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On 6th June 1944, the Allied invasion began. For hours, wave after wave of soldiers, sailors, and airmen crossed the channel and stormed the Normandy coast, fighting to gain a foothold in Nazi-occupied Northwest Europe. It was the largest combined air and seaborne invasion ever, involving over 150,000 Allied troops on the ground, and its eventual success became a critical turning point in the war, spelling the beginning of the end for the Third Reich.

In this collection, Melvyn Bragg surveys how English has evolved over 1,000 years. He starts by looking at the disappearance of old dialects like that of Cumbria, and how English has been enriched by foreign languages, from Latin and Old French to dozens more as conquest, trade and immigration played their part in recent centuries. He also examines new coinages, puns and wordplay; how accents and social class are entwined; swear words; attempts to stop the evolution of language in its tracks and, lastly, the many varieties of English that are spoken around the world today.

It’s the 100th series of The News Quiz – let the centennial celebrations commence! To mark the occasion, each of these eight episodes is presented by a different guest host from the world of comedy, who keeps the chair warm in their own inimitable style (and with their cushion of choice). Zoe Lyons, Angela Barnes, Patrick Kielty, Andrew Maxwell, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Andy Zaltzman, Phil Wang and Nish Kumar lead a panel of guests as they dissect the latest political machinations and round up news stories both big and small.

For more than 200 years, the armies of the Emperor of Mankind fought to reconquer the galaxy - led by the superhuman primarchs, the Space Marine Legions brought countless worlds back under the rule of ancient Terra. Now Horus, once honoured Warmaster and favoured son of the Emperor, has been corrupted by the whispered promises of Chaos. At his command the Imperium is torn apart by a terrible and bloody civil war, the likes of which the galaxy has never seen.

Clued-up listeners will already be familiar with I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, the only authentic antidote to panel games. Ardent fans, and those with less well-indulged ears, are in for a treat with this eighth collection of episodes which, as ever, muddy the line between ad-lib and sheer mayhem.

For over 40 years The News Quiz has graced the Radio 4 airwaves with an irreverent sideways look at the headlines. Having first appeared in 1977, it boasts a tantalising archive of episodes to remind us of the news from yesteryear, refracted through the satirical gaze of regular panellists including Alan Coren, Andy Hamilton, Mark Steel, Francis Wheen and Jeremy Hardy. Among the many guest panellists featured here are Boris Johnson, Nigella Lawson, Jo Brand, Eddie Mair, John Sergeant, Linda Smith and Roy Hattersley.

In the sprawling Imperium of Mankind, everyone serves the Emperor in their own way. From the Inquisitors who hunt the hidden enemies of humanity in the dark places of the galaxy to the brave soldiers who stand on the front line, and the Imperial Assassins who can change the tides of war with a single shot, each has a part to play in preserving the Imperium. This audio drama anthology contains eight stories of the agents who dispense the Emperor's justice.

Room 101 is the anti-Desert Island Discs. Instead of picking the tracks, books and luxuries they love, guests are invited to banish their least favourite things to Orwell's eponymous chamber of horrors. Twenty-seven episodes of the show were broadcast on Radio 5 between 1992 and 1994, and it went on to run for 18 hit series on BBC TV before relaunching on Radio 4 in 2023. This specially curated collection contains 16 of the very best editions of the original radio series.

With its brilliant blend of the silly, the serious and the satirical, The News Quiz has been a must-listen for comedy fans since 1977. Recorded in front of a virtual audience, these three series see Andy Zaltzman presiding over a motley crew of comedians and journalists as they trawl through news stories big and small to provide comedy, commentary, irony and irreverence. Among the eager news-wranglers are Zoe Lyons, Nish Kumar, Helen Lewis, Athena Kugenblu, Lucy Porter, Paul Sinha, Daliso Chaponda, Mark Steel, Alice Fraser, Ayesha Hazarika and Kiri Pritchard-McLean.

The Write Stuff is the book-based panel show that takes a witty and whimsical look at well-known authors and their work. Host James Walton challenges the erudite contestants with tricky literary teasers, which they endeavour to answer using a combination of knowledge and guesswork.

The hilarious comic lovechild of A Question of Sport and QI, Jest a Minute is a light-hearted, lively show that quizzes leading comedians on their knowledge of comedy. Host Rhod Gilbert accepts no backchat and gives short shrift to cheek as he recklessly awards points based on how quick, agile and witty he considers the panellists to be. In a series of fast-paced, chaotic rounds, they are tasked with answering quickfire questions on comedy history, sitcom titles, catchphrases and classic comedy films.

Radio 4's longest-running panel show, in which contestants are challenged to speak on a on a given topic for 60 seconds without hesitation, deviation or repetition, returns with Sue Perkins at the helm for this complete collection of episodes from 2024. Featuring quickfire improvisation, inspired ad-libbing and spontaneous hilarity - as well as a live studio audience - join Sue Perkins and her guests as they battle for points, glory and the perfect, uninterrupted minute.

With its brilliant blend of the silly, the serious and the satirical, The News Quiz has been a must-listen for comedy fans since it started 46 years ago. Recorded in front of an audience, these three series see Andy Zaltzman presiding over a motley crew of comedians and journalists as they trawl through the biggest (and smallest) news stories of 2023 to provide comedy, commentary, irony and irreverence.

Just a Minute is the grandaddy of panel games, entertaining Radio 4 listeners since 1967 with wit, whimsy and wonderful wordplay. To mark the show's 55th anniversary in December 2022, here are five fantastic series from 2011, 2012 and 2013, all chaired by the legendary Nicholas Parsons. Among them is Series 62, which commemorated JAM's 45th birthday with an episode tackling the same subjects given out in the very first series, and featured two special editions from Mumbai.

The Ultimate Classic Collection is drawn from our extensive back catalogue of over 300 short stories and showcases some of the finest examples of the genre: from romance to horror, detective and crime stories to the best of women's writing.

Following the phenomenal success of Necronomicon, its companion volume brings together Lovecraft's remaining major stories plus his weird poetry, a number of obscure revisions, and some notable nonfiction, including the seminal critical essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature." athering together in chronological order the rest of Lovecraft's rarely seen but extraordinary short fiction, this collection includes the entirety of the long-out-of-print collection of thirty-six sonnets "Fungi from Yuggoth."

Funny and scary, romantic and gruesome - and featuring a childless queen who devours the heart of a sea monster cooked by a virgin, and who then gives birth the very next day; a lecherous king aroused by the voice of a woman whom he courts, unaware of her physical grotesqueness; and a king who raises a flea to monstrous size on his own blood, sparking a contest in which an ogre vies with men for the hand of the king's daughter - The Tale of Tales is a fairy-tale treasure that prefigures Game of Thrones and other touchstones of worldwide fantasy literature.

The final five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle. Christopher Lee's epic history tells the story of Britain from the Romans to the death of Victoria. This collection includes the original volumes 6-10. 1702-1760: the First British Empire; the reign of George I; Britain's first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole; and the first rendition of Rule Britannia. 1760-1792: the Age of Revolution; the Industrial Revolution begins....

Seven more series of the popular BBC Radio 4 impressions show - plus a selection of unbroadcast material. Since the turn of the millennium, Dead Ringers has been giving us its skewed, hilarious take on the famous and the infamous. The show has won a British Comedy Award, a Sony Gold Award, and a Press Guild Award for Radio Programme of the Year - and won a legion of fans with its merciless parodies, mocking every programme, institution and politician you hold dear.

In this gripping series, Helena Kennedy, celebrated human rights lawyer, broadcaster and civil liberties expert and playwright Rib Davis bring to life eight groundbreaking twentieth century trials. With the help of a full cast, they reveal how the British legal system has been influenced by powerful human stories that redefined the law to better reflect our modern society.