Best of Today

• Updated:
  Daily
• Average duration:
  8 minutes

Show all episodes (119)

Recent episodes (10)

• 100th UK Afghan death 'increases determination'

  Tue, 8 Dec 09

  Duration:
  12 mins

  Yesterday saw another grim milestone in Afghanistan: the 100th British soldier to be killed there this year. General Sir Richard Dannatt was head of the army until August this year. He has since become an adviser to the Conservatives and has granted the Today programme his first public interview since retiring.

  Download 6MB (right click & "save target as")

• Knox guilty verdict 'stuns' US

  Tue, 8 Dec 09

  Duration:
  4 mins

  The American public are angered at the guilty verdict passed on Amanda Knox for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in Italy. Newspapers and broadcasters have been discussing the best strategies for a successful appeal for Ms Knox, who was sentenced to 26 years in prison in an Italian court last week. Correspondent Kevin Connolly reports from Washington on the reaction to the case.

  Download 2MB (right click & "save target as")

• Who is in Who's Who for 2010?

  Mon, 7 Dec 09

  Duration:
  4 mins

  The 2010 edition of Who's Who goes on sale today. Richard Fitzwilliams was the editor of International Who's Who for 16 years and says it should be more up to date.

  Download 2MB (right click & "save target as")

• 'A deal consistent with the science'

  Mon, 7 Dec 09

  Duration:
  11 mins

  Delegates from 192 countries are gathering in the Danish capital Copenhagen for the opening of the long-awaited UN summit on climate change. The conference has been described by some scientists as the most important the world has ever seen. Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband outlines the conference's aims.

  Download 5MB (right click & "save target as")

• Politicians 'want science certainty'

  Sat, 5 Dec 09

  Duration:
  10 mins

  How do you balance scientific facts with public policy? Scientists are faced with pressure to present evidence on issues of public policy, and to lobby for a particular outcome. Leaked emails from the University of East Anglia which imply that climate change data was manipulated have demonstrated the clash between politics and science. Correspondent Tom Feilden reports on the latest 'emailgate' developments, and Professor Malcolm Grant, President and Provost of UCL, discusses how far politics should rely on science.

  Download 5MB (right click & "save target as")

• Rankin 'cack-handed' with technology

  Sat, 5 Dec 09

  Duration:
  8 mins

  Do you prefer to write with a keyboard or pen? A typewriter belonging to American novelist Cormac McCarthy has sold for £150,000 at an auction in New York. The old light blue Olivetti machine was used by the novelist for 50 years, and has shocked some writers who use a computer to work. Crime writer Ian Rankin, who uses a computer, and author Philip Henshaw who writes his works with a green pen, discuss writers' implement of choice.

  Download 4MB (right click & "save target as")

• Intelligent cinema 'a casualty'

  Fri, 4 Dec 09

  Duration:
  6 mins

  Does an all-star cast make or break a movie? The film "Nine" which had its UK premiere in London last night, is notable for its long list of big name stars including Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Sophia Loren, and Marion Cotillard. Oscar wining director Ken Russell and The Times' film critic James Christopher debate how far a cast-list contributes to a film's success.

  Download 3MB (right click & "save target as")

• 'The political implications of this are huge'

  Fri, 4 Dec 09

  Duration:
  13 mins

  Emails stolen from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit reveal that figures on global warming were changed to exacerbate the threat. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has told the BBC it is taking the matter very seriously and will investigate the emails. Saudi Arabia has said that the emails will have a "huge impact" on the talks and that countries will now be unwilling to cut emissions. Environment correspondent Richard Black outlines the accusations. Philip Stott, emeritus professor of Biogeography at the University of London, and environmentalist and writer Jonathon Porritt, discuss whether the row could have the potential to derail the Copenhagen climate talks.

  Download 6MB (right click & "save target as")

• Bhopal's victims 25 years on

  Thu, 3 Dec 09

  Duration:
  6 mins

  25 years ago today the central Indian city of Bhopal awoke to the horror of the world's worst industrial disaster. 40 tons of a deadly gas had leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide plant, killing more than 8,000 people living in the poor and densely populated neighbourhoods nearby. Correspondent Allan Little reports from Bhopal and investigates how people are still trying to cope with the damage.

  Download 3MB (right click & "save target as")

• Care review's 'very mixed picture'

  Thu, 3 Dec 09

  Duration:
  12 mins

  A comprehensive account of adult care services by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is published today. The CQC identified eight councils where services are in urgent need of improvement - Poole, Cornwall, Solihull, Surrey, South Tyneside, Southwark, Peterborough and Bromley. With an increase in the number of elderly people in care homes, or receiving care at home, the quality of social care is urgent. 'Pamela', who is campaigning for better standards in care reflects on her experiences, and Baroness Young, chair of the CQC, discusses the report.

  Download 6MB (right click & "save target as")

Play recent episodes