Radio 4
Radio 4

Radio 4

Inquisitive speech radio to make sense of your world.

Afternoon

16:00 BST

Currently

Unlocked: Britain’s Prison Crisis

UK prisons face overcrowding, staff shortages and violence. Unlocked: Britain’s Prison Crisis explores how they’re kept running, often by overseas officers, at growing cost.

UK prisons face overcrowding, staff shortages and violence. Unlocked: Britain’s Prison Crisis explores how they’re kept running, often by overseas officers, at growing cost.

16:30 BST

Legend

2. Back off the Ropes

From a Manhattan gutter to the lights of Newport, Clarke Peters charts Miles’s brutal fight with heroin and the birth of the haunting, intimate sound that redefined jazz forever.

From a Manhattan gutter to the lights of Newport, Clarke Peters charts Miles’s brutal fight with heroin and the birth of the haunting, intimate sound that redefined jazz forever.

17:00 BST

PM

01/06/2026

Full coverage of the day's news

Full coverage of the day's news

18:00 BST

Six O'Clock News

01/06/2026

National and international news from BBC Radio 4

National and international news from BBC Radio 4

18:30 BST

The Unbelievable Truth

6. Sausages, Fish, Table Tennis and Butterflies

David Mitchell asks Tony Hawks, Zoe Lyons, Mark Steel and Fern Brady to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as sausages, fish, table tennis and butterflies.

David Mitchell asks Tony Hawks, Zoe Lyons, Mark Steel and Fern Brady to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as sausages, fish, table tennis and butterflies.

19:00 BST

The Archers

01/06/2026

Tom considers his options, and Ian has ground to make up.

Tom considers his options, and Ian has ground to make up.

19:15 BST

Front Row

01/06/2026

Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.

Live magazine programme on the worlds of arts, literature, film, media and music.

Evening

20:00 BST

Rethink

Rethink... the Humanities

Fewer students are choosing to study humanities courses such as philosophy, history, languages and literature. So should we be rethinking the humanities for a digital age?

Fewer students are choosing to study humanities courses such as philosophy, history, languages and literature. So should we be rethinking the humanities for a digital age?

20:30 BST

BBC Inside Science

Plankton's untapped potential

From Hay Festival 2026, a dive into a big year for our oceans, with plankton specialist Vincent Doumeizel and physicist turned oceanographer Helen Czerski.

From Hay Festival 2026, a dive into a big year for our oceans, with plankton specialist Vincent Doumeizel and physicist turned oceanographer Helen Czerski.