10/11/2010

Presented by Jenni Murray. Margaret Atwood's dystopian classic 'The Handmaid's Tale' imagines a future America under the violently oppressive rule of a far-right Christian sect. Women are back in the home and divided into domestic and reproductive functions, branded by coloured robes. The book was a huge global success, and is still regarded as a ground-breaking work of fiction. 25 years on, Margaret Atwood speaks to Jenni about why its central message has never been more relevant, with the journalist and literary critic Alex Clark. The classical guitarist, Xuefei Yang performs live in the studio. And we look at Caring in South Asian families in the UK. Many Asian families have been reluctant to take up social care for their elderly relatives, preferring to live with them and look after them themselves. But with pressure to move for careers and increasingly "western" values will the traditional structures sustain?