TODAY’S RADIO

What’s The Point Of… ?

9AM, 9.30PM, RADIO 4 London black cab drivers go through gruelling oral and written exams on the topography of London, past and present, in order to get their licences – the process takes around three years. Now, we have sat nav, fleets of night buses and Uber. In the light of these developments, Quentin Letts considers the future of the black cab.

Josh Howie’s Losing It

11.30AM, RADIO 4 Josh Howie is the son of Lynne Franks, the woman who inspired the awful Edina in Ab Fab. It’s a background that has equipped him for a career in comedy, and Josh has been working the standup circuit. Now, he has a new, sixpart sitcom out, based on his life. In the opening episode, Josh and his wife, played by Pippa Evans, are at a funeral, where Josh manages to fall out with his entire family.

The Folk Show With Mark Radcliffe

7PM, RADIO 2 London band Stick In The Wheel specialise in urban folk songs, such as Bedlam and Hard Times. The band members will give a live session of material from their debut album this evening.

Jo Whiley

8PM, RADIO 2 Jodie Abacus will give a live session in the studio this evening. Jodie, who started out as an actor at the Young Vic, shifted his attention to music a couple of years ago, and made a big impression this summer at the Glastonbury Festival.

What Point Prison? The Debate

It costs around £40,000 a year to keep someone in prison. Putting someone behind bars does, in some cases, give victims a period of relief from the activities of criminals, but it is an expensive option. Stephen Sackur chairs this debate, held in front of an audience with direct prison experience, on alternatives to imprisonment.

Johnnie Walker’s Long Players

10PM, RADIO 2 Johnnie Walker and David Hepworth look at the stories behind the making of two quirky British albums – Small Faces’ Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake and The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society.

London black cab (9am, Radio 4)