A supermarket chain is offering £1000 welcoming handshakes to new truck drivers - just one indication of the shortages in the haulage industry.  The Road Haulage Association says that there is now a shortfall of 100,000 lorry drivers across the UK and other sectors of the economy are also finding it difficult to find workers, including in hospitality, construction and IT.  The pandemic has shaken things up and Brexit has seen thousands of EU workers returning home - but is this a short-term problem or are there deeper structural changes happening? Joining David Aaronovitch in the Briefing Room: Dougie Rankine, editor of Truck and Driver magazine.  Katherine Price, news editor of The Caterer. Tony Hill, Director of the Institute for Employment Studies. Yael Selfin, Chief Economist, KMPG UK. Torsten Bell, Chief Executive at the Resolution Foundation. Jane Gratton, Head of People Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce. Producers: John Murphy, Sally Abrahams and Kirsteen Knight.
Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot
Editor: Jasper Corbett

Where Are All the Workers?

David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news

News

David Aaronovitch and guests assess the latest developments in Ukraine. In 2022, Russia was expected to win the war easily. That didn't happen. But is Russia gaining the upper hand now?  Guests: James Waterhouse, BBC’s Ukraine Correspondent
Polina Ivanova, FT correspondent covering Russia, Ukraine and Central Asia
Michael Clarke, Professor of Defence Studies at Kings College London and Specialist Advisor to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy
Ann Marie Dailey, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and policy researcher at RAND  Production team: Sally Abrahams, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound engineers: Neil Churchill

Ukraine: Who's winning the war?

David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the current financial crisis facing UK universities and ask what can be done about it. Guests: Branwen Jeffreys, BBC Education Editor
Nick Hillman, Director of The Higher Education Policy Institute
Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford and member of the Migration Advisory Committee
Alan Manning, Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics Production team: Sally Abrahams, Kirsteen Knight, Miriam Quayyum and Ben Carter
Editors: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound engineers: Neil Churchill

How much trouble are UK universities in?

The H5N1 strain of avian flu isn't new. It was discovered in China in 1996. But in recent years it's started passing from mammal to mammal and it's now rife on cattle farms in the United States. How much should humans worry? David Aaronovitch speaks to: Professor Wendy Barclay, action medical research chair in virology at Imperial College London
Kai Kupferschmidt, science journalist and molecular biologist
Dr Caitlin Rivers, epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
Professor Ian Brown, avian virology group at The Pirbright Institute Production team: Sally Abrahams, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter
Editors: Richard Vadon and Emma Rippon
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound engineers: Rod Farquhar

Avian flu is evolving but what risk does it pose to us?

David Aaronovitch and guests explore the troubled state of the water industry in the UK. How do companies solve the sewage problem, fix the leaks and reduce the debt mountain? Guests:  Kate Bayliss, research associate in the Department of Economics at SOAS, University of London
David Hall, visiting professor in the Public Services International Research Unit at the University of Greenwich
Sir Dieter Helm, Professor of Energy at the University of Oxford 
Julie Bygraves, public policy analyst and expert on utility finance Production team: Sally Abrahams, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound engineers: Neil Churchill and Graham Puddifoot

Why is the water industry in so much trouble?

Democrats and Republicans have promised to solve the border crisis in recent times but they've failed and it remains a huge election issue. How does the problem get resolved? David Aaronovitch talks to: Gustavo Solis, investigative border reporter at KPBS television station in San Diego
Doris Meissner is Senior Fellow and Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program 
Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Fore­­­ign Relations and author of When the World Closed Its Doors: The Covid-19 Tragedy and the Future of Borders  Production team: Sally Abrahams, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter
Editor: Richard Vadon
Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound engineers: Neil Churchill

Where Are All the Workers?

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