Counter Culture

Saturday 24 September 2022

39 Ways to Save the Planet: Big Drop Energy 2:45pm BBC RADIO 4

A big weight and a very, very deep hole. The team behind Gravitricity think they have found a solution to a serious problem with renewable energy.

Diana Dors: Britain’s Blonde Bombshell 9pm Channel 5

The highs and lows of Diana’s career as one of Britain’s most celebrated screen actors. Alongside contributions from her surviving family, friends, fans and co-stars.

Berlin 1945 (1/3) 10.35pm BBC4

Journey back in time to Berlin’s most fateful year – 1945 – through the eyes and voices of those who experienced it – ordinary German people and the Allies who entered the city.

Sunday 25 September 2022

The Booze, Bets and Sex That Built the World (1/3) 9pm Sky History

Divulges surprising origin stories of the American alcohol, gambling, sex, and tobacco industries and the ambitiously notorious entrepreneurs who built some of history’s biggest fortunes on the nation’s cravings.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) 10pm BBC2

A young man searches for home in the changing city that seems to have left him behind.

Monday 26 September 2022

The Scramble for Rare Earths (1/5) 13:45 BBC RADIO 4

Misha Glenny explores the world of rare earth metals. They’re vital for the future of technology and the green transition but some see China’s monopoly as a serious challenge.

Tuesday 27 September 2022

Sensationalists: The Bad Girls and Boys of British Art (1/3) 9pm BBC2

Rebellious, provocative and unapologetic. The Young British Artists crashed the 90s art scene, making Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst and others household names. This is their story.

Storyville Welcome to Chechnya – The Gay Purge 10.30pm BBC4

A Storyville documentary that lays bare Chechnya’s deadly war against its gay citizens and reveals the bravery of those running rescue missions to protect the republic’s LGBTQ community.

Wednesday 28 September 2022

This England 9pm Sky Atlantic

Drama based on the first months of Boris Johnson’s time in office as the country grappled Covid-19 and Brexit and Johnson himself struggled with a personal and political life wracked by controversy.

Thursday 29 September 2022

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes Episode (9/10) 10.45pm BBC RADIO 4

Medusa is the only mortal in a family of gods and monsters. She leads a happy and sheltered life with her Gorgon sisters, who treasure her, On a visit to Athene’s new temple, she is raped by Poseidon and her life changes forever. Athene is furious, and rather than punishing Poseidon for the crime, she curses Medusa. Her hair is replaced with a writhing mass of snakes and her gaze turns anyone she looks at to stone. The power cannot be controlled: Medusa can look at nothing without destroying it. She is condemned to a life of shadows and darkness. And then Perseus comes on a quest in search of a Gorgon’s head.

Susannah Fielding reads the new novel by Natalie Haynes – the Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of A Thousand Ships and presenter of Radio 4’s Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics.

All episodes available online.

Friday 30 September 2022

Archive on 4: Paul Verhoeven’s American Futures 8pm BBC RADIO 4

Ken Hollings, in the company of director Paul Verhoeven and many of his key collaborators, explores the American futures depicted in Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers.

Selections by Pat Harrington