The Trial of Russell Brand

With the streets emptied by Covid, David Aaranovitch steps into the online world of Patriotic Alternative, a far-right group turning the pandemic into a recruitment tool.

Discovering a particularly virulent racist aligned to the group, David asks if YouTube is doing enough to stop hate speech?

Host: David Aaronovitch.

Clips: BBC, Channel 4, Sky News, ITN.

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Andrew returns to Oxford to reveal the wounds that still remain following the seven-figure financial settlement. 

The woman who made an allegation against Martyn Percy speaks out, alleging intimidation by some of his supporters. 

And has Christ Church tried to hide the astronomical cost of the feud?

Host: Andrew Billen, feature writer, The Times.

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Breaking point as the college dons question Martyn Percy’s mental capacity.

He accuses them of smear campaigns, and an ill-judged essay likening his plight to Nazi persecution triggers outrage. 

Costs soar, reputations crumble, and the University of Oxford itself is forced to intervene. 

After four long years, a deal is struck. But at what cost?

Host: Andrew Billen, feature writer, The Times.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

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Christ Church stalls when a student asks for protection, yet when Martyn Percy is accused of impropriety he is suspended within days. 

What at first appeared a battle over different styles of governance now carries the stain of misconduct - and divisions widen within the college.

Host: Andrew Billen, feature writer, The Times.

Clips: ITV, BBC, Sky News.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

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A stabbing, a scandal, and a battle over job descriptions. 

Andrew exposes the bureaucratic dispute that spirals into bitter war between Martyn Percy and Christ Church’s governing body. 

Behind the formal manners and age-old statutes, a plot is being devised to oust the dean at any cost.

Host: Andrew Billen, feature writer, The Times.

Clips: Walt Disney Studios

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

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Christ Church, Oxford: a bastion of higher education since the 16th century that produced some of the country’s best and brightest, and is home to a very British way of life. 

When The Very Reverend Martyn Percy - a reformer from a working-class background - was appointed dean in 2014, everything looked promising. Until it didn’t. 

Andrew Billen explores the city's dreaming spires to find out why.

Host: Andrew Billen, feature writer, The Times

Clips: BBC

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

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The Very Reverend Martyn Percy leaves his post as dean of the world-famous Christ Church, Oxford, with a seven-figure settlement after a bitter dispute that pitted a lone reformer against an institution.

But what really happened amid the Alice in Wonderland world of Oxford's dreaming spires?

The Times's feature writer Andrew Billen heads down the rabbit hole to find out.

This series was first released on 13 October, 2022.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

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Pennant money reshaped not only Jamaica, but also modern Britain. In Wales, it financed the vast Penrhyn slate quarry, built villages, and paid for the castle that April-Louise visits alongside her father, Gil. Together, they face the portraits of men who enslaved their ancestors, and ask what it would take for Britain to stop looking away.

Host: Brenna Daldorph

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April-Louise Pennant’s grandparents were part of the Windrush Generation, emigrating from the Caribbean to Britain in the 1950s. Visiting a local university archive to discover the significance of her Welsh surname, she discovers the Jamaica Papers - a collection of plantation records donated by the Pennants, which reveal a confronting truth.

Host: Brenna Daldorph

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

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Arguments still rage about Britain’s role in the slave trade, but the evidence of that dark past is written across the faces of some of the country’s wealthiest stately homes. Journalists Brenna Daldorph and David Aaronovitch face facts to look behind the grandeur and gold-leaf exteriors of one - Penrhyn Castle in North Wales - to uncover the brutal foundation on which it was built.

Hosts: Brenna Daldorph & David Aaronovitch

This series was first published on 2 August 2021.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

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