TODAY’S RADIO

SIMON MAYO

10AM, SCALA RADIO HHH Abigail Dean’s first novel, Girl A, was the subject of a bidding frenzy, and had the TV rights snapped up. It tells the story of a young woman, brought up in a ‘house of horrors’ in Yorkshire, who is now a successful lawyer based in New York. Abigail joins Simon on his digital radio show to talk about her debut novel, with its theme of survival and hope.

THE FORUM

10.06AM, 12.06AM, WORLD SERVICE HHH

‘I was born a slave, but nature gave me the soul of a free man.’ Toussaint Louverture was born into slavery in Haiti, became a successful businessman, a brilliant general and a philosopher who led the only successful slave insurrection in history. Rajan Datar

Best benches (8.30pm, Radio 4) tells the story of a brilliant, quickwitted man who emancipated his people, but died in a French prison, high on a craggy ravine, close to the Swiss border.

CROSSING CONTINENTS

11AM, RADIO 4 HHHH Earthquakes and tremors often shake the buildings in Bucharest, and the threat of a major earthquake looms. When it comes, it will wreak terrible damage, as around 70 per cent of Bucharest’s buildings don’t comply with even the most basic of building laws and regulations. Simona Rata reports from Europe’s most dangerous capital.

THE UNTOLD

8.30PM, RADIO 4 HHHH

Sam Wilmot graduated with a degree in modern history, but without a job, he had to return to the family home and share a bedroom with his brother. To pass the time, Sam started an Instagram account, rating various public benches. His hobby became an international news story in the pandemic, brightening people’s lives around the world. Grace Dent tells Sam’s rather lovely story. SJ