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The Astor Place Riots (May 2005)
BBC Radio 3: 1 x 45 minutes

In May 1849, the US militia fired on a crowd of rioting New York theatregoers, killing twenty three and wounding over one hundred. Was this just the unhappy climax of a longstanding feud between the fans of two actors? Not quite. The catalyst was drama. This multi-layered drama/documentary will examine the tensions between nations and the antagonisms between classes in a city ripe for reform.

Presenter: Tim Pigott Smith
Producer: Merilyn Harris

Brown on Brown (April 2005)
BBC Radio 4: 1 x 30 minutes

Comedian Arnold Brown reflects that his surname might be one source of his laconic persona, using examples from the archive to create a comic narrative about an unloved colour. Colour therapists abound, all wittering on about the energy of greens and the relaxations of blues. Somehow they mainly seem to ignore brown. Brown is a second-class colour. People frown on Brown. At best Brown stands for anonymity; at worst, death and decay. To make matters worse, Arnold chose the name himself. No wonder he's browned off. A funny critique of colour psychology.

Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith

Following Phileas (April 2005)
BBC Radio 4: 5 x 15 minutes

To coincide with the centenary of the death of Jules Verne, this series follows in the footsteps of the adventurers, scientists and storytellers in his stories and meets their modern counterparts. Focusing on Verne's lesser-known works Five Weeks In A Balloon, The English At The North Pole and From the Earth to the Moon as well as his classic stories: Around The World In Eighty Days and Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, we enjoy the real life expeditions that inspired Verne, and look at the exploits his adventures inspired in others. And we examine the 19th century technological background, meticulously researched by Verne as amateur scientist, that propel the stories. Often Verne seemed prescient. But he was just as often spectacularly and entertainingly wrong.

Presenter: Pen Hadow
Producer: Penny Vine

What the Critics said:
Pen Hadow, the dashing explorer who became the first man to walk solo to the North Pole in 2003 displayed an impressive new talent this week as the thoughtful presenter of an excellent series on Jules Verne, the French author who died 100 years ago.
Ruth Cowen
The Sunday Express

Great White Hope (February 2005)
BBC Radio 2: 3 x 30 minutes

When Chet Baker came to prominence on the West Coast in the early 50's he was hailed as the Great White Hope of Jazz. With his stunning good looks and "cool" playing style, here was a man to lead the post-be-bop generation. But the Golden Boy image was soon tarnished when drugs joined music as the twin loves of his life. Here was a seriously flawed individual who produced sublime music - beauty and the beast in one package; But how talented a trumpeter was he? Were the movie-star looks the main reason for his early success? And could he sing? "The Great White Hope" is an even-handed examination of the myths, the man and the music that make up The Chet Baker Story.

What the Critics said:
If only American Jazz trumpeter Chet Baker had been as interested in the minutiae of domestic trivia, rather than drugs, he might have been up there in the hall of fame alongside .the other jazz legends. Potentially Baker had everything going for him: devastating good looks, a better voice than Sinatra and a natural affinity with the trumpet .Alas, addiction and depression were in his genes; .Great White Hope, Guy Barker's portrait of wasted talent, makes great if sobering radio.
Sue Arnold
The Observer

How Strange the Change (February 2005)
BBC Radio 4: 5 x 15 minutes

When Cole Porter wrote the line "How strange the change from major to minor" he hit on a phenomenon that has always puzzled musician and writer Tim Healey. How do variations of mere rates of eardrum-vibration connect to the heartstrings? Do different key signatures open different emotional doors, and what is it about that change from major to minor that makes it such a powerful musical effect? Encountering stories of dogs that can discern octaves, people who hear in colour and Tibetan singing bowls that can reform criminals, via pop, blues, classical and Eastern music, Tim Healey meets the experts who can explain the changes and their strange powers.

Producer: Dilly Barlow

What the Critics said:
What is a musical key? Why is the octave an international musical measurement? How does music evoke an emotional response? Take one of these daily programmes all week and you will know the answers, through the clear explanations of Tim Healey and the clever production of Dilly Barlow.
Gillian Reynolds
The Telegraph

Never Netherland (December 2004)
BBC Radio 4: 1 x 30 minutes

The Peter Pan story attracts adults and children alike because it presses so many subliminal buttons. It hums with psychological undertones.flying fantasies, deliberate confusion between mother, sister and wife, sexually fixated fairies and amputee pirates are the stuff of delightful nightmares. In the year of its centenary, Never Netherland examines the psychological significance of Peter Pan, reminding us of the way that it made us feel as children and investigating how these feelings reverberate with adults.

Presenter: Oliver James
Producer: Nick Utechin

What the Critics said:
The characters of Pan, Wendy, Father and Mother Darling, Captain Hook and especially that nasty little cow Tinkerbell all get their chance to unburden themselves on the couch, or at any rate have their thought processes analysed by an impressively articulate bunch of shrinks. Don't miss the "Hook's hook as penis substitute" gag.
Chris Campling
The Times

First Term at Glyndebourne (Nov 2004)
BBC Radio 4: 1 x 30 minutes

We track the progress of promising young singers from their rehearsal of Adrian Noble's Magic flute, and follow their progression from the safety of the chorus to a solo part in the autumn 2004 tour. Along the way, we hear how Glyndebourne's individual ethos - long rehearsal periods, meticulous attention to detail, ensemble casting and huge loyalty from the artists - has given it the strength to survive for 70 years.

Presenter: James Naughtie
Producer: Margaret Budy

What the Critics said:
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is now in its 70th year. In an enlightening report, James Naughtie looks beyond the Festival's glamorous trappings to celebrate the company's artistic success and its reputation for nurturing up-and-coming talent.
Stephanie Billen
The Observer

To listen to First term at Glyndebourne in full and read more go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/firstterm_glyndebourne.shtml

Rookie Rabbis (Sept 2004)
BBC Radio 4: 1 x 30 minutes

We follow two trainees being prepared to take up "tough, stressful and very badly paid" roles as rabbis. One comes from the liberal reform tradition. The second, from the Orthodox mainstream, wouldn't even recognise the first as Jewish. Rookie Rabbis will explore the similarities and differences in the two branches of the religion - and will look at how both train their new rabbis to deal with a range of social and inter-faith issues, as well as the ongoing problems of anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli feelings in Britain and elsewhere in the world.

Producer: Brian King
Presenter: Jonathan Freedland

What the Critics said:
So much was revealed during Rookie Rabbis, BBC Radio 4's instructive if quirky peek inside this country's oldest existing rabbinic seminary. .for our own Rabbi Norman Zalud, the show ."was a very sympathetic production" .
Shalom newsletter

Rookie Imams (Sept 2004)
BBC Radio 4: 1 x 30 minutes

The Muslim Council of Britain wants to find a new breed of imams who can tackle the effects of Islamaphobia and break down barriers between Islam and other religions, while remaining true to the Koran. Now, as well as studying Islamic theology and the Koran, they are taught about human rights, women's secular roles, family planning, and Aids. A follow-up to the acclaimed "Rookie Reverends" programme that followed newly ordained C of E vicars, "Rookie Imams" will get inside the recruitment and training process of Muslim clerics and learn how they are preparing to spread the word of the Koran in an often hostile environment.

Producer: Brian King
Presenter: Zubeida Malik

What the Critics said:
...arguably this is the most important programme in Radio 4's strand on the pressures facing trainees in Britain's major Religions.
Maxton Walker
The Guardian

I Should Be So Lucky (Dec 2003)
BBC Radio 4: 5 x 15 minutes

Armed with a rabbit's foot and a sceptical but inquiring mind, Martin Plimmer chances his arm with an investigation into luck. Luck has a powerful hold on the human imagination, but is it simply an abstract notion cooked up between the laws of probability and superstition or is it a real force to be reckoned with? In these five programmes psychologists, philosophers and mathematicians deconstruct luck's mystery, providing a commentary to incredible stories of the spectacularly lucky and luckless.

Producer: Brian King
Presenter: Martin Plimmer

What the Critics said:
I caught the tail-end of 'I Should be So Lucky', which was fascinating 15-minute episode of a BBC series exploring luck: why some people seem to get all of it and others are just plain unlucky.
Taliesin's log

Small Gifted and Black (Oct 2003)
BBC Radio 4: 1 x 30 minutes

For Black History Month - an investigation into an unexplored htmlect of the slave trade - the black children brought to Europe and given as presents for use as decoration in the homes of the wealthy. Dressed exotically, they were a must-have 18th century accessory and feature in much of the portraiture of the time. Unlike their enslaved compatriots some of these children actually became part of the moneyed classes. Some became pillars of the community and appear not to have encountered total prejudice.

Producer: Heather Forrester
Presenter: Michelle Williams

What the Critics said:
Another in the excellent Black History season. During the 17th and 18th centuries many a great British household was given a tinge of the exotic brought back from Africa - little black children, brought over as pets for the children, or fashion accessories for the womenfolk. What happenned to them, then and later makes for a horrifying - and moving programme.
Chris Campling
The Times

District Nurse (Aug 2003)
BBC Radio 4: 2 x 30 minutes

Being ill and housebound is a self-defining combination of problems. Sufferers are by their nature vulnerable and invisible. The District Nurse is their protector, as vital today as she was in her 1950's starched-apron-and bicycle days. The District Nurse looks after some of the hidden flotsam and jetsam of society; the sick, the sad, the old, the senile and the dying. Many of the patients have been deserted by their families. They rely on their district nurse.

Producer: Brian King

What the Critics said:
Two heart-warming programmes following district nurses as they tend, comfort and heal patients, ranging from an old woman with leg ulcers to a terminally ill man- yet always maintaining their sense of humour.
Terry Ramsey
Evening Standard

Pants on Fire (July 2003)
BBC Radio 4: 5 x 15 minutes

The truth about lies. Our lives are built on more lies and deception than we care to think, from the little white lies we all tell each other through to hugely damaging criminal lies. We are astonishingly adept liars. We could lie for Britain - and a great number of politicians allegedly do. With the help of professional liars and lie-busters - psychologists, a psychiatrist, magician Derren Brown, a loss adjuster, a policeman, a PR consultant - Martin Plimmer tries to understand the dynamics of lies. Why are we compelled to tell them? To what extent might society collapse without them? Why do children lie? And why do they become so frighteningly good at it so quickly?

Producer: Brian King

What the Critics said:
Pants On Fire.is an intriguing cumulative examination of why we lie, what goes on in the brain when we do, how it is part of learning to grhtml reality. Martin Plimmer, the presenter, reminds us that everyone lies, to some degree or other, sometimes from the best of motives..He also shows, from scientific evidence, that truth-telling is the primary force and that lying is a latent skill that we acquire only with practice. In the animal kingdom apes do it too. Plimmer also introduces a clever little daily serial, which shows how one small lie leads to lots of bigger ones. Listen and learn.
Gillian Reynolds
The Telegraph

Swallowing the Dictionary (July 2003)
BBC Radio 4: 2 x 30 minutes

SWALLOWING THE DICTIONARY marks the 75th anniversary of the Oxford English Dictionary posing and accurately answering two questions. How big is the English language? How much of it can be swallowed by one person? In so doing it tells the story of the OED's creation - a farcically slow attempt to scale the English word mountain. They also measure the size of the English Language and compare it to the likely size of people's own vocabularies. In other words, how much of the dictionary have you swallowed?

Producer: Nick Utechin
Presenter: Richard Coles

What the Critics said:
In 1857 members of the Philological Society began work on a new dictionary, a work which by 1884 had acquired the first section - "A - Ant". In 1928 all of the mighty Oxford English Dictionary was published. Richard Coles tells a remarkable story. Chris Campling
The Times

Writing Down the House (May 2003)
BBC Radio 4: 5 x 15 minutes

Two hundred years ago, the House of Commons passed a resolution which for the first time allowed journalists to sit in the public gallery and take notes directly of what was said by MPs. These programmes tell the story of the 'Official Report' - whose second editor had a name that has entered the English language: Hansard. Now 'Hansard' has become a by-word for the truthful and accurate reporting of Parliamentary proceedings. Nick Utechin talks to the currrent editor, Bill Garland, and to his reporters about the pressures they face: taking accurate short-hand notes at a minimum speed of 180 words per minute, and ensuring that the day's record is printed by 7.30 the next morning.

Producer: Viv Black