Read this: The BBC’s climate change coverage under the spotlight, Radio 4’s Intrigue: The Ratline

this is the BBC

hello way back from autumn run if this is often the weather is behaving very strangely sunshine here floods in Majorca and is there any real doubt about the cause climate scientists of issued? What's been described as the most comprehensive statement yet on the dangers of rising global temperatures the BBC admits it has got climate change coverage wrong in the past is it getting it right now? I think do you see news and in particular the sort generalist reporters and producers and editors are struggling and often get things wrong.

I'll be talking false equivalence with a senior BBC News executive also this week that perpetually promoted podcast under his command is governor of district of Galicia more than 100000 Polish citizens lost their life.

A Tale of love war and genocide as the BBC puts more and more time and Resources into podcasts, there is a Radio 4 The ratline tells us why he thinks it's a worthwhile investment something like 6 million people in this country listen to podcast every week.

I lost those listen to radio as well.

Some of them.

Don't I lost them only just covering serious high quality audio through podcast and high-profile exits from broadcasting house and he's gone Chris is going how many listeners are in morning and what helps do they have for those who have been handed the Crown no one can replace Eddie however this present has just squirted a large amount of adhesive onto his seat and is stuck do it at least for the next half hour.

So let's get on with the show and we begin with the BBC mea, culpa climate change has been a difficult subject for the BBC and we get coverage of it wrong too often but aside from an editorial policy no to distributed tube.

BBC staff last month then it goes on to say to a cheating partiality you do not need to include outright denial of climate change in BBC coverage in the same way, you wouldn't have someone denying that Manchester United won 2-0 last Saturday the referee has spoken for also being encouraged to enroll in the do's and don'ts of covering climate change all the witches rather timely since on Monday the un's IPCC the intergovernmental panel on climate change published a Stark warning that urgent action was needed to avoid a global catastrophe to a steady stream of politicians and scientists pulling the BBC airwaves with their take on the significance of the report and what actions need to be taken with no desires anywhere on radio at least some list doesn't green campaigners.

See that as a distinct change in tone from the BBC compared with previous times when the issue has been in the news.

And a welcome is my name is Rachel Platt and I'm from Winchester I think it's a very positive development and I notice the change already.

I thought Mondays coverage of the IPCC report was clear and decisive either in a very very new and refreshing way wondering that Nick I usually Avoid BBC News but stumbled into it this morning.

They're talking climate change with two people up both saying it will be disastrous.

No desires.

What's going on Dr Mark Prescott runners zoologists and I work as an independent environmental consultant.

I think it's patchy I think general list reporters and producers and editors are struggling.

I think it is extremely welcome that the BBC's offering climate training to journalists.

There are thousands of scientists working on different facets of climate change and no Germany expected to understand everything all to know it's all just like I would struggle if you ask me about opera and I

Joined by a James Stevenson the news editor for BBC news and current affairs solicitors Ryton detecting a change of editorial policy in climate change coverage your position your starting position now is the argument is over now.

I don't think they're writing detecting a change of policy and it's obviously in the the ear of the listener to determine whether their hearing a different tone or or or whatever but in terms of policy.

We've had a policy for a long time that the science on climate changes is well established and that are output should proceed from that point of view well.

I mentioned there were no climate change Denier is on BBC Radio but on Newsnight there was myron e bellezza format environmental advisor Donald Trump was known for depicting global warming as a hoax.

Why was he given airtime? Well? I think I'm I'm glad you ask me that because I think that such as on a very important Dimension of this while the climate science is settled matter although you know there are people who dispute that but there to the the margins of

The overwhelming scientific opinion the same can't really be said of climate change policy and and the question of what government's around the world are going to do about it and obviously America is it is a huge player in all of this and you know it's no secret that the trump administration takes a very different view of climate change and so we wanted to interview someone who has was head of the transition team for the trump administration in this area, so he thought it was important the program thought it was important to have him on because the science only takes you so far the question of government action particularly by the biggest polluters is the crucial next Dimension of this and that was an important thing to interrogate on the programme as as Evan did on on Monday night.

We're not in a position.

Where said we're saying that people are out-and-out excluded from our output we don't think that would be the right thing to do what we do think is important is to identify why were speaking to people and to make sure that is editorially Justified and if

Editorial is Justified to do it in a rigorous and robust and challenging Manor does that mean that you will never put on a climate Denier when you're talking specifically about climate science we will not have the kind of discussions that you've heard occasion in the past where you have someone who is outlining that the scientific position on man-made climate change and someone else who says that's not the case that the week.

We've moved away from that and beyond that on the basis that well they're entitled to their opinion and those opinions definitely still exist.

They are to the margin of the scientific consensus and we don't want to be giving the audience impression that it's a sort of 50/50 arm wrestle between those two positions.

Can we move on then from the policy of an ounce to the way in which should try to make sure that your journalist understanded how widespread is this going to be is every journalist in the BBC now going to have to take.

As it were an examination on this issue.

No, no, wait we expect all are Germans to be prepared for the work.

They are doing and that's the spirit in which we've if if this is what you're touching on.

This is what became publicly known which is that we're offering a training course for journalistic staff in this area so the figurative that probably understands is this you say you want the ball to be educated in this and we we certainly want all are Germans who who are will be handling this editorial subject matters to be familiar with it and overwhelming need to be confident in in doing.

What is an important than likely to be an increasingly important part of our editorial agenda.

We're not obliging everyone to do that but what we are doing is encouraging members of each production team to send someone a long so that there's a there's a greater confidence and knowledge about this area as as you're listening said it's a complex area.

It's a scientific area many of our staff don't.

Have that sort of a scientific background.

They need the tools to do the job and this is just one of the ways in which we provide our staff with the tools to do the job and you accept what the BBC does formally accept the DJs does except that you've got this wrong in the past and your own director of news and it is told to stop accept this you've got it wrong in the past there are occasions on which we haven't got things quite right and that's that goes badly wrong.

Well.

That's the spirit in which we're approaching this this is a difficult area we got a lot of journalists and producers who we want to encourage to be confident in this area.

We trying to provide them with the tools to be confident in the future.

We talked about producers, but some would say a presenters need to be educated as well number of listeners picked up on the fact that John Humphries and Sarah Montague seem to get confused between percentages and degrees centigrade here for example is Professor Martin parry's a former co-chair of the IPCC emailed us to say this.

BBC's reporting and stand on four occasions I think it was to hear this misread by newsreaders and presenters and others otherwise 1.5 degree increase for a 1.5% increase which is totally different report by the intergovernmental panel of scientists that says we must stop global warming rising to more than 1.5% above pre-industrial levels if world temperatures go up by 1 and a half percent then we are dicing with the survival of Mankind because it seems to me to represent just a complete misunderstanding and ignorance you accept that was wrong and are you worried that your present has got it wrong will it say it clearly wasn't accurate but it speaks to my phone it was wrong with clarified that and corrected and apologized for the era he speaks to my point though that this is an area where we need people to be aware of

The material that they're working with and that's the spirit in which we've made this course available and you both those cases that the bulletins made clear that that that it was on one-and-a-half degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, so I think that audiences would have recognised that it was a slip and not something that im Livin Italy Leeds is your present as may be asleep by 142 you looking not that comfortable about answering that question I have to say it quite clear that it was a question, but I was really see question.

It's one thing to get a bullet in written presumably buy property young producer and have two senior presenters.

Look good on both not support the problem with apologized for the era.

Let you know I'm not sure I can keep adding more to that at some people say what that is illustrated in this extraordinary complex area and general interview with us are always going to be liable if you like to make a mistake and what you need is really expert ones and Dr Matt Prescot has a suggestion he said he thinks the BBC News

40 Mb internal experts available 24/7 were the time in availability to help all BBC programmes.

Not just news is that something you consider we do have a small team of experts.

We have a a science editor David shukman, and we have a team who work in this area, so we we do have that expertise and we bring that expertise to bear on on the coverage.

We do in this area and that's that's the way we think that this is best handled gmstephenson news editor for BBC news and current affairs.

Thank you very much now.

I feel a little like Lady Bracknell when I say that for the BBC to lose one of its stars Eddie Mair to the commercial sector is unfortunate but Toulouse to while we're off her.

It was announced of the BBC is about to lose the man with whom more people wake up in the morning than anyone else.

She get to the top of your favourite mountain and you just stay there then you become a mountain Observer and I need to keep climbing I gotta keep climbing so

I'm going to go now again.

That's one of the other that's one with the I'm going to go and went to go and go again and I gonna start up on a brand new adventure and love to hear every second Chris Evans announcing that he's leaving Radio 2 for a new gig at Virgin Radio that followed hot on the heels of any Maze departure to LBC both men reported to been offered increases in herning to defect in an appearance before I come and select committee the BBC's director-general Tony Hall admitted both were big loss and said that the disclosure of top presenters salaries had played a part in both are departures they left their own auditions for a number of reasons and let me also say in the case of Eddie who I think did a remarkable job with p.m.

And it said an astonishing creative presenter and with Chris who's done an incredible job for us as continues to do because IKEA continues up to Christmas on Radio 2 making it them in the most listened to show up.

Europe again and extraordinary figure but you know I really need to to ask them but there's undoubtedly knowing what's been going on that disclosure has been a factor a factor in their decision to leave, presenters moving towards the exit watch this space in the meantime life goes on and both men's replacements have been announced hello welcome to the programme experts have got a bad name in some quarters lately but for all that everybody still wants to be one my name is Jennifer and I live in the Brecon Beacons it's great news is going to chair the pm programme he has empathy and gravitas in equal measures and I'm sure that he will Curate p.m.

Programme to be something that's both wholesome and human.

Hi there in the Highlands love Evan but no one can replace Eddie I was hoping paddle.

Will be appointed he's more off the wall like Eddie ladies and gentlemen your brand new host of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show as he is not good morning Lisa ToK Zoe Ball over Sarah Cox for breakfast show huge mistake.

I'm switching off wanting to burst into tears thinking about running away should immigration your new job first lady to host a Radio 1 Breakfast Show and now the first to host the Radio 2 Breakfast Show very well deserved that Zoe Ball doesn't start her new job till January but Evan Davis is first p.m.

Programme is on November the 5th so do let us know how you think he does and we hope to have him in the sea.

Violetta in the series to reflect on the change from late nights to early evenings in the meantime.

He is a bit of Heaven with prepared earlier to tell you how to get in touch you can send an email to feedback at bbc.co.uk or write a letter the address is feedback PO Box 67234 London se1p 4ax you can follow our activity on Twitter by using at BBC R4 feedback or you can call us and leave a phone message on 0333 444 5440 standard landline charges applied, but it could cost more on some mobile networks all those details are on our website.

Thanks over you.

One of the very best radio presenters has also left her program.

Only temporarily we hope in the course of 876 years on air Desert Island Discs it's only had five presenters right Plumley Michael Parkinson Sue Lawley and Kirsty Young who still wants to continue in the job, but who has had to take time off because of illness a temporary replacement is Lauren Laverne she has the news in a tweet declaring she was going to feel the biggest shoes in broadcasting by taking over the job well Lauren must have big feet most listened seem to think she's measuring Upwell to has Stella predecessors Tom Daley first learn to drive a 7 by 10.

He was a Prodigy the youngest ever under 18 young Joe from Southend in Essex I've always loved kirsty's voice find it very calming and lovely to listen to but Lauren

Really really has done brilliantly taking over the show her interview technique was fantastic like standing up there staring down at that little sparkling blue square of water.

It is terrifying and Ireland the first to show about Tom was absolutely amazing and I was driving whilst doing very ugly subs.

That's not very well as I know that's not very well, but I'm going to be home in a couple of weeks and then it was that moment of realisation like this.

Is that phone call Mary Newton I really welcome to on the vans first appearance on Desert Island Discs especially as she had such a likeable Castaway please could Lauren become the permanent presenter for the program.

I think we are due for a change.

Now from the leafy paradise of Radio Forth fabled desert island.

We Delve into the match Mercure tale involving Nazis spies and Stephen Fry 17th of December 1939 deer commission many thanks for your lovely letter.

There's a lot going on here on the one hand we've had some lovely things in the last few days Sheila get it all about fuel upon hence.

I am funk and the Philharmonic was a great success and intrigue the ratline is written and presented by the human rights lawyer Philippe Sands who came across the story of the Heart of the series when he was researching his award-winning book east and west the BBC's Magnum opus was launched with great pomp and ceremony by Radio 4 last month it simultaneously a 10-part podcast series and a 10-part broadcast series that the podcast so much longer if you're

Digital bath all 10 episodes are already available for you to binge on for radio listeners the series will conclude it's running radio Force 1:45 p.m.

Slot next week.

It seems to be extremely popular at least with podcast listeners.

Spring 1942 Austria the Baroness and her 6 children are at their summer house in zalamsi an idyllic Lakeside town near Salzburg I'm from London and I finish tinted the ratline.

I've been really enjoying it.

It's been keeping me totally hooked just keeps going down to so many brilliant and Griffin twist and as well as such a nice be produced shows around the fact that I've got like Laura Linney and Stephen Fry do the voices of some of the characters they meet along the way and it just totally sweeps you up into this story.

I was in the hospital.

I had Lisa on June 15th 1944 and I was in hospital until September in the South of France extremely well researched, but you feel that you are there and the details is extremely well rendered and that's also contributes to make.

Is Steve so captivating that's the flats on the right?

That is the Floss grapes Square building hello my name is Julie and I live in Birmingham I like it because it tells a story which takes unexpected Direction I think that Philippe Sands is a gracious presenter the leaves it to the listener to make their own decisions about how they respond to what he saying even when he's talking about events that are quite horrific.

Hi, I'm Louise I couldn't PhD student in Manchester This podcast particularly impressive in the way it weaves together the personal and historical and it said of shying away from questions of objectivity it facing front Tom I find the podcast easy-to-follow despite his mates like journey, and it's expensive built up naturally rather than forcefully the ratline has made me think about my own relationship with the Past both as a researcher and also with regards to my family history.

Thumbs up then for the podcast version of The Rat line for the radio version hasn't made any impact on the feedback inbox as yet, she will Evans and is the editor of The ratline when we heard about the story.

We thought this is a great opportunity for radio for cereal but it could be an opportunity to attract an audience who listen to podcast doesn't listen to Radio 4.

So let's try and do it in a slightly different format a bit longer for that audience try and suck them in.

It's only been doing with other strands as well and other bits of output history to do isn't it because example when you're dealing with the broadcast program as you've got 1050 minutes.

What 13 and a half process in half you and you know the people listening to the broadcast programs are unlikely to listen to all of them.

Just cos they're not available at 1:45 when it's getting out and they may not pick up so you've got to make programs which have satisfying in themselves as well as contributing to a serious.

That's a very difficult to pull off his name is it is really tricky and actually is?

Series goes on the story becomes more and more complicated and it goes off in his directions.

We had no idea.

It will go in when we started off researching this and so it is tricky, but I think that I hope is one of the choice of the podcast is there people download all 10 episodes? They don't follow it through at their own pace and the get to listen to hold thing and then we put in lots of cliffhangers.

Lots of reasons that you have to listen to the next one and and we're quite deliberate about that, but how liberating is it to work on a podcast because when you get the commission of a radio for you know it's 13/2 minutes.

You've got to do whatever it is.

However interesting is going to fix into that.

Theoretical with a podcast in simple hiit 20 mins 25 or in your instances 35-40 minutes.

It's much more liberating isn't it to make podcast because that artificial restriction on the length of the program is removed largely.

It's actually a bit bewildering at first.

It takes a while to get used to it and you took two teams and see how long should this be in so well as long as it needs and that's why.

Strange and is asking more extreme example as we've been doing the Daily Podcast from the grenfell Tower enquiry everyday and it was some days.

They only have one witness quite briefly and we might do a podcast of 1340 minutes some days.

They had the most extraordinary testimony and we done 40 minute version so that you can really vary wildly and people seem to be used to that in in podcast land not gonna talk about the nature of the program itself because you did a previous series Carrie Gracie did it murder at the lucky holiday hotel in this case the Nazis so the material is not that fresh.

Is it well in both cases? I think we uncovered material that nobody knew about no, that's what it actually you using a new medium to tell all types Story thriller skillers murderers Nazis well, all stories are all stories and good good stories are all stories.

I don't have any problem with that.

What we're trying to do is tell it anyway, and I think we're trying to reinvent storytelling as what we doing Wudu a whole range of different kinds of things I mentioned the grenfell Tower enquiry podcast podcast of doing India with a bollywood star for the world service.

I mean really different kinds of storytelling as they're trying to bring new life to this thing and do original journalism said the amount of research that went into the ratline with absolutely extraordinary two lots of stuff in the merge nobody knew that before no one knew the other story because I remember reading Philips sensor think the Financial Times in 2015 about the basic story you read East West Street you got an element of it, but you're saying in the making of the podcast itself even Philippe Sands found out things you didn't know that there's and I do want to give anything away two people haven't heard the episode where we find out how he hit for 4 years in the mountains, but nobody knew this this is completely on their material until we his son.

He was lucky and we managed to find the stuff out and stuff that happens later in the series about which involves espionage.

None of that was then that is completely holding you now.

Why is the BBC certainly some people would say so keen on podcasts? You can't get a speech made by some senior figure in the BBC's only connect with radio without mentioning podcast you are being encouraged to do more more.

Why is the BBC so keen on podcasts glassware a very large proportion of the audience is going so something like 6 million people in this country listen to podcast every week.

I lost it listen to radio Swale Summerland don't I lost SIM only discovering serious high quality audio through podcast where the BBC think we can do this really well, and we want to be there.

We want to reach that already, but it is also because of the fear that with you know all this.

So we don't feel young people listening to BBC they may not get the BBC have it you've gotta get out to them and say yes, we're going to make podcast for you, but in a sense we have not going to supermarket loss leaders, you will then be attracted into the other programming we make so that I want to be on intentions are absolutely and I think some.

Podcast Radio 4 of made them very very clearly trying to reach his audiences that things like grown up land seriously you know the brilliant brilliant podcast and trying to save BBC might have something for you.

You might have thought the BBC was something for your parents actually maybe it's something for you to so does this mean you've got other series in the pipeline.

Yes, it said there's going to be a third series of The Intrigue which is going to be completely different and Buddhism production at the moment which I think people will really be gripped by and you will be looking subjects other than murder and answers but either way.

I see intrigue.

It's got to involve a body to be really brutal about it, but it has to be about something bigger.

It's not true Crime this is a serious about something that matters but it does involve something really dark, and how do you measure whether it's been a success I mean church by the responses.

We've got to the podcast it has been very successful, but not any measurements as far as I can see how they are mean Rachel not radio which Message broadcast radio as hasn't yet produce something which enables us to say all those podcast really well popular now so we can.

Sarah a number so we can compare it to other BBC podcast but there's nothing external so we can't say oh, it's really beating other podcast what we can do is that the only real index.

We have is that Apple how much lot of people listen to a podcast on iPhones they put out a charge but it's not.

America and we don't really know what's the secret sauce that goes in such as we've been doing really well, so we've been nearly at the top for a couple of weeks of that child which is very satisfied.

Whether it means with the most listened to podcast I sincerely doubt because we don't really know what goes into that chart.

It's frustrating.

We would like to have better figures Levinson editor of intrigue the ratline.

Thank you and that's all for this week if you have any idea for a podcast series which does not involve killing zone Nazis and makes no reference at all to the second world war do let us know in these difficult times some of us would like to smile more goodbye.