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Producer and writer John Yorke unpacks the themes and impact behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

Radio 4,130 episodes

Episodes

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Moon Tiger
John Yorke explores Penelope Lively’s dazzling classic novel Moon Tiger.
31 May 2026,14 mins
Don Quixote - Episode Two
John Yorke explores Miguel de Cervantes’ seminal epic, Don Quixote.
10 May 2026,14 mins
Don Quixote - Episode One
John Yorke explores Miguel de Cervantes’ seminal epic, Don Quixote.
03 May 2026,14 mins
Transcription
John Yorke takes a look at Transcription by Kate Atkinson.
19 Apr 2026,14 mins
Celebrating Stoppard
John Yorke celebrates the radio dramas of Tom Stoppard.
04 Apr 2026,14 mins
Flight - Episode Two
Flight by Walter White concerns the complex issue of ‘passing’. John Yorke investigates.
29 Mar 2026,13 mins
Flight - Episode One
John Yorke on a fascinating insight into Black American history: Flight, by Walter White.
22 Mar 2026,14 mins
My Antonia
John Yorke explores Willa Cather’s novel of frontier life, My Ántonia.
15 Mar 2026,14 mins
The Virginian
John Yorke explores Owen Wister’s Western novel The Virginian.
01 Mar 2026,14 mins
Gone with the Wind - Episode 3
John Yorke explores Margaret Mitchell’s epic novel Gone with the Wind.
22 Feb 2026,14 mins
Gone with the Wind - Episode 2
John Yorke explores Margaret Mitchell’s epic novel Gone with the Wind.
15 Feb 2026,14 mins
Gone with the Wind - Episode 1
John Yorke explores Margaret Mitchell’s epic novel Gone with the Wind.
08 Feb 2026,14 mins
Walden
John Yorke takes a look at Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
01 Feb 2026,14 mins
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
John Yorke takes a look at Washington Irving’s classic ghost story.
25 Jan 2026,14 mins
The Last of the Mohicans - Episode Two
John Yorke on James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans.
04 Jan 2026,14 mins
The Last of the Mohicans - Episode 1
John Yorke looks The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper.
28 Dec 2025,14 mins
Joy in the Morning
Ian Sansom takes a look at Joy In the Morning by PG Wodehouse.
23 Dec 2025,14 mins
Sense and Sensibility - Episode Two
John Yorke explores the enduring appeal of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.
21 Dec 2025,14 mins
Sense and Sensibility - Episode One
John Yorke explores Jane Austen’s influential novel, Sense and Sensibility.
20 Dec 2025,14 mins
Pride and Prejudice - Episode Two
John Yorke explores Jane Austen’s most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice.
14 Dec 2025,14 mins
Pride and Prejudice - Episode One
John Yorke explores Jane Austen’s most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice.
13 Dec 2025,14 mins
The Princess Bride
John Yorke takes a look at William Goldman’s metafictional fairytale.
30 Nov 2025,14 mins
The Wind in the Willows
John Yorke takes a look at The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
16 Nov 2025,14 mins
Northanger Abbey - Episode Two
John Yorke takes a look at Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.
09 Nov 2025,14 mins
Northanger Abbey - Episode One
John Yorke looks at how Jane Austen became a writer.
02 Nov 2025,14 mins
The Castle of Otranto
John Yorke takes a look at The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole.
26 Oct 2025,14 mins
Star of the Sea
John Yorke explores Joseph O’Connor’s novel Star of the Sea, about the Irish Famine.
05 Oct 2025,14 mins
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
John Yorke looks at the worldwide bestseller A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian.
28 Sep 2025,14 mins
The Cherry Orchard - Episode Two
John Yorke takes a look at Anton Chekhov’s final and most radical play.
14 Sep 2025,14 mins
The Cherry Orchard - Episode One
John Yorke takes a look at Anton Chekhov’s final and most radical play.
14 Sep 2025,14 mins