Samira Ahmed talks to Brazilian director Walter Salles about his film I'm Still Here - which has already won multiple awards including the Golden Globe for Best Actress for its star Fernanda Torres. it's based on a true story about a family Salles knew when he was growing up in Rio de Janeiro - whose father was detained and disappeared during the m…

Diana Doyle had not heard from her step-brother in weeks. As time ticked by, she began to worry that something was wrong with 63-year-old Ian Halls… *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED *** This episode was researched and written by Eileen Macfarlane. Edited by Joel Porter at Dot Dot Dot Productions. Script editing, additional writing, illustrations and…

Robbie Collin and Louisa Buck join Tom Sutcliffe to review the fourth Bridget Jones film Mad About the Boy staring Renée Zellweger, the Oscar nominated animation Memoir of a Snail and pioneering artist Linder's Danger Came Smiling retrospective at the Hayward Gallery in London. Presenter: Tom SutcliffeProducer: Claire Bartleet…

As scheduling changes are made to ITV soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale, and as the 40th anniversary of EastEnders is celebrated with a live special on BBC One, how is the future looking for continuing drama on TV? Former Executive Producer of EastEnders John Yorke and Entertainment Journalist Emma Bullimore discuss the impact of the audience's…

An emergency alert triggered a call to first responders in Sheffield. The man on the other end of the line said that he didn’t want the police to attend, but he really needed an ambulance as soon as possible. Voices could be heard in the background of the call. However, their tone suggested that they were not offering assistance… *** LISTENER CAUTI…

Front Row continues to look at how culture has changed in the first 25 years of this century with an edition focusing on books. Tom Sutcliffe is in the Front Row studio with two writers who've helped to shape the literary landscape over those years – the novelists Zadie Smith and Andrew O'Hagan. They are joined by the presenter of Radio 4's A Good …

Hollywood legend Robert De Niro explains why he's starring in his first ever TV series Zero Day, where he plays a former US President out to find the culprits behind a deadly cyber-attack on America. He's joined by the show's screenwriter Eric Newman. With the British Council facing financial pressures it is considering the sale of its art collecti…

From the creators of the award-winning podcast They Walk Among Us comes The Lost Boys of Wineville—an extended limited series spanning 30 in-depth episodes. This gripping true-crime saga unravels a chilling story that began nearly a century ago, in the shadow of the recently erected Hollywoodland sign, and reached its harrowing conclusion on a remo…

Tom is joined by the writer and broadcaster Octavia Bright and the Observer's theatre critic Susannah Clapp to review another version of the Greek classic Oedipus, this time at the Old Vic in London and starring Rami Malek. Also reviewed: The Last Showgirl, which has Pamela Anderson starring as Shelley with Jamie Lee Curtis as her good friend. Shel…

Writer Holly Walsh and actor Lucy Punch on the Motherland spin-off series, Amandaland which also stars Joanna LumleyDirector, screenwriter and producer of September 5, Tim Fehlbaum about his new film that explores what happened at the 1972 Munich Olympics from the perspective of the sports journalists who found themselves broadcasting the story As …

The informant's microphone picked up the din of the busy beachfront restaurant. Sheriff’s deputies were stationed in a covert van nearby. They had a camera trained on one of the large windows, focusing on the target's hands passing an envelope of money to the informant. Still clear enough over the customer's chatter, the informant asked when he wan…

Front Row continues to look at how culture has changed in the first 25 years of the century with an edition focusing on film and TV. Samira is joined by Radio 4's Screenshot presenters Mark Kermode and Ellen E. Jones, Jane Tranter, who relaunched Doctor Who in 2005 and co-founded Bad Wolf productions and Boyd Hilton, the Entertainment Director of H…

Coralie Fargeat has been nominated as best director for her film The Substance which stars Demi Moore. She tells Samira about her inspiration for the satirical horror about a Hollywood star who takes a dangerous drug to create a younger version of herself. Josephine Baker’s memoir has been translated into English for the first time, fifty years aft…

Tom Sutcliffe is joined by writer Dreda Say Mitchell and critic Scott Bryan to assess the week's cultural releases, including a new stage version of the hit TV series Inside Number 9. They've also been watching Mike Leigh's first film in 6 years, Hard Truths, which has reunited him with Marianne Jean-Baptiste who was nominated for an Oscar in his h…

We celebrate the centenary of the publication of F Scott Fitzgerald's seminal novel The Great Gatsby, with Fitzgerald experts James West and Sarah Churchwell, Writer and performer Matthew Zajac talks about his new theatre production The Testament of Gideon Mack, based on James Robertson's acclaimed book about a Minister who doesn't believe in God, …

Bertie James Blackley was working with St John’s Ambulance service in Bristol when he received a message just after 1 am. Calling from a telephone kiosk, a woman said, “I have found my husband in the bath. I believe he is dead. I have done all I can to help him, but I am afraid it is too late”... *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED *** This episode was…

As new BBC One drama adaptation, Miss Austen, shines fresh light on Jane Austen's sister Cassandra, Gill Hornby, who wrote the eponymous novel on which Miss Austen is based, and Claire Harman, author of Jane's Fame, How Jane Austen Conquered The World, discuss how perceptions of Cassandra's burning of her sister's letters have been changing. Paris-…

Front Row looks at how culture has changed in the first 25 years of this century, starting with Music. Samira is joined by Radio 4's Add to Playlist hosts Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe, music journalist Kitty Empire and former Spotify exec Will Page. They discuss how transformations in technology have impacted what we listen to and what music is b…

After school, Shelley’s children got onto the bus, but unusually, their mother was not waiting for them at the end of the journey. The children were independent enough to make their way home from the bus stop, although when they arrived, they realised their mother was not there, and the front door was locked… *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED *** Thi…

Rowan Pelling, journalist and founding editor of the Erotic Review, and the film critic Tim Robey join Tom Sutcliffe to discuss the Oscar nominations and review Edmund White's The Loves of My Life, Steven Soderbergh's supernatural horror thriller Presence and Brazil! Brazil! a major exhibition featuring 20th century artists at the Royal Academy in …

Writer James Graham on his Channel 4 drama Brian & Maggie, which stars Steve Coogan and Harriet Walter, and which tells the story of a hard-hitting interview between broadcaster Brian Walden and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which helped precipitate Thatcher's downfall in the early 1990s, John Douglas Thompson talks about playing Shylock in Sha…

The crew manager was the first to get through the door of the burning bungalow. Other firefighters were gearing up on the quiet street outside. Christopher Barber led the way to the bedroom—thick smoke billowed and visibility was low. He dropped to the ground, and after dousing some of the flames with water, he began searching the area with an outs…

Anora is one of the leading contenders in the current film awards season - and its star Mikey Madison looks likely to get an Oscar nomination too. Its director Sean Baker explains how he uses both violence and comedy to explore the story of a son of a Russian oligarch who becomes entangled in the world of a sex worker in New York. Caryl Phillips ta…

The Brutalist's director Brady Corbet and star Adrien Brody talk about making the hotly anticipated film. With a season of Sidney Poitier's films underway at the British Film Institute and a play about a key moment in his early, Retrograde, transferring to London's West End in March we discuss the legacy of the great actor with - writer, Ryan Calai…

Lemn Sissay and Rhianna Dhillon review the new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown starring Timothée Chalamet, the TS Eliot Prize-winning poetry collection Fierce Elegy by Peter Gizzi and the Italian language film, Vermiglio set in a remote Alpine village during World War Two. We pay homage to David Lynch, director of Twin Peaks and Mulholland Dri…

Franz Ferdinand play live from their new album The Human Fear, eleven songs which explore deep-set human anxieties and how overcoming and accepting them drives and defines our lives. Richard Price - the author of Clockers, and a writer on The Wire, talks about his latest novel, Lazarus Man, a chronicle of New York life set in the aftermath of a des…

Emergency responders had been directed to a two-car collision on Abbey Road in Sandbach. When they saw that the injuries sustained by the victims were clearly not caused by a crash, the paramedics soon realised it was far from a standard traffic accident. Not long after the incident, on that cold January morning, a man approached an officer from th…

Sir Michael Morpurgo and violinist Daniel Pioro discusss reimagining Vivaldi's Four Seasons for a recording with the Manchester Camerata featuring new poetry by Sir Michael and improvisations by Daniel. Pat Saperstein, Deputy Editor of Variety, and Peter Bowes, BBC Correspondent in Los Angeles reflect on the impact of the L. A fires on the film, te…

Actor Michael Sheen explains how he was rehearsing his role as the creator of the NHS, Nye Bevan when he heard about the demise of National Theatre Wales and decided to make plans for a new organisation, using some of his own money. Matthew Bourne talks about his new stage production of the musical Oliver! and the 30th anniversary tour of his groun…

His crimes were becoming more frequent and even more brazen—four people had been killed in a four-week period. Investigators finally got a break when palm prints discovered at the scene of two murders were found to match a petty criminal in the system… (Part 2 of 2). *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED *** This episode was researched and written by Eil…

Viv Groskop and David Benedict join Tom Sutcliffe to talk about Maria, the Maria Callas biopic staring Angelina Jolie. They also review Alive in the Merciful Country by A.L. Kennedy and Architecton, a study of concrete and stone from the Russian filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky. Plus Jeremy Treglown, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, who talks…

Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Fiona MacLellanBy BBC Radio 4

Staff decided to make a routine check on the bedrooms closest to where the prowler had been seen, and it was then they were confronted with something truly terrifying. Two of the residents were dead, evidently murdered, confirming the investigators' fears: a serial killer was targeting the elderly… (Part 1 of 2). *** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED ***…

Tom Sutcliffe talks to Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin about their new film A Real Pain - in which they play mis-matched cousins touring Poland to honour their grandmother. Can you teach someone to look at art intelligently? Oxford University is about to start a 3 year study on visual literacy – assessing how much looking at art can impact young …

Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson talk about their award-winning new film Babygirl, where she plays a married mum and high powered tech CEO who begins an affair with a young intern at her company after he realises she has sexual desires that she's not been able to embrace before. Novelist Tayari Jones and literary scholar Dr Deborah G. Plant discu…

Tom Sutcliffe is joined by the critics Bidisha and Peter Bradshaw to review the highlights of the week: Nosferatu - Robert Eggers' remake of F.W Murnau's 1922 silent vampire classic, which was itself based on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. Nickel Boys - the Golden Globe nominated adaptation of Colson Whitehead's novel about two African American…

Samira Ahmed presents Front Row's contribution to Radio 4's New Year's Day celebration of the Shipping Forecast, marking a century since the BBC began broadcasting it. This edition of the arts programme explores how the Shipping Forecast inspires musicians, writers, artists of all kinds, and how it has become a powerful presence in the psyche of th…

Nisha woke up to the sound of screams. It took her a moment to realise where they were coming from. She thought her mother must have been having a nightmare, so she rushed into her bedroom. As Nisha entered the room, her husband ran past her, and she suddenly thought he must have been chasing someone. She then saw her mother lying on the floor, cov…

Kirsty Wark hosts a Hogmanay edition live from Glasgow. Featuring performances by The Bluebells and piper Malin Lewis. Plus Alan Cumming; Scotland's new Makar, Peter Mackay; and an exploration of representations of New Year in cinema, literature and poetry.By BBC Radio 4

As Bradford limbers up for its year as UK City of Culture, in a special edition of Front Row, Nick Ahad meets: Steven Frayne, the award-winning Bradford-born magician formerly known as Dynamo. Frayne's magic skills have brought him success in arenas and television studios worldwide and his biography Nothing is Impossible: My Story became a bestsell…

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The landau driver stood outside Prestatyn railway station, watching the early morning commuters. His attention was drawn to a young woman darting down the high street. She stopped beside his carriage and asked him to take her to a nearby farm. Her behaviour was erratic, and William wasn’t sure he wanted to drive her anywhere until she told him, “My…

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Boyd Hilton and Arifa Akbar join Tom to review: Better Man, the Robbie Williams biopic with a twist – he’s depicted as a Monkey. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the Almeida theatre’s new production of Tennesee Williams' play with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Kingsley Ben-Adir. And How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies, a new film from Thai director Pat Boonniti…

Fresh from his success as the winner of Strictly Come Dancing, comedian and actor Chris McCausland joins us to talk about his new TV film Bad Tidings, his forthcoming solo tour and of course triumphing in TV's biggest dance contest. Singer Lauren Mayberry, best known as the frontwoman of Scottish synth pop band Chvrches, talks about her debut solo …

Following a call to the emergency services just before 5 PM on February 22nd, 2023, the police, and paramedics from the East Midlands Ambulance Service, were dispatched to a property on Queens Park Way in Leicester. They found an elderly man lying on the kitchen floor, bleeding profusely from a deep wound to his chest. His ex-wife had witnessed the…

The actor Simon Russell Beale speaks about playing the poet and scholar A. E. Housman in Tom Stoppard's play 'The Invention of Love', as well as discussing his memoir. The singer, songwriter and composer Rufus Wainwright was inspired to write a Requiem by his love of the composer Giuseppe Verdi and the loss of his dog, named Puccini. He speaks abou…

Call The Midwife creator Heidi Thomas talks to Front Row about writing the drama's Christmas special, Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham discuss co-directing the new Wallace & Gromit film, Vengeance Most Fowl, and ahead of the Royal College of Organists' new initiative - Play The Organ 2025 - organists David Pipe and Claire M Singer join Nick to disc…

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