Times Talk by Times of Malta

Four men are in the dock, charged with playing a key role in two separate murders.

One of those killings, the 2017 assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, is arguably the most significant crime in Malta's history.

In this episode, Mark Laurence Zammit speaks to Times of Malta court reporter Monique Agius and online editor Bertrand Borg about the ongoing trial. This episode was recorded on April 29, 2025.

Malta’s new traffic plan has everyone talking but will it actually reduce traffic? In this week’s Times Talk, we sit down with Chris Bonett to clear the air: Who really qualifies for the €25k car grant? What happens if people just switch to cabs? And is asking young people to ride motorbikes really a viable solution? Bonett admits traffic won’t be solved overnight but says a cultural shift is the goal.

A new, groundbreaking discovery has revealed that Malta's human history is at least 1,000 years older than previously thought.

In this episode of Times Talk we meet the first people of Malta - hunter-gatherers who reached the island 1,000 earlier than previously believed, navigating vast open waters before the age of agriculture.

Times Talk follows the journey of the scientists that traced back these prehistoric pioneers and redefined what we thought we knew about the dawn of civilisation in the Mediterranean.

This episode was produced by Mark Laurence Zammit and edited by Karl Andrew Micallef.

In this week's episode of Times Talk, we sit down with the unstoppable Jamie Cardona.

Cardona has been on an incredible winning streak this past year - writing and performing in Malta's longest-running solo show, starring in critically acclaimed musical and theatre productions and now, winning the prestigious music competition Mużika Mużika at the first attempt.

Mark Laurence Zammit sits down with Cardona to learn more about what makes him tick, and what he makes of his sudden burst of success.

This episode was edited by Karl Andrew Micallef.

Malta’s nightlife is fueling a rise in cocaine use, with Valletta emerging as a hotspot for open drug consumption.

Times of Malta investigation reveals how the drug culture has seeped into bars, bathrooms, and beyond.

Mark Laurence Zammit speaks to Times of Malta journalists Marc Galdes and Emma Borg as well as medical experts Anton Grech and Godwin Sammut to explore the seedier side of Maltese nightlife.

Hosted by Mark Laurence Zammit. Edited by Karl Andrew Micallef.

Malta’s COVID-19 response was among the best globally, but former Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne acknowledged areas for improvement.

Corradino Correctional Facility is Malta's only prison. It is home to 673 men and 59 women serving time or awaiting trial. And yet very little is known about it, or about prison life in Malta.

Mark Laurence Zammit was granted an exclusive, unprecedented four-hour filmed tour of the facility by prisons director Chris Siegersma, one month after a damning report by the Ombudsman which saw Corradino described as a "factory of evil" by one inmate.

This is what he saw.

Produced by Mark Lawrence Zammit. Filmed by the Correctional Services Agency. Edited by Karl Andrew Micallef.

Foreign affairs minister. Tourism minister. Deputy prime minister.

If Ian Borg's many hats are weighing him down, he doesn't show it.

In this interview with Mark Laurence Zammit, Borg - one of Malta's most powerful and recognisable politicians - delves into his plans to reform the tourism sector, "fix" Comino and adapt Malta's diplomatic neutrality to the geopolitics of today.

This episode was produced by Mark Laurence Zammit and edited by Karl Andrew Micallef.

You'd be hard-pressed to find two political figures more different than Jason Azzopardi and Jason Micallef. 

They share a first name and a flair for bombastic posts on social media. The similarities end there. 

Azzopardi is a lawyer and former Nationalist Party MP who crusades against the Labour government. Micallef is a Labour official who has vocally defended Labour figures facing corruption allegations. 

In this hour-long discussion moderated by Mark Laurence Zammit, the two Jasons go head-to-head on some of the hottest political issues in present-day Malta. Expect fireworks. 

Produced by Mark Laurence Zammit. Edited by Karl Andrew Micallef. 

Yorgen Fenech is out of prison, more than five years after he was taken into police custody and charged with complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

We still don't know when Fenech - the millionaire heir to the Tumas Group fortune - will stand trial on those charges. What we do know is that he will be sleeping at home until that happens. 

Times of Malta journalist Claudia Calleja was in court when a court granted Fenech bail. Her colleague Daniel Ellul was outside prison when he was released. 

Mark Laurence Zammit speaks to both of them to get some insight into this major event. 

This episode was produced by Mark Laurence Zammit and edited by Karl Andrew Micallef.