Between last Saturday evening's performance of Brecht's Life of Galileo at Stratford (in a new production rather pointedly called A Life of Galileo) and the one we saw on Tuesday night quite a lot had changed.

I didn't see both performances and I don't think there had been panicky last minute cuts or alterations to Mark Ravenhill's new production. It looked in pretty good shape to me. But on Monday Pope Benedict XVI resigned, and suddenly, questions of papal authority, the conservatism of the Roman Catholic church and the consequences of an unexpected succession had an immediacy they hadn't had a few days earlier.

It was a little odd really - a history play about a controversy 450 years old suddenly giving an extra resonance to a story only a day old…

We have slightly more recent history in our novel this week; Maggie O'Farrell's Instructions For a Heatwave, set in the blistering summer of 1976, and facing the slightly tricky problem - in an icy February - of making unbroken sunshine sound mildly unpleasant.

We're also going to review the radio broadcast of V, Tony Harrison's controversial poem, triggered by the vandalising of his parents' gravestones in a Leeds' cemetery. An interesting one for me personally because one of the interesting moments in the early days of The Independent was the decision to print the entire text, one of the more terrifying proof-reading exercises I had as arts editor on the paper. In my memory the thought of letting a typo through unseen made me sweat more than the summer of 76.

It's not exactly a vintage week as far as cinema releases go, so we've settled for Side By Side, Christopher Kenneally's documentary about the fall of celluloid and the rise of digital film, a subject that can make directors very passionate indeed. It has a pretty impressive cast list, including David Fincher, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese and Steven Soderbergh, all sharing their views on how technology affects the finished product with Keanu Reeves, who turns out to make a reasonably creditable interviewer.

I'd be curious to know from listeners whether the celluloid versus digital debate is one they feel strongly about -- or is this more a theological dispute for the makers of movies rather than those who mostly watch them?  Kevin Jackson, Bidisha and Kit Davis are discussing all this for us. Hope you can join us.

 

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The producers of In the Beginning is the End - a site specific installation by DreamThinkSpeak in the bowels of Somerset House - were very anxious that reviewers don't give too much away about what happens in the performance which is handy in a way because it saves me the trouble of trying to work out exactly what did happen.

It didn't strike me as the kind of performance that could readily be Spoiled, to be honest one of those magical mystery tours which have become rather fashionable in recent years, bent on surreal enigma and a mild dislocation of the senses. Anyway, I'll behave myself and not say anything too specific about it, except to note that it chimed in a most unexpected way with one of our other items this week, the animated Disney film Wreck-It Ralph, out on release this week just in time for half-term breaks.

Wreck-It Ralph does for video games what Toy Story did for action figures and slinky dogs - imagining that the sprites and avatars that populate them might have their own anxieties and desires. It was the architecture of video games that I found myself thinking about in Somerset House, though, as we alternated between open-world maps where you could wander at will and corridor-like sections which offered you no option. There were even cut-scenes and, I may be hinting at too much here, a kind of boss level.

Also on the programme this week; Jim Crace's new novel Harvest details the events in a remote English village triggered by the arrival of newcomers, both poor and powerless and rich and powerful, we watch the original version of Raul Ruiz's Lisbon, released in cinemas last year in a four and half hour cut, but first broadcast on television as a six hour series, and visit the British Museum's new Ice Age exhibition.

I confess that I've always been a tiny bit sceptical about the rapture with which virtually any piece of art older than 15,000 years is greeted - even the Ice Age must have had bad artists. But perhaps this show will make a convert of me. On the programme with me this week the novelist Gillian Slovo, the comedian David Schneider and the cleric and writer Giles Fraser. As it happened I bumped into him as I was emerging from The Beginning is the End and from the look on his face he couldn't have easily spilt the beans about what had happened either… I'm hoping he can enlighten me the next time we meet.  

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The French writer Maupassant used to claim that he ate at the restaurant in the Eiffel Tower because it was "the only place in Paris where I don't have to see it", a joke that's occasionally been recalled by those who aren't happy about what Renzo Piano's Shard has done to the South London skyline.

From February onwards Shard haters with deep pockets will be able to take Maupassant's remedy -- when the viewing platforms in the tower are opened up to the public and this week we went off to see what kind of experience they will get, as the "The View" -- as it's being branded -- opened up for press inspections.

On the day I went the weather was doing a pretty good job of embargoing the view, fading London to blank grey at anything above half a mile, but it was clear enough to re-experience the trick that altitude plays on our perceptions of a city, something I hope that the novelists Louise Doughty and Philip Hensher and the musician Pat Kane will be talking about this week.

We've also gone underground for the programme this week -- into the vaulted tunnels under Waterloo Station for Phyllida Lloyd and Fiona Shaw's staged reading of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner -- and found ourself marooned in the musical doldrums of Les Miserables, Tom Hooper's film version of Cameron Mackintosh's hit.

Completing the line-up for this week is Nicholas Royle's intriguing First Novel -- actually his seventh -- narrated (in part) by a teacher of creative writing, which should touch a nerve with Louise and Philip, who've both worked in that field too. And we've watched Channel Four's geek thriller Utopia, about a mysterious graphic novel which stirs dark happenings in the real world. The View took us 800 feet up, by means of two lift journeys and a few steps.

Has anything else taken us higher by less tangible means?

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I’m not sure there’s anything quite so depressing as compulsory jollity – so I was very relieved that we’d managed to dodge every festive theatrical offering this year, like a Lancaster threading through the flak over Bremen.

No panto, no musical, but instead the resolutely family-unfriendly offering of Strindberg’s The Dance of Death, in which a married couple celebrate their silver wedding anniversary by tearing chunks out of each other.

In my experience you never see a production without feeling a little better about your own life, but Titas Halder’s production – in a tiny space at the Trafalgar Studios in London -- is unusually cheering even so, presenting the action as a very black comedy which veers at times into farce. More black comedy in the short stories of George Saunders, as well -- whose latest collection, The Tenth of December, blends meticulous observation of how the world is now with disturbing hints of what it could easily become just a few years down the road.

Our panel this week – Sarah Hall, Kathryn Hughes and Misha Glenny -- fell over each other in their enthusiasm for the book, which was pleasing, as none of them had previously read him. Less unanimity in our discussions of Ang Lee’s film of The Life of Pi and William Boyd’s television adaptation of his own novel Restless, but there was a broad consensus on The Girl, Gwyneth Hughes’s television film about the odd and obsessive relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren.

The film, which goes out on Boxing Day on BBC2, has stirred up a certain amount of controversy with its portrait of great director who isn’t around to defend himself anymore. I’d be interested to know what listeners make of it….

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In the Radio Times, BBC Radio boss Tim Davie has written a response to the substantial public debate about the Trust's review of Radio 3, Radio 4 and Radio 7.

He endorses the suggestion that Radio 4 broaden its audience:

The idea of making more people aware of Radio 4 makes sense: there are so many programmes waiting to be discovered.

And denies that this means reducing standards:

The station's commitment to quality - whether drama, comedy or programmes from the radio archive - should offer further comfort to those who fear "dumbing down".

He suggests that readers looking for evidence of the health of the network dip into the Radio 4 programme directory - and that particular richness awaits listeners in programmes beginning with the letters 'B' and 'M'. Read the whole of Tim Davie's article on the Radio Times web site.

Steve Bowbrick is editor of the Radio 4 blog

• The picture illustrates Ed Stourton's Bosphorus, one of the highlights of the Bs.
• Tim Davie has written about BBC Radio's increased emphasis on live output on the Radio blog.
• Radio 4 Controller Gwyneth Williams responded to the review on the Radio 4 blog

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006slnx

David Liddiment, the BBC Trustee who led its review into Radio 4 among other stations, must be wondering what has hit him.

No sooner had he published the review last week than newspaper columnists, the odd BBC presenter, and a lot of listeners attacked him for trying to fix something they don't believe is broken.

The irony is, neither does he.

Actually I have been economical with the actualité: some listeners would like to wring his neck. What Mr Liddiment was pointing out, which is irrefutable, is that the further away you are from London, the less likely you are to listen to Radio 4. And the same applies if you are younger, non-white and from a poorer household.

The real debate is about whether that matters, and if it does, whether moving much of the corporation's output out of London, much of it to near Manchester, is the way to tackle the alleged problem.

I should declare an interest here. Although I have worked in London for most of the past 40 years, I was brought up and educated in the north, worked full-time in Manchester for three years in the 1980s, travelled there at weekends for more than 10 years to present the Radio 4 Sunday programme - and survived.

Last week, as you may have heard, I talked to Mr Liddiment about some aspects of his review. This week I travelled to the BBC's promised land, the shining Media City UK beyond the Salford Ship Canal (it's usually called the Manchester Ship Canal, but don't say that in Salford. Those two adjacent cities have a relationship not unlike the Hitchens brothers Peter and Christopher).

I am sure that most BBC Radio listeners, generous hearted as they are, will be delighted that BBC staff are to be housed in such splendid surroundings, at their expense, although the BBC insists that 'out of London' is cheaper in the long run. But of course, what really matters is what the output from Salford will be like. Will it be the same, significantly different and/or most importantly better?

Two very independent and passionate Radio 4 listeners Heather Howarth and Delphine Price accompanied me to New Broadcasting House in Manchester which will soon be made redundant when all the staff there move to Media City UK. There we met Ian Bent, head of audio and music production in Manchester to discuss these questions:

I'd be very interested to know what your view is on 'out of London'. Are the BBC's national radio stations too metrocentric and what should be done to change that - or are you quite happy with what you hear? Leave a comment here or get in touch via the Feedback web page. Apologies if you've had trouble getting through to our phone line in the last few weeks. The high number and length of some of the calls caused some problems but we think we've fixed it now.

Roger Bolton is presenter of Feedback

• Listen again to this week's Feedback, produced by Karen Pirie, get in touch with Feedback, find out how to join the listener panel or subscribe to the podcast on the Feedback web page.
• Feedback is on Twitter. Follow @BBCR4Feedback.
• The review of service licences for Radio 3, Radio 4 and 5 live as well as reports relating to archives and children's output are on the BBC Trust's web site.
• Radio 4 Controller Gwyneth Williams blogged about the service licence review earlier this week and, on last week's Feedback, Roger spoke to David Liddiment from the Trust about their recommendations.
• Picture by Evan Moss. Some rights reserved.

Editor's note: this week's Feedback focused on the English language, on Royal visits to Ambridge an on the conclusion of the BBC Trust's review of Radio 4 - SB.

There are many incidental pleasures to be derived from the latest BBC Trust Review, a copy of which is now available on its website.

For example, on page 48 it publishes a useful table which shows the cost per listener hour (CPLH) for BBC network radio stations. That isn't the same of course as how much each station costs, and obviously the more listeners there are the cheaper the cost per listener hour.

Still I was intrigued to see that Radio 3 costs over ten times as much CPLH as Radio 1, and around 5 times as much as Radio 4. Surprisingly, (to me anyway), Radio 5 live costs only a little less than twice as much CPLH as Radio 4. The station which has the lowest cost per listener hour is, unsurprisingly, the most popular, Radio 2.

Mind you don't get carried away with the idea that Radio 3 is massively expensive. It still only costs 6.3 pence CPLH.

The Trust, whose proud boast is that it is dedicated to "getting the best out of the BBC for licence fee-payers", published its latest review on Tuesday 8th February, after what it said was a 12-week public consultation.

It considered the overall performance of Radios 3, 4 and 7, had some pungent things to say about what it called the failure of BBC radio's strategy for children, and also backed the management's proposals for accessing past radio programmes.

The press reaction was, shall we say, mixed. I probably don't have to tell you which newspaper published the following headlines over critical articles.

"Oh no! Don't let the dumb down-brigade ruin Radio 4. Its the last bastion of civilised, aspirational broadcasting."

And the Daily Mail also said:

"Radio 4 has 10 million loyal listeners. So what does the BBC think of them? Too many are white, southern, and elderly".

The Trust's review is far more subtle and intelligent than that and addresses real issues that matter to you. It is worth an hour of any BBC listener's time. Shortly after the review's publication I talked to the Trust member who led it, David Liddiment.

He spent most of his TV life working for Granada television in Manchester so is particularly sensitive to the views of those outside the south east. The first excerpt from our Feedback interview is about the Trust's backing of BBC management's desire to widen Radio 4's appeal:

In a second, and shorter extract, David Liddiment talks about the failure of children's radio to a attract significant numbers of children:

In next week's Feedback I'll be in Manchester to explore further the BBC's plans to move more programme departments out of London, in particular to nearby Salford. Will listeners notice the difference and do you care where your programmes come from? Do let me know what you think.

Roger Bolton is presenter of Feedback

• Listen again to this week's Feedback, produced by Karen Pirie, get in touch with Feedback, find out how to join the listener panel or subscribe to the podcast on the Feedback web page.
• Feedback is on Twitter. Follow @BBCR4Feedback.
• The review of service licences for Radio 3, Radio 4 and 5 live as well as reports relating to archives and children's output are on the BBC Trust's web site.
• Radio 4 Controller Gwyneth Williams blogged about the service licence review earlier this week and, on last week's Feedback, Roger spoke to David Liddiment from the Trust about their recommendations.

The Today Programme is always in the news. The Telegraph runs with the Voice of the Listener and Viewer's gong for Today (and Radio 4 in general). In the same paper Tim Walker wonders why Today didn't send Naughtie or Humphrys to the Tory conference in Manchester.

The Times (and everybody else) carries coverage of Ben Bradshaw's angry Twitter attack on Evan Davis' Osborne interview on... Today.

Guardian radio reviewers are now 'curating' the stuff - providing links to iPlayer so you can listen to the programmes they review. It had to happen. And, of course, it's almost all Radio 4.

Jane Thynne in The Independent says that the assembly of noblemen and women on Monday's Start The Week "felt a lot like gatecrashing the House of Lords' tea room".

On her blog, Joanna Leahy, an 'Irish nomad in Norway', was surprised by a call from The World Tonight PM. She was interviewed about Norway's status (according to a UN report) as best place to live on the planet.

Back in The Telegraph, Jod Mitchell reviews four Radio 4 documentaries, including last week's Black men can't swim and of presenter Matt Blaize he says: "he did what a documentary-maker should do - investigate a single question and suggest a straightforward answer."

And, to finish, Twitter - as usual - is full of clever thoughts about Radio 4 programmes. Don't take my word for it - search for yourself.

Steve Bowbrick is editor of the Radio 4 blog

You won't need me to remind you that Torchwood: Children of Earth is under way over there on the telly but you might not know that you've only got a matter of hours to download the first of last week's Torchwood radio plays as an MP3 that you can keep forever (and the other two will expire in 24 and 48 hours respectively, of course). The BBC Cardiff drama department did some innovative work with the creative and rights people to liberate the three episodes for download: a follow-up to last year's amazingly successful Big Bang Day download.

The reaction online has been predictably huge and quite a good test for the BBC's nifty new 'buzz tracker' - a web site called Shownar that finds discussion of BBC programmes online and presents it visually. Try searching for your favourite programme and see what other listeners are saying about it.

Torchwood fans are evidently pleasantly surprised to see their favourite Sci-Fi brand show up on what they thought was their mother's radio station. This can only be good for the reputation of Radio 4 - and its drama output in particular.

The most entertaining blog post Shownar exposes is this one, by Stuart Ian Burns on the Behind the Sofa blog. Stuart's not entirely won over by the radio version ("generally underwhelmed" he says) but then this is the voice of a mega-fan and he does find some kind words for writer Anita Sullivan:

Sullivan clearly grasps what Torchwood was about. She captured the individual character voices beautifully, especially Gwen. She even picked up the television series's habit of moving the plot forward by having a Torchwood member leaving their keys in a motor vehicle.

I hope that Kate McAll and her team will be reading this one - I think there's a valuable fan's perspective on offer here. This is the kind of direct access to the opinions of listeners that these social media tools make possible. BBC programme makers will inevitably already have bookmarked Shownar.

With the national papers generally scaling back their in-depth coverage of radio (and drama in particular), the actors' trade paper The Stage is a reliable source of news and reviews. Last week was Torchwood Week on the site's blog, with a dozen posts about the series, mostly about Children of Earth but including this one about the radio plays: What did you think of Asylum? Moira Petty, The Stage's regular radio reviewer, was pleasantly surprised:

The first surprise was how little Captain Jack hogged the limelight, screeching on with an anarchic act or comment before zipping off again. He only exerted his authority when his subordinates (played by Eve Myles and Gareth David-Lloyd and both sounding far more cuddly and less glam than they look in the publicity stills), threatened to turn it into The Gwen and Ianto Show.

You'll remember that Kate McAll, here on the Radio 4 blog last week, wrote about the difficulty of fitting her superstar talent into a recording schedule which I think might go some way to explaining Jack's limited presence in the radio plays.

Search Twitter for references to the radio plays and you'll find hundreds of tweets - orders of magnitude more than any radio play has a right to expect: the power of the brand! I'll leave you with my favourite tweet (from some_lauren):

It's a freaking Torchwood Radio Play. It should not make me cry damn it!

• Torchwood: Children of Earth is on BBC1 at 2100 all week.
• Listen again to the Torchwood radio plays here and download them here.
• Dan Taylor, leader of the BBC team working on Shownar, wrote about it on the BBC Internet blog.

The Radio 4 blog isn't the only Radio 4 blog. Here are four more from around the network that I think are all exceptional examples of the blogger's art.

PM (RSS). If there's a natural blogger at the BBC it's Eddie Mair. He's comfortable with the informal tone and uneven pace of a blog. When journalists start blogging they'll often try to impose the kind of structure you get on a newspaper page or in a radio programme - with a predictable rhythm, thematic consistency and all that. Not on the PM blog. Here you'll find tiny, two-line updates, long photo-essays (like this one from Hugh Sykes), prompts for listener involvement and pithy two-paragraph entries spun-off from items on the programme. It's bright and often funny and has the feel of a newsroom (and there are kittens).

Robin Lustig/World Tonight (RSS). This is a hidden gem, not part of the BBC news mainstream but really good, regularly updated analysis from international veteran and World Tonight presenter Robin Lustig. Bookmark the blog or subscribe for several posts per week on topics like India's elections, Italy's lessons for British legislators and the Czech ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. I don't think there can be a more varied mix of clever international insight anywhere. This is my favourite Radio 4 blog.

Justin Webb's America (RSS). I'm stretching it a bit here. Credit where it's due: Webb's blog is from BBC News but I'm cheekily claiming its author for Radio 4 because of his regular appearances on the network and because he's joining Today in September. So sue me. What I like best about it is Webb's tone of voice - it's sufficiently different from his on-air manner to make this a really useful addendum to his other US coverage. Conversational and dry - mini-insights, not heavyweight analysis. Proper blogging from a news pro.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology
dot.life (RSS). I couldn't miss this one out. Rory Cellan-Jones isn't the only contributor to the technology blog from BBC News (Darren Waters is also a regular) but he is 'one of ours'. He makes regular appearances on Today and PM and he must be the most prolific blogger the network has (15 posts in May). Rory has moved from covering business to technology and by making clever use of the social media tech he covers (he's a big twitterer) he's become the BBC's 'go to' guy for digital and online. So the blog feels really up-to-date and responsive to change.

Honourable mentions: Tom Feilden's science blog (RSS) (one of the three Today blogs) complements his on-air stories usefully. PM sister programme iPM has a blog (RSS). It's a friendly place, animated by its users as much as its authors. Mark Urban, another voice familiar to Radio 4 listeners, has an excellent Newsnight blog (RSS) about world conflict.

Steve Bowbrick is editor of the Radio 4 blog

• Picture, Four Seasons - Longbridge Road, by joiseyshowaa. Used under licence.
• All of the BBC's blogs.
• PM's AM Glass Box, where the programme's producers seek your ideas for the evening's programme.