BBC Radio 4 FM Schedule Thursday 28 May 2026

Schedule

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Early
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Late

Early
1. 00:00
  Midnight News—28/05/2026
  National and international news from BBC Radio 4
2. 00:30
  Frostlines by Neil Shea—Episode 3
  3/5Neil Shea learns when to ask questions and when not to as he discovers Arctic life.
3. 00:48
  Shipping Forecast—28/05/2026
  The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
4. 01:00
  Selection of BBC World Service Programmes—28/05/2026
  BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
5. 05:00
  News Summary—28/05/2026
  National and international news from BBC Radio 4
6. 05:04
  More or Less—Does a fall in the UK's healthy life expectancy mean what you think it means?
  Tim Harford explores healthy life expectancy, HS2 costs, VAT cuts and his marathon time.
7. 05:34
  Shipping Forecast—28/05/2026
  The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
8. 05:43
  Prayer for the Day—Prisoners of Conscience
  A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Mark Oakley.
9. 05:45
  Farming Today—28/05/26 Rural crime, restoring signposts, Welsh food project
  Rural crime - how countryside communities working together foiled organised criminals.
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Morning
1. 06:00
  Today—28/05/2026
  News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
2. 09:00
  In Our Time—The Welsh Marches
  How the Norman invasion of Britain created semi-independent warlord territories in Wales.
3. 09:45
  Strong Message Here—That's Not for Me to Say (with Munya Chawawa)
  A look at the political art of not saying anything.
4. 10:00
  Woman's Hour—Ukrainian Drone Pilot, Young women NEETs, Kimberlé Crenshaw
  The 25-year-old woman piloting Ukrainian combat drones in the front line of the war.
5. 11:00
  This Cultural Life—Kristin Scott Thomas
  Award-winning actor Kristin Scott Thomas on her career and cultural influences.
6. 11:45
  Frostlines by Neil Shea—Episode 4
  4/5The vast numbers of caribou that have sustained so many for so long are in decline.
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Afternoon
1. 12:00
  News Summary—28/05/2026
  The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
2. 12:04
  Scam Secrets—The Instagram Takeover Scam
  Why wouldn't you trust an old friend?
3. 12:32
  Sliced Bread—Toast - Wilko
  What went wrong at Wilko? Sean Farrington hears how the retail chain ended up toast.
4. 12:57
  Weather—28/05/2026
  The latest weather forecast
5. 13:00
  World at One—'Moral crisis' of young people out of work and training
  A 'whole system failure' is letting young people down, according to a new report.
6. 13:45
  Tick Tock: The Working Week in 5 Days—Thursday
  4/5Phil Tinline charts the working week in five days. On today's agenda: overworking.
7. 14:00
  The Archers—27/05/2026
  Alice tries to get to the bottom of recent events.
8. 14:15
  Drama on 4—Artan and Jordan
  A Wiltshire-Albanian bromance, by Florence Espeut-Nickless.
9. 15:00
  Ramblings—Fetternear, Aberdeenshire
  Clare strolls with the Garioch 50+ Men’s Walking Group.
10. 15:27
  Radio 4 Appeal—Reprieve
  Actor Adjoa Andoh makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Reprieve.
11. 15:30
  Word of Mouth—Words to Love the Living World
  Michael Rosen and Ella Frances Sanders on her dictionary of language, landscape and life.
12. 16:00
  Rethink—Rethink... the Humanities
  Should we be rethinking the humanities for a digital age?
13. 16:30
  BBC Inside Science—Plankton's untapped potential
  From Hay Festival 2026, a dive into a big year for our oceans.
14. 17:00
  PM—Beirut struck by Israel amid fragile ceasefire ?
  Will Israeli airstrikes on the Lebanese capital end the ceasefire?
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Evening
1. 18:00
  Six O'Clock News—More than a million young people in the UK not in work or learning
  The author of a report says there needs to be a whole-system reset to tackle the issue
2. 18:30
  Ellie Taylor's Safe Space—Series 3, 2: Reality TV
  2/4Comedian Ellie Taylor explains why she thinks reality TV is culturally significant.
3. 19:00
  The Archers—28/05/2026
  Natasha makes plans for the future.
4. 19:15
  Front Row—The Review Show: Russell T Davies' new TV drama Tip Toe
  Plus Paul McCartney's album The Boys of Dungeon Lane and novel Land by Maggie O’Farrell.
5. 20:00
  When It Hits the Fan—Lower Value Humans
  David Yelland and Farzana Baduel on why words really matter, especially around job cuts.
6. 20:15
  The Media Show—Lord Grade, Media access to local councils, Vincent Bolloré profile, Reporting on the heatwave
  Ex-Channel 4 and Ofcom boss Michael Grade joins Katie in the studio
7. 21:00
  Loose Ends—Hay Festival, Athena Kugblenu, James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Keith Cameron, Robin Morgan, Georgina Hayden, Cerys Hafna
  Clive Anderson and guests, recorded at the Hay Festival.
8. 21:45
  Strong Message Here—That's Not for Me to Say (with Munya Chawawa)
  A look at the political art of not saying anything.
9. 22:00
  The World Tonight—Warnings over “lost generation” of young people not in work
  One in six young adults set to be out of work, education or training in five years
10. 22:45
  John of John by Douglas Stuart—Episode 4 - a ceithir
  4/10Douglas Stuart's epic novel about belonging.
11. 23:00
  Radical with Amol Rajan—Healthcare, Reinvented: How Dramatic Medical Breakthroughs Are Quietly Changing Your Life (Professor Sir John Bell)
  John Burn-Murdoch hears about the unheard revolution changing the world of healthcare.
12. 23:30
  Soul Music—I Say a Little Prayer for You
  Stories about the Burt Bacharach classic.
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Late
1. 00:00
  Midnight News—29/05/2026
  National and international news from BBC Radio 4
2. 00:30
  Frostlines by Neil Shea—Episode 4
  4/5The vast numbers of caribou that have sustained so many for so long are in decline.
3. 00:48
  Shipping Forecast—29/05/2026
  The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
4. 01:00
  Selection of BBC World Service Programmes—29/05/2026
  BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
5. 05:00
  News Summary—29/05/2026
  National and international news from BBC Radio 4
6. 05:04
  Rethink—Rethink... the Humanities
  Should we be rethinking the humanities for a digital age?
7. 05:34
  Shipping Forecast—29/05/2026
  The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
8. 05:43
  Prayer for the Day—Stop Messin’ About!
  A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Mark Oakley.
9. 05:45
  Farming Today—29/05/26 Water abstraction, food inflation, local food systems.
  Will the record breaking heat hit farmers irrigation plans this summer?

Friday 29 May 2026