Sky News
This Is Why
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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Episodes
Israel protests: Is its democracy on the brink of a crisis? 28.03.2023 17:51
Protests have broken out in Israel by many of the country’s secular Jews against the government’s plans to “radically” reform the legal system which would remove checks and balances in its democracy. On the Sky News Daily, host Sally Lockwood is joined by our Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall to explore how the movement started and why these protests could become a defining moment for the...
Humza Yousaf promises independence: What can new SNP leader deliver? 27.03.2023 19:24
Humza Yousaf made a few big promises as he succeeded Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader – including healing divisions in his party, redoubling efforts to lift people out of poverty and, of course, Scottish independence. On the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood is joined by our Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies and Shona Craven, columnist at The National, as we look at what we can expect from his leade...
Prince Harry V The Press 26.03.2023 19:28
In the next 12 months, Prince Harry will be launching multiple lawsuits against multiple newspapers, as part of what he describes as his ‘life’s work’ to reform the British media. He is accusing some of the country's most popular newspapers of hacking phones, tracking cars and even bugging hotel rooms in order to get stories and photographs of him and his family and friends. On the Sky News Daily,...
Local tree rows and why they’ve become a big deal 24.03.2023 19:29
Some councils in England have come under fire for unnecessarily felling old healthy trees to make way for regeneration projects. In Plymouth more than a hundred mature trees were chopped down despite public disapproval, and in Sheffield an independent inquiry found that the council's destruction of thousands of trees was misjudged. National Highways, the government agency responsible for England's...
"Hand on Heart": Boris Johnson swears he’s telling the truth 22.03.2023 20:20
The former prime minister has been questioned by a cross-party group of MPs for more than three hours, with Boris Johnson's political career on the line over COVID rule-breaking parties in Downing Street during lockdown. He's given evidence to the privileges committee's inquiry, set up after the House of Commons referred the matter last April. On the Sky News Daily podcast, Sally Lockwood is joine...
Misogyny, racism and homophobia – it's not just the Met police’s problem 22.03.2023 21:23
The Metropolitan Police is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic, according to the independent police review conducted by Baroness Casey. She was appointed to carry out the review following the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer in 2021. On the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood is joined by our home editor Jason Farrell to go through what the report reveals...
Credit Suisse: Are we teetering on the edge of a banking crisis? 21.03.2023 14:12
Credit Suisse, one of Switzerland's largest banks, has been swallowed up by its rival UBS for £1bn. The shotgun merger happened less than a week after the UK financial authorities saved the British arm of Silicon Valley Bank which had collapsed in the US. These troubles either side of the Atlantic have spooked investors - the concern now is other banks could follow. On the Sky News Daily Sally Loc...
Cost of living: Why are more women turning to gambling? 20.03.2023 15:36
Pandemic lockdowns and the cost-of-living crisis have driven more people to gambling to help ease financial struggles - with support helplines this year receiving a record-breaking number of calls for help. A third of those calls are now from women. On the Sky News Daily, Kimberley Leonard speaks to former gambler Lisa Walker about her story, who now works as a peer support worker for the charity...
The real cost of childcare 17.03.2023 16:28
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has expanded free childcare for working parents in England to cover all children under five. The move could allow 60,000 more parents of young children to enter the workforce according to the government’s independent forecaster. While the move has been welcomed by parents, there's been criticism from the childcare sector, which is struggling with a workforce shortage and fin...
Budget: Sky's Beth Rigby and Ed Conway on what it means 15.03.2023 23:57
The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has delivered his spring budget, telling MPs his priority is to get people back to work. Free childcare for working parents in England, pensions breaks and tax cuts for businesses were among the announcements made. On the Sky News Daily Liz Bates is joined by Sky’s Political Editor Beth Rigby and Economics and Data Editor Ed Conway to go through the budget and assess wha...
A new Cold War? Rising tensions between the US and China 15.03.2023 19:01
The UK, USA, and Australia announced a joint programme to build more nuclear submarines, and declared that China poses the biggest threat to the world economy of any country. It came following the inauguration of China’s President Xi Jinping’s precedent-setting third term in office, where he called for the country to modernise its military to make it a "Great Wall of Steel". On the Sky News Daily,...
Gary Lineker row: How does the BBC get impartiality right? 14.03.2023 20:00
Gary Lineker will return to BBC screens after reaching a deal with the corporation over an impartiality row. The Match of the Day host was removed from the show temporarily over comments made on his personal Twitter account about the UK government’s small boats policy. On the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockward is joined by former controller of BBC Radio 4, Mark Damazer and Professor Suzanne Franks, fo...
Sturgeon's successor: Meet the SNP leadership candidates 13.03.2023 22:25
Three candidates are vying to become the next leader of the SNP and Scotland's first minister after Nicola Sturgeon's resignation in February. Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan have been accused of 'trashing’ their own party in a series of TV debates as they set out their policies and attack each other's records in government. On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by Sky’s Scotland...
Supersonic missiles and the town on the frontline of the Ukraine war 10.03.2023 17:01
A wave of Russian missile attacks across Ukraine has left at least five people dead and many buildings destroyed. The seven-hour barrage, described as 'Russian barbarism' by Ukraine's foreign minister, is part of a resurgent offensive by Russian forces in the region. On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by Sky's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay from Kyiv. They discuss the battle for th...
Turkey-Syria earthquake: The child survivors 09.03.2023 14:09
A month on from the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria millions of people are struggling to come to terms with their new reality. More than 50,000 people were killed and those who survived are left with the grief and devastation of losing their loved ones – not to mention aftershocks, disease, and a lack of basic supplies. Among the worst affected are children. On this edition of...
Will Illegal Migration Bill stop the small boats? 08.03.2023 22:53
Home Secretary Suella Braverman insists migrants arriving in the UK illegally on small boats will be "removed swiftly" under the government's plan to tackle the crisis. The bill also includes an annual cap on the number of people entering via safe routes. But critics argue it's unfair, unworkable and, according to the shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, "risks making the chaos worse". On the Sky...
Partygate's over, but not for Boris Johnson... 07.03.2023 18:45
Sir Keir Starmer has appointed partygate investigator Sue Gray as his chief of staff, prompting some Tory MPs to say her inquiry was a "Labour stitch-up". But she will have to set out the timeline of her discussions with Labour, including when she first began talking to Sir Keir about the role. Not the only one facing questions, Boris Johnson is soon to appear in front of a parliamentary committee...
What’s going on with Kim Jong Un and his daughter? 06.03.2023 19:59
We think she’s ten years old and we think we know her name, but those details are only known because of the former basketball player Dennis Rodman after he spoke to a newspaper a decade ago revealing the identity of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's youngest daughter. She has now been seen in public in North Korea at military events and parades, but why has Kim Jong Un decided to bring her out...
The Salisbury poisonings five years on 03.03.2023 21:18
Tracy Daszkiewicz was Wiltshire Council's director of public health when ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were targeted in March 2018 with the deadly nerve agent novichok. Three months after the Salisbury poisonings, two other people fell ill at a flat several miles away in Amesbury and one of them died. Later this month, an inquiry into Dawn Sturgess' death will have another p...
What do Matt Hancock's COVID messages actually tell us? 02.03.2023 20:04
The ex-health secretary faces fresh scrutiny after leaked WhatsApp messages alleged he rejected testing advice on care homes during the pandemic. With preliminary hearings for the UK COVID-19 Inquiry under way, the new revelations raise further questions around Westminster's response to the global pandemic. On the Sky News Daily Podcast, Niall Paterson is joined by science and technology correspon...
Neglect and abuse: Inside the US ‘troubled teen’ industry 01.03.2023 27:05
The ‘troubled teen’ industry in America is worth billions of dollars every year – but it is plagued by allegations of neglect and abuse. This industry was dragged into the spotlight last December when 17-year-old Taylor Goodridge died at Diamond Ranch Academy in Utah. On the Sky News Daily Podcast, Niall Paterson is joined by our US correspondent Martha Kelner to take a closer look at troubled tee...
The Windsor Framework: What it means for Northern Ireland 27.02.2023 17:50
Four months of negotiations appear to have paid off – for now – as Rishi Sunak's plan for post-Brexit trade rules has been signed off by the EU. The prime minister met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen – who also met King Charles - during her visit to the UK on Monday. The Northern Ireland Protocol - negotiated during Brexit talks to allow goods to move without checks across the b...
The Scottish man who went to fight for Ukraine 27.02.2023 18:57
One year ago, 25-year-old Douglas, who lived on his parents' farm in southwest Scotland and fixed tractors for a living, packed his bags and went to war. He joined thousands of volunteers from around the world who signed up to fight for Ukraine. Now back in Scotland, Sky’s national correspondent, Tom Parmenter, goes to see him, and his parents Sheena and Derek, to find out why he went, and the imp...
EP46: Ukraine War Diaries - One year, three lives & our stories of war (Feb 25) 25.02.2023 22:56
In an extended episode to mark one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ilyas, Oksana and Seva come together for the first time as a group, to share just some of what impacted them most in the last 12 months and to consider what the future holds? OUR DIARISTS Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s...
Ukraine war: The survivors of sexual violence and the women helping them 24.02.2023 15:38
Stories of sexual violence against Ukrainians in Russian-occupied areas have been slowly emerging since the start of the full-scale invasion last February. At least 154 cases of conflict-related sexual violence - classified as a war crime and a crime against humanity - have been officially identified, although experts believe the real figure is significantly higher. On the Sky News Daily, Anna Jon...
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