Analysis: Aid or Immigration? 03 Oct 11
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27:50
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The government is committed to protecting the aid budget. Frances Cairncross asks if actually cutting state aid and relaxing immigration controls is a better way to combat poverty....
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Analysis: Hezbollah 10 Oct 11
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28:13
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Owen Bennett Jones looks at the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah, regarded by some in the West as terrorists and others in the Middle East as a resistance organisation....
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Analysis: Euroscepticism Uncovered 17 Oct 11
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28:10
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As opinion polls suggest that half of Britons would vote to leave Europe altogether, Edward Stourton asks if the political class is now catching up with public opinion on the EU. The programme hears from several Eurosceptic Conservative MPs who feel...
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Analysis: Cultural diplomacy 24 Oct 11
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28:18
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Frances Stonor Saunders investigates how the UK government uses culture as a tool of soft power and asks whether it does any good for culture or diplomacy....
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Analysis: A New Black Politics? 13 Oct 11
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28:05
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David Goodhart meets the politicians who claim to advocate on behalf of Britain's black communities and asks how the ideologies of black politics have changed since the 1980s. The programme hears from David Lammy MP, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Tory activist...
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Analysis: Do leaders make a difference? 07 Nov 11
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28:22
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We talk much of personal leadership being the key to change in, say, politics or business. But how much can such figures really influence events? Michael Blastland investigates....
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Analysis: The Darwin Economy 14 Nov 11
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28:24
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Professor Robert Frank tells an audience at the LSE that Darwin was a greater economist than Adam Smith. Newsnight's economics editor, Paul Mason, asks him to explain why....
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Analysis extra: New Global Economics: The Shock 14 Nov 11
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28:21
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Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator of the Financial Times, examines how the world economy has changed since the beginning of the financial crisis four years ago. Contributors include US Treasury Secretary Timonthy Geithner, IMF managing director...
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Analysis extra: New Global Economics: The Shift 21 Nov 11
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28:24
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Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator of the Financial Times asks what changes are neeeded to the global financial system if the world is to fully recover from the worst economic crisis since the depression of the 1930s. Contributors include: Larry...
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Analysis extra: A Price Worth Paying? 28 Nov 11
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28:24
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Banks are underwritten by the government in Britain. But should the taxpayer bail out so-called casino banks? In a programme previously broadcast on 1 February 2010 - Edward Stourton talks to the growing band of experts who believe that risk-taking...
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Best of Today Insight, analysis and expert debate as key policy makers are challenged on the latest news stories. http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/today/rss.xml
Today: Business news with Simon Jack
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11:18
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24/11/11
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Lena Komileva of G7 Market Economics on the implications of a poor auction of bonds by the German government. And Robert Guest of the Economist and David Soskin, former CEO of cheapflights debate whether debt by its nature is always a bad thing....
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Today: Mark Serwotka: 'Blind panic' over border strike
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5:15
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24/11/11
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The government is making plans to use non-striking civil servants to cover duties at border posts during next week's public sector strike. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, outlines what the strikes hope to...
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Today: Arcadia to close 250-260 shops
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4:51
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24/11/11
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Arcadia, the retail giant behind brands such as Topshop, BHS, Burtons and Miss Selfridge, has seen its pre-tax profits fall by a third in the year to the end of August. Arcadia's owner, Sir Philip Green, explains what happens next for them and...
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Today: The perils of taking kids to work
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4:43
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24/11/11
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When public sector workers strike next week, and schools may be disrupted, it has been suggested that people who are working should be encouraged to take their children to work, an idea supported by David Cameron. Conservative MP Louise Mensch, who...
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Today: Rebecca Ferguson 'made me eat my hat'
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4:43
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24/11/11
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X Factor has been criticised in the past for not doing much to inject creativity into the UK music industry. Last year's runner-up, Rebecca Ferguson and the Daily Telegraph's chief pop and rock music critic, Neil McCormick, discuss whether TV talent...
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Today: Business news with Simon Jack
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11:47
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25/11/11
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Stian Westlake of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts argues the case for an enterprise bond, a form of "credit easing" for businesses as a means of bypassing the banks. And this weeks Friday boss is Stephen Fitzpatrick,...
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Today: Shapps and Humphrys clash on housing announcement
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10:50
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25/11/11
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On Monday a new housing strategy was announced and debated in parliament. On Tuesday official figures were released which showed that the number of new affordable homes on which a start had been made had fallen dramatically. Housing Minister Grant...
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Today: Paralympic medallist walks again
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4:18
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25/11/11
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Monique Van der Vorst, a Paralympic silver medallist in hand cycling, lost the use of her legs as a result of an operation that went wrong when she was a teenager. Last year she had another accident while training and, in an extraordinary twist, she...
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Today: Clegg: Youth contract 'will provide hope'
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14:37
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25/11/11
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The government is to outline a £1bn strategy to tackle youth unemployment, which promises to create over 400,000 jobs in three years. Krystina Robinson from Middlesbrough, is one of a million "Neets", young people not in education, training or work...
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Today: Coogan on Leveson's 'watershed week'
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9:48
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26/11/11
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Celebrities and victims of tragedy gave evidence to the Leveson inquiry about phone hacking and general press intrusion and horrific abuse into their personal lives. This has spawned a secondary debate with some newspapers asking the question, such...
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Today: Egypt 'finding its own way to democracy'
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3:28
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26/11/11
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Despite the protests across Egypt this week, elections are still planned to commence next week. It is a very complicated system as our correspondent Kevin Connolly has been finding out....
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Today: Onion TV comes to the UK
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4:24
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26/11/11
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The US satirical paper, The Onion, also has a television channel of a similar tone and that channel is now coming to Britain courtesy of Sky. Suzanne Sena plays the part of the main reporter, Brooke Alvarez, and she put together a short bulletin for...
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Today: Business news with Simon Jack
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11:35
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28/11/11
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Joanne Segars, of the National Association of the Pensions Funds and Glyn Jones of pensions advisers, P-Solve talk about government plans to use pension funds to finance infrastructure projects. And Adam Marshall of the British Chamber of Commerce...
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Today: Alexander Infrastructure boost 'within spending plans'
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7:56
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28/11/11
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Some £30bn of extra infrastructure work has been planned as part of a government plan called the National Infrastructure Plan, funded by pension funds and other investors. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander outlines when the money is...
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Today: Robinson - Religious apartheid in NI schooling has huge impact
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5:26
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28/11/11
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The DUP leader and Stormont's First Minister Peter Robinson has said he wants to bring Catholics and Protestants closer together in Northern Ireland, speaking of the need for a shared education system. He explains why he wants to end the "them and us"...
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Today: Garfunkel: Simon 'is part of my soul'
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4:15
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28/11/11
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Art Garfunkel, along with his childhood friend Paul Simon, recorded some of the most memorable songs in pop music history including Bridge over Troubled Water, The Sound of Silence and Mrs Robinson. With both men having just turned 70, Art Garfunkel...
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Today: Business news with Simon Jack
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10:55
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29/11/11
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Colin Ellis of the British Venture Capital Association previews the chancellor's Autumn Statement and looks at the latest OECD and Office for Budget Responsibilites' forecasts on economic growth. And Colin McLean of SVM Asset Management and Norval...
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Today: Growth: The view from Leeds
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8:32
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29/11/11
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Economic growth is the phrase of the day with the Chancellor George Osborne due to deliver the Autumn Statement. But what is the right kind of growth for the economy? Evan Davis reports from West Yorkshire....
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Today: Climate targets 'pathetically inadequate'
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6:32
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29/11/11
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UN climate change talks are entering their second day in Durban, South Africa, aiming to come up with a settlement constraining greenhouse gas emissions to replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in a year. Sir David King, the former chief...
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Today: Marmite - your views
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0:43
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29/11/11
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A tanker carrying more than 20 tonnes of yeast extract, thought to be marmite, has overturned bringing disruption to the M1 near Sheffield. The motorway has been closed in both directions....
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Today: Business news with Simon Jack
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11:13
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30/11/11
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Tom McPhail, head of Pensions Research at Hargreaves Lansdown talks about the significance of raising the pension age as announced in the Autumn Statement. And Professor of International Economics at the University of Rome, Paolo Guerrieri talks about...
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Today: Osborne- Public sector pensions offer 'is generous'
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14:51
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30/11/11
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Public sector workers have begun a 24-hour strike over changes to their pensions. Unions say around two million workers are taking part in today's action - causing disruption to public transport, hospitals, courts and council services. The Chancellor...
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Today: '58% of schools are closed' says minister
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9:51
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30/11/11
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Today's public sector strike is expected to cause widespread disruption to schools, hospitals and some airports. Dave Prentis General Secretary of Unison talks about why the public sector is striking and the Schools Minister Nick Gibb gives the...
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Today: Oscar Wilde 'knew the danger of a kiss'
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3:22
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30/11/11
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The restored and newly-protected tomb of dramatist Oscar Wilde is to be unveiled in France on the 111th anniversary of his death. Actor Rupert Everett is a fan of Wilde and describes how he was invited to attend the opening by his grandson Merlin....
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Today: Business news with Simon Jack
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10:49
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23/11/11
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Business news with Simon Jack. Georg Grodski of Legal & General Investment Management and Sharon Bowles of the European parliament discuss whether Eurobonds are a possible solution to the eurozone crisis. And Terry Scuoler, of the manufacturers...
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Today: 'Like a skin graft on a paralysed body'
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4:29
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23/11/11
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Tens of thousands of Egyptians are still camped out in Tahrir Square in Cairo, calling on the military leader, Field Marshal Tantawi, to step down immediately, despite his promise that parliamentary elections will go ahead as planned. Kevin Connolly...
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Today: 'Basic compassion should never be switched off'
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3:10
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23/11/11
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The Equality and Human Rights Commission has found that thousands of elderly people in England receive care services at home that are so poor their human rights are being breached. Paul Burstow, minister for care services, responds to the report....
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Today: 'Squeezed middle' is word of the year
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4:41
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23/11/11
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The Oxford English Dictionary team, in both the US and UK, have named the word of the year as "squeezed middle", saying it now has substantial resonance. Suzie Dent, spokesperson for Oxford dictionaries and Oliver Kamm, who writes the Pedant column at...
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Today: Hague - Egypt 'should end state of emergency'
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13:41
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21/11/11
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Egypt is seeing a new phase of uncertainty after clashes over the weekend between democracy protesters and the military. The BBC's Jon Leyne reports from Cairo on whether the Egyptian regime can be trusted and Foreign Secretary William Hague outlines...
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Today: So does starting a sentence with 'so' annoy you?
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4:16
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21/11/11
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Beginning a sentence with the word "so" has become a regular occurrence in everyday conversation, and it has not been received entirely positively. John Rentoul of the Independent on Sunday, and author of The Banned List: A Manifesto Against Jargon...
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Today: Volunteering in return for citizenship?
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3:55
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21/11/11
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According to the think tank Demos, compulsory volunteering should be introduced for those wanting to gain British citizenship. Author of the report, Max Wind-Cowie of Demos, and Telegraph columnist Charles Moore discuss what it is that makes us proud...
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Today: Business news with Simon Jack
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11:21
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22/11/11
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Business News with Simon Jack on news that the UK government looks set to move the goalposts for reducing the deficit with Michael Taylor of Lombard Street Research. And Jared Bernstein, former economic advisor to the US Vice President, Joe Biden,...
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Today: 'Amazing watershed' in cancer treatment
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5:34
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22/11/11
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study of cancer survival rates in England and Wales, by Macmillan Cancer Support, has found that on average people diagnosed with the disease typically live nearly six times longer than 40 years ago. Professor Peter Johnson, of Cancer Research UK,...
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Today: Bosses' pay too high? Then 'move to Cuba'
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6:37
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22/11/11
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A year long inquiry into boardroom pay has found that excessive deals for the UK's top bosses is having a corrosive effect on the economy, for companies as well as society as a whole. Chair of the High Pay Commission Deborah Hargreaves and Dr Heather...
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Today: Lansley defends hospital video loop
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4:04
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22/11/11
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Why does Health Secretary Andrew Lansley's face peer out from every hospital television screen? Following reports in the Independent newspaper, Mr Lansley rang into the Today programme to explain why people had to register before they could turn the...
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Today: Business news with Simon Jack
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11:05
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17/11/11
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Dominic Rossi of Fidelity talks about the Bank of England's quarterly report, which has slashed the growth forecast for the UK to just one percent. And Richard Jeffrey from the newly opened Business Growth Hub in Manchester explains how it hopes to...
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Today: Party funding 'not sexy, but important'
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4:16
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17/11/11
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Political party funding has come under the spotlight with Nick Clegg ruling out extra state funding, saying taxpayers wouldn't stand for it, while a committee on standards in public life is about to publish a report of party political funding. Steve...
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Today: '1-in-12 teens self-harm'
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6:24
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17/11/11
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According to a new study, as many as 1-in-12 people self-harm as teenagers, the majority of them girls. A former self-harmer tells her story and Dr Paul Moran of the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College Hospital gives his thoughts on what mental...
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Today: NYC Cafe Society comes to the Southbank
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5:07
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17/11/11
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The 1940s jazz club, Cafe Society, is being recreated at London's Southbank Centre. The Today programme's Nicola Stanbridge spoke to the founder, Barney Josephson's wife Terry Trilling-Josephson, about the legendary New York club which made history...
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Today: Business news with Simon Jack
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11:54
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18/11/11
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Economist Christian Schulz, formerly of the ECB and Pedro Schwarz of San Pablo University in Madrid discuss Spain's record borrowing costs and where the ECB fits into this. And Hugh O'Donnell, chief executive of Kentz Engineers and Constructors is our...
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Today: Hunger fears as Afghan snows approach
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5:51
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18/11/11
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An estimated £40bn worth of aid has been given to Afghanistan over the last 10 years, most of it to the south of the country where the war is being fought. Mike Thomson reports from the far north of mountainous Bamyan Province, on fears that the...
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Today: Fuchs Germans 'don't want to run Europe'
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8:23
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18/11/11
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Talks between David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are to focus on the European Central Bank taking a more active role in the eurozone crisis. Economics editor Stephanie Flanders analyses the upcoming meeting and Dr Michael Fuchs, deputy...
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Today: Campaign to save Yorkshire anthem
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4:15
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18/11/11
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It has been Yorkshire's anthem since Victorian times, but now a brass band leader is launching a campaign to stop On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at from dying out. Gordon Eddison, a school music teacher and musical director of Otley Brass Band, explains why he...
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