Whistledown

Pulp's keyboard player Candida Doyle confesses all - erect nipples, performance anxiety, and being a woman at the centre of Britpop's best-loved band. Produced by Emma Jarvis.

The recent D-Day anniversary reminds us of the story of how Robert Capa took the image which defined the day, recalled here in this 2013 Radio 3 essay by Hilary Roberts of the Imperial War Museum, produced by Brian McCluskey for Whistledown.

Sir David Attenborough and his cameraman Martin Saunders recall their encounter with the gorillas of Rwanda while filming the 1979 BBC TV series Life on Earth. As recalled in The Reunion on BBC Radio 4.

Mehmet Ergen is best known to UK theatre audiences as Artistic Director of London's Arcola Theatre, but his pioneering work in Hackney is only half the story. We follow him to Istanbul, post Gezi Park and post Arab Spring, caught between the Syrian conflict and EU aspirations; an emerging economy with freedom of speech still in jeopardy. Kirsty McQuire produces for Whistledown. The programme aired on Radio 4 on April 3rd 2013.

Twenty years on, Andie MacDowell remembers the making of “Four Weddings and a Funeral” for Radio 4’s The Reunion. In this extended extract from the programme, she talks about Richard Curtis’ script, her co-star Hugh Grant, and that last cheesy scene in the rain.

In this extract from BBC Radio 4's Something Understood, Samira Ahmed explores the role of transience in our lives. Anthony Denselow is the producer for Whistledown.

Ex-miners meet a former police officer and a Government Minister in this sparky edition of Radio 4's The Reunion, produced by Jerome Lyte for Whistledown.

Whistledown producer Deborah Dudgeon talks to Irish broadcaster Sean Moncrieff about the making of her programme "My War, My Playlist".

The ipod is the No 1 bit of kit to ease the boredom in Afghanistan. Coincidentally it was launched by Apple in the same month as the start of the war in 2001. Whistledown's Deborah Dudgeon has made a really insightful programme for the BBC World Service called "My War, My Playlist". She's spoken to those who have served about the music that keeps them going on their tours of duty. Jo Fidgen is the narrator.

Never mind the anatomy of a car crash.. Iggy Pop introduces BBC Radio 4 listeners to his hero William Burroughs in this Whistledown special feature. Colin McNulty produced this one, which meant spending time in Mr Pop's holiday cottage in Miami. The long version is on the Radio 4 website for a limited period.

Robin Lustig investigates the claims of corruption and kickbacks that have dogged Sochi's Winter Olympic journey. Hear more in "The Road to Sochi" on Radio 4 this Friday at 11am, or on BBC World Service on Saturday.

A lovely interview with Pete Seeger who will be much missed. This taken from the Radio 4 series "Old Stubborn Guts", presented by Studs Terkel and produced by David Prest in 1998.

An extract from Radio 4's UK Confidential, produced by Whistledown, in which Margaret Thatcher meets Mikhail Gorbachev for the very first time. The 1984 papers reveal what really went on. Presenter Martha Kearney, Producer Deborah Dudgeon. Taking part: Lords Kinnock, Lawson and Armstrong. Originally broadcast 03.01.14

A fast show taster of Radio 4's The Reunion. We gather Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and Simon Day. Catch the complete programme on Christmas Day at 10pm.

Radio historian and lecturer Tim Crook reveals some of the gems from his collection of WW1 propaganda phonograph cylinders.

Whistledown's Patrick Sykes has produced this lovely sound portrait of this year's Durham Miner's Gala.

Andrew Dilnot's 10 part Whistledown series looks at The History of Britain in Numbers. Here's a preview on The Today programme.

Sad to hear about the death of former BBC Political Editor John Cole. Here's one of his sterling performances, holding his own with Tony Benn and Shirley Williams in an episode of The Reunion recalling Harold Wilson's brave decision to hold a European referendum in 1975.

Reckon you can tell when a poem has been computer-generated? Have a go… (Answer in Radio 4's Something Understood on Radio 4, Nov 10th). http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03gtnng

It's Hank Marvin's birthday. So here from the Whistledown Archives is a gem of an interview with a 2013 re-edit and re-mix. Hank talks about his love for the Fender Stratocaster that became his trademark with The Shadows. Bend that Tremelo arm Hank.