The Story

Last month the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke on US television urging voters to come out for the November presidential election. For some, they were getting involved in politics and overstepping the mark. For others, the couple were just expressing themselves in their new roles. So, who's right? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. S...

The Green New Deal is a divisive idea for the economies of the future, derided by the right as ill thought out, its left wing proponents see it as a way of saving the environment while keeping up economic growth. Manveen Rana has been speaking to the co-authors of a new book on the subject, Professors Robert Pollin and Noam Chomsky. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers...

Life in lockdown has left many dreaming of an escape from the 9 to 5, the office, the commute, just our own living rooms. Thom D’Arcy is one who got away from it all when he left on a sailing trip in 2016 and only just returned. Guests:  Thom D’Arcy, sailor. Host: Manveen Rana.  " Somnolence " by Kai Engel is licensed under CC BY 4.0 (looped from original) " The road we use to travel whe...

The last two reporters working in China for Australian media have flown home after a drawn out diplomatic standoff. Their exit means for the first time since the mid-1970s, there are no accredited Australian journalists in the country. Why have relations between Australia and China deteriorated? Guests:  Bernard Lagan, The Times Australia correspondent.  Mike Smith, China corre...

On paper, he’s a success — he’s nailed life’s goals. So why is Matt Rudd, and so many middle-aged men like him, unhappy?   Guests: Matt Rudd, Deputy Editor of The Sunday Times Magazine, columnist and author of Man Down.   Host: Luke Jones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During lockdown those living alone have faced greater risk, not only to their health but also their finances. According to the Dementia Society the condition has worsened for many during the pandemic, and the isolation of lockdown has also exposed many to telephone scams. Guests: David Byers, Times Money Deputy Editor. Paula Saunderson, cares for her mother. Host: David Aaronovitch. Clip used...

It's been six months since MPs voted for the Coronavirus Act, a set of laws that gave the government sweeping powers over almost every aspect of daily life. Now a rebellion is brewing. Some MPs want more of a say over the prime minister's coronavirus strategy.  Guests:  Steven Swinford, Deputy Political Editor, The Times. Steve Baker, Conservative MP for Wycombe. Host: Ross Kempsell...

She was a top Soviet spy and a colonel in the Red Army, who had plotted to kill Hitler and sent secrets from the British atomic bomb programme to Stalin. So how did Agent Sonya - or Mrs Burton to her neighbours - evade MI5 for so long? Guests:  Ben Macintyre, associate editor and columnist, The Times, and author of Agent Sonya: Lover, Mother, Soldier, Spy. Rosa Ellis, interactive journal...

On Friday, US Supreme court justice and 87-year old five foot pop culture icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. With her passing, a prized vacancy on the highest and most influential court in the US has opened up. Who is going to fill it and what will it mean for the future of American politics? Guest: Henry Zefffman, Washington Correspondent for The Times. Host: Luke Jones. Clips used: BBC, The Ken...

Tensions between Greece and Turkey have reignited this summer over a gas dispute, with the country's leaders trading rhetorical blows. But how precarious is the situation and could they be sleep-walking into a war in the Mediterranean? Guest:  Hannah Lucinda-Smith, The Times' Istanbul Correspondent.  Host: Manveen Rana. Clips used: Aljazeera, France24, DWNews. Hosted...

A Holyrood committee investigating the Scottish government's handling of complaints against Alex Salmond has continued to make headlines. But what does it mean for the future of the SNP and Scottish Independence?  Guest:  Kieran Andrews, The Times' Scottish political editor.  Host: Manveen Rana. Clips used: Scottish Parliament, BBC, 5 News, Telegraph, Guardian, The Nine (BBC Sc...

In an event exclusively for subscribers to The Times and The Sunday Times via Times+, Kim Darroch, former UK Ambassador to the US, has a conversation with Manveen Rana. Find out more here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the UK, 60,000 people have reported coronavirus symptoms that last more than three months. Artist Monique Jackson is one of them. What do we know about long covid, and how is the COVID Symptom Study app helping us fill in the blanks? Guests: Monique Jackson, artist with long tail covid. Prof Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, co founder of ZOE Covid Symptom...

With less than 50 days until the US presidential election, Donald Trump's relationship with the US military has become strained. But how is the fallout impacting his hopes of returning to the White House? Guests:  Henry Zeffman, Washington Correspondent, The Times. Admiral James Stavridis, Retired US Navy admiral and Former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. Host: Manveen Rana.  Clip...

Today: the story of one French athlete with dreams of attending the Olympics. Her hopes were put in jeopardy when she was accused of doping, but everything is not as it seems.  Host: David Aaronovitch.  Guest: Adam Sage, Paris correspondent for The Times.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does Andrew Wakefield’s pseudoscience help us understand our modern post-truth crisis? Guest: Brian Deer, former Sunday Times investigative reporter, author of The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Andrew Wakefield's War on Vaccines. Host: David Aaronovitch.  Clips used: Channel 5 and ET Canada.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A sudden rise in coronavirus cases has sparked alarm and a strengthening of public health measures. As of today, much of the UK is living by "the rule of six". Could this be the beginning of a second wave? Guest:  Tom Whipple, science editor, The Times.   Host:  Manveen Rana.  Clips: Times Radio, CBS News, Sky News, BBC News. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...

When Sunday Times journalist Decca Aitkenhead went to report from a Jamaican magic mushrooms retreat last year, she arrived a sceptic – but left feeling profoundly changed. Guest: Decca Aitkenhead, chief interviewer, The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anthony Fauci is the most important doctor in America, and he's the public face of the battle against Covid-19 in the US. Does President Trump listen to his advice? Guest:   Rhys Blakely, science correspondent, The Times.   Host: Manveen Rana.  Clips used: CNN, NBC, MSNBC, Sky News, US National Library of Medicine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...

On August 20th, Russia's most prominent opposition politician was taken ill on a flight after a suspected Novichok poisoning. Alexei Navalny was put into an induced coma and flown to Germany. What does this latest incident mean? And why was Angela Merkel's government keen to take him to Berlin?  Guest:  Edward Lucas, Times columnist.  Host:  Manveen Rana. Clips: The Sun, D...

Brexit’s back. Trade talks resume today following two bombshells: a leak that Downing Street is preparing to tear up parts of the Withdrawal Agreement, and the prime minister’s statement that no deal would be a "good outcome" for the UK. Is Britain headed for no deal? Guest: Oliver Wright, policy editor, The Times.  Host: Manveen Rana. Clips: Sky, BBC, Euronews, DW News. Hosted on Acast. See...

What are the longterm effects of Covid-19? Times’ journalist Roger Boyes spent weeks under sedation in the intensive care unit after being diagnosed with covid-19 in March. He is one of the thousands who were put on a ventilator for lifesaving treatment at the height of the pandemic. Guests: Roger Boyes, Times Diplomatic Editor. Dr Joel Meyer, ICU consultant. Dr Alex Quigley, clinical psychol...

Jeremy Corbyn’s journey from the backbenches to party leader is well known. But this week sees the publication of a book that takes us down the other side of the slope, and shows how, late last year, the Corbyn project imploded. Guests:  Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall correspondent, The Sunday Times. Patrick Maguire, Red Box reporter, The Times. They are both the authors of "Left Out: The Inside...

As students all around the country return to school we explore the issues facing pupils, teachers and parents. Guests:  Sian Griffiths, Sunday Times Education and Families editor. Host: Manveen Rana.  Clips used: BBC, The Sun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Britain went into lockdown fears about health infection rates and the catastrophic impact on the economy set in, but something else was taking hold. We've been speaking to the anti-racism charity, The Monitoring Group, and they've noticed an alarming trend: a rise in racist hate crime.  Guests: Suresh Grover, The Monitoring Group. Dorothea Jones, The Monitoring Group. Host: Manveen Ra...