The Briefing Room

For previous generations, coupling was something only trains did. Then it became a word to describe the business of finding a partner. An important business for the future of the species. But today in the developed world - and even beyond - the data shows that coupling is significantly down. Increasingly, people are just not forming those relationships. There are all kinds of theories out there no...

Two weeks ago a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Americans and the Iranians aiming at ending a bomb, missile-and-drone conflict that has lasted four months. Victory has been claimed by everyone and on behalf of everyone. So is the US/Israeli/Iranian war effectively over bar the seemingly inevitable bombast? If so did anyone win? On what terms? And where does it leave the rest of...

The war between Russia and Ukraine has shifted closer to Moscow. In the past week Ukraine has sent drones, made by Ukraine, to Moscow. While many were intercepted, 3 people died when an apartment block was hit. For many Russians the war - or special military operation as President Putin calls it - has been far away. But not any longer. At the same time though, Russia continues to hit cities across...

It's ten years since the Briefing Room was first transmitted in May 2016. And what a decade it's been. To mark the tenth anniversary the programme looks at the biggest changes at home and abroad since that momentous day in British broadcasting. We’ve had Brexit, a pandemic, the Gaza war, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Donald Trump - twice. It is hard to remember such a time. So David Aaronovi...

A month ago the Artemis II crew landed safely in the Pacific Ocean, completing their historic space mission to the far side of the moon. It’s been several decades since the last human mission to the moon - although this time there was no landing. However, the 4 astronauts travelled further from earth than any human ever has so far. David Aaronovitch asks his guests whether space exploration is bac...

Ask Claude a question, Google a query, order from Amazon, chat with mates on WhatsApp, tune in to Youtube. And where ever you do it from, you’ll never be somehow not in America. Because Britain, like Europe is dependent on US tech and as the AI revolution unfolds, governments are increasingly worried about it. The new buzz phrase is digital sovereignty. But what does that mean? Is it even feasible...

It’s almost two months since the United States and Israel went to war with Iran. And in spite of a ceasefire the vital Strait of Hormuz through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes on tankers, is still effectively closed. The oil price remains high, affecting economies around the world. The most recent assessment from the International Monetary Fund warned that the...

This month retired people saw their state pensions rise by 4.8 per cent. That’s comfortably above the current inflation rate and means that some pensioners have increases this year of as much as £575. That’s because of the Triple Lock guarantee which is a formula set 15 years ago and which some economists say is costing the government too much and should be scrapped. But it’s meant that the state...

If you sail 90 miles from Key West in Florida you’ll make landfall on the island of Cuba, run by a regime that America has never liked. And since this is the year of bombs, drones and talk of regime change, the island has not escaped close attention. Donald Trump has talked about taking Cuba but could he? Would he? And And what would that even mean for Cubans and Americans? Step into the Briefing...

The world’s attention is currently fixed on the US-Israel war with Iran and the effect it’s having on the Gulf region and global energy prices. But it was only six months ago that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was agreed and President Trump launched his 20-point peace plan. Since then we’ve heard little about progress beyond the return of Israeli hostages - the first phase of the plan. Davi...

It's a tough time for any young person looking for a job at the moment. While overall unemployment is running at just over 5 percent, there’s particular concern about a large group of 16 to 24 year olds - almost a million of them (12.8%) who are not in employment, education or training. And that includes recent graduates in that age bracket. They’re known as NEETS. David Aaronovitch and guests dis...

As contemporary hi-tech wars rage - Russia and Ukraine and the US-Israel war with Iran - The Briefing Room takes a hard look at the UK's armed forces. After telling his allies - including the UK - that he didn’t need them, President Trump called for them to help him open up the Strait of Hormuz, which has raised not just the question of should we, but could the UK do this? David Aaronovitch asks w...

It could be that the US-Israel war with Iran ends soon. That was the message from Donald Trump this week. But it may not. The longer the war continues the more collateral damage to the world economy. Mostly because of the impact of energy prices. But why are we all so vulnerable still to events in one small part of the world and one tiny channel, the infamous Strait of Hormuz? David Aaronovitch as...

It's less than a week since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran. And it's already spread across the Gulf region as Iran retaliates. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 years, was killed in US and Israeli airstrikes on Saturday. The question now is who is in control in Iran and whether the regime in its current form will remain or if this will trigger major change. David Aaron...

It’s four years this week since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. And by this summer the conflict will have gone on for longer than the First World War. Casualties run into the hundreds of thousands. Peace talks brokered by the US have been off and on for the past few months, with President Putin demanding that Ukraine gives Russia full control of the eastern Donbas region, including the part it doe...

Pressure is building in the UK for a ban on social media use for young people as countries across the world watch Australia, which introduced its own ban for under 16s last December. Meanwhile, the government here is launching a public consultation on children’s use of social media which will look at a range of options, including a ban. It also said this week that it wants to create new legal powe...

In early January street protests in Iran turned deadly - thousands were killed by Iranian forces. What started as a demonstration about economic conditions had turned into demands for regime change. President Trump said he would come to the aid of protesters. But so far he hasn’t. He’s amassed a US armada in the Gulf. And last Friday talks were held in Oman between American and Iranian officials a...

Following the dramatic capture of the President of Venezuela and his wife by US special forces on January 3rd, The Briefing Room asks what’s next for Venezuela? Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores have been indicted on drug trafficking and weapons charges in a New York court while in Venezuela the deputy president, Delcy Rodriguez has been sworn in as the country’s interim president. Meanwhile Donald...

As both the year and the current series of The Briefing Room draw to a close, Europe and much of the world have been digesting a lengthy document outlining the Trump administration’s view of foreign policy. The National Security Strategy covers much of the globe but extra special vitriol was reserved for Europe with dire warnings that the continent is facing “civilisational erasure” partly due to...

In a few days time resident doctors -who used to be known as junior doctors - will go on strike. Just before Christmas and with flu on the rise. This will be the 14th strike by the doctors’ union since March 2023. The ostensible reason is pay but coming up behind it as an issue for younger doctors is the question of their futures- they're very unhappy about their working conditions and their caree...

In her budget the Chancellor increased the state pension by 4.8 % in line with the government's triple lock formula. It was good news for pensioners but is it good news for the young? A constant background to spending and economic decisions for well over a decade now has been an argument about generational injustice. That the young are getting poorer. David Aaronovitch and guests look at the facts...

President Trump wants an end to the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainians want peace too - but not at any cost. The past week saw the emergence of a leaked US 28 - point- plan which was wholly unacceptable to President Zelensky and European leaders. But how it originated and why it looked like a Russian wish list has led to intense debate. ( It included Ukraine giving up territory it still holds in the e...

This week the government announced an overhaul of the UK’s asylum system with the stated aim of making Britain look a lot less attractive to those planning to make their way across the Channel on a small boat or outstay their visa if already here. A raft of proposals include ending a refugee’s effective right to stay in the country indefinitely, a quicker way of deporting those who fail in their a...

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves has been widely trailing this month’s budget and the difficult decisions she’ll have to make in just under two weeks time. This is being taken as code for tax rises and a possible break in Labour’s manifesto pledge with a rise in income tax. She’s said one of the key reasons for this is that the government's official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility or...

Something is going in the southern Caribbean. The world’s largest aircraft carrier - the American USS Gerald R Ford- is on its way to the region. Small boats said to belong to Venezuelan drug smugglers are being blown up by the US military. Old US bases are being de-mothballed. And there’s media talk of Trump-induced regime change in Caracas, with Venezuela’s authoritarian, leftist president Nicol...