04.07.2011 21:29

What's on?: Today

Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme Today has been on the air for more than 50 years. Although the format has changed through the decades, it has now settled in to a three-hour weekday format starting at 6am and finishing at 9am, from Monday to Friday and starting an hour later on Saturday for only two hours. There is a roster of five regular presenters: Evan Davies, John Humphries, Sarah Montague, James Naughtie and Justin Webb. Throughout the programme, there are the usual sections of news, weather, sports, business, parliament and summaries of the day's newspaper stories. But there are two particular slots which make the Today programme noteworthy (and, at times, controversial).

The first is Thought for the Day, which is featured around 7.45am. This is a three-minute talk on a theological theme. While the majority of the speakers are Christian, there are other popular religious speakers, most notably Rabbi Lionel Blue. The religious nature of the slot has caused listeners to accuse the BBC of being out of date with the country, particularly by ignoring atheism.

The second special slot is the 8.10 interview. This is usually the longest and toughest interview of the programme where listeners can hear members of the government battling with one of the Today's presenters. The often confrontational style of the presenters, primarily John Humphries, has proved a challenging ground for government or business representatives to put across their argument.

Yet the Today programme remains very popular, being the most listened to programme on Radio 4. It has also won prizes for the quality of its reporting.

Why not tune in on weekday mornings between 6am and 9am, or on Saturday from 7am (UK time) and find out whether you'll be annoyed, intrigued or just simply informed. Just click here:

And if you want to find out how Today is put together every day, then watch this video (you need the current version of the flash player for it):