Today in Focus
Episodes
The scramble to save British Steel
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does the British Steel crisis reveal about the UK’s critical infrastructure? Jasper Jolly reports. Help support our independent journalism at t...
Ta-Nehisi Coates on why stories matter in the age of Trump
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The award-winning writer Ta-Nehisi Coates on why US liberals have misunderstood the role culture plays in shaping politics. Help support our independe...
How phone footage exposed a massacre of Gaza paramedics
11 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Israeli forces killed 15 Palestinian paramedics and civil defence workers in southern Gaza on 23 March. Bethan McKernan reports on the emerging eviden...
Rats, rubbish and rising taxes: why Birmingham stinks right now
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why have the city’s bin collectors gone on strike? Jessica Murray reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Will Trump’s tariffs tip the world into recession?
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As countries reel from the Trump tariffs, can a global recession still be avoided? Richard Partington reports. Help support our independent journalism...
Is it safe to visit the US?
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Adam Gabbatt reports on the visa and green card-holders being held in US detention centres. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com...
The surprising crisis in British television
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
About 70% of TV freelancers are believed to be out of work – can the industry bounce back? Michael Savage reports. Help support our independent jour...
How the Beatles helped my autistic son find his voice
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
John Harris on how music helped him connect with his autistic son James. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Will Trump’s tariffs ignite a global trade war? Today in Focus Extra
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump has introduced eye-watering tariffs on countries around the world. Will they ‘make America wealthy again’? Richard Partington reports...
How will Myanmar’s earthquake impact the civil war?
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Myanmar’s military junta has been losing territory for months. Will the earthquake and a new ceasefire help it turn the tide? Rebecca Ratcliffe repo...
Could Marine Le Pen’s guilty verdict help fuel the far right?
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The parliamentary leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, has been banned from public office for five years for embezzleme...
The Tesla backlash
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company has been targeted by protests across the world. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/info...
Adolescence: what teen boys really think of girls, influencers and porn
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From misogynist content creators such as Andrew Tate to the ubiquity of pornography, boys face a barrage of toxic influences. We talk to sixth-formers...
From the Oscars to Israeli detention: the attack on No Other Land director Hamdan Ballal – podcast
28 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does the attack on an Oscar-winning Palestinian director say about the situation in the West Bank today? Adrian Horton and Lorenzo Tondo report. ...
Weapons vs welfare: Rachel Reeves spring statement
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Labour was gambling on growth, but with stubbornly gloomy forecasts can they cut their way out of an economic hole? Peter Walker reports. Help support...
The arrest that plunged Turkey into turmoil
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Protesters took to streets after President Erdoğan had his rival arrested. What will happen next? Sami Kent and Ruth Michaelson report. Help support ...
Living with long Covid when the world has moved on
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is life like with – and after – long Covid? Helen Pidd reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Who is the real JD Vance?
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How the US vice-president, JD Vance, is attempting to lay the groundwork to succeed Donald Trump. Help support our independent journalism at theguardi...
Having a baby with your best mate
21 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nicola Slawson on her decision to have a baby with her best friend, Tom, rather than a romantic partner. Help support our independent journalism at th...
Mahmoud Khalil and Trump’s assault on free speech
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Detained after taking a leading role in pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, the graduate has called himself a political prisoner. Chris McG...
Labour’s controversial benefit cuts
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The government is hoping to save £5bn from the welfare bill – but what will the cost be for sick and disabled people? Patrick Butler reports. Help ...
Israel shatters Gaza ceasefire – Today in Focus Extra
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Israeli military forces carried out strikes on dozens of targets across Gaza early on Tuesday, leaving more than 400 people dead. Emma Graham-Harrison...
Inside Glasgow’s drug consumption room
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Libby Brooks reports from the Thistle, a new Glasgow clinic that offers somewhere for people to use drugs in a safer, hygienic environment. Help suppo...
The price of a perfect playlist
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Author Liz Pelly on how Spotify changed how we consume music. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Will Putin derail Trump’s peace plan? – Today in Focus Extra
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Donald Trump has shown he can get Ukraine to back a deal, but what about Russia? Patrick Wintour and Pjotr Sauer report. Help support our independent ...
A spy ring – and a love triangle
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Sabbagh reports on three Bulgarian nationals found guilty of spying for Russia in a string of plots around Europe. Help support our independent jo...
Is Nigel Farage losing his grip on Reform UK?
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Reform MP Rupert Lowe has been suspended from the party. What’s behind his feud with its leader? Eleni Courea reports. Help support our independ...
Can Canada’s ‘rockstar banker’ PM take on Trump and win?
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The former governor of the Bank of England has a new role – saving his country from becoming America’s 51st state. Leyland Cecco reports. Help sup...
Can Europe defend itself alone?
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The EU has announced an unprecedented new defence drive – but will it be enough to deter Russia? Jon Henley reports. Help support our independent jo...
Finding a cannabis farm in your house
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How a rogue letting agency destroyed homes and caused hundreds of thousands of pounds in damage. Sirin Kale reports. Help support our independent jour...
Revisited: the spy cops scandal (part 2)
09 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Guardian’s Paul Lewis and Rob Evans on investigating one of England’s most covert police units and learning that they were using the identitie...
Revisited: The spy cops scandal (part 1)
08 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Guardian investigative editor Paul Lewis and investigative reporter Rob Evans detail their decade-long investigation into undercover policing. At leas...
Inside the Islamic State prisons the west is trying to forget
07 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Safi travelled to north-east Syria to speak to IS foreign fighters imprisoned there. And discovered that a change in the US administration, an...
Exposed: listening in on a $35m phone scam
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What can a major leak teach us about how call-centre fraudsters work? Simon Goodley reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.co...
How far will Trump’s embrace of Russia go?
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The US has suspended all military aid to Ukraine. What does this mean for European security? Andrew Roth reports. Help support our independent journal...
Trump v Zelenskyy: the view from Ukraine
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do Ukrainians make of the two presidents’ fractious meeting – and would they support a Trump-led peace deal? Luke Harding reports. Help suppo...
The doctors detained in Gaza: ‘He was dragged from the operating theatre’
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Doctors in Gaza say they have been targeted for doing their jobs, detained and even tortured. Annie Kelly reports. Help support our independent journa...
Joy, hope and murder in free Syria
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Syria has a new leader, and for thousands it is a time of celebration and optimism. But old enmities and fears about what comes next haunt the country...
Can Spain make immigration a vote-winner?
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How much is immigration responsible for Spain’s economic growth? Ashifa Kassam reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/i...
Undercover in the House of Lords
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A Labour member of the House of Lords offered access to ministers during discussions about a commercial deal worth tens of thousands of pounds, an und...
Can the ‘special relationship’ survive Donald Trump?
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Keir Starmer is travelling to the White House for a high-stakes meeting. But will he have any influence over the US president? Patrick Wintour reports...
The murder and legacy of the world’s first openly gay imam
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How did Imam Muhsin change the lives of queer Muslims? Jamie Fullerton reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
A German election road trip with the far right on the up
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today in Focus presenter Helen Pidd hits the road in Germany before Sunday’s federal elections, talking to voters across the country about the rise ...
Has Hezbollah really been defeated?
20 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Israel’s war has left many Lebanese people contemplating what once seemed unimaginable: is Hezbollah finished? Michael Safi reports from Beirut. Hel...
Will British troops be sent to Ukraine?
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Keir Starmer says he is willing to deploy British forces to Ukraine as part of a peace agreement. But are they prepared? Dan Sabbagh reports. Help sup...
How Trump left Ukraine and Europe reeling
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Guardian’s central and eastern Europe correspondent, Shaun Walker, talks through a seismic week, as the president sidelined Kyiv and other Europ...
The man with Elon Musk’s chip in his brain
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When Noland Arbaugh was left paralysed he signed up for an implant created by Musk’s Neuralink company that would allow his mind to directly interac...
Shon Faye on love and dating as a trans woman
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For Valentine’s Day, Hannah Moore speaks to Shon Faye, author of Love in Exile, on her evolving understanding of love. Help support our independent ...
What Trump’s assault on USAid means for the world
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What will the world look like without US foreign assistance? Nesrine Malik reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Why giving up the Chagos Islands could cost Britain £9bn
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Eleni Courea discusses the UK’s historic deal to sign sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, and why some inside the Labour party are now r...
Lucy Letby and the medical experts who believe she is innocent
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
She was called the worst child serial killer in Britain in modern times. So why are medical experts saying her conviction is unsafe? Josh Halliday and...
How Trump made ‘diversity’ a dirty word
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Has the US president won the battle against diversity, equity, and inclusion? Lauren Aratani reports. Help support our independent journalism at thegu...
Going bald in an increasingly hairy world
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With the rise of hair transplants, many men are opting out of baldness. But why is it so hard to accept this natural part of ageing? Stuart Heritage a...
Gaza, trade wars and the chaos of Trump diplomacy
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Guardian diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, talks through Donald Trump’s latest moves on the world stage, from proposing the US takes over Gaza...
Why has Trump made the Panama canal a top priority?
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, visited Panama on the weekend to put pressure on the country over how it runs the canal and its ties with Chin...
‘A city of ghosts’: two Gaza residents return home
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A fragile ceasefire has allowed thousands of people in Gaza to go back to their homes. Two Palestinians explain why it has been bittersweet. Help supp...
Alice Weidel: the far-right banker Elon Musk wants as German chancellor
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Berlin correspondent Kate Connolly charts the rise of Alice Weidel, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland candidate for chancellor. Help support ...
How DeepSeek stunned the AI industry
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why is the US technology industry worried about Chinese company DeepSeek? Robert Booth reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian...
A journey to Greenland: Trump’s 51st state?
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do Greenlanders make of Donald Trump’s interest in their island? Miranda Bryant reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian...
Rachel Reeves’ plans for the UK: all growth, no green?
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The chancellor is keen to strike a more business-friendly note, but will it come at a cost to the environment? Heather Stewart reports. Help support o...
The Omagh bombing inquiry: one father’s 26-year fight for the truth
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist Shane Harrison and campaigner Michael Gallagher chart the long legal struggle for a public inquiry into the 1998 atrocity, which begins by ...
Revisited: Life after Auschwitz
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Revisited: Ivor Perl and Susan Pollack were 12 and 13 when they were transported to Auschwitz. On the 80th anniversary of the concentration camp’s l...
Digital demons: the radical new treatment helping people with psychosis
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jenny Kleeman reports on a new therapy where patients who suffer from psychosis create a digital avatar of the voices they hear. Help support our inde...
Southport attacks: the failures that allowed Axel Rudakubana to kill
24 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The murders of three little girls in the seaside town led to horror – and then racist riots. Now the teenaged killer has been sentenced to 52 years....
Why is AI so thirsty?
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Keir Starmer plans to rapidly increase the amount of artificial intelligence used in the public sector. But what is the environmental cost? Helena Hor...
The first days of Trump and the migrant raids to come
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Senior political reporter Joan E Greve talks through the string of radical executive orders on immigration enacted by Donald Trump on his first day in...
The financial time bomb facing special educational needs
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Adams reports on the Send funding cliff edge affecting children and their development. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian....
Trump 2.0
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As Donald Trump returns to the White House, Hugo Lowell and David Smith discuss what to expect from his first few weeks. Help support our independent ...
Finally, a ceasefire in Gaza
17 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent Bethan McKernan explains the pact reached between Israel and Hamas to halt fighting. Help support our indepen...
A golden age of cancer treatment?
17 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Guardian’s health editor Andrew Gregory explores the promises and challenges of revolutionary technology in the fight against cancer. Help suppo...
The resignation of Tulip Siddiq
16 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Political correspondent Kiran Stacey traces the allegations of corruption against Labour MP Tulip Siddiq that caused her to resign from her ministeria...
‘The entire community is just gone’: inside the Los Angeles wildfires
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Gabrielle Canon reports from Los Angeles on the wildfires destroying homes and communities. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com...
A new Facebook for the era of President Trump
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Factchecker Jesse Stiller and technology journalist Chris Stokel-Walker explore why Mark Zuckerberg has announced dramatic changes to Meta’s social ...
Culture 2025: what to watch, read and listen to this year
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Culture critics Lanre Bakare, Ben Beaumont-Thomas and Catherine Shoard look ahead to the best of the year in film, TV, books and music. Help support o...
It was a wildlife conservation triumph, then came the corpses
10 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Biodiversity writer Phoebe Weston hears from farmers on the west coast of Scotland who claim they are losing hundreds of lambs a year in a case of rew...
Elon Musk’s political evolution
09 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why is Elon Musk increasingly trying to influence UK politics?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Are private schools losing their grip on the British elite?
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Professor of sociology Sam Friedman charts the enduring influence of private schools in the making of the British elite and asks whether the Labour go...
The month that changed South Korea for ever
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Raphael Rashid and Haeryun Kang chart the turmoil that has engulfed the country over the past month, from a declaration of martial law to two impeachm...
Friendship across the parenting divide
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Helen Pidd and Alexandra Topping have been close friends for almost 20 years. But struggles with fertility and new motherhood tested their bond to the...
How Britain fell in love with darts
03 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Helen Pidd attends the PDC World Darts Championship to find out why the sport has grown in popularity in recent years. Help support our independent jo...
How to have a perfectly imperfect 2025
02 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Instead of making grand new year’s resolutions, the smallest steps could lead to a more joyful life, says Oliver Burkeman. Help support our independ...
Revisited: Ten years of equal marriage – what has it changed?
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a decade since the first same-sex marriages were performed in England and Wales. What have they meant for LGBTQ+ people?. Help support our inde...
Revisited: From child refugee to Guardian reporter: one journalist’s extraordinary story
31 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How does it feel to report on the refugee crisis when it’s also the story of your own family? Aamna Mohdin explains. Help support our independent jo...
Revisited: The mother who forgave her daughters’ killer – but not the police
30 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mina Smallman’s world fell apart after the murder of her two daughters. Then came a shocking revelation about the police’s behaviour. She explains...
Revisited: The man who fell to Earth
27 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty-three years after Mohammed Ayaz fell from the wheel bay of a plane coming in to land at Heathrow, his brother visits the car park where the bod...
Revisited: The birdwatcher fighting racism in public spaces
26 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A Central Park birdwatching incident went viral after Christian Cooper filmed a white woman threatening him. Now he is using his platform to share his...
Revisited: Creating The Spark: the kids behind 2024’s surprise summer hit
25 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rory Carroll and Helen Pidd meet the Kabin Crew and the Lisdoonvarna Crew – creators of a song that has notched up more than a billion plays on TikT...
How the Guardian reported 2024
24 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It was a year that saw multiple elections across the world, the war in Ukraine grind on and the conflict in Gaza spill over into Lebanon. Katharine Vi...
A radical way to teach contested history
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Helen Pidd visits Lancaster Royal grammar school to see the work of Parallel Histories, an education charity which helps young people make sense of co...
Yasser’s story: the Syrian refugee who lived with me
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Helen Pidd speaks to her former lodger, Yasser, a Syrian refugee contemplating moving back home. Help support our independent journalism at theguardia...
Can a steel town survive if its furnaces are turned off?
19 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Port Talbot in Wales is defined by its huge steelworks. But in January Tata Steel announced it was ending primary steelmaking there. George McDonagh c...
The prince and the ‘spy’
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Prince Andrew is in trouble again, this time for meeting a businessman who has denied spying for China. Dan Sabbagh and David Pegg report. Help suppor...
The reformed jihadi? Al-Jolani, the new most powerful man in Syria
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
International security correspondent Jason Burke explores the life of Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, and asks whether he has genuinely re...
‘The most beautiful word in the dictionary’: Donald Trump’s tariff plan
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Guardian US business editor Dominic Rushe explains why the president-elect wants to impose tariffs on imports, and the risks it poses to the economy. ...
Revisited: Have open marriages gone mainstream?
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From therapy sessions to bookshelves, interest in non-monogamous relationships seem to be soaring Because of industrial action taking place by members...
Revisited: The Unabomber and his ongoing influence
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ted Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated mathematician who ran a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people, died in prison last year. But his manif...
The town that fears losing its high street to climate change
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Flooding in Tenbury Wells used to be a once in a generation event, now it’s happening increasingly frequently. Jessica Murray reports. Help support ...
Inside Damascus after the fall of Bashar al-Assad
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Foreign correspondent William Christou travels to Damascus, hours after Syria’s decades-long dictator Bashar al-Assad is ousted from power, and asks...
How Trump’s victory sparked a crypto boom
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Guardian US tech editor, Blake Montgomery, explains what the US president-elect’s embrace of the cryptocurrency world might mean for his second term...
Revisited: The Israeli negotiator who talks to Hamas
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Gershon Baskin on his experience as a hostage negotiator in the Israel-Palestine conflict Because of industrial action taking place by members of the ...