The Story

It's the debate of our time. How much is too much and what's the impact of screentime for children? With a proposed ban on social media for under 16s being debated in the UK, and children arriving at primary school swiping books like phones, we take a deep dive into the impact, and future, of screentime and AI in schools. Actress and campaigner Sophie Winkelman, a prominent voice of the dangers of increased screentime for children and Ben Gomes, Chief Technologist at Google, who is leading in the implementation of AI in schools, set out the arguments.

Guests:

• Sophie Winkleman, actress, campaigner and trustee of charity School-Home Support.
• Ben Gomes, Chief Technologist, Learning and Sustainability, Google.

Host: Manveen Rana.  

Producer: Dave Creasey.

Clips: Times Radio.

Photo: Getty Images, Christopher L Proctor for the Sunday Times.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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.

Hadley Freeman was embedded with the Beckhams when she was asked to ghost write a book for Victoria Beckham back in the early 2000s. Now, a colossal family feud between Brooklyn Beckham and the rest of the clan has exploded into the headlines, culminating in a scathing six-page Instagram statement. Hadley tells us what's really going on here - and why we all can't stop watching.

Guest: Hadley Freeman, writer for the Sunday Times.

Host: Luke Jones.

Producer: Dave Creasey.

Clips: Sky News.

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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.

Since an ICE agent shot and killed US citizen Renee Good on January 7, Minneapolis has erupted in protests. Thousands have taken to the streets as federal authorities deployed thousands more immigration officers, resulting in more than 3,000 arrests. So how did we get here, how did ICE become so powerful, and why has the city become a flashpoint for the country?

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: Will Pavia, New York correspondent, The Times

Host: Manveen Rana

Producers: Sophie McNulty, Julia Webster, Olivia Case

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

Read more: What is ICE? A history from 9/11 to the fatal shooting of an American

Further listening: Who is Stephen Miller? Trump’s man behind ‘America First’

Clips: The World Economic Forum, Fox News, CBS News, The Times, NBC, The Guardian, Forbes, CNN, The Joe Rogan Experience, WBTV Local News, Associated Press.

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.

President Trump made his much anticipated speech at Davos on Wednesday, saying he was “seeking immediate negotiations to acquire Greenland” but would not use force. Late on Wednesday evening, he posted on Truth Social that he wouldn't impose tariffs either. So where does this all leave European relations with the United States?

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: 

• Mehreen Khan, economics editor, The Times. 
• Sir Peter Westmacott, former British ambassador to the United States.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Micaela Arneson, Julia Webster. 

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

Read more: Trump’s Davos speech: eight bizarre moments you may have missed

Further listening: Tariffs, Trump and Greenland: ‘The end of the world as we know it’?

Clips: The Guardian, World Economic Forum, New York Post, Associated Press. 

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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 1996, mother and daughter Lin and Megan Russell were brutally murdered in a picturesque village in Kent. It was a case that shocked 90s Britain, and after a year of searching for the killer, a man called Michael Stone was convicted for their murders. But nearly three decades later, he remains in prison, protesting his innocence. So did he really do it? New advancements in DNA testing may yet reopen the case, in a story which could become one of the UK’s biggest ever miscarriages of justice.

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: 

• Emily Dugan, special correspondent, The Sunday Times.
• Mark McDonald, Michael Stone’s barrister.
• Jim Fraser, forensic scientist who originally worked on the case.
• Barbara Stone, Michael Stone’s sister.

Host: Luke Jones.

Producer: Harry Stott.

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

Read more: Who killed Lin and Megan Russell? DNA advances may end doubt

Further listening: Seventeen Years - The Andrew Malkinson story

Clips: BBC.

Photo: Shaun Russell.

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.

Keir Starmer has said that Donald Trump’s plan to put tariffs on the UK and seven other countries which oppose his takeover of Greenland is ‘completely wrong.’ Europe is considering its response, from counter tariffs to more radical options. So is this the start of a trade war or something even more serious?

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: Oliver Moody, Berlin correspondent, The Times and The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Producers: Olivia Case, Sophie McNulty.

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

Read more: Trump-Greenland latest: US president not serious about invasion, says Starmer

Further listening: Can Nato survive a hostile takeover of Greenland?

Clips: CBS, BBC, Al Jazeera, CBC.

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.

China is on the cusp of constructing the biggest embassy in Europe– right in central London– despite a growing chorus of concern it could be used for a number of spying operations. So why is Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer expected to approve the project? And how worried should we really be?

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: 

• Cindy Yu, columnist and contributing editor, The Times and The Sunday Times. 
• Geraldine Scott, assistant political editor, The Times.

Host: Luke Jones. 

Producer: Micaela Arneson. 

Read more:

• It’s a mega mistake to allow the new Chinese embassy
• Why China’s embassy plan should be approved

Further listening: Will 2026 be the year of China?

Clips: The Mirror, Daily Express, Sky News, Channel 4. 

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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 forty years ago in a lab in Boston, biochemist Svetlana Mojsov made an astonishing discovery. She'd conjured up a mixture, GLP-1, that successfully increased insulin levels when blood sugars are high - a mammoth breakthrough for diabetes treatment. It's now the secret sauce in weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, which are taken by 1.6 million people. So why wasn't Mojsov recognised for her work? Why was she, like so many women before her, erased from the story?

Guest: Aimee Donnellan, journalist and author 'Off the Scales: The Inside Story of Ozempic and the Race to Cure Obesity'.

Host: Tom Whipple, science writer and special correspondent, The Times.

Producer: Dave Creasey.

Buy Aimee Donnellan's book from The Times Bookshop

Clips: Sky News

Photo: Stephanie Diani for the Sunday Times Magazine.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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 new study has revealed a surprising truth: men’s sex drive peaks in their early forties. As a man hitting this milestone, Ben Machell explores what makes midlife libido so potent, from confidence and emotional stability, to life experience. We dive into why testosterone isn’t everything, how stress affects younger men, and what makes fortysomething men the “libido elite.”

Read by: Ben Machell, features writer, The Times, and Zak Asgard, contributor. The Times.

Producer: Dave Creasey.

Read more: I’m 43. Are men my age really having more sex than anyone else?

Clips: Working Title/Universal.

Photo: Getty.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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 whirlwind day in Westminster, Robert Jenrick announced that he was defecting to Reform UK after being sacked by the Conservatives. But how much trouble does his defection spell for the Tories? Can he work with Nigel Farage? And what does this mean for the future of the British right?

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: Aubrey Allegretti, chief political correspondent, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Sophie McNulty, Harry Stott.

Read more: Ambush of Robert Jenrick opens new front in war with Reform

Further listening: Will mounting scandals sink reform?

Clips: Kemi Badenoch / X, BBC, Reform UK / Youtube.

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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.