Two BBC Radio 4 full-cast thrillers

Tracks: Series 3 and 4

Dr Helen Ash returns in two more series of the award-winning conspiracy thriller

One of the best dramas – on television or radio – currently on offer

'One of the best dramas - on television or radio - currently on offer' Radio Times 
'The most brilliant drama' and 'really, really well produced' Dolly Alderton 
 
Tracks: Chimera 
 
A tower block collapses in London. Hundreds are killed. 
Except a man standing alone on the roof, who walks out of the rubble unscathed. 
 
And things are about to get stranger, because Dr Helen Ash is pregnant. But she hasn't had sex since her husband died 18 months ago. 
 
What connects her unexplained pregnancy, a mysterious phone message from a woman who died in the building collapse, and the man on the roof of the high-rise? 
 
The gripping conspiracy thriller and winner of Best Sound (BBC Audio Drama Awards) and Best Fiction (British Podcast Awards) returns for a third series. 
 
 
Tracks: Indigo 
 
Dr Helen Ash is involved in a road accident. But where was she going in such a hurry? And why can't she remember? 
 
The answer lies in the riddle of Helen's daughter, Frances, who's older than she should be. And a mysterious 'child-mother', who's younger than she should be... 
 
Romola Garai returns as Helen Ash in the compelling fourth series of Tracks. 
 
 
Cast of Tracks: Chimera 
Helen.... Hattie Morahan 
Freddy..... Jonathan Forbes 
Rachel.... Fiona O'Shaughnessy 
Other parts played by Rhodri Meilir, Eiry Thomas, Zahra Ahmadi, Clare Cage, Marc Danbury, Stewart Wright, Richard Elfyn, Kerry Shale, Elina Alminas, Carys Eleri, Morgan Watkins, Jeanette Percival, Matthew Gravelle, Richard Nichols, Amerah Saleh, Adam Deacon, Bijan Daneshmand, Emma Handy, Lea Mornar, Francois Pandolfo, Simon Armstrong, Saffron Coomber and Sean Murray 
 
Lead writer.... Matthew Broughton 
Episodes written by Matthew Broughton, Matt Hartley, Lucy Catherine, Caroline Horton and Timothy X Atack 
Directed by James Robinson, Rebecca Lloyd-Evans and Carl Prekopp 
Produced by James Robinson 
A BBC Cymru Wales Production 
 
Cast of Tracks: Indigo 
Helen.... Romola Garai 
Freddy.... Jonathan Forbes 
Other parts played by Andrew Gower, Georgia Henshaw, Sally Orrock, Carys Eleri, Sion Pritchard, Joanna van Kampen, Scarlett Courtney, Adam Courting, Lucy Reynolds, Ashleigh Hadadd, David Hounslow, Sinead MacInnes, Juliet Cowan and Marc Danbury 
 
Written by Matthew Broughton 
Produced and Directed by James Robinson 
A BBC Cymru Wales Production

Father Alberto and the Flying Girl

'Profound and strange and utterly original. A book about madness and miracles, faith and pain, human frailty and human kindness - you have to read it to believe it'

'The thing that struck me about this book (aside from its pitch-perfect, super-consistent tone, and the sharpness of the writing line-by-line) was its relevance. It’s about care, compassion and kindness, in the face of an unforgiving world. The story is as strange as it is universal, as dark as it is joyous, as hilarious as it is heartfelt: it's a truly special book'

Christopher Wakling, author of What I Did

Timothy X Atack is a writer, composer, and sound designer. His work includes the eco sci-fi thriller Forest 404 for BBC Sounds (WGGB and ARIA awards for best audio drama 2020) stage play Heartworm (winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2017) and The Morpeth Carol, The Stroma Sessions and Beethoven Can Hear You among other audio dramas for BBC Radio. He also wrote and directed the award-wining short film All My Dreams on VHS starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and O-T Fagbenle. 
 
 
Tim is from a Yorkshire family, grew up in Rio De Janeiro and currently lives in Bristol, where he co-founded the production company Sleepdogs with director Tanuja Amarasuriya, and is a resident at Pervasive Media Studio, Watershed. In 2023-24 he’s a writer-on-attachment at National Theatre Studio, and in June 2025 his play Delay – a queer sci-fi heartbreaker for the stage – will be produced at Bristol Old Vic. Father Alberto and the Flying Girl is his first novel.

Timothy X Atack

Pearl Mackie

Tanya Moodie

Pippa Haywood

A BBC sci-fi thriller

Forest 404: 9-part thriller, 9-part talk, 9-part soundscape and exclusive bonus documentary 
 
Can you feel loss for something you've never known? 
 
Meet Pan. She lives a few centuries from now, in a future beyond a data crash that wiped out most records of life from before the 23rd century: The Cataclysm. Her job is to sort through the old sound recordings that survived from before the crash - from The Slow Times. When winters were still cold. When the USA still had people in it. 
 
All day she listens to sounds from The Slow Times, and she decides which noises live, and which can just...finally die. Deleted to make space. Because data costs. 
 
But when she finds an old recording of a rainforest, she has no idea what it is. Because forests no longer exist. And the sound of it haunts her - she is compelled to hunt down the truth about how the forests of the old world died. But the agents of new world have other ideas... 
 
A sci-fi thriller starring Pearl Mackie (Doctor Who), Tanya Moodie (Sherlock, Motherland) and Pippa Haywood (Green Wing, Bodyguard). 
 
Each episode is accompanied by a talk which looks at the issues raised by the drama, featuring a diverse range of speakers: musicians, bio-futurists, anthropologists and tree-climbers. They explore questions ranging from 'Why should I listen to trees?' to 'Would you vote for an AI government?' and 'What is death in the digital age?' 
 
Each episode also comes with an immersive soundscape of natural world environments, mixed in binaural sound for a 3D headphone experience. You can hear the sound of the Sumatran rainforest, the songs of whales, a chorus of frogs, and a full playout of Bonobo's specially-composed theme music. 
 
Lastly, this release includes an exclusive bonus documentary episode, which looks at the making of the series, featuring interviews with writer Timothy X Atack and director Becky Ripley. It also shares the findings of The Forest 404 Experiment: a related project in collaboration with Exeter University and the Open University, about the effects that different natural sounds have on our moods and mental health. 
 
Credits: 
Pan - Pearl Mackie 
Daria - Tanya Moodie 
Theia - Pippa Haywood 
With theme music by Bonobo 
Directed by Becky Ripley 
 
Track listing: 
1. Episode 1: Life in the Fast Times 
2. Talk 1: Why should I listen to trees? 
3. Soundscape 1: Rainforest Symphony 
4. Episode 2: The Fumetown Priest 
5. Talk 2: How is the sound of the world changing? 
6. Soundscape 2: Frog Chorus 
7. Episode 3: Into the Inner 
8. Talk 3: Could I live in darkness? 
9. Soundscape 3: Whale Songs 
10. Episode 4: Of Earthly Delights 
11. Talk 4: Why do trees live so long 
12. Soundscape 4: Woodland Walk 
13. Episode 5: Last Days of the Slow World 
14. Talk 5: Will we all become cyborgs? 
15. Soundscape 5: Theia's Hometown 
16. Episode 6: A New Leaf 
17. Talk 6: What is death in the digital age? 
18. Soundscape 6: Pan's Dwindling 
19. Episode 7: Dreams of the Autopilot 
20. Talk 7: Would you vote for an AI government? 
21. Soundscape 7: Daria's Nightmare 
22. Episode 8: Future Conditional 
23. Talk 8: How will humans die out? 
24. Soundscape 8: The Memory Transfer 
25. Episode 9: Enigmata 
26. Talk 9: Love Letter to the Forest... 
27. Soundscape 9: Bonobo's Theme 
28. Exclusive bonus 'making of' documentary

Timothy X Atack

Books by Timothy X Atack

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