The Story
Episodes
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...
WHO knows best? How to beat the virus
03 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Are we doing enough to stop the spread of coronavirus? And what does the World Health Organisation think our approach should be from here?Guests: &nbs...
Fighting the lockdown with a new volunteer army
02 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
An army of volunteers has sprung up across the country in response to the coronavirus crisis. Today, we tell their stories. And we ask:...
How do we get out of lockdown?
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As we get used to our new lives in isolation, there’s a question on everyone’s lips: how long will this last? And perhaps even more importantly: w...
Lessons in isolation (from Antarctica)
31 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One week into the shutdown, and millions of us are dealing with the effects of isolation for the first time, but one British doctor is better prepared...
What does the coronavirus mean for jobs?
30 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We follow the owner of a food-to-go shop as he tries to keep his workforce employed. Our Enterprise Editor explains what the government's economic int...
Love (and divorce) in the time of corona
27 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Couples all around Britain are being asked to make tough decisions. Apart or together, the Health Secretary's advice is clear: "make your choice and s...
Lessons from a past pandemic
26 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1980s, the HIV/AIDS pandemic called for a clear, bold public health message. David Aaronovitch explores whether there are lessons to be learned...
Living with the lockdown: Meet Norman and Jorge
25 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Norman and Jorge are flatmates. But Norman happens to be 92 and Jorge is 26. In the time of coronavirus, this makes their friendship hard to navigate....
Bonus episode: You must stay at home
24 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As strict new restrictions on daily life are announced by Boris Johnson we ask: what does it say about his leadership? Guests: Daniel Finkel...
Fighting to save Australia's koalas
24 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Will the iconic koala be able to survive after Australia's recent bushfires left the country's vast wildlife population in peril? Guest: Bernard Laga...
Has the government done enough?
23 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What's going on behind the scenes at Number 10 to tackle coronavirus? And is the government moving fast enough to prevent the spread of covid-19 acros...
The Virus: An Olympic sized problem
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Should the Olympics be postponed? And what could this mean for athletes? The Times's own Olympian and sports columnist Matthew Syed has the story. Gu...
The Virus: A world shut down
19 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
David Aaronovitch talks to the editor-in-chief of the Lancet, Dr Richard Horton, and Times science editor, Tom Whipple, about the global response to t...
The Virus: Splendid isolation with Jon Ronson
18 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The World Health Organisation has recognised that the coronavirus crisis is generating stress and has advised people to avoid watching, reading or lis...
The Virus: When the doctors get sick
17 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when doctors get coronavirus and how will the NHS cope? Manveen Rana speaks to two NHS doctors who've tested positive - and are about to ...
The Virus: The race for a vaccine
16 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The story of a former resident of Wuhan - the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak - who is now part of a UK team racing to develop a coronavirus vac...