The Story

Under lockdown, police have been given extraordinary new powers. What do the new rules mean for bobbies on the beat, and how will they change our relationship to the police force?    Guest:  John Simpson, Times crime correspondent  Jonathan Ames, Times legal editor John Apter, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales   Host: Manveen Rana Clips: BBC, Talkradio Ho...

Cheltenham Festival was the last major sporting event to take place prior to the national lockdown in the UK. But should it ever have happened? The four-day fixture took place in March and has since become a lightning rod for criticism around perceived government inaction on the coronavirus crisis. We talk to people who were there.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump is under pressure as libertarian demonstrators insist their freedom is being infringed by lock down. Has the virus revealed the gap between the President's rhetoric and the reality of governance? And is the pandemic changing his re-election chances? Guests:  Josh Glancy, Washington Bureau Chief for The Sunday Times. Julie Kelly, senior contributor for political blog American Grea...

How has the government fared enforcing their mantra of: 'stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives'? Guests:  Caroline Wheeler, Deputy political editor of The Sunday Times. Rosamund Urwin, Senior reporter at The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Times writer Sathnam Sanghera goes on a personal journey to find out why people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds are suffering disproportionately from Covid-19. Guest:  Sathnam Sanghera, author and writer at the Times.  Host:   Manveen Rana. Sathnam's article for the Saturday magazine: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-and-ethnicity-black-and-asian-nhs-...

The waters have cleared in Venice, air pollution over China has dropped and goats have reclaimed a Welsh town. But just how sustainable are these seemingly positive side effects of the coronavirus crisis on our climate and the natural world? Guest: Liz Bonnin, scientist and natural history presenter.   Host: Manveen Rana. Clips: BBC, NBC, Channel 4, DW News. Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

Technology might be the answer to our problems - but could we be giving up our privacy in return for our liberty?  Guest:  Danny Fortson, The Sunday Times West Coast correspondent  Host:   David Aaronovitch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last weekend's investigation by the Insight team into the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic made headlines around the world.  We talk to them about how they researched the story and get their rebuttal to the government's subsequent criticism. Guests: Jonathan Calvert,  editor of The Sunday Times Insight investigative team George Arbuthnott,  deputy editor of The...

We take a break from social distancing and life in lockdown to bring you an extraordinary story from Iraq. The Sunday Times' Louise Callaghan tells Manveen the tale of Abu Laith- the zookeeper of Mosul, and the man who kept a lion alive through mortar fire and raids by ISIS.  Guest: Louise Callaghan, Sunday Times Middle East correspondent Host: Manveen Rana Hosted on Acast...

Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save lives. But what if you don't have a home to stay in? Greg Hurst on the government campaign to protect the homeless. Guests:  Greg Hurst, Social Affairs Editor for The Times.  Rob in London, Richard Todd in Exeter and Theresa Frampton in Bristol. Host:  Manveen Rana Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, Homo sapiens were not alone. Tom Whipple explains how we once shared the earth with Neanderthals and even 'hobbits'.  Guest:  Tom Whipple, Science Editor for The Times.  Chris Stringer, Merit Researcher in human origins at the London Natural History Museum. Host:  Manveen Rana Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...

The Swedish government's approach to coronavirus has been controversial. Unlike in the UK, they have urged citizens to take personal responsibility for enforcing social distancing rather than using police forces to ensure rules are followed. Now that the country has passed the grim milestone of 1,000 coronavirus deaths, what can the UK learn from the Swedish government's light-touch...

Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, is fighting extradition to the US, after seven years holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy. This week it was revealed that he secretly started a family during his time in hiding. Is it in the public interest for Julian Assange to be sent to the States? Guests:  John Simpson, crime correspondent for The Times. Host:  David Aaronovitch....

As a number of existing therapies are being re-purposed to help patients with the most severe Covid-19 symptoms, we speak to a UK-based bioscience company about a drug they've developed and explore how it is being used in Italy.  Guests:  Tom Whipple, The Times science editor Someit Sidhu, CEO and Co-founder of Izana Bioscience Host:  Manveen Rana Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

With reading on the rise under the lockdown, the Times Literary Supplement editor Stig Abell suggests three books for a little escapism during these uncertain times.    Guest: Stig Abell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have been warned that the Easter bank holiday could see the peak of the coronavirus crisis in the UK. But are our hospitals ready? Guest: ‏Lucy Cocker, Junior Doctor and Deputy Chair of the BMA's Junior Doctor Committee. Host: Manveen Rana. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It looks like the US will be badly hit by coronavirus. Could President Trump's approach be his downfall? Guests: Henry Zeffman, the Washington Correspondent for The Times. Host: David Aaronovitch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United States is now at the centre of the global coronavirus crisis and New York is the worst hit city in the country. What’s it like for regular New Yorkers at the centre of the pandemic? Guests: ‏Laura Pullman, The Sunday Times New York correspondent. The audio diaries from nine New Yorkers. Host: Manveen Rana. NB: Caurice Wynters, one of the New Yorkers who spoke with us, is raisi...

As Brazilian politicians argue over how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, we speak to three residents about their experience of the crisis.  Guests: Lucinda Elliott‏, news contributor at The Times. Giuseppe Bossetti, Vivian Bernfeld and Marcus Assunção in Sao Paulo. Host: Manveen Rana. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Saturday Labour party members selected a new leader. Is this the end of Corbynism? And what is the role of the opposition in the time of crisis? Guest:  Rachel Sylvester, political columnist for The Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are we doing enough to stop the spread of coronavirus? And what does the World Health Organisation think our approach should be from here? Guests:   Dr Kluge is Europe Director of Public Health at the World Health Organisation  Kat Lay is Health Correspondent at The Times.  Host: Manveen Rana Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An army of volunteers has sprung up across the country in response to the coronavirus crisis. Today, we tell their stories. And we ask: is there a new team spirit that will outlast the lockdown? Guests: Martin Fletcher, former foreign editor of The Times. Alison Langan, retired teacher. Joe Pegg, IT specialist, and chief technical officer for the Long Ashton covid support group. Sha...

As we get used to our new lives in isolation, there’s a question on everyone’s lips: how long will this last? And perhaps even more importantly: what needs to happen for life to return to normal?  Guest: Tom Whipple, Science Editor at The Times Host: David Aaronovitch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One week into the shutdown, and millions of us are dealing with the effects of isolation for the first time, but one British doctor is better prepared than most of us. Dr Beth Healey shares her lessons from a year spent in Antarctica studying the effects of isolation. Guest: Dr Beth Healey.  Host: Manveen Rana.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We follow the owner of a food-to-go shop as he tries to keep his workforce employed. Our Enterprise Editor explains what the government's economic interventions really mean for jobs.  Guests: Spencer Craig, co-founder of Pure - a food to go business James Hurley, Enterprise Editor at The Times Host: Manveen Rana Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.