The Story

On Sunday voters will go to the polls in France in a repeat of 2017’s run off between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen. So what issues are coming up on the campaign trail? What are the prospects for the incumbent? And could the far right populist triumph in a key election for the future of Europe?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. Guest: Adam Sage, Times Paris Correspondent.Host: Manveen Rana.Clips: France 24, CNN, Times Radio, BBC News, Reuters.This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, MPs will vote on whether to hold an investigation to look into the Prime Minister's alleged misleading of the Commons during the Partygate saga. Last week, Johnson and - unexpectedly - Chancellor Rishi Sunak were both fined for violating their own lockdown rules. Boris Johnson's critics say this makes him a 'lawmaker lawbreaker'. So how serious is this for the PM's future?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. Guest: Henry Zeffman, Associate Political Editor, The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Clips: Parliament TV, Sky News, Daily Mail, Office for Budget Responsibility, BBC News, 5 News, WIONThis podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Doctors knew in 1973 that the epilepsy drug sodium valproate posed a risk to unborn children – and ordered that warnings be removed from packets. Almost 50 years and 20,000 disabled babies later, it is still being prescribed to pregnant women.This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. Guests:- Shaun Lintern, Health Editor, The Sunday Times.- Janet Williams, CEO at The Independent Fetal Anti-Convulsant Trust.- Catherine McNamara, parent. Host: David Aaronovitch.Clips: Channel 4 News, ITV.This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an audacious hostile takeover bid, Elon Musk is holding Twitter to ransom. Either they let him run the whole company, or he'll pull the plug, selling off his stake and sinking their share price. So, what next for Twitter? And why does the world’s richest man want to buy it? This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. Guest: - Danny Fortson, West Coast Correspondent, The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Clips: Fox News, BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky News, Tesla, CNET, CBS, Yahoo Finance. This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whether you like it or not, these days everyone seems to be enlisted in the culture wars. But why does the debate seem so angry and intolerant? Can we find some answers in novels written 150 years ago?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.Guest: James Marriott, Columnist, The Times. Host: David Aaronovitch. Clips: Vice TV, ITV.This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since the first case in Ukraine was reported to The Times, many more have emerged. But why is this particular weapon so hard to talk about?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.This episode contains reference to sexual violence and rape.Guests:- Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent, The Times.- Christina Lamb, Chief Foreign Correspondent, The Sunday Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Clips: BBC, VOA News, The Guardian, The Telegraph.This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just before the pandemic, the government promised a 'dementia moonshot' to blast us towards a dementia cure. What happened to it?Today: former prime minister David Cameron and Sunday Times science editor Ben Spencer on Britain’s fastest growing disease, dementia.This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.Guests:- Ben Spencer, science editor, The Sunday Times.- David Cameron, former UK prime minister and president of Alzheimer's Research UK.- Willy Gilder, former BBC radio reporter, living with Alzheimer’s disease.Clips: BBC, Channel 4 News, Sky News, ABC News, WRTV.This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Russian military has suffered an unexpected battering, but Putin shows no sign of backing down. What can history teach us about what might happen next?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.Guest: Roger Boyes, Diplomatic Editor, The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Clips: CBC, AP, ABC News, Al Jazeera, CBS.This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second of this two-part podcast, we find out what effect Mouayed Bashir's death has had on his family in Newport, South Wales - as the inquest into his death is delayed - and look at how the police interact with the black community in England and Wales.  This is the second of a two-part podcast examining the death of a black man following contact with police.This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.  Host: Asya Fouks.Clips: Sky News, Channel 4, 5News.This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the 17th February last year, in Newport, the family of Mouayed Bashir called 999. According to his parents he'd been suffering a mental health episode that morning. Nearly three hours later the 29-year-old had died after being restrained by police officers in his bedroom. So what happened?This is part one of a two part podcast examining the death of a black man following contact with police.This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. Host: Asya Fouks.Clips: BBC, ITV.This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.