Programme Information

Bob Harris's session guest tonight is Holly Williams, the grand-daughter of country music legend Hank Williams and the daughter of Hank Williams Junior. She joins Bob live in the studio.

Nashville singer-songwriter Holly has recently released her second album, Here With Me, which takes her back to her country roots in contrast with the more alternative, introspective piano balladry of her 2004 debut album.

Following a car crash in 2006, which left her badly injured, Holly rebuilt her career and released Here With Me last year.

Presenter/Bob Harris, Producer/Al Booth

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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A shocking new dawn has broken in the world of Andrew Glasgow in the penultimate episode of the third series of BBC Radio 2's sitcom starring Caroline Quentin (Men Behaving Badly), Simon Greenall (I'm Alan Partridge) and Andy Taylor (My Family).

Andrew has finally severed ties with his terrifying mother and decided to leave home. In tonight's episode, unemployed and destitute, Andrew finds himself alienated from his flatmates and sharing his bedroom with a mysterious stranger.

Producer/Adam Bromley

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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Suzi Quatro remembers the cream of female singing stars of the Fifties in tonight's programme, featuring music from Rosemary Clooney, Dinah Washington, the Poni-Tails, Doris Day, Debbie Reynolds and Dodie Stevens.

Presenter/Suzi Quatro, Producer/Mark Simpson

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

The City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andris Nelsons, performs works by Mozart and Richard Strauss in tonight's Performance On 3.

Richard Strauss is said to have boasted that he could even depict a knife and fork in music, so it is perhaps not surprising that, when he sets out to depict the majesty of the Alps in his Alpine Symphony, the result is understandably magical. Scored for a huge orchestra with musical portraits of a waterfall, blazing sun on an ice-capped summit and a musical storm, the piece describes an alpine hike from sunrise to sunset.

As Strauss idolised the music of Mozart, it's appropriate that his work is prefaced by two compositions by the 18th-century master. Mozart's Symphony No. 33 was one of the last works he wrote in Salzburg before moving to Vienna, while one of his most popular Piano Concertos, No. 24, features Martin Helmchen as soloist.

Presenter/Catherine Bott, Producer/Brian Jackson

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

Neil MacGregor examines the world of around 1,700 years ago in today's edition of A History Of The World In 100 Objects, looking at some of the most powerful objects that remain – discovered in modern-day Iraq, Crete, Egypt and today, in Wales.

Neil describes a remarkable 4,000-year-old gold cape which was discovered by workmen in a Welsh field and is now in the care of the British Museum.

In 1833, a group of workmen were looking for stones in a field near the village of Mold in North Wales when they unearthed a burial site with a skeleton covered by a crushed sheet of pure gold. Neil tells the story of what has become known as the Mold Gold Cape and tries to envisage the society that made it.

This week he has already described the contemporary courts of the pharaohs of Egypt and the palaces of the Minoans in Crete. Nothing like that seems to have existed in Britain at that time but Neil imagines a people with surprisingly sophisticated skills and social structures.

Presenter/Neil MacGregor, Producer/Anthony Denselow

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Capturing America –
Mark Lawson's History Of Modern American Literature Ep 1/8

Thursday 11 February

11.30am-12.00noon BBC RADIO 4

BBC Radio 4 presenter Mark Lawson

Talking to leading authors from Philip Roth and Toni Morrison to Stephen King and John Grisham, Mark Lawson tells the story of how American writing became the literary superpower of the 20th century.

Drawing on conversations with writers, including the last major interviews given by John Updike, Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonnegut Jr, Capturing America charts how, from the Second World War to the conflict in Iraq, and from Roosevelt to Obama, novelists, playwrights and poets have tackled the big themes of modern American life: power, money, violence, sex, race, religion, depression and diversity.

Mark reveals his candidate for the title of most unfairly neglected modern American writer and will address the criticisms that contemporary American literature has suffered – too male, too big, too triumphalist. This series shows why the country's writing – like its politics – has provoked admiration, but also sometimes anger and resentment from other cultures.

Interviewees include Gore Vidal, Toni Morrison, Joseph Heller, August Wilson, Philip Roth, John Grisham, David Mamet, Edward Albee, John Irving, Joyce Carol Oates, EL Doctorow, Chang-Rae Lee, Richard Ford, Tony Kushner, Edmund White, Walter Mosley, Jane Smiley, Joan Didion, Harold Bloom, Elaine Showalter, Nicholson Baker, Don DeLillo, Rita Dove, Neil LaBute, John Ashbery, Armistead Maupin, Stephen King, Junot Diaz, Dave Eggers, Jay McInerney, Bret Easton Ellis and Garrison Keillor, among others.

Presenter/Mark Lawson, Producer/Robyn Read

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Afternoon Play –
Say What You Want To Hear: The Startup Ep 1/2

Thursday 11 February

2.15-3.00pm BBC RADIO 4

Say What You Want To Hear: The Startup by Tim Wright tells the story of two would-be dot.com entrepreneurs launching the Say What You Want To Hear website, which offers users the chance to have their innermost thoughts voiced.

Listeners can send in their personal messages, some of which will be used by Tim, as he writes the second play in this series – Say What You Want To Hear: The Endgame – which will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 9 March.

Forty-something Erik is struggling to make a success of his new website with his old school friend Mike. Together, they hope to launch an internet messaging service that will hook in big money by linking up to the international market and their idol Harrison Ford.

When yet another pitch to a US financier bites the dust, Mike suggests they contact their old school pal Stephen who has made a fortune in America. Erik won't hear of it – there's too much water under the bridge. But in fact Mike has already set the ball in motion and, much to Erik's disgust, he finds himself on a flight to New York.

Stephen Tompkinson plays Erik, Ewan Bailey plays Mike and Keely Beresford plays Erik's online girlfriend Scarlett.

This first play leads the audience to the website at bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/swywth/ which offers a place for listeners to leave messages that can be read out by other site users and downloaded for play-back.

Listeners are also encouraged to write messages for the characters in the play and Erik, Mike and Scarlett will continue to message each other over the course of three weeks leading to the second play – Say What You Want To Hear: The Endgame.

Producer/Jeremy Mortimer

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Several billion years ago the Earth was born out of the nuclear reaction of hydrogen and helium in a star. It slowly cooled to produce a thin surface containing around 100 stable chemical elements – most of them in fairly small quantities. Several billion years later, supplies of many of them are running out.

Scientists in Europe and the US warn that 20 of the most important metals, including silver, gold, platinum, copper and zinc, will have reached critical point within 100 years, some much sooner. Former chief scientific adviser to the government David King explains that the scarcity of these and other metals and materials is likely to result in resource wars.

Presenter, materials scientist Mark Miodownik, cares about the loss of these metals, and not just because their disappearance presents huge problems for the electronics industries and medical world which rely on them.

He focuses on the particular problem with platinum – essential for catalytic converters, fuel cells and various medical processes. He learns how Earth's precious reserves of this metal are being blasted out of car exhaust pipes, seemingly irretrievably. But he also meets scientists who have found an ingenious way of recovering the platinum from the dust and sludge at the roadside.

As well as looking at other metals which seem to be disappearing out of this world, Mark also investigates how politicians, engineers, economists and the public can possibly save the day.

Presenter/Mark Miodownik, Producer/Brian King

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

Mark Chapman is joined by some top sports correspondents for The Headline Hour, discussing some of the week's major sporting stories.

From 8pm, Mark is joined by Matt Dawson for 5 Live Rugby – Six Nations Preview with all the latest from the first round of matches and a look ahead to the weekend's action.

At 9pm, the talk turns to the Winter Olympics with Eleanor Oldroyd and Vassos Alexander live in Vancouver bringing the latest from the Games.

From 10pm two of 5 Live's pundits go head to head in a topical sports debate in And Another Thing.

Presenter/Mark Chapman, Producer/Ed King

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Five-piece Wirral post-punk band Seal Cub Clubbing Club plays live in the studio for Marc Riley and the listeners this evening.

Seal Cub Clubbing Club's lyrics cover wildly different subjects from Thom Yorke-like mutterings, repetitive instrumental hooks and unconventionally catchy choruses and melodies. Their music is unlike other Merseyside bands The Coral and The Zutons; instead, they are often compared to the likes of The Fall and Radiohead.

Presenter/Marc Riley, Producer/Michelle Chouhdry

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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Gideon Coe presents archive tracks from The Kills, recorded live at Somerset House for BBC 6 Music, and archive session tracks from the Jesus Licks, Nottingham drone-pop quintet Six By Seven and Colorama.

Presenter/Gideon Coe, Producer/Frank Wilson

BBC 6 Music Publicity

Jaggy has expensive plans for Valentine's Day in today's episode of the drama, but in light of their current financial situation, Simran has other ideas.

Sway's luck finally runs out and he comes face to face with Khatija while shopping with Jodie. After listening to Khatija's abuse, Sway heads home with Jodie, feeling deflated.

Meanwhile, Kenny pays Simran an unexpected visit. Later Simran has a chat with Jaggy. She needs to know exactly what's going on inside his head.

Jaggy is played by Jay Kiyani, Simran by Balvinder Sopal, Sway by Nicholas Bailey, Khatija by Miriam Ali, Jodie by Vineeta Rishi and Kenny by Brian Croucher.

BBC Asian Network Publicity