HOW DID WE GET HERE? Explaining The News

What did Putin think he would achieve with his invasion of Ukraine? And as Russian troops’ deaths climb, could he decide to cut his losses and get out? Sir Tony Brenton, a former ambassador to Moscow, met Putin - and watched the emergence of a Russia in the President's image. He gives Andy Bell his analysis of the conflict and the possible motivations behind it. How Did We Get Here? Explaining the News is a podcast from 5 News. Join Andy Bell as he explains the world's biggest news stories through interviews with politicians, experts, and analysts. Produced by Silvia Maresca.

When 5 News Chief Correspondent Tessa Chapman arrived in Kyiv on the eve of the Russian invasion, the possibility of an immediate full-scale assault on the Ukrainian capital seemed distant. “People feared what was happening in the east,” she tells Andy Bell. “But they didn’t have a sense that anything so desperate was going to happen here so soon”. As the attacks on Ukraine’s main city escalated, she joined the hundreds of thousands of refugees trying to reach the Ukrainian border, and along her journey she heard their stories, their fears and their defiance. How Did We Get Here? Explaining the News is a podcast from 5 News. Join Andy Bell as he explains the world's biggest news stories through interviews with politicians, experts, and analysts. Produced by Silvia Maresca.

As NATO warns Russia is trying to stage a pretext for invading Ukraine, how big is the risk of a war? Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative MP and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, gives Andy Bell a breakdown of the Ukraine-Russia crisis, the reasons behind it and what Boris Johnson must do to show he’s serious about facing down Putin. How Did We Get Here? Explaining the News is a podcast from 5 News. Join Andy Bell as he explains the world's biggest news stories through interviews with politicians, experts, and analysts. Produced by Silvia Maresca.

As the Prime Minister says he wants all Covid restrictions in England to go by the end of the month, what about those who can't put the pandemic behind them? Almost 1.3 million people are estimated to be living with long Covid in the UK, struggling with symptoms for more than a year after first becoming infected with the virus. Claire Hastie is a long Covid sufferer and founder of Britain’s biggest online support group, with over 47,000 members on Facebook. “Several times I thought I was going to die,” she tells Andy Bell, recalling her many trips to A&E since first catching Covid in March 2020, and how doctors had “no idea” of how to treat her. She sheds a light on the daily realities of living with this debilitating and little understood condition, and what the government and the NHS need to do to about this enormous health challenge that’s not going away anytime soon. How Did We Get Here? Explaining the News is a podcast from 5 News. Join Andy Bell as he explains the world's biggest news stories through interviews with politicians, experts, and analysts. Produced by Silvia Maresca.

From the EU referendum to record numbers of people risking their lives to cross the Channel in small boats, migration is a story that never goes away. But how many people are coming to Britain these days? Where are they coming from? And does government intervention ever make a difference? Andy Bell talks to the Migration Observatory Director Madeleine Sumption about the UK’s current migrant situation, what the end of the EU free movement meant for it, and how the pandemic has made things all the more complicated. How Did We Get Here? Explaining the News is a podcast from 5 News. Join Andy Bell as he explains the world's biggest news stories through interviews with politicians, experts, and analysts. Produced by Silvia Maresca.

The migrant tragedy in the Channel has become yet another element in the worsening relationship between Britain and France. But why do two countries with so many shared interests just can’t seem to get along? Lord Peter Ricketts, a former National Security Advisor and UK ambassador to France, can't remember a worse time for British-French relations. He tells Andy Bell he thinks London and Paris will continue to "bump along the bottom" for some time, and that Brexit has caused a "fundamental loss of confidence" between the two governments. How Did We Get Here? Explaining the News is a podcast from 5 News. Join Andy Bell as he explains the world's biggest news stories through interviews with politicians, experts, and analysts. Produced by Silvia Maresca.

Boris Johnson wants his time as Prime Minister to be defined by “levelling up” - making the poorest parts of the country as prosperous as the richest. But does he have a plan? And does he have an understanding of what is needed to do that? Lord Heseltine has devoted much of his career to the question of regeneration and regional growth. A Member of Parliament for 35 years, former Cabinet Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, back in the 1980s he pioneered what we would now call “levelling up” - famously devising 30 ideas for Liverpool’s regeneration after the 1981 Toxteth riots. He tells Andy Bell he has strong views on how it should happen, and reveals this Government thinks it’s worth getting his advice as well. How Did We Get Here? Explaining The News is a podcast from 5 News. Join Andy Bell as he explains the world’s biggest news stories through interviews with politicians, experts and analysts. Produced by Silvia Maresca.

As world leaders descend on Glasgow on Sunday for COP26, what do you need to know to make sense of the blizzard of information coming your way? Climate scientist Dr Tamsin Edwards gives Andy Bell the essential guide to everything you need to know about the UN summit, which Boris Johnson says must be a turning point for humanity. How Did We Get Here? Explaining the News is a podcast from 5 News. Join Andy Bell as he explains the world's biggest news stories through interviews with politicians, experts, and analysts. Produced by Silvia Maresca.

The Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies has all you need to know to be ready for Rishi Sunak's Budget and Spending Review at the end of the month. Will taxes go up again? Is there any money left for anyone else after Sajid Javid has got the lion's share? And in what kind of state has Covid left the UK’s public finances? Andy Bell speaks to British economist, Paul Johnson CBE to find out. How Did We Get Here? Explaining the News is a podcast from 5 News. Join Andy Bell as he explains the world's biggest news stories through interviews with politicians, experts, and analysts. Produced by Silvia Maresca.

As the Conservatives gather for their annual conference, what does the Party stand for anymore? We "uncork the Gauke" to hear from the man who was a Treasury minister for six years. Little more than two years ago David Gauke was in the cabinet - but now he's no longer even a member of the Conservative Party. He tells Andy Bell that he believes Tony Blair's Labour government was more focused on wealth creation than this one, and that Boris Johnson is still putting up trade barriers that make life harder for businesses. How Did We Get Here? Explaining the News is a podcast from 5 News. Join Andy Bell as he explains the world's biggest news stories through interviews with politicians, experts, and analysts. Produced by Silvia Maresca.