The Story
Episodes
Poison (Pt 4) - UPDATE: Kenneth Law is arrested
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Warning, this episode contains discussions about suicide. On Tuesday night, police in Canada announced the arrest and charge of a 57-year-old man...
The Ukrainian children stolen by Putin
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Thousands of Ukrainian children have been abducted by Russia since the war began. But why? Where are the children being sent? And who’s trying to fi...
The BBC chairman, the top civil servant and Boris Johnson
03 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What began as a Sunday Times investigation into Boris Johnson’s finances soon snowballed into a months-long scandal, which led to the resignation of...
Is an 80-year-old Biden still the best bet against Trump?
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With President Biden finally declaring last week that he's running for re-election, and Donald Trump still the leader of the Republican Party, America...
Danny In The Valley: How AI could change medicine forever
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re away for the bank holiday, but in the meantime we thought we'd introduce you to another fascinating podcast from the Times stable.The Sunday T...
The swing voters who’ll decide the next election
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Next week millions of voters will go to the polls as more than 8,000 council seats in England are contested in the local elections – the most signif...
Six months of Musk: How Elon changed Twitter
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Since Elon Musk bought Twitter, he has brought about sweeping changes – but how successful have they been? And what impact has his purchase of ...
Sudan: The general and the warlord fighting for power
21 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the seventh day of violence in Sudan. Hundreds are reported dead and while civilians flee the capital, two generals - one a former warlord - ar...
Where did all the Poles go?
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty years since their country signed up to join the EU, people from Poland are returning home in the thousands. But why are so many leaving? What d...
What we now know about the Pentagon leaks
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The US government is scrambling to assess the damage from a mass leak of defence documents seen as the most harmful intelligence disaster for a decade...
What's going on in the South China Sea?
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
China says its army should increase its preparedness for “real combat” after recent military drills around the island of Taiwan. What’s led to t...
Could TikTok be banned?
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In recent months pressure on TikTok has escalated over fears about how the app and its Chinese parent company ByteDance handle users’ data. The US h...
Is Trump's indictment hurting or helping him with voters?
14 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, Donald Trump became the first US president -- past or present -- to be charged with a crime. But is this historic indictment turning off vo...
Russia’s wrongful detention of journalist Evan Gershkovich
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street Journal reporter has been charged by Russia with spying on behalf of the US government and Gershkovich’s detention has been describe...
Could this be the biggest case of art fraud in history?
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Known in his lifetime as the ‘Picasso of the North’, Norval Morrisseau was one of Canada’s most revered indigenous artists. But now, police have...
Russian space rescue: Is everyone coming home?
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Seven months ago, three men - two Russian cosmonauts and one American astronaut - arrived on the International Space Station. But shortly after, a met...
Britain’s first grand portrait of a person of colour is saved for the nation
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This bank holiday weekend, we're taking a step back from the news to bring you an update on a story we covered earlier in the year.One of Britain's mo...
How the 'ceasefire babies' forgot the Troubles
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
They were supposed to be the ‘ceasefire babies’ – a new generation that grew up in peace – but young people south of the b...
Exposed: How a Tory MP offered to lobby for gambling investors
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
An exclusive undercover Times investigation has found that a Tory MP was prepared to lobby ministers and leak confidential policy documents on behalf ...
Is Starmer vulnerable to a Corbynite comeback?
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Last week Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer confirmed that Jeremy Corbyn would not be allowed to run as a Labour MP at the next general election. But Cor...
The fight for Israel’s democracy
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets over the past three months to demonstrate against a judicial overhaul planned by prime min...
How I broke free from anorexia
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Just after her 14th birthday, Hadley Freeman became achingly aware of her body – specifically, just how ‘normal’ it was compared to a thin class...
France on fire: The protests, explained
31 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The driving force behind protests against President Macron’s pension plans are young people defending their inheritance: retirement at 62. But for m...
The rise and rise of Botox
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s Hollywood’s not-so-secret weapon for getting rid of wrinkles, but as the ‘pretty poison’ turns 21, Sarah Ditum asks: Should I or shouldn’...
The woman who investigated the racist, sexist and homophobic Met Police
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
London’s Metropolitan Police has accepted findings from a landmark report that found racist, sexist and homophobic behaviour inside the UK’s large...
Are banking tremors the start of a new financial crisis?
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When a regional bank in California collapsed, it sent shock waves through the financial system. A few weeks later, and we're still feeling the ripples...
What two gay dads can teach fathers about parenting
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Even though gender equality has come a long way at work, when it comes to parenting the mother is still viewed as the primary caregiver. But does it h...
Is it over for Boris Johnson?
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After swearing an oath on the King James Bible, Boris Johnson spent nearly three and a half hours being quizzed by fellow MPs on the privileges commit...
The hunt for Disease X: What will cause the next pandemic?
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s three years since the then prime minister Boris Johnson announced the first national lockdown in an attempt to halt the spread of covid. So, as...
Iraq 20 years on: Return to Baghdad
22 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty years on, the invasion of Iraq is widely seen as a fiasco. But still today the conflict has ongoing consequences for Iraq and Iraqis. Times cor...
The race to replace Nicola Sturgeon
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last month triggered the first election for the leadership of the Scottish National Party in a decade. So, wh...
Iraq 20 years on: The weapons that never were
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In March 2003, Britain, the US and others invaded the cradle of civilisation, promising to end the perceived threat from Iraqi president Saddam Hussei...
Off Air … with Jane & Fi - and Dan Snow
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Friday episode comes courtesy of our sister podcast: Off Air ... with Jane and Fi, who are joined by historian Dan Snow to talk about his late...
Uncovering the truth: The killing of Mahsa Amini
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On September 16, 2022, Mahsa Amini died after being arrested by the Iranian morality police for allegedly dressing inappropriately, sparking protests ...
48 hours on the NHS front line
15 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The NHS has had a tough few years: Covid, huge winter demand and now strikes have disrupted services. But even on an average day, the pressure in one ...
Can Jeremy Hunt get Britain growing?
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tomorrow the chancellor Jeremy Hunt will stand up in the House of Commons to deliver his first full budget. With the UK economy at its most stagnant p...
How vaping took over Britain
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
They are supposed to help adults quit smoking – so why is a Willy Wonka array of disposable vapes being mass marketed to children? The Chartered Tra...
Is Moldova next in Putin’s sights?
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A small pro-Russian political party is leading anti-government protests in the former Soviet state amid warnings from Ukraine and Moldovan security se...
Ron DeSantis: The next US president?
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The race for the Republican nominee for the 2024 US presidential race is already underway – with former White House resident Donald Trump throwing h...
Woman, Mother, Fighter: The Ukrainian MP taking on Putin
08 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, one woman is determined that the world doesn't lose interest. To mark International Women's Day we meet ...
Manchester Arena bombing: How MI5 failed to stop it
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Almost six years after a suicide bomber killed 22 and injured hundreds more at the Manchester Arena, the inquiry into the attack has published its fin...
One man’s mission to meet every Second World War veteran
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
25-year-old Rishi Sharma sleeps in a rental car and eats one meal a day. But it’s worth it, he says – as he travels around the world to interview ...
The Final Finkelvitch
04 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
David Aaronovitch has left The Times after nearly 18 years at the paper, and after three years on Stories of Our Times. As well as presenting this pod...
Investigation: The hidden schools of Stamford Hill
03 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the strictly isolated Hasidic community of North London, thousands of boys reach the age of 16 without being able to read or speak much Englis...
Could Britain lose the first grand portrait of a person of colour?
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of Britain's most important paintings of a non-white subject could leave the UK forever next week as the deadline approaches to submit an offer to...
What Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal actually means
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On Monday the prime minister revealed his big Brexit deal with the European Union, which aims to avoid a hard border across the island of Ireland and ...
'Russian warship, go f*** yourself!’ What really happened on Snake Island?
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On the first day of the war in Ukraine, a story emerged of a David and Goliath face-off in the Black Sea, when the Ukrainian soldiers on a small, deso...
Can the Oscars lobbying machine ever be fair?
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week the final round of voting opens for the 95th Academy Awards – and the Oscars are embroiled in a row about diversity again. The latest cont...
Borscht, books and ballet: The battle for Ukraine's identity
24 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the days before he invaded Ukraine, President Putin used a televised address to attack the country’s sense of nationhood and deny its right to ex...
Haiti: A failed state?
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Kidnap, rape, riots and murder have become a part of everyday life in Haiti. Still reeling from successive natural disasters, a cholera epidemic and s...
Artificial intelligence: Bright new future or the end of humanity?
22 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We have entered what many experts are now describing as a golden age of AI. If machines could be our surgeons, our judges and our artists, what would ...
The case for a four-day working week
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After a six-month trial, the results of the world’s biggest four-day working week pilot have been published. It found there was no hit to productivi...
The rise and fall of Nicola Sturgeon
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The race is now on to find a replacement for Nicola Sturgeon, who resigned as first minister of Scotland last week. A formidable force in Scottish pol...
Nicola Bulley and the TikTok detectives
17 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lancashire Police is facing a backlash this week for sharing personal details about missing mum Nicola Bulley to the general public. The case has rece...
Daisy’s Law: One woman’s fight to send her rapist father to jail
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Children conceived through rape will be recognised as victims of crime under new government plans. England and Wales will be among the first countries...
Who blew up the Nord Stream pipeline?
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When the Nord Stream pipelines - that pump gas from Russia to Germany - were damaged in September it didn’t take long for investigators to determine...
How Italy caught the mafia's last godfather
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After 30 years on the run, Italy's most-wanted mafia boss, Matteo Messina Denaro, was finally caught in January. A prolific murderer, Denaro once boas...
The West Bank children who dream of martyrdom
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Turmoil has once again surged in the Middle East. With at least 40 Palestinian deaths and nine Israeli deaths, it's the deadliest start to a year sinc...
Turkey-Syria earthquake: What happens now?
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tens of thousands of people have died in Turkey and Syria after two earthquakes on Monday, but time has almost run out to find survivors. In Turkey, c...
Investigation: Why British Gas has been breaking into customers’ homes
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A Times journalist went undercover to show that British Gas obtained court warrants to break into customers’ homes to force fit prepayment meters.&n...
Should the UK follow New Zealand’s smoking ban?
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2021, New Zealand announced it would become the first country in the world to outlaw cigarettes for the younger generation, by raising the age of s...
The Hollywood fairytale of Wrexham football club
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When two actors decided to buy non-league football club Wrexham AFC, they brought the cameras with them to document every moment. With the Hollywood l...
The scandal that shook the NHS
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ten years ago today, a public inquiry concluded that patients were subject to shocking levels of neglect at Stafford Hospital, putting it among the wo...
Sunak's first 100 days: Promises, scandals and strikes
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rishi Sunak’s been in Number 10 for 100 days. So how’s he doing? What’s he been doing? And with Labour leading in the polls, can the UK’s thir...
The school strikes explained
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Across England and Wales today, many schools are closed and pupils are at home as the UK’s biggest teaching union goes on strike - the first of seve...
Why German tanks are going to war in Europe
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, Germany confirmed it would send tanks to Ukraine to help in the fight against Russia. The announcement came after weeks of foot-dragging on...
What's killing the Teesside crabs?
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When a nightmarish scene unfolded on the beaches of northeast England in the last few months of 2021, fishermen raised the alarm. The mass die-off of ...
The cache and the caucus: How Biden's documents may strengthen his enemies
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On 9 January a story broke that classified documents had been found at a Washington DC office used by President Biden. In the weeks since, four more d...
A serial rapist inside the Met police
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of the country’s worst sex offenders plead guilty to 48 rapes of 12 women committed over almost 20 years while he was a police officer for the M...
How the rich and powerful try to intimidate the press
25 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Until recently the term Slapp – strategic lawsuit against public participation – meant very little. But yesterday in parliament, an MP introduced ...
Iran: Fighting back in the face of execution
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Protests - sparked by the death of a young woman in the custody of Iranian morality police - have continued for over four months, evolving to incorpor...
The gender bill dividing the UK
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The UK government has blocked Scottish gender recognition reforms, which would allow anyone over the age of 16 to self-declare their gender and be rec...
Are dating apps running out of steam?
20 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2021, Sunday Times writer Megan Agnew experienced a strange sort of heartbreak after a relationship that began on a dating app. It got her thinking...
How Taylor Swift became the voice of a generation
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This year, Taylor Swift is set to embark on her biggest and most expensive world tour. Fans flew into a frenzy when tickets went on sale after several...
Wagner Group: The private army leading Russia’s fightback
18 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ukraine continues to deny Russia’s claims of victory in Soledar, where the Wagner Group – a private army – has been fighting. Why is Russia figh...
Thermonuclear fusion: A star on earth to power the world?
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
At an experimental nuclear reactor in the south of France, 35 countries are trying to build a star on earth. It's just one of several facilities aroun...
Could Boris Johnson really bounce back?
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Six months since his resignation, Boris Johnson has been keeping busy. Leadership chatter won’t go away, but he is happy to let his old friends do t...
Andrew Tate's malign online influence
13 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the controversial influencer Andrew Tate’s appeal against his detainment on charges of rape and human trafficking in Romania was rejected...
Sam Bankman-Fried: The unravelling of a crypto whizz kid
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, the disgraced boss of crypto firm FTX pleaded not guilty to fraud-related charges. Just months before, billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried had be...
Prince Harry: Going Spare
11 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With the publication yesterday of Prince Harry's hotly anticipated memoir – Spare – it's been another explosive week for the royal family. So what...
Can the NHS be fixed any time soon?
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After fraught crisis talks, the government announced its plans to fix the NHS. So what's really going on behind hospital doors? How did we get here? A...
China's Covid gamble
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A month after the Chinese government announced an abrupt end to its “zero-Covid” policy, lifting virtually all the restrictions its citizens had b...
How I stopped being a problem drinker
06 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Like increasing numbers of Brits, columnist Robert Crampton had a guilty secret: he was drinking more, the older he got. Way more. In a brutally hones...
The spy who infiltrated the ‘New IRA’
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Details have emerged in court about how an undercover MI5 agent managed to infiltrate and gather evidence on the political wing of the ‘New IRA’. ...
The new science of eating well
04 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How should we eat? What should we eat?Author and epidemiologist Tim Spector says it’s time to ban the D word – ‘dieting’ – lose the calorie ...
Ukraine and beyond: The world in 2023
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After a period of global upheaval unlike any other in living memory, we look back at the year war came to Ukraine, and how its fallout has changed Eur...
Best of 2022: Can an AI bot convince you that it's sentient?
01 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over the festive period, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2022.Google engineer Blake Lemoine brought an unusual concern to ...
Best of 2022: The Falklands, 40 years on: A father and son’s story
31 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2022.In April 1982, Captain Christopher Craig ...
Best of 2022: The cult of crypto: How $2 trillion went up in flames
30 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2022.It promised a financial revolution - a li...
Best of 2022: The real story of Colditz
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2022.It's a legend many of us have grown up wi...
Best of 2022: Why our man in Moscow had to leave
28 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2022.As the Ukraine war progressed, journalist...
Best of 2022: Anthony Loyd on his kidnap and escape
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the week between Christmas and New Year, we’re listening back to some of our favourite episodes of 2022. We begin with one of the most riveting s...
Wine Times with Jane Garvey and Fi Glover
24 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Christmas Eve bonus episode comes courtesy of our sister podcast: Wine Times.Discussing and decanting with Suzi Ruffell and Will Lyons on a li...
The best letters to the editor of 2022
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Every day, hundreds of readers write into The Times and The Sunday Times. In a year when the news didn’t seem to stop, the letters editors of the tw...
Rebuilding Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, a humanitarian crisis has unfolded in Afghanistan. Foreign financial government support has run dry, and ai...
Strikes: Is there any end in sight?
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Strike action on a scale not seen since the 1980s is set to continue into January as workers demand pay rises to match spiralling inflation. Today, as...
A life well lived: Remembering those we lost in 2022
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Times has an august history of recording the lives of significant people, and has been doing so in the obituaries pages since the 19th century. To...
The British man rescuing Ukrainians from Putin’s war
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
British volunteer Dave Young has rescued over 800 Ukrainians from the war's frontline, as well as losing his right eye to shrapnel. Anthony Loyd and f...
Qatar 2022: 'Like globalisation on an acid trip'
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As one of the most controversial World Cups in living memory heads towards its final climax this weekend -- what was it actually like being there? And...
Why helping a generation of children starts with breakfast
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day but, for increasing numbers of children, it’s a meal they miss, affecting their concentration an...