Episodes

SeriesEpisodeTitleFirst
Broadcast
RepeatedComments
Failure2012022720120515 (R4)Old BBC programmes are chopped up and recycled into something new.

Failure is a subject we can all understand and this programme features quiz show contestants, divorcees, politicians, as well as an explanation of the death of the dodo, and the voice of the man who discovered Scott's body in his tent in the Antarctic.

Featuring the voices of Sheila Hancock, David Attenborough, Beryl Bainbridge, Matthew Parris, John Humphrys, Margaret Thatcher, Joe Queenan, Bill Clinton, Armando Iannucci, Jeremy Paxman and Gordon Brown, among many others.

These are not stories told in a conventional sense - they have been chopped up and broken down, slowed down and juxtaposed to create something new.

Producer: Miles Warde

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

Old BBC programmes are chopped up and recycled into something new.

Failure is a subject we can all understand and this programme features quiz show contestants, divorcees, politicians, as well as an explanation of the death of the dodo, and the voice of the man who discovered Scott's body in his tent in the Antarctic.

Featuring the voices of Sheila Hancock, David Attenborough, Beryl Bainbridge, Matthew Parris, John Humphrys, Margaret Thatcher, Joe Queenan, Bill Clinton, Armando Iannucci, Jeremy Paxman and Gordon Brown, among many others.

These are not stories told in a conventional sense - they have been chopped up and broken down, slowed down and juxtaposed to create something new.

Producer: Miles Warde

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0101Power20130603

What connects Adolf Hitler, John Humphrys, John Prescott, Jenni Murray and Genghis Khan? You are about to find out.

Welcome to the chopped up, looped up, sped up world of Recycled Radio - a kind of archive hour on speed.

Gerald Scarfe introduces this episode on the issue of POWER, a subject close to his heart. Expect to hear Tony Blair talking with the devil Mephistopheles about the Faustian pact; Sue Perkins on Just a Minute's Machiavellian chairman Nicholas Parsons; and Eddy Grundy from the Archers stumbling into a sliced and diced version of Animal Farm. All animals are equal, wrote George Orwell, but some are more equal than others. This programme is asking you why.

Structured around Bertrand Russell's 1948 Reith lecture on Authority and the Individual, this is a crazed reworking of his exploration of power, where it comes from, and why it works.

Producer: Miles Warde

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.

What connects Adolf Hitler, John Humphrys and Jenny Murray? You are about to find out.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0102Money20130610

What connects Ken Clarke, Chris Moyles, and Sue MacGregor, along with Brenda Blethyn, Milton Friedman and The Goons?

The answer is money - courtesy of Recycled Radio.

We've chopped, looped and teased tales as diverse as Aesop's fable about the goose that lay the golden egg to Ian Duncan Smith being asked to live on £53 a week.

There's music from Buddy Ella and the Johnsons, Phoenix, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. John Major claims that lottery fever will make Britain a better place to live; Melvyn Bragg asks if money is the root of all evil; and the American economist Milton Friedman asks what is greed.

"Of course none of us are greedy," he says, "it's only the other fellow who is greedy."

Producer: Miles Warde

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.

Recycled Radio explores money, the root of all evil. Or is it?

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0102Money2013061020150428 (R4)

What connects Ken Clarke, Chris Moyles, and Sue MacGregor, along with Brenda Blethyn, Milton Friedman and The Goons?

The answer is money - courtesy of Recycled Radio.

We've chopped, looped and teased tales as diverse as Aesop's fable about the goose that lay the golden egg to Ian Duncan Smith being asked to live on £53 a week.

There's music from Buddy Ella and the Johnsons, Phoenix, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. John Major claims that lottery fever will make Britain a better place to live; Melvyn Bragg asks if money is the root of all evil; and the American economist Milton Friedman asks what is greed.

"Of course none of us are greedy," he says, "it's only the other fellow who is greedy."

Producer: Miles Warde

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.

Recycled Radio explores money, the root of all evil. Or is it?

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0103Blood20130617At the end of May 2013, Gerald Scarfe's weekly illustration in the Sunday Times was a meat cleaver wedged into a pool of blood. Underneath he'd scrawled 'Political Debate'.

~Recycled Radio has taken this as the inspiration for a programme about blood - from Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood in 1968 to the horrific scenes in Woolwich in 2013.

Slicing, dicing and splicing words from Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and Enoch Powell, the programme offers its own typically unpredictable response to this emotive word. Blood descends into a world of violence and hate. Red blood, blue blood, mixed blood, bad blood.

Also featuring the voices of Harry Allen, Louis Farrakhan, Melvyn Bragg and Pauline Black.

With music from Willie King and the Liberators.

Producer: Miles Warde

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.

Old radio, recycled into something new: Blood

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0104Class20130624

Back in 1966, a famous sketch first appeared on TV skewering the British class system like a well done kebab.

Now Recycled Radio picks up John Cleese, Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker and runs headlong into the slicing, dicing and splicing of the edit machine before emerging afresh.

Gerald Scarfe introduces, while vocal talent is provided by Boris Johnson, Nadine Dorries, Caitlin Moran, Laurie Taylor, Jennifer Saunders, Stephen Fry, John Lennon, Marcus Brigstocke, Grayson Perry and Attila the Stockbroker.

Intellectual backbone from the eminent sociologist AH Halsey, with music from AC / DC.

Producer: Miles Warde

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.

Gerald Scarfe introduces the radio, recycled. The subject is class.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0201Hell20140811

Welcome to the chopped up, looped up, sped up world of Recycled Radio, old BBC broadcasts turned into something new.

Cartoonist Scarfe scavenges round his studio for depictions of the fiery realms of Satan, Hades and Mephistopheles, otherwise known as Recycled Hell.

This is the archive hour at breakneck speed, and our journey to the underworld makes surprising visits to both Glastonbury and Heathrow Terminal 5. Expect to hear from Dante, Milton and Eddie Mair, along with Tony Blair, Melvyn Bragg and Germaine Greer.

Fun, silly, thoughtful radio about a place that exerts an enormous grip on the imagination of people everywhere.

Producer: Miles Warde.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2014.

Gerald Scarfe introduces the radio, recycled. The subject is Hell.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0201Hell2014081120150430 (R4)

Welcome to the chopped up, looped up, sped up world of Recycled Radio, old BBC broadcasts turned into something new.

Cartoonist Scarfe scavenges round his studio for depictions of the fiery realms of Satan, Hades and Mephistopheles, otherwise known as Recycled Hell.

This is the archive hour at breakneck speed, and our journey to the underworld makes surprising visits to both Glastonbury and Heathrow Terminal 5. Expect to hear from Dante, Milton and Eddie Mair, along with Tony Blair, Melvyn Bragg and Germaine Greer.

Fun, silly, thoughtful radio about a place that exerts an enormous grip on the imagination of people everywhere.

Producer: Miles Warde.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2014.

Gerald Scarfe introduces the radio, recycled. The subject is Hell.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0202Art20140818

Welcome to the chopped up, looped up, sped up world of Recycled Radio, introduced by cartoonist Gerald Scarfe. This week's programme : Art.
"I've been fascinated by this subject ever since art college, where a young David Hockney recognised early on the advantages of dying his hair and wearing a gold lam退 suit. A metaphor for life ? You'll find out in this exploration of good art, bad art - the over-priced and the over-hyped."
Expect contributions from a dream line up including Bridget Kendall, Tony Hart, AL Kennedy and Kenneth Clarke; plus the Matthews Parris, Lucas and D'Ancona; Christopher Biggins, John Prescott and Linda Snell from "The Archers".
The programme is produced in Bristol by Miles Warde.

Grayson Perry, Tracey Emin and Brian Sewell join Gerald Scarfe to ask, 'But is it art?'.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0203Truth20140825

Welcome to the chopped up, looped up, sped up world of Recycled Radio, introduced by cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, on the theme of Truth.

Expect contributions from those who can spot a lie from a mile off, including politicians Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Michael Howard.

And explore the philosophical meaning of Truth with Nicholas Parsons, Melvyn Bragg and Sandi Toksvig.

Produced in Bristol by Melvin Rickarby.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2014.

Gerald Scarfe introduces the radio, recycled. The subject is truth.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0301Recycled: Lawyers20150218

Welcome to the chopped up, looped up, sped up world of Recycled Radio.

Gerald Scarfe introduces the subject of the law and lawyers.

Our journey to court includes contributions from Clive Anderson, Harry Potter, Tom Wrigglesworth, Moses and Douglas Hurd.

There's also a breakneck journey to the land where every other person is a lawyer, while retired judge Elizabeth Butler-Sloss reveals the advice her father gave her about succeeding in this most competitive of professions.

Fun, silly, thoughtful radio ... recycled.

Producer: Miles Warde.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and recycled into something new. This week- law and lawyers.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0302Recycled: Work20150225

Welcome to the chopped up, looped up, sped up world of Recycled Radio.

This week Gerald Scarfe introduces the subject of work. Joining the production line of grafters and skivers are Norman Tebbit, John Prescott, Sheila Hancock and the Mantovani Orchestra. We're taken back to a time when having a kip on the job was the done thing, and ask whether hard work is the route to true happiness.

Fun, silly, thoughtful radio ... recycled.

With contributions from Evan Davis, Margaret Thatcher, Jenni Murray, Tony Blair, John Fortune, Gordon Brown, Aristotle and William Hague.
Producer: Melvin Rickarby

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and recycled into something new: this week - it's work.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0303Recycled: Bohemia20150304

Welcome to the chopped up, looped up, sped up world of Recycled Radio, introduced by cartoonist Gerald Scarfe. Follow him down down the rabbit hole as we delve into the archives in search of bohemia, with a small "b".

Way back when, in the darkest depths of November 2014, David Hockney said something on Radio 4's Today programme: "That's what's gone now, bohemia's gone..."
Expect profound reflections on the nature of Jeremy Paxman's beard, hear Jeffrey Bernard exploring the nature of the advertising executive, picture Ed Balls playing the piano, and is that Andrew Marr contemplating the size of Virginia Woolf's bed?

What has any of this got to do with bohemia? What has bohemia got to do with anything else?

Recycled Radio might explain.

Producer: Polly Weston

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.

Gerald Scarfe goes looking for bohemia, with a small b.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0303Recycled: Bohemia2015030420150429 (R4)

Welcome to the chopped up, looped up, sped up world of Recycled Radio, introduced by cartoonist Gerald Scarfe. Follow him down down the rabbit hole as we delve into the archives in search of bohemia, with a small "b".

Way back when, in the darkest depths of November 2014, David Hockney said something on Radio 4's Today programme: "That's what's gone now, bohemia's gone..."
Expect profound reflections on the nature of Jeremy Paxman's beard, hear Jeffrey Bernard exploring the nature of the advertising executive, picture Ed Balls playing the piano, and is that Andrew Marr contemplating the size of Virginia Woolf's bed?

What has any of this got to do with bohemia? What has bohemia got to do with anything else?

Recycled Radio might explain.

Producer: Polly Weston

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.

Gerald Scarfe goes looking for bohemia, with a small b.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0401Travel20151007

Today Recycled Radio invites you on a wondrous journey. Famous travellers including Colin Thubron, Bruce Chatwin and Paul Theroux are all jostling for a seat, while presenter Gerald Scarfe attempts to steer the wheel. This is the archive hour at breakneck speed, chopped up, looped up and mashed up with breathtaking results.

So, do four males out of five really start life predisposed in favour of adventure? Why does Lucy Mangan want to stay at home? And is that John Prescott on the last ever edition of Excess Baggage?
Thought-provoking silly fun with an unusually starry cast - Sue MacGregor, Sir John Betjeman, Nicholas Parsons, Benedict Allen, Sarah Wheeler, Humphrey Lyttleton and Clive James.

The producer is Miles Warde.

Old radio broadcasts chopped, looped and mashed into something new.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0401Travel2015100720160809 (R4)

Today Recycled Radio invites you on a wondrous journey. Famous travellers including Colin Thubron, Bruce Chatwin and Paul Theroux are all jostling for a seat, while presenter Gerald Scarfe attempts to steer the wheel. This is the archive hour at breakneck speed, chopped up, looped up and mashed up with breathtaking results.

So, do four males out of five really start life predisposed in favour of adventure? Why does Lucy Mangan want to stay at home? And is that John Prescott on the last ever edition of Excess Baggage?
Thought-provoking silly fun with an unusually starry cast - Sue MacGregor, Sir John Betjeman, Nicholas Parsons, Benedict Allen, Sarah Wheeler, Humphrey Lyttleton and Clive James.

The producer is Miles Warde.

Old radio broadcasts chopped, looped and mashed into something new.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0402Evolution20151014

Gerald Scarfe is back to guide you through the BBC archive - mutated into something completely different. Today's subject: Evolution.

This episode tackles the history of our evolution and searches the archive for answers to some of the biggest questions ever posed on Radio 4. Why are we like we are? Can things only get better? What's the full title of the Origin of Species? What can Darwin, Lemarck, Bernard Lovell, Tony Blair, Brian the Snail, D:Ream, Mary Berry, and the prawn cracker tell us about evolution? Recycled Radio might have the answer.

Producer: Polly Weston.

What can Darwin, Tony Blair, Mary Berry and the prawn cracker tell us about evolution?

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0402Evolution2015101420160816 (R4)

Gerald Scarfe is back to guide you through the BBC archive - mutated into something completely different. Today's subject: Evolution.

This episode tackles the history of our evolution and searches the archive for answers to some of the biggest questions ever posed on Radio 4. Why are we like we are? Can things only get better? What's the full title of the Origin of Species? What can Darwin, Lemarck, Bernard Lovell, Tony Blair, Brian the Snail, D:Ream, Mary Berry, and the prawn cracker tell us about evolution? Recycled Radio might have the answer.

Producer: Polly Weston.

What can Darwin, Tony Blair, Mary Berry and the prawn cracker tell us about evolution?

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0403The Countryside20151021Radio 4's alternative take on the archive goes to the country. Presented by Gerald Scarfe.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0403The Countryside2015102120160823 (R4)Radio 4's alternative take on the archive goes to the country. Presented by Gerald Scarfe.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0404Outer Space20151028

Gerald Scarfe is your starship captain on a bumpy ride through the Cosmos, joining broadcasters old and new in a search for intelligent life. Brian Cox and Melvyn Bragg compete to explain the sheer bigness of the Universe. Is it like a fried egg or a packet of Maltesers? Then there's the vital question of the first alien contact. Apparently Earth will be safer if we pretend we're out.

Wise words, sound advice and a distinct lack of Vogon poetry as we chop, loop, scratch, mix and mash a century of space broadcasting.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Gerald Scarfe is your starship captain on a bumpy ride through the cosmos.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0404Outer Space2015102820160830 (R4)

Gerald Scarfe is your starship captain on a bumpy ride through the Cosmos, joining broadcasters old and new in a search for intelligent life. Brian Cox and Melvyn Bragg compete to explain the sheer bigness of the Universe. Is it like a fried egg or a packet of Maltesers? Then there's the vital question of the first alien contact. Apparently Earth will be safer if we pretend we're out.

Wise words, sound advice and a distinct lack of Vogon poetry as we chop, loop, scratch, mix and mash a century of space broadcasting.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Gerald Scarfe is your starship captain on a bumpy ride through the cosmos.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0501Europeland20161028

"I'm sketching a map of Europe as it used to be, not just pre-referendum but a long, long time earlier than that. And let me tell you, it's a bewildering place!"

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe introduces a Recycled special on the place that has obsessed us all summer long, so buckle up as we find out what is so different about Us and Them. With journeys to the continent and back to Westminster again combined with the powerful slicing of leading voices in the European debate - Tony Benn and Margaret Thatcher from 1975; Boris, Nigel and Dave from 2016. Plus the voices of leading historians, and comedians, attempting to make sense of the great European divide. Exhilarating radio you'll not hear anywhere else.
The producer is Miles Warde.

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe introduces a Recycled special on Europe, a bewildering place!

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0501Europeland2016102820170409 (R4)

"I'm sketching a map of Europe as it used to be, not just pre-referendum but a long, long time earlier than that. And let me tell you, it's a bewildering place!"

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe introduces a Recycled special on the place that has obsessed us all summer long, so buckle up as we find out what is so different about Us and Them. With journeys to the continent and back to Westminster again combined with the powerful slicing of leading voices in the European debate - Tony Benn and Margaret Thatcher from 1975; Boris, Nigel and Dave from 2016. Plus the voices of leading historians, and comedians, attempting to make sense of the great European divide. Exhilarating radio you'll not hear anywhere else.
The producer is Miles Warde.

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe introduces a Recycled special on Europe, a bewildering place!

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0502The Voice20161104

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe introduces a chopped up, looped up love letter to sound, singing, seduction and the power of the voice. So take a moment to consider the air in your lungs while listening to Bobby McFerrin and Beardyman make amazing musical sounds.
Here you'll hear why our vocal chords work much like a duck, and why Theresa May represents a century long pattern of working women who have lowered their voice. Elsewhere Stephen Pinker mingles with Stephen Fry; Donald Trump reveals the power of saying the right thing to an audience who want to be seduced; and John Prescott tangles with Noam Chomsky over grammar and class.

The producer in Bristol is Miles Warde.

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe introduces a chopped up, looped up love letter to sound.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0503Magic2016111120170416 (R4)A fresh take on magic in the company of cartoonists Gerald Scarfe. We have conjurors, illusionists, prestidigitators and sleight of hand artists. Mountebanks, magi and mentalists. Conmen, snake oil salesman and politicians. Quite a lot of politicians.

The quickness of the hand deceives the eye as we chop, loop, scratch, mix and mash the radio archive to produce something from nothing.

Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe introduces a fresh take on magic.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

A fresh take on magic in the company of cartoonists Gerald Scarfe. We have conjurors, illusionists, prestidigitators and sleight of hand artists. Mountebanks, magi and mentalists. Conmen, snake oil salesman and politicians. Quite a lot of politicians.

The quickness of the hand deceives the eye as we chop, loop, scratch, mix and mash the radio archive to produce something from nothing.

Producer: Jolyon Jenkins.

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe introduces a fresh take on magic.

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0504Love and Marriage20161118

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe recycles and mashes the BBC's archive on Love and Marriage.

Love: life's great mystery. We reveal it in all its facets by the powerful slicing of leading romantic figures. Love at first sight, patriotism, the love that dare not speak its name, true love. As discussed by Barbara Cartland, Aristophanes, Michael Portillo, Charlotte Green and Tony Blair.

A sensual trapeze act of a programme. Fun, silly, thoughtful radio ... recycled.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby.

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe recycles, slices and dices the BBC's archive on love and marriage

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.

0504Love and Marriage2016111820170423 (R4)

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe recycles and mashes the BBC's archive on Love and Marriage.

Love: life's great mystery. We reveal it in all its facets by the powerful slicing of leading romantic figures. Love at first sight, patriotism, the love that dare not speak its name, true love. As discussed by Barbara Cartland, Aristophanes, Michael Portillo, Charlotte Green and Tony Blair.

A sensual trapeze act of a programme. Fun, silly, thoughtful radio ... recycled.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby.

Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe recycles, slices and dices the BBC's archive on love and marriage

Old BBC programmes chopped up and turned into something new.