The Story

It's the trial rocking France's intelligence service. Two guards who had always dreamt of going under cover were allegedly tricked into a plot to kill a ‘Mossad agent’, who was nothing of the sort. It's an unbelievable tale of freemasons, fake missions - and real violence, where personal grudges are dressed up as matters of national security.

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: Adam Sage, Paris correspondent, The Times. 

Host: Rosie Wright.

Producer: Dave Creasey.

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

Read more: Freemasons, bored spies and a murder-for-hire scandal at France’s MI6

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.

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

For millions of people, Disney was a huge part of their childhood. But, for a great number of people that love never went away, and today, it's those people who have become central to Disney’s bottom line. They are the so called “Disney adults”. But their world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, it's a passionate subculture marked by competition, criticism - and high costs.

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: Julia Webster and Sophie McNulty.

Producer: Dave Creasey.

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

Read more: ‘Next-level scary’: inside the ultra-competitive world of Disney adults

Clips: Disney.

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.

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

When The Times foreign correspondent Marc Bennetts moved to Russia in 1997, there was hope for a new future for the country. But over the next 25 years, he witnessed the rise of Vladimir Putin and the erosion of civil liberties. In his new book, The Descent: Witnessing Russia’s Spiral into Madness Under Putin, Marc charts how one man remade Russia in his own paranoid image.

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: Marc Bennetts, foreign correspondent, The Times. 

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Producer: Micaela Arneson. 

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

Read more: Lies and fear: my life under the Kremlin’s propaganda machine

Further listening: ‘I took a grenade blast to escape’: Russian deserters speak to The Times

Clips: Channel One Russia, Educational Video Group, NBC News, ITN, Times Now World, Dot’s Eye. 

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.

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

A Sunday Times investigation has found that, in Scotland, there are claims that the SNP has, in effect, shut down criticism from the charity and voluntary sectors because of a system that leaves them umbilically tied to its political objectives and fearing grave consequences if they step out of line.

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: Dan Sanderson, Scottish political editor, The Times and The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Taryn Siegel.

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

Read more: How the SNP spends billions ‘to buy loyalty from charities’

Clips: 5 News, Parliament TV.

Illustration: Tony Bell.

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 countdown has begun for the launch of NASA's Artemis II mission around the Moon, the first manned mission there in more than 50 years. Their voyage around our nearest neighbour will pave the way for a lunar landing and, eventually, a Moon base. But why is there suddenly rekindled interest in moon exploration, and could this bring humans toward the ultimate goal of reaching Mars?

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: 

• Scott Kelly, retired NASA astronaut.
• Kaya Burgess, science and religious affairs correspondent for The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana

Producer: Julia Webster

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

Read more: Artemis II: mission to the Moon

Further listening: The Epstein Files, AI journalism and the future of truth - The Sunday Story

Clips: NASA, John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, PBS, Space Age Archive, Associated Press, CriticalPast, Cosmosphere.

Photo: Kathia Mestanza, 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.

Donald Trump has threatened that the US would “obliterate Kharg Island” if a deal with Tehran was not reached. The US president has suggested he’d put boots on the ground to seize control of Iran's key oil export terminal. So why does the island matter so much? How would a ground invasion work? And just how risky is it to the US troops involved?

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

Guests: 

• George Grylls, Washington correspondent, The Times.
• Sir Simon Mayall, ex-Lieutenant General in the British army and author.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Harry Stott, Olivia Case.

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

Read more: Can the US take Kharg Island? How an invasion could play out

Further listening: Q&A: What we know (and don't know) about Trump's Iran talks

Clips: CBC, FOX, BBC, 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.

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

Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, was one of the most controversial picks in Trump’s cabinet. But as Trump’s foreign adventures have come to define his second term, Hegseth is not just more visible, he’s become the Iran war’s main cheerleader. So who is he?

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: Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist, the Times and the Sunday Times. 

Host: Manveen Rana

Producers: Harry Stott and Micaela Arneson

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

Read more: Pete Hegseth, the former soldier and TV host selling Trump’s war

Further listening: Q&A: What we know (and don't know) about Trump's Iran talks

Clips: FOX, BBC, Forbes, CBS, SKY.

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.

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

As AI seeps into every corner of art, film and social media, up next, it's podcasts. An AI-generated show called The Epstein Files topped the Apple series charts last week, bringing you the very latest on the colossal 3.5 million documents, in a time frame that most journalists could only dream of. Even the hosts are AI. But does it work? And what does AI-led journalism mean for the future of investigations and the search for truth? We tracked down its creator.

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

Host: Manveen Rana

Producer: Robert Wallace

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

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.

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

This week, Channel 5 broadcast a dramatisation of the downfall of former BBC news anchor Huw Edwards, with Martin Clunes in the lead role. The programme traces the events that led to his sudden and very public fall from grace. Andrew Billen, veteran journalist who specialises in interviews with celebrities, politicians and writers at The Times, met Edwards on several occasions, including the day before his world came crashing down. In a compelling piece published this week, Billen reflects on the man he thought he knew.

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: Andrew Billen, features writer, The Times.

Producer: Dave Creasey.

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

Read more: I’ve met Huw Edwards, here’s what the TV drama gets right (and wrong)

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.

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

Polymarket and Kalshi have become two of the fastest-growing online platforms in the prediction market, hosting bets where people can wager on the outcome of events, including on the conflict in Iran. But some observers have raised concerns that unusually precise, well-timed bets could point to insider dealings. So what exactly are prediction markets? And what does it mean for society when you can bet on almost anything?

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: Chris Stokel-Walker, technology journalist and author.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Sophie McNulty & Julia Webster.

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

Read more: Dollars and death threats: the dark side of prediction markets

Further listening: How AI helped Trump attack Iran

Clips: FRENCH 24 English, CNN, 60 Minutes, CBS News, Fox 10 Phoenix, iSpot, The Times, Coinbase. 

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.

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