The Story

For now, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer vows to stay as the Reform leader Nigel Farage calls this a “truly historic shift in British politics”. Steven and Lara caught up at the Times office in Westminster just after 4pm to unpack the results from England’s local council and mayoral elections, alongside national contests in Scotland and Wales, as Reform and the Greens surge and Labour suffer huge&...

In Moscow, preparations are complete for tomorrow’s Victory Day celebrations. This year’s military parade will be pared back amid fears of Ukrainian drone strikes. So as the country marks its biggest celebration in muted style, five years into a grinding war, how are Russians feeling about their government and the economy? And what’s been the true impact of the war in Iran? This podcast was brough...

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein has been poured over by the press – but what about their relationship with one another? New Times reporting reveals they met for the first time in 1999 at an NSPCC charity event, and continued a mutually advantageous relationship for a decade. So how do the people who brought them together feel about it now? And wha...

This episode was recorded before the latest announcement from President Trump pausing 'Project Freedom'. Earlier this week President Trump launched his latest move in the Iran war... 'Project Freedom' was designed to get ships through the Strait of Hormuz under US military escort. But Iran said the plan meant the US was breaking the ceasefire and the two countries began trading missiles again. The...

This week Scottish voters will head to the polls for the Holyrood parliamentary elections. To understand what's on people's minds, we visited Motherwell - a town where, for decades, Labour used to dominate. This year Labour appear to be haemorrhaging support across Scotland and may even fall to third place. And an unlikely party is emerging from the fallout. This podcast was brought to you thanks...

NHS spending has reached record highs and shows no sign of slowing down. The government poured in £205 billion last year, yet waiting lists remain stubbornly high and patient satisfaction is at an all time low. So where is all the money going? And if spending isn’t the solution, what is? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe t...

At his peak, Carl Hayman was widely regarded as the world's best tighthead prop. Then, in 2021, at just 41, he was diagnosed with early-onset dementia and probable CTE, a disease he believes was caused by the sport he loves, and one that has torn his life apart. In this intimate and devastating interview with David Walsh, Carl describes what happened, what he’s doing for the players who come after...

Marriage rates are at their lowest since 1850, and it's predicted by 2050 just 3 in 10 of us will have tied the knot. Cohabiting is now the fastest-growing family type in the UK. So what’s happening? Feminism, atheism, a mistrust of state intervention, or just an old fashion 'trend' dying out? And should cohabiting couples get the same rights as married ones? This podcast was brought to you thanks...

Could Thursday’s local elections herald the end of two party politics in England? Labour are expected to lose heavily to parties on the left and right. So how bad would it need to be for the party to replace the prime minister? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guests:  Joe Twyman,...

Police have declared a terrorist incident after two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green. The suspect, Essa Suleiman, is in custody and the two men are stable. Plenty of questions remain as the Jewish community reels from the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents. How can Jewish communities be protected?  This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times...

Sir Keir Starmer has dodged a bullet on the Mandelson vetting scandal but did he expend too much political capital in the process? With local elections around the corner he’s not out of the woods yet, so what can we expect from next week's results? And more than 60 days into the Iran war, Trump has proclaimed there's 'No more Mr. Nice Guy' - so are we about to see renewed military action from the...

South Wales has been a Labour heartland since the party formed over a century ago, but speak to people there today and you'll find support leaving in droves. So can Labour avoid an electoral car crash? Could the other main parties capitalise? Ahead of the Welsh Senedd elections next week, we travelled to Swansea to take the political temperature. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the suppo...

Morgan McSweeney has told MPs that the revelations about Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein were like a knife through his soul. The more we learn about the appointment process, the madder it sounds. And the odd thing is that crucial decisions were not written down: there are no receipts. There's a mood building in the Labour Party that Keir Starmer will need to go big or go home:...

White House correspondents' dinner shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president. The White House says Saturday’s attack is the third 'assassination attempt' on Donald Trump in the last two years. But what do we know about Allen? And what does this all tell us about the rise of political violence in America?  This podcast was brought to you th...

This episode was recorded before the events at the White House Correspondents’ Association on Saturday. King Charles arrives in America today for a state visit to mark the country’s 250th birthday. But with US-UK relations at a low over Iran - and the Epstein scandal still looming large - the stakes are high. Last week Trump said the monarch could help repair the special relationship so will soft...

Shane Christie was one of the brightest rugby stars in New Zealand before suffering multiple concussions, leading to a brain injury that would slowly take everything from him. And his experience is far from unique. In this deeply personal account, David Walsh talks to Shane's former partner, Holly Parkes, to ask, What happened? What does Shane's story reveal about the sport he loved deeply? And ca...

Hidden in a quiet Belgian archive, century-old colonial maps of the Democratic Republic of Congo may hold the key to an estimated $24 trillion in untapped minerals. Now the United States, backed by Trump, together with the likes of Jeff Bezos, want them. The curators, however, are in no hurry to hand them over. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The S...

The American Dream is as old as the United States itself. But as the country marks its 250th anniversary, with economic uncertainty, political turbulence and social divisions all on the rise, do ordinary Americans still believe? The Times and YouGov spoke to 1800 of them to find out – and we've got their analysis. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and Th...

Attacks targeting the Jewish community have surged in recent weeks, with synagogues and community centres being hit. Many people are feeling increasingly vulnerable, but what's behind this escalation? And how is it impacting Jewish people? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guests: David...

The shaky ceasefire between Iran and the US has been extended. Whether it lasts much longer or fighting resumes depends partly on Lebanon, where another fragile truce has been struck between Israel and the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah. So why is Lebanon so important to peace with Iran? And what happens if the ceasefire fails?  This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers...

Sir Olly Robbins dropped bombshell after bombshell when he spoke to MPs. Robbins, who was sacked as the Foreign Office’s chief civil servant, has accused Downing Street of placing the department under constant pressure to get Lord Mandelson through vetting. He also said the prime minister had tried to find an ambassadorial job for Matthew Doyle, another Labour peer who's been in trouble for a frie...

Yesterday evening Sir Keir Starmer defended himself in Parliament, stating ‘the facts are incredible,’ but ‘nobody’ in Number 10 knew that Peter Mandelson failed security vetting. Addressing MPs, the prime minister rejected the suggestion that the government’s desire to appoint Mandelson overrode security concerns. Immediately after, we caught up with the Times’ political editor to ask, who exactl...

Jane Coates’ daughter Lucy was just 23 when she was shot and killed by her father, while visiting him in Texas. US authorities quickly ruled her death an accident and no charges were brought. But as The Sunday Times reveals holes in Lucy’s father’s account, Jane wants the case reopened. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe to...

A strict conservatorship, control of her finances, breakdowns, nonstop media pressure and divorce. It's been one hell of a journey for the Princess of Pop, but the latest news that Britney Spears has entered rehab leaves fans asking the question, will she ever be truly free? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://...

Yesterday afternoon in Manchester, a man was found guilty of a brutal rape for which an innocent person had been wrongly jailed for more than 17 years. We bring you a special update to our groundbreaking podcast series Seventeen Years - The Andrew Malkinson Story , which first highlighted this tragic miscarriage of justice. You can listen to the full series on The Times Investigates feed: https://...