The Story

As Rishi Sunak outlasts his predecessor in the top job, just how is he doing? With polls suggesting a heavy Conservative loss at the next election, a cost of living crisis and strikes across numerous sectors, what can we make of the prime minister’s first few weeks in power?

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: Henry Zeffman, Associate Political Editor, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips: Sky News, Times Radio, Telegraph, Channel 4, UK Parliament, Channel 4 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.

Seventy-five percent of all lives lost to suicide in the UK are male. And one charity is leading a campaign to do something about it. For this year, The Times and The Sunday Times is supporting the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) who help people in crisis.  

To donate to The Times and Sunday Times Christmas Appeal visit thetimes.co.uk/christmasappeal or call 0151 284 2336.

For help and support:

CALM Helpline: 0800 58 58 58. 

Samaritans Helpline: 116 123

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.

Guests: 

- Harry Corin, mental health campaigner. 

- Ashley Hargreaves, CALM campaigner.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips: ITV 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.

Putin’s invasion has ushered in a new era of industrial warfare. As the winter freeze sets in, the pace of the war has not yet abated. Weapon stocks are running low and Russia is rearming. The West now faces a choice: either summon the political will (and the money) to become an arsenal for democracy, or put pressure on Ukraine to make compromises.

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: Roger Boyes, diplomatic editor, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips: BBC News, Channel 4 News, CNN, 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.

Over the weekend, reports emerged that the chair of the British Museum, ex-chancellor George Osborne, has been holding ‘secret’ talks with the Greek prime minister over the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece. Also known as the Elgin Marbles, the pieces have become symbolic of a wider debate about colonial legacy and restitution in the cultural world. Supporters of the marbles staying put argue they were obtained legally, but Greece says they were stolen – so should they be returned?

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.

With thanks to The British Museum.

Guests: 

- Dame Mary Beard, classicist.

- David Sanderson, arts correspondent, The Times.

Host: David Aaronovitch.

Clips: Channel 4 News, Times Radio, Reuters, CBC News, BBC World Service, Al Jazeera, ITV Good Morning Britain, LBC, UK Parliament, LSE, BBC Radio 4.  

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.

Chinese cities have seen days of extraordinary protests calling for an end to the country’s zero-Covid measures, and for President Xi to step down. So what is it about this generation of students that’s motivated them to come out en masse on the streets for the first time since Tiananmen Square? And what does it mean for President Xi? 

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: Didi Tang, Beijing Correspondent, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips: BBC, Channel 4, The Telegraph, Reuters, CNN, NBC, CBS, 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.

After a stinging rebuke from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom - which ruled that the devolved Scottish parliament cannot authorise an independence referendum - SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has doubled down saying democracy itself is now at stake, and vowing to turn the next general election into a 'de facto' referendum. Could that work? And what does that even mean?

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: Kieran Andrews, Scottish Political Editor, The Times.

Host: David Aaronovitch.

Clips: Sky News, BBC News, The Guardian, Scottish National Party.

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.

One hundred years ago, when the tomb of King Tutankhamun was discovered in Egypt, the world learnt of the treasures via The Times which had secured the exclusive rights and photographs. So just how did the newspaper get the scoop?

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: Nick Mays, archivist, The Times.

Host: David Aaronovitch.

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.

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

Every prime minister's last act in office is to choose a final list of people to elevate to the House of Lords, parliament's second chamber. And Boris Johnson's resignation honours are already kicking up a storm…

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: Lara Spirit, Red Box reporter, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips: Parliament TV, Times Radio, Al Jazeera English, BBC 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.

In 2020, retired Gwent police officer Ricky Jones took his own life. Jones’s family - who he’d subjected to years of abuse - looked through his old iPhone to try to understand more about their husband and father. But it revealed things even they were not prepared for.

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.   

Domestic abuse helpline and support:

• England - Refuge - The freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247
• Wales - Live Fear Free - Helpline 0808 80 10 800
• Scotland - Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline 0800 027 1234
• Northern Ireland - Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline 0808 802 1414

Articles:

• How a dead officer’s iPhone exposes misogyny, corruption and racism in a police force
• Gwent police officers joked about Jimmy Savile and ‘sex pests’ in the force
• My life as a female firearms officer in the misogynistic police boys’ club

Guests:

• David Collins, Northern Editor, The Sunday Times.
• Hannah Al-Othman, News Reporter, The Sunday Times.

Host: David Aaronovitch. 

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.

Romeo agents have infiltrated the West German Government by wooing secretaries of high-up officials. In the second part of this two-part series, a new agent reveals information about corruption at the very top.

You can read Oliver Moody's article here.

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. 

Guests:

• Gunnar Take, historian at the University of Stuttgart.
• Katja Hoyer, historian and author of 'Beyond the wall'.

Host: Oliver Moody, Berlin Correspondent, The Times.

Clips from: Timeline, Tele Studio West, Operation Romeo: The Love Commandos of the Stasi

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.