Radio choice Charlotte Runcie

Money and Power: The $100 Question

WORLD SERVICE, 10.00PM

The $100 bill is printed in Washington, DC, but it’s actually most popular outside the United States – 90 per cent of all $100 bills printed are shipped outside of the country. In this programme, Lesley Curwen asks people what they would use a $100 note for, both in the US and elsewhere in the world where the dollar is also legal tender. And while in the US it might buy a few luxuries, in Zimbabwe it can go a lot further and help people in significant ways, as local doctor Edgar demonstrates.

The Essay: Forests

RADIO 3, 10.45PM

 It’s the week leading up to midsummer day, and Radio 3 are celebrating with a Midsummer Night’s Dream-esque celebration of all the evocative characteristics of forests all week. It’s part of their “Slow Radio” strand of programming, revelling in quiet moments and found sounds, and The Essay is focusing on aspects of culture inspired by woodland. In tonight’s edition, folk singer Nancy Kerr and Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough walk in the woods and talk about the symbolism of trees and forests in folk music.