Today - 09/12/2008

Presented by James Naughtie and Evan Davis. Justin Webb explains the details of an expected $15billion bail-out of US car firms. Sarah Rainsford and Dr Othon Anastasakis discuss the riots in Greece. What impact will the government's clampdown on the sale of cigarettes have on small shopkeepers? Reporter Bob Walker speaks to newsagent Jinderpaur Sangha. Nick Higham reports on Britain's first vacuum-powered refuse collection system. Prof Michael Clarke, of the Royal United Services Institute in London, says that under the Geneva Convention, Blackwater guards could be viewed as mercenaries. Nick Bryant listens to some of Shane Warne: The Musical. Thought for the day with the Right Rev James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool. David Cameron says the government's plan for a 20 billion pound tax giveaway is a mistake. Health Secretary Alan Johnson and Chris Ogden, of the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association, discuss if banning tobacco displays is the latest step towards making smoking tobacco illegal. Oliver Postgate, the creator of children's programmes The Clangers, Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog and Bagpuss, has died at the age of 83. Controller of Cbeebies Michael Carrington and Sandra Kerr, the voice of Madeleine and the mice in Bagpuss, remember a creative mind. Irish minister Dick Roche says Ireland will have a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Nicola Stanbridge reports on the bankers turning to music to pay the bills. Literary editor Boyd Tonkin and professor of Renaissance Studies Gordon Campbell discuss the legacy of Milton. Bagpuss creator Oliver Postgate is remembered by listeners. Juergen Zimmerer, of the University of Sheffield, and human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC discuss the UN's Genocide Convention.