Following his seminal book Empireland, Times writer Sathnam Sanghera now looks at the legacy of colonialism for the billions of people Britain once ruled over – from houseplants to the state of democracy. He also tells us about the fallout from Empireland, and why the debate around our own history has become so toxic. 

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: Sathnam Sanghera, Writer, The Times, and author of Empireworld: How British Imperialism Has Shaped the Globe.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips: The British Council, BBC News, TODAY/NBC, Empire/Goalhanger, Parliament Live, Chatham House, Conservatives.

Read more: Sathnam Sanghera: why I’m taking on the racist trolls again

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After trying - and failing - to kill him via lethal injection, Alabama is planning to execute death row inmate Kenneth Smith next week using an untested method - nitrogen suffocation. But why are they resorting to this? And could he get a last minute reprieve?

Today's episode contains descriptions of death and execution, right from the start - so do consider if you want to listen.

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: Alistair Dawber, Washington correspondent, The Times and The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Olivia Case.

Clips: Times Radio, FOX, NewsNation.

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Find out more about our bonus series for Times subscribers: 'Inside the newsroom'

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Three months into the war in Gaza, the conflict has reached a courtroom: the International Court of Justice in the Hague. South Africa says we are witnessing a genocide take place in real time. Israel has called the claims ‘preposterous’. A leading expert in international law walks us through the case and its possible consequences.

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: Holger Hestermeyer, Professor of International and EU Law, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

Host: Luke Jones.

Clips: United Nations, Channel 4 News, LBC, Sky News.

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Find out more about our bonus series for Times subscribers: 'Inside the newsroom'

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Twenty years after Mean Girls introduced Regina George and her pink-clad Plastics to cinema screens, the high-school Queen Bee is back in a new musical film and a West End stage musical. So why is a film for teenage girls still so popular two decades later? And what did it expose about the complicated politics of girl world?

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: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, pop culture historian and author of So Fetch: The Making of Mean Girls (And Why We’re Still So Obsessed With It).

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips: Mean Girls (2004)/Paramount Pictures, CBS Sunday Morning, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O’Brien/NBC, The Breakfast Club/Universal Pictures, Clueless/Paramount Pictures, Rosalind Wiseman/The Empower Program, Mean Girls (2024)/Paramount Pictures, Apex Predator/Barrett Wilbert Weed, Erika Henningsen/Mean Girls (Original Broadway Cast Recording).

Read more:

• The enduring cult of Mean Girls
• That is so fetch! Reneé Rapp, the star of the new Mean Girls movie

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Find out more about our bonus series for Times subscribers: 'Inside the newsroom'

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Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis began firing missiles into Israel shortly after the invasion of Gaza. But when the rebels started targeting commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea, the US and UK hit back. So, who are the Houthis and can they be stopped?

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: Dr Elisabeth Kendall, Arabist & Middle East specialist and Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge University. 

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips: NBC, CBS, BBC, France 24, Al Jazeera, Reuters, YouTube/Dr Elisabeth Kendall. 

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Find out more about our bonus series for Times subscribers: 'Inside the newsroom'

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This month, thousands of court documents about Jeffrey Epstein were released, unredacted, for the first time. They include new names and allegations about a number of high profile figures. So what did we learn and will anyone go to jail?

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: Will Pavia, New York correspondent, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Olivia Case.

Clips: NBC, Talk TV, News Nation, WFF News, BBC, NBC, MSNBC, AP, City News, E News.

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Tomorrow, Taiwan heads to the polls. It’s the first election of a historic year, where more than half of the world’s population will vote. It could also be one of the most consequential. If the ‘wrong’ candidate wins, China may threaten the self-governing island which the US has pledged to defend.

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: Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia Editor, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips: MSNBC, Atlantic Council, TaiwanPlus News, CNA, Bloomberg Television, CBS 60 minutes, Sky News Australia, Associated Press.

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The Prime Minister has announced new legislation to quash the convictions of wrongly accused subpostmasters. It comes after a groundswell of interest - and outrage - in the story after an ITV drama was broadcast last week. How did a TV show achieve what years of journalism and a public inquiry had failed to? And what next for the convicted subpostmasters?

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: Tom Witherow, news and special projects reporter, The Times.

Host: Luke Jones.

Clips: Times Radio, ITV, Parliament, Talk TV, GMB.

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Find out more about our bonus series for Times subscribers: 'Inside the newsroom'

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The American economy appears to be making a miraculous recovery from inflation and the pandemic. So why the bad economic vibes? Consumer sentiment is low, and the Biden administration is struggling to gain credit for dodging recession. The lessons from that could soon be felt here, as Britain heads towards an election.

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: Mehreen Khan, Economics Editor, The Times.

Host: Luke Jones.

Clips: CNN, ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ - D:Ream/Magnet Records, Kyla Scanlon, Press Association, Sky News.

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In 1972 a small plane with 45 souls on board crashed in the Andes mountains. Stranded for ten weeks in minus 30C, the survivors were eventually forced to eat the bodies of their friends. Their story has been made into a new film 'Society of the Snow'; we hear from a survivor.

This podcast contains scenes of a graphic nature.

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: Blanca Schofield, assistant culture and books editor at The Times and The Sunday Times.

Host: Luke Jones.

Producer: Olivia Case.

Clips: NBC News, 7NEWS, Ave Maria / Franz Schubert / Yehudi Menuhin & Adolph Baller / Paul Gordon & George Moskov / BBV Production / EuroArts Music.

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Find out more about our bonus series for Times subscribers: 'Inside the newsroom'

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