The Standard

Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced he'll raise penalty charge notices meaning some fines could hit £160. But why the hike? How will the money be used? And where do the fines apply?

Rachelle Abbott's joined by The London Standard's City Hall and Transport Editor Ross Lydall, to break down all you need to know.

In part two, we explore the scents of ancient Egypt. Researchers from University College London and University of Ljubljana have uncovered the smells of nine mummified bodies. Dr Cecilia Bembibre, co-author and lecturer at UCL’s Bartlett School of Environment, Energy & Resources, joins us to explain how they extracted and analysed the ancient aromas.

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In today’s episode, Nicola Barron is joined by Will Storr—an acclaimed journalist, bestselling author, and storytelling guru. Will is widely regarded as one of the leading experts on how stories shape human behaviour, decisions, and relationships.

In his latest book, A Story is a Deal, Will uncovers the hidden psychological contract between storytellers and their audiences. He explains why stories are so powerful, not just for entertainment, but for persuasion and connection. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who wants to understand how storytelling can change the way people think and act.

He’ll also be hosting a live online masterclass where he’ll share the storytelling techniques that can make your business messaging, presentations, and content stand out.

Don’t miss Will’s Masterclass:

Join Will for The Science of Storytelling for Business and Persuasion on February 20th—the same day A Story is a Deal is released! For more details, head to standard.co.uk/masterclasses.

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Heathrow boss Thomas Woldbye has announced the airport’s multi-billion pound investment to accelerate plans for a controversial new runway that began two decades ago.

The privately-funded plan would see the airfield’s layout reconfigured, Terminals 2 and 5 enlarged, plus increased bus and coach capacity.

The Labour government backed commencement of digging by 2029 to drive economic growth - but major environmental concerns over pollution, noise and quality of life remain, with fresh planning and legal battles on the horizon.

The Standard podcast's Mark Blunden is joined by Paul Beckford, policy director at Hacan (the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) which represents communities living under the airport’s flight paths.

In part two, University College London professor of neuroscience ​Sonja Hofer discusses with Rachelle Abbott new research showing how the brain beats fear, with hopes the findings can one day support PTSD and anxiety treatments.

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Are you ready for next generation agentic artificial intelligence?

The Standard podcast's Mark Blunden is joined from the AI Action Summit in Paris by Andrew Strait, associate director at the Ada Lovelace Institute and former ethics researcher at Google’s DeepMind AI spin-off.

We look at the self-thinking technology’s latest developments, concerns over replacement of human workers, quantum computing and AI’s impact on our cognitive ability.

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Labour party officials are investigating alleged racist and sexist comments in leaked WhatsApp group chat messages that culminated in the sacking of health minister Andrew Gwynne.

Following the latest messaging-based scandal to hit the authorities, The Standard podcast's Mark Blunden is joined by Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, to discuss the public’s right to know.

In part two, World Monuments Fund’s UK chief executive John Darlington tells Rachelle Abbott how heritage campaigners are helping boost their local economies.

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Hospital admissions data suggests a growing proportion of patients admitted to wards in England after being stabbed are under 18 years old.

It comes amid growing calls to finally crack down on online blade sales and London actor Idris Elba backing the blunting of sharp tips on kitchen knives.

The Standard podcast's Mark Blunden is joined by Patrick Green, chief executive of the Ben Kinsella Trust, which was founded in honour of a 16-year-old Londoner stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack in 2008 after celebrating finishing his GCSEs with friends.

The charity and Elba are working with the government’s Coalition To Tackle Knife Crime initiative, which aims to halve Britain’s blades menace within a decade.

In part two, Network Rail has sparked a commuter backlash over train times ‘vanishing’ from information boards three minutes before departure - but could the nudge tactic improve disabled access and service punctuality?

We speak with Michael Solomon Williams, head of campaigns at the Campaign for Better Transport.

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What is London’s heartbeat? Rachelle Abbott joins Emma Strain, customer director at Transport for London, to discuss how important diverse communities are to the capital. 

Emma also reveals their award-winning animated moquette design, titled ‘Fabric of London’, which tells real stories shared by Londoners, reflecting the vital role TfL plays in bringing people from all backgrounds together. 

Transport for London, VCCP and Wavemaker UK’s design is now available to view at Outernet, in this week’s edition of our newspaper, and online at standard.co.uk.

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Research by the London Cycling Campaign has found more than half of the capital’s official cycleways include sections that are unsafe for women to use at night.

The London Standard’s transport editor Ross Lydall joins Mark Blunden to discuss his report on the LCC’s Women’s Network study, which found 52 of the 89 cycleways had at least one “socially unsafe” section after dark - and that seven cycleways were considered risky along the entire route.

In part two, we speak with the charity’s senior campaigns officer Clare Rogers, about the LCC’s data-gathering process for the research, titled Women’s Freedom After Dark, and the shocking experiences of female cyclists in London after sunset.

Transport for London said its “working to better understand how our schemes affect the safety, and feeling of safety, for women and girls”, including a “new women’s safety auditing process” to improve cycling infrastructure.

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Half a dozen cash-strapped local authorities in England have been told they will be allowed to raise council tax by more than five per cent this year in a bid to stave off bankruptcy.

The London Standard’s chief political correspondent Rachael Burford reports the government signed off its final funding settlements for town halls and announced six authorities have been given permission to increase bills by larger than normal amounts - without holding a referendum.

She joins us to discuss councils’ financial outlook for the year ahead as London boroughs say they still face a £500 million shortfall.

In part two, The London Standard’s business editor Jonathan Prynn on reasons behind an exodus of millionaires from the capital - and how countries including Abu Dhabi want a slice of the financial action.

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