The Story

David Woode was 16 when he was first stopped and searched by police. As a black man, he is six times more likely to be stopped than white counterparts, but his job reporting on knife crime and violence has made him see the other side of stop and search. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourti...

Struggling to drift off? If your goal in the new year is to sleep better, neurologist and sleep expert Prof Guy Leschziner unlocks the mysteries of sleep and the impact of a good night’s rest on our overall health. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. Guest: Guy Leschziner, Professor o...

In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2023. Vladimir Putin may have averted an armed rebellion by Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin – but if the fall of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991 tells us anything, it's that even a failed coup can still spell ruin for a leader. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Time...

In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2023. Jody Oliver deceived his wife, children and male fiancés while adopting a colourful array of identities, scamming those around him out of millions of pounds. Now that he’s in jail, his story can be told. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Su...

In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2023. The giant panda has become one of China’s diplomatic tools, after a pair were gifted to President Nixon as an act of friendship in the 1970s. But with US-China relations deteriorating - what can pandas tell us about the two superpowers’ modern relationship? This podcast was brought to you th...

In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2023. The UK is now Europe’s biggest consumer of cocaine. The drug has been linked to a surge in domestic violence and middle-class users are being warned it’s not a victimless crime. How is so much cocaine getting into the country? And what can the authorities do about it? You can read Dipesh's a...

In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2023. A Times journalist went undercover to show that British Gas obtained court warrants to break into customers’ homes to force fit prepayment meters. The investigation led to immediate responses from the company, the regulator and from government. So how did the investigation unfold? This podca...

Christmas is a time to pause and reflect. So today we take the opportunity to speak with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, about his own memories of financial struggle, the cost of living crisis, and his role as president of the charity Feeding Britain.  Donate to The Times and Sunday Times Christmas Appeal: Visit thetimes.co.uk/christmasappeal or call 0151 284 2336. Guests: - Justi...

Not all wheelchairs are created equal… whether it’s colour, size, weight or power, wheelchairs can be built to fit the user’s needs. Which is where Whizz Kidz, one of this year’s Times and Sunday Times Christmas Appeal charities, comes in. On today’s episode - we meet two children who’ve been provided with wheelchairs by the charity to hear about the change it’s made to their lives. This podcast w...

Gen Z voters are ramping up the pressure on President Biden to tone down his support for Israel in its conflict with Hamas. According to a recent New York Times poll, their support for the Palestinians far exceeds that of any other age cohort.  So what sits behind this generational pivot, which is playing out not only in the US, but across the West more widely? The Sunday Times's Katie Tarran...

Our literary editors give us the lowdown on what they’ve been reading this last year - from steamy sex to the end of the world - and what should be on your Christmas gift list. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. Guests : Robbie Millen, Literary Editor, The Times and The Sunday Times....

Two weeks after yet another attempted coup, veteran Times war correspondent Anthony Loyd returns to Sierra Leone, the West African country he first visited 26 years ago amid civil war.  There he encounters a young woman from the streets, who would have long been dead by now, were it not for her survival skills and the conversation she shared with the occupants of a car one night 15 years ago....

This weekend, Rishi Sunak was in Rome meeting Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni. As well as being a fan of the British PM, she's also a devotee of one of the UK's most famous writers - author of The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien. An exhibition on his life and work has opened in the city, so how did he become a cultural icon for the for Italy’s hard-right? This podcast was brought to...

A Times investigation has found that tobacco companies have been engaged in a secret lobbying campaign to try and boost their e cigarette sales. They've bankrolled scientific papers playing down the risks of youth vaping and funded so-called independent foundations, which then try and lobby the government. How has this gone unchecked? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of r...

Jon Venables was ten years old when he and another boy tortured and killed two year old James Bulger. He’s now been refused parole on his imprisonment for a separate charge. So how did he end up here? Did he get a fair trial in the first place? And are we getting it right when it comes to our treatment of children who kill? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Ti...

He's one of the most popular rappers in America: Young Thug is facing up to 120 years in prison for allegedly being the head of a violent criminal gang. State prosecutors in Georgia are using lyrics from his songs as 'proof' of acts they say he was involved in, including the murder of a rival. But with this line of courtroom argument, is artistic freedom of speech under threat?  This podcast...

With no fewer than five separate Tory factions meeting to discuss whether or not to back the government on its revised Rwanda policy, Rishi Sunak finds himself fighting for his political reputation on two fronts: immigration and his handling of the pandemic. Yesterday, he faced the Covid inquiry. Our parliamentary sketch writer, Tom Peck, tells Manveen that Sunak may have survived the legal cross-...

America’s opioid crisis is now in its third decade and has killed more people than the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam combined. Fentanyl, the most commonly used synthetic opioid, is up to 50 times stronger than heroin. Made from chemicals manufactured in China, it’s then put into pill form in Mexico and smuggled across the border. As China and the US agree to crack down on the illegal trade...

Over the past two days, Boris Johnson faced a grilling at the Covid Inquiry. His appearance came after weeks of testimony from senior officials, politicians and scientific advisers who hadn't held back in their assessment of his handling of the pandemic. So what did we learn about the crucial decisions made by the then Prime Minister? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support...

Net migration to the UK hit a record high in 2022 – 745,000 more people arrived in the country than emigrated. After 13 years of promising to cut immigration, the government introduced yet another plan this week to reduce numbers. We look at what it would mean for the economy. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: theti...

The victory of Geert Wilders in Holland’s recent election has raised the spectre of a European Donald Trump. Now scrabbling to put together a coalition government, what does the return of an anti-Islamist, hard-right politician mean for The Netherlands, and for Europe more widely? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: t...

Iran has built an intricate network of gangs, private investigators and assassins to target enemies of the regime around the world. An investigation by The Sunday Times has found that Tehran has launched at least 17 plots, including abductions and murders, against UK targets since the start of last year. So, what is it like to be one of these targets? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the...

On Friday, the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza came to an end. But as hostilities resume, are war crimes being committed? We hear from a war lawyer. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.  Guest : Dr Jennifer Maddocks, Assistant Professor of Law at the United States Military Acade...

A diplomatic row has broken out between Rishi Sunak and his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the Elgin Marbles. Today, we’re revisiting an episode from last December, when David Aaronovitch spoke to classicist and British Museum trustee Dame Mary Beard about how the Parthenon sculptures ended up in the UK 200 years ago. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of...

The former Ukip and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage is being paid £1.5 million to take part in ITV’s I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! and is on the trail of Gen Z fans. Could a reality TV career-boost propel him back into politics? And if it does, how might that change the British political landscape? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sun...