Loose Ends

Join Clive Anderson for a party at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Rosie Jones will be chatting about some of her favourite things (like gravy) and her least favourite things (like internet trolls called Darren) in I Can't Tell What She's Saying.
Garry Starr: Classic Penguins sees clown Damien Warren-Smith attempt to bring every single book in the collection to life like never before.
And comedian Kirsty Mann shares how buying a derelict house changed everything she believes in, in her very own real-life ghost story Corpse.
Plus music from One Man Musical which turns the spotlight on a musical theatre icon, and Legendary which explores Chinese mythology and queer legacy.
Presenter: Clive Anderson
Producer: Caitlin Sneddon
Production Co-ordinator: Lauren Stewart

Kiri Pritchard-McLean presents Loose Ends from the Crossed Wires Festival in Sheffield. She's joined by author and broadcaster Andrew Hunter Murray who tells us how to write novels with the aid of a spreadsheet. Professional organiser Dilly Carter on unboxing a skull, comedian and Traitors star Hannah Byczkowski on crying into Claudia Winkleman's arms, and comedian David Eagle on negotiating a climate change protest at his wedding.
There's music from Yorkshire singer-songwriter Chris Brain and Sheffield's own Daisy Peacock.
Presenter: Kiri Pritchard-McLean
Producer: Elizabeth Foster

Stuart Maconie finds himself "i lár an aonaigh" - at the heart of craic, ceol, and much more at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), as Belfast hosts the festival celebrating Irish music and culture for the very first time.
The Fleadh comes second nature to frontman and lead singer of Hothouse Flowers Liam Ó Maonlaí, who was brought up in a household full of traditional Irish music and song. As the band prepares for their "Greatest Hits" tour later this year, Liam reflects on the poignant story behind their hit single "Don't Go", and the time he was left behind by the band's tour bus.
Olivia McVeigh mightn't be in a band, but alongside her fellow podcasters of The Girls Groupchat she's taking the show onstage, alongside Irish girl group legends B*witched and even to ABBA Voyage. She tells Stuart about how her diagnosis of alopecia changed her entire career trajectory, into a world of advocacy and empowering others with the condition.
Emma Southon may have had a very different career as historian if she hadn't hated history so much at school. She talks about her new book Servus: How Slavery Made the Roman Empire, which sets out to give readers a full picture of the reality of enslaved people in Ancient Rome.
And Michael Fry muses on how a period of pure boredom pushed him towards comedy, and why he thinks the medium of radio is ripe for laughs, ahead of his third series of Lunchtime with Michael Fry on BBC Radio Ulster.
Plus, musicians Dónal O'Connor, Neil Martin and Clare Sands give us just a "blaiseadh beag" - a very small taste of the great music coming out of the Fleadh.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Anthony McKee
Technical Producer: Davy Neill
Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFadden

TV presenter and wine expert Olly Smith's written a novel - Death by Noir - a crisp murder mystery set among the vineyards of Sussex.
Smack the Pony star Fiona Allen's taking a solo show - White Lies - to the Edinburgh Fringe, all about the fibs people tell to get out of socialising...and their dire consequences.
Tristan Gooley, author of The Hidden Seasons, tells us about 'shooting star' season, what to learn from a single tree and how to navigate using grass as a compass.
Music from Mari Wilson who sang Just What I Always Wanted in the 1980s and has her first new music out for a decade. Plus a song from rising star of lo-fi folk Natalie Wildgoose.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Olive Clancy
Assistant Producer: Lizzie Foster
Technical Producers: John Cole and Kelly Young
Content Assistant: Sam Nixon

Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined in Salford by writer and Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall who has turned his hand to crime novels, first with Death at the White Hart and now The Parkwood Murders.
Comedian Ayoade Bamgboye is fresh off the first season of Saturday Night Live UK and she's wrapping up the tour of her hit Edinburgh show Swings and Roundabouts, which earned her the best newcomer award at the festival in 2025, before heading back to the festival this year with a work in progress show.
Wendi Peters played Cilla Battersby-Brown in Eastenders and Dr Nina Bulsara in Doctors. Her latest role is in the new BBC One crime drama series The Hairdresser Mysteries.
Music is from The Anchoress, AKA Catherine Ann Davies who is soon to release a new album As We Once Were, her much anticipated follow up to her critically acclaimed 2021 album The Art of Losing, and Later Youth AKA Joe Dudderidge.
Presenter: Kiri Pritchard-McLean
Producer: Jessica Treen