Monthly Talk – Martha Kearney: A Career in Broadcasting

Martha Kearney is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster, best known for her six-year tenure presenting BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme. In 2024 Martha stepped down from Today to take up two new regular roles at Radio 4, fronting her own interview series This Natural Life, and joining the presenting team on Open Country.

In a career that spans almost 4 decades, Martha has presented several of the UKs longest-running political and current-affairs programmes. As well Today this includes BBC2’s Newsnight, nearly a decade at BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and eleven years hosting R4’s The World at One.

Beyond the newsroom, Martha has fronted documentaries about history, literature, nature, and art. Having kept her own bees, Martha’s passion for apiary has led to her fronting BBC Four’s Who Killed the Honey Bee and The Wonder of Bees with Martha Kearney and BBC Two’s Hive Alive.

Martha has won the Sony Radio Bronze Award and has been nominated for a BAFTA for her coverage of the Northern Ireland peace process. In 2025 Martha was awarded a CBE for her outstanding services to journalism and broadcasting.