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Feedback episodes

  • Explaining Brexit

    Roger Bolton talks to the Editorial Director for BBC News, Kamal Ahmed, about his approach to Brexit coverage, producers Jonquil Panting and Beth Eastwood reflect on the making of Test Case about Debby Purdy, and there's the second part of an interview with Radio 4's Commissioning Editor for the Arts, James Runcie.

    How is the BBC responding to listener's thoughts on the way Brexit is covered in the news? The new Editorial Director for BBC News, Kamal Ahmed, explains how he wants to put the public at the heart of setting the agenda in Brexit: Our Stories.

    The landmark case of Debbie Purdy had a profound influence on discussions around assisted dying within the UK. Jonquil Panting and Beth Eastwood discuss how they combined drama and discussion to tell her story in Test Case: Debbie Purdy.

    Last week we heard from BBC Radio 4's part-time Commissioning Editor for the Arts, James Runcie. In this week's second part of the interview, James gives his thoughts on arts coverage aimed at attracting younger audiences.

    Presenter: Roger Bolton

    Producer: Robert Nicholson
    Executive Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    28 min
  • Job Vacancy: Radio 4 Controller

    Roger Bolton talks to former Radio 4 Controller Mark Damazer about the challenges and joys facing whoever takes the job next, James Runcie reflects on his role as commissioning editor for arts on Radio 4, and we hear your responses to a slate of new breakfast shows.

    Zoe Ball and Lauren Laverne are the new voices of Radio 2 and Radio 6music's breakfast shows, and John Humphrys has announced his departure from the Today Programme. Listeners give their reactions to changing sounds of early morning BBC radio.

    In January, Gwyneth Williams announced her departure from the BBC as Radio 4's controller. Now the job is up for grabs, former controller Mark Damazer speaks to Roger about the joys, hurdles and room for experimentation open to whoever takes on the role next.

    What makes a good arts programme? In the first part of Roger's interview with Radio 4's Commissioning Editor for Arts James Runcie, he hears listener reactions to the programmes he's put on air since he took the job in 2016, and discusses his hopes for inclusion and diversity.

    And the presenter and co-producer of Beyond Tara and George, Audrey Gillan, discusses the difficulties of being both a friend and journalist to the homeless couple at the heart of her series.

    Presenter: Roger Bolton

    Producer: Robert Nicholson
    Executive Producer: Will Yates
    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    28 min
  • 21/12/2018

    Roger Bolton catches up with Evan Davis to share listener views on his new role as PM’s presenter. How has Evan found the transition from Today and Newsnight, and where does he want to take the programme now that he’s at the helm?

    Also, listeners respond to this week’s Archive on 4 about Apollo 8 and reporter Karen Pirie travels to Perivale where the vast BBC audio archives are stored. She meets with the archive’s collections manager, Elliot Gibson, and talks to some of the radio producers who plunder its depths to bring lost voices back to life.

    Finally, while Sailing By, Radio 4’s late night precursor to the Shipping Forecast, acts as a kind of lullaby to most listeners, it has a very different effect on listener Reverend Ian Robinson’s Tibetan terrier Oswald.

    Producer: Will Yates

    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    28 min
  • 14/12/2018

    Roger Bolton travels to Dane Court School in Broadstairs, Kent for a programme edited by listener and teacher Ben Forward. Under Ben’s guidance Roger explores young people’s listening habits and discusses what the BBC needs to do to attract a younger audience.

    Also, Roger meets the BBC’s Deputy Political Editor, John Pienaar, outside the Houses of Parliament to talk about another tumultuous week in Westminster. In the face of fierce debate about the BBC’s impartiality, John answers listener questions and reflects on his role at the forefront of news coverage

    Presenter: Roger Bolton

    Producer: Karen Pirie
    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    28 min
  • Up All Night

    This week, Roger Bolton hears from listeners concerned that the BBC gives too much time to so-called Think Tanks - without disclosing their political leanings or how they're funded. Should Think Tanks be obliged to reveal their sources of funding before being allowed on air?

    Continuing our late night listening theme, Dotun Adebayo, presenter of BBC 5 Live’s ‘Up All Night’, shares some moving experiences he’s had on the show, and reveals a rather unlikely source of company in the wee small hours.
    And Roger speaks to DJ Deke Duncan, who has been catapulted to fame 44 years after setting up his own one-man radio station in his garden shed. Deke’s somewhat limited audience is about to get a lot bigger…
    Presenter: Roger Bolton
    Producer: Karen Pirie
    Feedback is a Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

    28 min
  • Checking Reality Check

    This week Roger Bolton explores the role of the BBC’s Reality Check correspondent following a series of heated Brexit debates on Today and PM. He turns to a professor of journalism, Justin Lewis, for some impartial guidance on this most incendiary of subjects.

    In part two of Roger’s interview with James Purnell, he asks the BBC’s Director of Radio and Education to respond to criticism from older listeners who feel shunned by the Corporation.
    BBC Radio Sheffield is on the hunt for new local talent, and they’re going about it in a rather unusual way. The station’s editor, Katrina Bunker, reveals that a new voice will be recruited via X-Factor style auditions in an effort to reach out to local communities.
    And whodunit? Roger tracks the mystery of the missing episode of a BBC drama, and we hear the bizarre explanation for its absence from the BBC Complaints Unit.

    28 min
  • The licence fee for over-75s

    How should licence fees for the over-75s be funded? Roger Bolton talks to James Purnell, one of the most powerful men in BBC radio, as the Corporation launches a public consultation.

    Roger also meets Baroness Warsi at the House of Lords. Frustrated by stereotypes of Muslim women, her recent BBC Radio 4 programme How to be a Muslim Woman has set out to change the conversation.

    As the BBC’s Grenfell Tower Inquiry podcast marks its 100th edition, we hear from listeners and its editor, Jasper Corbett. He talks about where he draws the line on broadcasting distressing content and why day-by-day coverage of the Inquiry remains important.

    And, as we approach midwinter, night-time radio listeners share their nocturnal habits and reveal the programmes that they turn to in the small hours.

    Presenter: Roger Bolton

    Producer: Alice Bloch
    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    28 min
  • Brexit, BBC Sounds and 'University Unchallenged'

    Roger Bolton talks to Katya Adler about covering Brexit, and hears listener views on BBC Sounds, University Unchallenged and the conclusion of Home Front.

    It’s been a busy news week for those keeping track of Brexit, with the news moving almost too fast to follow. But what's it like for the reporters tasked with explaining it? Roger Bolton speaks to the BBC’s Europe editor, Katya Adler about the past week at the coalface.

    The BBC Radio 4 documentary University Unchallenged asked if universities have enough breadth of political opinion, considering whether the intellectual climate in academia is being constrained by a lack of "viewpoint diversity". But listeners were split on whether the programme took the right approach. Producer Martin Rosenbaum answers their comments.

    Since its recent launch, the BBC Sounds website and app have been a regular subject of discussion in the Feedback inbox. After more mixed comments from the audience, Executive Product Manager of BBC Sounds, Chris Kimber, speaks to Roger and answers listener comments queries.

    Finally, listeners reflect on the conclusion of Radio 4 series Home Front, a drama that charted everyday life in Britain during World War One.

    Presenter: Roger Bolton

    Producer: Alice Bloch
    Executive Producer: Deborah Dudgeon

    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    28 min
  • Listeners' verdicts on BBC Sounds

    Roger Bolton with audience comment on BBC radio.

    The new BBC Sounds app launched last week. Designed to eventually replace iPlayer Radio, its primary aim is to get young people listening to BBC content. So what do listeners make of it? Roger hears their views and talks to media consultant and podcast expert Matt Deegan.

    Living with the Empire, a recent BBC Radio 4 series, examined the legacy of the British Empire, looking for its traces in the UKs monuments, people and contested memories. It was presented by historian and MP Kwasi Kwarteng, who responds to listener reaction and reflects on the making and timing of the three part series.

    A century after the end of World War One, the Radio 4 drama series Tommies is coming to a close. It's been on air for the length of the war centenary, with each episode tracing one real day at war, exactly 100 years later. Feedback goes behind the scenes as the team records the episode for Armistice Day.

    Producer: Will Yates

    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    27 min
  • The Launch of BBC Sounds

    Roger Bolton takes up concerns over presenter changes at Radio 2 and he investigates the BBC’s new push for younger listeners with the launch of the BBC Sounds app aimed at the "headphone generation". How will it affect loyal live radio listeners?

    The BBC's Director of Radio and Music, Bob Shennan, answers the questions. He shares his regrets about Simon Mayo leaving Radio 2 and is frank about the effect of listener reaction to the stations new drivetime programme on co-presenter Jo Whiley.

    This week, the BBC launched its new listening app, BBC Sounds. It is directly targeting younger listeners, many of whom enjoy listening to audio on their phones but do not listen to the radio. Jason Phipps, the BBC’s first dedicated commissioning editor for podcasts, tells Roger about the BBC's planned new podcasts, and listeners share their favourite podcast picks.

    Producer: Karen Pirie

    A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

    28 min

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