Feedback

Andrea Catherwood puts listener comments to environmental journalists Lucy Taylor and Dan Ashby, whose latest series Dead Rabbit uncovers the shady world of illegal hare coursing, in collaboration with nature broadcaster Chris Packham. Feedback calls on two more voices for our VoxBox to share their thoughts on Radio’s 4 Farming Today. Young farmers Emily Mosley and Nathan Greenwood reflect on how...

The 2026 BBC Proms season is underway, and so presenter Andrea Catherwood heads to the Royal Albert Hall to talk to Radio 3 controller Sam Jackson to discuss this year's schedule, which includes a prog rock themed concert and appearances from international orchestras such as the Berlin Philaharmonic and the Spanish National Orchestra. We present him with your comments and critiques, and ask if the...

If you're a longtime Radio 4 listener, you'll know the important place that quizzes occupy in the schedule. That's why listeners have been in touch with Feedback to share their thoughts about a range of pilots for new quizzes that could potentially find a home on the network. Andrea Catherwood hears your views and talks to two hotshot quizzers - one a Mastermind champion - who give their opinions...

Evan Davis, usually found behind the microphone for Radio 4's PM, has been travelling around England and Wales recording people's opinions on the big things that divide us as a society - from immigration, to language, to class. It was all for a short series called Common Ground, part of ongoing programming from Radio 4 on the topic of social cohesion. But what did listeners think? Evan joins Feedb...

The radio drama Life and Time finished its third series recently. The six inter-linked plays explore the experiences of prisoners and prison staff. The main theme running through all the plays is the system of imprisonment for public protection sentences - IPPs. These were open-ended sentences with no fixed release date, which was instead decided by parole boards. Listeners have been getting in to...

The BBC recently reported that they'd tracked down Twana Jamal, one of the most prolific people smugglers in recent history - who had previously been arrested in France but was living and working in the UK. The investigation was carried out by journalists Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie for Radio 4's Intrigue series To Catch a King, and they found Jamal ahead of the police or the Home Office. This spa...

Andrea Catherwood hears your comments on the cuts to BBC Radio 4 news programmes and talks to a former Radio commissioner about her experience of bringing in changes to Radio 4. Also, our listeners share their views on the news coverage over the past few weeks as Keir Starmer announced his resignation as Prime Minister and Andy Burnham, the newly elected MP for Makerfield, arrived at London Euston...

It's a new series of Feedback. Andrea Catherwood sits down with Misha Glenny, former foreign correspondent and investigative journalist to talk about taking on the reins of In Our Time, following Melvyn Bragg's departure from the programme last year. Did Misha's long years in the fields of academia, Investigative journalism and being a BBC Foreign correspondence prepare him from taking on topics t...

Recent headlines have announced that the BBC is set to implement a massive wave of cuts across all of its programming, in order to make a saving of £500 million. The first of these major cuts has just been announced and listeners will soon notice the effects of these changes, with Radio 4 programmes like much-loved The World Tonight being axed. But who's making these choices, and why weren't liste...

It's the end of this series of Feedback, and Andrea Catherwood is talking to someone who has just brought his own long run at the BBC to a definitive close. Fergal Keane has covered conflicts and events all over the world as a BBC News correspondent, and now he's stepping away. Andrea asks him for his reflections on bearing witness to many world conflicts for 37 years at the Corporation. And last...

The BBC has just released a new raft of visualised podcasts - podcasts productions that you can watch as well as listen to. Some are being released on YouTube and some on iPlayer, but all have audio-only versions available on BBC Sounds too. It's part of a strategy to grow listenership beyond the audiences that usually listens to linear radio. But is it where everything is ultimately headed? Andre...

Listeners have been telling us their thoughts about a recent episode of Radical with Amol Rajan, in which he interviewed Dr Suzanne O'Sullivan, a physician specialising in neurology and clinical neurophysiology. It was an in-depth discussion about the potential dangers of "over-diagnosis" - but some listeners felt that Dr O'Sullivan's views could have been challenged more. We get some answers to y...

Andrea Catherwood meets with Paddy O'Connell, longtime presenter of Broadcasting House. But this time we're going behind the scenes as Paddy has granted the Feedback team special access to the programme's inbox - and like Feedback's listeners, Broadcasting House's listeners have a lot to say. And how do you get the balance right when reporting on news during a day that is supposed to be dedicated...

Since the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran began at the end of February. Feedback has received a steady stream of comments from listeners about the tone of the BBC's coverage. We've also been discussing news avoidance from people who are starting to turn off the radio because of a prevalence of negative headlines. Andrea Catherwood takes a look inside the newsroom with the BBC's Director...

In light of the death of Jenni Murray who presented Radio 4's Woman's Hour for 33 years, listeners reflect on the impact she made on their lives over the decades. We also discuss controversy on Radio 4's Woman's Hour, with many listeners questioning the programme's choice of guests for a discussion on “the manosphere” last week. Reflecting on another much loved BBC broadcaster, Radio Times journal...

A recent episode of Radio 4's Inside Health, presented by James Gallagher, reported a groundbreaking advance in the biomedical study of ME - myalgic encephalomyelitis, sometimes known as chronic fatigue syndrome. On Feedback, we've heard from listeners with ME who were encouraged by the good news but wanted more personal stories that gave a message of hope. Andrea Catherwood talks to Dr Charles Sh...

Illuminated is Radio 4's home for powerful, original audio storytelling - and recently we've heard from listeners who were moved by a documentary called Functioning, about the effect of alcohol addiction on two women's lives. Andrea Catherwood talks to the programme's producer Jodie Taylor, and Radio 4 documentary commissioner Hugh Levinson, and hears a remarkable insight into how the programme ca...

The main news this week has been about the US-Israel attacks on Iran - but how is BBC Radio handling its coverage? We'll hear from you on the situation. And in light of that, is there a chance that more and more people might be switching the news off? BBC Radio 4 recently aired a series of programmes all about positive news items, which many listeners felt was a relief to hear. Presenter Andrea Ca...

The war in Ukraine is still raging on, but is BBC Radio's coverage being faded out? Regular episodes of hugely popular Ukrainecast stopped before Christmas 2025, although the BBC has stated that they will produce pop-up episodes at particularly urgent moments in the conflict. But what do you think? We hear from listeners and Andrea Catherwood talks to Olga Tokariuk, journalist and Academy associat...

All year long we've been asking listeners to send in their nominations for Feedback's Interview of the Year, and finally the time has come to crown the winner. In this special episode of Feedback, Andrea Catherwood will hear your nominations for the BBC Audio Interview of the Year - any conversation from across BBC radio or podcasts that inspired, surprised, or stopped you in your tracks. We'll al...

The Reith Lectures are one of the most anticipated broadcasts in the radio year, and the conversation around this year's iteration, presented by Dutch historian Rutger Bregman on the theme of 'Moral Revolution', has been making headlines. Bregman complained on social media that one of his lines was edited out of the broadcast of the first lecture - and it set your tongues wagging. Andrea Catherwoo...

What can you say on the radio these days? For some listeners, instances of swear words and racialised language do not belong on Radio 4. Andrea Catherwood sits down with "king of the bleep" Roger Mahony, the Head of Editorial Standards for Radio 4, Radio 4 Extra and On Demand Speech, to discuss listeners' concerns and ask how the decision to give certain words the green light gets made. And listen...

Mark Steel's In Town has just completed it's 14th series, and listeners from Shetland to Rutland and beyond have been tuning in. But what do they make of it? And what goes into putting each episode together? Mark joins presenter Andrea Catherwood on Feedback to answer your questions and unravel how the programme works. Some listeners also had questions about Radio 4's Materials of State, which is...

There's been a raft of programming out on BBC Radio 4 and 5 Live over the past week about fatherhood. Feedback's heard from listeners to one particular series on Radio 4 - Father Figuring, presented by comedian Darren Harriott. In the series, Darren attempts to untangle his feelings about his complicated relationship with his own dad, and work out what makes a good father today. Andrea Catherwood...

Following resignations of the BBC’s Director General and the CEO of BBC News in light of accusations of institutional bias in the organisation, Andrea Catherwood puts listener comments about the integrity of the BBC and its coverage of the scandal to the former Radio 4 Controller Mark Damazer. As the story on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor continues to play out, the Senior Royal Correspondent Daniela...