Sky News

This Is Why

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The world’s a pretty confusing place right now – so how do you make sense of it all? This Is Why  takes one story every day, explains how we got here and why it matters to you. Sky News’ Niall Paterson speaks to experts and correspondents from around the world, getting simple answers to some complex questions. Available every weekday afternoon. This Is Why is a Sky News podcast – if you have a question, contact us: why@sky.uk

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Sky News

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News

Podcast website

www.skynews.com

Latest episode

Jul 10, 2026

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Episodes

Nicola Bulley: What did the police get wrong? 21.11.2023

Police who investigated the disappearance of Nicola Bulley from beside a riverbank have been heavily criticised in a damning report. Lancashire Police's decision to reveal the mother-of-two's mental health issues was condemned as "avoidable and unnecessary". The College of Policing's chief executive officer Andy Marsh said there was "substantial learning" for the Lancashire force. On the Sky News...

Understanding what's happening at Gaza's al Shifa hospital 20.11.2023

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described al Shifa hospital in Gaza City as a "death zone" - it said there was a mass grave at the entrance and a "desperate situation" inside. A joint UN team led by the WHO assessed the hospital for one hour following its occupation by the Israeli military and as some patients and those seeking shelter there began to evacuate it. The team said they saw evi...

‘Feels like barbed wire’. Endometriosis: the condition with no cure 17.11.2023

Endometriosis is a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, causing pain and affecting fertility. It is estimated to cost the UK economy £8.2bn a year in treatment, loss of work and healthcare costs. Up to 30% of women who have surgery for endometriosis experience a recurrence within five years, according to the National Institutes of Health. There is s...

Deported killer: 'I'll help you find your mother's body' 16.11.2023

On 29 December 1969, Alick McKay returned home from work to his house in Wimbledon, southwest London, to discover that his wife, Muriel, was not at home. The lights were on and the contents of her handbag strewn all around the stairs. Then he received a phone call. "We are Mafia M3. We are from America. We tried to get Rupert Murdoch's wife. We couldn't get her so we took yours instead. You have a...

Rishi, Rwanda, Suella and the Supreme Court: The fallout 15.11.2023

The government's Rwanda plan, devised to tackle illegal migration, has been ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court, ending more than 18 months of legal battles in the UK. The prime minister has said he will introduce emergency legislation to make sure his Rwanda plan will work, and said "flights will be heading off in the spring as planned". On this episode of the Sky News Daily, Jayne Secker sits in...

16 housing ministers in 13 years - has it stopped the job getting done? 14.11.2023

There have been 16 housing ministers in the last 13 years of Conservative rule – seven of those in the last two years alone. With Lee Rowley taking over the housing brief after the prime minister’s latest reshuffle, on the Sky News Daily we’ll be exploring why there has been so many, and if any of them managed to make a difference to the housing crisis. Presenter Sally Lockwood is joined by Gurpre...

Rishi Sunak and David Cameron: Inspiration or desperation? 13.11.2023

David Cameron is back in government as the new Foreign Secretary. Whilst many commentators had predicted that Suella Braverman would be sacked as Home Secretary, none predicted that the former Prime Minister would be walking down Downing Street into a new job and a place in the House of Lords. On this episode of the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood looks over Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle with political e...

‘I always felt unsafe’: The alleged abuse at top drama schools 10.11.2023

Sky News has spoken to more than 50 people who say they have witnessed or been on the receiving end of sexual misconduct and harassment within leading drama schools across the UK. Students have described their training as being "indoctrinated into this cult-like bubble, and the expectation was to say yes to everything". On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by correspondent Ashna Hurynag...

Has Suella Braverman gone too far this time? 09.11.2023

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has come under fire for making controversial statements about Israel-Hamas war protests in the UK. In the Times she described pro-Palestinian protesters as "hate marchers". She also likened the protests to scenes from the past in Northern Ireland, prompting politicians there to accuse her of “deliberately stoking division”. Ms Braverman has also publicly slated the...

Pro-Palestinian protests, poppies, and the police 08.11.2023

'Free Palestine' has been painted across Rochdale’s Cenotaph ahead of Remembrance Sunday and is now being guarded by police support officers. It comes as a planned pro-Palestinian protest on Armistice Day in London on Saturday is to go ahead. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met on Wednesday to discuss how the protest will be policed. Mr Sunak said afterwards: “It is...

King’s Speech: Dividing lines for the general election?    07.11.2023

The King has set out the government’s policies for the coming year in the first King's Speech for 70 years. It was also the first since Rishi Sunak became prime minister and will probably be the last before the next general election. Of the bills set out in the speech, it could be the law and order measures and ones on the environment which the Conservatives might hope provide the clearest dividin...

What is Israel’s next move in its war against Hamas? 06.11.2023

Israel's military objective in the war against Hamas, constantly repeated by its politicians and commanders, has become a national mantra: "Hamas must be destroyed." But with Israeli forces targeting Gaza City and the number of people killed in the enclave more than 10,000, according to the Hamas-led health ministry, there's mounting international pressure on Israel to at least pause its military...

What's Russia doing when the world is not looking? 03.11.2023

As the world's attention turns to the Israel-Hamas war, Russia is ramping up its offensive on Ukraine. President Putin is seizing the opportunity of less attention, while Kyiv fears the West will stop providing aid as the war slips down the news agenda. On the Sky News Daily, host Leah Boleto is joined by defence and security analyst Professor Michael Clarke, with Melinda Haring, non-resident seni...

Just how risky is artificial intelligence? 02.11.2023

Bletchley Park - the once top-secret home of the World War Two codebreakers, including Alan Turing - has this week hosted Rishi Sunak’s UK AI safety summit. It could help position Britain as a world leader on AI regulation, as governments seek to take back control over how the technology is developed and used, to prevent abuse. On the Sky News Daily, presenter Sally Lockwood looks at the risks and...

“The end of a chapter”: Stuart Ramsay on Gaza 01.11.2023

The Gaza Strip; just 25 miles long and but only seven and a half wide at its broadest point. It’s a sliver of land sandwiched between the Mediterranean and Israel is home to two million people – or at least it was until war between Hamas and Israel broke out. On the Sky News Daily, host Niall Paterson is joined by our chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay and senior foreign producer Dominique van Heer...

What did we learn from Dominic Cummings at the COVID inquiry? 31.10.2023

Boris Johnson's former chief adviser Dominic Cummings has appeared at the UK COVID-19 Inquiry, where he criticised the way the government worked in the early months of the pandemic. Mr Cummings said it was "crackers" there was no plan for shielding or protecting care homes if the virus was not brought under control. On the Sky News Daily, presenter Belle Donati is joined by our deputy political ed...

The one about Friends star Matthew Perry’s legacy 30.10.2023

The death of the actor who played Chandler Bing in US sitcom Friends has left those who knew and loved him “heartbroken”. Matthew Perry, who had previously spoken about his battle with addiction, was found dead at his LA home at the weekend. On this Sky News Daily, our arts and entertainment correspondent Katie Spencer speaks to Lindsay Posner – who directed Perry's play The End of Longing – and t...

Down the drain: What caused Britain’s sewage problem? 27.10.2023

The Environment Secretary Therese Coffey has told Sky News the repeated release of illegal sewage outflows is a "scandal" as she signals that customers may need to be prepared to pay more for an improved system. Our economics and data editor Ed Conway has investigated the scale of the sewage crisis. On the Sky News Daily, Leah Boleto talks to Ed about his findings, which show that - far from being...

Qatar’s role in hostage negotiations | Grieving fathers call for peace 26.10.2023

As Israeli families await news of loved ones who were taken hostage during the attacks by Hamas on 7 October, two men from different sides of the conflict share their story of grief, an unexpected friendship and forgiveness. On the Sky News Daily, Belle Donati is joined by Rami Elhanan, an Israeli Peace Advocate and Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian Peace Advocate – after they were brought together nea...

A year of Rishi Sunak – but what about the next 12 months? 25.10.2023

A year after Rishi Sunak became prime minister, has he convinced the public of his competence and of his electability? Sophy Ridge from Sky News’ Politics Hub programme takes over from Niall Paterson for this episode. She discusses Sunak’s record with Katy Balls, political editor at the Spectator, and Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor at the New Statesman. Then, Andrew Lansley, who ran T...

Should pregnant women still be in prison? 24.10.2023

As the Sentencing Council in England and Wales examines the potential impact of being pregnant and giving birth in prison, the Sky News Daily podcast hears from women who’ve been through the experience. With Niall Paterson on half-term, Sarah-Jane Mee, who presents Sky News’ UK Tonight show, takes over for this episode. She speaks to Dr Laura Abbott - a midwife and researcher at the University of...

What the law says about protesters chanting "jihad" 23.10.2023

The word "jihad" - chanted during a pro-Palestinian rally in London over the weekend - has led to questions about whether laws governing hate crime need reform. The word can be interpreted in different ways; for some, it means struggle or effort in Arabic, but it has also been taken to refer to holy war. And the police made no arrests in this case. The "jihad" chants were made at a side rally by m...

Labour's by-election wins | Biden's case for Israel-Ukraine funding 20.10.2023

Labour's hopes ahead of the next general election have been bolstered after historic wins in the Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire by-elections. The double victory saw huge Conservative majorities overturned, with more than a 20 percent swing away from the Tories in both constituencies. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has used a rare Oval Office address to urge Americans to remember the country's ro...

The Israeli ground invasion into Gaza: When and how? 19.10.2023

Britain’s prime minister says the UK stands with Israel in its “darkest hour” as he met his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu. Rishi Sunak arrived in the country a day after US president Joe Biden apparently gave his backing privately for an Israeli ground invasion into Gaza in response to the deadly Hamas attacks on 7 October. On the Sky News Daily, Belle Donati explores what that could be...

Gaza hospital blast: The battle to own the narrative 18.10.2023

The Anglican-run al Ahli hospital in northern Gaza was bombed on Tuesday evening, claiming 500 lives, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Both sides in the Israel-Hamas war have blamed the other. It comes as US President Joe Biden lands in Israel to discuss the conflict. He appeared to back the Israeli military account that the blast was not caused by them. On the Sky News Daily, host Be...

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