The Story

This Sunday we're bringing you a bonus episode from a new podcast: Normal Women, from celebrated novelist and historian Philippa Gregory.

Normal Women is a radical retelling of our nation’s story – not of the rise and fall of kings and the occasional queen – but of social and cultural change, powered by the determination, persistence and effectiveness of women, from 1066 to modern times. This is not a podcast about three or four well-known heroines. It is a story about millions of women: those who left records and those who were ‘hidden from history.’

Find the rest of the series here.

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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Seven years ago, Fifa introduced the VAR system: the video assistant referee. It was meant to help make quicker, more accurate decisions about on-field incidents like off-side and handballs. But after a series of recent errors, is it ruining the beautiful game?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. 

Guest: Martyn Ziegler, Chief Sports Reporter, The Times and The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Olivia Case.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Clips: BBC, TNT Sport, Premier League, talkSPORT, Sky, ITV, Liverpool FC.

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.

The final season of the hit Netflix series The Crown comes out today. The show has reanimated events lost to history, and put our fascination with the royals into overdrive, but it has also made liberal use of its creative licence. So what has it taught us? And does it matter if drama plays with the truth of real lives?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. 

Guest: Andrew Billen, Feature Writer, The Times.

Host: Luke Jones.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Clips: NBC Today show, The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix/The Crown

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.

As Israel focuses on fighting Hamas in Gaza, tensions are rising in the other Palestinian territory, the occupied West Bank. Since October 7, violence between Palestinians and Israeli settlers has led to the death of over 180 people, mostly Palestinians. With Israel now fighting on two fronts - Gaza and Lebanon - could it cope with a third?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. 

Guest: Catherine Philp, World Affairs Editor, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Clips: Reuters, Al jazeera, CBS News, France 24, DW 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.

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

Former prime minister David Cameron is back in the government after Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle. Pressure had been mounting on Sunak to sack Suella Braverman after a controversial opinion piece in The Times last week. So why is Cameron back? And what do the appointments mean for the Conservatives and their election strategy?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. 

Guest: Steven Swinford, Political Editor, The Times.

Host: Luke Jones. 

Get in touch: [email protected] 

Music: 'Fantasy on David Cameron (Cameron's lament in C minor)' courtesy of Thomas Hewitt Jones. Follow Thomas at @thewittjones on Twitter and @thomashewittjonesmusic on Facebook. And you can hear the full track here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhyORjJ00Rk 

Clips: Sky News, Times Radio, BBC News, BBC Radio 4, TalkTV.

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.

The head of Ukraine’s military says the war is at a stalemate. Meanwhile, Western attention is shifting to the Israel-Gaza conflict. So is a military victory off the table and should President Zelensky start negotiating with President Putin?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. 

Guest: Mark Galeotti, historian, Sunday Times contributor and author of Putin’s Wars: From Chechnya to Ukraine.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Olivia Case.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Clips: NBC, MSNBC, BBC, Forbes, WION, CBS, Times Radio, The Sun.

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.

“This really is the single weirdest book I have ever read, and anyone who does not reach the same conclusion after reading it should be sectioned.”

That was our colleague Patrick Maguire’s verdict on ‘The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson’ by former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, which was published on Thursday.

So this weekend we’re bringing you an episode of another Times podcast, Red Box, in which Patrick journeys into Nadine Dorries's world with Times Radio presenter Matt Chorley.

Plus: Matt speaks to Times columnist Danny Finkelstein (who Dorries accuses of being part of a cabal controlling the Tory party), and one of Boris Johnson’s political allies.

Read more:

Patrick Maguire’s review: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nadine-dorries-book-review-the-plot-ln7gfbvgz

9 explosive claims from Nadine Dorries’s book: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nadine-dorries-book-the-plot-claims-summary-key-points-mpbzh9v68

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.

Tomorrow is the Annual General Meeting of the National Trust - and battle lines are being drawn. Over the past two years, a protest faction called 'Restore Trust' has emerged to challenge the UK's biggest charity. They accuse the organisation of playing politics by highlighting links to colonialism and slavery. But The National Trust says that the history of Empire needs to be part of what we preserve and document. So, can the most quintessentially British institution weather the storm of the culture wars?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. 

Guest: Ben Ellery, News Reporter, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Get in touch: [email protected]

Clips: Channel 4 News, The Spectator, National Trust, BBC News, CBS News, Sky News, Parliament TV.

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.

Suella Braverman has accused the Metropolitan Police of “playing favourites” with protesters as she clashed with Britain’s most senior officer over his decision to give the go-ahead to Saturday’s pro-Palestinian march. Her comments come after the government spent much of the past week on a collision course with protesters and the police over the protests planned for Saturday – Armistice Day – which Rishi Sunak confirmed last night would go ahead. 

Meanwhile, a Labour frontbencher has resigned over his party’s position on a ceasefire. So, a month into the Israel-Gaza war, we explore how the conflict in the Middle East is exposing divisions in the UK.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. 

Guest: Trevor Phillips, columnist, The Times. 

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Get in touch: [email protected]

Clips: Times Radio, Sky News, Chatham House, GB News, BBC Newsnight, Global, LBC, AFP. 

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.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a whistle stop tour of the Middle East earlier this week, as part of a frantic diplomatic effort to de-escalate the Israel-Gaza crisis. His visit comes as China calls for a ceasefire in a bid to position itself as the neutral arbiter in the region. US politicians have labelled Russia, China and Iran as the ‘axis of evil’ - so should the West be worried? And how have the wars in Ukraine and Gaza deepened those relationships? 

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. 

Guest: Ahmed Aboudouh, Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House. 

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Clips: CGTN, PBS Newshour, The Times, France 24, United Nations, C-SPAN, Sky News, BBC News, NBC News, The Telegraph, Fox 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.

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