Radio choice Charlotte Runcie

The Forum: The Story of the Guitar

It’s easy to think of the guitar only in terms of its central role in modern pop music culture, whether it’s being smashed-up onstage at rock festivals or crooned over by folk and country musicians. But in this wide-reaching edition of The Forum, Bridget Kendall and her guests consider its humble roots in early instruments made of tortoise shells with silk strings They also explore the guitar’s development into the oud and lute, and how it came to be probably the most popular musical instrument in the world.

It’s Just a Joke, Comrade: 100 Years of Russian Satire

Comedian Viv Groskop is always compelling on the radio, and here she indulges her Russophile side to truly intriguing effect in an exploration of the history of satire and revolutionary comedy in Russia. She explores the early communist cartoons, the dark humour in response to the Stalinist purges and the dissident jocularity of the Fifties that influenced comedians in London and New York. Groskop also speaks to writers and comedians who recall the jokes shared by their parents and grandparents.