The Story

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 time since the mid-1970s, there are no accredited Australian journalists in the country. Why have relations between Australia and China deteriorated?Guests: Bernard Lagan, The Times Australia correspondent. Mike Smith, China correspondent for the Australian Financial Review. Host: Manveen Rana. Clips used: Channel, BBC, ABC News.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 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, Deputy Editor of The Sunday Times Magazine, columnist and author of Man Down. Host: Luke Jones.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.

During lockdown those living alone have faced greater risk, not only to their health but also their finances. According to the Dementia Society the condition has worsened for many during the pandemic, and the isolation of lockdown has also exposed many to telephone scams.Guests:David Byers, Times Money Deputy Editor.Paula Saunderson, cares for her mother.Host: David Aaronovitch.Clip used from: The Express.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.

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 life. Now a rebellion is brewing. Some MPs want more of a say over the prime minister's coronavirus strategy. Guests: Steven Swinford, Deputy Political Editor, The Times.Steve Baker, Conservative MP for Wycombe.Host: Ross Kempsell. Clips used: TalkRadio and Sky News.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.

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 Stalin. So how did Agent Sonya - or Mrs Burton to her neighbours - evade MI5 for so long?Guests: Ben Macintyre, associate editor and columnist, The Times, and author of Agent Sonya: Lover, Mother, Soldier, Spy.Rosa Ellis, interactive journalist, The Times and The Sunday Times.Host: David Aaronovitch."Merfolk Music Box" by Komiku is licensed under CC0 1.0 (looped from original)"Melancholic Ending" by Soft and Furious is licensed under CC0 1.0 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 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 highest and most influential court in the US has opened up. Who is going to fill it and what will it mean for the future of American politics? Guest:Henry Zefffman, Washington Correspondent for The Times.Host: Luke Jones.Clips used: BBC, The Kennedy Center.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.

Tensions between Greece and Turkey have reignited this summer over a gas dispute, with the country's leaders trading rhetorical blows. But how precarious is the situation and could they be sleep-walking into a war in the Mediterranean?Guest: Hannah Lucinda-Smith, The Times' Istanbul Correspondent. Host: Manveen Rana.Clips used: Aljazeera, France24, DWNews.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.

A Holyrood committee investigating the Scottish government's handling of complaints against Alex Salmond has continued to make headlines. But what does it mean for the future of the SNP and Scottish Independence? Guest: Kieran Andrews, The Times' Scottish political editor. Host: Manveen Rana.Clips used: Scottish Parliament, BBC, 5 News, Telegraph, Guardian, The Nine (BBC Scotland).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 event exclusively for subscribers to The Times and The Sunday Times via Times+, Kim Darroch, former UK Ambassador to the US, has a conversation with Manveen Rana.Find out more here. 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 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 about long covid, and how is the COVID Symptom Study app helping us fill in the blanks?Guests:Monique Jackson, artist with long tail covid.Prof Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, co founder of ZOE Covid Symptom Study app.Host: Manveen Rana. With reporting from Asya Fouks.You can download the ZOE Covid Symptom Study app here.And you can follow Monique Jackson’s Corona diary on Instagram.Additional Music: Broke for Free and Chris Zabriskie (licensed under Creative Commons).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.