today’s radio

NEW STORYTELLERS

1.45PM, RADIO 4 HHH

This drama-documentary looks at the relationship between a young man and his grandmother as they discuss dementia. They talk about some of the creative ideas that are helping alleviate the illness, from helpful dogs to slow shopping, taking a refreshingly cheerful approach to the problem.

NO PLACE BUT THE WATER

2.15PM, RADIO 4 HHH

Linda Marshall Griffiths’ eerie three-parter is being broadcast over consecutive afternoons. It’s a speculative drama that explores what the world might look like after the Western Antarctic melts. Set in a hotel on the edge of the water, it follows a messy family of dreamers as they are plunged into a new reality.

PAUL SINHA’S GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

6.30PM, RADIO 4 HHHH This is funny, enlightening and a technical triumph. Paul Sinha, a British quiz champion and stand-up comedian, begins a four-part series, performing to a 200-strong audience while adhering to Covid-19 guidelines.

The audience, whom you can hear laughing and joining in, are in their homes, and the programme has been recorded virtually. There is that muchmissed sense of interaction between performer and audience, and Paul’s routine about funny and forgotten facts is truly entertaining. All very heartening.

THINGS MY MOTHER NEVER TOLD ME

11PM, RADIO 4 HHHH Grown-up children have, during the pandemic, taken to bossing their parents around, telling them off if they’re taking risks and nagging them about keeping healthy and eating properly. Tonight, the Canadian comedian Mae Martin, who is half a world away from her parents, talks about her lockdown role reversal. SJ

Paul Sinha (6.30pm, Radio 4)