The Report

The Report

By BBC Radio 4
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The Report episodes

  • Maria Miller's Expenses

    The MPs' expenses debacle has claimed a cabinet minister victim - 5 years after the initial revelations about abuse of parliamentary allowances. Reporter Melanie Abbott investigates the story behind Maria Miller's resignation as culture secretary.

    Producer: Anna Meisel.

    29 min
  • The Truth About Statins

    The vast majority of men in their 50s, and more than half of women over 60, could soon be offered statins - cholesterol-lowering drugs - to reduce the risk of heart disease. That would mean that a 59 year old man who doesn't smoke, has no history of heart disease and has healthy weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels could find himself taking a statin a day for life. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence proposes that up to twelve million people - one in four adults - should take the medication.

    Critics argue against such mass medication and claim that there is a high incidence of side effects including muscle aches, sleep problems and diabetes. They also question the drugs' effectiveness in reducing the number of heart attacks.

    But the defenders of statins say that this is scaremongering and risks unnecessary deaths.

    Tom Esslemont investigates how the UK has become the so called 'statins capital' of Europe and explores the arguments for and against.

    Producer: Emma Rippon

    Researcher: Ben Weisz.

    29 min
  • The Mystery of Flight 370

    It may never be known why MH370 crashed into the Indian Ocean with the loss of everyone on board. Melanie Abbott asks how a plane can disappear in the 21st Century, and why nearly a month on we are still no nearer to solving the mystery of what happened on that flight.

    28 min
  • Marius the Giraffe: Zoogenics?

    Copenhagen Zoo's decision to kill Marius - an 18 month old healthy giraffe - and to perform a public autopsy in front of children sparked a global outcry. Despite receiving numerous death threats and hate emails, the zoo's scientific director insisted he had no choice but to kill Marius because there were already too many giraffes with similar genes in the European breeding programme.

    Reporter Hannah Barnes travels to Denmark to explore the reasons behind the killing of Marius and other healthy animals. Back in Britain she talks to staff at British zoos to find out whether what the Danes did in public is happening behind the closed doors in the UK.

    Producer: Anna Meisel.

    29 min
  • Who Killed Meredith Kercher?

    Amanda Knox has had her conviction for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher reinstated by an Italian court. She was convicted, along with her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, in 2009. Doubts about forensic evidence meant the couple were freed after a successful appeal in 2011. But in January 2014 an appeal court reverted to the original guilty verdicts.

    Reporter Ruth Alexander travels to Italy to investigate the strength of the case.

    Producer: Helen Grady

    Translation by Santo Cullura and Helen Grady

    The readers were:

    Matthew Watson (reading the words of Francesca Maresca)

    Clive Hayward (reading the words of Valter Biscotti)

    David Cann (reading the words of Giancarlo Costagliola)

    Wilf Scolding (reading the words of Antioco Fois).

    29 min
  • Ofsted's Ideological Battle

    After a turbulent few weeks for those at the top of the schools' watchdog Ofsted, with headlines about critical reports, and personnel changes, Phil Kemp asks if this public row has distracted from the real struggle going on at Ofsted. The programme investigates why the political right feels that some inspectors have been captured by an outdated progressive approach to teaching. The programme reveals that Ofsted's leaders are rewriting inspection reports, removing phrases that imply criticism of particular teaching styles. The fightback against the educational theories of the progressive left has been dubbed the battle of the Blob. Who is winning?

    The programme includes interviews with Michael Cladingbowl, Ofsted's National Director of Schools, Former School's Minister Nick Gibb, Anastasia De Waal, Deputy Director of Civitas and teacher and education blogger Andrew Smith.

    28 min
  • Turkey: The Gulen Movement

    Turkey's most important Islamic network, the Gulen movement, helped bring the ruling AK Party to power in 2002. But now it threatens to bring it down. Fethullah Gulen, the reclusive Muslim cleric who leads the movement, has hinted that he believes the AKP is no longer fit to govern.

    Presenter Edward Stourton travelled to Turkey to investigate the Gulen movement in 2011. He discovered unease amongst the Gulen's critics about the movement's influence in key institutions, including the police and judiciary. In the wake of the recent power struggle between the police and the government, he examines the Gulen's role in the rift.

    Producer: Helen Grady.

    28 min
  • Dieudonne: France's Most Dangerous Comedian?

    Dieudonne has divided France with his controversial comedy. His shows are sold out, his videos get millions of hits online, and people around the world from firefighters to famous footballers have been photographed doing the 'quenelle', a gesture he popularised. Many fans see Dieudonne and the quenelle as expressing their anger and disillusionment with 'the system'. But the French government has banned his shows and his opponents say Dieudonne is a dangerous anti-Semite who is popularising the ideas of the extreme-right. Helen Grady investigates why Dieudonne has become so popular, and whether his critics are right to claim he's become a 'recruiting sergeant' for the French National Front.

    29 min
  • Oakwood Prison

    Following the recent riot at Britain's largest prison, in which around 20 prisoners caused damage to cells and prison property, Hannah Barnes investigates what caused it.

    Oakwood has faced a troubled history since it opened in April 2012, with several rooftop protests and a number of damning reports into its operation to contend with. The Report speaks to those who have spent time at the prison, both as inmates and staff, and asks why there have been so many challenges in less than two years.

    The programme explores the changes taking place across the prison estate, and examines whether the most recent incident at HMP Oakwood is a sign of wider problems facing the UK prison estate.

    29 min
  • The Seven Day Health Service

    Jeremy Hunt says he wants the NHS to expand so that more patients get the best care when they need it. But is the health secretary's goal of week-round provision realistic when the health service is already struggling to make an unprecedented £20bn in efficiency savings? And what is the evidence that more staff at weekends will make a difference? Wesley Stephenson investigates the case for weekend working in the NHS and asks what lessons we can take from hospitals in England already moving towards seven-day services.

    29 min

About The Report

From the publisher's feed

The current affairs series combining original insights into major news stories with topical investigations

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