesday 12 April
11:00am - 11:30am
BBC Radio 4
Journalist and biologist Frank Swain examines research linking parasites to behavioural disorders in humans, highlighting the effects of Toxoplasma gondii, which causes rats to ignore their natural fear of cats. Able to take up residence in just about any warm-blooded creature, the microbe has infected between 40 and 60 per cent of people on the planet. He also investigates how non-harmful parasites might help treat Crohn's disease and other autoimmune disorders.
Around the World in 60 Minutes
Tuesday 12 April
10:00pm - 11:00pm
BBC Four
Documentary presenting a look at the Earth from an altitude of 200 miles as a camera circumnavigates the planet to show changes that occur on the surface. British-born astronaut Piers Sellers discusses what it is like to live and work in space, while the film reveals 100-mile-wide storms that reshape continents, and cities being built in the middle of deserts. Narrated by David Morrissey.
In Our Time
Thursday 14 April
9:00am - 9:45am
BBC Radio 4
The Neutrino
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the neutrino, a sub-atomic particle produced in trillions by the Sun and which was first observed in 1956 in an American nuclear reactor. Modern experiments involving the particle help to provide an insight in to the nature of matter, the contents of the Universe and the processes that take place inside stars.
