The Story
Episodes
Tracking and tracing the rise of Dido Harding
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last week Dido Harding, the former amateur jockey and TalkTalk boss who since May has been the head of the ramshackle NHS Test and Trace programme, wa...
Insight investigation: The curious case of the Cheshire killings
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A confidential report has identified a string of murder-suicides that could in fact be the work of a serial killer who attacks vulnerable elderly coup...
BONUS: The Great British Staycation
22 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sales of camping gear have jumped as more Britons opt to holiday within the UK this summer due to coronavirus. Today we take you under canvas in the g...
Why the A-levels fiasco is the tip of the iceberg
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the past week the Education Secretary has defended the use of an algorithm to produce A-level grades, categorically ruled out a U-turn and then com...
A conversation with the President of Afghanistan
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Afghan war could finally be limping to an end, and a peace deal with the Taliban could now be on the horizon. But will some of the most dangerous ...
Lampedusa: The island at the heart of the migrant crisis
18 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As the eyes of British news crews are trained on migrants crossing the Channel in boats, Lampedusa on Europe’s southern border is seeing far greater...
Inside the Government Whips' Office
17 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An MP has been accused of rape - and questions are again being asked about the role of whips in protecting parliamentary staff. Historically, the whip...
New York versus The NRA
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The NRA is one of America's most powerful lobby groups. Now it has become the target of a lawsuit brought by New York's attorney-general. Th...
The Coronavirus Recession
12 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's official: the UK economy is back in recession. This week we've heard of record-high job losses and a sharp economic downturn - but the ...
TikTok and the data war
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump has ordered firms to stop doing business with social media giant TikTok over security concerns. Microsoft was the front-runner to buy ...
Beirut: The blast that shook the world
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In one heart-stopping moment last Tuesday, Beirut, a city that’s seen its share of wars, was rocked by the biggest blast in its history. Now that in...
Adieu, Chateau Marmont
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
At the eastern end of the Sunset Strip is a hotel called Chateau Marmont. For many years it's been the favourite hang-out spot of movie stars and writ...
75 Years On: Remembering Hiroshima
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
75 years ago this week, a devastating atomic bomb changed world history. What can we learn from these events? Guest:Koko Kondo, Hiroshima bo...
Turkish Uighurs and the Exiled Poet
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Stories about the persecution of China’s Muslim Uighur minority have been in the news in recent weeks. We hear the story of one man living in Turkey...
Insight Investigation: The SAS killing squad
03 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A High Court case been brought by a young man whose family were shot dead by a rogue SAS unit in Afghanistan. The trial has led to the release of docu...
Meghan and Harry: The inside story
31 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Why did the Duke and Duchess of Sussex really quit royal life? A new book purports to take readers into their inner sanctum. ...
Wiley and Antisemitism
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Wiley - rapper, producer and godfather of grime - has been dropped by his management following an antisemitic Twitter tirade. In the wider conver...
Justice for Christopher
29 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
13 year old Christopher Kapessa died in July last year after he was pushed from a bridge over the Cynon river in Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales. The C...
Biden’s choice for Vice President
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How do you pick a potential vice president of the USA? With less than a hundred days to go until the American elections, the Democrats still have one ...
Is shielding ending too soon?
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
At the start of the pandemic, two million of the most vulnerable people in England were told to 'shield' in order to remain safe. This week, the natio...
Fishing in warzones: A rough guide
24 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On today's programme we take a break from the news. Anthony Loyd is The Times' foreign correspondent, and one of the most experienced and respected wa...
Russian sports doping: The whistleblowers who risked their lives
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While Westminster deals with the fallout from one Russian affair, today’s Stories of our Times podcast is about the couple who blew the whistle on R...
Britain and China: a new cold war?
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
China has cracked down in Hong Kong, Britain has banned the Chinese technology giant Huawei from its 5G network, and there’s growing disquiet a...
Scotland's zero-Covid strategy
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last fortnight, Scotland has recorded many fewer deaths from Covid-19 compared to the UK as a whole. Does Scotland have a strategy the rest o...
Investigation: The burglary tourists from Chile
20 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A spate of high profile burglaries in expensive neighbourhoods and a mountain of stolen goods lead investigators to discover hundreds of burglars, all...
'Kill-ology': Training US police officers on how to kill
17 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
David Grossman is one of America's most prolific and controversial police trainers. His courses on 'kill-ology' put violence and the act of killing at...
Dominic Cummings vs Whitehall
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dominic Cummings has promised that a ‘hard rain’ will fall on the civil service. And last month Sir Mark Sedwill, Britain’s most senior civil se...
Inside the Stasi spy school
15 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
At the height of the Cold War, East Germany operated an elite secret academy designed to train secret police agents in tradecraft and tactics for psyc...
The life and death of a stable lad
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Groomsman, Michael Curran, was acclaimed for his dedicated work with top horses but went into a spiral of decline that ended in his tragic suicide. Wh...
100 days of Starmer
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sir Keir Starmer has been Labour leader for 100 days, during which he’s had to deal with his own party’s issues as well as offer a response to the...
The Jeffrey Epstein Scandal: Who is Ghislaine Maxwell?
10 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell - who was a close companion of Jeffrey Epstein - is facing decades in jail after being arrested over charges ...
Bill Browder vs Vladimir Putin
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was killed in a Russian prison in 2009. Bill Browder shares his decade long journey for justice- campaigning for a new...
Katie Hopkins: Was Twitter right to ban her?
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What does the permanent banning of controversial right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins from Twitter say about the current landscape of social...
Bow bells and facemasks: The end of lockdown in the East End
07 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Across Britain, we are emerging from lockdown. But not everything is back to normal. As shops and pubs reopen their doors, we spend some time with thr...
Investigating the true origins of Covid-19
06 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An investigation by The Sunday Times has found evidence that connects a deadly incident in 2012 in southern China with the current global pandemic.Gue...
Sir David King: are we easing lockdown too soon?
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As most of England eases lockdown, we ask: is the government making the right move?Guest: Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser, chair ...
Richard Desmond: The man, the mogul, the scandal
02 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As the Robert Jenrick planning scandal unfolded, investigative reporter Gabriel Pogrund wanted to speak directly with one of the men at the centre: Ri...
Brexit: a tale of two trade deals
01 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A trade deal between Britain and America has been held up as one of the major advantages of the UK exiting the European Union. But the disruption wrou...
The virus: Is Britain heading for a second spike?
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Much about the virus remains a mystery. Today, we catch up on everything we’ve learned about the virus so far - and the big unknowns - with The Time...
The toxic culture of elite gymnastics: Larry Nassar revisited
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The former USA Gymnastics team doctor is now a convicted child sex offender, behind bars for 175 years. You might think that was where the story ended...
Stig Abell: Why don't I have any friends?
26 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
1 in 5 men in the UK say they don't have any close friends. Stig Abell is one of them. What are the obstacles to making friends as an adult, and could...
Luke Jones: After coronavirus, will British theatre survive?
25 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week Manveen and David take a break as Times Radio presenters host the podcast, ahead of the launch of the station on the 29th June.For Luke Jone...
Jenny Kleeman: A pandemic and the world of surrogacy
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week Manveen and David take a break as Times Radio presenters host the podcast, ahead of the launch of the station on the 29th June.The images of...
Aasmah Mir: The psychological impact of racism on black families
23 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week Manveen and David take a break as Times Radio presenters host the podcast, ahead of the launch of the station on the 29th June.Since the dea...
John Pienaar: Is test and trace working?
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week Manveen and David take a break as Times Radio presenters host the podcast, ahead of the launch of the station on the 29th June.The governmen...
Madeleine McCann: who is the new suspect?
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This month German police have identified a convicted sex offender as a prime suspect in the case of the missing British girl - last seen in the Algarv...
Edwin Moses: Sport and the race for change
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For years, many elite black athletes felt they had to hold back from commenting on race and racism. Today multi-Olympic gold medallist ...
House Hustlers: Inside Nationwide Corporate Finance
17 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A business offering instant loans to struggling small businesses has been accused of using aggressive and unethical tactics. 76-year-old widow Jill Ea...
All at sea on the Covid cruise
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What happened to the passengers and crew on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, when there was an outbreak of coronavirus in February? ...
Defund the police? The US city that restarted its police force
15 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Policing in the US is under the spotlight more than ever. A city in New Jersey has cut crime and won the support of its citizens by scrapping its...
Bristol: A tale of two statues
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, statues have fallen like dominoes around the world, and a new discussion about the people commemorated in our public spaces has begun. We g...
Prince Andrew and the Royals in a pandemic
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Royal Family have been in the headlines a lot during this pandemic - not always for the right reasons. But has the pandemic changed the Windsor's ...
The pandemic: A country divided?
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the first weeks of lockdown we saw Brits come together in a show of astonishing unity. But a new poll reveals divisions are emerging. What cou...
Freedom under threat? The struggle for the soul of Hong Kong
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last week Britain offered a possible route to citizenship for around three million Hong Kong residents. Why might that be needed? As Beijing pass...
Lessons from lockdown: policing post pandemic
08 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Is lockdown an opportunity for police to tackle crime differently? We meet the police commander behind a new initiative, where officers visit criminal...
Riots, protests and a US election year
05 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As rioting and protests continue to engulf the United States, we examine President Trump's reaction to the demonstrations. How did previous American p...
Back to the Commons or no going back?
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Government has U-turned on its controversial plans to end remote voting in Parliament, following a backlash from MPs, who feared this would be dis...
Smartphones and the virus: an experiment on the Isle of Wight
03 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We are now entering the 'test and trace' phase of fighting the pandemic where we could use our smartphones to keep us all safe from a second spike.&nb...
George Floyd protests: 'I can't breathe'
02 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Protests and riots have been sparked across the US by the killing of George Floyd. Floyd, an unarmed black man, was filmed dying as a white police off...
Back to School?
01 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As Primary Schools across the country begin to reopen today we examine the moral dilemma parents and teachers face.Guests: Sian Griffiths, Educat...
The mind (and blogs) of Dominic Cummings
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What can we learn about the Prime Minister's chief adviser from his own words?Guests: Ian Leslie, writer and journalist.Steven Swinford, The Time...
A mayor in Prague and a Russian poison plot
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A local mayor in Prague is in police hiding following reports that agents from Russia plotted to have him assassinated. It’s an international incide...
Coronavirus: Becoming a vaccine guinea-pig
27 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We’re almost six months into the pandemic. But how close are we to developing the cure we all so desperately want? We meet a participant in one of t...
Murder in Stockholm: who killed Olof Palme?
26 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
More than three decades on from the assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, new evidence has been brought to light that may reveal the ide...
Insight investigation: why was the UK so slow to lockdown?
25 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Britain has the worst coronavirus death toll in Europe despite the government insisting they followed the best scientific advice. The Sunday Times Ins...
Murder in the Kingdom in the Sky
22 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Prime Minister of Lesotho has resigned amid accusations that he was involved in the murder of his estranged wife. His third wife is also set to st...
Happiness in lockdown with Laurie Santos
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With experts suggesting that long term lock down will negatively affect our mental health, we ask: what can we all do to bring delight and joy in...
Care homes: what went wrong?
20 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Care home deaths in England and Wales now account for forty percent of all deaths from coronavirus - and one result has been a political row. Why have...
Diary of a funeral director
19 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When Lee Solomon set up his funeral home, he had one mission: to give families the sendoff they really wanted. But now that's no longer possible. For ...
Inside the Sunday Times rich list
18 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Sunday Times rich list has published the names of the wealthiest people in Britain since 1989. Today we meet its compiler to find out who reached ...
Coronavirus: Could testing in an Italian village save the world?
15 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Italian village of Vo’ Euganeo was the home of the first European to die in Europe of covid19. Now the same town has become a unique test-bed fo...
Stay alert: the psychology of changing lockdown messages
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Behind the scenes, a group of social scientists has been advising the government on how to communicate to the public during the crisis. But has some o...
Universal Medicine: taking on a cult
13 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An Australian cult is operating from a B&B in Somerset and despite court rulings against it, is ripping families apart. It is just one of an estim...
Coronavirus: cheating death in ICU
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Some 10,000 people in the UK have needed critical care to deal with the virus already. What's it like to be in an ICU with Covid19?Guests: Roger ...
How to recover from a coronavirus recession
11 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As we begin to relax the lockdown, the UK is facing its biggest economic shock for 300 years. Can past recessions teach us what to do next? ...
Victory over coronavirus: the lessons of VE day
08 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What can the jubiatilion and uncertainty of VE day teach us about what 'victory' over coronavirus might look like?Guest:Ben Macintyre, associate edito...
Europe: life after lockdown
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This weekend Boris Johnson is expected to talk about the UK's exit strategy and outline the beginning of the end of lock down. But what can we learn f...
The US and China: the coronavirus conspiracy theories
06 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In recent weeks the world’s two biggest superpowers have been playing a blame game around the global pandemic. What do the Chinese communists and th...
Have the Taliban won the Afghan war?
05 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Four decades of war have ravaged Afghanistan, cost America $2 trillion and left more than one million dead. As US troops prepare to withdraw, wha...
The Hound of Hounslow and the Flash Crash
04 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An extraordinary story about the man who helped trigger one of the biggest financial crashes in US history - ten years ago this week - from his bedroo...
Policing a lockdown
01 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Under lockdown, police have been given extraordinary new powers. What do the new rules mean for bobbies on the beat, and how will they change our rela...
Hold your horses: Should Cheltenham Festival have gone ahead?
30 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Cheltenham Festival was the last major sporting event to take place prior to the national lockdown in the UK. But should it ever have happened? The fo...
Donald Trump and the corona protests
29 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump is under pressure as libertarian demonstrators insist their freedom is being infringed by lock down. Has the virus revealed the gap betwe...
Coronavirus: Boris Johnson’s return to No 10
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How has the government fared enforcing their mantra of: 'stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives'?Guests: Caroline Wheeler, Deputy political ed...
Coronavirus and ethnic minorities
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Times writer Sathnam Sanghera goes on a personal journey to find out why people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds are suffering dispro...
Planet Corona with Liz Bonnin
24 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The waters have cleared in Venice, air pollution over China has dropped and goats have reclaimed a Welsh town. But just how sustainable are these seem...
Could tech giants get us out of lockdown?
23 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Technology might be the answer to our problems - but could we be giving up our privacy in return for our liberty? Guest: Danny Fortson, The ...
Inside The Sunday Times investigation into coronavirus and Boris Johnson
22 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last weekend's investigation by the Insight team into the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic made headlines around the world. ...
Zookeeping under ISIS: Meet the Father of Lions
21 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We take a break from social distancing and life in lockdown to bring you an extraordinary story from Iraq. The Sunday Times' Louise Callaghan&nbs...
When staying at home is not an option
20 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save lives. But what if you don't have a home to stay in? Greg Hurst on the government campaign to protect the homeless...
Human origins: who do we think we are?
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, Homo sapiens were not alone. Tom Whipple explains how we once shared the earth with Neanderthals and eve...
The curious case of Sweden
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Swedish government's approach to coronavirus has been controversial. Unlike in the UK, they have urged citizens to take personal respons...
The future of Julian Assange
15 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, is fighting extradition to the US, after seven years holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy. This week it w...
The search for a remedy
14 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As a number of existing therapies are being re-purposed to help patients with the most severe Covid-19 symptoms, we speak to a UK-based bioscience com...
What to read in lockdown
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With reading on the rise under the lockdown, the Times Literary Supplement editor Stig Abell suggests three books for a little escapism during these u...
ICU: A doctor's story
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We have been warned that the Easter bank holiday could see the peak of the coronavirus crisis in the UK. But are our hospitals ready?Guest:Lucy Coc...
President Trump and the virus
09 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It looks like the US will be badly hit by coronavirus. Could President Trump's approach be his downfall? Guests: Henry Zeffman, the Washington Co...
Voices from New York
08 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The United States is now at the centre of the global coronavirus crisis and New York is the worst hit city in the country. What’s it like for r...
Brazil: a country divided
07 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As Brazilian politicians argue over how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, we speak to three residents about their experience of the crisis. ...
Keir Starmer: the man, the party, the crisis
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On Saturday Labour party members selected a new leader. Is this the end of Corbynism? And what is the role of the opposition in the time of crisis? Gu...