The Story

Throughout Cuba, fuel shortages, blackouts, and food scarcity have become the norm. Since the US intervention in Venezuela in January, the oil lifeline into Cuba has all but dried up. Trump is now claiming that Cuba is on the brink of collapse. As the war in Iran rages on unabated – is this American neighbour his next target? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The...

From the shadowy corners of incel forums, a new obsession was quietly emerging. To succeed, financially, socially and sexually, you need to level up your face and frame. Enter “Looksmaxxing”, the idea that how you look can be engineered to perfection to maximise your full aesthetic potential. It's a TikTok-fuelled culture of mogging, "bone-smashing", and glow-ups - and a way for young men to measu...

In 1938, Catherine Duleep Singh, goddaughter of Queen Victoria and daughter of the last Maharajah of Punjab, personally secured the escape of Jewish families to Britain, saving them from the Holocaust. Her story didn’t end there, she became a prominent suffragette, fighting for women’s rights while navigating life in exile. We explore her remarkable courage, activism, and the lives she forever cha...

Peter Mandelson’s disastrous few months continue apace, after the government released a tranche of documents that tell us a lot about his hiring - and firing - as ambassador to the US. So what’s in the files? And what does it all say about the judgment of the Prime Minister? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://...

As Iran continues to attack its Gulf neighbours could the strikes turn into a wider war? Who might be drawn in? And with Iran hitting friends as well as foes, how will this war reshape the Middle East and its relationship with the US? Our listener survey is live - find it here . This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: htt...

War in the Middle East has caused oil and gas prices to soar and sent the markets into turmoil. But why does oil still have such a powerful influence over the cost of household goods? And what has history taught us about how wars are waged when oil holds such sway? Our listener survey is live - find it here . This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sun...

Iran has appointed a new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. He’s the son of the late Ali Khamenei and a shadowy figure with a history of orchestrating brutal crackdowns on dissenters. President Donald Trump is also not a fan. So what does his appointment mean for the conflict raging in the Middle East?  Our listener survey is live - find it  here . This podcast was brought to you thanks t...

The use of Artificial Intelligence by militaries used to be talked about in the abstract, but during the US and Israel’s strikes on Iran we’ve seen it used in real time. So what happens when you have robots who can make battlefield decisions quicker than the speed of thought? And what made the Trump administration fall out with one of the world’s leading AI companies? Our listener survey is live -...

Thirty years after her death, Frida Kahlo went from relative obscurity to one of the most famous female artists on the planet. Now, her image has been used on everything from watches, scented candles, clothes, sanitary pads, and even Barbie dolls. But how did the communist icon become the face of a million dollar enterprise? At the centre of the story is a Kahlo family divided. Should her ima...

The war in Iran has left its people divided. Some openly welcome the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, others mourn, steadfast in their loyalty to the Islamic Republic. The divisions run deep, cutting across generations. Majid Parsa grew up in one such household. He tells his story. Our listener survey is live - find it  here . This podcast was brought to you thanks to the suppo...

As the war in the Middle East enters its seventh day, prominent supporters of President Trump have criticised his decision to attack Iran. The political stakes are high for a president who pledged no new wars on the campaign trail. So can he keep the MAGA crowd on his side? Our listener survey is live - find it  here . This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Ti...

When the Mexican government took down a drug lord last week, the Sunday Times was there to document the aftermath. Does this mark a turning point in the war on drugs? Or are things about to get much worse?  A warning that this episode contains descriptions of graphic violence.  Our listener survey is live - find it here . This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers o...

Last month, Sir Keir Starmer made it clear that the US would not be permitted to use UK bases to launch strikes against Iran. On Sunday, that position shifted. Not only has the UK now allowed the use of joint bases, it is also intercepting Iranian drones, and sources have told The Times that a British warship may be deployed to Cyprus. As tensions in the Middle East escalate, is Britain being draw...

After weeks of protests against Ayatollah Khamenei’s regime earlier this year, the Iranian people cried out for American help as they were massacred in their thousands. Over the weekend, the Americans and Israelis did finally intervene in Iran, killing the Ayatollah, but leaving a flood of questions in their wake. Who will now fill the political vacuum? Will there be regime change? And what next f...

For decades, a chilling rumour has haunted Sarajevo: that foreign tourists paid to visit the besieged city in the early 1990s to shoot at its residents. Today, Italian authorities are investigating several cases of alleged ‘tourist snipers,’ thrusting these accusations back into the headlines. Now, an eyewitness to these so-called ‘human safaris’ has spoken to The Times about what he saw more than...

Early on Saturday morning, the US and Israel launched a wave of attacks on Iran, killing the supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Iran has retaliated, with strikes reported in the UAE, Qatar and across the region. But will Trump get his regime change or could Iran become just another failed state? And is the middle east on the brink of all-out war? Our listener survey is live - find it here . This p...

From men wanting to buy her breast milk, to going undercover in the IVF wild west, investigative journalist and author Alev Scott has immersed herself in the murky, and often unregulated world of fertility. What she found was a trillion dollar industry, where the maternal body is a hot commodity. It also raised some serious ethical questions: How much, if anything, should breastmilk cost? Who shou...

The end of Britain’s political duopoly now looks complete, as Labour suffers a catastrophic by-election defeat to the Greens in Gorton and Denton. Reform comes second, while the Tories lose their deposit with just 2% of the vote. Keir Starmer is now a prisoner of the left, and Britain is undergoing a tectonic realignment of its electoral politics. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the supp...

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After a six-month-long investigation into maternity care in England, the government has published its initial findings. The report reveals a catalog of failures at 12 NHS trusts – from inadequate staffing and poor facilities to racial discrimination. So what do bereaved families make of the findings? And can this broken system be fixed? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of read...

First Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested, then Peter Mandelson. The fallout has been swift, dramatic, and is still unfolding. Hosts Manveen Rana and Luke Jones answer your biggest questions about the two men and what comes next.  Neither men have been changed and they both deny any wrongdoing. We don’t know what evidence was used in their arrests.  This podcast was brought to you th...

On Monday, the government released its plan to reform SEND, the system that supports children with special educational needs and disabilities, in England. It’s used by around one in five children and Keir Starmer is promising £4 billion over 3 years to overhaul it. But what’s changed, who’s affected and how will the government pay for it? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of re...

Four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine is still fighting – but the strain is visible. How has the conflict changed since those first days of war? Why would a free and fair election in Ukraine be so difficult? And is peace even conceivable? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory...

Over the past decade, thousands of families say they have been failed by England's maternity services. With a review into 12 NHS trusts due to publish its interim findings this week, we hear from some of those affected. What went wrong? And can future tragedies can be prevented? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: htt...

Jesse Jackson, the civil rights firebrand, preacher, and two-time presidential candidate rose from segregated South Carolina to the front lines of America’s fight for justice. Marching alongside Martin Luther King Jr. , Jackson transformed protest into political power, inspiring generations and paved the way to the first black president. We take a look at his influential, and controversial life. G...