Radio Week
The picks of the best of this week’s radio
ENTERTAINMENT The Lyric Feature
SUNDAY, 6PM, LYRIC FM
★★★★
Paul McDermott immerses himself in the music of Sliabh Luachra by going on a quest to track down six Irish trad vinyl records released in 1977. He is assisted by Eoin ‘Stan’ O’Sullivan, Sliabh Luachra musician in residence. Together they travel to Cork and Kerry, visiting villages and townlands surrounding the River Blackwater to describe the magic of this music and its origins in the ‘rushy mountain’.
I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue MONDAY, 6.30PM, BBC RADIO 4 ★★★★★
Jack Dee is the gloriously grumpy host of the 80th run of the hugely popular comedy show. The irresistible ‘antidote to panel games’ began in 1972 with an idea by Graeme Garden. Guests being given silly things to do today are Tony Hawks and Miles Jupp, along with Marcus Brigstocke and Rachel Parris.
FACTUAL
The Great Post Office Trial MONDAY-FRIDAY, 1.45PM, BBC RADIO 4 ★★★★★
Nick Wallis was first drawn to this story in 2010 when a taxi driver told him his pregnant wife, a sub-postmaster, had been jailed for a crime she didn’t commit. A faulty IT system led to more than 700 prosecutions for theft, fraud and false accounting — and an extensive miscarriage of justice. As a public inquiry continues, Nick offers more shocking updates on the scandal that affected so many lives.
Analysis
MONDAY, 8.30PM, BBC RADIO 4 ★★★★ Reading for pleasure has been linked to youngsters’ educational success and wellbeing. Julia Donaldson, the author of The Gruffalo, asks why, therefore, reading for pleasure among children has declined. Are phones, tablets and games consoles to blame? And what can we all do to engage children with reading?
Just One Thing
WEDNESDAY, 9.30AM, BBC RADIO 4 ★★★★
Michael Mosley continues his mission to make us all feel a little bit better by making small tweaks to how we live and what we eat. This week’s suggestion is to try walking backwards, although care should obviously be taken when and where you do it. The thinking is that it boosts flexibility and strength, can improve balance and stability, and even help to ease knee pain.
DRAMA
The Spanish Tragedy SUNDAY, 7.30PM, BBC RADIO 3
★★★★★ Robert Glenister and Joanna Vanderham star in Thomas Kyd’s bloody Elizabethan revenge drama. He plays Hieronimo, who finds his son murdered and turns mad with grief. As he is not from the nobility, Hieronimo can’t access justice, so he takes the law into his own hands. Shakespeare scholar Professor Emma Smith introduces the play, which was a huge hit in its day, saying: ‘Without The Spanish Tragedy, there’s no Hamlet.’
MUSIC
An Bóthar Go Nashville MONDAY, 9PM, RTÉ RNAG
★★★★
Jo Ní Chéide will focus on the men of country music, featuring well known musicians from Ireland, Britain and the United States including Nathan Carter, Mike Denver, Robert Mizzell, Derek Ryan, Johnny Brady, Noel Boland, Gavin Gribben, Waylon Jennings, Mark Chestnutt, Luke Combs, John McNicholl, Michael English and Lee Matthews. There’ll be plenty of songs from these musicians.