Amol Rajan can stop panicking – he’s given the sleepy Today show a long overdue wake-up call

Amol Rajan popped up on Radio 4 at 6am like bread from a toaster: “Hello!” It was his first morning joining the presenting team for Today, Radio 4’s flagship news and current affairs programme. Rajan later confessed on Twitter that he had been sickeningly nervous about his first day in his new job, to the extent that he'd had a panic attack the night before, unable to sleep. He calmed down only with the help of a talking-to from his wife and “three massive rums”.

None of that panic was apparent during his first morning’s broadcasting, however. Rajan’s background is largely in print journalism as a former editor of The Independent newspaper, though he has already proved himself to be a sharp character on radio as the BBC’s media editor and as a stand-in on several daytime Radio 2 shows. On Today, which can have an unfortunate tendency to tread a path somewhere between sedate and harrumphing, Rajan’s energy already makes him a refreshing addition to the team.

It was a good idea to pair him with the calming influence of serene co-presenter Justin Webb for day one. But, in a show of confidence in the latest signing, Rajan was given the plum 8.10am interview slot, traditionally the part of the programme with the most listeners and the most high-profile interviewee. This time it was Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary. Rajan interviewed him alongside Alex, a small business owner, and chaired a conversation between the two of them about how the government had been helping small businesses and what more could be done.

The 8.10am slot can be an exercise in posturing, but on this morning it felt constructive. When speaking to Kwarteng, Rajan listened closely and asked good questions.

Rajan might, however, try to slow down his speech. Maybe it was just nerves, but he almost swallowed some questions. Rajan’s mind clearly works at high speed; he just needs to remember that not all of Today’s listeners have quite woken up yet. Taking more time over his best points would give them proper weight. His diction isn't always clear (as someone else who grew up in Greater London, I have the same problem); his questions and points are all relevant and elegantly phrased, and we’d hear them better if he slowed down.

And better than the Kwarteng interview was the moment 40 minutes earlier when Rajan interviewed Ben McOwen Wilson, the managing director of YouTube for the UK and Ireland. McOwen Wilson had come on the programme to speak proudly about YouTube’s current initiative, a Covid-19 vaccine advertising campaign in partnership with the NHS. Perhaps McOwen Wilson was expecting a chance to show off.

Media news is, however, Rajan’s speciality, and he was all over it. He picked up McOwen Wilson on YouTube’s deletion of vaccine-sceptical content. “A lot of people would say you must have a pretty dim view of free thought and free speech if you’re gonna be policing what people say about vaccines,” said Rajan. Where was this going? Into a sting: “You sound to me, Ben, and increasingly to me, like a journalist. You sound like you’re making editorial calls… So even if you don’t think of yourselves as journalists, you are crossing an intellectual and editorial boundary.”

It was a good point, and one that is a serious and evolving issue for YouTube and other tech companies. Rajan revealed a topical news story’s wider complexities and implications, exactly as the BBC’s flagship current affairs programme should do.

Rajan doesn’t need to have any more panic attacks about handling the Today programme. He’s already flying.