Best of Today

A highly critical report on Britain's biggest police force has found it to be "institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic". Baroness Louise Casey's review says the Metropolitan Police has failed to protect the public from staff who abuse women, and that female officers and staff routinely experienced sexism. Mishal Husain speaks to the report's author Baroness Casey, as well as Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley about the findings. Mishal also spoke to the Mayor of...

The businessman Henry Dimbleby who co-founded Leon has announced he is stepping down as a government adviser on food policy. Today's Mishal Husain speaks to Henry Dimbleby about food policy and his new book 'Ravenous: How to get ourselves and Our Planet into Shape'. (Image credit: RichLegg/ Getty Images)

It has been two decades since the ground invasion of Iraq began. British and US forces led the attack which led to the toppling of Saddam Hussain's regime. The instability that followed led to brutal sectarian conflict, and eventually the rise of the Islamic State. The BBC's International Editor Jeremy Bowen has travelled through Iraq and reports on the legacy and consequences of the invasion in 2003. Today's Justin Webb also speaks to Sir Jeremy Greenstock, UK Permanent Representative to...

Following on from the government’s announcement on better pay for health workers, Today’s Martha Kearney spoke to Sir Derek Jacobi who plays Ambrose in ‘Allelujah’, a new film which shows the pressures on the NHS. ‘Allelujah’ is based on the play by Alan Bennet, and set in a small Yorkshire hospital where most of the patients are elderly. The cast is drawn from some of the best known actors in the country including Jennifer Saunders, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Derek Jacobi. Sir Derek told...

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his first Budget speech on Wednesday. It includes policies directed at getting people into work, and keeping them there, which are central to the Budget and will lead to key changes on childcare and pensions. Today's Nick Robinson speaks to the Chancellor about his new economic measures and Today's Amol Rajan speaks to the Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves. (Image credit: Jeff Overs/BBC)

Judgements made in the family courts can affect families forever, including placing children in care or for adoption. After decades of calls for greater scrutiny of the family courts, at the end of January journalists gained access to report proceedings, in a landmark pilot scheme. Three court centres in Leeds, Carlisle and Cardiff allowed accredited journalists to report cases for the first time, providing the families involved remained anonymous. Our Correspondent Sanchia Berg spent...

BBC Radio 2's Ken Bruce presents his final show on Friday as he leaves the station after 31 years hosting its weekday mid-morning show. His slot is the most listened-to show on British radio, and he will now join rival commercial station Greatest Hits Radio. Bruce was originally due to complete his Radio 2 contract on 24 March, but tweeted last week that the BBC had asked him to host the last edition of his weekday mid-morning show on 3 March instead. Today's Garry Richardson speaks to Ken...

Nick Robinson joins the crowds watching US President Joseph Biden's speech in Warsaw.

Björn Ulvaeus has guest edited BBC Radio 4's Today and his programme included a lot of insights and encounters about Eurovision. Hear him talk to one of the British jurors who in 1974 gave ABBA's Waterloo "nul points" - and doesn't regret it! He also discusses with Erasure's Andy Bell, Radio 1's Adele Roberts and UK Eurovision presenter Rylan Clark the appeal of the contest and ABBA itself to the LGBT+ community. Bjorn also speaks to Martin Österdahl, executive supervisor of Eurovision,...

Today's fourth Christmas guest editor this year is Sir Jeremy Fleming, director of GCHQ, the UK's largest but probably least known intelligence agency. Hear highlights from his programme which centres on the theme of data and trust, including how we all share our own personal information and how intelligence agencies across the world handle that data. Guests include Avril Haines, the United States director of national intelligence, Vint Cerf, one of the founding fathers of the internet, and...

Today's third guest editor this Christmas is Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained for six years in Iran - before being freed and coming home nine months ago. Hear highlights from her programme including the voices of families of current political prisoners in Iran and Nazanin speaking to chef Yotam Ottolenghi about why one of his recipes has a special resonance for her - and about the solidarity that can be found in food and cooking. Nazanin also has an emotional encounter with tennis...

Today's second guest editor this Christmas is Jamie Oliver, the chef, entrepreneur and campaigner. Hear highlights from his programme in our Best of Today podcast, including interviews with former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne about expanding free lunches in schools and providing a healthy array of options for students. Jamie Oliver has been open about his struggles in school with dyslexia. He says he was told he was taught alongside those with...

Today’s final Christmas guest editor this year is Dame Sharon White, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership and former head of telecoms regulator Ofcom. She was named as the most powerful black person in the country in the 2023 Power List. One of the key issues for her programme is how society can help more people who have been in care get into employment – and includes a report from the BBC’s Ashley John-Baptiste, who grew up in care. She also speaks to world renown choreographer Sir...

Today’s sixth Christmas guest editor is Anne-Marie Imafidon – computer scientist, CEO and co-presenter of Countdown. Hear highlights of her programme, whose central theme is opportunity. She looks at how we work, how we fund science, and how we recognise the achievements of women which have been lost to history, such as Dr Gladys Mae West, whose maths work paved the way for GPS navigation. We also explore two of Anne-Marie’s big passions – Nigerian food and trainers.

Today's fifth Christmas guest editor is Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA. Hear highlights from his programme, which looks at the impact of Artificial Intelligence and technology on music, the future of democracy and of course Eurovision - the contest which launched Abba's global success nearly 50 years ago. Guests include Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics, the historian Noah Yuval Harari, Andy Bell from Erasure, the boss of Eurovision, as well as its UK presenter Rylan Clark, and former culture...

Today's first guest editor this Christmas is Lord Botham, Ian "Beefy" Botham, former England all-rounder, now crossbench peer and UK Trade Envoy to Australia. Hear highlights from his programme in our Best of Today podcast, including an interview with the current England Cricket captain Ben Stokes, about the future of the Test format of the game. It was a chance meeting after a freak injury in 1977 which first put Lord Botham on the path to nearly four decades of fundraising. He reflects on...

The Today programme has asked some well-known faces to talk about the walks they do and why they’re so important to them at this time of year. Author Joanne Harris, best known for her novel Chocolat, describes her favourite walk from Almondbury, near Huddersfield, and up to Castle Hill. (Image credit: Simone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images)

The Today programme has asked some well-known faces to talk about the walks they do and why they’re so important to them as part of a winter walks series. Author Hunter Davies, best known for the only authorised biography of the Beatles, describes his favourite walk along Ryde Sands on the Isle of Wight. (Image Credit: Laura Palmer/BBC)

The Today programme has asked some well-known voices to tell us about their favourite walks at this time of year. Novelist and journalist Jojo Moyes - best known for 'Me Before You' - describes a walk where she is often accompanied by her dogs in Essex, and how it’s helped her when life is challenging. (Image Credit: Jojo Moyes)

The Today programme has asked some well-known faces to talk about the walks they do and why they’re so important to them as part of a winter walks series. Author Michelle Gallen, who wrote 'Big Girl, Small Town' and 'Factory Girls', describes her favourite walk near her childhood home in Castlederg, West Tyrone. (Image Credit: Deci Gallen)