News
Michael Crick looks back at success and failure in Tory leadership contests in the past Read more
now playing
How to Win a Tory Leadership Election
Michael Crick looks back at success and failure in Tory leadership contests in the past
Speaking Truth to Power
Mark D'Arcy examines how MPs' select committees are increasingly challenging the powerful.
The Age of Emulsion: with Laurence Llewelyn Bowen
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen explores the social history of DIY home improvements.
The Death of the Eccentric
Will Self goes in search of an endangered species - the eccentric.
God Bless the Prince of Wales
The explosive story of Prince Charles' investiture - a pivotal moment in British politics.
Voice in the Machine
How did our machines first find their voices and why have they now started to listen back?
James Burke: Our Man on the Moon
James Burke revisits his coverage of the moon landings in 1969 in front of a live audience
The Upside of Anxiety
Andrew Hussey examines the damage done by anxiety and also the benefits it might offer.
The British Black Panthers
The untold story of when Black Power came to Britain and forever left its mark.
Beckett's Last Tapes
Robert McCrum explores Samuel Beckett’s literary career through rare recordings.
Losing My Voice
Jan Ravens explores the fate of impressionists when their signature character retires.
Beating Hitler with Humour
Timur Vermes on how the BBC used humour battling with Hitler during the Second World War.
The First Political Youthquake
How did radical changes 50 years ago recast young people's engagement with UK politics?
Going to the Gay Bar
Travis Alabanza investigates the impact of the closure of LGBTQ+ venues in the UK.
Panorama Broke My School
How a 1977 TV documentary about one London school helped change education policy.
Please Leave a Message after the Tone
Are we hanging up on the voicemail? Olly Mann charts its rise, fall and strange afterlife.
Judy Garland: The Final Rainbow
The spectacular story of Judy Garland's last concerts in London.
Our Anniversary Obsession
From book publishers to Radio 4 commissioners, why are we so interested in anniversaries?
Akenfield Now
How has English rural life changed since Ronald Blythe wrote his bestseller Akenfield?
Here's Looking at You, Parents!
Parenting comedy couple Josie Long and Jonny Donahoe share their parenting archive clips.
Backwards Brexit
This week's Archive on 4 goes backwards in time to find the roots and routes of Brexit.
Desert Island Myths: Three Centuries Of Robinson Crusoe
Christopher Frayling explores the creation and legacy of Defoe's controversial novel.
Build the Wall!
30 years after the Berlin Wall fell, Katy Long examines the history of border walls.
Pandora's Ballot Box
Philip Cowley explores how technology influenced elections long before the digital age.
High Crimes and Misdemeanours: US Presidential Impeachment
Michael Goldfarb looks back at how impeachment became a tool of US partisan politics.
Altamont: The Death of the Hippie Dream
Mick Jagger's personal assistant returns to the scene of the Rolling Stones' 1969 concert.
Joe v Max
The story of the fight that gripped the world in 1938 between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling.
Peak Hype
Murray Lachlan Young traces the rise of hyperbole and asks: Have we reached Peak Hype?
The Problem of Leisure
The history of a phantom fear -that automation will end work and leave us nothing to do.
Divided Nation
Timandra Harkness asks if the nation is more divided now than it has been for fifty years
Sontag's Radical Will
Novelist Deborah Levy assesses the life and work of American writer Susan Sontag.
