So, what is the difference between the various numbered BBC Radios? Which are the good ones? posted by JHarris at 1:07 PM on October 17, 2009
sorry, my link is geo-restricted -- Brits only, sorry! posted by robtoo at 1:11 PM on October 17, 2009
So, what is the difference between the various numbered BBC Radios? Which are the good ones?
Radio 1 - Popular music for Yoofs
Radio 2 - More general popular music, occassional comedy
Radio 3 - Classical music
Radio 4 - Spoken word. Comedy, drama, documentaries, news, current affairs.
Radio 5 - Talk radio. Sport, phone ins, etc.
Radio 6 - The best music radio station (imo). Less mainstream stuff, more specialised programmes (dedicated to funk, soul, rock, indie, etc) plus documentaries about genres and acts.
Radio 7 - Archives - mostly comedy and drama from over the many years the Beeb have been doing this sort of thing.
4 & 6 are my usual radio stations. posted by vbfg at 1:26 PM on October 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
Radio 1 = chart pop Radio 2 = adult pop Radio 3 = classical Radio 4 = news and current affairs (most notably the excellent and influential Today referenced in the post title), mixed in with bits of pop science/history, comedy, and the world's longest running radio soap (which is probably FPP-worthy on its own) Radio 5 = talk radio (but not in an angry way) and sports commentary
I'm not sure about Radio 6, Radio 7, and the Asian Network as those are less widely available.
(Note that because of different immigration patterns in the UK, "Asian" means of South Asian origin, sometimes via East Africa, rather than East Asian.)
on preview: bah! posted by robtoo at 1:29 PM on October 17, 2009
vbfg, are there any specific programmes or podcasts from Radio 6 you would recommend? posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:55 PM on October 17, 2009
Actually, does anyone have any recommendations for especially nice BBC podcasts? I'm in Holland and listen to Radio 1 and 2 from time to time (on digital radio as well as on iPhone/FStream) but now note a screaming lack of UK podcasts in my iTunes. All I got is The Bugle. :(
Besides music (emphasis on indie in the widest sense, or especially eclectic stuff -- think Gilles Peterson -- but really anything goes) I like comedy, current affairs, science, and documentaries/stories, but then now I feel I've described the tastes of half of Metafilter.
Sorry to go all AskMe on you guys, this just seems like the perfect thread. posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:06 PM on October 17, 2009
The BBC really aren't into music podcasts (presumably for licensing reasons) and edit the music out of some (all?) of the shows that they do put out.
Radio 3 also does early music, world music and jazz, and a range of speech programmes which cover all kinds of unusual subjects. (Disclaimer - I sometimes work for them.) Even if you're not a classical music fan, it can be worth poking about their schedules for treasure. posted by Flitcraft at 7:18 PM on October 17, 2009
Goodnewsfortheinsane - if you like really eclectic music, try out Radio 6's freakzone. My other half is a devoted fan. Sometimes I'm intrigued, and sometimes I have to flee the room! posted by Flitcraft at 7:24 PM on October 17, 2009
GNFTI- In Our Time is excellent, a history of ideas focusing on one subject for each podcast with three experts in the field (large archive of backcatalogue here). Thinking Allowed covers a couple of social science ideas per week, and has a very engaging host. posted by Gratishades at 2:51 AM on October 18, 2009
Doesn't this make it rather likely that the BBC are going to insist on all its UK consumers having TV licenses for the telly stuff? The license defines what it covers as being for receivers of programmes made available in real time. (There's some language about 'receiving broadcasts'. I'm sure they won't allow computer accessed content to escape this definition much longer)
For what it's worth, I support the license, but I think the BBC's gone a bit nuts pursuing about a million different strategies over the last few years, which isn't making it any cheaper to run. posted by aesop at 2:55 AM on October 18, 2009
Don't forget Speechification, a blog of speech radio, with a heavy emphasis on Radio 4. posted by Busy Old Fool at 7:00 PM on October 18, 2009
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posted by Flitcraft at 10:49 AM on October 17, 2009