TODAY’S RADIO

KEN BRUCE 9.30AM, RADIO 2 ★★★★

The American country singersongwriter Luke Combs looks like a lumberjack – and is much more than OK. Luke has been singing on stage since he was a child in North Carolina, worked as a bouncer while at university, then took himself off to Nashville to pursue a career in music. It all worked out just fine, as you’ll hear when one of the world’s biggest country stars treats us to a live session from his Nashville home this morning.

THE CLASSIC FM CONCERT 8PM, CLASSIC FM ★★★

John Suchet wraps up his weeklong celebration of great British orchestras. He includes a daring recording by the Aurora Orchestra, who made the bold decision some years ago to do away with scores and play entirely from memory. Tonight, we hear them displaying total recall for Gerald Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto, bringing a sense of immediacy to the work.

CROWDSCIENCE 8.30PM, BBC WORLD SERVICE ★★★★

The vagus nerve is a highway that connects our bodies to our brains by taking information from all our major organs and then delivering it to the brain stem. Breathing techniques seem to improve our vagus nerve’s performance, and there’s hope that innovations in implanted devices could end the misery of conditions such as arthritis. Marnie Chesterton reports.

LATE JUNCTION 11PM, RADIO 3 ★★★

Verity Sharp will brighten up the airwaves tonight as she plays a selection of quirky tracks, full of laughter. There’s a recording of opera singers having a fit of giggles, plus ritual cleansing songs from Peru that are designed to promote happiness, and a lesson on laughing in rhythm from jazz musician Slim Gaillard.

Luke Combs (9.30am, Radio 2)