The Briefing Room

Twenty people have been killed and hundreds arrested after a series of protests in Iran this week - but what's behind these demonstrations? Iran is a strategically important country and so when protests happen, the world takes notice - but who are the protesters and what do they want? And how will the Iranian government and the outside world respond? CONTRIBUTORS Roham Alvandi, Associate Professor...

A group of senior BBC journalists forecast what is likely to happen in 2018 in a discussion chaired by Owen Bennett Jones. Last time they got together they were firmly predicting that Marco Rubio would become the Republican presidential candidate - and that Britain was likely to vote to stay in the EU. So, as the saying goes, making predictions is a tricky business - especially about the future. Y...

A year on from their shock defeat in the US presidential elections, David Aaronovitch asks how the US Democratic party is responding to Donald Trump's Presidency and assesses some of the challenges which lie ahead. What new policies is the party developing? Who are the potential presidential candidates waiting in the wings? And can the college-educated elite which dominate the party win back suppo...

Has President Trump delivered on the promises he made on the campaign trail? This programme cuts through the White House soap opera which has dominated headlines and asks what has the President actually achieved? David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts look back at some of the pre-election pledges made on a broad range of issues such as tax cuts, the economy, immigration, foreign policy and justi...

What do we really know about Russian 'meddling' in Western democracy? David Aaronovitch asks experts on Russia what the Kremlin is trying to achieve by hacking emails and spreading fake news. Guests include the Gordon Corera, the BBC's Security Correspondent, Kimberly Marten, Director of the Program on U.S.-Russia Relations at Columbia University, Andrei Soldatov, a Russian investigative journalis...

The different factions piling Brexit pressure on Theresa May. Following the failure to reach a deal on the first stage of Brexit earlier this week, David Aaronovitch asks experts why Theresa May seems to have fallen foul of her own side. He'll examine the Brexit demands of different groups in Westminster, Brussels, Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin and ask which of them has the most influence. Joining...

Can Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince radically change the kingdom? Mohammed bin Salman is an ambitious new leader who wants to reshape his country's politics, economy and society. But he faces strong opposition both at home and abroad. David Aaronovitch examines his plans and asks whether they'll work. Joining the discussion this week: Nicolas Pelham, Middle East correspondent for The Economist and aut...

Drug resistant infections cause 700,000 deaths a year and it's estimated that could rise to 10 million by 2050 unless major action is taken. David Aaronovitch asks how can an antibiotic crisis can be averted? Joining him in The Briefing Room are: Clare Wilson, medical reporter with The New Scientist Laura Piddock, professor of microbiology at Birmingham University Jeremy Knox, head of policy on dr...

President Xi Jinping is said to be China's most powerful leader since Chairman Mao Zedong - so what does he want to do with this power? The Chinese Communist Party started its congress this week, held every five years, unveiling a new generation of political leaders. It is also expected that President Xi Jinping will be accorded the rare honour of seeing his own doctrine - Xi Jinping Thought - bei...

Is capitalism broken, and if so, what should replace it? David Aaronovitch examines whether the free market is failing, and asks how it could be reformed. He speaks to a range of experts and leading economists including: Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Gillian Tett, US Managing Editor of the Financial Times Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge Univ...

Could the crisis over Catalonia lead to the break up of Spain? With political rhetoric from both Barcelona and Madrid intensifying, David Aaronovitch asks a range of experts whether an independent Catalan state is now a possibility. He examines what lies behind the Catalan desire for independence and the impact that a split could have on Spain. Joining David in The Briefing Room: Miguel Murado, a...

Are big technology companies out of control, as their rapid growth and influence has made them too big to fail? David Aaronovitch asks if companies such as Facebook, Google and Amazon can be reined in and explores a range of issues including innovation, data, privacy, competition and security. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said his company will hand over to US investigators more than 3,000...

Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, says she wants to know why 400,000 Muslim Rohingyas have fled into Bangladesh. The UN says what's going on seems "a textbook case of ethnic cleansing". But why are the Rohingyas facing persecution in the first place and why aren't regional powers in Southeast Asia willing to do more to condemn it and stop it? And ultimately, could this violence develop...

The public sector pay cap is being scrapped after five years - what will it mean for public finances? Prison and police officers will be the first to benefit, but unions have condemned the pay rises - which are less than inflation - as "pathetic". But could this extra money in the pocket of public servants help recruitment and retention in the public sector? To explore these issues David Aaronovit...

As negotiations between the UK and the EU hit choppy waters, the Briefing Room asks what does the EU want from Brexit and what would be its bottom line? David Aaronovitch is joined by expert guests including: Pascal Lamy, former EU Trade Commissioner and Director General of the World Trade Organisation Daniela Schwarzer, Head of the German Council on Foreign Relations Jacek Rostowski, former Minis...

Do the United States and its allies really have the technology to stop incoming missiles from North Korea? In the week North Korea tested another ballistic missile - this time it flew over northern Japan - David Aaronovich asks what threat does North Korea's missile programme pose? And beyond North Korea, what are the capabilities of ICBMs? And how effective are missile defence systems? Contributo...

How will Artificial Intelligence shape our lives, and what should we do now to prepare for it? AI is all around us in our everyday lives. It's used to make decisions about employment, loans, credit cards and even what we read and listen to. So what are the implications of this revolutionary technology? David Aaronovitch hears from experts in the field including: David Baker, contributing editor to...

What do the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, tell us about the strength of the far-right in America? What should the government do to combat domestic extremism? In this week's programme David Aaronovitch asks if there is a white nationalist revival in the United States and what that means for the country's politics. CONTRIBUTORS: J.M. Berger, author, analyst and consultant on extremism. Sandy...

How did the oil rich state of Venezuela see such a rapid economic decline? Poverty is rife, inflation is running at more than 700 per cent and protests are widespread. President Nicolás Maduro is tightening his hold on power following the appointment of a new national assembly, charged with writing a new constitution. In this week's programme David Aaronovitch asks whether former president Hugo Ch...

It's been a tumultuous week in Washington - but to what extent does the chaos in Trump's West Wing matter? Anthony 'The Mooch' Scaramucci was gone in 900,000 seconds - but whoever replaces him will be President Trump's third communications director. His press secretary has resigned, he’s fired his acting attorney general, and he’s on his second chief of staff, John Kelly, a retired general who man...

This year almost 100,000 people have arrived in Italy by boat - and more than 2,000 have died trying. The Italians say they can’t cope, but it's a problem which has now been going on for years - so why has nobody solved it? In this week's programme David Aaronovitch asks who are the migrants, where are they coming from, how do they get to Europe and what needs to be done to stop more people dying....

Are Tory divisions temporary or symptomatic of deeper problems? Parliament has broken up for the summer, and the last week has seen Conservative cabinet ministers engaging in open warfare. But are the divisions a temporary crisis, or are they symptomatic of deeper problems in the party? David Aaronovitch speaks to a range of experts and goes beyond the future leadership jostling to see what's real...

Labour will play a crucial role in shaping Britain's exit from the EU now the Conservative government has lost its overall majority. The vast majority of Labour MPs backed Remain ahead of the referendum - but most followed party orders to allow Article 50 to be invoked (the mechanism for leaving the EU). On the day the government publishes the Repeal Bill and the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn meets...

The chancellor is facing widespread calls for more spending. Should he listen, or stick to his deficit reduction plan? Senior Conservatives are calling for more public spending on things like public sector pay - but Philip Hammond is committed to what he himself calls 'the long slog of austerity'. David Aaronovitch invites a range of experts into The Briefing Room to help him understand the argume...

The election was supposed to be a disaster for Jeremy Corbyn - but wasn't. How did Labour turn around its fortunes? Despite coming second and falling 64 seats short of an overall majority, the Labour party increased its share of the vote by nearly ten per cent. Meanwhile, the Conservatives are in crisis and the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister is now being seriously contemplated by peop...