The Story

Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City, England's top club, has launched unprecedented legal action against the Premier League - the league it plays in. With such vast sums at stake, what does it mean for the future of British football - and what of the consequences beyond the pitch?  This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today:...

French president Emmanuel Macron has called a snap election after his party was soundly defeated by the hard-right opposition in Sunday’s EU elections. The National Rally has been boosted by young voters, personified by the 28-year-old president of the party Jordan Bardella. So why are France’s youth shifting to the right? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Tim...

It's one of the world's biggest killers but cancer is usually more associated with people in the later stages of life. While that's still largely the case, increasing numbers of younger people seem to be getting the disease. So what could be behind the rise? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thes...

From Pennsylvania to New Jersey to Tennessee, The Times’ Megan Agnew spent three weeks on the Taylor Swift trail, discovering the origins of the supersonic star. How does someone go from teenage guitarist to pop phenomenon? Was her fame just luck and talent, or was there a master plan behind it all? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times....

This is Planet Hope, a podcast from The Times in partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative , hosted by The Story as a bonus weekly series each Sunday. The Agumbe, known as one of the rainiest places in India and a sanctuary to king cobras, holds one of the last surviving low-land rainforests. However, after years of logging and hunting native reptiles the rainforest, which plays a...

To mark 80 years since D-Day, we revisit the remarkable story of a young man who travel the world to interview surviving World War II veterans. 25-year-old Rishi Sharma sleeps in a rental car and eats one meal a day, but says it's worth it as he wants the next generation to remember the sacrifices made during the Second World War. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of...

When the #MeToo movement first emerged in America in 2017, women in France spoke out about their own experiences, but it’s taken until this year to feel things might be changing. Is France’s glittering cinema industry, and society in general, ready to address cultural issues of consent and historical sexual abuse?  This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times...

  Is Labour as safe as it seems? Why do some of our votes matter ‘more’ than others? And what do polls tell us about who we really are? We take a deep dive into it all from the man behind the concept of the ‘red wall' - including why Mondeo Man and Worcester Woman aren't all they're cracked up to be. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday...

Nigel Farage has promised to lead a “political revolt” as he announced his return to frontline politics as the new leader of Reform UK - and as a candidate in the Essex seat of Clacton. The Conservatives are already well behind in the polls - so with the general election now just four weeks away, could this mean disaster for the Tories? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of read...

He's the first ever former president in American history to be a convicted felon. Found guilty on 34 separate counts, Donald Trump could now face jail. So what does the verdict mean for him personally, for the presidential election and for a deeply divided America? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.c...

A week into the election campaign, Labour is leading the polls by around twenty points. If Labour do win on 4th July, Keir Starmer will be moving to No 10. So, what do we know about the party leader? And, after a week of difficult headlines around the selection of candidates, just how has he changed Labour? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunda...

This is Planet Hope, a podcast from The Times in partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative , hosted by The Story as a bonus weekly series each Sunday. If the current trajectory continues, fast fashion emissions are set to surge by 50% by 2030. And with textile production becoming a greater contributor to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined, a crucial q...

An Israeli airstrike that killed at least forty-five displaced Palestinians in Rafah has once again focused the world’s attention on the war in Gaza. The White House insists no red lines have yet been crossed.   So where is Biden's red line? Guests : Robert S. Ford, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, and former U.S. Ambassador to Syria. Host : Manveen Rana. Clips : BBC...

Two of the century’s biggest artists are exchanging diss track blows in a beef that has engulfed the internet. But how has rap moved on since the violence of the 1990s? With the rappers’ fiery verbal blows raising allegations of domestic violence and sex abuse – how has it got so out of hand?  This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times....

With the election now just around the corner, Labour says that if it wins, it’ll take away the tax breaks Britain’s private schools have benefited from for years. The introduction of VAT could push fees up by twenty percent, forcing middle class parents out and putting severe pressure on the sector. So why is Labour making this such a key part of its manifesto, and what could it mean for the futur...

The state of our rivers is set to be one of the discussion points of the election and time’s ticking on Thames Water’s request for a 56 per cent increase in customers’ bills. As Ofwat mulls that one, it might ask how a company which leaks raw sewage into our rivers managed to rack up unsustainable levels of debt while also paying out dividends to shareholders.  Warning: this podcast includes...

Our modern world is built on chips; they control everything from our cars to the stock market, dishwashers to missile systems, computers to - potentially soon - augmented humans. But with China and America battling for control over production - and about ninety percent of advanced chips made in geo-politically sensitive Taiwan - how secure is the future of our world? This podcast was brought to yo...

This is Planet Hope, a podcast from The Times in partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative , hosted by The Story as a bonus weekly series each Sunday. In Côte d’Ivoire, the Tanoé-Ehy Forest stands as one of West Africa’s last untouched rainforests, a refuge for unique flora and fauna. Despite boasting West Africa's highest biodiversity, aggressive human activities have spared only...

Donald Trump’s 'hush money' trial is in its final stages as the prosecution and defence teams have both now rested their cases. The jury will return on Tuesday for closing arguments - and maybe even a verdict. This is ultimately a trial of two competing stories. So who told theirs best? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe to...

Rishi Sunak has announced a general election for July 4 after a day of fevered rumour in Westminster. The prime minister addressed the nation from outside No 10 and pledged to “fight for every vote" while Sir Keir Starmer urged people to vote Labour to "stop the chaos". Manveen Rana was at the heart of it all in Westminster. Why now? And are the parties ready? This podcast was brought to you...

President Raisi’s death has been met with celebrations by those who hate the regime and mourning by those who love it. But could the vacuum left by his passing create a moment of danger for the regime’s hardline clerics and open up an opportunity for Iran’s reformers?  This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://t...

After decades of buck-passing and over 3000 deaths the infected blood inquiry published its final report finding that patients were betrayed by 'cover-up'. The chairman of the inquiry said the ‘scale of what happened is horrifying’ and the prime minister has apologised. So, as ministers prepare to pay out billions of pounds in compensation, will this be enough for the families of those affected? H...

The Hinduja family still leads the Sunday Times Rich List. But this year’s list records the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide’s 36-year history. So why is it happening now and where are the billionaires moving to? Alfie Best, who remains on track to become Britain's first Romany gypsy billionaire, could have the answer.  This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support o...

This is Planet Hope, a podcast from The Times in partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative , hosted by The Story as a bonus weekly series each Sunday. The High Andes are one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the world, but without urgent intervention, this landscape and its surrounding natural beauty will be lost. Environment Editor for The Times, Adam Vaughan is join...

“Shockingly poor quality” is the verdict of a parliamentary inquiry into the UK’s maternity services. It found a system that lacked compassion and concluded, "poor care is all too frequently tolerated as normal". How did this happen? Hannah Barnes talks to Manveen about the birth that left her traumatised and her work to bring it to light.  This podcast was brought to you thanks to the suppor...