Illuminated

BBC Radio 4's home for creative and surprising one-off documentaries that shed light on hidden worlds. New episodes are available weekly on Sunday evenings.

Radio 4,41 episodes

Episodes

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Night Bus
Ian Burke celebrates Manchester's new night bus service.
09 Mar 2025,28 mins
The Endemic Truth
As reports of child sexual abuse rise, survivors unite for meaningful action.
02 Mar 2025,29 mins
Thirty Eulogies
The story of haemophiliac Suresh Vaghela.
23 Feb 2025,29 mins
Bellboy
Can Marcus save the bells that changed his life?
09 Feb 2025,28 mins
Scattering
Tim Dee reflects on the scattering of his father's ashes.
02 Feb 2025,29 mins
The Memory Catcher
Can taking a photograph keep hold of the person you love even when they have no memory?
26 Jan 2025,28 mins
Anger and Us
Siblings Sam and Bon Stone are angry. For the first time, they explore how they feel.
19 Jan 2025,29 mins
In Pieces
In this sound-rich, tender meditation, Hana Walker Brown examines burnout.
12 Jan 2025,29 mins
God Next Door
Meet the Manchester man who believes he is God - and the people who share his belief.
09 Jan 2025,28 mins
One Hundred Ways of Listening
Distracted, privatised, enchanted. Tom Rice expands what it means to listen.
05 Jan 2025,28 mins
The Shipping Forecast: A Haven
Discovering who really listens to the Shipping Forecast at 00:48 every day.
01 Jan 2025,28 mins
My Night With Tracy - How the Darwin Cyclone Made a Man of Mike Thomson
Illuminated - Radio 4's home for creative documentaries that shed light on hidden worlds.
29 Dec 2024,29 mins
Ceefax Strikes Back... with Count Binface
Count Binface resurrects the mighty Ceefax. With one small hitch. It’s on the radio.
25 Dec 2024,29 mins
The Horse at the Door
Why is Isy Suttie haunted by the memory of a creepy old horse knocking at her door?
22 Dec 2024,29 mins
Stockport: Britain's Karaoke Town
The crazy tale that Karaoke was invented in Stockport and stolen by the Japanese.
15 Dec 2024,29 mins
Voices from the Bog
Old voices offer new perspectives on the discovery of Lindow Man and Woman, 40 years on.
01 Dec 2024,29 mins
Dark Crossing
A cross-Atlantic journey turns into a gripping psychological thriller.
24 Nov 2024,29 mins
The Last of the Blind Piano Tuners
A sonic portrait of a disappearing craft through the lives of four blind piano tuners.
17 Nov 2024,29 mins
The Sun Does Shine
The story of Anthony Ray Hinton who spent years on death row for crimes he didn't commit.
10 Nov 2024,28 mins
Reclusion
Will Self meditates on his withdrawal from city life and the meaning of reclusion.
27 Oct 2024,27 mins
Rebirth
What happened when Clive Hammond's heart stopped beating?
20 Oct 2024,29 mins
We Are Not Alone
In 1980s America, John P Timmerman recorded thousands of UFO stories in shopping malls.
13 Oct 2024,28 mins
The Suitcase
Folk singer Sean Cooney opens his special suitcase full of stories of love, hope and joy.
06 Oct 2024,29 mins
Lasting Lessons
Five 17-year-olds volunteer for six months at a hospice. How will they fare?
29 Sep 2024,29 mins
A Man Without Bees
Why are all the bees dying? Simon Mitambo from Kenya's 'Land of Bees' looks for answers.
22 Sep 2024,29 mins
Hervé's Way: The Story of a One-legged Pilgrim
The amputee who recovered his will to live walking a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
15 Sep 2024,28 mins
Reaching for Rossini
Young opera singers and their teachers reveal the beauty of Italian 'bel canto' singing.
08 Sep 2024,28 mins
Infinite Scroll
The writer and sleep-deprived parent of a newborn, Ross Sutherland, stares into infinity.
01 Sep 2024,29 mins
Sybil Phoenix, a Civil Life
A radio portrait of Sybil Phoenix, the first black woman to receive an MBE, in 1972.
25 Aug 2024,29 mins
The Ballad of Scout and the Alcohol Tag
A poetic meditation on alcohol, psychosis, crime and prison.
18 Aug 2024,28 mins