The US president will greet his Chinese counterpart at the start of a state visit later today. The two leaders will hold talks in Washington, DC tomorrow during which artificial intelligence is expected to be high on the agenda. Despite weeks of warnings about the devastation AI could cause to humankind, the two countries are locked in a battle for global domination of the technology. Could Donald Trump and Xi Jinping stop the escalation?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Rana Mitter, professor of US-Asia relations, Harvard Kennedy School.

Host: Luke Jones.

Producers: Micaela Arneson, Jesse Fox.

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Read more: China’s AI is not the best but it can still come first

Further listening: Will superintelligent AI destroy humanity?

Clips: BBC, LiveNOW from FOX, USA Today, CNBC, C-SPAN.

Photo: Getty Images.

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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Andy Burnham will meet Donald Trump in person for the first time today at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Top of the agenda are the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, North Sea drilling, trade deals and AI. So who wants what? Will there be any curveballs? And can the PM charm his opposite number in this first face-to-face?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Ben Clatworthy, Whitehall editor, The Times.

Host: Luke Jones. 

Producers: Olivia Case, Robyn Simon. 

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Read more: Andy Burnham is set to meet Trump: here are the potential flashpoints

Further listening: Has space become the final frontier for war?

Clips: Sky, BBC, Channel 4, The Guardian, GB News, AP, Parliament.live, United Nations / YouTube. NBC, France24. 

Photo: Getty Images and Wikimedia Commons.

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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Anti-Ukrainian sentiment is on the rise in Poland.The rift stems, in part, from a historical dispute over a wartime massacre of Poles 83 years ago, which has bubbled to the surface in recent months. So, how did relations sour so quickly? And what does this mean for Polish support in the war against Russia?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Anthony Loyd, special correspondent, The Times

Host: Manveen Rana

Producer: Sophie McNulty

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Read more: Poland and Ukraine reopen old wounds that lay buried for 80 years

Further listening: The Ukrainian plot to sink the Russian economy

Clips: BBC, Good Morning Britain, Gazeta Wrocławska, Grzegorz Braun - Facebook, Kancelaria Prezydenta RP - Facebook, RMF24.

Photo: Jack Hill/The Times. 

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Ironman ultra-triathlons demand competitors swim 2.4 miles, cycle 112 miles, and then run a full marathon, paying upwards of $1000 for the pleasure. It’s not everyone’s idea of a perfect Sunday, but for its growing base of devotees, it has become almost like a religion. So how did the sport grow from its low-key Hawaiian roots to a money-making global phenomenon? And what drives people to push their bodies to the limit?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Read by: Rick Broadbent, sports writer, The Times.

Producers: Harry Stott.

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: $1,000 for 140 miles of suffering (in the rain) — why is Ironman so popular?

Photo: Getty Images.

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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All of Ed Sheeran’s support acts have pulled out of his tour after his opening act Macklemore was dropped for making pro-Palestinian remarks on stage. So why has this become such a cause célèbre? What does it mean for Ed Sheeran? And what has happened through history when music and politics meet? 

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Jonathan Dean, executive editor of interviews for Culture and Books, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Producer: Olivia Case.

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: Ed Sheeran is in a £100m mess of his own making

Further listening: My life with Freddie Mercury

Clips: teddysphoto / Instagram, BBC, NewsNation, Virgin Media One, Sky, Boston 25 News, ConcertChickCT / YouTube, Macklemore / Instagram, Nikki/YouTube, BV Concerts / YouTube, CNN.

Music: Macklemore / Hind’s Hall / Bendo; Macklemore and Ryan Lewis / Thrift Shop / Macklemore LLC; Macklemore Ryan Lewis feat. Mary Lambert / Same Love / Macklemore LLC; G-Eazy & Macklemore / FDT (Pt. 2) / Def Jam; Greenday / American idiot / Reprise Records; Billie Holiday / Strange Fruit / Commodore; Kendrick Lamar / Alright / Top Dawg / Aftermath / Interscope;

Ed Sheeran / Shape of You / Asylum / Atlantic; Ed Sheeran / What do I know / Asylum / Atlantic; Nina Simone / Mississippi Goddam / Philips Records. 

Photo: Getty Images.

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 space race is on, but not as we’ve known it. Instead of a man on the moon, nations are jostling for who can plant weapons on the moon. In a major development this week, the US has announced that it has deployed a weapon to outer space – the first country to do so. But are other nations, like China and Russia, far behind?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Larisa Brown, defence editor, The Times.

Host: Rosie Wright.

Producers: Eleanor Harrison-Dengate, Robyn Simon, Micaela Arneson.

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected].

Read more: US confirms weapons in space, prompting warning from China 

Clips: Air and Space Forces Association

Photo: Getty Images.

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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President Trump sparked controversy during his recent trip to Ireland when he said a unified Ireland would be “a fantastic thing.” That was followed on Monday by Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh leaders signing a pact pledging to break up the UK. With Prime Minister Andy Burnham set to meet with the Taoiseach Micheál Martin tomorrow, is a united Ireland now more likely?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Jennifer Bray, political editor, The Sunday Times Ireland.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Robyn Simon. 

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish leaders sign ‘historic’ independence pact

Clips: The Times, The Sunday Times, and RTE News

Photo: Getty Images.

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 Microsoft co-founder tells Danny and Katie why AI is "ultra-different" from any previous technology - and why tech companies shouldn’t be responsible for controlling it. 

Speaking about a new report on AI and equity published by The Gates Foundation he also explores the “vacuum of US leadership” in AI regulation.

The Interview is Times Tech's weekly conversation with the people shaping the future of technology.

Watch on YouTube 

Read more: Bill Gates: My plan to keep the world safe in the age of AI

Get in touch: [email protected] 

Presenters:

• Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times.
• Danny Fortson, US West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times.

Producer: Marnie Duke.

Executive Producer: Priyanka Deladia.

Video Producer: Bronwen Latham.

Image: Getty

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 Thirlwall Inquiry into how Lucy Letby was able to murder babies at the Countess of Chester hospital has released a damning report. It found the hospital could have prevented at least three of the murders, if not for evidence of a pernicious “them and us” culture and a lack of safeguards. But what does this report mean for the hospital authorities? And will it have any bearing on Letby's attempts at an appeal?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Sian Bradley, Northern correspondent, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Micaela Arneson, Eleanor Harrison-Dengate.

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: Lucy Letby inquiry: staff could have stopped three murders 

Further listening: Is there ‘new evidence’ in the Lucy Letby case?

Clips: BBC, The Telegraph, The Mirror, True Criminals podcast, The Guardian, The Thirlwall Inquiry. 

Photo: Getty Images.

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 Iranian-backed Houthis have seized large swathes of territory in Yemen and taken control of the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a key shipping corridor between Asia and Europe. About 12 percent of global trade passes through the strait, including huge amounts of oil, so the move has sent energy prices skyrocketing. But, who are the Houthis? What’s their aim? And with regional powers wary of getting dragged into yet another war, who can stop them?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Dr. Elisabeth Kendall, president of Girton College, Cambridge, specialising in Arabic and Islamic studies.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Olivia Case, Robyn Simon.

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: Houthis seized strait ‘without a fight’. Now they’re bracing for one

Further listening: Inside the West Bank crisis driving Britain to act

Clips: PBS, CBS, BBC, France 24, Fox News, ABC, CNN.

Photo: Mohammed Huwais for Getty Images.

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.