Radio Week
The picks of the best of this week’s radio
ENTERTAINMENT Moira Stewart Meets ...
SUNDAY, 9PM, CLASSIC FM ★★★★ Julia Donaldson (pictured), the children’s author whose creations include The Gruffalo and Stick Man, is the guest for the fifth programme in Moira’s acclaimed interview series. Julia tells Moira how her love of literature inspires her work and the part music plays in her story-telling. Julia also picks some of her favourite music, including a Mozart piece that her father played on the cello, and one of Schubert’s keyboard works that Julia mastered when she learnt the piano as an adult.
Ken Bruce
MONDAY, 9.30AM, BBC RADIO 2
★★★★
Brian Johnson, the petrolhead front man of the veteran rock band AC/DC, has written his autobiography. It has the clever title The Lives Of Brian and charts the ups and downs of his life, including splits, triumphant returns and a lot of outrageous stories. Brian joins Ken all this week to talk about his life and pick his Tracks Of My Years. The old rocker begins this morning with tracks from Little Richard and Steppenwolf.
One Dish
WEDNESDAY, 9.30AM, RADIO 4
★★★★★
Sometimes just a morsel of an idea can be beefed up and made into something a bit special. Andi Oliver’s entertaining
series, where she asks a celebrity guest to talk about the meal they prefer above all others, definitely hits that spot. In today’s show, Andi’s joined by the comedian and food podcaster Ed Gamble, who reveals his favourite point in a meal is when the cheese board is unleashed.
FACTUAL Mindset
SUNDAY, 6PM, SCALA
★★★★
It can be hard when you’re feeling really down to listen to music. It’s even harder when you are seriously depressed to take part in music-making, but, as Amir Khan explains in the second of his series on music and mental health, it could do you the world of good. Amir, a GP, author and regular guest on television, looks at the concept of ‘active listening’, and shows how learning to play an instrument or joining a choir can make such a huge difference to your personal sense of well-being.
The Essay
THURSDAY, 10.45PM, BBC RADIO 3
★★★★
On a cold winter’s night, a tawny owl flies through the dark sky. His eerie call echoes through the countryside and is captured by the sound recordist and nature writer Geoff Sample. Geoff shares his recording with us in this fourth of a five-part series, then talks of some of the myths and legends associated with the haunting calls of tawny and screech owls. Geoff made this recording during lockdown to show how listening intently to the sounds of nature enriches our lives.
DRAMA Spoken Stories
SUNDAY, 7.30PM, RTÉ RADIO ONE
★★★★★
Spoken Stories returns with a new 12-part series featuring some of the most exciting contemporary Irish and Irish-based writers. Spoken Stories 2: Creatures of the Earth offers listeners a vast audio experience that examines the legacy of Irish independence with a contemporary twist. Tonight, Bride by Donal Ryan is read by Daryl McCormack.