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The Times

Drowning in news? Let The Story guide you. 

Each morning, hosts Manveen Rana and Luke Jones bring you today's most important story, told by the journalists who know what really happened. 

In depth, honest, and mixed in with exclusive reports and groundbreaking investigations.

Discover the story behind the story with the flagship podcast from The Times and The Sunday Times.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Story

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood announced sweeping changes to the asylum rules yesterday; the largest overhaul since the Second World War. The changes have apparently been inspired by Denmark but will they work or are they - as one Labour MP said - ‘repugnant’?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guests: 

 • Ben Clathworthy, Whitehall editor, The Times.
 • Fraser Nelson, columnist, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Olivia Case, Micaela Arneson, Harry Stott. 

Read more: Shabana Mahmood speech: Asylum policy to cope with ‘volatile’ world

Further listening: Doomed to fail? Labour’s asylum u-turn

Clips: Sky, Times Radio, parliamentlive.tv.

Photo: Andrew Fox for The Sunday Times.

Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com 

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘Repugnant’ or necessary? The new asylum rules

From this year, 18 year-old Danish women will have to take part in a conscription lottery and face potentially being called up for an 11 month military service. The country is just one of many in Europe aiming to improve military resilience in response to the growing threat from Russia. But what does it mean to the teenagers caught up on the front line of this debate?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Katie Gatens, commissioning editor of news review, The Sunday Times.

Host: Luke Jones.

Producer: Edith Rousselot.

Further Reading: Denmark's drive to conscript teenage girls: "We're pretty scared"

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The teenage girls preparing for war

For the first time, scientists have successfully sequenced Adolf Hitler’s DNA, taken from a bloodstain in the bunker where he spent his final days. It's one of the most remarkable scientific studies in modern history, and the results are astonishing. They reveal a previously unknown medical condition, which finally uncovers the truth behind that famous wartime song, and resolve long-standing questions: Is Hitler of Jewish ancestry? Was he a schizophrenic? And what does his DNA tell us about evil?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Jack Blackburn, history correspondent, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Dave Creasey.

Clips: Times Radio, NBC, Channel 4/Blink Films UK.

Read more:

- Hitler had hidden genetic sexual disorder, DNA analysis reveals

- Sunken port may provide clue to Cleopatra and Mark Antony’s lost tomb

Photo: Shaun Parkinson/Getty Images.

Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hitler’s shocking DNA discovery – the Sunday Story

This is Planet Hope, a podcast from The Times and The Sunday Times in paid partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative. Each episode is hosted by The Story released as a bonus weekly series on Saturdays. 

Andreia Pawel is co-founder of the Orange River-Karoo Conservation Area, one of the world’s most ambitious rewilding projects. Spanning more than a million hectares in Namibia, and with the support of the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, it aims to restore lost ecosystems, reintroduce species and work with local Nama communities to build a new model for conservation. She tells Adam Vaughan how, with bold ambitions, we can breathe new life into the natural world.

Planet Hope is brought to you in paid partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative. 

Guest: Andreia Pawel, conservationist and co-founder, Orange River-Karoo Conservation Area

Host: Adam Vaughan, environment editor, The Times

Series producer: Priyanka Deladia

Sound designer: David Crackles

This podcast is advertiser funded.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Story presents: Planet Hope - A million-hectare conservation vision in Namibia

Negotiations at the annual global climate change conference, or COP, are in full swing. But with consensus on the issue collapsing at home and abroad, including the US withdrawing from the landmark Paris agreement, is there even any point in the summit? We ask the UK’s special representative for climate.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Professor Rachel Kyte, UK special representative for climate.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Harry Stott, Olivia Case.

Read more: Ed Miliband: Cop30 will prove net zero doubters wrong

Further listening: Have we stopped caring about climate change?

Clips: United Nations / YouTube, TRT World, DW News / YouTube, Yahoo / YouTube, ITV, SABC News, News X World.

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cop30 - is climate diplomacy cracking

Thousands of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein have been released by the US House Oversight Committee. One email alleges Donald Trump 'knew about the girls'. While the White House argues a selective leaking of this correspondence has created a fake narrative, what does this release tell us about the relationship between the US President and the convicted paedophile? 

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Josie Ensor, chief US reporter, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Taryn Siegel.

Clips: NBC News, Fox News.

Further Reading: What Epstein said about Trump in newly released emails

Further Listening: Can Trump shake his Epstein problem?

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The new Epstein emails about Trump

This week, The Times broke the news that the International Olympic Committee is a step closer to banning transgender women from competing in all female events. So why is the IOC acting now? And could President Trump have anything to do with it? 

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Martyn Ziegler, chief sports reporter, The Times and The Sunday Times. 

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Producer: Micaela Arneson.

Read more: Transgender women to be banned from all female Olympic events

Further listening: New rules for trans athletes: fairness or exclusion?

Clips: Sky News, Bloomberg, Sports Insider by DRM / YouTube, CBS Evening News, Sky News Australia, Associated Press, Sky News Sports. 

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why the Olympics may ban transgender athletes

After the resignations of two of its most senior members of staff, the BBC is being questioned over allegations of institutional bias. Donald Trump has threatened to sue the organisation, and with negotiations about the continuation of the BBC’s funding model underway, where does it leave our national broadcaster?

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Rosamund Urwin, media editor, The Sunday Times. 

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Producers: Edward Drummond, Shabnam Grewal, Harry Stott.

Clips: News.com.Au, Reuters, TalkTV, NBC News, Bloomberg News, GBNews, BBC News, Sky News, ITV News.

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can the BBC survive?

Last year, tech billionaire Mike Lynch was given a second chance at life when he was acquitted of criminal fraud charges. But while celebrating with friends and family aboard his yacht, a freak storm arose. Lynch, his daughter, and five others were tragically killed. This week, deliberations begin over how much compensation his estate owes to the company he defrauded. Payments which could lead to bankruptcy.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Katie Prescott, technology business editor, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Producer: Micaela Arneson. 

Further listening: The tragedy of Mike Lynch and the sunken yacht 

Clips: Danny in the Valley, BBC, LeadersIn, Black Thunder / YouTube, Charlie Rose. 

Photo: Getty Images.

Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britain’s Bill Gates, his sunken superyacht, and the bitter fight for £700 million

It’s the most watched TV show of the year, but The Traitors is much more than just entertainment: it’s a psychological experiment. How did a game, born out of Cold War Soviet roots, become a mirror of modern power, politics, and trust? Why do we value charm over logic? And can you ever really trust anyone? Not according to Times feature writer Helen Rumbelow.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Spoiler alert: Reveals the winner of the Celebrity Traitors from the start. 

Guest: Helen Rumbelow, feature writer and columnist, The Times.

Host: Luke Jones.

Producer: Dave Creasey.

Read more: 

The Traitors is rigged, just not how you think it isThe Celebrity Traitors final review — epic duplicity and backstabbingWho should be in series two of The Celebrity Traitors?
Clips: BBC, Network 10.

Photo: Cody Burridge/Studio Lambert/BBC

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Traitors is rigged, just not in the way you think - the Sunday Story

Britain has the worst coronavirus death toll in Europe despite the government insisting they followed the best scientific advice. The Sunday Times Insight team brings you the inside story into what went wrong for the UK. 

 

Guests:

Jonathan Calvert, Insight Editor, The Sunday Times.

George Arbuthnott, Deputy Insight Editor, The Sunday Times.

With additional reporting from:

Jonathan Leake, Science and Environment Editor at The Sunday Times.

Dipesh Gadher, Chief Investigative Reporter at The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Clips: BBC, @BorisJohnson Twitter

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Insight investigation: why was the UK so slow to lockdown?

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