TODAY’S RADIO

STEELMANNING

9.30AM, RADIO 4 ★★★ Timandra Harkness, the writer and comedian, presents the penultimate programme in her series of debates on controversial topics. Each week, Timandra sets out her arguments on a particular subject, then gives her opponent some tips on how to best present their case. The subject today is facial recognition technology.

AFTER TRUMP

11AM, RADIO 4 ★★★★ James Naughtie has travelled the length and breadth of America in his long career as a broadcaster and journalist, and covered many a US election. As the dust settles on the violence and lawbreaking of recent dramas, James looks at the legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency and the dark forces stirred up by his administration. He questions whether Trumpism can exist when Trump is no longer in power, and wonders if dignity can return to the Oval office.

THE SPARK

8PM, RADIO 4 ★★★★ Loneliness has crept up on many of us over the past year, but it’s a state that was all too familiar to some people long before the pandemic. Noreena Hertz, author of The Lonely Century, talks about the strange encounters she had while researching her book on this ever increasing phenomenon.

BUNK BED

11PM, RADIO 4 ★★★★ Does Suzi Quatro, bouncing around in her rock chick outfit to her track Devil Gate Drive, summon up satanic menace? Or is it AC/DC’S anthem Highway To Hell that really delivers you to the Devil’s doorstep? Patrick Marber and Peter Curran bring us another episode of their hypnotic, strange comedy series – set in a mysterious, dark room – in which the two men gaze into the darkness and let their minds and conversation wander. SJ

Timandra Harkness (9.30am, R4)