Programme Information

Iconic Foxy Brown actress Pam Grier

Pam Grier, star of Coffy and Foxy Brown, explores the cinema of the Seventies, a time when a type of film emerged that featured all-black casts and great soul, R&B and jazz soundtracks.

Pam celebrates these films through the soundtracks and interesting stories that were given the unfortunate name of "blaxploitation" movies. She considers their musical legacy and their wider impact, particularly in terms of the film roles that were available to black actors before and after that period.

These films depicted a reality about the world which African-American audiences could identify with, even if the stories themselves were pure fantasy. Wildly colourful ghetto garb, drug and sex scenes, extreme, often cartoon-like, violence, classic soulful scores – which included the music of Curtis Mayfield, Willie Hutch and Isaac Hayes – and touches of black nationalism are the still-irresistible trademarks of what became known as blaxploitation movies.

The films created a whole music genre that followed the release of the film Shaft and often gained success from their soundtracks, rather than their plot lines. Almost every major artist of the day performed in a film score for these films. After Isaac Hayes led the way with Shaft, Curtis Mayfield followed with Superfly, Marvin Gaye with Trouble Man, then James Brown, Bobby Womack and Edwin Starr also followed the trend.

Contributors to the programme include Quentin Tarantino, Samuel L Jackson, Joel Freeman, Jorge Hinosa, Ashley Walters, Gloria Hendry, Dennis Coffey, Scott Bomar, Lalah Hathaway, Mathieu Bitton, Mary Ramos, Lawrence Bender and James Hyman.

Presenter/Pam Grier, Producer/Sue Clark

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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The Low Anthem are Bob Harris's After Midnight session guests tonight.

They started out in 2006 as a collaboration between Ben Knox Miller – a folk musician, poet and painter from New York State's Hudson River Valley – and Jeff Prystowsky, a jazz bassist and baseball scholar from New Jersey.

Attending Brown University, the two bonded as DJs on radio station WBRU's freeform graveyard shift in rural Connecticut, where their mutual interests in Americana and baseball led to the formation of the band. They began collaborating with classical composer Jocie Adams at Brown University in November 2007.

Presenter/Bob Harris, Producer/Mark Cooper

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Lucy Duran visits the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar in the second of three programmes. This week, musicians Justin Vali and Paddy Bush introduce Lucy to the ancient music of Madagascar's royal court.

Justin and Paddy take Lucy to the Ambohimanga royal palace, transporting her back centuries and filling the place with the music that Malagasy kings and queens would once have listened to.

Listeners also hear music from the rarely recorded Hira Gasy tradition. Hira Gasy troupes travel around the high plateau of Madagascar entertaining villages with their often satirical or controversial view of life. Hundreds of villagers gather to hear a variety performance which spreads news, entertains and teaches people lessons.

Presenter/Lucy Duran, Producer/James Parkin

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Opera On 3 Live From The Met – Der Rosenkavalier

Saturday 9 January

6.00-11.00pm BBC RADIO 3

Famed soprano Renée Fleming stars as The Marschallin in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier

Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Edo de Waart conducts Der Rosenkavalier, by Richard Strauss.

The Marschallin, sung by Renée Fleming, enjoys time with her young lover, Octavian (Susan Graham), but knows that she's getting older and one day he'll lose interest in her. Sure enough, when he's chosen to deliver the engagement silver rose from the Baron Ochs (Kristinn Sigmundsson) to Sophie (Christine Schäfer), they instantly fall in love with each other. The Marschallin understands the situation and graciously lets Octavian go to his new love.

Strauss's masterpiece contains comedy, pathos and some sumptuous female vocal writing. Presented by Margaret Juntwait, with guest commentator Ira Siff, listeners can hear live back-stage interviews and a quiz during the intervals.

Presenter/Margaret Juntwait, Producer/Ellie Mant

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

What's So Great About... Ep 1/3

Saturday 9 January

10.30-11.00am BBC RADIO 4

Lenny Henry returns with three further explorations of subjects people tend to take for granted but which he's personally never been completely convinced about. In today's opener, Lenny asks What's So Great About... Maths?

Lenny has always been stumped by maths. At school, he found it so tough-going that he never managed to get through the work. He couldn't remember his tables, was scared of getting sums wrong and, in the end, simply gave up on getting his head around numbers.

Now he's really keen to tackle his problem with maths. He's enlisted a heroic group of experts to convince him that maths isn't a disaster area – and can even be fun. He speaks to Countdown's former erstwhile number whizz, Carol Vorderman, and, from the world of excellence in maths teaching, the Government's former maths tsar, Celia Hoyles.

With a group of primary school maths teachers, Lenny gets into gear for some physical maths activities and, along the way, subjects himself to the complex testing procedure of Professor Brian Butterworth, who has spent the last two decades studying the way the brain handles mathematics and number concepts.

Together, will they manage to convince Lenny that maths is worth the trouble?

Next week, Lenny takes up the cause of those who have never managed to see what the plays of Samuel Beckett are all about, with the help of actors Simon McBurney (Endgame) and Fiona Shaw.

In the final programme, modern fine art is in Lenny's sights when he asks What's So Great About... Jackson Pollock?

Presenter/Lenny Henry, Producer/Simon Elmes

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

5 Live Sport

Saturday 9 January

12.00noon-6.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Mark Pougatch brings listeners an afternoon of live sporting action, kicking off with live Premier League commentary of Hull versus Chelsea from the KC Stadium, at 12.45pm.

There's also coverage of the day's 3pm kick-offs including Arsenal versus Everton and Fulham versus Portsmouth in the Premier League, as well as updates from rugby union's Premiership, including Harlequins versus Leeds.

At 5.30pm, there's commentary of the Premier League's late kick-off, Birmingham City versus Manchester United, live from St Andrews.

Presenter/Mark Pougatch, Producer/Graham McMillan

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

5 Live Football League

Saturday 9 January

2.45-5.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Listeners can hear live commentary from one of the top games in the Championship this afternoon, plus there are reports and updates from across the Football League.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity