January 6th, 2012
Coming soon to Radio 4: five sketches of life 
on the move in the wild borderlands of southern Siberia.
Following the upper reaches of the Yenisei river across the steppe, over the Sayan mountains and into the taiga, Cicely Fell hears the stories of Russian Old Believers, Khakassian horsemen, Tuvan shepherds, shamans and reindeer herders.
Sounds of the river, hay gathering, hunting, and migrating herds of cattle and horses flow through these intimate portraits of different families and nomadic groups caught in the cultural cross-currents between Russia, Mongolia and China.
Below are some stunning photos of the trip, courtesy of the photographer, Ivan Boiko. All images ©Ivan Boiko 2011.
November 2nd, 2011
Tonight on Radio 4 is the final in the current run of Unreliable Evidence.
This week the panel discuss the ethical dilemmas faced by lawyers including those who are required to defend clients accused of rape, murder and other heinous crimes.
What should a lawyer do if he or she knows or strongly suspects that a client is guilty?
The brutal cross-examination in court of the parents of murdered schoolgirl Millie Dowler raised concerns about the rules that control the limits to which a lawyer can go to defend a client in court. Are the rules fair?
Among Clive’s guests is Jeremy Moore, the solicitor who had briefed the defence barrister in the Millie Dowler murder trial. He staunchly defends the cross-examination tactics.
The other guests are leading barristers Chris Sallon QC and Dinah Rose QC and Court of Appeal judge Lord Justice Alan Moses, who defend the legal profession against a range of criticisms levelled by the public.
Clive Anderson asks if the behaviour of lawyers needs to be more closely regulated or if we can we rely on their professional judgment?
This episode will be repeated on Saturday evening at 10.15pm. Unreliable Evidence remains on the BBC website for some time, so please check the BBC website to hear some recent editions.
October 26th, 2011
Broadcast tonight, the second episode of Unreliable Evidence, explores growing concerns that press coverage of the judicial process is out of control, resulting in trial by media and a threat to the defendant’s right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Taking part is the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, who is responsible for initiating contempt of court proceedings against the media and has successfully prosecuted several national newspapers this year. Challenged to take action more frequently, he says he is reluctant to act in a way which would inhibit freedom of speech, but says that if newspapers flagrantly disregard the law he would be forced to consider introducing tougher laws.
The other guests are Old Bailey judge Peter Rook, leading barrister Desmond Browne QC and Gill Phillips, a senior lawyer in the legal department of the Guardian.
Unreliable Evidence is broadcast tonight, Wednesday at 8pm on Radio 4. It is broadcast on Saturday at 10.15pm.
March 1st, 2011
The forthcoming series of Unreliable Evidence is shaping up nicely with four interesting debates; Terrorism, Intellectual Property, Tax and Complexity in the law.
The first programme in the new series looks at the role of the law in the “war” against terrorism and asks if the right balance is being struck between the interests of fighting terrorism and protecting civil liberties.
The second programme looks at the law and intellectual property. Humans are an extraordinarily creative species, but can’t always agree about the legal rights relating to that creativity.
The third programme looks at our tax laws and at the grey area between legal tax avoidance and illegal tax evasion. In the wake of public protests against corporate tax avoidance the programme asks if there is one set of tax laws for the rich and another for everyone else.
The final programme picks up on concerns expressed by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, who has warned that our laws have become so complicated that even judges are struggling to understand them.
Unreliable Evidence is broadcast at 8pm on Wednesday evenings from 23 March on BBC Radio 4.
February 28th, 2011
Nick Ross and producer Brian have just returned from Kiev where they met representatives of the Research Centre for Radiation Medicine and other scientists and researchers as part of an re-examination of the scientific evidence of the impact on human health as a result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station.
Fallout is a documentary for BBC Radio 4 that will be broadcast 25 years to the day since the steam explosion at Chernobyl caused radioactive material to fall over large parts of the Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and Europe. Due to the secrecy of the USSR and the fact that this was the first accident of this scale, fear of tens of thousands of deaths and increased cancers across the globe pervaded.
From the tissue banks of London hospitals to the snowy wastes of the abandoned city of Pripyat, Nick speaks to local residents, epidemiologists and scientists to attempt to establish the true extent of the damage caused.
Fallout: The Legacy of Chernobyl is broadcast at 8pm on Tuesday 26 April on BBC Radio 4.
August 3rd, 2010
Above the Title senior factual producer, Brian King, has just returned from the Dominic Republic where, as well as picking up a rather fetching tan, he has been investigating the David vs Goliath case of Dominican Republic citizens with Haitian lineage, who are now experiencing extreme difficulty in getting official documentation that proves their citizenship.
Brian spent a week in the country speaking to lawyers who were fighting the corner of this underrepresented group, in cases that often take years to complete.
The Legal World broadcasts on BBC World Service at 16:00 GMT on Monday 16 August.
June 24th, 2010
Nick Ross has spoken to the Sun about his experiences of being a have-a-go hero, and of his findings in making Walk on By, the Above the Title documentary about street violence for BBC Radio 4.
In the newspaper feature, he talks of how his initial assumptions about intervening in a violent situation: that the more people around to help, the more likely someone would intervene; were wrong.
Nick speaks to psychologists at the cutting edge of research into bystander theory using revolutionary techniques.
Walk on By is broadcast on BBC Radio 4, on Monday 28th June at 20.30.
The full Sun article can be found here
May 26th, 2010
Christian O’Connell has been confirmed as the host of forthcoming Radio 2 world cup comedy panel show, Never Write Off the Germans.
His razor sharp, off-the-cuff wit will be needed to keep up with his ‘home’ team, Jon Richardson and Andy Parson. Each week the home team will have to see off an away team of comics in a series of different rounds testing the panel’s knowledge of the World Cup, as it unfolds.
Never Write Off the Germans begins at 10pm on Saturday 12th June 2010.
May 21st, 2010
Above the Title have been commissioned to produced 5 x 30′ comedy panel show, to coincide with the World Cup.
Never Write Off the Germans is the new Radio 2 topical comedy panel show that pokes a stick at the last few days of World Cup action, separating the truth from the lies, the Terrys from the Bridges and the Capellos from the Crapellos.
Each week during the World Cup the resident home team of English braveheart come face-to-face with an away team of comedians over a series of rounds that pulls the World Cup apart like no-one else.
Come and drown your inevitable sorrows as we laugh at the WAGs, the gaffes and the haircuts.
May 5th, 2010
Big Impressionist, Alistair McGowan joined the Alex Lowe Double Act last night for the pilot recording of the new Radio 2 comedy sketch show.
Alistair and Alex perform a series of sketches, characters and monolgues (and the odd impression). And we find out how Alex really got Alistair to take part in the show.
The pair were also joined by the multi-talented Charlotte Page who helped bring the sketches to life.
The Alex Lowe Double Act will be broadcast at 10.00pm on Saturday 15 May.
It was devised and produced by Ashley Blaker.
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