The Untold

BBC Radio 4
  • 4.4 (161)
  • PERSONAL JOURNALS

A series documenting the untold dramas of 21st-century Britain.

  1. 19/12/2022

    Can Kwame keep his club open?

    The Jago is one of the few black-owned clubs left in Dalston, East London. When Kwame took it over in 2018 his idea was to make it a space for community – whether giving grassroots musicians and DJs a place to start nights or providing a food bank for local residents. But as the cost of living starts to bite, a noise complaint that could cost thousands to resolve makes Kwame wonder whether he can afford to keep the club open while staying true to his values. Produced and presented by Emily Dicks

    28 min

  2. 12/12/2022

    Life After Long Covid

    Zoe’s not entirely sure how to make sense of the last couple of years. But she’s going to give it a go. This is her story of the good, the bad and the ugly everydayness of life with Long Covid. Via life-saving phone calls, cloud-gazing park walks, homeschooling squabbles, summer holidays that don't feel like summer holidays, and lots of lying in bed. And now it's December 2022, over two and a half years after Zoe first got ill. Life is not all Christmas chocolate boxes and Ding Dong Merrily on High. It’s still really hard sometimes. But it is getting easier. There is singing and music-making again. There is hope. Programme image by Zoe's daughter Clara, age 9. Produced by Becky Ripley.

    28 min

  3. 28/11/2022

    The Prayer Wall

    Richard Gamble believes God has given him a mission: to build a huge national monument, made from a million bricks, each representing an answered Christian prayer. It seems an impossible task for a sports chaplain who has no experience of construction. And yet over the past eight years, he's managed to pull together a project team, raise thousands of pounds and launch a global design competition with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). But before a single brick can be laid, they need to secure a site to lay it. Richard hopes lie in the Edmistons - a family multimillionaires and evangelical Christians, who own extensive land in the West Midlands. Will his hopes be realised? Will he find a home for the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer? Producer: Becca Bryers

    27 min

  4. 21/11/2022

    Three Sides of a Crisis: Part 1

    Over the coming weeks, the Untold follows three individuals as they experience the cost of living crisis this autumn. We hear from a barrister in Manchester who is stepping out on strike action for the first time. We visit a pawnbroker's and her customers as they part with their belongings to pay the bills; and a father praying for a coal mine to open in Cumbria and provide jobs for his community to rely on. Producers: Sam Peach, Sarah Bowen and Neil McCarthy

    28 min

  5. 21/11/2022

    Three Sides of a Crisis: Part 2

    Continuing three parallel stories of the cost of living crisis. Join a striking barrister, a miner hoping to work again and the customer of a pawnbroker's as they make ends meet.

    28 min

  6. 21/11/2022

    Three Sides of a Crisis: Part 3

    Concluding a sequence of stories offering three different perspectives of the cost of living crisis. In Whitehaven, West Cumbria, Neil receives an update on whether a new coal mine will in in the town. He and his son both aspire to work there if the pit receives approval. Fighting for the mine to be rejected is Maggie, an environmental activist who has dedicated years of her life to opposing the project. A Barrister Aisha adjusts to a new reality following strike action and in Eastbourne, East Sussex, the customers of a pawnbrokers face up to using the shop as financial support for the coming winter. Producers: Neil McCarthy, Sarah Bowen and Sam Peach

    27 min

  7. 31/10/2022

    Quest for the Pink-Headed Duck

    Finding the long-lost pink-headed duck has been Richard's obsession for twenty years.

    27 min

  8. 17/10/2022

    Lions, Lemurs and Lindsay

    In 2011 Lindsay McKenna was running corporate workshops from her farm in Ross-on-Wye. An animal lover as a child, when Lindsay came across a raccoon living in squalid conditions she offered to take it. But this was just the beginning. As word spread, Lindsay discovered more and more exotic animals in trouble. Today her farm is home to almost 200 exotic animals including Lemurs, Lynx, Mountain Lions, Coatis and Servals. Lindsay gave up her corporate work to look after these animals, but with food and energy costs on the rise things may need to change. Toby Field joins Lindsay as she prepares her feed mixes, and finds out why she refuses to let these animals become exhibits. There's a close encounter with a Mountain Lion, and some Capybara provide an unlikely backdrop to discussions about barn insulation and growing your own produce. Toby watches as Lindsay and her colleague Adrian capture Rudy the Wallaby for a trip to the vet, and Lindsay's husband Frank and daughter Caitlin talk about the origins and future of this extraordinary place. Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Toby Field.

    28 min
See All (168)

4.4
out of 5
161 Ratings

About

A series documenting the untold dramas of 21st-century Britain.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2022
  • Episodes
    168
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2022
  • Show Website
    The Untold

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