The Story

This month German police have identified a convicted sex offender as a prime suspect in the case of the missing British girl - last seen in the Algarve in 2007. Guest:  David Collins, Sunday Times Northern Correspondent. Host: David Aaronovitch.  Clips: Sky News, ITV, ABC, BBC, 7NEWS Australia. Additional music: Jordan Powell, Chris Zabriskie (licenced under Creative Commons) Hosted...

For years, many elite black athletes felt they had to hold back from commenting on race and racism. Today multi-Olympic gold medallist Edwin Moses speaks out.  Host:  Manveen Rana. Guests: Edwin Moses, Double Olympic 400m Hurdles champion. David Walsh, Sunday Times Chief Sports Writer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A business offering instant loans to struggling small businesses has been accused of using aggressive and unethical tactics. 76-year-old widow Jill Eade acted as guarantor on a loan with the company. Now, she faces the prospect of homelessness, and repayments of up to 300 thousand pounds.  Guests:  Kenza Bryan, Money reporter for The Times and The Sunday Times. Jill Eade, guarantor...

What happened to the passengers and crew on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, when there was an outbreak of coronavirus in February?    Guests:  Katie Glass, feature writer for the Sunday Times. Host: David Aaronovitch. Clips: Sky, BBC, Channel 4 News, Princess Cruises Youtube channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Policing in the US is under the spotlight more than ever. A city in New Jersey has cut crime and won the support of its citizens by scrapping its police force and rebuilding from scratch. Could it be a blueprint to heal an angry nation? Guests:  Josh Glancy is Washington Bureau Chief for The Sunday Times. Host:  Manveen Rana. Clips: Fox, CNN, Comedy Central, MSNBC Hosted on Acast. S...

This week, statues have fallen like dominoes around the world, and a new discussion about the people commemorated in our public spaces has begun. We go back to Bristol where the week's events started, and learn why Colston's legacy is still so pervasive in the city. We also hear of a campaign to replace Colston with a statue of some very different figures from the city's past. Guests:  Marvin...

The Royal Family have been in the headlines a lot during this pandemic - not always for the right reasons. But has the pandemic changed the Windsor's relationship to the public forever?  Guests:  Roya Nikkhah, The Sunday Times Royal Correspondent. Host: Manveen Rana. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first weeks of lockdown we saw Brits come together in a show of astonishing unity. But a new poll reveals divisions are emerging. What could this change of heart mean for the UK's future?  Guests:  Bobby Duffy, professor of Public Policy and Director of the Policy Institute, King's College London. Presenter: David Aaronovitch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...

Last week Britain offered a possible route to citizenship for around three million Hong Kong residents. Why might that be needed? As Beijing passes a new national security law which could undermine Hong Kong's freedoms, we speak to a veteran pro-democracy campaigner on what has changed in the territory.  Guests:  Didi Tang, Times' Beijing correspondent. Emily Lau, former member...

Is lockdown an opportunity for police to tackle crime differently? We meet the police commander behind a new initiative, where officers visit criminals in lock down and try and turn their life around.  Guests:  Fiona Hamilton, Crime and Security Editor for the Times. Alex Murray, commander for specialist crime in London. Host: David Aaronovitch.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...

As rioting and protests continue to engulf the United States, we examine President Trump's reaction to the demonstrations. How did previous American presidents respond in similar circumstances? Guests:  David Charter, US editor of the Times. Kailee Scales, Managing Director of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. Host:  Manveen Rana.  Clips: CBS, UVA Miller Centre, ABC, New...

The Government has U-turned on its controversial plans to end remote voting in Parliament, following a backlash from MPs, who feared this would be discriminatory against vulnerable and elderly Members. Today we ask: if the world has changed because of coronavirus, is it time Parliament did too? Guests: Ester Webber, political reporter for The Times Red Box email.  Dame Margaret Hodge, La...

We are now entering the 'test and trace' phase of fighting the pandemic where we could use our smartphones to keep us all safe from a second spike. One UK population has been chosen as guinea pigs for the rest of us to see if it really works: enter the residents of the Isle of Wight.  Guests:  Tom Knowles, Times technology correspondent. Rosamund Urwin, senior reporter at The S...

Protests and riots have been sparked across the US by the killing of George Floyd. Floyd, an unarmed black man, was filmed dying as a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes while he was handcuffed and pinned down in the road. Today we bring you stories from Minneapolis, where civil unrest continues.  Guests:  Will Pavia, New York correspondent for The Times. Laura...

As Primary Schools across the country begin to reopen today we examine the moral dilemma parents and teachers face. Guests:  Sian Griffiths, Education and Families Editor at The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Clips: BBC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can we learn about the Prime Minister's chief adviser from his own words? Guests:  Ian Leslie, writer and journalist. Steven Swinford, The Times' Deputy Political Editor. Hosts: Manveen Rana and David Aaronovitch. Clips: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky News, The Telegraph.  Additional music by Meydän, Daniel Birch, Chris Zabriskie and Jordan Powell used under Creative Commons licence. Host...

A local mayor in Prague is in police hiding following reports that agents from Russia plotted to have him assassinated. It’s an international incident that began when the mayor removed a statue honouring a Russian World War Two military hero. Guests:  Ondřej Kolář is the district mayor of Prague. Edward Lucas is a columnist for The Times, and a former foreign correspondent based in Prague. Ho...

We’re almost six months into the pandemic. But how close are we to developing the cure we all so desperately want? We meet a participant in one of the hundreds of trials happening around the world.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More than three decades on from the assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, new evidence has been brought to light that may reveal the identity of his killer. But after 34 years and thousands of theories, will we ever get an answer that truly satisfies everyone?   Guests: Oliver Moody, Berlin Correspondent, The Times.  Henrik Berggren, a Swedish historian and biographer...

Britain has the worst coronavirus death toll in Europe despite the government insisting they followed the best scientific advice. The Sunday Times Insight team brings you the inside story into what went wrong for the UK.    Guests: Jonathan Calvert, Insight Editor, The Sunday Times. George Arbuthnott, Deputy Insight Editor, The Sunday Times. With additional reporting from: Jonathan Leake...

The Prime Minister of Lesotho has resigned amid accusations that he was involved in the murder of his estranged wife. His third wife is also set to stand trial over her alleged involvement in the murder plot. We dive into the politics of the small African kingdom of Lesotho.   Guests: Witness, anonymous. Lebohang Totanyana, former Minister of Mining in Lesotho. Barnaby Mitchell, BBC camera op...

With experts suggesting that long term lock down will negatively affect our mental health, we ask: what can we all do to bring delight and joy into our lives during the crisis?  Guests:  Laurie Santos, Professor of Psychology at Yale University Sanjay Shewakramani, Emergency Department doctor Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Care home deaths in England and Wales now account for forty percent of all deaths from coronavirus - and one result has been a political row. Why have things gone wrong for our most vulnerable citizens and the people who care for them?   Guests: Greg Hurst, social affairs editor at The Times. Irene Owen, a 91-year-old resident of Devonshire Court in Leicestershire. Sonja Bell, daugh...

When Lee Solomon set up his funeral home, he had one mission: to give families the sendoff they really wanted. But now that's no longer possible. For a month Lee has been keeping an audio diary for us, chronicling the experience of running a funeral home during the Covid-19 outbreak and the hardships that come with it. Guest: Lee Solomon runs 'Lilies Funeral Directors' in Sutton Coldfield. Host:&n...

The Sunday Times rich list has published the names of the wealthiest people in Britain since 1989. Today we meet its compiler to find out who reached the top this year and explore what drives them. Guest: Rob Watts, Compiler of The Sunday Times Rich. Host: Manveen Rana. More on Rich List here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/sunday-times-rich-list Archive: Youtube (Richard Branson), E! Red Carpet...