The Story
Episodes
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...
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...