The north as an idea tends to move around according to the origins of whoever is proposing it. For Paul Morley it will mean Manchester. For me it tends to mean Yorkshire. Since The Matter Of The North (Weekdays, 9.30pm, Radio 4) is a Melvyn Bragg series, you won’t be surprised that his 10-part history of the role played by the north in shaping modern Britain begins on top of Hadrian’s Wall. This part of the country, as he says, has seen off the Roman empire, served as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, seeded the idea of transformative nature thanks to Wordsworth, and developed a distinctive sense of humour. “I feel it is as much a country as any more neatly defined place on the planet,” he declares with, one feels, a meaningful look towards the country on the northern side of said wall.
As a musical snob of long standing my soul revolts at music radio’s habit of trying to lead people to masterpieces by way of records that aren’t. The Story Of Stax (Weekdays, 10pm, Radio 2) about a label whose legend was built on the ears of people such as Isaac Hayes and David Porter, a legend that hinged on their ability to recognise the difference between the magical and the workaday and resulted in jewels such as Private Number by Judy Clay and William Bell. Why you would start this series with that same song being done by Jamie Cullum and Beverley Knight can only be explained by the fact that the latter presents the programme.
Brexit: The Leavocrats (Wednesday, 11pm, Radio 4) sounds promising. Here, Gus O’Donnell, former head of the civil service, goes back into Whitehall and talks to the people who actually have the job of unpicking the thousands of laws connecting the UK with the EU. The one thing that united the politicians and the electorate was the fact that neither had a clue just what an infernal undertaking this would be. Presumably, these much abused bureaucrats are starting to get an idea.
Jane Garvey begins Bottom Gear (Saturday, 10.30am, Radio 4), a tongue-in-cheek reflection on her reluctant relationship with the motor vehicle in her life, by asking, “Why are men so in love with cars?” This is an example of an opening question as guaranteed to irritate the men who don’t care about cars as a sweeping statement about women and fashion might alienate those women who aren’t all that bothered.
Speaking of beginning, this week I heard Ira Glass, doyen of American radio storytellers, talk to independent producers about taking the unexpected way into a subject. A case in point was his report from a US aircraft carrier that starts with somebody filling up the ship’s vending machine. The feeling in the room was, much as they would love to do that, the culture of the BBC, effectively their one client, wouldn’t permit anything as off the wall. You can listen to it on the This American Life website.
