Illuminated

Why are all the bees dying? Simon Mitambo, an expert from Kenya's so-called 'Land of Bees', travels from his own affected community to huge industrial farms in search of answers. It is a journey both planetary and personal: without bees, can Simon's world survive?Presenter: Simon Mitambo Producer: Lucy Taylor Field producer: Mel Myendo Researcher: Georgie Styles Exec Producer: Dan Ashby Sound design and mixing: Jarek ZabaA Smoke Trail Production for BBC Radio 4.

Hervé lost a leg in a motorbike accident. On the eve of the operation, he made a deal with God: “If I walk again, I'll go to Santiago.” He did walk again, but not on pilgrimage. Instead, he got caught up in his business affairs, had a burn out, tried to kill himself and spent several months in a psychiatric hospital before he decided to keep his side of the bargain. He set out, with crutches and a prosthetic leg, for Santiago de Compostela, a journey of 1,920 kilometres from his home in Brittany in north west France to the cathedral that contains the relics of Saint James at the tip of north west Spain. The experience utterly changed him. It was, he says, a resurrection. He is now embarking on a second pilgrimage which will cover almost twice the distance; from Rome to Santiago de Compostela. John Laurenson walks with him for a couple of days to hear his story and talk about life, God, pilgrimage, about Luther's criticism – that they are a waste of time - and the sacrifice they can represent for his family of a wife and four children. John also talks to him about how, in a part of the world where religious observance has become the affair of a small minority, going on pilgrimages in Europe has never been more popular with new routes opening all the time.This episode was first broadcast on BBC World Service on 24 May, 2024.Producer / Presenter: John Laurenson

Did you ever have a recurring dream that you think might just be a memory? Or a nightmare so vivid that it could almost be real? John Meagher has. He’s been dreaming about a group of devil worshippers who may or may not have terrorised his home town of Newry, Northern Ireland since the early 90s. John takes us on a funny, fearful and surprising journey of discovery across Northern Ireland to uncover the truth behind the story of "The Whitehoods" of Newry and discovers that the "Satanic Panic" wasn't exclusive to his home town. But what was really going on? And why do so many towns in the North have a similar story?Can John find out the truth and lay these memories to rest? Is there any truth to be found at all in this land of saints, scholars and spoofers? For the sake of his sleeping patterns and his marriage, John is determined to find out.A Fabel production for BBC Radio 4

In an engaging programme full of beautiful music, Joanna Robertson eavesdrops on a cast of talented young opera singers from around the world, as they work on favourite arias to perfect the style of "bel canto" ("beautiful singing"). They have come to the bel canto summer school of the Georg Solti Accademia, in the small Italian seaside town of Castiglione della Pescaia in Tuscany. The academy was founded in memory of the legendary conductor who had his summer residence here. We listen in on the world-class students as they hone their bel canto technique with leading vocal coaches, opera singers and conductors. "Bel canto" is now on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is both a style of singing and a repertoire. It requires vocal artists to produce a penetrating yet luxuriantly smooth, and very expressive sound - often with virtuosic and dazzling runs of notes. Bel canto singing can be heard above an orchestra, without the help of amplification. It sounds effortless, but takes years to learn. It can be used for any style of music, but the repertoire most closely associated with it are operas by the nineteenth century Italian composers Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti. Joanna joins the young singers and their teachers to find out more about bel canto and to hear how this sound is produced. Producers: Arlene Gregorius and Joanna Robertson Editor: Penny Murphy Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound mix: Andy Fell Photo of Rebecca Gulinello by Jennifer LorenziniWith special thanks to Jonathan Papp, Artistic Director, and all at the Solti Accademia 2024 Young artists heard in this programme: Eva Rae Martinez - Soprano Rebecca Gulinello - Soprano Aebh Kelly - Soprano Clover Kayne - Mezzo Soprano Xavier Hetherington - Tenor Oliver Heuzenroeder - Baritone

Discover the enchanting world of Brood X cicadas, emerging from their underground slumber every seventeen years. Dive into personal memories tied to iconic cicada summers, from graduation ceremonies filled with their songs to weddings delightfully interrupted by these buzzing guests. Explore the intricate life cycle of these insects and the emotional connections they foster among people. Experience the harmony of nature's rhythms, and reflect on the profound symbolism of cicadas in our lives, celebrating growth and change.

"And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you..." Late at night, the writer, audio artist and sleep-deprived parent of a newborn, Ross Sutherland, is staring into infinity... "Usually, my phone becomes my window into a bigger world. Not just bigger- endless. Unmeasurably vast. You can scroll social media feeds forever and never hit the bottom of the chasm. I know it's objectively bad for me but I can’t stop myself. I'm craving endlessness- I need space! Vast, endless interior space... to compensate for the smallness of my waking days." Sinking into the infinite scroll of his phone (a web design technique - created to encourage addiction as your webpage never ends...) he weaves a woozy, funny, adventurous audio essay through sonic experiments, illusions and mirror worlds that invite us to reckon with the infinite.Including archive from ReThinking with Adam Grant 'Aza Raskin on why technology – and democracy– are in an imagination crisis' (courtesy of TED). Original music composed by Jeremy Warmsley Written and produced by Ross Sutherland A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

The years after Sybil Phoenix's arrival in England from British Guiana in 1956 follow a not unfamiliar pattern - trying to find a home and secure a livelihood, learning how to manage the endemic racism in Britain and, above all things, building a community.Fostering countless children, setting up the famous Moonshot youth club in south-east London and dealing with the reaction from right-wing extremists bound together her personal and public lives. In 1972 she accepted - not without controversy - an MBE, the first black woman to do so. With her new status she set up a hostel for young women, the Marsha Phoenix Memorial Trust.Now aged 97, Sybil's story is shared by her son Woodrow and daughter Loraine, the activist Eric Huntley, who's known her for over 80 years, and through previously not heard recordings that touch on her troubled early life, the death of her daughter Marsha, the New Cross Fire and much else.Produced by Cherise Hamilton-Stephenson and Alan Hall A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Peter Riley was 13 when he saw his first dead whale. It was a sperm whale. He spent most of the day with it on a Norfolk beach, and then watched on as someone carried away a trophy from its carcass. That night marked the beginning of Peter’s lifelong fascination with whales. Now, as an author and a Herman Melville scholar, Peter is seeking to understand the ancient and complex relationship between humans and whales.According to the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, there are approximately 550-800 strandings of whales, dolphins and porpoises in the UK every year. Although no one is completely certain why this happens, we do know they've been doing it for thousands of years.For as long as there have been stranded whales, there have been humans drawing meaning from their arrival - a warning, a symbol of hope, endings or new beginnings. So what news might they be bringing us now?In our current state of unprecedented abundance and advancement, in our pandemic of isolation and individual “strandedness”, the whales seem to be calling us again. As Peter speaks with cetacean experts, chases down whale remains and witnesses a whale stranding himself, he discovers what these magical creatures might be revealing about who we are, what we've become and where we might be headed.A Sound & Bones production for BBC Radio 4

In 2023, Scout Tzofiya Bolton entered a grocery store in the small town where she lived, carrying a toy gun. The only thing she knows about what happened next is what she's seen on CCTV footage - she pointed the toy gun at the person behind the counter and shouted to give her the money or she'd shoot.A few hours later, four police officers knocked at her door and took her away. She didn't return home for six months.Scout was released from prison wearing a 'sobriety tag' – a tool increasingly being used to help people control their problematic alcohol use. This is the story of Scout's relationship with alcohol, and with the tag that monitors her, told through Scout's dazzling poetry. Scout has a long history of psychosis combined with alcoholism. This was the first time she had been sent to prison. The lead-up was a prolonged psychotic episode, characterised by 'grandiose' behaviour. Scout believed she was a famous celebrity. She would wear ballgowns and walk up and down the high street. Everyone was looking at her – because, she believed, she was famous. In the grocery store, she believed she was making an action scene in a film. She'd called up friends to tell them it was going to be a great day's filming. Scout needed help. She found it in prison. For the first time ever, Scout had an extended conversation with a forensic psychiatrist who got to grips with her complex needs. Sobriety tags take a sweat sample every 30 minutes. The data is automatically sent to probation. There are currently around 3,000 people in England and Wales with sobriety tags as part of their probation conditions.Music and words: Scout Tzofiya Bolton Producers: Andrew Wilkie and Ellen Orchard Sound design: Micky Curling Executive Producer: Phil MaguireA PRA production for BBC Radio 4

When broadcaster Jaz Singh revealed on BBC reality TV show The Traitors that his father had a secret second family, he received hundreds of messages from people who had lived through similar experiences.As Jaz movingly explores his own feelings, he meets others who have also discovered that their loved ones are leading double lives. A wife who, after years of being happily married, discovered on social media that her husband was married to another woman. A daughter whose father had an entirely separate family and children - but whose existence was only revealed after he died.Jaz tries to understand the psychology of these second lives, asking what drives people to weave such complicated webs of deception. How do they manage to deceive so entirely? And how can those who have been betrayed forgive and heal?Producer: Helen Clifton Executive Producer: Jo Meek Sound Design: Craig EdmondsonAn Audio Always production for BBC Radio 4