Today - 06/05/2009

Presented by John Humphrys and Sarah Montague. Ministers are set to confirm that a voluntary scheme for controversial ID cards will launch in Manchester. Dr Edgar Whitley, of the London School of Economics, explains why he has been warning about the cost of the scheme for the past four years. Dr Jonathan Smart demonstrates what a new mannequin designed to train medical students can do. Shock-jock Michael Savage has reacted to his name being appearing on a list of people banned from entering the UK for fostering extremism or hatred by threatening to sue the UK. Martin Patience and Zubeida Malik discuss the state of the Taleban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Sports news with Garry Richardson. Children's Secretary Ed Balls discusses how children at risk can be better protected by the state. Author Chloe Hooper explains a dark past belonging to some Australian islands. Thought for the Day with Oliver McTernan, director of the NGO Forward Thinking. Correspondent Barbara Plett and US Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker discuss the US pressure on Islamabad to counter the Taleban. Home affairs correspondent Rory Maclean reports on how the pilot scheme for identity cards in Manchester will work. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling and former head of the Association of Chief Police Officers Chris Fox discuss whether the ID card scheme should be scrapped. The Ministry of Defence is helping to launch a range of toys based on British soldiers, sailors and airmen. Former SAS soldier Andy McNab discusses the 10 inch-tall articulated dolls. Journalists Peter Sands and Roy Greenslade discuss how regional newspapers can survive. A play based around the murder of James Bulger - the toddler beaten to death by two boys 16 years ago - is opening in London. Reporter Jack Izzard attends the rehearsals to consider objections to the play from the charity Mothers Against Murder and Aggression. Author Blake Morrison discusses the background of the murder. Synthetic biology - the idea of manipulating DNA and building novel organisms from scratch - is a vital area of research and more money is needed to reap the rewards of its findings, a report claims. Author of the report Professor Richard Kitney, of Imperial College, London, discusses why he believes this research is important. Swine flu has filled a lot of column inches in the papers and a lot of minutes in the news programmes. It has even inspired some poetry. The poet responsible, Felix Dennis, explains why flu is a good subject for a poem. Amos Oz is one of Israel's most celebrated living authors. He is renowned not just for his novels, but also for his searing critiques of Israeli government policy. Middle East correspondent Tim Franks talks to Mr Oz about why Israelis must have other proclivities beyond the conflict in the region.