Radio listener

Radio 4 can't be accused of lacking ambition, as it rings in the new decade by surveying two million years of human history through the things we have created, from the pedestrian to the inspiring, in A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN 100 OBJECTS.

Presented by Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, each of the 100 15-minute episodes will highlight a different object from the museum's vast collections, from items as mundane as a credit card or an axe to inspirational works of art. Starting with some of the earliest-known man-made artefacts, dating from almost two million years ago, MacGregor takes a chronological journey through history, explaining key events, little-appreciated connections and universal themes.

He's assisted throughout the series by a wonderfully motley cast of contributors including Sirs Richard Attenborough and Bob Geldof, Nigerian author Sole Woyinka, Archbishop Rowan Williams, and poet Seamus Heaney.

Geographically more specific is CITY OF TWO CONTINENTS, a series of afternoon readings focusing on Istanbul's 2010 tenure as European Capital of Culture. Produced for Radio 4 by BBC Scotland's Radio Drama Department, this trio of short stories starts on Tuesday with THE BYZANTINE PASSAGE, by Jenny White, about a woman's life-changing glimpse of the man she is to marry. Later in the week, THE ABYSS AS VIEWED FROM ISTANBUL, by Maureen Freely, evokes the Cuban missile crisis as viewed from the Turkish city, and Moris Farhi's true turk embroils fixers, wrestlers, human frailty and prejudice.

Back in Glasgow, the musical world appears to converge on the Dear Green Place for Celtic Connections, now one of the largest winter musical festivals. If weather or wallet conditions prevent you attending, listen in to WORLD ON 3 late on Friday, when eclectic Gael Mary Ann Kennedy broadcasts live from the Late Night Sessions, introducing sounds from the Celtic realms and well beyond.

A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN 100 OBJECTS

Monday-Friday, Radio 4, 9:45am, 7:45pm and 12:30am

CITY OF TWO CONTINENTS: RADIO 4 AFTERNOON READINGS

Tuesday-Thursday, Radio 4, 3:30pm

WORLD ON 3

Friday, Radio 3, 11:15pm

• This article first appeared in The Scotsman, 16 January, 2010