Today: The Passenger

this morning (tuesday 30th), 8.22-8.28am, on bbc radio 4 

today (presented by nick robinson) includes …

“Who am I? What am I really? A swear-word on two legs – that’s the description of life under the Nazis for a German Jew, words written in 1938 in a novel called The Passenger which is being republished decades later.

The author, Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, fled Germany, but died when a Nazi submarine torpedoed the boat he was travelling to England on.”

including interview with … 

• publisher adam freudenheim, pushkin press 

• lisa appignanesi, president, society of authors

Lev’s Violin

every morning this week (monday 29th to friday 2nd), 9.45-10.00am (repeated 12.30am), on bbc radio 4 

lev’s violin (by helena attlee, read by fenella woolgar) 

“Helena sets off on a quest to find out where Lev’s violin was actually made.

DID: Simon Wessely

yesterday morning (sunday 28th), 11.00-11.45am, on bbc radio 4 

professor sir simon wessely (presented by lauren laverne) (in the desert island discs series) 

“Professor Sir Simon Wessely is the first ever psychiatrist to be awarded a Regius professorship – an honour bestowed by the Queen. He is professor of psychological medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, and is also a consultant psychiatrist at King’s College Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital.

Born in Sheffield to a father who had come to Britain on the Kindertransport …”

(if you missed it, available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000tm99)

Passover: Mirvis 2021

yesterday morning (sunday 28th), 6.41-6.50am, on bbc radio kent 

breakfast (presented by phil harrison) includes contribution from … 

• chief rabbi ephraim mirvis 

“Perhaps less well-known is that the festival of Passover is our festival of questions, the time of year when we focus on teaching our children what may the most crucial lesson they will ever learn: the art of asking what where when and most importantly of all why.

One of the cornerstones of Jewish tradition is encouraging independent critical thinking from a very young age. We teach children to ask probe and explore. We take their questions seriously. Questions are amongst the most potent tools at our disposal for improving ourselves and for shaping and changing our world for the better.

To question is not necessarily to reject or to undermine. On the contrary, it is seen in our tradition as a sacred task, to probe and explore as a way of refining our understanding of the truth. And if you understand how to ask the right question, you’re more than halfway to the answer.”

FOOC: Nazi past

last saturday morning (27th march), 11.50-11.55am, on bbc world service radio 

from our own correspondent (presented by kate adie) includes …

“Germany has gone to great lengths in recent decades to acknowledge its Nazi legacy. But the subject is still highly sensitive.

In Berlin, • Alexa Dvorson had an improbable conversation born out of a reader’s courage to reach out to a stranger–and to find out more about her grandfather’s past as a Nazi Youth leader.”

FOOC: Mansour Abbas

last saturday morning (27th march), 11.39-11.44am, on bbc world service radio 

from our own correspondent (presented by kate adie) includes …

“Israel has held its fourth election in two years – yielding yet another inconclusive result. Neither Benjamin Netanyahu nor his challengers secured a governing majority.

Some analysts say the stalemate is further alienating Israelis from the political system.

• Joel Greenberg says the outcome could turn on an unlikely kingmaker.”

Israel v Scotland

this sunday morning (28th march), 7.45-10.15pm, on bbc radio 5 live 

israel v scotland (in the international football 2020-21 series) 

“Live football commentary of Israel v Scotland in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.”

Nh: The Present

this afternoon (friday 26th), 2.51-2.59pm, on bbc world service radio 

newshour (presented by tim franks) concludes with …

“It sounds wrong, doesn’t it, a drama all about a man going to buy a fridge? But The Present is a short film which proves in its depiction to be rather gripping as it portrays the dreariness and boiling frustration of life for a Palestinian father in the Occupied Territories, particularly as he tries to get through the nearest Israeli checkpoint.”

including interview with …

• british-palestinian director farah nabulsi 

H&S: Posthumous father

this afternoon (friday 26th), 1.32-1.59pm (repeated 10.32pm saturday, 5.32am and 10.32pm sunday, and 12.32am monday), on bbc world service radio 

creating life after death (in the heart and soul series) (presented by viv jones) includes …

“Israel – a country that leads the world in assisted reproduction – is testing the boundaries on allowing a new method of family creation.

Passover kitchen live

this sunday morning (28th march), 10.00-11.00am, on bbc 1 tv 

passover special (presented by matt tebutt) (in the saturday kitchen live series, unusually broadcast on sunday)

“Matt Tebutt hosts a special edition of the BBC’s live cookery show in celebration of the Jewish festival of Passover.

He is joined by special guests including • Rob Rinder and • Rachel Stevens, sharing their Passover traditions.

There are great recipes from chefs • Sarit Packer and • Itamar Srulovich, the husband and wife team who own the Honey and Co restaurant chain.

• Helen McGinn will wake us all up to kosher wines with her expert drinks matches, and there are great moments from the BBC food archive, including the Hairy Bikers’ visit to Israel.”