Today's show starts with a recording of the recent UK Deputy Prime Minister's statement that the Iraq war is illegal, and reflects on its handling by the media. It continues with an adaptation for radio of Gwynne Dyer's 1983 Canadian mini-series, The Deadly Game of Nations, about why nation states feel the need to keep armies and fight wars. This includes recordings made in various countries, but concentrates on Israel as the clearest example to show the close connection between statehood and the waging of war.

The second hour starts with a note of light relief - Flanders and Swan's cheery riposte to all those whose slavish chant is that "there has always been war". It returns to the sombre theme of today's show by adapting The Profession of Arms, another film by Gwynne Dyer about how professional soldiers think about themselves and their job, how they manage to killing people during combat but retain some resistance to killing during peace time.

Credits: Thanks to Gwynne Dyer for such source material. Thanks to Alex "The Speakers" for notifying me about Nick Clegg.