TODAY’S RADIO

9AM, 9.30PM, RADIO 4 George Orwell sent his manuscript of Animal Farm to Jonathan Cape, among other publishers, during the Second World War. Cape initially agreed to publish the book, but a mystery man from the Ministry of Information had a word, and Cape backed out – and none of the others he approached would touch it either. Animal Farm was seen as an attack on the Soviets during a time when Russian soldiers and citizens were dying in their millions in the war against Nazi Germany. Melvyn Bragg and his guests look at the politics behind the book’s eventual publication.

Pony Tales

11.30AM, RADIO 4 Loads of preteen girls love to read pony books. These readers may never actually get on a horse, but they love reading about the animals. It’s a genre that’s much- mocked, but, as award-winning children’s writer Meg Rosoff explains in this programme, these books can open up the world for their young readers.

Ramblings

3PM, RADIO 4 Hebden Bridge is a wonderful place for walking. There are wild open moors, deep wooded valleys, millponds, canals and rivers. The scenery changes with every turn, and the views are glorious. Here, Clare Balding joins a couple who take their three adopted children for walks through this lovely scenery. The children have all had to deal with emotional problems, and have gained much comfort from these family walks.

It’s Not What You Know

6.30PM, RADIO 4 Joe Lycett, the camp and cuttingly polite comedian, is in the chair for this new series, in which celebrity guests are quizzed to see how well they know their nearest and dearest. Zoe Lyons, Adrian Chiles and Mae Martin are the first guests.

The Bottom Line

8.30PM, RADIO 4 Theresa May wants both a comprehensive industrial strategy and a closer scrutiny of foreign investment in industry. Evan Davis and his guests discuss the emergence of ‘Theresanomics’.

Theresa May (8.30pm, Radio 4)