Times Talk by Times of Malta

A new, groundbreaking discovery has revealed that Malta's human history is at least 1,000 years older than previously thought. In this episode of Times Talk we meet the first people of Malta - hunter-gatherers who reached the island 1,000 earlier than previously believed, navigating vast open waters before the age of agriculture. Times Talk follows the journey of the scientists that traced back th...

In this week's episode of Times Talk , we sit down with the unstoppable Jamie Cardona. Cardona has been on an incredible winning streak this past year - writing and performing in Malta's longest-running solo show, starring in critically acclaimed musical and theatre productions and now, winning the prestigious music competition Mużika Mużika at the first attempt. Mark Laurence Zammit sits down wit...

Malta’s nightlife is fueling a rise in cocaine use, with Valletta emerging as a hotspot for open drug consumption. Times of Malta investigation reveals how the drug culture has seeped into bars, bathrooms, and beyond. Mark Laurence Zammit speaks to Times of Malta journalists Marc Galdes and Emma Borg as well as medical experts Anton Grech and Godwin Sammut to explore the seedier side of Maltese ni...

Malta’s COVID-19 response was among the best globally, but former Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne acknowledged areas for improvement.

Corradino Correctional Facility is Malta's only prison. It is home to 673 men and 59 women serving time or awaiting trial. And yet very little is known about it, or about prison life in Malta. Mark Laurence Zammit was granted an exclusive, unprecedented four-hour filmed tour of the facility by prisons director Chris Siegersma, one month after a damning report by the Ombudsman which saw Corradino d...

Foreign affairs minister. Tourism minister. Deputy prime minister. If Ian Borg's many hats are weighing him down, he doesn't show it. In this interview with Mark Laurence Zammit, Borg - one of Malta's most powerful and recognisable politicians - delves into his plans to reform the tourism sector, "fix" Comino and adapt Malta's diplomatic neutrality to the geopolitics of today. This episode was pro...

You'd be hard-pressed to find two political figures more different than Jason Azzopardi and Jason Micallef.  They share a first name and a flair for bombastic posts on social media. The similarities end there.  Azzopardi is a lawyer and former Nationalist Party MP who crusades against the Labour government. Micallef is a Labour official who has vocally defended Labour figures facing corruption all...

Yorgen Fenech is out of prison, more than five years after he was taken into police custody and charged with complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. We still don't know when Fenech - the millionaire heir to the Tumas Group fortune - will stand trial on those charges. What we do know is that he will be sleeping at home until that happens.  Times of Malta journalist Claudia Calleja was i...

On February 2, 1995, a blast rang out at the Malta Drydocks. The Um el Faroud, a Libyan oil tanker, had exploded "like a tin can".  Nine people lost their lives.  30 years on, we revisit that disaster with the help of two people who were among the first to reach the scene: court analyst and University of Malta Rector Alfred Vella and Times of Malta deputy online editor Chris Scicluna.&nb...

In Marsa, dozens of migrants wait by the roadside every morning, hoping to be picked up for casual construction work. Sarjo Conteh , a 31-year-old Gambian man who died in a construction site collapse on July 23, was one of them. On this episode, we hear the stories of some of those men. In part two, we catch up with Claudio Camilleri, a marathon runner who found time to stop and help a stranded to...

Lino Cauchi's murder remains one of the great unsolved cases in Maltese criminal history. Cauchi vanished in 1982, but his body wasn’t discovered until three years later. His family are now seeking compensation for how the investigation was handled by police and the government at the time. We speak to forensic expert Anthony Abela Medici, who was one of the first people to go down the well where C...

The Nationalist Party is reeling. Its leader, Adrian Delia, has lost the trust of most of his MPs but is refusing to give up the party leadership. In this episode, Times of Malta journalist Ivan Martin explains how the PN got here and where things may end up in the weeks to come. In part two, we speak to ultra-runner Claudio Camilleri, who’s attempting to run 190km around Malta and Gozo later this...

All across the world, protest movements are tearing down monuments and statues which represent more divisive moments in different countries' histories. Is there a case for Malta to do something similar? On this episode, historians Charles Xuereb and Simon Cusens debate whether some of Malta’s colonial monuments should be removed or relocated. In part two, we speak to John Edward DeMicoli about his...

Malta International Airport reopened its doors to commercial airlines on July 1, after more than three months of coronavirus-imposed shutdown. We speak to some of the first tourists to visit Malta in the summer of 2020. In part two of this episode, we ask epidemiologist Neville Calleja what Malta has done right during the pandemic and get his take on whether we should be concerned about a second w...

Times of Malta journalist Jacob Borg explains how he worked with Reuters to expose a 2015 deal linking Malta's energy provider Enemalta to the man accused of masterminding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Borg was speaking before former minister Konrad Mizzi was kicked out of the Labour Party and economic crimes unit chief Ian Abdilla was replaced . In part two of the episode, expats who used...

Former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar is now the subject of a criminal investigation over suspicions he may have tipped off a middleman in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Hours before that probe began, he sat down with Times of Malta for an exclusive interview. Ivan Martin provides insight into the latest developments in a case that keeps twisting and turning. In part two of this episo...

We take to the streets of Valletta and speak to people who attended a Black Lives Matter demonstration and ask if they think Malta has a problem with racism. In part two of the episode, we hear from swimmer Neil Agius about how he's preparing - mentally and physically - to cross from Sicily to Malta later this month. Find out more at https://times-talk.pinecast.co

Chris Cardona's name has swirled around the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case in the past. But this week, the former minister was thrown right into the thick of things . Times of Malta's Ivan Martin walks us through the latest developments in the case of the century. Plus, teenager Leon Bartolo talks about the strains of being a student in Malta, after a global study found that local 15-year-olds...

How will Malta fare economically once the pandemic blows over? Economist and financial adviser JP Fabri gives his prediction on how the country will weather the fallout from COVID-19. We also speak to national long jump record-holder Claire Azzopardi about the mental challenges she faced when training during lockdown. Find out more at https://times-talk.pinecast.co

We speak to Angie Farrugia, who cannot fly to India to pick up her newly-adopted daughter because airports are shut due to COVID-19. Angie is one of a growing number of Maltese choosing to adopt a child. Shirley Mifsud from one of Malta's three private adoption agencies tells us why it's becoming more popular . Plus, Times of Malta reporter Claire Caruana talks us through the challenges the media...

With the situation in Libya deteriorating because of civil war and now coronavirus, will more people try and make it to Malta to escape the desperate situation? Regional expert Mark Micallef explains what life is like in the north African country. Plus: wondering if you should get swabbed for COVID-19? Times of Malta online editor Bertrand Borg went and took the test, all in the name of research....

Heritage Malta CEO Noel Zammit explains how he plans to keep the organisation alive during the coming months, without the income from tourists who usually visit Malta's museums and heritage sites. Plus, musician Glenn Sacco talks about his virtual collaboration with rock legend Jon Bon Jovi. Background reading: 'Tourism will be the last sector to recover' Find out more at https://times-talk.pineca...

Archbishop Charles Scicluna discusses whether the Catholic Church is relevant in Maltese society anymore. He also shares his thoughts on greed, social media and hate speech. Plus, marine biologist Alan Deidun tells us how and why he believes wildlife is thriving across the islands since the COVD-19 pandemic forced us all indoors. Background reading: Archbishop slams 'cardboard institutions with no...

She's become a household name ever since coronavirus reached Malta in early March. But who is Charmaine Gauci? We speak to the Superintendent of Public Health to get to know her a little better. Plus, Times of Malta journalist Jacob Borg explains how Malta gets its electricity, what are the rules it must play by, and why those contracts make it tricky for the government to lower utility rates. Bac...

Seven weeks into the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, Malta's deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne discusses how and when he feels restrictions will be lifted , and warns "this might not be the only pandemic we see in our lifetime". In the second part of the episode, we speak to a Maltese teen activist who managed to secure a one-hour meeting with Prime Minister Robert Abela to discuss the rights of m...