Adventures in Science (9.30 am R4). Ben Silburn on the travels of a red blood cell.
The Mayfair Set (9.50 am, also 12.50, 3.50, 6.50, 9.50 BBC Knowledge). Rerun of programme about James Goldsmith.
Music Afloat (1.30 R4). The Jews of Eastern Europe and the music they took with them as they fled to America.
Afternoon Play: The Natural Selection of Margret (2.15 R4). Set on the Galapagos, Patricia Hannah’s comedy is based on the true story of the German pioneers – apparently followers of Nietzsche – who settled on one of the islands in the 1930s.
America and the World (8.00 R4). Will the US continue to dominate world politics? Gavin Esler chairs a discussion.
Islam: Revolution and Reform (8.30 World Service, repeated Wed 2.30 am, 3.30). Part three: Muslims in the West.
» Meet The Ancestors (9.00 BBC2). “The Bishop’s Men” – six burials from the 13th century (perhaps) unearthed beside Hereford Cathedral. Bone expert Charlotte Roberts is among those assisting Julian Richards with his enquiries. (By coincidence perhaps, Wednesday’s Choral Evensong – 4.00 R3 – also comes from Hereford.)
Night Waves (9.30 R3). Caravaggio’s painting; Paul Celan’s poetry.
Boston Law (10.35 BBC1, 11.15 in Wales; also Wed 10.35, 11.05 in N. Ireland and Wales). An inside view of the US legal system, centring on Boston district attorney Ralph C. Martin II and public defender Lisa Medeiros.