TODAY’S RADIO

DERMOT O’LEARY 8AM, RADIO 2

★★★

It’s no surprise that George Mackay took up acting. His mother is a costume designer, and his father is a stage and lighting manager. George’s first role was as one of the children in 2003’s Peter Pan, and his breakthrough part was as a young soldier in Sam Mendes’s gruelling 1917. Here, he talks about his role in another war-themed film, Munich: The Edge Of War.

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES 7PM, CLASSIC FM

★★★

Andrew Collins features scores from films starring Danny Glover, Samuel L. Jackson, Liv Ullmann and Elaine May, including Maurice Jarre’s music for Witness and Ennio Morricone’s Oscar-winning work for The Hateful Eight.

Andrew also celebrates ten years of Call The Midwife by playing Maurizio Malagnini’s theme tune.

WORLD QUESTIONS: COVID-19 AND EUROPE 7.06PM, WORLD SERVICE

★★★ As Covid tightens its grip on Europe, governments struggle to find a balance between saving lives and protecting economies. Tough new policies are being brought in, but these rules and restrictions have been met by protests in Austria, Croatia and Italy, as well as riots in Rotterdam and Brussels. Jonny Dymond hosts this debate about the various governments’ responses to the pandemic.

THE GREAT WALL 8PM, RADIO 4

★★★

In 1971, US President Nixon and the Chinese broadcasting system simultaneously delivered the news that Nixon would visit China in the following year. Described as a geopolitical earthquake, this announcement thawed relations between the two powers, leaving the USSR out in the cold. Rana Mitter looks back at this historic event.