423 episodes

Award-winning current affairs documentary series investigating major issues at home and abroad

File on 4 BBC Radio 4

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.5 • 27 Ratings

Award-winning current affairs documentary series investigating major issues at home and abroad

    Lasting Legacy: What went wrong at a Hull funeral home?

    Lasting Legacy: What went wrong at a Hull funeral home?

    The discovery of 35 bodies and an unknown quantity of unidentified human ashes at a Hull funeral home has become one of the most harrowing investigations in the history of Humberside Police. Linsey Smith investigates what went wrong and hears from some of the many families who've been left devastated by the discovery - some of whom now know the ashes they were given didn't belong to their loved ones.
    File on 4 also hears how the funeral industry is largely unregulated and how concerns raised more than three years ago by the Competition and Markets Authority about the storage and treatment of the deceased haven't been acted upon.
    Reporter: Linsey Smith
    Producers: Holly Clemens and Nicola Dowling
    Technical Producer: Craig Boardman
    Digital producer: Melanie Stewart-Smith
    Production Coordinators: Tim Fernley & Jordan King
    Editor: Carl Johnston
    Image Credit:Christopher Furlong\Getty

    • 37 min
    Slimming Groups and Eating Disorders

    Slimming Groups and Eating Disorders

    Slimming World is the leading diet organisation in the UK. It has 700,000 members and, at a time when obesity is spiralling in the UK, it has helped millions lose weight. It has contracts with the NHS and local government. If you meet the criteria, your doctor can sign you up for free. But could the Slimming World diet be encouraging disordered eating by some members?
    File on 4 hears from people who believe that Slimming World has seriously damaged their health and destroyed their relationship with food.
    Reporter: Josephine Casserly
    Producer: Immy Rhodes
    Technical Producer: Craig Boardman
    Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
    Editor: Carl Johnston
    Image Credit: Kseniya Ovchinnikova\Getty

    • 41 min
    Degraded by Deepfakes

    Degraded by Deepfakes

    Jodie had everything - a good job, great friends and a busy social life. But her world was turned upside down when she was targeted by an online abuser who posted pornographic deepfakes of her online. Initially turned away by the police, she turned detective herself - but nothing could prepare her for what she eventually discovers. She now struggles to trust anyone. And what happened to Jodie could happen to any of us. Here she tells her story for the very first time.
    Reporter: Kate West
    Producer: Rhoda Buchanan
    Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards
    Digital Producer: Melanie Stewart-Smith
    Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
    Editor: Carl Johnston
    If you’ve been a victim of harassment, stalking or revenge porn, details of organisations offering information and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

    • 41 min
    No Place to Call Home

    No Place to Call Home

    As the cost of living crisis continues to increase the strain on families, a record 142,000 children in England are homeless and living in what should be short term temporary accommodation.
    Children are being consigned to B&Bs and hotels, former office blocks - even shipping containers – some without a bed of their own, living among rats and cockroaches - conditions the children’s commissioner has condemned as Dickensian.
    With the help of young people and their families, File on 4 investigates how temporary accommodation - meant to be a short term safety net - has become a trap some children can’t escape.
    Reporter: Jane Deith
    Producer: Nicola Dowling
    Technical Producer: James Beard
    Production Coordinator: Jordan King
    Editors: Clare Fordham and Carl Johnston
    Image: Imgorthand via Getty Images

    • 37 min
    Investigating Employee Assistance Programmes

    Investigating Employee Assistance Programmes

    ‘Employee Assistance Programmes’ - almost 25 million workers in the UK have access to one through their employer. They’re designed to help people deal with personal problems that might affect their performance at work by offering advice, support or counselling sessions. But are all providers offering a good service? File on 4 investigates.
    Reporter: Alys Harte
    Producers: Vicky Carter and Ella Rule
    Technical Producer: Craig Boardman
    Production Coordinators: Jordan King and Tim Fernley
    Editors: Clare Fordham and Carl Johnston

    • 37 min
    The Trouble with Parenting

    The Trouble with Parenting

    "Maria" ended up in A and E after being assaulted by her 11-year-old child. There’s nothing unusual about children being rude or sometimes abusive to their parents, particularly when they’re adolescents. But some parents are attacked and abused by their children on a regular basis. It’s a pattern of behaviour that can begin as young as three years old and become unmanageable by teenage years.
    Many parents remain silent out of shame and out of fear of the consequences if they seek help, worried that their child may be taken into care or criminalised. So it’s a hidden problem. The issue is now on the government’s agenda with a consultation that’s aiming to find a common definition for the issue. Jo Glanville talks to parents, practitioners and researchers about what happens in families when a child becomes violent, what should be done to support them and what lies behind this kind of behaviour.
    Presented and Produced by Jo Glanville
    Executive Editor: Bridget Harney
    Research: Maia Miller-Lewis
    Studio Manager: Jon Calver
    Actors: Jayne Ashbourne and Juliet Cowan
    A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
    Organisations in the programme offering information or support on child to parent violence:
    Family Lives
    Parentline family support and bullying helpline | Family Lives
    https://www.familylives.org.uk/how-we-can-help/confidential-helpline
    CAPA First Response
    Capa First Response | You are not alone - Capa First Response
    https://capafirstresponse.org/
    Talk Listen Change
    Young People’s Programmes - TLC: Talk, Listen, Change (talklistenchange.org.uk)
    https://talklistenchange.org.uk/project/young-peoples-programmes/
    Holes in the Wall
    HOLES IN THE WALL | documenting parent abuse
    https://holesinthewall.co.uk/

    • 37 min

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5
27 Ratings

27 Ratings

MattBaume ,

Hear Hear

I deeply respect this podcast's decision to maintain a dignified silence.

Top Podcasts In Society & Culture

Fallen Angels: A Story of California Corruption
iHeartPodcasts
Inconceivable Truth
Wavland
Stuff You Should Know
iHeartPodcasts
This American Life
This American Life
The Viall Files
Nick Viall
Shawn Ryan Show
Shawn Ryan | Cumulus Podcast Network

You Might Also Like

Analysis
BBC Radio 4
The Briefing Room
BBC Radio 4
Seriously...
BBC Radio 4
The Story
The Times
Crossing Continents
BBC Radio 4
From Our Own Correspondent
BBC Radio 4

More by BBC

Global News Podcast
BBC World Service
6 Minute English
BBC Radio
You're Dead to Me
BBC Radio 4
In Our Time
BBC Radio 4
Newshour
BBC World Service
The English We Speak
BBC Radio