Best of Today

Former aid worker Simon Boas, whose essays about his feelings towards life and death went viral, died in July aged 47.He was told he had terminal throat cancer in 2023 and began writing about his experiences in his local newspaper, the Jersey Evening Post. This inspired readers across the country.His book, A Beginner's Guide to Dying, will be posthumously published in September.If one of his final interviews before his death, Simon spoke to Emma Barnett on Radio 4's Today programme in June 2024 ahead of being moved to a hospice.Listen to the Today programme on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds: 6-9am Monday-Friday; and 7-9am on Saturdays.

Transcribed - Published: 26 December 2024

Vogue has given unparalleled access to the Lightroom at Kings Cross for a brand-new exhibition examining the history of the runway and invited Today for an exclusive preview. Emma Barnett sits down with the exhibition curator David Sable, and British Vogue’s Chioma Nnadi, the first black woman to take up the mantle of Head of Editorial Content. Chioma discusses her concerns around weight loss drugs, women of colour breaking the glass ceiling, and whether the fashion industry is doing enough for sustainability. Listen to the Today programme on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds: 6-9am Monday-Friday, and 7-9am on Saturdays.

Transcribed - Published: 13 November 2024

Buffer zones will come into force around abortion clinics in England and Wales from 31 October. It will make it illegal to hand out anti-abortion leaflets within 150m of a clinic or obstruct anyone using or working at an abortion clinic. It will also be illegal to stand and silently pray within the same zone. Emma Barnett reported for Today from an abortion clinic in South London. She spoke to protesters outside and staff at the clinic about the law change. She also spoke to the Labour MP Stella Creasy who has long campaigned for protection zones. The change in the law follows similar bans in Northern Ireland in 2023 and in Scotland in September earlier this year.Listen to the Today programme on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds: 6-9am Monday-Friday, and 7-9am on Saturdays.

Transcribed - Published: 30 October 2024

A former colleague of the firearms officer who fatally shot Chris Kaba told Today that he should not have been put on trial for his murder. Metropolitan Police Officer Martyn Blake, shot and killed Mr Kaba – who was unarmed – during a vehicle stop in South London in September 2022. Mr Blake denied killing the 24 year old.The unnamed colleague, who was at the scene immediately after the shots were fired, said: "At no point was there any evidence that Martyn Blake had done anything wrong or at least deviated from his training or indeed the law."Mr Kaba’s family have said they are "devastated" by the outcome. "The acquittal of Martyn Blake isn't just a failure for our family but for all those affected by police violence," his cousin said. "Despite the verdict, we won't be silenced."Listen to the Today programme on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds: 6-9am Monday-Friday, and 7-9am on Saturdays.

Transcribed - Published: 22 October 2024

The government has started a major review of the curriculum and assessment in England's schools, chaired by education policy expert Becky Francis. But how could we rethink England's curriculum and assessment?Today hears from schools across the country trying new ways of doing things from using AI in classrooms to a more skills based approach and looking at why the 'exam season' might cease to exist.The series hears from: former Conservative Schools Minister Nick Gibb; Jill Duffy from the OCR exam board; Jason Arday, former guest editor of the Today Programme and professor of the sociology of education at Cambridge University; Sir Ian Livingstone, a giant of modern British business and the man behind the Livingstone Academy; and Claire Heald, CEO of the Cam Academy Trust.Producer: Sareen BainsListen to the Today programme on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds: 6-9am Monday-Friday, and 7-9am on Saturdays.

Transcribed - Published: 11 October 2024

Earlier this year, the Today programme gave our listeners the chance to look at an issue that matters to them.Herbie and Ayesha both voted for the first time this year. They wanted to look at the disconnect they believe exists between young people and politicians.Listen to the other stories explored by our listeners this week on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds between 6am-9am.

Transcribed - Published: 19 September 2024

All this week we've been hearing stories brought to us by Today listeners. Dr Lisa Wright and Dr Mark Walton are both clinical psychologists, who work on Merseyside in the only NHS unit of its kind - where they are trying to cut criminal offending rates using therapy. It's not an alternative to prison - the NHS Forensic Psychology centre in Liverpool works with people who have served custodial sentences who might be at risk of re-offending. Listen to the other stories explored by our listeners this week on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds between 6am-9am.

Transcribed - Published: 18 September 2024

Earlier this year, the Today programme gave our listeners the chance to look at an issue that matters to them. Anna and Chloe - along with Chloe's 19 year-old daughter Pearl - wanted to ask "University: Is it worth it?" and interrogate the value of a university education in 2024. As part of our coverage, Today has exclusively seen a blueprint for the future of universities in England. Universities UK, which represents 142 universities, is calling for a rise in tuition fees linked to inflation and more government support for students. Listen to the other stories explored by our listeners this week on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds between 6am-9am.

Transcribed - Published: 17 September 2024

Earlier this year we gave listeners the chance to ask us to look at an issue for them. Martin and Sandra from Macclesfield, in East Cheshire called their application Where’s my bus? They both rely on the buses to get around and met on a Facebook group dedicated to their local bus service. The new government has plans to give local authorities more power to take control over bus services, for example through a ‘franchising’ arrangement. Our Transport Corr Katy Austin took a look at whether this plan will help listeners like Martin and Sandra and Today presenter Nick Robinson spoke to Graham Vidler, Chief Executive, Confederation of Passenger Transport.

Transcribed - Published: 16 September 2024

All this week the Today programme is looking at stories that have been brought to us by our listeners. Vanessa and Toby are parent governors at a secondary school in South London. They have noticed far fewer children and families where they live, and primary schools closing down as a result. Exclusive research for Today has shown that primary school numbers have fallen by 5% in London in the last five years. And they are projected to continue falling at double the rate of the rest of England. Listen to the other stories explored by our listeners this week on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds between 6am-9am.

Transcribed - Published: 16 September 2024

Garry Richardson has finished his last sports bulletin on Radio 4's Today programme - 50 years to the day since he started at the BBC. Garry is best known for his sporting interviews, but his career has ranged from climbing towers for Radio Oxford to singing with the great Buddy Greco.James Naughtie picks some of the highlights from Garry's half century.

Transcribed - Published: 9 September 2024

Radio 4 is marking Friday 12th as “Just One Thing Day” in celebration of Dr Michael Mosley’s life and legacy. Throughout the week, we’ve asked his friends and colleagues to tell us what change they might have made that was down to him. Speaking to Today’s Justin Webb, Dr Clare Bailey Mosley shares touching tributes, and reflects on his work, influence, and legacy. Listen to the Today programme on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds: 6-9am Monday-Friday; and 7-9am on Saturdays.

Transcribed - Published: 12 July 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.

Transcribed - Published: 13 February 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.

Transcribed - Published: 23 January 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.

Transcribed - Published: 1 January 2024

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.

Transcribed - Published: 30 December 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.

Transcribed - Published: 29 December 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 projectsShe 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.

Transcribed - Published: 28 December 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.

Transcribed - Published: 27 December 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.

Transcribed - Published: 26 December 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.

Transcribed - Published: 23 December 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.

Transcribed - Published: 24 October 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)

Transcribed - Published: 20 October 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.

Transcribed - Published: 16 October 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)

Transcribed - Published: 14 October 2023

Residents in a south London block of flats are considering legal action against a housing association, after their neighbour lay dead for two and a half years before her body was found, despite their efforts to raise the alarm. 58-year-old Sheila Seleoane, was a medical secretary, who was found in her flat in Peckham last year. For Sheila's neighbours though it had been obvious for a long time that something was wrong.This week we’re looking more closely at Shelia's story, to explore what happened and what it tells us about modern Britain. Harry Farley speaks to Today's Mishal Husain, and in the first of three reports, he asks why it took so long before Sheila was discovered?

Transcribed - Published: 2 October 2023

Sheila Seleoane lay dead for two and a half years before her body was found - despite repeated efforts to raise the alarm. Sheila was a 58-year-old medical secretary who died in her South London flat in August 2019.In a final report by the BBC's Harry Farley, he goes back to speak to her neighbours.Today's Martha Kearney speaks to Ian McDermott, chief executive of Peabody, the housing association which was Sheila’s landlord.

Transcribed - Published: 2 October 2023

Sheila Seleoane was found in her Peckham flat in February 2022 and had to be identified by dental records.Her neighbours initially made complains to their housing association, Peabody, about a foul stench and maggots in 2019 – but the housing association only made one “proactive attempt” to contact the tenant and cut off her gas.Miss Seleoane’s last known contact was with her GP in August 2019, and when her body was found, the cause of her death was unascertained due to the advanced state of composition of her body.But what was she like and who was she? In the second in a series of three, Harry Farley talks to Today’s Justin Webb about loneliness and isolation while living in an urban area.

Transcribed - Published: 2 October 2023

The Today Debate is about taking an issue and pulling it apart with more time than we could ever have during the morning.Join Today presenter Mishal Husain, as in front of a live audience in Glasgow, a panel of guests discuss the problem of drug abuse and drug deaths in Scotland. Together they look at different approaches and ask whether decriminalisation is the answer.The panel includes people with personal experience of addiction and those who have seen loved ones derailed. We will also be joined by people working on the frontline and Police Scotland.If you need help with any of the issues raised in the programme there's advice and support on the BBC Action Line website https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline

Transcribed - Published: 27 September 2023

Martha Mills was 13 years old when she died in hospital two years ago, after failures by doctors to spot and treat her sepsis.Her parents are calling for hospitals to implement 'Martha's Rule', where patients and their families would be given the right to an urgent second opinion, if they feel their concerns are not being taken seriously by medical staff.Today's Mishal Husain speaks to Martha's mother Merope Mills.(Photo: Martha Mills, Credit: Merope Mills)

Transcribed - Published: 4 September 2023

Back in March, to mark 20 years of the Today guest editors we gave people the chance to apply in teams to make a programme with us.Thousands of you applied and this summer we have been featuring programmes guest edited by those successful teams of listeners.In the last in the series Vince, Fiona, Derek and Lucas invited us to Tenby in West Wales. For their programme they wanted us to look at what happens when the tourists go home from towns like theirs. They don’t think we spend enough time thinking about the challenges that face coastal communities, not just in Tenby, but across the UK.

Transcribed - Published: 3 September 2023

Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid lost his brother Tariq to suicide in 2018. It is the number one cause of death for young people and biggest killer of men under 50. In a personal report for the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Sajid speaks to people in Bristol, where he grew up, whose lives have been affected by suicide and also speaks to the chief exec of the Samaritans and other mental health campaigners. He then tells Today's Martha Kearney what he thinks the government should be doing to help with suicide prevention. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, including urgent support, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free to hear recorded information on 0800 066 066

Transcribed - Published: 1 September 2023

Back in March, to mark 20 years of the Today guest editors we gave people the chance to apply in teams to make a programme with us.Thousands of you applied and every Saturday through August we’ll be featuring programmes guest edited by those successful teams of listeners.Today it was the turn of ‘Friendly Neighbours’. Sudi, Mike, Pol and Sophie are four friends and neighbours from the Kingsdown area of Bristol. At the heart of their community is the Dove Street Estate, a modernist high rise development built in the 1960s. They want to look at how we make sure that, when we are planning housing developments, we really think about the people and communities who will live there.

Transcribed - Published: 26 August 2023

Back in March, to mark 20 years of the Today guest editors we gave people the chance to apply in teams to make a programme with us.Thousands of you applied and every Saturday through August we’ll be featuring programmes guest edited by those successful teams of listeners.Today it was the turn of Anne, Moyra, Alan and Andrew who are all members of the Dunbartonshire Concert Band. They wanted to use their guest edit to explore the benefits of community music. They commissioned a special report on music education and they asked us to look at whether playing an instrument help keep your brain “fit” as you get older? Their programme features the violinist Nicola Benedetti.

Transcribed - Published: 19 August 2023

Our programme is guest edited by Moyra, Anne, Alan and Andrew, four members of the Dunbartonshire Concert Band.For their programme they wanted to look at the contribution community music makes to society. The were very keen to hear from the violinist Nicola Benedetti. Not only is she a world acclaimed violinist, but she has campaigned for years for better music provision – especially for children from underprivileged backgrounds. Nicola Benedetti is also “Big Sister” to a social change and music education programme called "The Big Noise" that provides free music tuition alongside free childcare and healthy food. The charity supports 3,500 children across Scotland.Nicola spoke to Today's Simon Jack for this special edition of Today.

Transcribed - Published: 19 August 2023

Back in March, to mark 20 years of the Today guest editors we gave people the chance to apply in teams to make a programme with us.Thousands of you applied and every Saturday through August we’ll be featuring programmes guest edited by those successful teams of listeners.Today it was the turn of Hannah, Cenya and Huzaifah. They are three friends who have all experienced the loss of someone close to them and want to talk about what good grief looks like. Their programme features the former England Cricket Captain Andrew Strauss who set up a foundation in memory of his wife, Ruth, who died of cancer. The Ruth Strauss Foundation supports families facing the death of a parent. If you need support with any of the issues raised in this podcast you can find organisations that can help at www.bbc.co.uk/actionlineThis guest edit of Today was produced by Laura Cooper, Hazel Morgan and Louisa Lewis.

Transcribed - Published: 12 August 2023

Back in March, to mark 20 years of the Today guest editors we gave people the chance to apply in teams to make a programme with us. Thousands of you applied and every Saturday through August we’ll be featuring programmes guest edited by those successful teams of listeners.Today it was the turn of Amy, Jo and Gig. They've called their team, Messy Fostering. Amy who’s now 23-years-old was fostered at 14 by Gig and ended up spending her summers with her teacher Jo.For them, it worked. But sometimes it doesn't and they wanted to use their guest edit to look at how we can stop foster placements breaking down and recruit and retain more foster families. Their programme features the poet and broadcaster Lemn Sissay, the Children's Minister Claire Coutinho and other young people who have been fostered. If you need support with any of the issues raised in this podcast you can find organisations that can help at www.bbc.co.uk/actionlineThis guest edit of Today was produced by Laura Cooper, Hazel Morgan and Louisa Lewis.

Transcribed - Published: 5 August 2023

The Today Debate is about taking a subject and pulling it apart with more time than we could ever have during the programme in the morning.Today presenter Mishal Husain is joined by a panel of guests in the BBC's Radio Theatre, where in front of a live audience, they discuss the current state of the housing market.On the panel are George Clarke, architect and broadcaster; David Simmonds the Conservative MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Planning; David O'Leary from the Home Builders Federation, which represents housebuilders in England and Wales; Claer Barrett, Consumer Editor for the Financial Times and Richard Fearon, Chief Executive of the Leeds Building Society.

Transcribed - Published: 5 July 2023

The Today Debate is about taking a subject and pulling it apart with more time than we could ever have during the Today programme in the morning.Today presenter Mishal Husain was joined by a panel of guests in the BBC's Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House to look at the future of the Royal Family in 'The Today Debate: Do we need a Monarchy?'Joining her were Billy Bragg, the singer and songwriter; Juliet Samuel, a columnist for the Times; Polly Toynbee, a columnist at the Guardian; Charles Moore, former editor of the Telegraph and the Spectator, biographer of Margaret Thatcher and Jason Arday, an academic who works on inequality, race and education.

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2023

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, about whether it can move to be a fully global competition. (Photo: ABBA triumph at 1974 Eurovision. Credit: BBC)

Transcribed - Published: 31 January 2023

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 multiple Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie, who discusses the use of data in his sport of sailing.

Transcribed - Published: 6 January 2023

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 Matthew Bourne about how to attract a wider audience to ballet, and she interviews England rugby star Maro Itoje about his activism off the field.

Transcribed - Published: 2 January 2023

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.

Transcribed - Published: 31 December 2022

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 minister Lord Vaizey.

Transcribed - Published: 30 December 2022

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 ace Andy Murray - she tells him how, while in solitary confinement, she was able to watch him win Wimbledon in 2016 and the joy that brought her. With her husband Richard, she also reflects on trying to get back to normal life against the backdrop of the current uprising and arrests in Iran.

Transcribed - Published: 28 December 2022

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 special needs. Jamie wanted to speak to the rapper Loyle Carner, who has ADHD about his struggles at school and what food means to him.

Transcribed - Published: 27 December 2022

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 that moment and looks at advances in the treatment of childhood leukaemia, a cause for which he has raised millions of pounds, with the BBC's medical editor Fergus Walsh.

Transcribed - Published: 26 December 2022

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)

Transcribed - Published: 9 December 2022

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)

Transcribed - Published: 26 November 2022

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)

Transcribed - Published: 22 November 2022