For the past week, islands in Greece have experienced catastrophic wildfires. Over twenty thousand people have been evacuated - the largest rescue operation in the country's history. It comes amid a punishing heat wave, where temperatures are regularly soaring well over 40 degrees. So is this climate change in action? A new report has some clues.

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:

• Daphne Tolis, freelance journalist in Greece.
• Adam Vaughan, Environment Editor, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips: Times Radio, The Guardian, Daphne Tolis/UGC, Reuters, BBC.

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

In the last few years, the UK has seen a 44 percent increase in single women seeking fertility treatment on their own. That means they need sperm - and many are looking towards Danish donors for it. So why is single motherhood - by choice - on the rise? And what is Denmark doing differently? 

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:

• Rachel Sylvester, Chair of the Times Health Commission, Columnist and Interviewer, The Times.
• Liv Thorne, Author, Liv's Alone: Amateur Adventures in Solo Motherhood.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips: CBS News, BBC.

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

Major-General Kyrylo Budanov is the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence - the 37-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise to become the country's youngest head of the organisation. Russia believes that he is lying in a coma in Germany following a missile strike on his headquarters but he’s actually alive and ready to take ‘direct action’ against his enemies.

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: Anthony Loyd, special correspondent, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Clips: CNN, BBC, ABC, CBC, DW, Sky News.

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

With just a few seconds of your voice, a scammer can create a fake AI version of “you”, call your parents and potentially scam them out of thousands of pounds. The ruse is on the rise in the UK and uses cheap and readily available artificial intelligence. So how does it work and how can you protect yourself when just three seconds of audio is enough to create a fake you?

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: Katie Tarrant, news reporter, The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Olivia Case.

Clips: Sky / Esfand, fakeyou.com, 12News, NBC, ElevenLabs, ITV.

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

Last week, Hollywood’s actors joined its writers in the first industry-wide shutdown in 63 years. The West Wing’s Richard Schiff tells us his fears for new actors and how it feels to know that AI could “clone” him for future projects.

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:

• Richard Schiff, actor and director, and
• Constance Kampfner, News Reporter, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Clips: Universal Studios, Guardian News, Sky News, Associated Press, NBC, Theme Park Times, WGA West.

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

The giant panda has become one of China’s diplomatic tools, after a pair were gifted to President Nixon as an act of friendship in the 1970s. But with US-China relations deteriorating - what can pandas tell us about the two superpowers’ modern relationship?

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: The National Archives, CNN, France 24, CCTV, NBC News, Richard Nixon Foundation, Action News 5, TikTok/@care2petitions, pandavoices.org.

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

It’s a by-election triple whammy tomorrow - and seats up for grabs include Boris Johnson's former constituency of Uxbridge. The votes were triggered after three Conservative MPs resigned - and the Tories are already saying they’re expecting to lose all three. The Times has been finding out how voters feel - and they’re not happy. So what could tomorrow’s results mean for Rishi Sunak’s and Keir Starmer’s chances at the next general 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: Tim Shipman, Chief Political Commentator, The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana

Clips: The Times, BBC News, Sky News, ITV News, Channel 4 News.

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

It’s one of the most anticipated movies of the year. After months of bright pink promo ‘Barbie’ - starring Margot Robbie and directed by Greta Gerwig - finally hits the big screen this week. Little girls have been playing with the doll for 64 years... but she's not without her controversies. So, is life in plastic really still fantastic? 

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: Hadley Freeman, columnist, The Times. 

Host: Jane Mulkerrins, Associate Editor, The Times magazine.  

Clips: Warner Bros. Pictures, Aqua, CNN, BBC, News 12, Barbie Collectors, CBC. 

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

Councillors in Orkney have voted to explore ways that the group of Scottish islands could break away from Scotland and the UK. Proposals include becoming a crown dependency or even a self-governing territory of Norway - so how might Orxit work? And how could this debate hurt the SNP at the next 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: Mike Wade, Senior Reporter Scotland, The Times.

Host: Luke Jones.

Clips: BBC Radio Scotland, Reuters, DW News, WION, Orkney Islands Council, The Orkney News, STV, LBC. 

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

On Wednesday evening, five days after allegations were first published, Huw Edwards was named by his wife as the BBC presenter accused of paying £35,000 to a young person for sexually explicit photographs. As further allegations emerge, the Metropolitan Police says it has found no evidence of a criminal offence and Edwards is receiving in-patient hospital care for his mental health after a “serious episode.” So how did the week unfold? And where does it leave the debate over public interest, privacy and duty of care?

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. 

Host: Manveen Rana.

Guests:

• Alex Farber, Media Correspondent, The Times.
• Pia Sarma, Editorial Legal Director, Times Media.

Producer: Olivia Case.

Clips: Sky, Channel 4, Reuters, BBC, Andrew Gold, TalkTV, Channel 5, Sky.

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