BBC Radio Cuts, Charter Renewal, and Welcome to Defiance.
Feedback returns for a new series and a new raft of cuts to BBC Radio 4 has just been announced - including consumer affairs programme You and Yours, which has been on air for 56 years.
Thinking Allowed, Free Thinking, The Artificial Human, and Open Country are all set to go too. It's part of a wave of savings worth £500m, announced by the Corporation earlier this year.
But how will this affect radio listeners? Andrea Catherwood hears your reaction, and speaks to Patricia Nicol, radio and culture columnist for the Times, and Simon O'Hagan, writer for the Radio Times and the audio blog This Sceptred Dial.
With those savings in mind, we're also revisiting the topic of BBC charter renewal following the publication of a report by the House of Commons' select committee on Media, Culture, and Sport. The report sets out some recommendations for the Corporation as it prepares for the review in 2028. Steven Barnett, Professor of Communications at the University of Westminster, was a specialist advisor to the committee and joins us to explain some of the findings of the report.
Over the summer break we continued to hear from listeners who had been tuning into BBC audio platforms - and that included the people who heard the programmes marking the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. We hear what listeners thought of an episode of The Reunion, which brought together the people at Ground Zero that day, and also from Paul Howard, a retired pilot who heard the drama Welcome to Defiance, told from the perspective of an air traffic controller at work during the attacks.
Producer: Pauline Moore
Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
13 Aug 2026
Dead Rabbit, Colin Sell, and Farming Today.
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 well the station’s long-running agricultural current affairs show serves the farming community and wider audiences.
Following a suggestion from a listener, Andrea interviews pianist Colin Sell, who has accompanied comedians on I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue for over five decades but whose voice is rarely heard on Radio 4.
And finally, one message from a listener in Wales about continuity announcer Richard Evans' nightly sign off in Welsh prompted us to get in touch with Richard, and ask him to lend a hand in closing the final episode of this series.
Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Rebecca Guthrie
Assistant Producer: Jac Phillimore
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
6 Aug 2026
BBC Proms, Quiz Pilots and Interview of the Year
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 Proms are under any pressure from the cuts facing the BBC.
We also hear more of your thoughts about the recent round of BBC Radio 4's quiz pilots, which broadcast over summer.
And a nomination for Interview of the Year comes in from one listener who heard a conversation between Paddy O'Connell and journalist Lord Peter Hennessy, as Peter steps back from public life following a diagnosis of Parkinson's.
Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: Pauline Moore
Assistant Producer: Rebecca Guthrie
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
Who has been a guest on Feedback
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Polly Weston
Rhian Roberts
Sam Bonham
Julia McKenzie
Jon Holmes
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Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.8 / 5
6 ratings
Spotify
3.8 / 5
4 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 63 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
90
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
93
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