today’s radio

THE LIFE SCIENTIFIC

9AM, 9.30PM, RADIO 4 HHH Patricia Wiltshire is an expert in palynology – the study of dust and pollen – and has spent much of her working life on archaeological sites, but a call from a detective brought her into the world of crime. Patricia, who has been involved in some high-profile murder cases, tells presenter

Jim Al-khalili how pollen found on suspects can tell quite a story.

THE DIAGNOSIS

11AM, RADIO 4 HHH

Janice Wilson would go to bed in fear. Every night, she would wake up convinced she was being strangled. This could happen as often as 50 times a night and, each morning, there would be blood on her pillow. Doctors put these attacks down to

Charlie Parker (4.30pm, Radio 4) psychological problems and trauma; then, she met a doctor who was able to diagnose the true cause of her terrifying condition. Helena Merriman hears the story of a medical mystery.

GREAT LIVES

4.30PM, RADIO 4 HHHH Charlie Parker, the virtuoso jazz saxophonist and one of the leading lights of bebop music, was dead at 34. He suffered from mental health problems, which he tried to alleviate with heroin and alcohol. This took such a toll on his body that the coroner who examined it thought it was the cadaver of a man in his 60s. Ken Clarke, who’ll have more time on his hands now that he has stood down as an MP, is a great admirer of the man; here, he celebrates Parker’s musicianship, and describes the grim circumstances that brought on his early death.

THE JAZZ SHOW

9PM, RADIO 2 HHHH

Jamie Cullum rings in 2020 with a live session from one of his current favourite artistes: singer Tawiah, whose debut studio album came out in October. SJ