The Story

'Soldier X': What we know so far about the killing of Agnes Wanjiru

08 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For the past six weeks, The Sunday Times has been reporting on the unsolved murder of Agnes Wanjiru, a young mother living near a British Army base in...

COP26: Inside the Amazon tribe fighting to save the rainforest

05 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As the first week of COP26 draws to a close, we're going on a journey, deep into the heart of the Amazon rainforest to see how one indigenous tribe is...

Havana Syndrome: Super weapon or hysteria?

04 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Since 2016, a mysterious illness has affected US diplomatic and security staff working abroad. The symptoms include headaches, fatigue and problems wi...

The Trump voters building a new state in the American Redoubt

03 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A year on from the US presidential election, America's most conservative citizens are relocating en masse to a remote region in the Pacific North...

Lebanon: Anatomy of a failed state

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Lebanon is in economic crisis with shortages of food, medicine and electricity on the ground. Today, how did the country, whose capital was once ...

Good COP, bad COP: What to expect from the climate summit

01 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As delegates from almost two hundred nations gather in Glasgow for the COP26 climate conference, the stakes couldn't be higher. But can the conference...

The pandemic: The best and worst case scenarios for this winter

28 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Will this winter be good, bad, or somewhere in between? Today we take stock of the pandemic, and science editor Tom Whipple helps us imagine what migh...

Perez Hilton: The gossip blogger who changed celebrity culture forever

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Perez Hilton was the original celebrity gossip blogger, who spared no one with his spiky, often malicious posts – and Britney Spears became a favour...

Rishi Sunak's spending review: Is the economy going back to the 70s?

26 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ahead of the chancellor's budget and spending review tomorrow, we look for lessons from the past. Plus, The Times speaks with Rishi Sunak.This podcast...

The tech billionaires trying to outmanoeuvre death

25 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The desire to live forever is as old as life itself. Now some of the world's richest people are investing heavily in the science of immortality. Could...

What can be done to keep MPs safe?

21 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In Westminster, the shock was palpable. How could this have happened again? While MPs' safety is being re-examined following the killing of Sir David ...

Eric Zemmour: Right-wing firebrand, potential president?

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As politicians in France vie to be the challenger in next year's French presidential election an outsider looks to be a contender. Who is Eric Zemmour...

The inside story of Newcastle United's Saudi takeover

19 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a landmark deal signed earlier this month, Newcastle United was bought by a Saudi Arabia-led consortium. The club now has the richest owners i...

What are Vladimir Putin's mercenaries doing in West Africa?

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When a cargo plane containing four helicopters and a large consignment of military hardware touched down in the capital of Mali last month, observers ...

Tim Shipman on Boris Johnson's big gamble

14 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson may have appeared unassailable last week at Conservative Party conference, but could the next few months cause the prime minister more o...

Testosterone in women's sport: What makes an athlete?

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the UK, there is no clear consensus about how trans athletes should be included in competitive sport. Last month, a major review by the Sports Coun...

Nine British soldiers and the murder of Agnes Wanjiru

12 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Nine years ago Agnes Wanjiru was found dead in a septic tank in Kenya. The young mother vanished after British troops enjoyed a debauched night out in...

Prince Andrew: No way back

11 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With allegations of sexual abuse, a dubious friendship with a convicted paedophile and a court case set to unfold in America, is it the end of the roa...

Bonus episode: Damian Lewis and Helen McCrory

09 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Something a bit different on Stories of our times today.Today's show consists of a recording that was thought to have been lost, of an electric perfor...

Policing in the dock: What's wrong with the Met?

07 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The murder of Sarah Everard by serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens has brought the force to a point of near-crisis. The government has a...

Sick Money (Pt 2): How Big Pharma made a killing from the pandemic

06 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The second of two episodes this week, taking a deep dive into the pharmaceutical industry.Big drug companies have won plaudits for their work producin...

Sick Money (Pt 1): Exposing the drug companies' price gouging tactics

05 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the first of two episodes this week, we're taking a deep dive into the pharmaceutical industry. How much does the medication you take actually cost...

Childcare is a mess. Who will tidy it up?

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The childcare sector is on its knees with nursery staff on low wages struggling to make ends meet. Meanwhile parents buckle under the pressure of soar...

Britain's supply chain crisis: A new 'winter of discontent'?

30 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's being called a 'perfect storm'. Rocketing gas prices and a shortage of lorry drivers have combined to cause a devastating ripple of chaos for bus...

Cannabis psychosis: How super-powered skunk blew our minds

29 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Cannabis is far stronger than it used to be, and psychosis rates are soaring. What's causing some cannabis users to develop mental health issues, and ...

The climate change radicals causing motorway mayhem

28 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Insulate Britain has staged sit-ins on the M25 and on the roads to Heathrow and the Port of Dover. The protesters are willing to risk going to prison ...

Cash for access: Prince Charles and the oligarch

27 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Clarence House is caught up in a scandal involving a Russian banker, a group of royal fixers and a £500,000 donation that went missing. The Sunday Ti...

AUKUS: What lies beneath the new submarine pact?

23 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Until last week, it was one of the government's most closely guarded secrets. Only about ten people in Britain had been privy to the details.And then ...

Priti Patel: Turning the tide on the migrant crisis?

22 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In her two years as Home Secretary, Priti Patel has cultivated an image as a hardliner on immigration. Despite all her tough talk, the extent to which...

Trouble for Auntie: Testing times at the BBC

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's been an intense year for the BBC: budget cuts, a series of staff departures and redundancies, accusations of bias… and now, it has a hawkish ne...

Unregistered: The schools unaccountable for child abuse

20 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Violence and neglect are rife in unregistered schools across the UK. We explore how a legal loophole allows these establishments to operate under the ...

Thinking Straight (Pt 7): The ban

17 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Attempts at conversion therapy are taking place across the country: in village churches, Harley Street clinics and counsellors'&nb...

Justin Trudeau: The rise and (possible) fall of Canada's PM

16 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last month Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau called a snap election, hoping to capitalise on support for his pandemic response. With the election...

The history of abortion in America

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A new law restricting abortions in the state of Texas could spell the end of the 1973 Supreme Court ruling which guaranteed access to abortion for wom...

San Francisco and the American nightmare

14 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Since the internet boom in the mid-90s, San Francisco has become a tech superpower, overtaking Silicon Valley. The city has more billionaires per...

Back to life? What Covid has in store this autumn

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As people return to work and school, and Covid numbers continue to rise, just how normal might this autumn be?This podcast was brought to you thanks t...

Thinking Straight (Pt 6): Conversion and transitioning

10 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Attempts at conversion therapy are taking place across the country: in village churches, Harley Street clinics and counsellors'&nb...

COP26: The road to Glasgow

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Next month world leaders will come together in Glasgow for COP26, the annual UN climate change conference, where the fate of the planet hangs in the b...

Life after “Mutti”: How Angela Merkel shaped Germany and the world

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After 16 years as Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel is exiting the international stage. What did the world's most powerful woman stand for, and what...

The lie The Times nearly killed (Pt 2): Publication and reaction

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A hundred years ago last month, The Times published a series of articles proving the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a conspiracy theory that Jews we...

The lie The Times nearly killed (Pt 1): The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A hundred years ago last month, The Times published a series of articles proving the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a conspiracy theory that Jews we...

Thinking Straight (Pt 5): Faith and queerness

03 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Attempts at conversion therapy are taking place across the country: in village churches, Harley Street clinics and counsellors' treatment rooms.&...

Thinking Straight (Pt 4): Undercover again

27 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Attempts at conversion therapy are taking place across the country: in village churches, Harley Street clinics and counsellors' treatment rooms.&...

Who are the 'new' Taliban?

26 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The window for rescuing Afghans is rapidly closing, and for many, that will mean adjusting to life under the 'new' Taliban. Diplomatic correspondent C...

The People's Mujahidin: Inside a secretive Iranian resistance camp

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It is not marked on maps. Men with automatic weapons guard its border. Few outsiders have ever visited the heavily guarded enclave in rural Albania th...

An American fable: The rise and fall of Andrew Cuomo

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, has left office, resigning after a barrage of sexual harassment allegations. How did he go from potential...

The deal that set the stage for a Taliban victory

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Every Monday this August, we're looking back at some of the stories from the past year that have stuck with us.With the Taliban now in contr...

Thinking Straight (Pt 3): Surviving

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Attempts at conversion therapy are taking place across the country: in village churches, Harley Street clinics and counsellors’ treatment rooms.&nbs...

Drunk nation: Why do British people drink so much?

19 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We drank our way through lockdown and now we’re back on the razz – doing what we’ve done to let our hair down since ancient times. But why is bo...

China, the WHO and the power grab that fuelled a pandemic

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Did the World Health Organisation miss its chance to stop Covid-19? More than a year and a half into the pandemic, we're no closer to a definitiv...

'The Taliban will kill me': The interpreter trying to flee Kabul

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As the Taliban takes power in Afghanistan, we follow one former interpreter for American and British troops who is trying to escape the country – an...

The struggle for the soul of Hong Kong

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Each Monday this August, we're looking back at some of the stories from the past year that stuck with us.In June 2020, with the world's attention on t...

Thinking Straight (Pt 2): Undercover

13 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Attempts at conversion therapy are taking place across the country: in village churches, Harley Street clinics and counsellors' treatment rooms. ...

A brief history of the climate crisis

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How did we arrive at such a sophisticated understanding of climate change, and yet still end up on the edge of disaster?Today: how 165 years of scienc...

The law change that will treat journalists as spies

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

You might think the UK would be a safe place for journalists, but investigative reporters in this country can face threats, lawsuits and intimidation....

Life after a terror attack: How sport can help

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On Wednesday 22 March 2017, police officer Kris Aves sustained life changing injuries in the Westminster Bridge terror attack.Today, he tells us how, ...

Fighting for democracy against Europe's last dictator

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Each Monday this August, we're revisiting some of the stories from the past year that have stuck with us.One year ago today, Alexander Lukashenko...

Thinking Straight (Pt 1): Conversion

06 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Attempts at conversion therapy are taking place across the country: in village churches, Harley Street clinics and counsellors' treatment rooms. ...

Seafarers abandoned in the Gulf

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What does it feel like to be abandoned out at sea? We go on board an oil tanker to tell the extraordinary story of those stranded on the MT Iba.This p...

The pingdemic: The great British unlocking experiment

30 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The so-called 'pingdemic' paralysed businesses, public services, and even the cabinet. But it was an inevitable side effect of lifting restrictions an...

GB News, free speech and a very polarised nation

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last month, amid much fanfare, GB News was born. It billed itself as a place where people could say the unsayable. But just weeks after its launch, GB...

The aftermath of the German floods

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When parts of Belgium, the Netherlands and western Germany were hit by flooding earlier this month, it left a trail of devastation and over a hundred ...

Leaving Afghanistan (Pt 2): Handing victory to the Taliban

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Veteran Times war correspondent Anthony Loyd hits the road with Afghan security forces… and meets the Taliban. The second of two episodes this ...

Leaving Afghanistan (Pt 1): Our correspondent's diaries from the 20-year war

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After 20 years of war, is the difficult truth that Nato has lost to the Taliban?The first of two episodes this week with Times war correspondent Antho...

Footballers' wives: Wagatha Christie in the High Court

23 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 2019, Coleen Rooney, wife of former England football captain Wayne Rooney, accused Rebekah Vardy— also the wife of a prominent footballer or "Wag...

Mass shootings: This is America

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

2021 is on track to be America's deadliest year for gun violence in two decades. With record numbers of mass shootings across the country, is the US f...

Police and tasers: The death of Dalian Atkinson

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Five years ago, the death of an ex-footballer in the Midlands town of Telford made headlines. Last month, the officer who unlawfully killed Dalia...

An interview with Michael Wolff: Inside the mind of Donald Trump

20 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The forty fifth president of the US, Donald Trump, will be talked about forever. Now, Michael Wolff in his new book: Landslide: The Final Days of...

European Super League: A busted flush?

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year football fans, politicians and royalty united against the breakaway European Super League. Today we reveal how the multibillion-poun...

Football and the state of the nation

16 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The online racial abuse of some England players following Sunday's Euro 2020 final defeat by Italy has caused outrage across the c...

Covid and freedom day: Lessons from around the world

15 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Despite a surge in coronavirus cases, Boris Johnson is set on lifting all restrictions on what's been dubbed as 'Freedom day' next Monday in England.&...

The anatomy of a global hack

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the weekend of the 4th July, as Americans celebrated their national holiday, a group of cyber criminals were working hard. Their attack left hund...

Haiti: The assassination of a President

13 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last Wednesday a group of gunmen broke into the home of President Moïse in Haiti. Posing as American drug enforcement officials, once inside the...

Inside the world of internet pickup artists

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An investigation by The Sunday Times has uncovered a dangerous network of pickup artists who profess to know how to coach other men to impro...

Gareth Southgate: It's more than just football

09 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

At times over the past few years this country has felt quite divided. But now, there's something we can all agree on: it's coming home. Who is the man...

The politics of hair: Why are students calling uniform policies racist?

08 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Students at Pimlico Academy in Westminster, have used boycotts and walk-outs to express their dissatisfaction over policies about their dress code, po...

Dark channel: The people smugglers and their clients

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Increasing numbers of people from Iran are being sold an escape package out of Turkey and then onto the UK. Who are the men, women and children riskin...

South Africa: Jacob Zuma on trial

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One week ago, South Africa's Constitutional Court found former President Jacob Zuma guilty of contempt for defying its order to appear at an inquiry i...

The new Cold War: What really happened in the Black Sea?

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Two weeks ago tensions bubbled up in the Black Sea as a British warship, HMS Defender, sailed through Ukrainian waters and encountered Russian forces....

Critical race theory and the war for America

02 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It started 40 years ago as an academic movement to critique how historical racism may still be preventing people of colour in the United States from a...

Next slide, please: The enigmatic Chris Whitty

01 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As the pandemic was changing all of our lives, the most private of men was forced into the pressure cooker of public life, facing increasing public ha...

By-election: Welcome to Batley and Spen

30 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tomorrow voters in Yorkshire’s Batley and Spen constituency head to the polls for the fourth time in five years. The previously safe Labour seat is ...

The fall of Matt Hancock

29 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's not often that CCTV footage changes the political landscape. What does the scandal surrounding Matt Hancock tell us about the way government...

The mob boss waging a YouTube war on the Turkish government

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A Turkish mob boss who's on the run, has been making unverified claims on YouTube about corruption and organised crime linked right to the t...

The best books to read for summer 2021

25 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

From Nobel-winning greats and pacey thrillers to memoirs and historical novels, Times Radio's Stig Abell returns to the podcast for our guide to the b...

Tough times for the Veep: Can Kamala come through?

24 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

President Joe Biden put his VP Kamala Harris in charge of stemming the tide of migrants into the United States in March - a seemingly intractable prob...

Confronting the scammers

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fraudsters make millions by exploiting a weak banking system, but who are the crooks behind it all? One of our journalists has turned the table on sca...

Should footballers take the knee?

22 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

They've been booed and criticised but the England team insist they'll begin tonight's match by taking the knee. A former professional footballer tells...

Back to Brexitland: Inside Britain’s most pro-Leave town

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week marks five years since Britain voted to leave the European union. Today we go back to the heart of Brexitland in Boston, Lincolnshire.This p...

Diana, Bashir, and the future of the BBC

18 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Princess Diana's 1995 interview with BBC journalist Martin Bashir is among the most famous in broadcasting history. But last month an independent inve...

Foreign Aid: An end to British benevolence?

17 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rebel MPs have been lining up to criticise plans to reduce the foreign aid budget from 0.7% of our national income to 0.5%, a loss of £4 billion.&nbs...

What really happened at the G7

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As it was the first time world leaders have met since the pandemic began, there was a huge amount to discuss, including: vaccines, climate change and ...

The legacy of China’s one-child policy

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

China has recently changed its two-child policy and is now allowing families to have up to three children legally. It's a move aimed to combat the cou...

The Tokyo Olympics: Are the games in jeopardy?

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As athletes and competitors all over the world prepare to descend on Tokyo, locals don't seem to want them to come. With just weeks to go, will the Ol...

Is medicine sexist?

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is medicine sexist, and is female health suffering as a result?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The S...

Is this Netanyahu's last stand?

10 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The fifteen year rule of Benjamin Netanyahu could come to an end this Sunday if a newly formed coalition government survives a vote of confidence. Wha...

Ethiopia: Terror in Tigray

09 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After an outbreak of conflict back in November last year between the Ethiopian military and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, thousands have ...

The ‘super-immune’ residents living in an Italian town

08 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The small, rural Italian town of Vo' Euganeo was sealed off after recording Europe's first Covid death. But now some locals in the village have been d...

The third wave: Should the June unlocking go ahead?

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One week from today, Boris Johnson has a big decision to make. Is it time to declare 'freedom day' on the 21st of June? Or could the governm...

How student drug-taking reached new highs (and lows) in lockdown

04 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For much of the pandemic, university students have been confined to their halls for months on end. For some, drugs became a way to pass the time. But ...