Best of Today

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 and Northern Ireland, Today presenter Mishal Husain asks if justice delayed is justice denied?

Joining Mishal on the Today debate panel are Claire Waxman, the Independent Victims' Commissioner for London; Charlie Taylor; His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales; Joanna Hardy-Susskind, a barrister at Red Lion Chambers; Lord Falconer, Labour Peer and former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and Sir Max Hill, who was the director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales until October last year.

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 Minister has now chaired a parliamentary inquiry into the life-threatening consequences of having both type 1 diabetes and an eating disorder.

She speaks to Today's Justin Webb why a joined-up approach by the NHS is needed so that healthcare professionals are aware of the 'conflicting pressures' on people with type 1 and an eating disorder. She also discusses her experience while in government of managing her blood sugar levels.

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 in conversation with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who urges politicians not to treat their opponents as enemies but as fellow human beings.

Dame Emma also speaks to the Health Minister for Singapore; visits Kew Gardens and she asks former guest editor and Nobel Laureate Sir Paul Nurse to discuss with a group of students, the scientific and technological advances they are most excited for in 2024.

Simon Jack interviews Dame Emma to end her programme and she chooses a special piece of music.

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 with autism and global developmental delay aged just three and didn't learn to speak until he was eleven or read and write until he was eighteen.

He uses his programme to look at improving adult literacy and he speaks to the head of Universal Music UK about championing neurodiversity in the workplace.

Professor Arday also indulges his passion for 90s music with a discussion including Blur drummer Dave Rowntree and as a fan of a sharp suit, he champions the tailoring industry.

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 being locked up unjustly. He speaks to John McCarthy, who was held hostage for more than five years in the 1980s.

While in prison, the world of astronomy and space offered Andrew a sense of release and sanctuary from the immediate confines of his daily experience and a way to expand his world. So as part of his guest edit, he visits Jodrell Bank observatory.

And he tells Today's Justin Webb about the months since his conviction was overturned and how he still feels anger.

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 that nature has helped her through difficult times in her life, including postnatal depression.

Ellie interviews fellow musicians Brian Eno and Chris Martin about the music industry's environmental impact.

And she goes back to her sixth form college in Hereford and answers students questions, including about whether the music industry has changed for the better since the Me Too movement began.

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.

James believes hobbies are good for people’s wellbeing so the Today team assembled a get together with hobby-mad listeners, including comedian Al Murray.

He also looks at whether coffee culture is eroding the place of tea and gets a poetry lesson from Succession star Dame Harriet Walter.

Here James shares highlights from his programme.

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 its impact on his family and his friendships.

Hanif first enjoyed professional success as a writer 1985 with My Beautiful Laundrette, which was Oscar nominated, and he later wrote the novel the Buddha of Suburbia - which became a BBC series - and My Son The Fanatic.

In his programme, he speaks about how he has developed with his son Carlo a new way of producing and publishing his work. He also has a long conversation with Today presenter Mishal Husain just before he returns home from hospital.

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 work for sending a crewed mission back to the Moon.

Dr Fox, who revealed she was a fan of Duran Duran on her recent Desert Island Discs, talks to band member Nick Rhodes about the influence of space on music. She talks to her counterpart at the European Space Agency, Carole Mundell, about her path into a top space job and she confronts the writers of the last Bond film.

Dr Fox also speaks to Today Presenter Nick Robinson about why her father's interest in space inspired her and why she cries every time a space mission launches.

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 nurses are just having a chat, they say she is very sharp and is very keen to share the information, pass on the information to families of other hostages that she was with."

Yocheved Lifschitz was held for 16 days after being abducted from her home in a kibbutz in southern Israel amid scenes of death and destruction.

Today's Nick Robinson also spoke to BBC Correspondent in Gaza Rushdi Abualouf.

And Noam Sagi joined Nick and Mishal in the studio. His mother, Ada Sagi, was taken hostage in the kibbutz of Nir Oz, near Israel's border with Gaza.

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 title since Virginia Wade at the 1977 Wimbledon Championships.

The media interest in Emma has been huge worldwide due to her stratospheric rise, but her tennis career has been put on hold after three procedures on both wrists and an ankle left her on the side-lines for the past six months.

Today's sport presenter Karthi Gnanasegaram speaks to former British number one Emma Raducanu about her much anticipated return to competitive action.

(Photo: Robert Prange/Getty Images)

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 proceedings, in a landmark pilot scheme. Three court centres in Leeds, Carlisle and Cardiff allowed accredited journalists to report cases for the first time, providing the families involved remained anonymous.

Our Correspondent Sanchia Berg spent several weeks in Leeds Family Court attending hearings. This week Today has featured a series of her reports, highlighting some of the issues that are usually hidden, including a mother's 'remarkable turnaround' to win back her baby.

Today presenter Martha Kearney, also spoke to the judge who spearheaded the pilot, Justice Lieven.

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.

It was a story that captured the imagination of the world as Bernie embodied the defiant, “can-do” spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing. But of course, it wasn’t the whole story. It was an inspirational but sanitised retelling of one man’s need to come to terms with the lasting trauma of war.

That story is now in the cinemas in The Great Escaper, starring Sir Michael Caine and the late Glenda Jackson

Today's Martha Kearney speaks to Sir Michael and the film's director Oliver Parker.

Photo: Martha Kearney and Michael Caine)

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.

58-year-old Sheila Seleoane, was a medical secretary, who was found in her flat in Peckham last year. For Sheila's neighbours though it had been obvious for a long time that something was wrong.

This week we’re looking more closely at Shelia's story, to explore what happened and what it tells us about modern Britain.

Harry Farley speaks to Today's Mishal Husain, and in the first of three reports, he asks why it took so long before Sheila was discovered?

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 a final report by the BBC's Harry Farley, he goes back to speak to her neighbours.

Today's Martha Kearney speaks to Ian McDermott, chief executive of Peabody, the housing association which was Sheila’s landlord.

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 housing association only made one “proactive attempt” to contact the tenant and cut off her gas.

Miss Seleoane’s last known contact was with her GP in August 2019, and when her body was found, the cause of her death was unascertained due to the advanced state of composition of her body.

But what was she like and who was she? In the second in a series of three, Harry Farley talks to Today’s Justin Webb about loneliness and isolation while living in an urban area.

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 guests discuss the problem of drug abuse and drug deaths in Scotland. Together they look at different approaches and ask whether decriminalisation is the answer.

The panel includes people with personal experience of addiction and those who have seen loved ones derailed. We will also be joined by people working on the frontline and Police Scotland.

If you need help with any of the issues raised in the programme there's advice and support on the BBC Action Line website https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline

Martha Mills was 13 years old when she died in hospital two years ago, after failures by doctors to spot and treat her sepsis.

Her parents are calling for hospitals to implement 'Martha's Rule', where patients and their families would be given the right to an urgent second opinion, if they feel their concerns are not being taken seriously by medical staff.

Today's Mishal Husain speaks to Martha's mother Merope Mills.

(Photo: Martha Mills, Credit: Merope Mills)

Back in March, to mark 20 years of the Today guest editors we gave people the chance to apply in teams to make a programme with us.

Thousands of you applied and this summer we have been featuring programmes guest edited by those successful teams of listeners.

In the last in the series Vince, Fiona, Derek and Lucas invited us to Tenby in West Wales. For their programme they wanted us to look at what happens when the tourists go home from towns like theirs. They don’t think we spend enough time thinking about the challenges that face coastal communities, not just in Tenby, but across the UK.

Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid lost his brother Tariq to suicide in 2018. It is the number one cause of death for young people and biggest killer of men under 50.

In a personal report for the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Sajid speaks to people in Bristol, where he grew up, whose lives have been affected by suicide and also speaks to the chief exec of the Samaritans and other mental health campaigners.

He then tells Today's Martha Kearney what he thinks the government should be doing to help with suicide prevention.

If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, including urgent support, a list of organisations that can help is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline, or you can call for free to hear recorded information on 0800 066 066

Back in March, to mark 20 years of the Today guest editors we gave people the chance to apply in teams to make a programme with us.

Thousands of you applied and every Saturday through August we’ll be featuring programmes guest edited by those successful teams of listeners.

Today it was the turn of ‘Friendly Neighbours’. Sudi, Mike, Pol and Sophie are four friends and neighbours from the Kingsdown area of Bristol.

At the heart of their community is the Dove Street Estate, a modernist high rise development built in the 1960s.

They want to look at how we make sure that, when we are planning housing developments, we really think about the people and communities who will live there.

Back in March, to mark 20 years of the Today guest editors we gave people the chance to apply in teams to make a programme with us.

Thousands of you applied and every Saturday through August we’ll be featuring programmes guest edited by those successful teams of listeners.

Today it was the turn of Anne, Moyra, Alan and Andrew who are all members of the Dunbartonshire Concert Band. They wanted to use their guest edit to explore the benefits of community music. They commissioned a special report on music education and they asked us to look at whether playing an instrument help keep your brain “fit” as you get older?

Their programme features the violinist Nicola Benedetti.

Our programme is guest edited by Moyra, Anne, Alan and Andrew, four members of the Dunbartonshire Concert Band.

For their programme they wanted to look at the contribution community music makes to society. The were very keen to hear from the violinist Nicola Benedetti. Not only is she a world acclaimed violinist, but she has campaigned for years for better music provision – especially for children from underprivileged backgrounds.

Nicola Benedetti is also “Big Sister” to a social change and music education programme called "The Big Noise" that provides free music tuition alongside free childcare and healthy food. The charity supports 3,500 children across Scotland.

Nicola spoke to Today's Simon Jack for this special edition of Today.

Back in March, to mark 20 years of the Today guest editors we gave people the chance to apply in teams to make a programme with us.

Thousands of you applied and every Saturday through August we’ll be featuring programmes guest edited by those successful teams of listeners.

Today it was the turn of Hannah, Cenya and Huzaifah. They are three friends who have all experienced the loss of someone close to them and want to talk about what good grief looks like.

Their programme features the former England Cricket Captain Andrew Strauss who set up a foundation in memory of his wife, Ruth, who died of cancer. The Ruth Strauss Foundation supports families facing the death of a parent.

If you need support with any of the issues raised in this podcast you can find organisations that can help at www.bbc.co.uk/actionline

This guest edit of Today was produced by Laura Cooper, Hazel Morgan and Louisa Lewis.

Back in March, to mark 20 years of the Today guest editors we gave people the chance to apply in teams to make a programme with us.

Thousands of you applied and every Saturday through August we’ll be featuring programmes guest edited by those successful teams of listeners.

Today it was the turn of Amy, Jo and Gig. They've called their team, Messy Fostering. Amy who’s now 23-years-old was fostered at 14 by Gig and ended up spending her summers with her teacher Jo.

For them, it worked. But sometimes it doesn't and they wanted to use their guest edit to look at how we can stop foster placements breaking down and recruit and retain more foster families.

Their programme features the poet and broadcaster Lemn Sissay, the Children's Minister Claire Coutinho and other young people who have been fostered.

If you need support with any of the issues raised in this podcast you can find organisations that can help at www.bbc.co.uk/actionline

This guest edit of Today was produced by Laura Cooper, Hazel Morgan and Louisa Lewis.

The Today Debate is about taking a subject and pulling it apart with more time than we could ever have during the programme in the morning.

Today presenter Mishal Husain is joined by a panel of guests in the BBC's Radio Theatre, where in front of a live audience, they discuss the current state of the housing market.

On the panel are George Clarke, architect and broadcaster; David Simmonds the Conservative MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Planning; David O'Leary from the Home Builders Federation, which represents housebuilders in England and Wales; Claer Barrett, Consumer Editor for the Financial Times and Richard Fearon, Chief Executive of the Leeds Building Society.

The Today Debate is about taking a subject and pulling it apart with more time than we could ever have during the Today programme in the morning.

Today presenter Mishal Husain was joined by a panel of guests in the BBC's Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House to look at the future of the Royal Family in 'The Today Debate: Do we need a Monarchy?'

Joining her were Billy Bragg, the singer and songwriter; Juliet Samuel, a columnist for the Times; Polly Toynbee, a columnist at the Guardian; Charles Moore, former editor of the Telegraph and the Spectator, biographer of Margaret Thatcher and Jason Arday, an academic who works on inequality, race and education.

Björn Ulvaeus has guest edited BBC Radio 4's Today and his programme included a lot of insights and encounters about Eurovision.

Hear him talk to one of the British jurors who in 1974 gave ABBA's Waterloo "nul points" - and doesn't regret it! He also discusses with Erasure's Andy Bell, Radio 1's Adele Roberts and UK Eurovision presenter Rylan Clark the appeal of the contest and ABBA itself to the LGBT+ community.

Bjorn also speaks to Martin Österdahl, executive supervisor of Eurovision, about whether it can move to be a fully global competition.

(Photo: ABBA triumph at 1974 Eurovision. Credit: BBC)

Today's third guest editor this Christmas is Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained for six years in Iran - before being freed and coming home nine months ago. Hear highlights from her programme including the voices of families of current political prisoners in Iran and Nazanin speaking to chef Yotam Ottolenghi about why one of his recipes has a special resonance for her - and about the solidarity that can be found in food and cooking. Nazanin also has an emotional encounter with tennis ace Andy Murray - she tells him how, while in solitary confinement, she was able to watch him win Wimbledon in 2016 and the joy that brought her. With her husband Richard, she also reflects on trying to get back to normal life against the backdrop of the current uprising and arrests in Iran.

Today's second guest editor this Christmas is Jamie Oliver, the chef, entrepreneur and campaigner. Hear highlights from his programme in our Best of Today podcast, including interviews with former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne about expanding free lunches in schools and providing a healthy array of options for students. Jamie Oliver has been open about his struggles in school with dyslexia. He says he was told he was taught alongside those with special needs. Jamie wanted to speak to the rapper Loyle Carner, who has ADHD about his struggles at school and what food means to him.

Today’s final Christmas guest editor this year is Dame Sharon White, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership and former head of telecoms regulator Ofcom. She was named as the most powerful black person in the country in the 2023 Power List.

One of the key issues for her programme is how society can help more people who have been in care get into employment – and includes a report from the BBC’s Ashley John-Baptiste, who grew up in care.

She also speaks to world renown choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne about how to attract a wider audience to ballet, and she interviews England rugby star Maro Itoje about his activism off the field.

Today’s sixth Christmas guest editor is Anne-Marie Imafidon – computer scientist, CEO and co-presenter of Countdown.

Hear highlights of her programme, whose central theme is opportunity. She looks at how we work, how we fund science, and how we recognise the achievements of women which have been lost to history, such as Dr Gladys Mae West, whose maths work paved the way for GPS navigation.

We also explore two of Anne-Marie’s big passions – Nigerian food and trainers.

Today's fifth Christmas guest editor is Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA.

Hear highlights from his programme, which looks at the impact of Artificial Intelligence and technology on music, the future of democracy and of course Eurovision - the contest which launched Abba's global success nearly 50 years ago.

Guests include Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics, the historian Noah Yuval Harari, Andy Bell from Erasure, the boss of Eurovision, as well as its UK presenter Rylan Clark, and former culture minister Lord Vaizey.

Today's fourth Christmas guest editor this year is Sir Jeremy Fleming, director of GCHQ, the UK's largest but probably least known intelligence agency.

Hear highlights from his programme which centres on the theme of data and trust, including how we all share our own personal information and how intelligence agencies across the world handle that data.

Guests include Avril Haines, the United States director of national intelligence, Vint Cerf, one of the founding fathers of the internet, and multiple Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie, who discusses the use of data in his sport of sailing.

Today's first guest editor this Christmas is Lord Botham, Ian "Beefy" Botham, former England all-rounder, now crossbench peer and UK Trade Envoy to Australia.

Hear highlights from his programme in our Best of Today podcast, including an interview with the current England Cricket captain Ben Stokes, about the future of the Test format of the game.

It was a chance meeting after a freak injury in 1977 which first put Lord Botham on the path to nearly four decades of fundraising. He reflects on that moment and looks at advances in the treatment of childhood leukaemia, a cause for which he has raised millions of pounds, with the BBC's medical editor Fergus Walsh.

The Today programme has asked some well-known faces to talk about the walks they do and why they’re so important to them at this time of year.

Author Joanne Harris, best known for her novel Chocolat, describes her favourite walk from Almondbury, near Huddersfield, and up to Castle Hill.

(Image credit: Simone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images)

The Today programme has asked some well-known faces to talk about the walks they do and why they’re so important to them as part of a winter walks series. Author Hunter Davies, best known for the only authorised biography of the Beatles, describes his favourite walk along Ryde Sands on the Isle of Wight.

(Image Credit: Laura Palmer/BBC)

The Today programme has asked some well-known voices to tell us about their favourite walks at this time of year.

Novelist and journalist Jojo Moyes - best known for 'Me Before You' - describes a walk where she is often accompanied by her dogs in Essex, and how it’s helped her when life is challenging.

(Image Credit: Jojo Moyes)

The Today programme has asked some well-known faces to talk about the walks they do and why they’re so important to them as part of a winter walks series.

Author Michelle Gallen, who wrote 'Big Girl, Small Town' and 'Factory Girls', describes her favourite walk near her childhood home in Castlederg, West Tyrone.

(Image Credit: Deci Gallen)

The Today programme has asked some well-known faces to talk about the walks they do and why they’re so important to them as part of a winter walks series.

Author Michael Morpurgo, best known for children's novel War Horse, describes his favourite stroll near his home in Devon.

The Today programme has asked some well-known faces to talk about the walks they do and why they’re so important to them as part of a winter walks series.

The poet, who was National Poet of Wales from 2008 to 2016, Gillian Clarke has chosen a path close to her home in Ceredigion.

The Today programme invites some well known faces to speak about their favourite winter walk.

Novelist and history writer Kate Mosse describes her walk through Fishbourne Marshes, near Chichester in West Sussex, from the old duck pond round to Bosham and back again.

(Image credit: James Watkins/ BBC)

The Today programme is inviting some famous faces to speak about their favourite winter walk.

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage describes his walks up Pule Hill, the high point above Marsden and an exposed look-out post over Yorkshire, Lancashire and a high corner of Derbyshire.

(Image, Simon Armistage, Credit, Emma Gibbs, BBC)

The Today programme is inviting some famous faces to describe their favourite winter walk.

Actor Rory Kinnear lovingly tells of walking his son and daughter to school.

(Image, Rory Kinnear, Credit, Sarah Jeynes, BBC)

Michael O’Leary has been Chief Executive of Ryanair since 1994, and was appointed CEO of Ryanair Holdings, Europe’s largest airline group, in 2019.

He’s been speaking to Today’s business presenter Sean Farrington about his unhappiness with post-Brexit Britain, the impact of inflation on his business, and why we’ve probably seen the last of the €10 flight.

(Image, Michael O'Leary; Credit, Getty Images)

Dame Sharon White is the Chairman of John Lewis Partnership.

Overseeing a team of 80,000 partners working at branches and offices of supermarket Waitrose and department store John Lewis around the country, White took over the retailer in February 2020.

She talks to Today’s business presenter Sean Farrington about the number of people who have left the labour market since covid and the impact she believes it could have on the economy.

(Image, Dame Sharon White, Credit, John Lewis Partnership)

Jacky Wright is the Chief Digital Officer and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft US. For her Today guest edit, she asked whether young people are being taught the skills they need for the workplaces and jobs of the future.

She grew up in Tottenham, North London, and went back for the programme, asking A level students at a school there what they thought would make them employable.

She also used the programme to explore what everyday life was like for the generation of multiracial children born during World War Two.

Jacky spoke about the importance of role models with one of her own: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia and the first elected female head of state in Africa.

And there was also time for her to talk about her love of CSI with the show’s creator Anthony Zuiker.

Mina Smallman, guest edited our first Today programme of 2022. Mina is a former Church of England archdeacon and school principal, who began campaigning on violence against women and equity in how victims are seen after two of her daughters were murdered. Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry were murdered in a London park in 2020.

For her programme Mina invited Mishal Husain to accompany her and her family and friends on a difficult visit back to the place where Nicole and Bibaa died, where a tree was being planted in their memory.

Mina also used her programme to highlight the work of Victim Support and chaplains working in prisons, hospitals and rural communities.

Photo: PA

Dr Jane Goodall is a primatologist, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a UN Messenger of Peace. She is best known for revolutionising the world's understanding of chimpanzees.

She used her Today guest edit to explore some of the ways we can inspire change to protect animals and our environment. She asked the BBC’s Climate Editor, Justin Rowlatt, to look at the links between poverty and climate change. The programme featured reporting from Tanzania where 30 years ago Jane challenged a group of students to take action to protect the wildlife in their towns and villages. Martha Kearney interviewed the Environment Minister Zac Goldsmith on Jane’s behalf, asking him about COP 26 and trophy hunting. There’s music from Notre Dame and Jane reflects on the reaction to her work and image in the 1960s. With Martha Kearney and Mishal Husain.

General Sir Nick Carter is a retired senior army officer who served as the UK’s Chief of Defence Staff until November this year. He used his Today guest edit to focus on the fallout from the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan. He spoke to former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the man in charge of the country before the Taliban takeover.

He also chatted with retired racing legend AP McCoy about what his own retirement might have in store for him.

Finally, Sir Nick explored his deep love of whiskey with an international blind tasting.

The England and Manchester City footballer, Raheem Sterling used his Today programme guest edit to look at the issue of social mobility, after launching his own foundation earlier this year. His programme featured reporting from Jamaica where he was born and North London where he grew up.

For his programme he also sat down with England manager, Gareth Southgate, the man he credits for his transition from being a target for a hostile press to a young man now trying to be the role model which so many call on footballers to become.

It also featured interviews with his mum Nadine and his sporting hero Usain Bolt. With Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson.

Today programme guest editor, the England and Manchester City player, Raheem Sterling wanted discuss what he, his team mates and the country had learned following the Euros this summer.

For his programme he sat down with England manager, Gareth Southgate, the man he credits for his transition from being a target for a hostile press to a young man now trying to be the role model which so many call on footballers to become. Nick Robinson travelled to St George’s Park to meet them both.

James Rebanks is a Cumbrian sheep farmer and bestselling author. He used his Today programme guest edit to focus on the government's changes to farm subsidies and to look at whether urban farms can create healthy and happy communities. He discussed whether the British countryside is diverse enough and asked how it can attract a workforce that better reflects modern Britain.

Finally, indoctrinated by his father who took him to his first game at Anfield when he was ten, James Rebanks wanted us to talk about Jurgen Klopp and his why he’s popular not only among Liverpool fans, but beyond. With Nick Robinson and Mishal Husain.

Lord Dobbs, Michael Dobbs, is a Conservative Peer and author. He has written more than 20 books, but is best known for his political thriller House of Cards. He used his Today Programme guest edit to look at prostate cancer, after his diagnosis earlier this year. It’s a disease which killed his father and brother. His programme also featured a conversation with the Duchess of Cornwall about the importance of reading and a special retelling of the Christmas story from Joseph’s perspective, written and read by Marcus Brigstocke. Featuring Nick Robinson and Justin Webb.

Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the Bishop of Dover, presents the highlights from her guest edit of Today. The South African concept ‘Ubuntu’ or “I am because you are” is at the heart of her programme, reflecting on our common humanity. She hears from students at a pupil referrals unit, the charity Justice Defenders who work to improve access to justice, and also a Uighur child refugee exiled in Turkey. Including Mishal Husain and Martha Kearney.

(Image: Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, credit: Jim Drew)

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel presents all the highlights from his guest edit for Today, on the theme of the future of the USA. He looks at what big ideas have shaped modern America and what will continue to define it, including justice reform, how society can make wiser investments and the balance of power between tech companies and government. Including Mishal Husain and Simon Jack.

(Image: Evan Spiegel, credit: Snap Inc)

Twice Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood guest edits Today, looking at the theme of change. She interviews climate activist (and 2019 Today guest editor) Greta Thunberg and speaks to The Prince of Wales about campaigning for the environment over several decades. Also, Margaret’s Booker Prize co-winner Bernardine Evaristo speaks to gal-dem founder Liv Little and birdwatcher extraordinaire Mya-Rose Craig, aka Birdgirl. Hosted by Margaret Atwood - including Martha Kearney and Mishal Husain.

(Image: Margaret Atwood, credit: Luis Mora)

Sir Jeremy Farrar, the director of the health research foundation Wellcome Trust, guest edits Today along the theme of uncertainty and clarity in complex times. Sir Jeremy speaks to Dr Anthony Fauci about mixing politics and science, and we hear from Erna Solberg, the Prime Minister of Norway, on leading in uncertain times. Author Elif Shafak gives a more literary take on uncertainty, and England cricketers Sir Andrew Strauss and Nat Sciver discuss how elite sport has adapted in 2020. Also, a special performance from the Wellcome Voices choir. With Nick Robinson and Simon Jack.

(Image: Sir Jeremy Farrar, credit: Dave Guttridge, Francis Crick Institute)

Record-breaking Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton guest edits Today, looking at black British history, the environment, and the power of sport. Lewis speaks to historian Professor David Olusoga about the Black Lives Matter movement and black British historical figures who deserve more attention. We also hear from conservationist Dame Jane Goodall on animal extinction, and find out how motor racing is trying to become more environmentally friendly. Presented by Nick Robinson and Justin Webb.

(Image: Lewis Hamilton)

Highlights from Prue Leith's guest edit, presented by Prue herself. Including... a discussion of the issue of assisted dying and how hospitals are trying to improve their food. Also - two cherries on top of an already lovely cake - Prue having a singing lesson... and Olympic diver Tom Daley discussing craft and the new swimming trunks he has crocheted! Also featuring Justin Webb and Mishal Husain. Enjoy.

(Image: Prue Leith Credit: Clive Holmes Agency)

All the highlights from podcaster and spoken word artist George the Poet's guest edited programme, including a reflection of identity in Uganda, DJ Target on the development of grime music, Ziggy Marley on legalising marijuana, economist Mariana Mazzucato on how society thinks about value, and are video games good for your brain? Presented by Martha Kearney and Sarah Smith, and additional sound design by Benbrick.

(Image: George the Poet, credit: BBC)

All the highlights from climate activist Greta Thunberg's guest edited programme, including Mishal Husain interviewing her father Svante Thunberg and Greta speaking to Sir David Attenborough for the first time. Also, outgoing Bank of England chief Mark Carney on how the financial sector can tackle climate change, Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja on reducing the music industry’s carbon blueprint, and Shell’s Maarten Wetselaar on big energy’s environmental impact. Presented by Mishal Husain and Sarah Smith.

(Image: Greta Thunberg, credit: BBC)

All the highlights from Margaret Thatcher biographer and former Telegraph editor Charles Moore's guest edited programme. It includes US Special Representative on Iran Brian Hook on violent protests in the country, Charles' nephew Felix on being autistic and transgender, former Conservative leader Lord Michael Howard on why the judiciary needs to change, and Charles sets out the case against the BBC's funding model. Presented by Justin Webb and Nick Robinson.

(Image: Charles Moore, credit: The Telegraph)

All the highlights from Supreme Court President Baroness Hale's guest edited programme, including Baroness Hale in conversation with US Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Clive Coleman going on a tour of the Supreme Court, a report on coercive control, a discussion about justice in opera with Sir Simon Keenlyside and Ian Bostridge and a Vogue editor on what your jewellery says about you. Presented by Nick Robinson and Justin Webb.

(Image: Baroness Hale. Credit: BBC)

All the highlights from artist Grayson Perry's guest edited programme, including the former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams on faith and political myths, how tinnitus affects singer-songwriter KT Tunstall's life and work, political satire with Guardian columnist Marina Hyde, and if there's a link between sexual fantasies and how you vote with Joe Twyman from Deltapoll. Presented by Justin Webb and Nick Robinson.

(Image: Grayson Perry, credit: BBC)