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Radical with Amol Rajan

Bonus: Frank Cottrell-Boyce edits Today

Radical with Amol Rajan

BBC

Society & Culture

4.5917 Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2024

⏱️ 46 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the UK Children's Laureate, is Today's first guest editor this Christmas.

His programme focuses on whether we should rethink our approach to reading - and make reading to young children a public health priority.

And he gets the chance to interview none other than Dolly Parton - about why she's turned to writing children's books.

GET IN TOUCH: * Send us a message or a voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 * Email today@bbc.co.uk

Between now and the end of the year we're bringing you extended interviews with the Today programme's Christmas guest editors, so hit subscribe on BBC Sounds to make sure you get an alert every time we release a new episode.

The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson who are both presenters of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Amol was the BBC’s media editor for six years and is the former editor of the Independent, he’s also the current presenter of University Challenge. Nick has presented the Today programme since 2015, he was the BBC’s political editor for ten years before that and also previously worked as ITV’s political editor.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

We get it. Life is busy. You want to keep up with the news, but there's just too much going on.

0:06.9

Which is where Newscast comes in. We do the work, and when you're ready to dig deeper into the day's news, you just pop us into your ears.

0:14.8

It does mean we have to put in the hard work, though. Listen to Newscast every day on BBC Sounds.

0:20.4

Hello, it's Nick here in the Today

0:21.7

podcast studio. And it's a mole here alongside Nick. And Nick, we've got this wonderful tradition,

0:25.9

haven't we on the Today program? It's been going for many, many years, where the Today program

0:29.9

hands over the editorial reins, astonishingly frankly, to a group of guest editors. Yeah, and those

0:36.3

lucky people get to work with our team of producers

0:38.3

to create a program that explores the ideas and the issues that they really care about.

0:44.4

So, this year we've got Baroness Fluella Benjamin.

0:47.8

She's now a Liberal Democrat peer, but of course she spent nearly 50 years on television.

0:52.2

Dame Laura Kenny, Britain's most decorated female Olympian.

0:55.5

Dwayne Fields. He's the explorer who was appointed a few months back as the Chief Scout.

1:00.3

Professor Irene Tracy, Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

1:03.6

Frank Hotchral Boyce, a screenwriter, children's author and UK Children's Laureate.

1:07.9

And the former Conservative Chancellor Sir Sajid Javid.

1:10.7

And they'll be working

1:11.7

up some absolutely magnificent goodies for you. So those special editions of today go out from

1:16.2

Christmas Eve until New Year's Eve. And at the end of each program, the guest editor

1:20.5

sits down for an interview with one of the presenters. So that could be Nick, could be me, could be our

1:24.5

colleagues, Justin Webb and Emma Barnett. So what we're doing

1:27.5

between now and the end of the year is bringing you extended versions of those conversations

...

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