The i Podcast

“Labour’s Plan For Power: Fixing The North-South Divide” is the third episode of a special new i podcast series looking at what Sir Keir Starmer’s party would do differently if it wins the next election. Hosted by Paul Waugh, i‘s chief political commentator, this is a four-part series that also covers the economy, Brexit and the NHS. Andy Burnham, the Metro Mayor for Greater Manchester, tells us:...

Labour’s Plan For Power: The NHS and Your Health is the second episode of a special new i podcast series looking at what Sir Keir Starmer’s party would do differently if it wins the next election. Hosted by Paul Waugh, i’s chief political commentator, this is a four-part series that also covers the economy, Brexit and the North-South divide. The Royal College of Nursing tells us that it is ready t...

Labour’s Plan For Power: The Economy is the first episode of a special new i podcast series looking at what Sir Keir Starmer’s party would do differently if it wins the next election. Hosted by Paul Waugh, i's chief political commentator, this is the first of a four-part series that will also cover the NHS, Brexit and the North-South divide. Ken Clarke reveals why he thinks Rachel Reeves’ “respons...

The housing crisis is a vast web of overlapping problems and failings. It’s a feature of modern Britain.  But as the economy flounders, the crisis takes new forms, dragging more people in. And the impact on those caught in its grasp is devastating. In this week’s episode of The i Podcast we are joined by our housing correspondent Vicky Spratt who has uncovered a scandal about how mothers and...

Having a child is supposed to be a life-affirming experience, if you follow popular logic.  But what if you hate it? There’s a growing movement promoting a “child-free lifestyle” - and some of its biggest proponents are parents, fed up with their offspring and wishing they'd taken a different path. In this week's episode of The i Podcast, we are joined by chief features writer Kasia Delg...

Two years since the Taliban stormed Kabul, devastating the lives of thousands of Afghans, those who fled to Britain are now facing an uncertain future.  The Taliban takeover marked the end of a 20-year presence of coalition forces in the country and the beginning of a dark new chapter for the nation, restricting rights and freedoms for women and girls.  Afghans who worked with the wester...

Six years ago Paul Price's life changed forever. He was picking up his daughter from an Ariana Grande concert when a terrorist detonated a bomb in the entrance to the Manchester Arena.  It was one of the most devastating terror attacks in a generation and Paul was at its epicentre. He spent the following eight months in hospital as doctors battled to fix his shattered body. But these months o...

It wouldn’t be the first time a whistleblower has stunned the US Congress with an extraordinary revelation , but last week’s hearings were truly stranger than fiction . Not one but three military witnesses testified about their experiences of UFOs , otherwise known as UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena). In this week’s episode of The i  Podcast we’re joined by science writer, Stuart Ritchie...

A general election is on the horizon in the next 17 months. Last Thursday’s triple-decker by-election results could be the final major democratic exercise in Britain before we head to the polls nationally.  You may have heard the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat leaders claiming by-election success, but look a little closer at the results and you’ll find things that will worry politi...

Europe is boiling. The countries around the Mediterranean are facing soaring temperatures as an anticyclone sends temperatures through the roof.  And while the mercury is expected to dive in the coming days, the continent is waking up to a harsh new reality. Climate change is here and we are not prepared for it. In this week's episode of The i Podcast we take a look at how the climate crisis...

The end of close to 15 years of cheap credit is over and it’s having a significant impact on the British economy. As the Bank of England rachets up interest rates, many homeowners are feeling the pinch, but the impact goes beyond higher interest payments for those with mortgages. This sea change in monetary policy is calling into question one of the few certainties of life in Britain. The idea tha...

In a few short years, Saudi Arabia has become one of the biggest players in world sports. Capitalising on the pandemic, it has unleashed its oil-backed financial power and made inroads in most of the world’s top sporting industries. It’s growing dominance over golf, inroads into the Premier League and eye-wateringly expensive deals for some of football’s biggest stars are just a few indicators of...

In 24-hours Yevgeny Prigozhin’s heavily armed convoy of Wagner troops captured the world’s attention as they crossed from Ukraine into Russia, humiliating Vladimir Putin and the Russian army in the process. As the former caterer's forces stormed towards Moscow, Wagner's advance raised major questions about the Kremlin’s control within Russia’s own border. By the time the screeching halt was announ...

South Sudan has faced significant challenges since it gained independence from its northern neighbour in 2011. But the conflict between two Sudanese factions has triggered a migrant crisis that is dramatically worsening conditions – and this is largely being ignored by the rest of the world. In this special episode of The i Podcast, Molly Blackall takes us to the border between Sudan and South Sud...

A six-month i investigation has uncovered a suspected Russian intelligence asset has been living freely in the UK and even used the flagship Homes for Ukraine scheme to bring his family to Britain. i Senior Reporter Richard Holmes joins us this week on a special episode of The i Podcast to reveal how he unearthed this remarkable story and what it says about the UK's ability to counter suspected fo...

For most of us, rinsing out our plastics and dropping those single-use containers into our kerbside recycling seems like a worthy, if unremarkable, pursuit. But a new study suggests even recycling plastic may be doing more harm than we realise. In this week’s episode of The i Podcast, science and environment correspondent Tom Bawden and environment correspondent Daniel Capurro join host Serina San...

Conservative MPs have a problem they can’t shake. A problem called Boris Johnson. The former PM looms large over the party, rarely far from newspaper front pages. His supporters want him to return to frontline politics and renew the 80-seat majority he delivered in 2019. Others in the party treat him like a bad smell, reminding them of the worst days of the “Partygate” scandal. In this week’s epis...

It might sound like science fiction, but while unions worry about AI’s risk to jobs, some experts are concerned about a more existential threat to humanity. In this week’s episode of The i Podcast, host Molly Blackall is joined by i science writer, Stuart Ritchie, to look at why many have concerns about the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. This new technology could reinvent the economy freei...

It's the biggest issue facing Britain in a generation. The UK's broken housing market is fuelling deprivation and poverty on a vast scale - and policymakers are struggling to find a solution.  In this week's episode of The i Podcast, we are taking a deep dive into how the UK became addicted to rising house prices and the effects of this, from leaseholders to renters, and homeowners grappling...

The results of last Thursday’s local elections, were on the face of it, terrible for the Conservatives. The party lost more than 1,000 seats, haemorrhaging support across the country to Labour and the resurgent Lib Dems. But if you look a little closer for glimmers of hope for the Government, a number of interesting factors come into view that show that the race for Downing Street is far from a do...

As Britain hangs up the bunting for King Charles’s coronation, over 4,000 miles away in the Commonwealth realm of Grenada, arrangements look a little different. Magistrate Arley Gill describes how locals have little to no interest in celebrating “the business of the British”. Gill and his community are not alone. After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a new era is being ushered in, and with it, re...

For over a year, Labour has been riding high in the polls. Keir Starmer’s ruthless crushing of internal dissent, tighter message disciple and a Government in disarray had the party sustaining a more than 20-point lead against the Conservatives. But recently, that lead has begun to tail off, and with it, the dreams of the party winning a huge majority in the next general election. The party’s lead...

Andrew Tate‘s hyper-macho brand of 21st century chauvinism has gained him legions of fans and put him firmly in the spotlight. This fanbase has backed him throughout his legal issues and is mainly young men, frustrated by the status quo and viewing him as role model. But it’s not just men. In this week’s episode of The i Podcast we meet the women who are also falling under his spell. i‘s chief fea...

Mother-of-one Soraya Wooller spends her weekends in places most people wouldn’t want to venture.   A volunteer for local group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, Soraya tests treated wastewater being discharged back into her local river from a nearby sewage treatment plant.   In the past ten years Soraya and her community have seen the river deteriorate. The water has...

For many, spying conjures images of anoraked men, secret meetings and briefcases furtively exchanged on park benches. But how does the reality in 21st century Britain compare? In this week's episode of The i Podcast, host Molly Blackall is joined by senior reporter Richard Holmes to take a look at the threats the UK's faces from hostile intelligence services - and why one looms large in the mind o...