Illuminated Podcast
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.
Illuminated is BBC Radio 4's home for creative and surprising one-off documentaries that shed light on hidden worlds.
Welcome to a place of audio beauty and joy, with emotion and human experience at its heart. The programmes you will find in this feed explore the reality of contemporary Britain and the world, venturing into its weirdest and most wonderful aspects.
This is a chance to meet voices that are not normally heard, open secret doors into concealed chambers and, above all, be transported by the art and inventiveness of the very best programme makers. Just press the switch.
New episodes are available weekly on Sunday evenings. Subscribe on BBC Sounds to make sure you don't miss an episode.
Episodes to download
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The Frozen Light
Sunday
The world’s northernmost community celebrates the sun's return after months of darkness.
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Lost and Found
Sun 15 Jun 2025
Illuminated enters the world of a missing Jack Russell Terrier in St Neots, Cambridgeshire
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You've Got Worms
Sun 8 Jun 2025
Sink into the dirt to meet the hidden worms that squelch through the darkness.
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Doctor Dolittle and the Exploding Trout
Sun 18 May 2025
The environmental protest that shook Hollywood and saved a village.
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A Map of the Moon
Sun 11 May 2025
Producer and artist Siddharth Khajuria meets competing human imaginations for the moon.
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The Organ Symphony
Sun 4 May 2025
Five peoples' stories about their relationship with an internal organ - set to music.
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The Big Ask
Sun 13 Apr 2025
How many questions have you asked today? Were any of your questions meaningful?
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Nobody to Call
Sun 6 Apr 2025
A moving online post leads Kevin Core into the world of 'lonely death' funeral appeals.
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The Story of Solent City
Sun 16 Mar 2025
Owen Hatherley presents the extraordinary story of the Solent City plan.
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The Endemic Truth
Sun 2 Mar 2025
As reports of child sexual abuse rise, survivors unite for meaningful action.
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Robben Island’s Hallelujah
Tue 18 Feb 2025
The story of Handel's famous chorus performed on Robben Island.
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The Memory Catcher
Sun 26 Jan 2025
Can taking a photograph keep hold of the person you love even when they have no memory?
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Anger and Us
Sun 19 Jan 2025
Siblings Sam and Bon Stone are angry. For the first time, they explore how they feel.
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In Pieces
Sun 12 Jan 2025
In this sound-rich, tender meditation, Hana Walker Brown examines burnout.
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God Next Door
Thu 9 Jan 2025
Meet the Manchester man who believes he is God - and the people who share his belief.
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One Hundred Ways of Listening
Sun 5 Jan 2025
Distracted, privatised, enchanted. Tom Rice expands what it means to listen.
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The Shipping Forecast: A Haven
New Year's Day 2025
Discovering who really listens to the Shipping Forecast at 00:48 every day.
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My Night With Tracy - How the Darwin Cyclone Made a Man of Mike Thomson
Sun 29 Dec 2024
Illuminated - Radio 4's home for creative documentaries that shed light on hidden worlds.
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Ceefax Strikes Back... with Count Binface
Christmas Day 2024
Count Binface resurrects the mighty Ceefax. With one small hitch. It’s on the radio.
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The Horse at the Door
Sun 22 Dec 2024
Why is Isy Suttie haunted by the memory of a creepy old horse knocking at her door?
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Stockport: Britain's Karaoke Town
Sun 15 Dec 2024
The crazy tale that Karaoke was invented in Stockport and stolen by the Japanese.
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Voices from the Bog
Sun 1 Dec 2024
Old voices offer new perspectives on the discovery of Lindow Man and Woman, 40 years on.
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Dark Crossing
Sun 24 Nov 2024
A cross-Atlantic journey turns into a gripping psychological thriller.
