TODAY’S RADIO

An Obsessive Type 11.30AM, RADIO 4

The Doves Press typeface was commissioned in 1899. It is a clear, elegant typeface that met a messy, muddy fate. The partners of the Doves Press had a terrible fallingout, which led to the metal type being thrown into the Thames. In 2010, Robert Green began to re-create it and, on a whim, went down to the banks of the Thames to see if he could find any of the type. Nicky Birch tells the story of the saving of a piece of design history.

Open Country 3PM, RADIO 4

If Lancelot Brown liked the look of a landscape, he would say it had ‘great capabilities’, earning himself the name Capability Brown. The 18th-century landscape designer literally changed the face of England – he moved hills, planted woods and diverted rivers. Helen Mark takes a look at his work.

Simon Evans Goes To Market 6.30PM, RADIO 4

Simon Evans, the tweedily dressed comedian, delivers a series of mock lectures about life and money. Simon has the air of a shorttempered headmaster at a minor public school – and he also has perfect comic timing. In this first programme, he considers the economic challenges the young face when leaving the family nest.

Bob Harris Country 7PM, RADIO 2

Steve Earle and Shawn Colvin first performed together back in 1987, and they have been collaborating on and off ever since then. They’ve brought out an album of duets called Colvin & Earle, which includes the dark and moody You’re Right (I’m Wrong). The two seasoned performers, who sound better than ever, join Bob in the studio for a session of duets this evening.

In Business 8.30PM, RADIO 4

Industrial espionage no longer involves inveigling a way into a rival’s premises to see what’s cooking. Peter Day hears about the new techniques of corporate spies.

Late Junction 11PM, RADIO 3

Nick Luscombe features a mix tape of David Bowie oddities ahead of Friday’s late-night Bowie Prom.

Capability Brown (3pm, Radio 4)