Sensemaker

Last year Boris Johnson announced a lockdown and Christmas was cancelled. This time round, things are looking up. But as food, fuel and toy shortages worsen, will Christmas be cancelled again? You can get the Sensemaker newsletter as an email delivered to your inbox once a day. It’s our editors’ pick of the stories that matter most right now, and why, in brief. You can  sign up here for free...

After the Taliban took over in Afghanistan, the UK agreed to take thousands of refugees. What's happening to them? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Right wing extremists have started to turn to cryptocurrencies as they've been sidelined by big financial institutions. But they might prosper in the shadows. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pfizer makes one of the most important vaccines against Covid-19. Did it go beyond supporting its own vaccine and start undermining others? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After almost three years, a tit-for-tat row over the arrest of a Huawei executive for fraud has finally come to an end. Two men called Michael paid a heavy price. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A shocking report into the birth and death of a baby in prison has sparked a debate about whether prison can ever be a safe place for pregnant women. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heidi Crowter has Down's Syndrome. She fought to change a UK law which allows women with a Down's baby to have an abortion much later in pregnancy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The streaming giant has bought the rights to Roald Dahl’s estate. Is this the start of a new cinematic universe?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The looming energy crisis erupted this week. Gas prices rocketed and more energy suppliers went bust. So why didn't we see it coming? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Apple and Google removed a voting app developed by the Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, just as Russians head to the polls. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

GB News faces an uncertain future. Its star and chairman, Andrew Neil, has left. Viewer figures make for grim reading. So is there an audience for an 'anti-woke', Fox News style channel? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The story of Shamima Begum is one of the most notorious examples of radicalisation in Britain. Now she’s back in the news, why is her appearance getting so much attention? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When an internal presentation by Instagram was leaked this week, it showed the social media giant knows how harmful its platform can be. So why aren't they being transparent about it? The aim of the Molly Rose Foundation is suicide prevention, targeted towards young people under the age of 25. The foundation connects those suffering with the help, support and practical advice they need: https://mo...

... so how is Boris Johnson going to prepare for the possible rise in Covid cases? This week, he announced his plan. The question is: will it work, and will we avoid another lockdown? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The UK's home secretary, Priti Patel, has announced plans to authorise "pushbacks" of migrant boats in the English Channel. It is a policy condemned as dangerous and... possibly, illegal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arsene Wenger, the former Arsenal manager, is leading the charge to hold the World Cup every two years not four. Is this an innovation too far from one of football's change-makers? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Syria descended into a bloody and brutal civil war ten years ago, many multinational companies pulled out of the country. One stayed. Now, it's facing allegations that it was complicit in crimes against humanity.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

El Salvador has become the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender. Will it come to regret its decision? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There was a real concern at the start of the pandemic that lockdowns would lead to a spike in suicides. But recent figures show an opposite trend. It’s a positive shift, but the question is: why? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The government has just put up National Insurance to help pay for the NHS to recover from Covid and to improve social care. Did they choose to increase that particular tax because a lot of us don't know what it is? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Schools in England have gone back this week, and there's real worry about a surge in Covid infections. What can we learn from what's happened to infections this summer? You can get the Sensemaker newsletter as an email delivered to your inbox once a day. It’s our editors’ pick of the stories that matter most right now, and why, in brief. You can  sign up here for free .  Or, if you’d lik...

A big opioid case has been settled in court. Purdue Pharma, one of the drugs companies behind the opioid epidemic has been dissolved, and the family that ran it agreed to pay a mammoth $4.5 billion court settlement. The payout will go to help victims of the crisis, but is money enough? What about justice? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Kabul fell, the Foreign Secretary tripped up. Dominic Raab was famously on holiday. But was it an accident that he became front-page news? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Orleans gets its fair share of hurricanes and Hurricane Ida was one of the biggest. But it did less damage and killed fewer people than Hurricane Katrina. Is New Orleans finally learning the lessons of past disasters? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Molly Mae turned reality TV into real success Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.