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Best of Today

BBC

Insight, analysis and expert debate as key policy makers are challenged on the latest news stories.

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London, United Kingdom

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BBC

Description:

Insight, analysis and expert debate as key policy makers are challenged on the latest news stories.

Language:

English


Episodes

Chancellor questioned on his Budget

3/7/2024
As the dust settles on the Budget, Amol Rajan speaks to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt about the plans he's set out for tax, public services and the economy. Listen to the Today programme on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds: 6-9am Monday-Friday; and 7-9am on Saturdays.

Duration:00:19:22

Esther Rantzen 'disappointed' no assisted dying vote

2/29/2024
Are we closer to allowing assisted dying? Or not? The Health and Social Affairs Committee in Parliament has made no recommendation on a vote – but votes might be coming in other places like the Isle of Man and Jersey soon. Dame Esther Rantzen, who has stage 4 lung cancer and called for MPs to vote on assisted dying on The Today Podcast, says she is 'disappointed' a new health committee report doesn’t go that far. Listen to the Today programme on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds: 6-9am Monday-Friday; and 7-9am on Saturdays.

Duration:00:07:37

Martha's Rule to start in hospitals

2/21/2024
NHS England will roll out Martha's Rule from April to give patients and families access to a rapid review if they are worried about a condition getting worse. Merope Mills spoke to Today in September about her daughter Martha, who died just before her 14th birthday from sepsis following an abdominal injury. In the inquest after her death, the coroner ruled that Martha could have survived if she’d received better care. Now Martha’s Rule is coming into force. Merope Mills speaks to Today's Martha Kearney about plans for it come into effect in at least 100 hospitals in England.

Duration:00:16:44

Bernie Sanders: It's OK to be angry about capitalism

2/19/2024
Bernie Sanders has twice run for the Democratic presidential nomination. The left-wing senator speaks to Today's Mishal Husain about his new book 'It's OK To Be Angry About Capitalism'. Listen to the Today programme on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds: 6-9am Monday-Friday; and 7-9am on Saturdays.

Duration:00:07:24

The Today Debate: Is justice delayed, justice denied?

2/13/2024
The Today Debate is about taking a subject and pulling it apart with more time than we have in the morning. Amid a significant backlog in crown courts in England and Wales and related problems in the system in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Today presenter Mishal Husain asks if justice delayed is justice denied? Joining Mishal on the Today debate panel are Claire Waxman, the Independent Victims' Commissioner for London; Charlie Taylor; His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales; Joanna Hardy-Susskind, a barrister at Red Lion Chambers; Lord Falconer, Labour Peer and former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and Sir Max Hill, who was the director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales until October last year.

Duration:00:36:31

How To Have Sex director talks to sixth formers about consent

2/13/2024
Molly Manning Walker’s first feature film How to Have Sex – which explores what it means to consent in a sexual encounter - is going to be used by the charity Schools Consent Project as part of their sex education workshops. The Today programme went to Plumstead Manor School in London to hear Molly talk to four sixth form pupils, who told her they got much of their information about sex from social media. The film has been nominated for four Baftas. If you have been affected by sexual abuse or violence, details of help and support is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free, at any time to hear recorded information on 0800 077 077

Duration:00:06:01

Matt Smith: The Crown star discusses his West End return

2/7/2024
After numerous roles in high-profile television programmes like HBO's House of the Dragon and Netflix's The Crown, Matt Smith is returning to the West End in Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. Speaking to Today's Martha Kearney, the actor says he found the prospect of being on stage "frightening" at first, but wanted to work with German director Thomas Ostermeier. Martha also spoke to Thomas, who said the production of the play is about "becoming as attractive as a rock concert". Listen to the Today programme on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds: 6-9am Monday-Friday; and 7-9am on Saturdays.

Duration:00:10:27

Theresa May: 'During PMQs my blood sugar went up'

1/23/2024
When Theresa May was diagnosed with type 1 in her 50s, she told the consultant: "I'm too old. I can't be”. Lady May says she would also eat Jelly Babies when her blood sugar dropped during meetings. The former Prime Minister has now chaired a parliamentary inquiry into the life-threatening consequences of having both type 1 diabetes and an eating disorder. She speaks to Today's Justin Webb why a joined-up approach by the NHS is needed so that healthcare professionals are aware of the 'conflicting pressures' on people with type 1 and an eating disorder. She also discusses her experience while in government of managing her blood sugar levels.

Duration:00:12:25

Dame Emma Walmsley Guest Edits Today

1/1/2024
The last of our Christmas guest editors is the CEO of the global biopharma company GSK, Dame Emma Walmsley. She wanted her programme to look to the year ahead with optimism. In these highlights from her programme hear Dame Emma in conversation with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who urges politicians not to treat their opponents as enemies but as fellow human beings. Dame Emma also speaks to the Health Minister for Singapore; visits Kew Gardens and she asks former guest editor and Nobel Laureate Sir Paul Nurse to discuss with a group of students, the scientific and technological advances they are most excited for in 2024. Simon Jack interviews Dame Emma to end her programme and she chooses a special piece of music.

Duration:01:14:34

Professor Jason Arday Guest Edits Today

12/30/2023
Professor Jason Arday is our latest Christmas guest editor. This year he was appointed as one of Cambridge’s youngest ever professors. A significant accolade by any measure but even more so when you consider that Professor Arday was diagnosed with autism and global developmental delay aged just three and didn't learn to speak until he was eleven or read and write until he was eighteen. He uses his programme to look at improving adult literacy and he speaks to the head of Universal Music UK about championing neurodiversity in the workplace. Professor Arday also indulges his passion for 90s music with a discussion including Blur drummer Dave Rowntree and as a fan of a sharp suit, he champions the tailoring industry.

Duration:00:53:11

Andrew Malkinson Guest Edits Today

12/29/2023
Andrew Malkinson is Today's latest Christmas guest editor. He spent 17 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit before being cleared in July. He uses his programme to look at justice and how one can cope with being locked up unjustly. He speaks to John McCarthy, who was held hostage for more than five years in the 1980s. While in prison, the world of astronomy and space offered Andrew a sense of release and sanctuary from the immediate confines of his daily experience and a way to expand his world. So as part of his guest edit, he visits Jodrell Bank observatory. And he tells Today's Justin Webb about the months since his conviction was overturned and how he still feels anger.

Duration:00:49:45

Ellie Goulding Guest Edits Today

12/28/2023
The singer and UN environment ambassador Ellie Goulding is the latest Today programme Christmas guest editor. Ellie uses her programme to explore her twin passions of music and nature, including looking at rewilding projects She tells Today's Martha Kearney that nature has helped her through difficult times in her life, including postnatal depression. Ellie interviews fellow musicians Brian Eno and Chris Martin about the music industry's environmental impact. And she goes back to her sixth form college in Hereford and answers students questions, including about whether the music industry has changed for the better since the Me Too movement began.

Duration:00:46:38

James May Guest Edits Today

12/27/2023
James May, The Grand Tour and former Top Gear presenter, is Today’s latest Christmas guest editor. He looks at the future of driverless cars and why a culture change may be needed to end conflict between cyclists and motorists. James believes hobbies are good for people’s wellbeing so the Today team assembled a get together with hobby-mad listeners, including comedian Al Murray. He also looks at whether coffee culture is eroding the place of tea and gets a poetry lesson from Succession star Dame Harriet Walter. Here James shares highlights from his programme.

Duration:00:44:51

Hanif Kureishi Guest Edits Today

12/26/2023
The writer Hanif Kureishi - who is our second Christmas guest editor this year - had a life changing accident which paralysed him on Boxing Day 2022. He uses his programme to explore his adjustment to becoming disabled, including its impact on his family and his friendships. Hanif first enjoyed professional success as a writer 1985 with My Beautiful Laundrette, which was Oscar nominated, and he later wrote the novel the Buddha of Suburbia - which became a BBC series - and My Son The Fanatic. In his programme, he speaks about how he has developed with his son Carlo a new way of producing and publishing his work. He also has a long conversation with Today presenter Mishal Husain just before he returns home from hospital.

Duration:01:05:31

Dr Nicola Fox Guest Edits Today

12/23/2023
Dr Nicola Fox, Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate NASA is the first of our Christmas guest editors this year. Her programme looks ahead to the launch of the Peregrine Lunar Lander next year which will start the ground work for sending a crewed mission back to the Moon. Dr Fox, who revealed she was a fan of Duran Duran on her recent Desert Island Discs, talks to band member Nick Rhodes about the influence of space on music. She talks to her counterpart at the European Space Agency, Carole Mundell, about her path into a top space job and she confronts the writers of the last Bond film. Dr Fox also speaks to Today Presenter Nick Robinson about why her father's interest in space inspired her and why she cries every time a space mission launches.

Duration:00:39:49

'To see my mum again is an incredible thing'

10/24/2023
The daughter of Yocheved Lifschitz, one of the hostages freed last night, has visited her mother in hospital in Israel and has told Today she "seems OK". In an interview with Today presenter Mishal Husain, Sharone Lifschitz said: "The nurses are just having a chat, they say she is very sharp and is very keen to share the information, pass on the information to families of other hostages that she was with." Yocheved Lifschitz was held for 16 days after being abducted from her home in a kibbutz in southern Israel amid scenes of death and destruction. Today's Nick Robinson also spoke to BBC Correspondent in Gaza Rushdi Abualouf. And Noam Sagi joined Nick and Mishal in the studio. His mother, Ada Sagi, was taken hostage in the kibbutz of Nir Oz, near Israel's border with Gaza.

Duration:00:25:07

Emma Raducanu on her return to tennis

10/20/2023
Emma Raducanu burst onto the world stage back in 2021 when she went from being an almost unknown 18 year old tennis player to winning the US Open. She became the first British woman to secure a Grand Slam singles title since Virginia Wade at the 1977 Wimbledon Championships. The media interest in Emma has been huge worldwide due to her stratospheric rise, but her tennis career has been put on hold after three procedures on both wrists and an ankle left her on the side-lines for the past six months. Today's sport presenter Karthi Gnanasegaram speaks to former British number one Emma Raducanu about her much anticipated return to competitive action. (Photo: Robert Prange/Getty Images)

Duration:00:11:19

An experiment in "open justice" in the family courts

10/16/2023
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 several weeks in Leeds Family Court attending hearings. This week Today has featured a series of her reports, highlighting some of the issues that are usually hidden, including a mother's 'remarkable turnaround' to win back her baby. Today presenter Martha Kearney, also spoke to the judge who spearheaded the pilot, Justice Lieven.

Duration:00:30:54

Michael Caine: I'm retiring from film

10/14/2023
In the summer of 2014, Bernard Jordan made global headlines. He had staged a “great escape” from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, commemorating their fallen comrades at the D-Day Landings 70th anniversary. It was a story that captured the imagination of the world as Bernie embodied the defiant, “can-do” spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing. But of course, it wasn’t the whole story. It was an inspirational but sanitised retelling of one man’s need to come to terms with the lasting trauma of war. That story is now in the cinemas in The Great Escaper, starring Sir Michael Caine and the late Glenda Jackson Today's Martha Kearney speaks to Sir Michael and the film's director Oliver Parker. Photo: Martha Kearney and Michael Caine)

Duration:00:16:50

Conservative Party conference: Why is HS2 set to be scrapped?

10/4/2023
Former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says Covid is to blame for cancellation of the HS2 Birmingham to Manchester line, which the Prime Minister is expected to announce later today. Speaking to Today's Nick Robinson at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester ahead of Rishi Sunak's speech, current Defence Secretary Mr Shapps says that 'Coronavirus is not something anyone could have predicted'. He added that the money could be invested in other transport links in the north of England. We also hear analysis from the BBC's Political Editor Chris Mason.

Duration:00:14:14