Programme Information

Suzi Quatro remembers the cream of male singing stars of the Seventies in a programme which includes music from Marvin Gaye, Jim Croce, Andy Kim, Kansas, Billy Paul and Michael Jackson.

Presenter/Suzi Quatro, Producer/Mark Hagan

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Anne McElvoy goes to Canterbury Cathedral to talk to artist Maggi Hambling about her numerous portrayals of the Crucifixion.

For almost 25 years, Hambling has painted a cross every Good Friday. It's a kind of personal ritual – a tradition started when she created the first one in memory of her mother in the Eighties. This year, Hambling's varied images of the crucifix are being displayed in the grounds of Canterbury Cathedral, alongside Easter images by another renowned painter, artist Craigie Aitchison, who died in December.

However, as Anne discovers, it seems Hambling and Aitchison are not alone in the artistic community in being so attracted to the Crucifixion, despite the secular tone of most of today's art. Artists, both religious and non-religious, are continually drawn to the cross in their work – in many cases for sensitively exploring secular and personal topics.

Beyond the Cathedral, Kent is hosting an exploration of the use of the cross in modern art across the county – with works by Tracey Emin, Stanley Spencer and Marc Chagall.

Hambling shows Anne around the history of her Crucifixion paintings – and Anne presses her on a key question of what, for Hambling, is the chief artistic power of this symbol.

Presenter/Anne McElvoy, Producer/Kirsty Pope

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

Mark Lawson traces the history of American literature

In the last programme of this series, Mark Lawson traces the way fiction in the USA is being renewed by writers from different backgrounds but also threatened by commercial pressures.

The great post-Second World War generation of authors – including Norman Mailer, John Updike, Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut Jr – and their surviving contemporaries such as Gore Vidal and Philip Roth, often expressed gloom about the future of serious novels and plays, fearing they would be pushed out by a pressure towards more commercial and personal stories.

Lawson argues that an underlying change in the status of the literary novel is epitomised by the fact that, whereas in the Sixties John Updike was featured on the cover of Time magazine, more recently it was Dan Brown.

However, a new wave of so-called "hyphenated"' writers – Indian-American, Korean-American, Dominican-American – has been renewing US libraries in the way they always had been – through immigration.

Taking final stock, Mark Lawson reflects on whether American Literature has reached a full stop or perhaps achieved a new dash. He talks to authors including: John Ashbery, Rita Dove, Chang-rae Lee, Junot Diaz, Lorrie Moore, Walter Mosley and James Patterson.

Presenter/Mark Lawson, Producer/Robyn Read

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

To top

Paul Watson's play, Last Family Standing, is set in 1946 and tells the story of a family's struggle to survive at any cost.

Britain, newly emerged from the shadow of war, is in a time of austerity. Five million victorious men and women have returned from the war effort to a peace time of few jobs. Money, food and decent housing are also scarce. The government has failed to stem accumulating social problems. The jubilation of VE day has evaporated. Life is difficult; the party is over.

Paul Watson's play is the account of one waiting family in 1946 – the Truscott family. Charles, Marjorie and their grown-up children's struggle to survive at any cost brings tragic consequences as remembered by the only surviving family member, Dorothy. It is her anger and contempt for the establishment that fuels Last Family Standing.

Producer/Paul Watson

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

5 Live Sport

Thursday 1 April

7.00-10.30pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Eleanor Oldroyd has all the day's sports news and reaction. From 8pm, there's live Europa League quarter-final first-leg coverage.

Presenter/Eleanor Oldroyd, Producer/Ed King

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Swimming

Thursday 1 April

3.55-6.15pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Listeners can enjoy uninterrupted commentary live from Sheffield from the British Championships and Commonwealth Trials.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

To top

Rugby League

Thursday 1 April

7.55-9.45pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Uninterrupted commentary comes from Leeds versus Bradford in the Super League.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

To top

Formula 1

Thursday 1 April

2.55-4.35am BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra brings listeners uninterrupted commentary on the first practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prix, live from Sepang.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

Lauren Laverne is joined by American singer-songwriter Harper Simon for a live session in the BBC 6 Music studios.

Son of the legendary Paul Simon, Harper releases his self-titled debut album in April this year, which includes two songs co-written by his father.

Presenter/Lauren Laverne, Producer/Gary Bales

BBC 6 Music Publicity

To top

Thursday is Roundtable day, and Moshi Moshi Records boss Stephen Bass joins Steve Lamacq in the studio to chat about interesting new releases.

The label has a long history of finding new talent, releasing early singles from artists such as Florence And The Machine, James Yuill, Fanfarlo and The Drums. There is also music from the likes of Rival Schools, The Clash and Camera Obscura.

Presenter/Steve Lamacq, Producer/Paul Sheehan

BBC 6 Music Publicity

To top

Alongside his selection of new releases and classic tracks, Gideon Coe continues to explore the BBC's music archive of Glastonbury Festival recordings.

Tonight, he features highlights of The Chemical Brothers 1996 set and Gil Scott Heron recorded in 1986. There are also unique BBC session tracks from Flying Saucer Attack, recorded for John Peel in 2004, a 1993 session from short-lived riot-girl band Skinned Teen, the debut Soft Cell session recorded for BBC Radio 1 in 1981 and Australian indie guitar heroes The Go-Betweens, recorded in 1996.

Presenter/Gideon Coe, Producer/Frank Wilson

BBC 6 Music Publicity