Rachel Reeves has paved the way for potential tax rises. In a speech three weeks before the budget, the chancellor refused to commit to Labour’s manifesto promise to not raise National Insurance, income tax or VAT. With Nigel Farage also back-pedalling on tax cuts, is it time for the politicians to be more honest about the state of the economy?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Oliver Wright, policy editor, The Times

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Shabnam Grewal, Alula Hart.

Read more: Reeves: We must all do our bit to secure Britain’s future

Further listening: Do bond markets rule the world?

Clips: Sky News, The Guardian, Parliament TV, ITV Politics.

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Saturday evening, passengers on a train from Doncaster to London King’s Cross suddenly found themselves in the path of a man wielding a large kitchen knife. In the terrifying minutes that followed, there were scenes of horror and acts of bravery. So what happened, could the attack have been prevented, and can passenger safety be improved? 

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guests:

• Izzy Lyons, reporter, The Sunday Times, 
• Theo Usherwood, political reporter, Times Radio 

Host: Manveen Rana

Producers: Micaela Arneson, Shabnam Grewal. 

Read more: What happened on the train in Huntingdon? How stabbing attack unfolded

Clips: BBC News, BBC Breakfast, Channel 4 News, Parliament TV, Sky News, RTE News, Times Radio. 

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tomorrow is election day for the mayor of New York and the frontrunner is 34-year-old Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani. But are his plans to remake America's biggest city achievable - or a pipe dream? And how might he face off against President Trump?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Will Pavia, New York correspondent, The Times.

Host: Luke Jones.

Producers: Olivia Case, Sophie McNulty, Alula Hart.

Clips: nnmaddox / YouTube, @amberyeet / TikTok, NBC, C-SPAN, zohran_k_mamdani / TikTok, Fox, Mr Cardamom / YouTube, Bernie Sanders / YouTube, @subwaytakes / TikTok, Forbes.

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: [email protected]   

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gail Rice had given up on dating apps and was dreading old age. Then the psychologist had an idea — book a hotel room for a landmark birthday and pay a stranger to turn her on. Would it work?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Read by: Olivia Case. 

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Dave Creasey. 

Read more: My 70th birthday treat? I hired a male escort

Clips: Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Searchlight Pictures.

Photo: Isabella Moore for The Times Magazine.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Planet Hope, a podcast from The Times and The Sunday Times in paid partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative. Each episode is hosted by The Story released as a bonus weekly series on Saturdays.

In Lausanne, Switzerland, neuroscientist and Rolex Awards Laureate Grégoire Courtine and neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch have pioneered a “digital bridge” that translates brain signals into spinal stimulation, giving people with paralysis new ways to regain movement. They tell Tom Whipple about the science behind the technology, the patients leading the way and their hopes for the future of movement recovery after paralysis.

Planet Hope is brought to you in paid partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative. 

Guest: 

• Grégoire Courtine, Neuroscientist and co-founder of NeuroRestore.   
• Jocelyne Bloch, Neurosurgeon and co-founder of NeuroRestore. 
• Suzanne Edwards, Patient at NeuroRestore. 

Host: Tom Whipple, Science Writer, The Times.

Series Producer: Priyanka Deladia

Sound Designer: David Crackles

This podcast is advertiser funded.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is from The Story's sister podcast The Royals.

He will now be known simply as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. The man formerly known as Prince Andrew is being stripped of his titles and removed from his mansion, Royal Lodge, on the Windsor estate. Last month The Times obtained a copy of the leasehold agreement for Royal Lodge which showed that while the prince paid £1 million for the lease plus at least £7.5 million for refurbishments completed in 2005, he has paid “one peppercorn (if demanded)” in rent per year, since 2003. Andrew's links with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, brought increasing public and political demands for action. It is a seismic moment in royal history – but is it enough?

Presenter: Roya Nikkhah, royal editor, The Sunday Times.

Contributors: 

• Aubrey Allegretti, chief political correspondent,The Times and,
• George Greenwood, investigations reporter, The Times.

Producers: Sophie McNulty, Priyanka Deladia, Robert Wallace, Stephen Titherington.

Photo: Getty Images.

Subscribe to The Royals podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since January, one clinic in the UK has started prescribing the weight-loss medication Wegovy to 12-17 year-olds. For some, the results have been life-changing. But without evidence about the long-term impacts, is it safe?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Roisin Kelly, commissioning editor, The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Taryn Siegel.

Read more: The children taking Wegovy to turn their lives around

Further listening: Why weight loss drugs will change even more than you think

Photo: Times Media.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump has threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, while Xi Jinping hit back with export limits on rare earth minerals. As the two leaders come face to face in South Korea to make a deal, the stakes are high.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Cindy Yu, columnist and contributing editor, The Times and The Sunday Times. 

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Producer: Edith Rousselot and Alula Hart. 

Clips: CBS News, CNBC, AP News, Bloomberg TV.

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The government has announced plans to move migrants out of hotels and into accommodation on military barracks. The same plan Labour opposed when put forward by the Conservatives in 2023. What’s behind the move and could it work? 

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Matt Dathan, home affairs editor, The Times. 

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Producer: Micaela Arneson. 

Read more: Asylum seekers to be housed in military sites instead of hotels

Billions ‘squandered on migrant hotels due to incompetence’

Clips: Parliament, BBC, Times Radio, ITV, Getty Images. 

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eight years ago, French bloggers began to claim the President’s wife, Brigitte Macron, was born a man. As the false allegations spread internationally, the Macrons decided to take legal action. Yesterday, ten people appeared in a Paris court charged with cyberbullying and in the US, the right wing influencer Candace Owens faces a defamation suit. So where did this come from? And in a world of fake news, is there value in fighting for the truth?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Charles Bremner, Paris contributor, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Olivia Case and Micalea Arneson.

Clips: De de / YouTube, NBC, CNN, France24, Engineering Science, Theo Von Clips, Candace Owens / YouTube, Daily Wire Plus, BFMTV.

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: [email protected] 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.