In a week where shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves echoed Margaret Thatcher when outlining her vision for the UK economy, we ask, is Labour ready for government? Amol is joined by The Rest is Politics’s Alastair Campbell to talk about Reeves’ speech and whether Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has done enough to signal what his government could look like. Pollster Kelly Beaver, chief executive of Ipsos Mori, unpacks whether Keir Starmer appeals to people enough to win the election. And voice of Unive...
Mar 21, 2024•52 min
Lee Anderson grabbed the headlines this week as he defected from the Conservatives to become Reform UK’s first MP. This prompted rumours of further red wall MPs thinking about defecting. This week we ask, is there a new revolt on the right? Amol is joined by James Kanagasooriam, the pollster who first identified and the defined the red wall, to look at what will happen in those constituencies in the coming general election and whether Reform UK offers a genuine threat. Dame Andrea Jenkyns gives ...
Mar 14, 2024•41 min
David Neal was sacked last month from his job as Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration for leaking details of critical reports which ministers had not published. In his first broadcast interview since then he tells Amol and Nick why he thinks the Home Office is dysfunctional and in need of urgent reform. He adds that since his dismissal there is now no one in place to monitor how ministers implement the Rwanda plan, if it goes ahead. Regular episodes of The Today Podcast land every Thursday...
Mar 11, 2024•41 min
Has Jeremy Hunt done enough with his Budget to change the political and economic weather? Amol and Nick assess the politics of the Chancellor’s speech – possibly his last major intervention before a general election. And they’re joined by Andy Haldane, a former chief economist at the Bank of England and now chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts, to look at what difference the economic measures will make. Episodes of The Today Podcast are weekly and watch out for bonus episodes. Subscribe ...
Mar 06, 2024•39 min
George Galloway is back in parliament with a resounding win in the Rochdale by-election. In this bonus episode of The Today Podcast Amol and Nick discuss what his victory means and how the Israel-Gaza conflict is shaping politics. They also look back Galloway’s fifty years in politics and consider how he will operate in a social media age. Episodes of The Today Podcast land every Thursday and watch out for bonus episodes. Subscribe on BBC Sounds to get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories...
Mar 01, 2024•25 min
With pro-Palestinian marches in the spotlight, the prime minister saying mob rule is replacing democratic rule and the government announcing more money to protect MPs whose homes are being targeted, this week Amol and Nick explore where the line stands on legitimate protest. And they look at why Lee Anderson - the MP who lost the Conservative whip after accusing London Mayor Sadiq Khan of being ‘controlled’ by Islamists – still holds power over the Conservative party. Amol and Nick speak to vete...
Feb 29, 2024•45 min
As the fallout continues from the chaos in the Commons over a ceasefire vote, Amol and Nick look at the issues the unprecedented night in parliament highlighted. Labour’s Harriet Harman is in the studio to discuss the safety of MPs. Plus hear some of this week’s coverage of Israel-Gaza conflict from the Today programme. Episodes of The Today Podcast land every Thursday and watch out for bonus episodes. Subscribe on BBC Sounds to get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories of the week, with i...
Feb 22, 2024•52 min
Rarely a week goes by without a fresh skirmish in the culture wars between the right and the left. Whether it’s cancel culture, wokeism, defining a woman or marking colonial history, battles between the warring tribes are increasingly having an impact on our lives. With the row over Rishi Sunak’s joke at Prime Minister’s Questions over defining a woman still reverberating around Westminster, this week Amol and Nick look at the roots of culture wars, why they matter and where they’re going. They’...
Feb 15, 2024•45 min
In a week in which King Charles III shared his cancer diagnosis, Amol and Nick ask why it’s important to talk about cancer. Stephen Fry talks about his own diagnosis of an aggressive prostate cancer and we also hear from Paralympian Erin Kennedy, the BBC’s international editor Jeremy Bowen, broadcaster Edward Stourton and from Steve Bland whose partner, the ‘You, Me and the Big C’ host Rachael Bland, died of cancer in 2018. Nick also talks to Amol about his own experience of cancer and they spea...
Feb 08, 2024•57 min
In a week in which the government told us more about its plans to create a smokefree generation, Amol and Nick look at why many politicians from across the political spectrum are now embracing the nanny state. But how much do we want them telling us how to behave? They speak to James Bethell, the former health minister responsible for Boris Johnson’s anti-obesity strategy – who now says that Margaret Thatcher would have embraced nanny statism if prime minister today. And they hear from Baroness ...
Feb 01, 2024•49 min
Shockwaves from the Republican primary in New Hampshire are reverberating through the streets of Westminster and across Europe as political leaders come to terms with a new reality – Donald Trump could well be elected US president in November. Amol and Nick look at why America may turn back to Trump with Megyn Kelly, the US news anchor who had to deal with invoking the ire of the former president – but is now the broadcaster he turns to when he wants to speak to the nation. They also speak to Jo...
Jan 25, 2024•51 min
Does the route to a Labour election victory at the next general election run through Scotland? With Nick in Glasgow this week we turn our attention to the role Scotland will play in deciding who takes the keys to No 10. Will it be a referendum on 14 years of Conservative UK government or 17 years of the SNP in Holyrood? Has Labour historically had to rely on winning big in Scotland to get a majority across the UK? Amol and Nick hear from polling guru Prof Sir John Curtice and former leader of th...
Jan 18, 2024•45 min
Why are younger voters around the world turning their back on democracy in favour of strongman leaders who are prepared to defy parliaments? In a year when more than two billion people in 50 countries will go to the polls – the biggest global election year in history – Amol and Nick talk to Lord Gus O’Donnell, the former head of the civil service who has been travelling the world looking for ways of restoring trust in democracy. And they also hear from Ravish Kumar, a news anchor in India who fe...
Jan 11, 2024•48 min
Amol and Nick answer your questions on how Radio 4’s Today is put together and which historical figures they most wish they could interview. Episodes of The Today Podcast land every Thursday and watch out for bonus episodes. Subscribe on BBC Sounds to get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories of the week, with insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme. If you would like a question answering, get in touch by sending us a message or voice note via What...
Jan 04, 2024•29 min
Amol and Nick review the year in news, featuring the biggest moments and their favourite interviews from the Today programme in 2023. They’re joined by some familiar voices including Chris Mason, Martha Kearney and friend of the pod, statistician Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter. With Gabby Logan on the Lionesses, Andy Zaltzman on The Ashes and Paddy O’Connell on Eurovision. Episodes of The Today Podcast land every Thursday and watch out for bonus episodes. Subscribe on BBC Sounds to get Amol and Ni...
Dec 21, 2023•51 min
Dame Esther Rantzen is a broadcasting legend, responsible for some of the most famous moments in television history. She blazoned a trail for women in the media and has and has made a huge impact with her charity campaign work. Today she is continuing to make headlines for her battle with stage-four lung cancer. In a remarkably candid interview with Amol and Nick, she reflects on her career and opens up about the impact the disease has had on her life. She speaks about not having expected to see...
Dec 19, 2023•45 min
Ukraine is back in the news with Vladimir Putin holding his first press conference since the outbreak of war. But in the last few weeks the story has fallen from the top of the news agenda – with many of The Today Podcast listeners emailing to ask why. Amol and Nick explain – and talk to Yale University historian Professor Timothy Snyder, one of the world’s leading experts in Russian and Ukrainian history. He joins them to talk through the danger to the world if Putin prevails. Episodes of The T...
Dec 14, 2023•46 min
It’s been a bruising 24 hours for Rishi Sunak including a ministerial resignation, emergency prime ministerial press conference and a former home secretary now firmly on manoeuvres. Amol and Nick discuss the Today programme’s exclusive interview with that former home secretary, Suella Braverman, and analyse how much trouble Sunak is now in. Will there be a leadership challenge? As he’s shoring up his leadership the former prime minister Boris Johnson is trying to secure his legacy at the Covid I...
Dec 07, 2023•50 min
Private rents are soaring, homes to rent are in steep decline, house building has stalled. No wonder young people are full of rage about their chances of getting onto the housing ladder. On this week’s podcast Amol and Nick take a deep dive into what’s going wrong with housing in the UK – and what can be done to fix it. They’re joined by Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, who will be tasked with fixing the housing crisis if Labour win the next general election. And they’re also joined by Ben...
Nov 30, 2023•45 min
Who’s right? Are these really the biggest tax cuts since the 1980s? Or are we paying more tax than ever? Or might both things be true? Amol and Nick look through the headlines of a complicated Autumn Statement and ask whether these tax cuts are real. They talk to former chancellor Ken Clarke about economic credibility, and they examine the tax-and-spend dividing lines between Labour and the Conservatives ahead of the election. Plus they look to Europe where the controversial, inflammatory and po...
Nov 23, 2023•46 min
In this extra edition of The Today Podcast, James May talks to Amol and Nick about Top Gear, tea and driverless cars, as he is announced as one of this year's Today programme guest editors. James, who is one of the presenters of The Grand Tour and a former presenter of Top Gear, will take the editorial reins and make a programme with the Today team this Christmas and he's got some interesting ideas about what he would like to explore. James also explains why he thinks Top Gear needs a rethink an...
Nov 23, 2023•24 min
It's been a week of turmoil in British politics culminating in the government losing its Rwanda case then taking on the Supreme Court – and Labour losing ten from its frontbench following a mass rebellion over Gaza. There’s plenty for Amol and Nick to get stuck into this week on The Today Podcast as they assess the political landscape and ask, how much trouble are Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer in? Two of the UK’s pre-eminent lawyers, human rights barrister and Labour peer Helena Kennedy and forme...
Nov 16, 2023•47 min
This morning on the Today programme the news of the sacking Suella Braverman broke and we heard the surprise announcement that former Prime Minister David Cameron would be the Foreign Secretary. In this emergency episode of The Today Podcast Amol and Nick discuss Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle. Former Education Secretary Baroness Nicky Morgan, former Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers MP and former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine are all on hand to give their take on where this leaves the...
Nov 13, 2023•34 min
Why did the Home Secretary write a newspaper column that puts her on a collision course with both the UK’s most senior police officer… and seemingly the prime minister? In this week’s podcast Amol and Nick look at the politics of protest – and what exactly Suella Braverman is trying to achieve by taking on the police, ahead of a proposed march through London on Armistice Day calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. They’re joined by Neil Basu, who served for thirty years in the Met Police, including as ...
Nov 09, 2023•45 min
It’s been an explosive week of evidence at the Covid inquiry. Government by WhatsApp and chaotic scenes at Downing Street. Amol and Nick discuss how badly the UK handled Covid and whether a different approach would have fundamentally altered the response and outcomes of the pandemic. Joining them in The Today Podcast studio is Louise Casey, who spent nearly 20 years in the civil service and who has run a range of inquiries, . She tells Amol and Nick what she made of her time working with the for...
Nov 02, 2023•52 min
Who decides which presenter does which interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme? Does it create any tensions? In a busy newsroom how do you work out the facts? Amol and Nick answer these listener questions and others in this bonus edition of The Today Podcast. If you would like a question answering, get in touch by sending us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 or email us Today@bbc.co.uk Episodes of The Today Podcast land every Thursday. Subscribe on BBC Sounds to get Amo...
Oct 30, 2023•16 min
Amol and Nick turn their attention this week to what conditions will need to be reached before Israelis and Palestinians are able to sit down with each other in search of a lasting settlement. They speak to Yossi Beilin and Hiba Husseini, who have spent decades negotiating peace – finding their hopes dashed each time but becoming friends with each other in the process. And they look at what’s happened at the Covid Inquiry and what’s coming up next week. Episodes land every Thursday and watch out...
Oct 26, 2023•49 min
Amol and Nick discuss how the war in Israel and Gaza shows two competing versions of history. They look at what’s at stake and why it matters. They are joined in The Today Podcast studio by historian Niall Ferguson to discuss how critical a moment this is for the region and wider world. Episodes land every Thursday. Subscribe to The Today Podcast to get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories of the week. With insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme....
Oct 19, 2023•41 min
Listen to Amol and Nick reflect on the Israel and Gaza conflict as they talk about what it might mean for the wider world. They talk to Martha, who’s spent much of this week presenting Radio 4’s Today from Jerusalem. The former chief of MI6, Sir Alex Younger is in ‘The Today Podcast’ studio giving his take on intelligence failures in the region and discussing his fears for what will happen next. Plus Nick’s spent the week at Labour Party conference in Liverpool. Find out what he and Amol made of...
Oct 12, 2023•46 min
Amol and Nick are two of the BBC’s most experienced journalists. In this bonus episode of The Today Podcast they talk through their first day presenting Radio 4’s Today. They remember the emotion of those first mornings as well as their favourite moments on the UK’s most influential radio news programme. Also: find out what happens when a guest oversleeps and why Nick found himself running between Downing Street and a studio when Today was on air. Subscribe to The Today Podcast to get Amol and N...
Oct 09, 2023•15 min
