David Aaronovitch and guests take a deep dive into the Windsor Framework. The original protocol was deemed unworkable but does this new deal solve Northern Ireland's trading arrangements?

Guests:

Peter Foster, FT’s public policy editor & editor of the newsletter “Britain After Brexit”

Produced by: Kirsteen Knight, Daniel Gordon and Ben Carter

The Briefing Room's David Aaronovitch is joined by a team of experts to find out more about the Wagner group, the mysterious private organisation, that's acknowledged by the Russian government to have been supplying soldiers to fight its war in Ukraine. Wagner's leader, Yevgheny Prigozhin, was once known as Vladimir Putin's 'chef'. Soldiers fighting for him won the battle for Soledar - one of few military successes for Russia in Ukraine in recent months. Has his prowess on the battlefield re-invigorated Russia's army - or turned Prigozhin into a potential rival to Putin?

Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are:

Produced by: Daniel Gordon, Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight

PHOTO: Graffiti praising soldiers from the Wagner Group (Getty)

The WHO have described last week's Turkey-Syria earthquake as one of Europe's worst natural disasters in the last 100 years. David Aaronovitch finds out why it was so deadly.

Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are:

Stephen Hicks, Seismologist at University College London

Producers: Kirsteen Knight, Dan Gordon and Ben Carter

Avian flu has devastated poultry farms and wild bird populations around the world and now it's spread to mammals such as mink and seals. Cases in humans have been rare but worryingly fatal in more than half of the recorded incidences. How worried should we be about the risk of a new global pandemic?

Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are:

Wendy Barclay, Head of the Department of Infectious Disease and Chair in Influenza Virology at Imperial College London

Producers: Kirsteen Knight, Cecilia Armstrong and Ben Carter

The government wants hundreds of thousands of over 50s to return the workforce as Britain mounts an economic recovery. More than half million people in that age bracket have left work since 2019. Will the promise of a 'midlife MOT' encourage people to come back to work? And do employers want them?

Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are:

Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation

Producers: Kirsteen Knight, Daniel Gordon and Ben Carter

The next round of rail strikes look set to compound long-running problems with Britain's railways. But the problems on the network go far beyond this spate of industrial action. David Aaronvitch asks the experts in The Briefing Room this week the reasons why our rail network has acquired such a reputation for unreliability, and what can be done to put it right.

Contributors:

Christian Wolmar

Producers:

Production Coordinators:

Sound mix:

Editor:

Image: Train timetable board Credit: Martin Pope via Getty

At the end of 2022, with winter approaching, there were warnings right across Europe of an impending energy crisis. There was talk of potential electricity blackouts. But today, in the depths of that same winter, why are energy storage facilities well topped up and prices of oil and gas falling instead? David Aaronovitch finds out from the experts with him in The Briefing Room this week.

Contributors:

Producers:

Production Coordinator:

Sound mix:

Editor:

Photo: Vertigo3d/Getty Images

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised 'urgent action' to tackle the NHS crisis. The experts in The Briefing Room with David Aaronovitch this week consider what can be done to tackle problems such as: chronic staff shortages; the thousands of 'bed blockers' and the backlog of people waiting for surgical procedures.

Contributors:

Annabelle Collins, Senior Correspondent, Health Service Journal

Producers: Daniel Gordon

David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts evaluate the current situation in Ukraine and explore how the war might evolve in the remaining winter months and into the Spring.

Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are:

Michael Clarke, Professor of Defence studies and Specialist Advisor to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy

Producers: Ben Carter, Dan Gordon and Kirsteen Knight

For years, the major problem of world demography was thought to be the risk of over-population. Now, it's the fact that the global population is ageing fast.

According to the United Nations, the number of people over 65 is set to double between now and 2050, to 1.6 billion people. And, at the same time, the birth rate in most of the world is falling, often sharply.

Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are:

Stephanie Hegarty, BBC Global Population Correspondent

Producers: Simon Watts, Kirsteen Knight and Octavia Woodward