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I think they should bring back I'm sorry I'll say that again. I like In our Time. Every time I try to listen to Question Time or The Moral Maze I remember why I don't.
Apart from early mornings* and while cooking supper I, like others, look at the schedule amd listen to what looks interesting on sounds.
*Thought for the day triggers a
scramble for the off button just like The Archers does.
Whilst I don’t exactly like Any Answers, I don’t read the Daily Mail either, so I always find it a bit of an eye opener when I do catch it.
Which radio station produces better comedy or factual magazine content?
Which other radio station produces any comedy or factual magazine content, better or otherwise?
Loads of good R4 content being dismissed above. Can’t be bothered to argue any individual case…
Plus one. There's a huge range of programmes for different tastes so obviously some will be unappealing to individuals. Actually I will defend a case. The food programme and Kitchen Cabinet which are 2 of my faves are amazing for people who are passionate about food, cooking and learning more about where our food comes from and food from a vast array of cultures. They also celebrate and support our local producers and farmers with the food and farming awards. I went to the recording of a KC in Brighton and it was really fun and friendly and Jay Rayner is a great guy who knows his shit and not just about food.
I actually enjoy the vast majority of radio 4 content though some individual episodes can be hit and miss(hardly surprising considering the huge volume) though for me their comedy is my least favourite genre but I also find it rare to find good comedy from any source including television.
Which other radio station produces any comedy or factual magazine content, better or otherwise?
BBC Scotland and BBC Asian Network does comedy and magazine content, and most local radio stations do magazine content. Sunrise Radio, I think. Times Radio. I'm not saying they're better.
Which radio station produces better comedy or factual magazine content?
It's all about podcasts these days.
That's where I get most of my R4 content anyway.
Woman’s hour. It’s fundamentally sexist
So is the BBC Asian network fundamentally racist?
Yes of course it is. It is by definition as it’s setup to cater for one section of society. All state funded broadcasting should be aimed at the whole population
What? In which case get rid of BBC radio Norfolk because I don't live there, Radio one because it's not for my demographic and Ski Sunday because I don't ski, and neither do large swathes of the population.
Radio nan Gàidheal shouldn't be allowed, obviously.
Wondering what Match of the Day aimed at the whole population would look like.
i didn’t say there shouldn’t be a wide range of programmes so cater for a wide range of people. I said there shouldn’t be entire dedicated channels publicly funded
So no BBC Radio Cymru or nan Gàidheal?
i didn’t say there shouldn’t be a wide range of programmes so cater for a wide range of people. I said there shouldn’t be entire dedicated channels publicly funded
What about CBeebies? Why should toddlers get their own channel?
I used to like R4 in my teens when I thought I was an Adrian Mole type pseudo-intellectual.
Now though- the left wing bias is disgusting.
I occasionally play a game to see how long I listen to it until I retch at their woke metropolitan liberal skew on life or discover their opinion on a topic is completely at odds to mine.
It’s rarely more than a minute.
Often the voice of the presenter tells me all I need to hear. Some nasal, sneering, condescending pasty-faced bigot explaining why everyone else is so evil snd they’re so woke about some non-existent problem.
Or the so called comedians ripping into ‘gammons’ and just expecting a laugh by saying ‘Trump!’ ‘Farage’ or ‘Brexit’ with an eye roll.
Reminds me a lot of most of the threads in here in fact.
Even worse are the snippets of BBC Newsbeat I catch on R1. It isn’t even pretending to be a balanced reporting of the news- it’s just far left propaganda.
I find the programme where Melvyn Bragg digs into some randomly-selected, obscure episode from ancient Greek or Roman history / philosophy / historomythosophy quite bizarre. It's the sort of thing that must appeal to an audience of maybe three or four people in Oxbridge feeder school common rooms.
No-one ever seems to have taken a step back and asked, 'Why are we broadcasting this stuff, is there any sort of audience for it at all?'
I'm not knocking R4 for covering culture, history or literature, but it would be nice if there were some sort of consideration given to whether anyone is remotely interested in a particular programme rather than just allowing Bragg to witter on about whatever obscure Greek philosopher takes his fancy this week.
I occasionally play a game to see how long I listen to it until I retch at their woke metropolitan liberal skew on life or discover their opinion on a topic is completely at odds to mine.
It’s rarely more than a minute.
I can recommend Melvyn Bragg's classical stuff to you. There's zero chance of it chancing on anything you have an opinion on already. Enjoy 🙂
it would be nice if there were some sort of consideration given to whether anyone is remotely interested in a particular programme
In Our Time? 2 million listeners.
To put that into a talk radio context… about three times as many listeners as Times Radio and GB News’ entire output combined.
I like the Melvyn Bragg program because the subjects are so obscure. I'd never find out about the subject without listening to it.
In Our Time? 2 million listeners.
I find it hard to believe that the classical Greek / Roman stuff attracts even a tiny fraction of that. Anyway, regardless, I find it irritating.
I find it hard to believe that the classical Greek / Roman stuff attracts even a fraction of that.
It's used as background noise for pets alone at home 😉 😆
Even worse are the snippets of BBC Newsbeat I catch on R1. It isn’t even pretending to be a balanced reporting of the news- it’s just far left propaganda.
I've noticed that too - one time they were just reading extracts of the Communist Manifesto over some Deep House beats.
In Our Time is science, history, the arts, philosophy. It is quite fast-moving and requires attention. It is not an easy-going phone-in about owning dogs. It is basically like sitting in on a first year top tier university lecture. It has 2 million listeners.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl/episodes/player?page=1
Even worse are the snippets of BBC Newsbeat I catch on R1. It isn’t even pretending to be a balanced reporting of the news- it’s just far left propaganda.
You have actually lost your mind.
If you don't like the Classical Greek and Roman stuff you could always try not listening to it perhaps? One of the great things about R4 is that they broadcast programmes that aren't just intended to appeal to the lowest common denominator in an effort to chase ratings.
R4 still has a far better output than just about any other station I can think of, plus no adverts. What's not to like?
And finally a recommendation for superb comedy. Jack and Millie starring Rebecca Front.Very funny programme about a retired Jewish couple and their family/friends. Dialogue is sharp, fast paced and witty.
Caveat to all the above......I have to admit I'm a huge fan of The Archers.
In Our Time is science, history, the arts, philosophy.
It also soes some science stuff occasionally.
I very much like it as it is intellectually engaging and actually takes time to properly explore the topic. You need to sit and listen to it though.
What about CBeebies? Why should toddlers get their own channel?
yep that would go aswell. I don’t understand why as a state broadcaster there should be more than the 4 national radio stations and 2t v stations. If the bbc want to produce more then they should be on a commercial basis
I know quite a few folks who've been on In Our Times. They rarely go on twice. Melvyn's researcher will call you a couple of weeks in advance and will have a chat, and by have a chat, I mean will ask for a very detailed precis of your work (that they're going to discuss) so that Bragg can then say something along the lines of...
"....and of course Gilray's famous etching of the man with gout has interesting symbiology in the pictures on the mantlepiece including one of Morpheus the God of the Underworld indicating that they understood snuff to be a cure for both gout and insomnia, isn't that right Professor?"
And the poor old shcmuk professor who's watching years of careful academic research and their reputation being trashed to make Melvyn sound clever gets to say
"Yes, that's right Melvyn"
Yeah, In Our Times...great programming.
What about CBeebies? Why should toddlers get their own channel?
yep that would go aswell.
I don't think you appreciate the role it plays as a nationalised babysitting service.
Kids should buy their own programmes.... or at least sit through the toy nagging like good little consumers.
I don’t think you appreciate the role it plays as a nationalised babysitting service.
i thought that was the whole point of choosing to be a parent but that’s probably for a different debate and thread
I don’t understand why as a state broadcaster there should be more than the 4 national radio stations and 2t v stations.
Four radio stations seems recklessly extravagant to me. I don't see what was wrong with the Home Service, Light Programme and maybe something on longwave to broadcast news of Buccaneering Britain to the forriners.
And why do they have to broadcast ALL DAY? Surely a couple of hours in the evening would do?
I know quite a few folks who’ve been on In Our Times. They rarely go on twice.
I really like the concept but find it unlistenable due to Melvyn Bragg.
Realise it's a difficult task but it just becomes an hour of him trying to press and pester people into saying what he wants to hear. Would work better if the presenter was genuinely trying to find out about the stuff. Or if they just didn't use him.
Exactly, they constantly repeat all sorts of woke nonsense like ‘Escape to the Country’, when we could be enjoying wholesome family favourites like this:
Actual LOL.
Would work better if the presenter was genuinely trying to find out about the stuff. Or if they just didn’t use him.
Yes, TBH, it's fine that R4 set aside an hour of their schedule for what amounts to discussion of often very niche subjects. But most of the experts on the programme are lecturers. They know how to present their stuff, they do it every day after all. Just let them speak about their subject. The fact that it's just a vehicle for Melvyn to sound like a modern polymath, just gets in the way frankly, and ****s off so many academics that often they struggle to find experts that are willing to go on.
They wanted to do a programme on 18thC literature a while back, and my wife was contacted. Almost at the same time she got about 4/5 emails from colleagues saying "you're about to be contacted by R4 to do In our time, sorry I gave them your name to stop them from asking me"
...she got about 4/5 emails from colleagues saying “you’re about to be contacted by R4 to do In our time, sorry I gave them your name to stop them from asking me”
That really comes across. Usually find the best bit is the extra 20 minutes they do on the podcast where Bragg just lets them have a chat about the subject. You can feel the sense of relief.
Hadn’t checked in on this for a few days. Impressed with the difference of opinion. All seem reasonably thoughtful and measured. There’s always one though… 🤯
Three pages and no-one has mentioned Today and Amol Rajan yet?
Piece this morning about climate change and he asked the interviewee: "So does this mean that life on this tiny blue marble we call Earth, in the unimaginably infinite universe, will become unsustainable?"
Talk about irritating.
Also why does Today now invite listeners to phone in and talk about their favourite tree? Bring back Humphreys.
Amol Rajan ...
Talk about irritating.
Haha, I was so glad when he got promoted out of the media correspondent job. What a smug, self-regarding pillock.
Private Eye take the piss out of him for applying for all the jobs at the BBC, but they've never really acknowledged how annoying he is for some reason.
the poor old shcmuk professor who’s watching years of careful academic research and their reputation being trashed to make Melvyn sound clever
They know how to present their stuff, they do it every day after all. Just let them speak about their subject.
Here's the thing - most of them don't. Bragg is offering them a segue into their subject and a springboard to say something interesting. So who don't they?
Many of them can begrudgingly speak for an hour uninterrupted in a lecture hall, but (amazingly) presenting and narrating on the radio is a skill in itself. This is why people who are good at it are in demand, and why amateurs are hated - like the various Joe Public idiots that phone call-in shows, who seem universally despised on here.