Is there a better way to handle divorce and family separation in the courts? Lady Hale thinks there is. The former president of the UK’s Supreme Court explains why there needs to be a more streamlined approach and how cuts to legal aid have impacted the family justice system (14:37). She also talks to Amol about the rise of authoritarianism (27:42), assisted dying (31:39) and whether lawyers should still wear wigs (42:47). GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: [email protected] Amol Ra...
Jul 03, 2025•53 min
More children are being convicted of crime and our prisons are nearly at capacity. But Steve Chalke thinks he has a solution. The founder of the Oasis Charitable Trust, which runs a chain of academies and the UK’s first secure school, works closely with children who have committed the worst crimes. He advocates for radically changing our schools, the education system, and how we rehabilitate our young offenders. Amol and Steve also talk about their shared background, the crisis of masculinity, a...
Jun 26, 2025•53 min
Leading historian Professor Sir Niall Ferguson explains how patterns from the past can help us understand the future. Amol and Sir Niall discuss the tensions in the Middle East and why he thinks Israel’s strikes on Iran are a victory for the West. They also explore the idea that we're in a new Cold War. And Sir Niall explains why Britain needs a leader like Argentina’s Javier Milei rather than Donald Trump. GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: [email protected] Amol Rajan is a present...
Jun 19, 2025•46 min
Feminist campaigner Laura Bates has fought for women's safety for over a decade. But now her battle against misogyny moved online. She tells Amol how social media platforms are fuelling hatred against women, with algorithms promoting increasingly extreme content. The popularity of figures like Andrew Tate, whose videos are widely available, and offensive material is being pushed to teenage boys and young men, even if they don't seek it out. So how can it be stopped? What responsibility do the bi...
Jun 12, 2025•51 min
Conversations about tomorrow, from Today. Every week Amol Rajan talks to radicals, pioneers and innovators from all over the world. From populism and climate change, to economics and AI... How can their radical ideas help you win the future? Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan will be published on Thursdays on BBC Sounds starting on 12th June 2025. It will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Thursdays at 11pm. Visualised versions of the podcast will also be available on BBC iPlayer and YouTube. ...
Jun 10, 2025•9 min
The creator of The Thick of It and Veep discusses the rise of populism and the evolution of political language. And Nick compares Amol to Billie Piper in Dr Who as they announce some news about The Today Podcast regenerating into not one, but two podcasts. Radical with Amol Rajan will be available on this feed, so make sure you hit subscribe on BBC Sounds to make sure you don’t miss an episode. Political Thinking with Nick Robinson is available here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p04z203l T...
Jun 05, 2025•40 min
Over half term this week Radio 4’s Today is conducting an exciting experiment: asking teenagers to abandon their smartphones for a week. On the podcast Amol discusses the monumental impact the smartphone has had on our lives and what the future of the smartphone might be with Professor Jim Ang, an expert in Human-Computer interaction, and digital regulation campaigner Baroness Beeban Kidron. Amol also takes a moment to pay tribute to his friend, former BBC executive Alan Yentob, who died last we...
May 29, 2025•42 min
It’s the end of an era for Match of the Day – with Gary Lineker hosting for the final time after 25 years in the hot seat. He will now leave the BBC a year earlier than expected in the wake of an antisemitism row. Amol – who recently sat down with Lineker for a long television interview – reflects on the former footballer’s run-ins with the BBC over impartiality and use of social media – and his legacy both as a presenter and a modern celebrity influencer. He’s joined by former culture minister,...
May 22, 2025•35 min
Why does Eurovision find itself at the centre of political controversy when it’s supposed to be non-political? This year, Israel’s participation has been questioned because of its role in the war in Gaza whilst Israeli fans have been warned by their country's National Security Council not to wear Jewish or Israeli symbols while attending Eurovision. Amol is joined by Times columnist (and Eurovision superfan) Fraser Nelson and Dr Dean Vuletic who is a leading Eurovision historian to discuss the p...
May 15, 2025•38 min
On the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Amol and Nick discuss what President Biden told Nick in his first interview since leaving office. They’re also joined by Professor Lucy Noakes, author of The People’s Victory, and Professor Jason Arday, whose work focuses on inequality, race and education, to talk about how we remember World War Two as the wartime generation dwindles and the politics of nostalgia. And Nick and Amol enjoy a vintage Today programme theme song. To get Amol and Nick's take on the b...
May 08, 2025•52 min
Kim Jong Un has confirmed for the first time that North Korean troops have been fighting in Russia against Ukraine. Amol and Nick catch up with Today presenter Anna Foster who is in Ukraine to find out about the reporting she has been doing (3:00). They also speak to Edward Howell, a fellow at Chatham House’s Korea Foundation and lecturer at Oxford University, to discuss the significance of North Korea's admission and whether Donald Trump could rekindle his relationship with Kim Jong Un (16:16)....
May 01, 2025•39 min
Donald Trump has once again criticised Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and is putting pressure on both sides to accept a proposed peace deal. Nick speaks to Fiona Hill, who advised Donald Trump on Russia during his first term in the White House, about that deal (7:26) and the US president's approach to negotiations (8:35). She also explains what it was like advising President Trump (10:08) and how Putin manipulates him (28:38). Plus Nick and Amol are reunited for Moment of the Week (40:40...
Apr 24, 2025•45 min
Tensions between Washington and Beijing threaten the global economy, but could it escalate into a more serious conflict? Nick is joined by former spy Nigel Inkster, now a senior advisor on China and Cybersecurity at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, to discuss whether it risks becoming a new Cold War (2:25). They also talk about what Chinese President Xi Jinping wants (8:31), his desire to achieve “reunification” with Taiwan (16:32) and whether the UK might have to choose betwee...
Apr 17, 2025•46 min
The president has paused the introduction of higher tariffs on goods from most countries, but continues to ramp up the trade war with China. What caused the change of heart? Nick speaks to the BBC’s Economics Editor Faisal Islam. (2:19) And before the news about the pause on those tariffs broke Nick was joined by Carla Sands, a former economic advisor to Donald Trump who was US Ambassador to Denmark, to find out what he is trying to achieve with his trade policy. Does the president want things t...
Apr 10, 2025•42 min
Marine Le Pen has been convicted of embezzling EU funds, potentially ruining her plans to run for the French presidency in 2027. Marine Le Pen was seen as the frontrunner to replace Emmanuel Macron at that election so the judge’s decision to ban her from standing for public office for the next five years has led to a backlash from her supporters and right-wing European allies. Nick and Amol talk to Yascha Mounk, an expert on populism and author of The Identity Trap, about what this verdict means...
Apr 03, 2025•45 min
Messages accidentally sent to a journalist by senior members of the Trump administration reveal information about strikes on the Houthis in Yemen and what Vice President JD Vance privately thinks about America’s European allies. Nick and Amol talk to James Orr, who Vance once described as his “British sherpa”, about the vice president's views and how much influence he has on President Trump (7:12). And after a huge response to last week’s episode we hear some of your messages about the issues ra...
Mar 27, 2025•51 min
Adolescence has sparked fresh discussion about the impact social media and misogynistic influencers have on young boys, so we thought you’d like to hear Amol’s full interview with Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty. He spoke to them before the series was released about what inspired Stephen to make it, the issues it raises, Owen Cooper’s standout performance and how each episode was filmed in one-shot. And make sure you listen to this week’s episode of The Today Podcast to hear Amol explore those t...
Mar 21, 2025•28 min
A series about a teenage boy who is accused of murdering a girl from his school was the most watched show on Netflix last weekend. Meanwhile the former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate has said that he fears young men are spending too much time gaming, gambling and watching porn. Amol spoke to Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty, who star in the Netflix series, and in this episode of The Today Podcast he delves deeper into what it means to be a boy today with Richard Reeves, who wrote Of Boys an...
Mar 20, 2025•44 min
Voters seem to be giving Keir Starmer a bit of credit for the role he has been playing on the world stage, so is it a sign that the prime minister is getting better at politics? Former Labour cabinet minister Lord Blunkett tells Amol what he makes of the prime minister’s recent performance, why he thinks the government is right to cut the welfare budget and what lessons it could learn from Alastair Campbell about spin (2:15). Amol also talks to Anna Foster after it was announced that she will be...
Mar 13, 2025•54 min
In the first six weeks of his second term Donald Trump has rewritten US foreign policy, fractured the Nato alliance, dismantled parts of the US government and signed various presidential orders on everything from border security to diversity programmes. In this episode Nick and Amol are joined by Brian Klaas, professor of global politics at University College London and a writer for The Atlantic magazine, who thinks Trump is undermining democracy and global security (07:44). And Nick tells Amol ...
Mar 06, 2025•55 min
Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement that he is increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP has defence experts taking a sigh of relief, whilst humanitarian workers are left despairing. Nick and Amol are joined by former US military strategist Rachel Ellehuus, the new director general of defence think-tank RUSI, to explore how the UK – and Europe – will contain Russia without so much American support. Plus, Theresa May’s former chief of staff Fiona Hill remembers an awkward first meeting between the P...
Feb 27, 2025•54 min
Donald Trump has accused Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky of being a “dictator” and doing a “terrible job”. After a week in which the US President brought Russia's Vladimir Putin in from the cold, Nick is joined by the BBC’s former diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall and the former UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt. What do they make of Trump appearing to blame Kyiv for the war? And how should Keir Starmer respond? To get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories and insights from be...
Feb 20, 2025•41 min
New research has found that young people seem to be disillusioned with life in Britain, so Amol (Millennial) and Nick (Baby Boomer) are joined by Labour MP Nadia Whittome (Generation Z) and former Conservative minister Lord Willetts (Baby Boomer) to discuss why that might be - and what can be done about it. And Nick explains how he discovered that his X/Twitter account had been hacked after a tweet was posted saying that he and the Today programme had launched a new cryptocurrency. To get Amol a...
Feb 13, 2025•40 min
The prime minister has rejected the idea that Britain will have to choose between Brussels and Washington, but with the US president threatening the European Union and other allies with tariffs, how should Keir Starmer deal with him? And what should he do about Donald Trump saying he wants the US to “take over” Gaza and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East”, which would mean resettling the almost two million Palestinians who live there. Nick and Amol are joined by the senior Labour MP an...
Feb 06, 2025•51 min
From his childhood in Seattle to the current state of the world and the alliance between President Trump and the billionaire owner of X, Bill Gates joins Amol for an extended interview about his new memoir, Source Code. Reflecting on his life, Gates describes childhood adventures with friends, what it was like founding Microsoft and explains the key qualities he looks for in budding entrepreneurs. Together Amol and Gates discuss the intersection of wealth, influence and technology as Donald Trum...
Feb 03, 2025•49 min
The Chancellor has backed the expansion of Heathrow and picked a fight with bats in her pursuit of economic growth. Nick is joined by fellow Today presenter Justin Webb to talk about his interview with Rachel Reeves on Thursday morning’s Today programme. They discuss her new approach, whether Keir Starmer's government is taking a leaf out of Donald Trump’s book and why political interviews are much better face-to-face. To get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories and insights from behind t...
Jan 30, 2025•28 min
Nick reports from Jerusalem on the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and Amol is joined by the former head of MI6 to talk about global security now that Donald Trump is back in the White House. Sir Alex Younger, who was Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service from 2014 until 2020, explains why he thinks we are “moving into the era of the deal” and why that makes the world “more hazardous”. To get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories and insights from behind the scenes at the UK's m...
Jan 23, 2025•48 min
After Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States he immediately set about signing executive orders on everything from immigration to climate change so in this episode we answer your questions. Amol and Nick are joined from Washington DC by fellow Today presenter Justin Webb to discuss the return of the Make America Great Again agenda, whether President Trump could still be prosecuted for alleged crimes after he leaves office and his relationship with tech bros like Elon...
Jan 21, 2025•48 min
Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she will go ‘further and faster’ in the search for economic growth after a week of market turbulence that pushed up the cost of government borrowing. Nick and Amol are joined by Today business presenter Sean Farrington to explain what bonds and gilts are and why they matter so much. They also talk to Paul Mason, former economics editor and Labour Party supporter, about what Rachel Reeves could do next. To get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories and insights ...
Jan 16, 2025•40 min
After listener Margaret got in touch asking about Steve Rosenberg’s life in Moscow as the BBC’s Russia Editor, Nick and Amol sat down with him to find out how the country has changed over the years that he has lived there and what it’s like reporting from Russia now. They talk about the challenges he faces, how he reports impartially and accurately on Vladimir Putin, how he relaxes and what it was like playing the piano for Mikhail Gorbachev. To get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories an...
Jan 13, 2025•28 min
