Is Radio 4 dumbing down?

[Etino]

Very unscientific but I find myself switching off a lot atm. Lots of podcasty chatty content, yesterday in the space of a 2 hour drive there were 2 half hour chatty, contentlite progs. (I’m on 1% so will check and repost what- utterly un memorable)

Arghhh! The Untold presenter! Drives me mad and ruins some perfectly interesting stories

Nothing at all could beat Cabin Pressure.
Does any one listen to The Patch? Oh, littletinof dorcaspins you have mentioned it. A very recent one was of somewhere I know and I couldn't face listening.

I mean, they pick a postcode where there are some genuinely interesting places nearby and do a programme about a car wash/valet place.

I love woman's hour and disagree that it needs overhauling. I think it successfully tackles a wide range of thought provoking issues (though I always fast forward the cookery items)

But I find Jennie Murray supremely irritating. Love Jane. But Jenny? She.ends.every.sentence.like.this.

I listened to The Patch and I wish I hadn't. It might have been less dull with GD.
Jenni Murray usually annoys me too. I don't normally listen to WH.

I was a loyal round the clock listener for over twenty years but I gave up about two years ago. The faux impartiality is insufferable and I am so disappointed in Woman’s Hour in particular.

Couldn't agree more. Love Evan Davis, More or Less, In Our Time, Last Words, Cabin Pressure, John Finnemore, Sorry I havn't a Clue and The News Quiz.

Also like Farming Today, Shipping Forecast and "background Stuff"

I also heard the programme about the 103 year old dancer. I was sitting in the car waiting for my son to come out of a GCSE exam - and I was spellbound!
Too much interupting, over-simplifying and too many sound effects.

Soul music. Switched off. I doubt that I ever want to hear Back to Black again.

I caught some of Loose Ends on Saturday for the first time for probably a decade.

So they moved it away from Saturday mornings years ago to make room for something better and presumably as a precursor to killing it off - however they never got round to the killing it off bit.

OK, early August when simply everyone's in Edinburgh dahling (but the programme isn't) probably isn't the easiest time for them, but what I heard was just toe-curlingly awful. Not an ounce of humour, not an iota of anything interesting. They could have rounded up 10 people from any random street and the end result would have been more interesting.

My phone, with sarcasm obviously switched to 100%, displayed the "Radio 4 - intelligent conversation" slogan while this was going on.

It must make money to make it - why don't they just admit defeat and play the radio version of a test-card instead - 45 mins of birdsong or something?

Anyone listened to the Proust Part one? À La Recherche du Temps Perdu this afternoon?

I hadn't read it but it's on kindle for about 50p.

There's an 'In Our Time' on Proust from about 2003 on the iplayer, too.

Following on from the marathon War and Peace of 2015.

Splendid suff.

Next episode 9pm tonite.

Also a middle aged life long listener, comes on with Farming Today and goes off with The Shipping forecast.

Hate the new slot for Loose Ends-just go away
Hate the flamin food and farming awards, how much air time do they fill with this drivel?!
Hate Woman's hour especially if 'I've had breast cancer you know" Jenny Murray is on, it is repetitive, dull and such a missed opportunity!
There is great comedy but you have to look for it, David Sedaris, Clare in the community, Old Harry's Game, Cabin Pressure, Ed Reardon, Mags, bags and fags all really funny and all on Sounds app.
Sunday morning is My Archers catch up, its mad and sometimes badly written but it is my secret pleasure.
Drama, especially the afternoon plays are very hit and miss, more miss tbh but I enjoyed The Darlene drama (forgotten it's name), love Pilgrim and Ladies Detective agency.
Long live Radio 4!

Me too.
Nod off at one shipping forecast and wake up usually to the next one.
Enjoying Proust.

The Proust is quite the thing, Mike.
Knew and know nothing about him, but it's quite mad and rather splendid.

Timberlake Wertenbaker is quite a name.

The Untold with Grace Dent.

It really was better being Untold. The clue is in the name. Please save me from having to listen to that woman's voice. Yes, I switch off every time but I still manage to catch that slow delivery of the opening few sentences. Please someone, make it go away.

YY @MikeUniformMike
She manages to speak perfectly normally on Masterchef but the ridiculous "faux-spooky" delivery is painful.
Just bloody talk properly.

Nah. Leave it untold. That slow fake spooky delivery just p**s me off.

She makes PipArchersweird in toe nation so-o-und n-oooo-rmal

I love 'The Untold'

I can't listen to it because of GD. The Patch was worse, though.

It's not just us!
www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/what-to-listen-to/tarnished-jewel-bbcs-crown-going-radio-4/