Main content

Podcast

大象传媒 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 大象传媒 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 大象传媒 Sounds to make sure you don't miss an episode.

Updated: weekly
Episodes available: indefinitely

Episodes to download

  •

    The Horse at the Door

    Sunday

    Why is Isy Suttie haunted by the memory of a creepy old horse knocking at her door?

  • Stockport: Britain's Karaoke Town

    Sun 15 Dec 2024

    The crazy tale that Karaoke was invented in Stockport and stolen by the Japanese.

  • Voices from the Bog

    Sun 1 Dec 2024

    Old voices offer new perspectives on the discovery of Lindow Man and Woman, 40 years on.

  • Dark Crossing

    Sun 24 Nov 2024

    A cross-Atlantic journey turns into a gripping psychological thriller.

  • The Last of the Blind Piano Tuners

    Sun 17 Nov 2024

    A sonic portrait of a disappearing craft through the lives of four blind piano tuners.

  • The Sun Does Shine

    Sun 10 Nov 2024

    The story of Anthony Ray Hinton who spent years on death row for crimes he didn't commit.

  • Reclusion

    Sun 27 Oct 2024

    Will Self meditates on his withdrawal from city life and the meaning of reclusion.

  • Rebirth

    Sun 20 Oct 2024

    What happened when Clive Hammond's heart stopped beating?

  • We Are Not Alone

    Sun 13 Oct 2024

    In 1980s America, John P Timmerman recorded thousands of UFO stories in shopping malls.

  • The Suitcase

    Sun 6 Oct 2024

    Folk singer Sean Cooney opens his special suitcase full of stories of love, hope and joy.

  • Lasting Lessons

    Sun 29 Sep 2024

    Five 17-year-olds volunteer for six months at a hospice. How will they fare?

  • A Man Without Bees

    Sun 22 Sep 2024

    Why are all the bees dying? Simon Mitambo from Kenya's 'Land of Bees' looks for answers.

  • Herv茅's Way: The Story of a One-legged Pilgrim

    Sun 15 Sep 2024

    The amputee who recovered his will to live walking a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

  • Reaching for Rossini

    Sun 8 Sep 2024

    Young opera singers and their teachers reveal the beauty of Italian 'bel canto' singing.

  • Infinite Scroll

    Sun 1 Sep 2024

    The writer and sleep-deprived parent of a newborn, Ross Sutherland, stares into infinity.

  • Sybil Phoenix, A Civil Life

    Sun 25 Aug 2024

    A radio portrait of Sybil Phoenix, the first black woman to receive an MBE, in 1972.

  • The Ballad of Scout and the Alcohol Tag

    Sun 18 Aug 2024

    A poetic meditation on alcohol, psychosis, crime and prison.

  • The Psychology of a Second Life

    Sun 11 Aug 2024

    Broadcaster Jaz Singh explores the psychology behind secret second lives.

  • Becoming German

    Sun 4 Aug 2024

    British Jews are taking back the German citizenship that was stripped from their forebears

  • Shifting Soundscapes

    Sun 7 Jul 2024

    Sound artist Alice Boyd retraces the steps of legendary field recordist Martyn Stewart.

  • Brood X

    Sun 16 Jun 2024

    Stories and memories of four summers when the Brood X cicadas came to town.

  • The Beauty of Everyday Things

    Sun 26 May 2024

    Poet Ian McMillan explores the beauty of everyday things, places and encounters.

  • How Much Can You Say?

    Sun 19 May 2024

    "The north London heroin trade is almost folklore at this stage."

  • 'Am I Home?' - Life in a Dementia Village

    Sun 12 May 2024

    How a pioneering dementia village and its constructed 'fake' reality comforts sufferers.

  • Strandings

    Sun 28 Apr 2024

    We've always drawn meaning from the arrival of stranded whales. What's their message now?

  • John Meagher: The Divil's Own

    Sun 21 Apr 2024

    Comedian John Meagher investigates his nightmares and Northern Ireland's 'satanic panic'.

  • Fragments - The London Nail Bombings

    Sun 14 Apr 2024

    The London nail bombings of 1999 viewed through some of the striking images of the events.

  • Welcome to Illuminated

    Sat 13 Apr 2024

    What to expect from 大象传媒 Radio 4鈥檚 home for creative and surprising one-off documentaries.

This podcast belongs to