TODAY’S RADIO

The Life Scientific

9AM, 9.30PM, RADIO 4

Steve Cowley has spent most of his working life exploring ways that the power resulting from nuclear fusion could be safely harnessed to give us sustainable energy. Steve, a professor of theoretical physics, is, among many things, the chief executive officer of the UK Atomic Energy Authority. He talks to presenter Jim Al-Khalili about his work, and tackles the question of why, despite years of research, nuclear fusion has not yet delivered the goods.

In Tune

5PM, RADIO 3

The Russian-Icelandic pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy joins Sean Rafferty in the studio this afternoon. The composer Nimrod Borenstein and the mezzo-soprano Anna Stephany will also be on the show for a mix of chat, arts news, recordings and live music.

The Viking Clubs Where Men Fight Their Demons

8PM, WORLD SERVICE

On an island off the Polish coast, men in impressively authentic Viking garb bash away at each other, with swords, shields and staves. Dougal Shaw joins the crowds at Wolin for this big re-enactment event. He hears how this often brutal gathering of Viking and Slav enthusiasts has helped some of the participants to turn their lives around.

David Bowie’s Heroes 40th Anniversary

10PM, RADIO 2

In the winter of 1976, David Bowie went to Berlin. He was in a bad way, mentally, physically and financially, and was addicted to cocaine. For his first few weeks in the city, Bowie stuck to his old habits, but then things changed. He found a freedom and an anonymity in Germany that helped him to straighten out and get back to music. In this programme, marking the 40th anniversary of Bowie’s Heroes LP, Florence Welch features recordings of

Bowie recalling his Berlin days.

Listen To The Band

11.30PM, RADIO 2

Martin Ellerby, who for seven years was composer-in-residence for the Regimental Band of the Coldstream Guards, looks back over the many state and royal occasions for which he has written music.

David Bowie (10pm, Radio 2)