Michael Pearson

As my engagement on this platform has hit the floor: you can follow me on Blue Sky below 👇 bsky.app/profile/michae…

A BBC investigation has gained rare access to asylum hotels and witnessed poor living conditions and a £600 return taxi trip to a medical appointment. Journalist @SueM1tchell tells #R4Today what she found when she visited four different hotels.

Welcome to the #R4Today team @annaefoster! Looking forward to you starting next month🥳

I’m back out in the US this week for the presidential inauguration - here’s a little of what we’ve been up to! If you can’t tell, it’s cold! 🥶

Celebrating 100 years of the Shipping Forecast & we've a challenge for you! Remix this audio, reply to this audio or record yourself trying out this short version, you can also use the hashtag #ShippingForecastChallenge & we'll pick some of our favourites later in the week!

"It's a mistake to think that people who kill are not human." Titled Four Questions about Violence, This year’s BBC Radio 4 Reith Lecturer Dr Gwen Adshead addresses the most pertinent questions that she has faced in her work as a forensic psychiatrist. The lectures were recorded in front of live audiences in London, Dundee, Bergen and HMP Grendon - the first time a Reith lecture has been recorded in a prison. The Reith Lectures | Listen on BBC Sounds

Was thrilled to be asked to judge the video journalism entries for this year’s awards. Some incredible work across a wide range of subjects and a real variety of content. Well done everyone!

Stranded in a care homes with no bank cards or ID. Others left without oversight of their money. Homes cleared and sold. Wills written and disputed. Months investigating power of attorney @BBCRadio4 @wrobinson101 @joelmoors @Dr_CStephens @hughlevinson bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

@melramsay_ Maybe look on Access and you can do a leisure booking!

Do I have any freelance video editing journalists (with access to Premiere Pro or similar) on my feed who have some editing availability in December? Drop me an email with some examples michael.pearson@bbc.co.uk #journojobs

The moment Samantha Harvey wins the #BookerPrize2024 for her novel Orbital and dedicates the award to earth and peace. Catch up with the ceremony broadcast live on Front Row with @samiraahmeduk on @bbcsounds now 🎧

June Spencer, the last original cast member of The Archers, has died aged 105. Mohit Bakaya, Controller of Radio 4 said: “June Spencer has been a longstanding presence and companion for Radio 4 listeners during her exceptional run on The Archers. Many have grown up with June as Peggy and listened as she journeyed through life’s many chapters, with all of its ups and downs." “In her later years, her portrayal of a devoted wife caring for a husband with Dementia, including their very moving final goodbye, was deeply poignant and powerful radio. We send all our love and condolences to June’s family and the many people whose lives she touched.” Jeremy Howe, Editor of The Archers said: "Working with June was like working with a legend, and has been one of the great privileges of my time at the BBC. Here was this person, immaculately dressed and sitting bolt upright in the Green Room at BBC Birmingham, script at the ready, all meticulously marked up with little pencil squiggles and dashes like musical notation, who had been in the first ever episode of the Archers back in 1951. June Spencer wasn’t just a brilliant Peggy Woolley, the ultimate matriarch of Ambridge, but a brilliant actress. I only ever worked with her in radio, but her technique, her precision, her delivery were flawless." “One of the cast once remarked that in all her time in the show he had only ever heard her fluff her lines the once. She was an actress who revelled in her craft, someone who could score a bullseye with a gently insulting cough as if it were a bon mot from Oscar Wilde. She was also a great company member – funny, sharp, warm, never gossipy, but with wonderful stories of the early days of radio drama, self deprecating and a great companion. The two things I would never commit to with June were being driven by her at the age of one hundred and one or taking her on at Scrabble. She was a Scrabble demon. June’s Peggy Woolley was and always will be the Queen of Ambridge, and with her death The Archers has lost its link with the birth of the show over seventy years ago. It is a humbling moment for us all.”

You can grab yourself a Kamala-bargain at Baltimore Airport…..

Here we go!!

Can Bill Clinton help win over black voters in North Carolina? As America goes to the polls, @JustinOnWeb speaks to voters in the swing state after the former Democrat president visits a Baptist church. #R4Today

Looking for some snacks to see you through the US Election? Americasters sent us on a mission to find some of the best treats to enjoy while here in America! #Americast | Listen on BBC Sounds

We’re out on the road 😍

I’m out in America for the US election and here’s a little flavour of what I’ve been up to! 👇

Will Taylor Swift join the election campaign? Marianna Spring and Sarah Smith discuss the impact celebrities could have on the US presidential race on the latest #Americast. bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0…

How are podcasts making a difference in the US election? The new trend is aiming to bring new and sometimes undecided voters out to the ballot box in the 2024 election. #Americast | Listen on BBC Sounds bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0…