Is democracy dying?

Why are younger voters around the world turning their back on
democracy in favour of strongman leaders who are prepared to defy
parliaments?


In a year when more than two billion people in 50 countries will
go to the polls – the biggest global election year in history –
Amol and Nick talk to Lord Gus O’Donnell, the former head of the
civil service who has been travelling the world looking for ways
of restoring trust in democracy.


And they also hear from Ravish Kumar, a news anchor in India who
fell foul of Narendra Modi’s government – with career-threatening
consequences.


Plus – just what role did Nick play in one of the most
consequential press conferences of the former coalition
government?


Episodes of The Today Podcast land every Thursday and watch out
for bonus episodes. Subscribe on BBC Sounds to get Amol and
Nick's take on the biggest stories of the week, with insights
from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news
programme.


If you would like a question answering, get in touch by sending
us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 or
email us Today@bbc.co.uk


The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson, both
presenters of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the UK’s most
influential radio news programme. Amol was the BBC’s media editor
for six years and is the former editor of the Independent, he’s
also the current presenter of University Challenge. Nick has
presented the Today programme since 2015, he was the BBC’s
political editor for ten years before that and also previously
worked as ITV’s political editor.


The senior producer is Tom Smithard, the producer is Joshua
Tindall. Technical production from Jake Graysmark. The editors
are Jonathan Aspinwall and Louisa Lewis. The executive producer
is Owenna Griffiths.