From the disputed origins in the 1920s of the name 99, via the turf wars between ice cream van men in the 1980s, to the persistent myth that Margaret Thatcher helped to invent Mr Whippy soft-serve ice cream, Scoop offers a creamy, nutty, fruity knickerbocker glory of history, personal testimony and unexpected twists,

With James Sinclair of Rossi in Southend, whose job is to "sell happiness" - he tours his ice cream factory and the Rossi seafront parlour; Leyla Dervish of Magic Foods, a third generation ice cream seller in south-east London, who shares the magical send-off her father received from his fellow ice cream van men; food historian Dr Annie Gray; the composer of the mobile sound creation Music for Seven Ice Cream Vans, Dan Jones, and ice cream vendor Akan driving the streets of south-east London.

With archive from Radio 4's The Food Programme, featuring Dan Saladino and his ice cream van Dad, Bobo; coverage of the 'Glasgow ice cream wars' of the 1980s; Jim Carey's documentary, The Ice Cream Van Cometh, that includes Francis Rossi and Banksy (courtesy of Jim Carey and Loftus Media) and a special recording from an ice cream van man's funeral.

Image of Leyla Dervish's Mum, Sheree, courtesy of the Dervish family

First broadcast 19th August 2023, BBC Radio 4
Produced by Alan Hall

Scoop

Bob Cobbing’s playful experiments with sound and text have inspired a generation of poets, artists and composers. A writer whose work skittered between literature and music, poetry and artwork - he is, perhaps, best remembered for his extraordinary poetry readings. With his operatic, resonant voice he would boom, howl, chant and whisper leaving his audience enchanted and enraged in equal measures.

In this programme we delve into the work of Bob Cobbing - exploring his influence on the publishing world, his role in one of the most turbulent periods at the Poetry Society and the visual poem that outraged Margaret Thatcher. 

"...full of strange noises, electronic noodlings and sharply spitting wordplay" - Pick of the Week, Time Out 17th March 2011

First broadcast 20th March 2011 BBC Radio 4
Produced by Eleanor McDowall

Make Perhaps This Out Sense Of Can You

Martin Sixsmith examines the government's plan for a national 'happiness index'.

First broadcast on 21st April 2014 BBC Radio 4
Presenter Martin Sixsmith
Producer Alan Hall

In Search Of Ourselves: High Anxieties 1/25

Sarfraz Manzoor presents an authored journey that examines the forces that have impacted upon the traditional 'working class' and seeks the new signifiers of class in Britain.

"...a stylish programme that didn't simply deliver the obvious on a well-worn theme." - The Guardian, 19.02.09

First broadcast on 18th February 2009 BBC Radio 4
Presented by Sarfraz Manzoor
Produced by Alan Hall

Whatever Happened to the Working Class: From Engels To Oasis 1/3

Martin Sixsmith looks at the relationship between the Soviet Union and its writers, poets and composers from the Revolution through to the death of Stalin and beyond. He examines how the state sought to control artists like Anna Akhmatova, Marina Tsvetaeva, Osip Mandelstam, Boris Pasternak, Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich and how each responded to their own artistic responsibilities. 

He also looks at the role of the regime's enforcers - individuals such as Tikhon Khrennikov, head of the Composer's Union and persecutor of Shostakovich - men who "sold out" their integrity for personal gain.

Featuring new interviews with Shostakovich's widow Irina, Pasternak's son Yevgeny, Prokofiev's son Sviatoslav and Stalin's appointee Tikhon Khrennikov.

A BBC Wales production

First broadcast on 1st July 2006 BBC Radio 4
Presented by Martin Sixsmith
Produced by Alan Hall

Challenging The Silence

A re-appraisal of the life and work of the great Swiss author of Der Steppenwolf, Siddhartha and The Glass Bead Game who inspired the counterculture generation of the 'Sixties, Hermann Hesse.

First broadcast on 20th August 2012 BBC Radio 4
Produced by Alan Hall

The Magic Theatre Of Hermann Hesse

When Arnold Schoenberg first revealed to the world his technique for 12 Tone Composition in the Piano Pieces Op 23, he was at once departing from the tradition of tonality that had served the great classical and romantic figures and laying down a gauntlet to future generations of composers.

Ivan Hewett seeks traces of Schoenberg's idea in the music of the last 80 years, visiting composers in Vienna, where Schoenberg is now considered part of the holy tradition, talking to second generation Schoenbergians, including Alexander Goehr and Gunther Schuller, and canvassing a selection of younger composers of differing styles, including Unsuk Chin, Tansy Davies and Dai Fujikura.

First broadcast 11th September 2005, BBC Radio 3
Produced by Alan Hall

Serialism's Sons & Daughters

What does an artistic presence mean to a community - is it the character and lifeblood of an area or the death knell for affordable housing? The artist and writer Deborah Coughlin examines the impact of gentrification, through her own experience and that of other artists in different cities and locations from London to Berlin, New York to Margate.

When she left art college in 2000, Deborah couldn't afford even the smallest bedsit in an area like Shoreditch, after artists like Tracey Emin had made the area desirable in the previous decade. She found a place further out of central London - in Clapton, with its reputation as 'murder mile'. Now Clapton is one of the most gentrified areas in East London and she has moved on.

So where can artists, particularly those at the beginning of their careers, afford to live and work? Deborah meets some in Margate, Kent, where there is a growing community of artists who are bringing the dying seaside town back to life. "There is space to grow in Margate, not just affordable studio space but space to think," says one.

In New York she finds the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council was funded 40 years ago to breathe life into the financial district and talks to the artist Sophie Matisse (great-granddaughter of Henri Matisse), who came to New York from Paris 25 years ago.

In Berlin, urban planner Dr Cordelia Polinna tells how the city uses rent and planning controls to keep accommodation affordable, but still fears the city will go "the same way as London".

Meanwhile, the Greater London Authority recognises the value of artists to the capital's economy and tourism - and is trying to work with developers to build in studio space.

Produced by Sara Parker
First broadcast on Monday 29th February 2016, BBC Radio 4

The Arts Exodus

Tom Dyckhoff looks at how money is designed to maintain our trust in its value.

Why do so many of us still feel reassured by the pound in our pocket or note in our wallet when most transactions now take place through the virtual balance sheets of a global banking system?

What future is there for global crypto currencies like bit coin or real local alternatives, like the Brixton pound where the notes with the image of David Bowie may soon be worth more than their face value?

Tom meets Victoria Cleland, Chief Cashier of the Bank of England, whose signature is on our UK bank notes - and finds how design features can deter counterfeiters. He also gets a preview of the new polymer notes to be issued in September and visits the Royal Mint who still strike billions of coins a year.

With money and coins little changed over more than 2,500 years, Tom considers a future where the currency of the real world may become a thing of the past.

Produced by Sara Parker
First broadcast 12th April 2016, BBC Radio 4

S3: The Design Dimension: Money Money Money 2/4

The original was a b-side to Smiths' single 'Bigmouth Strikes Again', the song paraphrases the chorus of Sandie Shaw's 'Message Understood'. 

In the space between the run-out groove of this b-side the words "TALENT BORROWS, GENIUS STEALS" are etched into the vinyl.

'Unloveable' was described by Simon Goddard in his book ' The Songs That Saved Your Life' as "a lesser entry in the Morrissey and Marr repertoire".



UNLOVEABLE ( The Smiths cover )

Josie Long presents short documentaries and adventures in sound inspired by the tarot deck. From an imagined reading with Madame Cinnamon Black in New Orleans to a card that helps two sisters understand each other.

Sylvia Plath and the Tarot Pack
Featuring David Trinidad and Rebecca Tamás
Produced by Alia Cassam

Shadow Work
Produced by Ari Mejia

Three Cards
Featuring Madame Cinnamon Black
Produced by Cristal Duhaime
Originally recorded for 48 Hour Party People, a travel podcast hosted by Brendan Francis Newnam
Thanks to Mira Burt-Wintonick, Brendan Francis Newnam, Jackson Musker, Danielle Henderson and the Historic Voodoo Museum

First broadcast on 3rd March 2020, BBC Radio 4
Production Team: Andrea Rangecroft and Alia Cassam
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall

S22: Short Cuts: Tarot 3/7

Members: Just me, mr_hopkinson's computer.

Influences: Homer Dudley's Voder, The Davo articulatory synthesizer, and of course, The Haskin's Pattern playback.

Sounds Like: Well, um, I hope I have my own sound style, but I've been compared to my influences listed above, plus I suppose similar things could be Grandpa Bell Labs, 386dx, Lassigue Bendthaus, ri 057, Cylob, Morrissey, Eddie the shipboard computer, Stephen Hawking, Satnav & BT call minder. 