Feedback

BBC Radio 4

3.5 (77)
Society & Culture
Fortnightly

Radio 4's forum for comments, queries, criticisms and congratulations

4 days ago

Jonathan Wall, director of BBC Sounds, discusses recent radio cuts

Jonathan Wall the Director of BBC Sounds - who has responsibility for BBC national speech radio - joins Andrea Catherwood in Salford to respond to listeners concerns about the cuts announced for Radio 4 over the last 6 months. Feedback has been flooded with messages about the end of You and Yours, and the closure of Radio 4 Extra from the Spring. The cuts are part of the £500 million savings the BBC has to make over the next three years. To get in touch with Feedback: Send a voicenote to Whatsapp or call our Voicemail at 03 333 444 544 Contact us on X and Instagram at @BBCR4Feedback Email us at feedback@bbc.co.uk And to subscribe to Feedback go to BBC Sounds, search for Feedback, and click on the link to like and subscribe Presenter: Andrea Catherwood Producer: Pauline Moore Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie Executive Producer: David Prest A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
29 Oct

How have the BBC Radio cuts played out with audiences? And a standout Stallone interview

As BBC Radio's listening audience continues to react to the cuts to programming and channels like Radio 4 Extra, Andrea Catherwood sits down with two experts to hear their view on how the corporation is changing in an increasingly challenging media landscape. The first is Shem Law, the Editor of the Radio Times, who recently wrote a piece opposing the cuts. He talks to Andrea about what the loss of the station means for radio listeners. We also hear from Simon Lewis, PR expert and former presenter of Radio 4’s When It Hits the Fan, on whether or not the corporation has got its messaging right when announcing the changes. And there's another nomination for our Interview of the Year Award. This time we hear from Dr Jan Lewis, who was fascinated by Dermot O'Leary's live interview with Hollywood tough guy Sylvester Stallone in a recent Radio 2 broadcast, which, she tells us, was unexpectedly informative. To get in touch with Feedback: Send a voicenote to Whatsapp or call our Voicemail at 03 333 444 544 Contact us on X and Instagram at @BBCR4Feedback Email us at feedback@bbc.co.uk And to subscribe to Feedback go to BBC Sounds, search for Feedback, and click on the link to like and subscribe Presenter: Andrea Catherwood Producer: Pauline Moore Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie Executive Producer: David Prest A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
22 Oct

BBC Radio 4 Extra closure, Matthew Parris on Great Lives, and All Kinds of Minds

The audience response programme presented by Andrea Catherwood. More cuts have been announced for BBC Radio - this time, it's the archive repeats station Radio 4 Extra that is set to close. Listeners have contacted Feedback with their opinions on the plan. Matthew Parris - journalist, ex-politician, and longtime presenter of Great Lives on Radio 4 - has recently taken his last bow presenting the biographical programme. For two decades he's welcomed celebrities into the studio to discuss the lives of prominent figures they admire, and now he joins Andrea for a discussion about his standout moments, and what the series' future might look like. And finally we hear from two listeners - Audrey and Jason - on the topic of a recent documentary series for the Understand strand on BBC Radio 4, called All Kinds of Minds. The series took a look at language of neurodiversity, and then went on to explore the experiences of neurodiverse people through childhood and adulthood. Presenter Nathan Filer joins Andrea to respond to the points raise by Audrey and Jason. To get in touch with Feedback: Send a voicenote to Whatsapp or call our Voicemail at 03 333 444 544 Contact us on X and Instagram at @BBCR4Feedback Email us at feedback@bbc.co.uk And to subscribe to Feedback go to BBC Sounds, search for Feedback, and click on the link to like and subscribe Presenter: Andrea Catherwood Producer: Pauline Moore Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie Executive Producer: David Prest A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
15 Oct

Listeners React to BBC Radio Cuts, You and Yours, and an Interview of the Year

It's been a week since the BBC announced the latest round of cuts to Radio 4, and you've been in touch to express your surprise and dismay at the axing of You and Yours, Open Country, Free Thinking, The Artificial Human and Thinking Allowed. Andrea Catherwood hears your opinions, and talks to Lisa Webb, a consumer lawyer from Which?, who weighs in on what the end of You and Yours could mean for consumer advice and rights in the public sphere. We also hear a nomination for our Interview of the Year award - this time it's from listener Robert Lenko, who wanted to put forward a conversation he heard between Lyse Doucet and a young Afghan girl on PM, which marked five years since the Taliban took Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul. Contact details: WhatsApp & Voicemail: 03 333 444 544 X & Instagram: @BBCR4Feedback Email: feedback@bbc.co.uk And to subscribe to Feedback on BBC Sounds, search for Feedback, click on the link to like and subscribe - that way you get every new episode in your feed. Presenter: Andrea Catherwood Producer: Pauline Moore Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie Executive Producer: David Prest A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
8 Oct

BBC Radio Cuts, Charter Renewal, and Welcome to Defiance.

Feedback returns for a new series and a new raft of cuts to BBC Radio 4 has just been announced - including consumer affairs programme You and Yours, which has been on air for 56 years. Thinking Allowed, Free Thinking, The Artificial Human, and Open Country are all set to go too. It's part of a wave of savings worth £500m, announced by the Corporation earlier this year. But how will this affect radio listeners? Andrea Catherwood hears your reaction, and speaks to Patricia Nicol, radio and culture columnist for the Times, and Simon O'Hagan, writer for the Radio Times and the audio blog This Sceptred Dial. With those savings in mind, we're also revisiting the topic of BBC charter renewal following the publication of a report by the House of Commons' select committee on Media, Culture, and Sport. The report sets out some recommendations for the Corporation as it prepares for the review in 2028. Steven Barnett, Professor of Communications at the University of Westminster, was a specialist advisor to the committee and joins us to explain some of the findings of the report. Over the summer break we continued to hear from listeners who had been tuning into BBC audio platforms - and that included the people who heard the programmes marking the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. We hear what listeners thought of an episode of The Reunion, which brought together the people at Ground Zero that day, and also from Paul Howard, a retired pilot who heard the drama Welcome to Defiance, told from the perspective of an air traffic controller at work during the attacks. Producer: Pauline Moore Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie Executive Producer: David Prest A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
13 Aug

Dead Rabbit, Colin Sell, and Farming Today.

Andrea Catherwood puts listener comments to environmental journalists Lucy Taylor and Dan Ashby, whose latest series Dead Rabbit uncovers the shady world of illegal hare coursing, in collaboration with nature broadcaster Chris Packham. Feedback calls on two more voices for our VoxBox to share their thoughts on Radio’s 4 Farming Today. Young farmers Emily Mosley and Nathan Greenwood reflect on how well the station’s long-running agricultural current affairs show serves the farming community and wider audiences. Following a suggestion from a listener, Andrea interviews pianist Colin Sell, who has accompanied comedians on I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue for over five decades but whose voice is rarely heard on Radio 4. And finally, one message from a listener in Wales about continuity announcer Richard Evans' nightly sign off in Welsh prompted us to get in touch with Richard, and ask him to lend a hand in closing the final episode of this series. Presenter: Andrea Catherwood  Producer: Rebecca Guthrie  Assistant Producer: Jac Phillimore  Executive Producer: David Prest A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
6 Aug

BBC Proms, Quiz Pilots and Interview of the Year

The 2026 BBC Proms season is underway, and so presenter Andrea Catherwood heads to the Royal Albert Hall to talk to Radio 3 controller Sam Jackson to discuss this year's schedule, which includes a prog rock themed concert and appearances from international orchestras such as the Berlin Philaharmonic and the Spanish National Orchestra. We present him with your comments and critiques, and ask if the Proms are under any pressure from the cuts facing the BBC. We also hear more of your thoughts about the recent round of BBC Radio 4's quiz pilots, which broadcast over summer. And a nomination for Interview of the Year comes in from one listener who heard a conversation between Paddy O'Connell and journalist Lord Peter Hennessy, as Peter steps back from public life following a diagnosis of Parkinson's. Presenter: Andrea Catherwood Producer: Pauline Moore Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie Executive Producer: David Prest A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
30 Jul

Radio 4's Pilot Quizzes, and Radio 1 Schedule Changes

If you're a longtime Radio 4 listener, you'll know the important place that quizzes occupy in the schedule. That's why listeners have been in touch with Feedback to share their thoughts about a range of pilots for new quizzes that could potentially find a home on the network. Andrea Catherwood hears your views and talks to two hotshot quizzers - one a Mastermind champion - who give their opinions on whether or not these pilots get top marks. Radio 1 has announced a round of changes to the station's schedule and presenter line-up, with some on-air talent due to leave the station later this year. One listener shares what these changes mean to her, and Andrea talks to Sarah Carson, Chief Culture Writer and Contributing Editor at the i Paper, who gives her analysis on what they signify for Radio 1 in the long run. And following last week's interview with Evan Davis about his new series Common Ground, we hear from listeners who were disappointed to know that the opportunity for Evan to travel around the UK will be limited by budget cuts. Presenter: Andrea Catherwood Producer: Pauline Moore Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie Executive Producer: David Prest A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4

See All (495)

3.5

out of 5

77 Ratings

BBC

17/10/2025

lovealways#

What a disgrace you have become you are indeed very reminiscent of The Sun paper You have lost moral ethical integrity And going to Dong of piped piper who is taking off cliff edge What are doing? Nestling in with such hatred biased news by supporting far right extremism? Do you understand what fairness is? Are you in fact aligned with extremism? I ironically switched on to listen to this podcast and this is great listen BUT the BBC leadership needs to change It’s toxic racist and anti supporter rhetoric Your failing the country by not listening to
Irritation!

26/04/2022

Grandmatriarch

Out of their comfort zone very tedious with often rather singular participants. Would prefer more views on radio generally rather than wasting space on this irritating feature.
Time to tune out

13/08/2021

middle stump 1

This would be a useful programme if anyone from BBC management ever turned up to answer questions. I have recently started to listen to Times radio for my morning news and it’s an improvement on the Today programme. There is an additional benefit of no continuity announcers with their wacky accents and no interminable adverts for BBC sounds. In the meantime I have unsubscribes from this podcast.
Old reviews!

18/10/2020

a chiles

Nothing up to date on these reviews. I’m not surprised, just pressed unsubscribe button myself. Nearly 40 seconds of snippets that you’re going to hear in a moment as an intro. Members of the public ‘out of their comfort zone’, but they’re not really. Nothing of interest at all.