The Story
Episodes
Intersex surgeries: Consent, shame and a lifetime of secrets
13 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Should surgery to alter the reproductive organs of children who are born intersex be stopped?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of ...
Could the NHS be overwhelmed in two weeks?
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is the NHS just weeks from the toughest moment in its history?Chief medical officer Chris Whitty has said the next few weeks will be the worst of the ...
Brex and the City
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After a turbulent year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally reached a post-Brexit Trade Deal with Brussels. But the UK's exit from the EU c...
Capitol riot: The violent death throes of the Trump presidency
08 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
They were scenes that shocked the world: hundreds of supporters of the outgoing president storming into the country's seat of power. On the day expect...
Facial recognition technology: A privacy nightmare?
07 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Facial recognition technology is in the spotlight as the surveillance watchdog raises privacy concerns over its use by police forces. Are th...
Concussion in sport: Why is boxing still allowed?
06 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With safety protocols in elite sport back under the spotlight due to recent high profile cases in rugby and football, the Times' Chief Sports Writer, ...
The psychological effects of a world without touch
05 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The British are not known as tactile people, a firm handshake will do while our continental neighbours embrace with hugs and kisses, but is that reall...
The truth behind Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's imprisonment in Iran
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Could an unpaid British debt be the reason Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held by Iran for the past five years?This podcast was brought to you tha...
Times cartoonist Peter Brookes: A life in ink
31 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Cartoonist Peter Brookes looks back on some of the more memorable images of his almost 30 years at The Times, and walks us through his creative proces...
2020: An extraordinary year in Westminster
30 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
All this week we look back at the biggest stories of the last twelve months. Today: We ask Matt Chorley and Esther Webber to assess the standout momen...
2020: The year that changed everything in the USA
29 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
2020 has been quite the year for all of us, but it has been especially tumultuous in the United States. From the coronavirus pandemic to the Black Liv...
Tom Whipple’s year in Covid: from Wuhan to lockdown to vaccine
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
All this week we look back at the biggest stories of the year. Today: Coronavirus. How should we separate the science from the conspiracy theories? Wh...
In a Covid year, why sport matters
24 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Former table tennis player, Matthew Syed, visits a club in Brighton which gets funding from Sported, one of the charities the Times and Sunday Times i...
Wrapped up in books: What to read this Christmas
23 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
David Aaronovitch sits down with Times Radio breakfast show host Stig Abell to share some of their most cherished festive page turners.This podcast wa...
Times Investigation: The tax enforcers chasing penniless families
22 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An investigation by the Times has found that HMRC, the UK’s authority responsible for the collection of taxes used private debt collection comp...
The true price of gold: Inside Ghana's illegal mines
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A Sunday Times investigation reveals a shady supply chain stretching from west Africa’s hazardous gold mines through Dubai and on to Europe. Who are...
Festive Wines: What to drink this Christmas
18 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With a week to go before Christmas, Stories of our times hosts Manveen Rana and David Aaronovitch are joined by journalist and wine expert Jane Macqui...
Europe's worst shipwreck: What happened to the MS Estonia?
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The MS Estonia sank into the icy Baltic Sea in 1994, descending alongside the evidence of what happened that fateful night where 852 people died....
USA: Will Trump pardon himself?
16 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
During four years in office, President Donald Trump has already handed out a number of controversial pardons to friends and allies, but are there more...
Who’s afraid of a vaccine?
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As Britain becomes the first country to embark on a mass Covid-19 vaccination programme, Stories of our times have been given exclusive access to new ...
Insight Investigation: The cost of a second late lockdown
14 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Cameron Wellington, a teenager from Walsall, died on November 19th after catching coronavirus. He left a devastated family behind, but could live...
The rise and fall of Sir Philip Green
11 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group filed for administration last week we trace the rise and fall of the former 'king of the high street'. Is thi...
Ampleforth: A British public school and a scandal
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The leading Catholic school Ampleforth College has been temporarily banned by the government from taking on new pupils because of safety concerns. The...
Where are all the gay footballers?
09 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
All this week, rainbow coloured bootlaces and armbands are being worn by football players nationwide. This is to mark the Premier League's annual 'rai...
The Impenetrable Forest: The murder of a silverback gorilla
08 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In June, the charismatic leader of the Nkuringo gorilla group was killed by a poacher. The incident shocked the conservation community and caused an i...
Did pollution kill Ella?
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah will speak at a High Court inquest into the death of her daughter Ella who died following an asthma attack in 2013. ...
The assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist
04 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When news broke of the assassination of the head of Iran’s nuclear programme the details suggested an operation straight out of an action film. The ...
What are the options for a Covid Christmas?
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week the UK approved its first coronavirus vaccine for widespread use. With the end now clearly in sight, does the government's current plan...
Changing gender: A landmark judgement in the Keira Bell case
02 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Yesterday at the High Court, a judgement was passed that could have major implications for the treatment of children at gender identity clinics.We spe...
Marcus Rashford and Sir Alex Ferguson tackle the hunger game
01 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In Britain, about 2.4 million children live in families who cannot afford all the food they need. During the pandemic, up to 8.1 million Britons have ...
Covid and accusations of cronyism
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Transparency rules have been cast aside by ministers in their coronavirus panic. The result? Privileged access for friendly lobbyists and £1.5bn of c...
Bring Me Home: (Pt 5) A legal battle over Shamima Begum's future
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court heard arguments over whether Shamima Begum should be allowed to come back to Britain to fight for her citizenship...
Bring Me Home: (Pt 4) Lessons from Europe
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The UK is not alone in having to decide what to do with its citizens stuck in Syrian camps and Iraqi prisons. Thousands of European nationals travelle...
Bring Me Home: (Pt 3) Deradicalising Shamima Begum
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Supreme Court judges are now deliberating on whether Begum should be allowed back to Britain to fight for her citizenship. But would happen if she did...
Bring Me Home: (Pt 2) Life in the camps
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the second part of our series on Shamima Begum, we explore the experience of British nationals detained in Syria. What are living conditions like i...
Bring Me Home: (Pt 1) Shamima Begum's story
23 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It was a chance meeting in a Syrian camp. A veteran war reporter, a young mother, and an interview that polarised a nation. Shamima Begum was just 15 ...
Next week: Bring Me Home, a series about Shamima Begum
21 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
All next week Stories of our times will examine the effectiveness of the UK’s policy towards those detained in Syria; discuss de-radicalisation; and...
Meeting the fugitive CEO: Carlos Ghosn
20 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn fled house arrest in Tokyo and turned up in Beirut in December 2019, the details read like they’d come straight from t...
The Princess Diana interview and alleged BBC cover-up
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Was one of the most famous interviews in UK television history secured by underhand means? Twenty-five years on, the BBC finds itself under fresh scru...
Can Trumpism survive without Trump?
18 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump got more Republicans to vote for him than any US presidential candidate in history. He's changed the party and the country forever. ...
Protests and lockdowns: Life on university campuses
17 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a turbulent time on university student campuses, with some erupting in protest against Covid-19 measures. Now, a million students will leave...
All change in No 10: The battle for the soul of Boris Johnson
16 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After a tumultuous week, the Vote Leave contingent that brought the PM to power was expunged from No 10. But what does the undignified power struggle ...
The Vaccine: The first glimmer of hope
13 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The first in an unfolding miniseries - The Vaccine - tracking the progress of those tackling this historic challenge. We'll be making sense ...
A trail of violence at the Kakuzi avocado farm
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If there's one item of food that defines this era, and a generation of millennials, it's the avocado. But how much do we know about where the avo...
Jeff Bezos and the rise of the Amazon empire
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How did Amazon boom during the pandemic? And how big will it grow whilst other retail businesses suffer? This podcast was brought to you thanks t...
Exclusive investigation: Disinformation and Hunter Biden
10 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hares Youssef, a Ukrainian businessman, claims he was promised a US visa in return for information that would damage Joe Biden’s presidential campai...
Joe Biden: The next President of the USA
09 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What will a Biden presidency look like? And what do we know about the man taking on the top job in the White House? This podcast was brought to y...
French secularism and the resurgence of terror
06 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last few weeks, Islamist terror attacks in France, and then Austria shook Europe, and the world. In response, the UK has also raise...
The road out of the second lockdown
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A new national lockdown starts today. It’s due to end on December 2nd, but just what conditions will be necessary to lift the restrictions? And what...
US election special: No clear winner - what now?
04 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Both President Trump and Joe Biden say they are on course for victory. So, what happens now?The Stories of our times production team has been up all n...
US election special: Coming soon
04 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Stories of our times team has been up all night watching the results roll in. A special episode will be dropping in your feeds very soon. Here is ...
When Decca met... Tracey Emin
03 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Artist Tracey Emin has always shared her most intimate pain through her work. But now she reveals to Decca Aitkenhead how her body has been ravaged by...
No such thing as a free lunch?
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Half term may be over, but the battle to feed the children of this country, certainly isn’t. What will happen when the next holidays come round?&nbs...
US election: Are the polls right?
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With just days until the election, Joe Biden is entering the final stretch with a significant lead in the polls over Donald Trump. But could another s...
US election: Is God still on Donald Trump’s side?
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2016, 80 percent of white Evangelicals voted for President Trump. How has he repaid them? And four years on, can one of the largest denominations o...
US election: Brexit and Ireland
28 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The so-called "special relationship" between Britain and America is often talked about - but after next week's Presidential election - will America be...
US election: A tale of two battlegrounds
27 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As election day approaches, the campaigning in key battleground states has intensified. Florida and Pennsylvania are just two of a handful of sta...
Investigation: Inside Russia's disinformation war (Pt 2)
26 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast exposed a Russian fake news campaign designed to undermine and spread fear about the Oxford University coronavirus vaccine. Now we follow...
Insight investigation: How elderly paid price of protecting NHS from Covid-19
25 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While ministers delayed lockdown, soaring cases were putting immense pressure on hospitals. An Insight investigation shows officials devised a brutal ...
Escaping slavery in modern Britain: Hadi's story
23 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Hadi took a trip to England, she only planned to stay for a couple of weeks. What eventuated was far more sinister: exploited by Britis...
Classical music conductors: Overpaid, oversexed and over the hill?
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Times's chief music critic, Richard Morrison muses over whether a combination of the coronavirus, environmental concerns and the MeToo movement wi...
Inside Operation Venetic: Britain's biggest organised crime crackdown
21 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While you and I were locked down in the middle of this year, the UK's National Crime Agency was frantically carrying out an unprecedented operation. B...
Extremism in our prisons
20 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A series of attacks by Islamists released from jail highlights the failure to turn them away from extremism. Today: the story of one inmate we kn...
Westminster and a country in tiers
19 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
England's new tiered lockdown system has been in the making for months. How did we get here and what does it mean for the future?This podcast was brou...
Investigation: Inside Russia's disinformation war (Pt 1)
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In an exclusive investigation, this podcast has uncovered a Russian campaign of disinformation and fake news aimed at discrediting the Oxford AstraZen...
Could Covid-19 change universities forever?
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Halls have been locked down. Students have asked for their money back. And among staff, there have been complaints of coercion from management and rum...
Two Cardinals, the Pope and murky Vatican finances
14 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The latest scandal from the Vatican - between two warring Cardinals - has shone a spotlight on the infighting and internal affairs that Pope Francis h...
USA: An encounter with the Proud Boys
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Proud Boys came to international attention when President Donald Trump told them to “stand back and stand by” during the first presidential de...
Len McCluskey and Labour: Unite or divide?
12 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Unite union executive has decided to cut its affiliation money to the Labour Party by 10%. How much does the modern Labour party rely on unio...
Trump and Covid-19: The health of the president and the constitution
09 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What do we know about the experimental treatment President Trump was given? And although he isn't the first president to fall ill in office, have the ...
Investigation: Safe as houses?
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Three years on from the Grenfell tower tragedy, are building safety standards really what they should be?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the...
The end of the beautiful game as we know it?
07 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The decision by the government to prevent fans from attending football matches in the UK has left many lower league clubs facing an uncertain future. ...
Harry and Meghan: Have they passed the point of no return?
06 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last month the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke on US television urging voters to come out for the November presidential election. For some, they were...
Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin: Who's afraid of the Green New Deal?
05 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Green New Deal is a divisive idea for the economies of the future, derided by the right as ill thought out, its left wing proponents see it as a w...
Escaping the rat race and sailing away
02 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Life in lockdown has left many dreaming of an escape from the 9 to 5, the office, the commute, just our own living rooms. Thom D’Arcy is one who got...
China and Australia: The standoff
01 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The last two reporters working in China for Australian media have flown home after a drawn out diplomatic standoff. Their exit means for the first tim...
Man down: Why are middle-aged men unhappy?
30 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On paper, he’s a success — he’s nailed life’s goals. So why is Matt Rudd, and so many middle-aged men like him, unhappy? Guests:Matt Rudd...
When the scammers came for Mum
29 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
During lockdown those living alone have faced greater risk, not only to their health but also their finances. According to the Dementia Society the co...
The Covid Act: A rebellion
28 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's been six months since MPs voted for the Coronavirus Act, a set of laws that gave the government sweeping powers over almost every aspect of daily...
Agent Sonya: The Soviet spy who came in from the Cotswolds
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
She was a top Soviet spy and a colonel in the Red Army, who had plotted to kill Hitler and sent secrets from the British atomic bomb programme to Stal...
RBG and what’s next for the US Supreme Court
23 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Friday, US Supreme court justice and 87-year old five foot pop culture icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. With her passing, a prized vacancy on the hig...
Greece and Turkey: Historic rivals in a showdown
22 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tensions between Greece and Turkey have reignited this summer over a gas dispute, with the country's leaders trading rhetorical blows. But how pr...
Salmondites v Sturgeonites: The future of Scotland
21 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A Holyrood committee investigating the Scottish government's handling of complaints against Alex Salmond has continued to make headlines. But what doe...
In conversation with Kim Darroch
19 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In an event exclusively for subscribers to The Times and The Sunday Times via Times+, Kim Darroch, former UK Ambassador to the US, has a conversa...
Long covid: A young artist’s battle
18 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the UK, 60,000 people have reported coronavirus symptoms that last more than three months. Artist Monique Jackson is one of them. What do we know a...
‘Suckers’ and ‘Losers’: Trump’s war with the military
17 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With less than 50 days until the US presidential election, Donald Trump's relationship with the US military has become strained. But how is the fallou...
Abuse, drugs, revenge: A scandal in French sport
16 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Today: the story of one French athlete with dreams of attending the Olympics. Her hopes were put in jeopardy when she was accused of doping, but ...
Anti-vaxxers: The doctor who fooled the world
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How does Andrew Wakefield’s pseudoscience help us understand our modern post-truth crisis?Guest: Brian Deer, former Sunday Times investigative ...
The Second Wave
14 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A sudden rise in coronavirus cases has sparked alarm and a strengthening of public health measures. As of today, much of the UK is living by "the rule...
The trip of a lifetime, with Decca Aitkenhead
11 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Sunday Times journalist Decca Aitkenhead went to report from a Jamaican magic mushrooms retreat last year, she arrived a sceptic – but left fee...
Dr Fauci: America's doctor on working with Trump
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Anthony Fauci is the most important doctor in America, and he's the public face of the battle against Covid-19 in the US. Does President Trump listen ...
Putin, Navalny and yet another novichok poisoning
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On August 20th, Russia's most prominent opposition politician was taken ill on a flight after a suspected Novichok poisoning. Alexei Navalny was put i...
Brexit: Britain's bold move explained
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Brexit’s back. Trade talks resume today following two bombshells: a leak that Downing Street is preparing to tear up parts of the Withdrawal Agreeme...
Surviving Covid: Life after ICU
07 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What are the longterm effects of Covid-19? Times’ journalist Roger Boyes spent weeks under sedation in the intensive care unit after being diag...
Left Out: The inside story of Labour under Corbyn
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jeremy Corbyn’s journey from the backbenches to party leader is well known. But this week sees the publication of a book that takes us down the othe...
How do we reopen our schools?
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As students all around the country return to school we explore the issues facing pupils, teachers and parents. Guests: Sian Griffiths, Sunday Tim...
Lockdown and the rise of race hate crime
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As Britain went into lockdown fears about health infection rates and the catastrophic impact on the economy set in, but something else was taking hold...
The arrest and unravelling of Steve Bannon
31 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Steve Bannon, Trump’s former campaign chief, appeared in Manhattan federal court via video last week. He was arrested and charged for allegedly siph...
Mike and Kamala: Scoping the veep
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The US is nearing the finish line of a much anticipated election campaign, and the conventions made headlines this week. It's Trump v Biden for t...
Fighting for democracy on the streets of Belarus
26 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Two weeks ago, Alexander Lukashenko claimed to win a sixth term as president of the Republic of Belarus. But after his 26 year rule, many in Bela...