The World at One is Britain's leading political programme with a reputation for rigorous and original investigation.
Featured Interviews
Listen again to some of the best interviews from past editions of The World at One
2009
January 13 As Gordon Brown promises that half a million people will be helped into jobs or training, he joins Martha Kearney to discuss his jobs package and plans to unlock the credit crunch.
2008 November 5 Joel Benenson, Barack Obama's pollster and a member of his inner circle, talks to Martha Kearney about the party's election success.
November 3 Martha Kearney reports on the presidential election campaign from the battleground state of North Carolina.
October 27 The Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, tells Martha Kearney that he "made a mistake" in getting involved in a discussion about a possible donation from a Russian billionaire, while he was in Corfu.
September 29 Lord Turner, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority, tells Martha Kearney that the global credit crisis is not yet over, and that he couldn't rule out the possibility that other banks may get into trouble. September 24 In an exclusive interview with Martha Kearney, Ruth Kelly explains why she wants to leave the government and insists she had not been part of a plot among dissident Cabinet ministers to oust Mr Brown
July 1 Shaun Ley reports from the Sharm-el-Sheikh African Union summit on an extraordinary outburst from Robert Mugabe's spokesman who told journalists that the West can go hang a thousand times. Foreign Office Minister Lord Malloch-Brown responds.
May 27 Martha Kearney reports on the judge whose nickname is "hug a druggie". Should the pilot scheme he operates be extended elsewhere in the country? A Conservative MP tells us he's horrified by the judge's behaviour. The Justice Secretary Jack Straw responds.
April 11 As prime ministers and presidents of countries in southern Africa gather to discuss the crisis in Zimbabwe, the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangerai says that those leaders should tell Robert Mugabe to obey the will of the people.
March 31 As official results from the elections in Zimbabwe are released, the opposition MDC says it's defeated President Robert Mugabe but the party's Secretary General, Tendai Biti, tells Shaun Ley there's a deliberate attempt being made to "re-engineer the results".
March 28 As a fifth of British Airways flights have been cancelled on a second day of disruption at Terminal 5, Willie Walsh, the chief executive of BA, tells Brian Hanrahan that it was a failure and he won't try to pass the buck.
March 27
In a series of reports we examined how immigration has changed Britain. We debated the issues raised in our reports with the economist Philippe Legrain and Sir Andrew Green of Migration Watch and interviewed the Immigration Minister Liam Byrne.
March 21 As the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland launches a strong attack on Gordon Brown over government plans for embryo research, The World at One learns that at least one cabinet minister will resign rather than vote in favour of the proposal. We hear from both sides of the debate within the Labour Party, and from Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who tells us he hopes ministers will seriously consider voting against, even if it means they lose their jobs.
February 29 Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the chairman of one of the leading sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East, tells Michael Buchanan that its investments in the United Kingdom could be adversely affected by over-regulation.
February 13 As the Bank of England warns that it expects a sharp rise in inflation and a slowdown in growth over the next six months, the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, admits that there are challenging times ahead.
February 7 In an exclusive interview with Christopher Landau the Archbishop of Canterbury tells us that sharia law seems unavoidable in parts of Britain. Read listeners' comments on the interview and read a transcript.
February 4 As Gary O'Donoghue reports, there are fresh calls for radical reform of the Electoral Commission - the watchdog which has come under criticism after the recent wave of political scandals. Its Chief Executive tells us he urgently needs new powers to do the job effectively.
January 31 The former Home Secretary Charles Clarke has criticised Gordon Brown for leading a government that avoids big decisions and lacks direction. We speak to him in his first interview.
January 24 Following the announcement that the police had been called in to investigate donations to Peter Hain's deputy leadership campaign, the Cabinet Minister resigned. We spoke to his supporters and critics and looked back at his political career.
January 3 Nuala O'Loan who has just stood down as Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland, tells Martha Kearney of the personal cost to her family because of her controversial job.
2007
December 17 Former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer explains why he is yet to be persuaded of the need to extend the time terrorist suspects can be held without charge beyond 28 days.
December 6
The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, describes her critics as "irresponsible" as she defends the government's plan to extend the period terrorism suspects can be held without charge to 42 days.
November 23 Former head of the army General Sir Mike Jackson asks the government to "grasp the nettle" of military spending in the wake heavy criticism of the Prime Minister from former military chiefs.
November 16 Vince Cable, the acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, warns that the government is risking a "large amount" of public money supporting the troubled bank Northern Rock.
November 6 MPs George Osborne, David Laws and John Denham debate Gordon Brown's first Queen's Speech.
October 30 Immigration Minister Liam Byrne outlines the government's concerns over the pressures caused by high levels of immigration.
October 16
The deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, Barham Salih gives his reaction to the possibility of Turkish soldiers entering Northern Iraq.
October 15 Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable admits that the Sir Menzies Campbell's position as party leader is "under discussion."
October 4 David Cameron on his party's policies and prospects, as rumours of an early general election continue to dominate the political scene.
September 25 The Foreign Secretary David Milliband on Burma - and the other key foreign policy challenges facing him in Iraq and Afghanistan.
September 19 Sir Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats, tells us from the party conference that there is no vacancy for the leadership and that the young turks don't worry him. August 30 Ahmed Yousef, a senior political adviser to Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas prime minister, tells Martha Kearney that his party has been holding secret talks with officials from the EU - whose public position is that Hamas is a terrorist organisation.
August 21 Mike Colbourne, the British Chief Adviser to the Iraqi police in Basra. He told us that members of the Iraqi force are involved in sectarian violence, including murder and kidnapping.
August 14 We spoke to Sir Emyr Jones Parry following his decision to step down as Britain's ambassador to the UN. He reflected on his four years at the organisation, starting with Iraq.
July 31 On Tuesday's programme we spoke to Ali Miraj - the outspoken former Conservative A-list candidate - who told us that David Cameron was trying to smear him.
July 26 The professional head of the UK's armed forces, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, tells us other countries should send more troops and other assistance to Afghanistan and predicts that Basra will be handed over to Iraqi control by the end of the year. Read the transcript.
July 23 Gabrielle Joyce, the Vice Chair of Ealing Southall Conservatives tells us she was shocked at having a candidate imposed upon them and that the idea of putting "David Cameron's Conservatives" on the ballot paper was "gimmicky".
July 11
On Wednesday's programme the Labour MP for Manchester Blackley Graham Stringer gave his response to Gordon Brown's announcement of a review into plans to build a super-casino in the city.
July 2 Lord Carlile, the Government's independent reviewer of terror legislation, tells us there may be a need to extend the pre-charge detention period from twenty-eight days and apply to the courts for more restrictive control orders on terror suspects. Civil liberty groups, he said, should wake up to the reality of the situation.
June 28
Thursday's programme came from Westminster as Gordon Brown started to put together his new cabinet. Shirley Williams, the Liberal Democrat peer, told us she was considering an offer to serve as an adviser to Mr Brown's new administration on the issue of nuclear proliferation
June 15
On Friday's programme Shaun Ley asked the Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett about the fighting in Gaza. It was her first broadcast interview since this latest bout of violence began. She defended the way the international community had dealt with the issue since the Palestinian elections last year.
June 6
Earlier in the week we looked at tensions between America and Russia over US plans to base part of a missile shield in Eastern Europe. President Putin has warned that the plan would prompt Moscow to point its own missiles at European cities and could trigger nuclear war. On Wednesday's programme, Martha Kearney spoke to Eric Edelman, the Undersecretary of Defence in the Bush government. She started off by asking him whether he thought relations between the White House and the Kremlin were in crisis?
May 30
We spoke to Sir Malcolm Rifkind, about the kidnapping of five Britons in Iraq.
May 21 We spoke to Foreign Minister, Kim Howells, about the situation in Afghanistan.
May 16 Martha Kearney spoke to David Cameron about why he prefers City Academies to Grammer Schools.
April 26 Sir John Nott, Defence Secretary during the Falklands War, warns that Prince Harry risks endangering the lives of fellow soldiers if he serves on the frontline in Iraq. He tells Martha Kearney that the circumstances had been different when he backed the Duke of York's active service during the Falklands.
April 20 As the Prime Minister rules out a referendum on changes in the way the EU is run, Brian Hanrahan asks the Europe Minister, Geoff Hoon, why the government no longer believe there needs to be a referendum on a future European treaty.
April 9 Following criticism of the decision of the Ministry of Defence to allow the detained sailors to sell their stories, the Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Adrian Jones tells Shaun Ley that the MoD is to review the rules because the current regulations are outdated.
April 5 Sir Michael Lyons, the new chairman of the BBC Trust tells Shaun Ley he will be the champion of the licence payer; and although he was once a Labour councillor, he insists he won't be a government crony.
March 22 The former Cabinet minister Peter Mandelson tells Brian Hanrahan that he will not be seeking re-appointment when his present term as the European Union's Trade Commissioner comes to an end. March 7 The Attorney General Lord Goldsmith tells Shaun Ley he has no regrets about going to court to stop the BBC from broadcasting a report on the police inquiry into the loans-for-peerages affair.
February 23
As the UK and US hold high level talks on the possibility of putting a "Son of Star Wars" missile defence system on British soil, the US deputy chief of mission in London, David Johnson says the US administration is primarily looking at the Czech Republic and Poland to locate the system.
August 18 Official papers obtained by The World at One, reveal that criticisms of a controversial NHS computer system - in a draft report by the National Audit Office - were weakened or withdrawn in the months before the report was published. Read the draft report of 26 January and the final report and listen to our interviews.
Listen again to some of the best interviews from past editions of The World at One
