Read this: 14/05/2021 Radio 4 Feedback

BBC sounds music Radio podcasts and still they come cats in programs and budgets has the BBC tries to 570 million worth of savings in this new financial year where The Corporation makes them is an indication of its priorities and with the ending of the woman's are serial drama things that Radio 4.

It's got its priorities wrong this Lisa Scott in a series since the squeeze on the licence fee feels like the worst and does the world last radio station is being hollowed out will be examining the impact of those cuts with a former head of BBC radio drama for the BBC to withdraw so significantly from Autos it's a disgrace to be honest.

What makes a good Radio 4 reunion of the idea has always been that people come together to tell.

The different perspectives, but did the edition on Romanian orphanages consist of a bias flaunting of British superiority as one listener puts it how you talking to the series 2 of The Reunion and can a programme analysing the music of cartoons work on radio you can't see the actual cartoons.

We asked our out of your comfort zone listeners remember what the visuals get my bearings to see if you share the confusion later in feedback.

Last week on feedback the editor of organs are said she was delighted that the program has been extended from 45 minutes to an hour from next Monday but there is a price to pay the dropping of the 15-Minute drama which previously occupied the 10:45 slot critics say this is part of a pattern and point to a continuous reduction in drama hours on Radio 4 for example the Saturday afternoon 60-minute dryer has been reduced from a hypo until 40 original permissions to 12:00 drama slot has lost 15-minutes for almost 1 plate.

This is how some of you have reacted to the loss of the Woman's Hour drama, Peter tongue, Skelmersdale no current programme affects me so much by huge variety of dramatic storytelling.

That's what is priceless and well aware cost cutting is needed everywhere but BBC Radio exists for the listener to the has to be some negotiation with us, Harry Turnbull Cheshire

Of course this drip drip of death by A Thousand Cuts has been going on for some considerable time to Friday night was scrapped ages ago and no more pizza midweek afternoons Saturday afternoon and sometimes on Sunday if there is a cuts agenda.

Let's have some transparency from those in charge.

Please show he leads on firstly this is happening but also really really sad radio dramas has been an absolute joy and at times the lifeline three quarters of an hour which is completely immersed with a huge range of genres and new writers and Stories not just adaptations of classic this also applies to the 15-Minute drama with the added bonus of an episode of structure which you would have thought fitted well with the podcast in trends and BBC sounds is corn warden listening in from Tirana

Canada to BBC Radio 4 around 2012 and I couldn't believe that the BBC was producing a new drama series like every single day of the year is still very but I hear the budget cuts now two six days a week of course we asked to BBC executive to come onto feedback to discuss this concerns, but our invitation was not accepted instead.

We were provided with this statement.

We appreciate the people love BBC audio drama.

That's why we're making the changes needed to ensure that it strives will pay more for all our drama commissions years of phrase and costs and investing all the 15-minutes lot budget Innova drama our aim is to reach more listeners on her as well as the Next Generation online.

Including surround new ambitious half hour Friday dramas in a challenging financial climate this does mean there will be fewer originations so we continue to broadcast in Contemporary drama everyday on Radio 4 beyond that we have exciting plans to develop more new writing and production Talent we are determined to bring the delighted to wider audiences well before we receive that stupid we spoke to Caroline Raphael who's the former head of radio drama.

She was so Radio 4 commissioning editor drama from 1997 to 2005 and remained at commissioning editor in comedy and 2015 indeed.

She introduced This Woman's are drama slot that has now gone I doubt it.

She was happy with the cuts.

No, I'm not happy at all.

I can quite understand that woman's arm a lot of noise and wanted to announce make a big pronouncement that the program was going.

What was hidden Behind Those social media and press report was a really sad and sorry story of what's happened to radio drama on the BBC networks and now some years but can you quantify that at all because of BBC doesn't seem keen to give us the figures well.

I went back over the schedules from the financial year 2016 and literally County it everything that have been broadcast and discounting the Archers discounting the glorious phenomenon that was Homefront taking looks to me as if the mother radio drama has gone down on BBC Radio 4 by about 40% and 40% in terms of minutes and hours cost as money spent as well.

That's a good question.

I was just looking at programs and I would say because of the duration of the programs the number of programs in the actual hours is about the same.

Times of money I can't do those thumbs warden has said we once enjoyed it by the large amount of drama on BBC which is obviously been back.

It's not that expensive their overall is it I'm in a factual slot of around 14 minutes costs about £3600.

What's the drama? It's just £5,100 when not talking about very significant sums of money for all we know we're not and in the full picture of what is spent on drama across the BBC it is absolutely nothing which is why I think it's the responsibility of the entire BBC2 actually treasure and look after radio drama and understand and celebrate.

What it actually does for the culture in this country what it does in terms of creating a pipeline for writers who will go on to write television to write Theatre to write film and investing at properly if the money saved from.

45 is transferred elsewhere does that in some ways sort of reduce your prism I was happening, but it is reassuring that they are reinvesting the money but then I think you'll have to look investing the money in the other drama slots and the reinvesting it because radio drama has been woefully under budgeted for years has the cuts across networks deeper and deeper and more and more Savage the radio drama budgets did not go up and yet at the same time and quite rightly the Costa Studios of Talent went up so yes, it's reassuring that what will be paid for audio drama in the future will be better and more realistic budgets, but then you have to stop and think well, if it been budgeted in the first place these cuts should never ever have taken place and it's a budget to go go up slightly the budgets for fewer programs then essentially you buy less but keep a bit more for it.

But movies has got to make this cut.

It's made of setting 880 million pounds worth of cut since having 2016/17 in the next year.

I think it's got to make a further what's 70 million cups to happen elsewhere.

It's not like it was 10 years ago.

There are other outlets the lot of podcasts.

You can get your drama elsewhere.

Can you get your drama elsewhere uh-oh know the answer to that is a no it depends what you're looking for what you can get in podcasts.

I'm nearly serials and they tend to be and I'm not being absolutely not being disparaging but they tend to be science fiction collective true Crime reconstructions fantasy wonderful if that's what you want, but I'm thinking quite specifically about the kind of uni single play the single play that has a unique voice of the writer that can be consumed in one.

Go and is completely kind of immersive transformative.

Maybe maybe itself of genre, but it's not a 12 part series what can BBC drama or should BBC drama be doing but the if you had the commercial world 2-ft to do wonderful space that the BBC could absolutely grab in podcast land and that is the beautifully made single.

I'm not saying that you're single players out there.

I've had some sort it quite experimental pieces quite often coming from the United States but there is there is a bit of territory that is the BBC One today to grab.

It's there for the asking if that's what they want until baby should invest in drama problem cutting it back in it seems absolutely mad when audio has had this extraordinary Renaissance at a time when the audiobook market is absolutely flourishing what that says to me.

Is that listeners want?

Want stories and it won't stories told in an audio form.

They want to stimulate their imagination are thanks to Caroline Raphael the former head of BBC radio drama and do let us know your thoughts about that interview or anything else to do with BBC Radio and podcast.

This is how you can get in touch you can send an email to feedback at bbc.co.uk alright a letter the address is feedback PO Box 67234 London se1p 4ax you can follow activity on Twitter by using at BBC R4 feedback or you can call us and leave a phone message on 0303 444 4544 standard landline charges apply, but it could cost more on some mobile networks all those details are on our website.

Each week, we're asking to BBC Radio listeners to step out of their comfort zones and listen to a program that would normally be on their radar this week.

We have Rebecca shepherdson my elusive friends from university both in their early 20s and both living in London and Maya to get a sense of your listening happy.

So what would be in your chop suey programs if you were Strand test Ireland the kitchen cabinet and In Our Time and Rebecca what's your favourite listening top 3 programs but also Falco the drama and the Unbelievable Truth to The Listening service on BBC Radio 3 this goes out on a Sunday it's repeated on Friday and it's available on BBC sounds.

So how would you describe the program? Could you explain to us?

I'd say it's 30-minutes long history and analysis of the music that was used specifically in Looney Toons and others of Marvel cartoons and sort of exploring musical and Rebecca did you ever thought of any sort of the music behind cartoons before because I didn't Wi-Fi watch cartoons.

I didn't think of the music all the people composing it or what they were trying to do as just absorbed by the future, so what's this program a surprise to you? I think it was in terms of I haven't really thought about the music in the same way things where you would notice it only if it goes wrong so always consciously that the music going out for there any up and then like my details he falls off a cliff and you can have no that so can't receive your not really thinking about it.

You don't notice if they started climbing the stairs and had another bass drum starts pounding.

It was really interesting then to unpack it and really.

Spent half an hour unpacking that music is great.

Discreet another sex questioning what's happening what's going on? What's the relationship between the Menace in these wagnerian sans transformation of the original swagger and June skipping I was back in the forest Menace still no by the hundreds of interest to the general well Radio 3 listen.

I thought something both actually.

I think there's another general listening music can get out of it because they're talking about something that's incredibly useful.

I think you can be tuned specifically something that like my grandparents.

No, but I think it's also appeal to people who do have that extra knowledge and stuff because it it is quite technical at times and I think they're presenters incredibly enthusiastic and has a quiet.

So, I think people can access it onto levels and Rebecca Tom service is an obviously a pen in the type of the programme The Listening service.

I wonder if it was a service to have him down for music obviously very enthusiastic.

Did you see her too much for him and not enough for the music a little bit enough? I think I actually got the bed quite well one thing I really liked about this program.

Was it quite often the musical underscore what he was saying he was talking over it sometimes, but the music carried on like a very deep in musical programme even when he was talking the music was much more interesting the nights or tourism paps noticed.

I mean these are the top Rank classical composers writing for cartoons in the 1950s compromising anyway, I thought

Even though I don't really know anything about it when he was talking over the music a little bit lost.

I think there was definitely when I did think it could have had a little bit less bright so a little bit more focused on those Looney Tunes itself.

I don't think so bit of the end about really added much for me it felt like a bit of a tangent to do to make a program about cartoons that you can't see it does depend in the end so much about the presenter and I think in the end.

Do you want more of Tom service user suggested that you wouldn't mind meeting up with him but have

I really enjoyed it.

I did actually find myself wanting to you.

What he had to say about the things I suppose that then my final question to you Rebecca you at your comfort zone.

I don't think you were actually I did GCSE music and you know it's not a massive the high-level, but in that you're expected to unpick music sat and thought about the theory behind musical anything.

I was hearing really since GCSE so it was definitely push me to think differently I guess the night think a lot harder and then I thought about continue music before and I are you out of your comfort.

I was slightly I think I don't quite have the same Enthusiasm as Tom I really enjoyed I think I struggle to follow.

It is closely listen to maybe different.

In a future right so somewhere in between how2become persona, did it do let us know if you would like to be put out of your comfort zone.

Radio Force much garlanded the reunion is still running after 175 episodes the presenter for the vast majority of those Sue MacGregor has now handed the baton on the walk as you probably know the programme reunites a group of people involved in an important moment in political or cultural history for example the latest series auditions on the litvinenko poisoning the finding a Richard III body at the person author Michael Rosen's long hospital struggle with covid-19 as well as bringing together the members of The Madness another concerned a group of people whose lives were Changed by the discovery of long neglected orphanages in Romania in 1990 Christmas presents and this young man one of the young Romanian glad she was about 1314 kms of to Father Christmas and said and they still chokes me.

Did God send you?

Somebody must have sent us to get to this place.

He was the back of nowhere and I thought goodness me that Godstone maybe he did at the end of my time in line to mulligan a very well put together an interesting reunion episode about Romania from a number of different use most interesting and crucial point for me.

It's about the situation now for the adult still left in care the different aspects of Reunion was also fascinating to in terms of hearing about Sandra returning to Romania and also for those that first mate Street the Challenge Anneka programme David Clark stunning intelligent well-prepared actual provoking and memorable a model for speech radio maybe the reunion format is right for expansion or development Dr Tessa Dunlop the programs contributors.

Exclusively British sitting on her lap the focus was on Britain's capacity to save and change no one thought to interview the head of institutional care in Surrey today a Romanian psychologist internationally renowned for his work and the deluge your foreigners British superiority would no longer be allowed to take place in the context of an African country and would rightly be called out of the white saviour complex that is joined by David press the series producer also conceived the format of the programme depressed first of all we discuss the raining in general.

Let's look at that Romanian program is specifically and the claim that it is an example of a Great White saviour complex and the reason.

Puts forward for saying that is that you didn't include any Romanian to actively involved in helping in the orphanages.

Why not? Well, I don't get the Strictly show me to of the panelist that we had to the people in the rooms at work will Romanians but they were children at the time.

I think her point is somebody was actively involved in helping in the orphanages know Romanian who did that in your program one of the people is still very much involved in the situation working for Faro homes, but I think it's a very good points.

I think you know we took a decision that we wanted really to get back to the essence of the reunion that period at the end of 1989 beginning of 1994 2-years the story rumbled and rumbled and really I mean it's quite difficult to as anything other than a story where international aid organisations and interesting use of individuals and you know there's convoys of people organised by Rotary Club

Big clubs in cricket clubs around the country going off to Romania there wasn't much of a coordinated effort at the time so I think we were reflecting it as it was at that time with those people in the programme when we let people talk about their experiences and let the memories come back as it was straightforward historical documentary you would have interviewed people in authority or active at the time the reunion is a different sort of thing altogether.

Yeah.

I mean ultimately we could have invited 30 people to take part and we could have had the new ones and the different shades of experience that interestingly Tibi retire that she mention would have been very interested in that context but I mean where do you draw the line? How many people could you actually have in a room to discuss and to take it into different angles has a very tremendous breadth of topics as illustrated by the fact that another edition of the recent series was on madness and this is what Christopher thought of that the Madness edition.

Entertaining but it's not what the program has always been as they are working together as a band, how is this a reunion the excellence of the idea has always been that people come to their to tell things from their different perspectives this was just a celebrity interview.

It seems a shame depressed Madness are still performing together and this was a problem.

We might get on Radio 2.

What military union for the great thing about reunions with always done that thing where we flip from light entertainment events to cultural moments to really hard-hitting stories to emotionally Laden stories and Madness is absolutely the middle of that and funnily enough you know we thought long and hard about it and they don't often get together to talk about the purebred approach that are really can only be reunion if the people have never met for 15-20 30 years whatever it is would be a bit limited.

I have to see Kate sew.

Thanks, I think our interpretation of Reunion allows us to do those sort of programs every now and again.

It was a wonderful bank holiday Edition and when we thought about a band that we would want to get the members back together to about the glory years was an element of haven't met the rest of the guys for a while and they haven't actually talked about particularly as it became apparent and this is why it wouldn't have been on Radio 2 Let's bowl of jelly anecdotes and discussing about the music in the sax solo on this and that the other so what we did was the other great moment at the end Mike confess that he still felt a bit of a grudge that no one.

Oh, sorry mate.

You're leaving the band you really mean that that was the essence of great reunion Chris Parnell the reunion is Returned and especially pleased it's now host Kirsty Wark very disappointed that the rather lovely in a resting theme tunes been dropped.

I want it back, please.

Can we deal with Kirsty Wark first if I didn't Kirsty Wark and our succeeding Sue MacGregor doing a very successful program.

I'd be nervous.

Did you have to persuade her to say you know you are in Big Shoes but we want to know because she loves the program as soon as I called her up.

She was quoting me back editions of the programme that she'd heard in the past and that she loved so it was easy job of persuading her to do the program.

She feels passionately about the stories and I think is interesting you know her work on Newsnight over the years.

There is a sense the stories come and go just the idea of being able to revisit them and reflect on them and sew them together a little bit is wonderful he had to make a change of presenters who wants to stand down.

You did not have to change the music and Chris Parnell says why well Chris I think I decision really was based on the fact that when we started the program it felt like we needed the signature tune to establishing identity to say that this is a program which is.

Heritage brand if you like on a programme of record as we've moved on it's become a little bit awkward at times because we've had in a very moving recordings and brain moving gatherings where at the end of the probe feels a bit inappropriate to have a bit of tinkle tinkle piano to be honest and so we were dropping it quite a lot and I think we just felt with the change of presenter from Ceuta Kirsty was a really nice time.

Just to rest the tune.

We haven't seen a great upsurge of people objecting a let's also face it there much bigger problem with signature tunes on Sundays than the reunion.

I mean that ol41ne have for that for the omnibus edition.

It's just something like a bunch of drunk Morris dancers and the morning after a wedding I mean for goodness sake my thanks to the series producer with the reunion David pressed anything that interview on a very drunk you might have to go to hiding and that's it for this week next week will be talking to Andy salzman.

Newly settled into the News Quiz chair.

He is also course the awesomely Welwyn

Not to say totally cricket obsessed TMS statistician, so do let us know very Google is that you would like us to Bullet him and perhaps the odd leg cutter until then keep safe help keep other people safe to and for Chris Parnell this is for you, goodbye.