Today - 15/04/2009

Presented by James Naughtie and Sarah Montague. David Bonser, of Westinghouse Electric, says new nuclear power stations will produce less waste than existing facilities. Lawyer Debaleena Dasgupta discusses the new regulations on investigating rape. Professor Simone Buitendijk discusses the results of a study on the safety of home births. Reporter Sanchia Berg visits former car manufacturer Shaun Fenwick, who is retraining as a fitness instructor. Schools Secretary Ed Balls considers if, as the Conservatives say, it is too difficult to exclude disruptive pupils permanently and discusses the Damian McBride email slur row. Professor Ben Leimkuhler and Prof Andrew Cairns discuss some of the numerical challenges presented by modern science. Thought for the day with the Right Reverend James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool. The UN special representative for Somalia Ahmedou Ould Abdallah considers whether Somalia's piracy problem can be brought under control. Commentator Alan Green and former Home Secretary David Blunkett discuss the legacy of the Hillsborough disaster. Charles Suckling, a ferry passenger stuck in Dunkirk, and Chris Laming, a spokesman for P&O, describe the repercussions of the protests by French fishermen at the three main French Channel ports. Historians Margaret Macmillan and Dominic Sandbrook discuss if historians spend too much time arguing amongst themselves. Professor Joseph Nye discusses how North Korea's announcement that it is resuming its nuclear programme will affect the US. Jerry Aplin, head of design and technology at a large secondary school in Devon, discusses his experience with disruptive pupils. Duncan Kennedy reports on the cuts in culture budgets in Italy. Correspondent Quentin Somerville and Dr Yiyi Lu, of the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House, discuss the life of Chinese reformist Hu Yaobang.