Best of Today

Best of Today episodes:

• 04.24.2024

  Punched, spat at and abused by shoplifters

  Shops are reporting a rise in abusive behaviour towards staff, and thieves ‘clearing shelves’ in what has now turned into ‘organised crime’. Reporting for the Today programme, Jim Connolly meets shop workers in Halifax and Leeds to see how they...

  
• 04.23.2024

  The Today Debate: Are we failing victims of anti-social behaviour?

  The Today Debate is about taking a subject and pulling it apart with more time than we ever could have during the morning. Mishal Husain looks at how lives can be blighted by anti-social behaviour and asks if victims are...

  
• 04.23.2024

  Anti-social behaviour 'turns lives upside down'

  A Victims and Prisoners Bill is currently being debated in Parliament and tonight's Today Debate on Radio 4 at 8PM will consider one aspect of it. The legislation largely applies to England and Wales but the issue is one...

  
• 04.15.2024

  Lord Cameron defends UK involvement in Israel-Iran

  RAF typhoons flew over the skies of the Middle East to help protect Israel on Saturday night after Iran launched a direct attack on the country for the first time since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The UK was one...

  
• 04.11.2024

  How a Prime Minister’s affair was kept secret for so long

  Former Prime Minister Harold Wilson's close adviser Bernard Donoughue tells Today about the PM's affair kept secret for half a century and why he's revealing it now. (Photo: Harold Wilson. Credit: Getty Images)

  
• 04.08.2024

  Riz Ahmed on British Asians fighting the far-right

  A new documentary series looks at the period between 1976 and 1981 as British Asians faced daily attacks and calls for them to be sent home. The Academy Award-winning actor Riz Ahmed is one of the people behind the Channel...

  
• 04.04.2024

  Alec Stewart on a lifetime at the Oval

  County cricket is back, and Surrey are looking to win the championship for the third year in succession. It would be a fitting send off for their director of cricket, Alec Stewart, who's retiring at the end of the season...

  
• 04.02.2024

  Andrew Scott on playing the fascinating Talented Mr Ripley

  The award-winning actor Andrew Scott talks to Today about playing the character of Tom Ripley. There have been many screen adaptations of The Talented Mr Ripley over the years - the most famous with Matt Damon and Jude Law....

  
• 03.30.2024

  Google DeepMind boss: Knighthood is 'surreal'

  Sir Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, has been knighted for services to artificial intelligence. He speaks to Today presenter Simon Jack about why becoming Sir Demis is surreal, but also an important recognition of the AI industry. ...

  
• 03.30.2024

  The Today Debate - How do we get Britain working?

  The Today Debate is about taking a subject and pulling it apart with more time than we ever could have in the morning. Mishal Husain is joined by business leaders and health professionals to discuss the UK’s growing problem of...

  
• 03.07.2024

  Chancellor questioned on his Budget

  As the dust settles on the Budget, Amol Rajan speaks to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt about the plans he's set out for tax, public services and the economy. Listen to the Today programme on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds: 6-9am...

  
• 02.29.2024

  Esther Rantzen 'disappointed' no assisted dying vote

  Are we closer to allowing assisted dying? Or not? The Health and Social Affairs Committee in Parliament has made no recommendation on a vote – but votes might be coming in other places like the Isle of Man and Jersey...

  
• 02.21.2024

  Martha's Rule to start in hospitals

  NHS England will roll out Martha's Rule from April to give patients and families access to a rapid review if they are worried about a condition getting worse. Merope Mills spoke to Today in September about her daughter Martha, who...

  
• 02.19.2024

  Bernie Sanders: It's OK to be angry about capitalism

  Bernie Sanders has twice run for the Democratic presidential nomination. The left-wing senator speaks to Today's Mishal Husain about his new book 'It's OK To Be Angry About Capitalism'. Listen to the Today programme on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds:...

  
• 02.13.2024

  The Today Debate: Is justice delayed, justice denied?

  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...

  
• 02.13.2024

  How To Have Sex director talks to sixth formers about consent

  Molly Manning Walker’s first feature film How to Have Sex – which explores what it means to consent in a sexual encounter - is going to be used by the charity Schools Consent Project as part of their sex education...

  
• 02.07.2024

  Matt Smith: The Crown star discusses his West End return

  After numerous roles in high-profile television programmes like HBO's House of the Dragon and Netflix's The Crown, Matt Smith is returning to the West End in Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. Speaking to Today's Martha Kearney, the actor...

  
• 02.07.2024

  The parents calling for a 'smartphone-free childhood'

  The mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey is calling for a social media ban for under-16s and 'drastic action' from the government to protect children online. There is now a campaign group on WhatsApp called 'Parents united for a smartphone...

  
• 02.06.2024

  King Charles III: 'He will be determined to do everything to recover fast'

  King Charles is stepping back from public engagements after starting treatment for cancer. On Monday, Buckingham Palace announced the cancer was found during the King's recent treatment for a benign enlarged prostate. It has not revealed what type of cancer...

  
• 01.25.2024

  Sarah Snook: Beauty ‘has an expiry date’

  Sarah Snook, who played Shiv Roy in Jesse Armstrong’s award-winning series “Succession”, said of her latest role: “it’s a fascinating story… what does one do with unlimited power gained through youth and beauty?” Snook spoke to Today’s Nick Robinson about...

  
• 01.23.2024

  Theresa May: 'During PMQs my blood sugar went up'

  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...

  
• 01.09.2024

  Saudi ambassador on Israel-Gaza

  The US Secretary of State is in Israel as he seeks to calm tensions across the Middle East - on a trip which has also seen him visit Saudi Arabia. Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to...

  
• 01.01.2024

  Dame Emma Walmsley Guest Edits Today

  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...

  
• 12.30.2023

  Professor Jason Arday Guest Edits Today

  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...

  
• 12.29.2023

  Andrew Malkinson Guest Edits Today

  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...

  
• 12.28.2023

  Ellie Goulding Guest Edits Today

  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 projects She tells Today's Martha Kearney...

  
• 12.27.2023

  James May Guest Edits Today

  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....

  
• 12.26.2023

  Hanif Kureishi Guest Edits Today

  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...

  
• 12.23.2023

  Dr Nicola Fox Guest Edits Today

  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...

  
• 11.04.2023

  Stuart Broad: After the Ashes

  Stuart Broad announced his decision to retire following the 2023 Ashes. Today's Simon Jack speaks to the England bowling ace about his new book 'Broadly Speaking', which takes a look inside his cricket career and life. (Photo Credit: Action Images...

  
• 10.24.2023

  'To see my mum again is an incredible thing'

  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...

  
• 10.20.2023

  Emma Raducanu on her return to tennis

  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...

  
• 10.18.2023

  Danny Boyle and 'civic pride' about the new Aviva studios

  The Aviva studios, the biggest cultural investment in the UK since Tate Modern open today in Manchester. Speaking to Today's Martha Kearney, director Danny Boyle who's been working on a show at the venue says: "The very famous son of...

  
• 10.17.2023

  Former CIA Director on Biden’s Israel visit

  Former Director of the CIA General David Petraeus says that President Biden's upcoming trip to the Middle East will give him the chance to ask some difficult questions "behind closed doors". Speaking to Today's Justin Webb, General Petraeus said: "Going...

  
• 10.16.2023

  An experiment in "open justice" in the family courts

  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...

  
• 10.14.2023

  Michael Caine: I'm retiring from film

  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....

  
• 10.10.2023

  Israel-Gaza: What's next in the conflict?

  Today's Martha Kearney broadcasts from Jerusalem as the conflict in Israel and Gaza continues. She speaks to Yossi Schnaider who has had six family members - including two young children - taken hostage by Hamas; and Najla Shawa from Oxfam,...

  
• 10.03.2023

  Conservative Party conference: What do the Tories stand for?

  It's the penultimate day of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester and the question on everybody's lips: What do the Tories stand for? That is what Rishi Sunak hopes to answer in his big speech on Wednesday. At the conference, Today's Nick...

  
• 10.02.2023

  Why was my neighbour's body not found for two years?

  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. ...

  
• 10.02.2023

  How could Sheila Seleoane remain undiscovered for so long?

  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...

  
• 10.02.2023

  Conservative Party conference: Chancellor says he 'can't answer' on HS2's future

  Jeremy Hunt says he 'can't answer' when asked about the future of the HS2 high-speed rail project, which has been recently plagued by rumours that it will be reduced. Speaking to Today's Nick Robinson at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester,...

  
• 10.02.2023

  How can a death go unnoticed in modern society?

  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...

  
• 09.29.2023

  Amol Rajan Interviews Chief Executive of GB News

  Laurence Fox's on-air comments about a female journalist were "way past the limits of acceptance" and should have been properly challenged by host Dan Wootton, the boss of GB News has told Today. In an interview with Amol Rajan, Angelos Frangopoulos...

  
• 09.27.2023

  The Today Debate: Drug deaths in Scotland - is decriminalisation the answer?

  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...

  
• 09.25.2023

  Introducing The Today Podcast

  Introducing The Today Podcast. A new weekly podcast from the team behind the UK's most influential radio news programme. Join Amol, Nick and guests every Thursday as they give their take on the biggest stories of the week, with insights from...

  
• 09.19.2023

  American prisoners returning from Iran

  Five dual nationals jailed for years in Iran and widely regarded as hostages are on their way home to the United States. The last pieces in a controversial swap mediated by Qatar fell into place when $6bn (£4.8bn) of Iranian funds...

  
• 09.18.2023

  Russell Brand: Broadcasters launch investigations

  Investigations have been launched by the BBC and Channel 4 after comedian and actor Russell Brand was accused of rape and sexual assault. The allegations were made in a joint investigation by the Sunday Times, the Times and Channel 4's Dispatches...

  
• 09.16.2023

  Italy pleas for help with more than 8,000 migrants arriving on Lampedusa

  Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini says overcrowded iron boats filled with migrants from Africa arriving on the island of Lampedusa is an ‘act of war’ . The UN migration agency says around eight and a half thousand people arrived...

  
• 09.08.2023

  Young Ones reunite for new play

  Adrian Edmondson and Nigel Planer, two of the cast from the 1980s sitcom The Young Ones, have reunited to write a new play. ‘It's Headed Straight Towards Us’ follows two bickering actors and the hapless runner on the film they’re...

  
• 09.07.2023

  ‘The rescue boat was too small’

  In June a vessel carrying hundreds of migrants sank 50 miles off the Greek coast. It is thought as many as 600 people drowned as the over-crowded ship sank in the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea. However questions have...