The Federer-Tsonga quarter-final at Wimbledon made for nail-biting live radio, while there was thought-provoking fare elsewhere from Bob Geldof and Aung San Suu Kyi
Wimbledon (5 Live) | iPlayer
Archive on 4: Meeting Myself Coming Back (R4) | iPlayer
Everyone Quite Likes Justin (R4) | iPlayer
The Reith Lectures (R4) | iPlayer
Smile, please! In a week where research has proved that listening to the radio makes you happier, I found myself punching the air with delight at 5 Live's Wimbledon coverage. Wednesday's epic between Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was a classic. The match began on Richard Bacon's show, with the presenter providing some nice, non-sporting touches. When the news broke that Greece had approved austerity measures, Bacon immediately checked Mervyn King, in the crowd at Centre Court. He described how he could see King receiving a text message, then looking over to where George Osborne was sitting. Very cute.
But, to be honest, it was the action on court that enthralled. To hear the entire three-and-a-half-hour match ? from Tsonga's panicky start to his unbelievable finish ? was such a pleasure. "A lovely backhand return from Federer, who then plays a forehand, oh, long, long from mid-court!" exclaimed commentator Clare Balding in the final set. She sounded as we felt ? exhilarated, bemused ? without ever losing her professionalism.
Another joy was John Wilson's interview with Bob Geldof on Saturday's Meeting Myself Coming Back. This series, in the Archive on 4 slot, uses audio clips as a basis for examining a life. Geldof has had quite a life, but it was his articulate response to it that made this programme so bewitching. Even his terse description of his childhood ? looking after himself from the age of seven (when his mum died), cooking, cleaning, making the fire ? was terrifically affecting. And when he talked about visiting Ethiopia for the first time, or how he felt when Paula Yates died, his description of overwhelming grief was almost unbearable to hear. Wilson was sympathetic but tough, even asking about the public getting "Geldof fatigue". "What do you think it's like being him?" retorted Geldof.
Everybody Quite Likes Justin, the sitcom featuring comedian Justin Moorhouse, has returned to Radio 4. The original pilot, about a DJ whose life is falling apart, took too long ensuring that the audience knew what was going on, but this episode was great: quicker, livelier and a proper gag-fest, with most of the lines poking fun at Justin. He was accused of using "a soft voice" when he talked to a girl he liked. "What soft voice?" he said, in a soft voice. "People will think she's your carer!" was the retort, which made me, and the audience, really laugh.
Not so many laughs in this year's first Reith Lecture, from Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma. Suu's soft, well-educated voice suited her pre-recorded piece about the nature of freedom, and the questions afterwards, which she took live from Burma, examined the trickier aspects of liberty. Why didn't the Burmese uprising end as well as the recent ones in Egypt or Tunisia? How can a Security Council that contains China and Russia ever support sanctions against the ruling regime? Thought-provoking and informative, never patronising. You don't get that often on TV. No wonder radio makes us happy.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/jul/03/aung-san-suu-kyi-reith-lectures
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