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
The billionaire owner of X has made misleading claims about Keir Starmer’s handling of the grooming gangs scandal and Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has announced the end of independent fact-checking on Meta’s platforms in the US. The move comes as Zuckerberg and other tech executives seek to improve relations with US President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office later this month. In this episode Amol and Nick talk to Vivian Schiller, former head of news at Twitter, about what is happening to f...
Jan 09, 2025•49 min
Amol and Nick with their take on what to expect in 2025. From a year of protest in the UK to what Donald Trump’s return to the White House might mean for the world. Plus, some reasons to be cheerful, and former Today sports presenter Garry Richardson returns with a prediction about tennis star Novak Djokovic. To get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories and insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme, make sure you hit subscribe on BBC Sounds. That way...
Jan 01, 2025•27 min
Dame Laura Kenny is Team GB's most decorated female Olympian. She used her guest edit of Today to ask whether elite sport could have a damaging impact on the fertility of female athletes? She also shares her concerns about how much physical exercise children get at school. Dame Laura Kenny is speaking to Emma Barnett. GET IN TOUCH: * Send us a message or a voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 * Email today@bbc.co.uk Over the Christmas period we're bringing you extended interviews with the...
Dec 31, 2024•28 min
The latest Today Christmas guest editor is the TV presenter, author and Liberal Democrat peer Floella Benjamin. Baroness Benjamin is most famous for her work on children's TV shows Playschool and Playaway. She spoke to Amol about why she thinks there's a "crisis" in children's TV today, but they began by talking about her moving to the UK from Trinidad as a child. 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...
Dec 30, 2024•16 min
Former Conservative Chancellor Sir Sajid Javid is Today's latest Christmas guest editor. Sir Sajid's key theme for the programme is Artificial Intelligence - but he also revisits his favourite childhood TV show, Grange Hill. He speaks to Nick about his guest edit. 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, s...
Dec 27, 2024•15 min
UK Chief Scout Dwayne Fields is the Today programme's Boxing Day guest editor. Dwayne grew up on an inner city estate in London and turned away - in his words - from a life of “weed, cocaine and guns”. He speaks to Nick about his life and about the focus of his programme - volunteering. 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 Chr...
Dec 26, 2024•15 min
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'r...
Dec 24, 2024•45 min
Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson are joined by Today programme colleague Justin Webb to discuss a bumper election year that saw the UK elect a new prime minister and the US re-elect a president. Plus, Emma Barnett looks back at her first few months as a Today presenter and Garry Richardson returns to pick out his sporting moments of 2024. To get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories and insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme make sure you subscribe to...
Dec 24, 2024•49 min
A few weeks into her new job, Amol sits down with the Conservative Party leader for a wide-ranging interview about her brand of politics, what she would do as prime minister and why Elon Musk is backing Nigel Farage. They also discuss what she has done since taking over from Rishi Sunak, the Conservative government's record on immigration and Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election. GET IN TOUCH: * Send us a message or a voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 * Email today@bb...
Dec 23, 2024•42 min
French prime minister Michel Barnier was forced to resign when his government collapsed in the wake of a no-confidence vote and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is heading for fresh elections in February. Amol and Nick are joined by Jose Manuel Barroso, former President of the European Commission, to look at what the crisis in those countries means for the EU as it faces economic decline, the rise of populist parties and a second Donald Trump presidency. Plus, sports presenter Karthi Gnanasegaram p...
Dec 19, 2024•38 min
When Nigel Farage accepted the Spectator’s Newcomer of the Year Award, he suggested that his Reform UK party could get hundreds more MPs at the next election. In this week’s episode Amol and Nick discuss whether that’s possible with BBC political editor Chris Mason and Tim Montgomerie, who founded the Conservative Home website, but recently left the Tory Party to join Reform UK. He explains why he decided to defect, how his friends in the Conservative Party have reacted and what he thinks can be...
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 1 min
After a bumpy first few months in power Keir Starmer is giving a speech to outline his milestones for the next five years, so in this episode Amol and Nick are joined by the former Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth to discuss the prime minister’s approach to politics and whether the speech should be seen as a reset moment for his government. Since winning the election in July, Keir Starmer chief of staff Sue Gray and transport secretary Louise Haigh have both resigned. He’s also faced a backlash over ...
Dec 04, 2024•36 min
When Dame Esther Rantzen told Amol and Nick that she had joined the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland she helped reignite a debate about assisted dying in the UK. Now MPs are preparing to vote on a bill that would legalise it in England and Wales, so in this episode they catch-up with Dame Esther and speak to two MPs, Preet Kaur Gill and Warinder Singh Juss, about how their religion has influenced their thinking. They also discuss the interview Amol did with the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, whose priv...
Nov 27, 2024•54 min
Each year the Today programme gives guest editors the chance to explore the issues that matter to them. In this bonus episode one of this year’s guest editors, screenwriter and UK Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, tells Amol what he’s planning for his programme. 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 curren...
Nov 25, 2024•22 min
In this special episode two former Labour prime ministers, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, reflect on the life of the former deputy prime minister who has died at the age of 86. Plus, Amol and Nick discuss their recollections of John Prescott and assess the impact he had on British politics. You can listen to John Prescott on Desert Island Discs here, in an episode first broadcast in 2012: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b01c6trm The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson who are...
Nov 21, 2024•37 min
Keir Starmer has said Labour will “smash the gangs” to stop the small boats carrying migrants across the Channel, so Nick joins Amol from the busiest border crossing in Europe to discuss whether that’s really possible. They hear from Syrian men living in a Bulgarian refugee camp and meet a sniffer dog who can detect rubber boats being taken across the border. Plus, they answer your questions about the issues raised in Nick’s reporting and what it’s like taking Today on the road. The Today Podcas...
Nov 20, 2024•43 min
