Illuminated Podcast
Illuminated is BBC Radio 4's home for creative and surprising one-off documentaries that shed light on hidden worlds. New episodes are available weekly on Sunday evenings.
Illuminated is BBC Radio 4's home for creative and surprising one-off documentaries that shed light on hidden worlds.
Welcome to a place of audio beauty and joy, with emotion and human experience at its heart. The programmes you will find in this feed explore the reality of contemporary Britain and the world, venturing into its weirdest and most wonderful aspects.
This is a chance to meet voices that are not normally heard, open secret doors into concealed chambers and, above all, be transported by the art and inventiveness of the very best programme makers. Just press the switch.
New episodes are available weekly on Sunday evenings. Subscribe on BBC Sounds to make sure you don't miss an episode.
Episodes to download
![]()
Harrier Angels
Sunday
Robert Macfarlane on C16th carvings of angels based on the wings of hen and marsh harriers
![]()
Outpatient
Sun 22 Mar 2026
In 2018, Harriet Madeley found out she was going to die. Then again, aren't we all?
![]()
Swimming with Jimmy
Sun 15 Mar 2026
There’s joy and peace in the depths of a swimming pool, if only you can learn to let go.
![]()
The Alpenpost: A Girl's Guide to Fighting Hitler and Stalin
Sun 8 Mar 2026
The Alpenpost: both a love letter to a distant father and a chronicle of European darkness
![]()
Cannon Fodder
Sun 1 Mar 2026
Memory, myth and meaning from lives shattered in a global conflict that resonate still.
![]()
The Extractor
Sun 22 Feb 2026
Hilik Magnus reflects on the values that inspire him to rescue people for a living.
![]()
A Lemur’s Song
Sun 15 Feb 2026
What can a critically endangered species of lemur tell us about the origins of music?
![]()
Functioning
Sun 8 Feb 2026
Two women share a rare insight into their secret lives as 'functioning alcoholics'.
![]()
![]()
The Metaphor Consultant
Sun 18 Jan 2026
The poet Jack Underwood offers his services as a metaphor consultant, for a reasonable fee
![]()
Into the Owambe
Sun 11 Jan 2026
A vibrant exploration of a Nigerian party that helped a generation call Britain home.
![]()
Bass Notes
Sun 28 Dec 2025
Jah Wobble explores a life immersed at the low end of the sonic spectrum.
![]()
A Very British Christmas
Sun 21 Dec 2025
A headlong dive into Christmas Day 2024, made up entirely from phone-recorded voice notes.
![]()
CS Lewis, the Evacuee and the Wardrobe
Sun 14 Dec 2025
Emma Freud sits down with her mother to hear the fascinating tale of her link to CS Lewis.
![]()
Hearing Aids
Sun 23 Nov 2025
Poet Paul Farley faces up to the fact that it’s time to address his hearing loss.
![]()
Lost In Lullabies
Sun 16 Nov 2025
When his son refuses his bedtime songs, Matt Edmonds wonders what magic lullabies hold.
![]()
![]()
![]()
Problems with Julia Masli
Sun 26 Oct 2025
There are so many problems in the world. Julia Masli has been trying to solve them.
![]()
![]()
Returned to Sender
Sun 12 Oct 2025
Join Clint Buffington on his hunt for messages in bottles and the people who sent them.
![]()
Peanuts at 75
Sun 5 Oct 2025
Josh Cohen shares how Peanuts can help us navigate the frustrating squiggle of life.
![]()
Driving, Driving, Driving on the Autobahn
Sun 28 Sep 2025
Alan Dein takes to the road to explore the cultural resonances of Kraftwerk’s Autobahn.
![]()
How Trains Shrank Time and Space
Sun 21 Sep 2025
200 years after the birth of the modern railway we explore its impact on our modern world.
![]()
The Cat Killer Detectives
Sun 7 Sep 2025
A couple from London find themselves caught up in the search for the Croydon cat killer
![]()
The Watch Case
Sun 24 Aug 2025
Watchmaker Rebecca Struthers has come to see the world's oldest watch - but is it real?
![]()
Into the West
Sun 17 Aug 2025
Horatio Clare goes in search of the bird he’s loved since childhood: the red-billed chough
![]()
A Taste of Home
Sun 3 Aug 2025
We unbox care packages to explore flavours from China, India, Ireland and the Philippines.
![]()
Don't Lose Your Head!
Sun 27 Jul 2025
A vicar takes on a church and discovers there's a decapitated head in the vestry.
![]()
Target Girls
Sun 20 Jul 2025
Pull back the curtain on the hidden world behind the target girl’s silent, singular image.
