Radio choice Charlotte Runcie

Midnight’s Children RADIO 4, 9.00AM

 As part of Radio 4’s commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the independence of India and Pakistan, there’s an epic dramatisation of Salman Rushdie’s seminal novel about it, Midnight’s Children. Nikesh Patel stars as Saleem Sinai, born on the stroke of midnight at the exact moment that India becomes independent, and finding his own fate interwoven with that of his country. The drama continues in instalments until midnight, including an interview with the author in In Conversation at 4.30pm.

Short Cuts RADIO 4, 3.00PM

 Comedian Josie Long returns with another run of her thought-provoking series which explores unusual life experiences and phenomena. In this edition, she meets Bob Petrella, who is one of only a handful of people in the world diagnosed with a rare attribute called Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory. This means he can recall almost every part of his life since he was five years old. This provides the starting point for an exploration of memory. We also meet a soldier who finds an unexpected reminder of his first deployment.