John Lewis reveals its venus flytrap mascot. Dancing dolls, a raccoon and singing oven gloves. Bublé, Reynolds and Astley: this year’s celeb-filled features. How brands are ripping off the same story line. Are people getting sick of annual xmas ads? Our Culture Writer Vicky Jessop reviews this year’s Christmas TV ads, and considers how they’ve evolved over the years. In this episode:

• Clothing brand Barbour’s Shaun the Sheep collab
• How this year’s ads are ‘celebrities galore’
• John Lewis’s venus flytrap character reviewed
• Has this year been a stand-out year for Xmas ads? 

Check out our new weekly podcast series featuring London love stories with Katie Strick here.

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London’s 54 super luxury restaurants are up from 37 last year. The £900 14 oz Tajima beef waygu steak. Restaurant clientele explained: Lambo owners, awkward couples and celebs. Business Editor Jonathan Prynn and Going Out Editor David Ellis discuss the recent rise in hyper-luxurious restaurants, and how food culture is changing. In this episode:

• More & more high-end restaurants opening ‘every year’
• Showboating, crowds, and quiet couples 
• Why celebs avoid some high-end establishments
• Omakase: the rise in high-end Japanese sushi
• The world’s wealthiest people ‘like to spend time in London’

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King Charles III delivers first King’s Speech. Smoking, criminal sentencing and tackling consumer rip-offs. Rishi Sunak’s last-minute edit. King Charles’s body language observed. Our Politics team, Nicholas Cecil, Rachael Burford and Jitendra Joshi explain the highlights. In this episode:

• How will the King’s Speech be received by the public?
• The government's proposed leaseholds shake-up
• Criminal charges changing
• What happened to Suella Braverman’s proposed tent ban?

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Sadiq Khan leads his Tory rival Susan Hall 50% to 25% in an exclusive poll. Our Political Editor Nicholas Cecil discusses the latest poll results and Sadiq Khan’s chances of securing a third term as London Mayor. In this episode:

• Is Sadiq riding the wave of Labour’s popularity? 
• Why Susan Hall’s ULEZ campaign might not help her in the long run
• What could go wrong for Mr Khan in the next six months?

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How can we see more of the world for less?

Our sustainable travel expert Juliet Kinsman joins Jon Weeks in the studio for another uplifting conversation about what it means to seek out greener getaways - reminding us they can be eco-friendly and also economical. 

In part two award-winning writer and broadcaster Phoebe Smith shares tips on how our travel money can stretch further in some destinations while also helping the places we visit.

Phoebe explains why we should avoid the typical ‘instagrammable’ destinations, and reveals the benefits of asking questions while on holiday. 

Check out the wild camping enthusiast's feature “How to travel sustainably on a budget” here, and find out what else we're exploring as part of our Sustainable Travel campaign here.

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Rick Astley’s famed for hits including Never Gonna Give You Up - which sparked the Rickrolling internet meme craze.

But recently, the 1980s star enjoyed a renaissance thanks to a collaboration as frontman with indie band Blossoms, as a tribute supergroup playing The Smiths’ back catalogue.

In this episode, you’ll hear Astley in conversation with Evening Standard commissioning editor and writer El Hunt.

They discuss the Rickrolling web phenomenon, how a chance encounter with Simon Pegg led to a blockbuster music video, gigging with Foo Fighters, his views on Morrissey, researching the competition, Astley’s ninth studio album Are We There Yet? - and much more.

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Thousands of homes were left without power, rail lines brought down and hundreds of schools closed as Storm Ciarán caused chaos across the south of England.

Amid 100mph gales, torrential downpours and monster waves around the coast, nearly 9,000 homes in Cornwall had their electricity cut, while major incidents were declared in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and in the Channel Islands, where roofs were blown off with Jersey residents told to evacuate their homes.

In London, pictures show flooding around Brent Cross as cars drove through considerable standing water.

What can be done to protect properties from future extreme weather?

Standard reporter Anthony France has the latest on Storm Ciarán, then we speak with with resilience and recovery expert Mary Long-Dhonau OBE - AKA ‘Flood Mary’.

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Elon Musk jetted into the UK to join US vice president Kamala Harris for an international conference focussing on the threats and opportunities of artificial intelligence.

The AI Safety Summit at the Second World War top secret code-breaking HQ at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, features tech moguls and politicians representing countries including Germany, Japan and China.

In this episode of the Standard podcast, we’ll look at the significance of the Bletchley Park conference, future legislation - and how close we are to passing the Turing ‘intelligence’ test.

We're joined by Dr Jeni Tennison, executive director of Connected by Data, who’s a specialist in data and AI governance.

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It’s been one month since the launch of London’s expanded Ultra Low Emission Zone - and we examine how much cash has been generated as part of Mayor Sadiq Khan’s flagship pollution-fighting scheme. 

About £26 million has been generated from more than 57,000 daily vehicles - but what’s the extra money being spent on?

Transport for London says the Ulez expansion has cut the number of older, more polluting vehicles driven by nearly half, and reduced the overall amount of traffic.

The £12.50-a-day levy for vehicles not meeting emissions requirements is enforced by a network of surveillance cameras ringing the capital - and Ulez refuseniks can expect a £180 fine.

Plus, transport news extra with the latest on the government’s railway ticket office closures u-turn, with the Standard’s transport editor Ross Lydall.

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When the Standard launched its first ever fertility survey we had an idea about what the results would tell us.  We thought we’d hear from people concerned about reproductive health and access to fertility treatment. We did! But that wasn’t top of the list… it was money. 

We partnered up with Peanut, the app and online community for prospective parents, and asked 400 people what they were thinking about when considering starting a family. Over a third told us they felt pressured to remain childfree, even though they wanted one, because of financial instability. 

It’s the cost-of-living. It’s being unable to buy a house. That’s what’s stopping, or delaying people having children. And that’s before they take into account how much childcare itself will take out of their pocket. 

In this episode we speak to our Executive features editor Alexandra Jones and we’re also joined by Gemma Bolton who’s being treated for fertility complications. 

You can read more from our survey at standard.co.uk

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