PODCAST · society
Midweek
by BBC Radio 4
Lively and diverse conversation with weekly guests
Episodes
-
Harriet Walter, Richard Curtis, Suzi Quatro, Declan Murphy
Actor Dame Harriet Walter; writer and director Richard Curtis; singer and songwriter Suzi Quatro and former jockey Declan Murphy join Libby Purves for the final edition of Midweek. Richard Curtis CBE is a writer, director and campaigner. His films include Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting…
more -
Alfie Boe, John Agard, Katy Brand, Allan Jenkins
Tenor Alfie Boe, poet John Agard, writer Allan Jenkins, and comedian and writer Katy Brand join Libby Purves. Alfie Boe is one of our most popular tenors. He is starring as Billy Bigelow in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel alongside Katherine Jenkins at ENO's London Coliseum. He has performed…
more -
Omid Djalili; Diana Moran; Jack Thorne; Dashni Morad.
Comedian and actor Omid Djalili; playwright Jack Thorne; fitness expert Diana Moran and singer and presenter Dashni Morad join Libby Purves. Diana Moran is well known as The Green Goddess who, back in the 1980s and clad in emerald green lycra, encouraged television viewers to shape up. Her new…
more -
David Rodigan; Loudon Wainwright III; Jackie Malton; Hisham Matar
Singer and songwriter Loudon Wainwright III; reggae DJ David Rodigan; former detective Jackie Malton and writer Hisham Matar join Libby Purves. David 'RamJam' Rodigan MBE is a DJ, famed for his selections of reggae and dancehall music. He has played on stations from Capital 95.8 and Kiss to BBC...
-
Patti Boulaye, Charlie Condou, Tracy Tynan and David Toole.
Singer Patti Boulaye; dancer David Toole; actor Charlie Condou and costume designer Tracy Tynan join Libby Purves. David Toole is an actor and dancer who played a starring role in the 2012 Paralympic Opening Ceremony. Born without the use of his legs, he turned his back on a job with the post...
-
Patrick Stewart; Shappi Khorsandi; Oscar Duke; Mischa Pearson.
Actor Sir Patrick Stewart; comedian and writer Shappi Khorsandi; medic Oscar Duke and charity worker Mischa Pearson join Libby Purves. Mischa Pearson set up the Teapot Project in Ipswich, Suffolk. The charity collects good food from restaurants and supermarkets that would otherwise go to waste…
more -
Michael Mosley, Camille O'Sullivan, Peter Laws, Pradyumna Kumar
Broadcaster Michael Mosley; singer and actor Camille O'Sullivan; Baptist minister and writer Peter Laws and artist Pradyumna Kumar join Libby Purves. Peter Laws is an ordained Baptist minister who has written his debut crime novel, Purged. The protagonist is Matt Hunter, a sociology professor who...
-
Levison Wood; Kimberley Chambers; John de St Jorre; Annie Siddons.
Explorer and writer Levison Wood; author Kimberley Chambers; journalist and writer John de St Jorre and performer and playwright Annie Siddons join Libby Purves. Kimberley Chambers is a former market trader, DJ and minicab driver who is now a best-selling author. She came to fiction late in life,...
-
Professor Femi Oyebode; Sheila Kohler; Stephen Boxer; Heloise Tunstall-Behrens
Actor Stephen Boxer; writer Sheila Kohler; psychiatrist and poet Professor Femi Oyebode and composer Heloise Tunstall-Behrens join Libby Purves. Heloise Tunstall-Behrens is a composer and bee-keeper. Her new work The Swarm, a 60-minute opera performed by the Quorum, follows a swarm of bees in…
more -
Evelyn Glennie; Milton Jones; Xiaolu Guo; Arno Geiger.
Percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie; comedian Milton Jones; writer and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo and novelist Arno Geiger meet Libby Purves. Evelyn Glennie is an award-winning percussionist. She played the first percussion concerto in the history of The Proms at the Albert Hall in 1992, which paved the...
-
Antonia Fraser; Stephen K Amos; Inua Ellams; Christopher Somerville
Writer Lady Antonia Fraser; comic and actor Stephen K Amos; travel writer Christopher Somerville and poet Inua Ellams join Libby Purves. Stephen K Amos is a comedian and actor. His Radio 4 series What Does the K Stand For? tells the story of his teenage years in 1980s South London. Stephen's...
-
Richard Osman; Peter Willcox; Rikki Beadle-Blair; Sacha Dench
Presenter and producer Richard Osman; campaigner Peter Willcox; playwright and actor Rikki Beadle-Blair and conservationist Sacha Dench join Libby Purves. Sacha Dench is a conservationist. She's the first woman to cross the English Channel in a motorised paraglider during a 4,500-mile journey...
-
Katie Melua, Nigel Havers, Tom Kerridge, Alex Wheatle
Singer-songwriter Katie Melua, chef Tom Kerridge, writer Alex Wheatle and actor Nigel Havers join Libby Purves and the audience in the BBC Radio Theatre. Katie Melua, the singer and songwriter, was born in Georgia, when it was part of the Soviet Union, and moved to Belfast when she was nine. She...
-
Sophie Thompson; Jonathan Franklin; Leon Bosch; Brian Wheeler
Actor Sophie Thompson; writer Jonathan Franklin; musician Leon Bosch and actor Brian Wheeler join Libby Purves. As a boy Jonathan Franklin rescued two orphaned tawny owlets and kept them with him at boarding school. His book, Two Owls at Eton, was first published when he was 16 and tells the…
more -
Ken Follett, Fr David Delargy, Hannah Peel, Joseph Cook
Novelist Ken Follett; scientist Dr Joseph Cook; musician Hannah Peel and Roman Catholic Priest and singer Fr David Delargy join Libby Purves. Fr David Delargy is a Roman Catholic priest and a member of the classical singing trio, the Priests. The group recently released a new album, Alleluia, and...
-
Tom Mangold, Nick Yarris, Catie Munnings, Vanessa Toulmin.
Television reporter and writer Tom Mangold; death row survivor Nick Yarris; rally car driver Catie Munnings and Professor Vanessa Toulmin of the National Fairground Archive join Libby Purves. Catie Munnings is an 18-year-old rally car driver. She won the FIA European Rally Championships Ladies'...
-
Bradley Walsh, Salley Vickers, Ed Victor, Debbie Young-Somers.
Actor Bradley Walsh; novelist Salley Vickers; literary agent Ed Victor and Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers join Libby Purves. Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers is community educator at the Movement for Reform Judaism. Formerly a rabbi at the West London Synagogue of British Jews, she is performing stand-up...
-
Melanie C, Douglas Hodge, Howard Webb, John McAvoy
Singer and songwriter Melanie C; actor and director Douglas Hodge; Ironman competitor John McAvoy and football referee Howard Webb join Libby Purves. Melanie Chisholm, otherwise known as Melanie C, is a singer and songwriter. Formerly one of the Spice Girls, she went solo in 1999 and has enjoyed...
-
Soweto Kinch; Ken Clarke MP; Melanie Lamotte; Alex Bellos
Ken Clarke MP, jazz saxophonist Soweto Kinch, historian Melanie Lamotte and writer and puzzle-historian Alex Bellos join Libby Purves. Alex Bellos is a writer and broadcaster who writes a maths blog and a puzzle blog for the Guardian newspaper. His book Can You Solve my Problems? reveals the…
more -
Helen Czerski; Odaline de la Martinez; Paapa Essiedu; Jim Richards.
Physicist Helen Czerski; composer Odaline de la Martinez; actor Paapa Essiedu and geologist and gold prospector Jim Richards join Libby Purves. Physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski studies the bubbles underneath breaking waves and their effects on weather and climate. In her book, Storm in a...
-
Marcus Wareing, Adrian Edmondson, Adele Bellis, Nick Littlehales
Sleep coach Nick Littlehales, Adele Bellis, a survivor of an acid attack, actor Adrian Edmondson and chef Marcus Wareing, join Libby Purves. Nick Littlehales is a sport sleep coach to some of the biggest names in sport including the British Cycling team, top Premiership and International football...
-
Stephen Jones; Clive Oppenheimer; Karen Guthrie; Tom Marcus.
Milliner Stephen Jones; professor of Volcanology Clive Oppenheimer; filmmaker Karen Guthrie and former MI5 operative Tom Marcus join Libby Purves. Clive Oppenheimer is professor of Volcanology at the University of Cambridge. He presents Werner Herzog's documentary Into the Inferno which is…
more -
Rory Stewart, Zucchero, Nina Plapp, Efrem Brynin
Politician and writer Rory Stewart; Italian musician Zucchero; cellist Nina Plapp and SAS trainee recruit Efrem Brynin join Libby Purves. Nina Plapp is a cellist and winner of the Royal Geographical Society and BBC Journey of a Lifetime award. Together with her cello Cuthbert she sets off from…
more -
Jeremy Paxman, Priscilla Presley, Thiago Soares, iO Tillett Wright
Jeremy Paxman; Priscilla Presley; ballet dancer Thiago Soares and writer and photographer iO Tillett Wright join Libby Purves. Priscilla Presley is an actress. She starred in the Naked Gun series of films, the television series Dallas and for the last few years has appeared on the British stage…
more -
Nicholas Parsons, Jacqueline Wilson, Ken Hom, Scott Gibson
Broadcaster Nicholas Parsons; chef and writer Ken Hom; author Jacqueline Wilson and comic Scott Gibson join Libby Purves Comedian Scott Gibson swapped his job in a call centre for the stand-up stage after surviving a brain aneurysm at the age of 24. Winner of the best newcomer award at the...
-
David Owen, Paul Jones, Amie Slavin, Samuel Tsang.
Politician Lord David Owen; singer and harmonicist Paul Jones; sound artist Amie Slavin and origami expert Samuel Tsang join Libby Purves Amie Slavin is a sound artist. She is the director of the Sonophilia Festival - Lincoln's Festival of Sound - which will offer eight days of live music, sound...
-
Monty Don, Ian Hislop, Joanna Barker, Gethin Russell-Jones
Garden writer and broadcaster Monty Don; journalist Ian Hislop; marine biologist Joanna Barker and pastor Gethin Russell-Jones join Libby Purves. Joanna Barker is a marine biologist who works for the Zoological Society of London and specialises in marine and mammal conservation. Her work includes...
-
Glynis Barber, Paco Pena, Lorraine Jones, Diana Nyad.
Libby Purves meets actress Glynis Barber; flamenco composer and guitarist Paco Pena; Pastor Lorraine Jones and champion long distance swimmer Diana Nyad. Diana Nyad was a champion swimmer in her twenties, setting the record around Manhattan Island. In 1978 she made her first attempt to swim from...
-
Liz Pichon, Melvyn Tan, Dan Richards, Meera Sodha
Libby Purves meets illustrator and author Liz Pichon; pianist Melvyn Tan; travel writer Dan Richards and food writer Meera Sodha. Dan Richards is a travel writer. In his book Climbing Days, he is on the trail of his great-great aunt, Dorothy Pilley, a pioneering mountaineer of the early twentieth...
-
Adam Henson, Tracey Curtis-Taylor, Paul Spike, Joe Langdon.
Libby Purves meets farmer and broadcaster Adam Henson; writer Paul Spike; pilot Tracey Curtis-Taylor and theatre student Joe Langdon. Tracey Curtis-Taylor is a pilot who last year followed Amy Johnson's flight from the UK to Australia in her classic open cockpit biplane, Spirit of Artemis.…
more -
Chris Boardman, Bella Merlin, Rex Pickett, Natalie Nicole James.
Libby Purves meets Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman; writer Rex Pickett; writer and academic Bella Merlin and performer Natalie James. Bella Merlin is an actor, writer, and professor of acting and directing at the University of California, Riverside. In her book, Facing the Fear, she draws on her…
more -
Simon Watt, Cal Flyn, Martin Gurdon, Baba Israel
Libby Purves meets biologist and stand-up Simon Watt; motoring journalist Martin Gurdon; hip-hop artist Baba Israel and journalist Cal Flyn. Martin Gurdon is a motoring journalist. In his book, An Estate Car Named Desire, he recounts tales of his car-obsessed childhood in the 1960s - a lost world...
-
Frieda Hughes, Christopher Gunning, Jim Buttress, Ronnie Le Drew
Libby Purves meets poet and artist Frieda Hughes; composer Christopher Gunning; puppeteer Ronnie Le Drew and horticulturalist and gardening judge Jim Buttress. Ronnie Le Drew is a puppeteer. Over his long career he has operated Muffin the Mule, Sweep and Zippy from the children's television…
more -
Johnny Fenn, Oz Clarke, Emma Sherlock, Brian Mullin.
Libby Purves meets wine writer Oz Clarke; photographer Johnny Fenn; playwright Brian Mullin and Emma Sherlock, curator of free-living worms at the Natural History Museum. Emma Sherlock is senior curator of annelids - free-living worms - at the Natural History Museum. She's also co-founder and...
-
Ian Ogilvy, Ella Al-Shamahi, Chris Packham, Ralph McTell
The poet Lemn Sissay meets naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham; singer and songwriter Ralph McTell; actor and director Ian Ogilvy and paleoanthropologist and stand-up comedian Ella Al-Shamahi. Ian Ogilvy is an actor who is best known for playing Simon Templar in the 1970s TV series The…
more -
Chris Rea, Rosa Hoskins, Chris Dobrowolski, Graham Satchwell
Libby Purves meets singer and songwriter Chris Rea; artist Chris Dobrowolski; former railway detective Graham Satchwell and actor Rosa Hoskins, daughter of Bob. Chris Dobrowolski is an artist and sculptor who spent three and a half months in Antarctica as artist in residence for the British...
-
Hunter Davies, Daniel Evans, Henry Normal, Fiona Bird
Libby Purves meets writer Hunter Davies; artistic director Daniel Evans; poet Henry Normal and forager and cook Fiona Bird. Fiona Bird is a forager, writer and cook. A former finalist on Masterchef, her new book Let Your Kids Go Wild Outside is full of enthusiasm for the natural world and aims to...
-
Maureen Lipman; Paul Whitehouse; Chris Bull; Desmond MacCarthy.
Libby Purves meets actor Maureen Lipman; writer and comedian Paul Whitehouse; tightrope walker Chris Bull and farmer Desmond MacCarthy. Chris Bull - otherwise known as Bullzini - is a funambulist or tightrope walker. He is recreating the tightrope walk of Carlos Trower, The African Blondin, at A...
-
Julian Clary, Wendy Cope, Carmen Aguirre, Patrick Deeley
Libby Purves meets poet Wendy Cope; performer Julian Clary; poet Patrick Deeley and actor and playwright Carmen Aguirre. Wendy Cope OBE is a poet. A former teacher and television critic, she has written on a variety of topics including education, romance, religion, television and psychoanalysis....
-
Patricia Rozario, Nick Davies, Lachlan Goudie, Sita Brand
Nick Davies is professor of behavioural ecology at the University of Cambridge and an expert on cuckoos. Based at Wicken Fen, the National Trust reserve in Cambridgeshire, Davies has unravelled some of the key mysteries of this trickster of the bird world using stuffed cuckoos and dummy birds…
more -
Meera Syal, James Runcie, Elliot Ackerman, Philip Hoare
Libby Purves meets actor and writer Meera Syal; writer and director James Runcie; former soldier Elliot Ackerman and Philip Hoare, author, broadcaster and whale chaser. Philip Hoare is a writer and broadcaster. He narrates Chasing the Whale, a show inspired by the 19th century journeys of whaling...
-
Fay Weldon, Richard Hines, John Hessler, Ed Zephyr
Libby Purves meets Richard Hines whose story inspired the novel A Kestral for a Knave; novelist Fay Weldon; cartographer John Hessler and actor Ed Zephyr. John Hessler is a specialist in modern cartography at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. He is the founder of the Scaling Lab, a...
-
Henry Blofeld, Emma Johnson, Pedro Algorta, Davis Miller
Libby Purves meets commentator Henry Blofeld; clarinettist Emma Johnson; journalist Davis Miller and Pedro Algorta who survived a notorious plane crash in 1972. Davis Miller is a journalist who struck up a 30-year friendship with the heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali. He is co-curator of the...
-
James Rebanks, Helen Scott, Carl Tanner, Caitriona Palmer
Libby Purves meets shepherd James Rebanks; Helen Scott from the Three Degrees; journalist Caitriona Palmer and American tenor Carl Tanner. James Rebanks is a shepherd, known to his followers as the Herdwick Shepherd. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, he and...
-
Janet Ellis, Nina Myskow, Charles Foster, Sarah Kendall
Libby Purves meets veterinarian and barrister Charles Foster; presenter and writer Janet Ellis; journalist Nina Myskow and comedian Sarah Kendall. Sarah Kendall is an award-winning comedian and writer. Born in Newcastle, New South Wales in Australia, she is a regular cast member of Clare in the...
-
Rob Askins, Dr Dean Burnett, Mark Lockyer, Ellie Crossley
Due to scheduling changes this episode will be broadcast on Radio 4 at 21:30. The full length programme is available online from February 17 2016. Libby Purves meets playwright Rob Askins; actor Mark Lockyer, neuroscientist and stand-up comedian Dean Burnett and cattle warden Ellie Crossley. Rob...
-
Sally Wainwright, Erwin James, Angela Kiss, Abi Roberts
Libby Purves meets writer and director Sally Wainwright; writer Erwin James; comedian Abi Roberts and author Angela Kiss. Abi Roberts is a stand-up comedian. She is performing her new show, Anglichanka - meaning Englishwoman - in Moscow. She says she's the first UK comedian to perform in Russia -...
-
Dame Joan Bakewell, Willard Wigan, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Gary Clarke
Lemn Sissay meets broadcaster and writer Dame Joan Bakewell; micro sculptor Willard Wigan; choreographer Gary Clarke and violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja. Willard Wigan MBE is a micro sculptor. He creates minute pieces of art, so small they are almost invisible to the naked eye and can only be...
-
Griff Rhys Jones, Mona Golabek, Lee Tannen, Marcelo Sellaro
Libby Purves meets broadcaster Griff Rhys Jones; concert pianist Mona Golabek; playwright Lee Tannen and horticulturalist Marcelo Sellaro. Lee Tannen is an author and playwright. He has written a play based on his memoir, I Loved Lucy, about his friendship with the legendary comedienne, Lucille...
-
Gerald Seymour, Amy Liptrot, Tim FitzHigham, John Bright
Libby Purves meets novelist Gerald Seymour; adventurer and comedian Tim FitzHigham; writer Amy Liptrot and costume designer John Bright. Tim FitzHigham is an adventurer, author and comedian. His new show, the Gambler, is on tour and in preparation he has undertaken some idiosyncratic challenges...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Midweek have?
Midweek currently has 280 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Midweek about?
Lively and diverse conversation with weekly guests
How often does Midweek release new episodes?
Midweek publishes regularly with 280 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Midweek?
You can listen to Midweek on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Midweek?
Midweek is created and hosted by BBC Radio 4.
URL copied to clipboard!