Please tell me about Radio 4.

[LemonBars]

I've never been a fan of radio, particularly talk radio but I've started listening to the occasional radio play while cleaning or in bed and I've really enjoyed them. It's made me think that perhaps I should try Radio 4 again and that I might enjoy the plays and documentaries or whatever else is on offer.

Are there any particular shows/slots that people would recommend? I'm autistic and for some reason can't just listen to things randomly so some suggestions to get me started would be helpful. TIA.

If you like science, the infinite monkey cage and the curious xasss of Rutherford and fry are both good.

*cases

Women's hour in the morning, I think at ten am on a weekday, is always good.

I used to listen to Radio 4 a lot in the car, but with lockdown I had not driven as much, however, I had a longish journey last Friday and turned it on.
For me peak listening was In the morning : the play at 10.45 , followed by a discussion on US democracy, then there was a light comedy, followed by you & yours which is a short magazine program.
Personally I find Woman’s Hour (10 am)to be a bIt hit or miss, and I don’t care for Jenni Murray so I avoid that.
The schedule is published on the BBC website, but if you can, tune in at 10.45 for the daily play.
You can get it on playback on BBC Sounds/iPlayer.

The Friday Night comedies are good (eg The News Quiz, The Now Show etc). They’re on at 6.30pm but can listen as a podcast too. On BBC Sounds there’s the whole back catalogue of Desert Island Discs, you can just pick the people you’re interested in to listen too.

Women's hour
New quiz
Infinate monkey cage (science/ comedy panel show)
The unbelievable truth
Just a minute
Money box
You and yours
You're dead to me (history podcast)

You can find all these on the BBC sounds app

I also really liked the scarlet Moffat podcast on conspiracy theories that was on the app recently, I hope they bring it back for a 2nd series. Not radio 4 tho but it's on the app.

I'm the opposite of you, OP - I've been listening to R4 since I was born. BBC Radio has been the backbone to my life.

You aren't perhaps coming to it at the best moment, and even at its best there are always detractors.

Start early in the morning! Farming Today at 5.45am is invariably worth listening to.

Today at 6.am till 9 has traditionally set the national news agenda for the day. That probably isn't the case now as most people don't listen to the radio - but it's generally thorough, and often riveting.

After that, it depends on your interests - what appeals to me might not to you. Here's an untypical day's schedule:

www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl7j#on-now

Over lockdown More or Less has been stellar. Think it's on a break at the moment but should be back in a few weeks.

In our Time with Melvyn Bragg is excellent but on summer break at the moment. I also enjoy Word of Mouth, Inside Science, Womens Hour, More or Less. Although I think I like everything except the plays, Desert Island Disks and the Archers!

Look at 4 extra - they have lots of repeats of other 6.30pm slot programmes, not to mention ancient things like Round the Horne.

On 4 atm in that slot there’s a new series of Paul Sinha’s General Knowledge - also David Sedaris.

4 extra

Paul Sinha

David Sedaris

I think I like everything except the plays, Desert Island Disks and the Archers!

Wash out your mouth! You can't say things like that in front of a dedicated, lifelong Archers listener. The only reason I haven't recommended it is that the lockdown version has been a disappointment and they're only gradually climbing out of that hole. (However, OP, if you crave a welcoming communal experience then the MN Archers thread is usually the loveliest place on the Internet. It's a bit slow at the moment because we're all fed up with the unaccustomed monologues. (It's usually a full throttle, rural soap.)

Here, if you're interested:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3960829--Archers-thread-119-Has-the-Bull-reopened-Will-Ambridge-pull-through-We-ve-all-dozed-off-and-havent-a-clue-Moan-about-the-monologues-here?msgid=98098889

I like Woman's Hour, You and Yours, Money Box, The Moral Maze, All in the Mind, Costing the Earth, In Our Time, The World Tonight, From Our Own Correspondent ... but they are just the long-running series; they do a lot of one-off programmes that are very interesting. The dramas are a bit hit and miss these days - sometimes great, and sometimes you wonder why they bothered. I'm fond of Gardeners' Question Time, but that's because I have absolutely no idea what they're talking about, and I find that oddly soothing. Most of the half-hour comedy shows are a bit lame, and some of them are so totally, jaw-droppingly dire that they make me angry.

After Radio Four closes down around 1am, they switch to the World Service, and there are some extremely interesting and worthwhile programmes on that station.

Oh, and you've got to get into the Shipping Forecast, OP. Trust me.

Oh, Last Word obits are wonderful. Profile and a Great Lives also often fascinating.

Last Word

Profile

Great Lives

I like all the news programmes - Today, World at One, PM.
Generally like Woman's Hour, but it does depend on what the topics are.
Money Box and You and Yours are really informative, especially at the moment.
Infinite Monkey Cage is genius. I've listened many a time driving home after work and just thought how you couldn't replicate the standard of discussion and experts on the TV, it wouldn't work half as well.
In Our Time is often fascinating, along with Last Word and Great Lives.
I also love A Good Read, with Harriet Gilbert. Strangely though I really don't like Open Book with Mariella Frostrup.

Turn offs for me - Gardener's Question Time, Beyond Belief, something called The Digital Human, that always seemed to coincide with my drive home one day a week. A lot of the afternoon drama is poor, but there is the odd good thing I've found by accident.

Radio 4 and the BBC documentaries are great, but I don't really like the BBC Sounds app, and it's dreadful for trying to listen to series in order as it just plays them randomly. I use Antennapod, but you might also find it easier to search the website for what you like and then download to your chosen app. There's loads on here that I've liked.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/category/factual

If you like food chat, there's The Kitchen Cabinet, Out to Lunch, and Off Menu. The Louis Theroux Grounded podcasts and Julia Gillard's A Podcast of One's own are also great if you like interviews with notable public figures.

I'm also going to take this opportunity to plug Sandi Toksvig's 'We will get past this' podcast, which is also on YouTube as Vox Tox, where she spent a good few weeks in lockdown inviting you into her 'calm room of books' to talk about various historical figures, mostly women who's achievements have been overlooked.

There's loads of these and they've all been really interesting and she's now in the process of writing a book based on the 'on this day in history' book that she referred to, but with more about the women that she talked about during the series.

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1398701637/?psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&coliid=I1EW6OOCEXED9S&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&colid=3GN1FS7KDN7GI

Women talking about cars with Victoria Coren Mitchell has just reappeared on BBC Sounds, that's great too.

Oh, sorry, I've just realised that you're asking about the radio, not podcasts. But I've found I like podcasts, because I can listen when I want to, and not miss bits. If I have them when I'm cooking or cleaning, I use cheap wireless ear buds, otherwise I can't hear properly.

Thank you all so much for the suggestions so far. I'm looking forward to checking them out and I'll look at the Archers thread too.

BarbaraofSeville Podcast recommendations are very welcome too and those you've suggested sound perfect. Thank you.

Over lockdown More or Less has been stellar. Think it's on a break at the moment but should be back in a few weeks.
This is a very interesting programme that studies the numbers so easily bandied about particularly, but not only, covid statistics.

There's another programme called something like The Long View that compares a situation happening now to a similar situation in the past.

I'm an Archers fan and am hanging on grimly in these difficult times.

I like some of the dramas and most of the serialised books.

I have R4 on in the background most of the time. I'm always discovering random interesting stuff that way.

Like this that was on earlier today

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000lv6l

The Life scientific,
Infinite monkey cage
Money box,
More or less
Science now,
Medicine now
PM programme
A good read.
I am also enjoying the programme where someone generates a random post card and a producer visits and finds local stories. some have been really good.
There is The Untold presented by Grace Dent, good programme but her voice.......