Radio Week
The picks of the best of this week’s radio
ENTERTAINMENT Jazz Record Requests
SUNDAY, 4PM, BBC RADIO 3 ★★★★
A tribute to the late, great Tony Bennett. Huge in the 1950s when Sinatra called him ‘the best singer in the business’, he then had an amazing renaissance, playing Glastonbury in 1998, and singing duets with Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse.
FACTUAL
The Lyric Feature
SUNDAY, 6PM, LYRIC FM ★★★★
When the town of Banagher in Co Offaly decided it wanted its story told, instead of turning to a historian or academic they commissioned the poet Jessica Traynor. In A Place Of Pointed Stones, Jessica explores the history and folklore of Banagher, meets some of the locals, and we hear new poems and a new song inspired by her research. Local historian James Scully (pictured with Jessica) presents her with two possible versions of the origin of the saying: ‘That beats Banagher and Banagher beats the devil.’
Forgiveness
MONDAY, 1.45PM, BBC RADIO 4 ★★★★
Academic Paul Kohler was badly beaten in 2014 by a gang who burst into his house shouting ‘Where’s the money?’ He’s convinced it was a case of mistaken identity and is the first subject of this extraordinary series. After the men were caught and convicted he wanted to meet one of them in prison, where he says ‘I warmed to him.’ The series continues all week, Tuesday’s second part featuring the sister of a girl murdered by Fred and Rosemary West.
A Thorough Examination TUESDAY, 3.30PM, BBC RADIO 4 ★★★★★
Is exercise a miracle cure? Dr Xand van Tulleken sets out a convincing case, using himself and brother Chris, who’s ‘let himself go’, as examples. A surgeon whose life was saved by exercise reasserts the message saying ‘it keeps us younger for longer and is essential if our health service is to continue to function.’ The first exercise they recommend is to stand up from a chair without using your hands as many times as you can in a minute.
Sliced Bread
THURSDAY, 12.30PM, BBC RADIO 4 ★★★★ You may be worth it, but are fancy face creams, serums and oils that cost a fortune worth the money? That’s the question Greg Foot asks in the first of a new run of his consumer series, answering queries suggested by listeners. Do you know your retinol from your hyaluronic acid and your peptides? Greg is joined by consultant dermatologist Dr Emma Wedgeworth to explore the differences between top range moisturisers and high street alternatives.
The Cows Are Mad FRIDAY, 9PM, BBC RADIO 4 ★★★★★
Fear and paranoia about a deadly epidemic, with nobody knowing where it came from, and the government insisting all is fine seems like very recent history. But Lucy Proctor’s revealing series reminds us that it happened before Covid with Mad Cow Disease 30 years ago. Her investigation begins at an abandoned meat rendering plant in Kent where tons of cow carcasses were once processed.
MUSIC
RTÉ Lyric Live with Paul Herriot
FRIDAY, 7PM, LYRIC FM ★★★★
Paul Herriott presents live from the stage of the National Concert Hall in Dublin as the National Symphony Orchestra and Choruses are joined by soloists Ailish Tynan and Niamh O’Sullivan for Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 2.