TODAY’S RADIO

MY NAME IS BEX 11AM, RADIO 4 ★★★★

Bex Wilson, a teacher from Leeds, worried when one of her young pupils seemed to be struggling. She quickly got to the root of his problem – he hadn’t got a bed. Misfortune had hit his family, leaving him and his sister sleeping on bug-ridden cushions, with neither of them getting a night’s sleep. When Bex found other pupils in Leeds were in the same miserable situation, she decided, as she tells us this morning, to do something about it.

PASSING 12.04PM, 10.45PM, RADIO 4 ★★★★

Two elegantly dressed women exchange glances in a smart hotel, and realise they know each other. They also realise that neither of them should be there. This is

1920s New York during segregation and, though both women are pale skinned, they are both black. Nella Larsen’s subtle book, about marriage, racism and living a lie, is read by Ayesha Antoine.

RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERT 1PM, RADIO 3

★★★★ This song recital – given by soprano Louise Alder and pianist Joseph Middleton, live from Wigmore Hall – includes five songs drawn from the final letters and gallows speeches of Henry VIII’S first five wives.

This moving song cycle, by Libby Larsen, is called Try Me, Good King.

SONG OF THE REED 2.15PM, RADIO 4 ★★★★

Sophie Okonedo and Mark Rylance star in the last of this seasonal drama series, set in a Norfolk nature reserve. As the booming call of the bittern sounds across the wetlands, staff struggle to keep the reserve above water – both figuratively and literally. Recorded on location at RSPB Strumpshaw Fen, this series weaves drama with the sounds of nature and conservation work. SJ

Sophie Okonedo (2.15pm, Radio 4)