Archive on 4

Brilliant stories told using archive from the BBC and beyond.

Radio 4,699 episodes

Episodes

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War on Truth
What’s fake, what’s real? Stories from the information war over Ukraine.
09 Apr 2022,57 mins
The Ministry of Fun
Sixty years of colourful, complex, cringeworthy encounters between artists and politicians
02 Apr 2022,57 mins
Sir Alex Ferguson: Made in Govan
Sir Alex joins Mike Sweeney to reflect on the influences that shaped his life and career.
26 Mar 2022,57 mins
Lines of Duty
Tim Dunn and Toby Jones tell the story of the whistleblower who saved Britain's railways.
19 Mar 2022,57 mins
The Origins of The Metaverse
Colin Harvey visits a metaverse of the future and explores its cultural roots.
12 Mar 2022,57 mins
Disgusted, Mary Whitehouse
Samira Ahmed assesses the life and legacy of decency campaigner Mary Whitehouse.
05 Mar 2022,57 mins
It's The Pictures That Got Smaller
Robbie Collin explores the transformation of how we see film, from early cinema to TikTok.
26 Feb 2022,57 mins
God Knows I'm Gay
Rev Joel Love explores the relationship between the Anglican Church and LGBTQ+ Christians
12 Feb 2022,57 mins
Wonderlands
Frank Cottrell-Boyce explores the wonderlands that children's books take us to.
05 Feb 2022,57 mins
Paris-Zurich-Trieste: Joyce l'European
The profound influence that many years spent in Europe had on the work of James Joyce.
29 Jan 2022,57 mins
Bloody Sunday: 50 Years On
Fifty years on, Peter Taylor assesses the legacy of 'Bloody Sunday' in Northern Ireland.
22 Jan 2022,57 mins
The Great Wall
Rana Mitter traces the story of US-China relations in the 50 years since Nixon's visit.
15 Jan 2022,57 mins
Piers Plowright, Soundsmith
Lend your ears to work by legendary 'radio man' Piers Plowright.
18 Dec 2021,57 mins
Self on Sebald
Will Self pieces together the life and work of writer WG Sebald.
11 Dec 2021,57 mins
It’s Not How You Start…
Acclaimed novelist Kate Weinberg discovers why endings matter so much to us.
04 Dec 2021,57 mins
Everyone is an Artist
The untold story of community and socially-engaged art in post-war Britain.
27 Nov 2021,57 mins
Mercury
Freddie Mercury died 30 years ago this week. What would we ask if he were a star today?
20 Nov 2021,57 mins
Jan Morris: Writing a Life
Horatio Clare explores the life, legacy and mythmaking of Jan Morris.
13 Nov 2021,57 mins
Viral
Why do some fake history stories get widely shared on social media?
06 Nov 2021,57 mins
How America Learned to Laugh Again
How soon is too soon to start making jokes?
30 Oct 2021,57 mins
Plastic: The Biography
Laura Barton outlines the dramatic rise and fall from grace of industrial titan, Plastic.
23 Oct 2021,57 mins
Remember Oluwale
Reassessing the importance of the 1971 trial of 2 policemen accused of a black man's death
16 Oct 2021,57 mins,
The Men in the White Coats
Professor Andrea Sella on the shifting image of the scientist in popular culture.
09 Oct 2021,57 mins
Nuremberg Remembered
William Shawcross on the legacy of the Nuremberg Military Tribunal.
25 Sep 2021,57 mins
Teen Spirit: Nevermind at 30
Douglas Coupland examines how Nirvana’s Nevermind changed the outlook of a generation.
24 Sep 2021,57 mins
Escaping 9/11
A look back at programmes and recordings from the BBC archives.
11 Sep 2021,57 mins
The Greenham Effect
How the women's peace camp at Greenham Common changed the world.
04 Sep 2021,57 mins
Jonathan Miller: Lost Memories
William Miller goes in search of answers to his famous father’s death from Alzheimer’s.
14 Aug 2021,57 mins
Well Hello: The Release of John McCarthy
30 years on, ex-hostage John McCarthy reflects on the day of his release.
07 Aug 2021,57 mins
Singled Out
A cultural history of the 'single' with Zoe Strimpel - old maids, Bridget Jones and more.
31 Jul 2021,57 mins