The Story

The conviction of France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen for embezzling European Union funds came as a major blow to her, preventing her from running in the 2027 presidential election race. Her party called the trial a 'witch hunt' and she accused the court of making a “political decision”, a sentiment shared by far-right politicians across the world. So, could Le Pen’s sentence strengthen far-right parties and benefit their leader’s popularity? And could she end up standing as president in any case? 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: Peter Conradi, Europe Editor, The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Producer: Edith Rousselot. Further reading: Jordan Bardella: immigrants’ son to French far-right poster boyFurther listening: Young, French and voting hard-rightHow France’s left stopped a far-right surge Clips: AFP, France 24, Newsweek, TF1. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Maxie Allen complained to his daughter’s primary school about the recruitment process for a new head teacher, he hoped it would result in more openness and transparency. Instead six uniformed officers from Hertfordshire police were sent to arrest Allen and his partner after the school objected to them sending numerous emails and to their criticisms including “disparaging” comments on a parents’ WhatsApp group. So, is this another case of police overreach? And what does it mean for our ability to criticise and communicate privately? 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: Host: Manveen Rana. Producers: Edward Drummond and Sam Chantarasak. Further reading: Police chief defends arrest of parents in school WhatsApp rowMet Police smash down door of Quaker meeting house to arrest activistsGet in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump will reveal his much-awaited tariffs today on a day he’s called ‘Liberation Day’, as world leaders and the global markets brace for impact. Speculation has been rife over how large they will be and who they will affect, as Britain's foreign secretary says we must ‘prepare for the worst.’ But what are Trump’s motives? And will they shatter the current economic world order? 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: Dominic O’Connell, Business Correspondent, Times Radio and Columnist, The Times. Host: Luke Jones. Producer: Sam Chantarasak. Clips: AP, NBC, Bloomberg, C-SPAN, Channel 4, Times Radio, Fox News. Photo: Times design. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pioneering DNA testing company 23&me has filed for bankruptcy after failing to live up to its six billion-dollar promise. What does that mean for the data security of the fifteen million people who handed over their genetic information? And with at least 1 in 5 Britons having taken a commercial DNA test, is the age of genetic anonymity over? 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: Jenny Kleeman, Journalist and Author. Host: Jane Mulkerrins. Producer: Olivia Case. Further reading: I took an ancestry test and it led me to 18 secret siblings Clips: Y Combinator / Youtube. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the wake of a crackdown by the Trump administration on universities with threats to withhold funding following protests on campuses, Manveen Rana talks to Times columnist and a self-described free speech absolutist and academic Sir Niall Ferguson. 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: Sir Niall Ferguson, historian and Times columnist. Host: Manveen Rana. Producers: Emily Webb and Edward Drummond. Further reading: How DEI, cancel culture and bad boards are killing our universities Clips: National Conservatism, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC News, CBS News, ABC News, Forbes. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published in January. The US president-elect has sparked a series of diplomatic rows after saying he was willing to use military or economic force to take control of Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada. How seriously should we take Donald Trump’s claims and where did they come from? 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: Josh Glancy, News Review Editor, The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Clips: NBC News, Fox News, ABC News, Reuters/TV2, France Inter Radio. Photo: Getty Images Further reading: Why does Trump want Greenland? Further listening: Why Donald Trump courted the wrestling world Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered her Spring Statement - but what does it really mean for your money? Holly Mead is joined by Jo Noble, Chris Etherington and Tom Selby to break down the key takeaways - from welfare cuts to tax crackdowns - as they look at what was announced, what was left out, and what’s still to come later this year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Japanese ‘kidults’ revolutionised pop culture in the 90s and 00s, turning to their inner children to cope with economic crisis and post-industrial societal ills, despite being ridiculed. As the milestones of adulthood - property, marriage and careers - become increasingly difficult for millennials and Gen Z to achieve - are westerners now turning to ‘kidulting’ to find answers? 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: Matt Alt, author of Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World. Host: Manveen Rana. Producer: Sam Chantarasak. Further listening: Studio Ghibli: Is this the end for the Japanese studio that inspired Pixar?The South Korean culture machine that conquered the worldClips: SEGA, Pokémon Theme/POKEMON, MSNBC, CNN, AJ+, Sony, PlayStation, CBS, SXSW, TikTok/@otakuintokyo, TikTok/@kaitlyneats, Your Name/dir. Makoto Shinkai/CoMix Wave Films/Toho. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been called "a big mistake", "reckless" and "the highest level of f**kup imaginable" - but just how did a senior journalist come to be added to a chat group between some of the US government’s most senior members who were discussing military action? As the Trump government look to downplay the incident, what does it tell us about how they view their allies and conduct their business? And what could the fallout be? 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: David Charter, assistant editor (US), The Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Producers: Edward Drummond and Olivia Case. Clips: Fox News, CBS News, ABC News, Forbes. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The arrest and jailing of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, Turkey’s main political challenger to President Erdogan, has sent shockwaves across the country. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest his detention and express growing concerns over Turkey's shift toward autocracy. Does this mark a turning point in Turkey’s democracy? And will Imamoglu still be able to stand in the 2028 presidential elections? 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: Andrew Finkel, journalist and author of Turkey: What Everyone Needs to Know Host: Manveen Rana. Producers: Sam Chantarasak and Edith Rousselot. Further reading: The Erdogan I knew is a mirror image of the man he’s just locked up Clips: BBC News, Euronews, Reuters, Sky News. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Netflix smash-hit drama is getting everyone talking – including the prime minister. Adolescence centres on the murder of a 13-year-old girl by a boy in her class, and tries to tackle the question: why did he do it? Is this ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ television? Or a timely spotlight on a dark online ecosystem drawing in young men? 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: Host: Luke Jones. Producer: Taryn Siegel. Further reading: What teens really think about Adolescence — in their own words Clips: Netflix, ITV, TikTok/shabazsays, TikTok/dr.amanisamah Photo: Netflix. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meet JD Vance, man of Munich and the Oval Office onslaught. He thinks Europe is in a death spiral and the future is Catholic-infused post-liberalism. But what are his roots, what does he read, and - most importantly - what does he want? 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: Josh Glancy, News Review Editor, The Sunday Times. Host: Luke Jones. Producer: Edward Drummond. Further reading: Pugnacious bully or deep thinker — who is the real JD Vance? Further listening: Bannon vs Musk: The battle for the soul of Donald Trump Clips: Fox News, CNN, ABC News, NBC News, Forbes. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today marks five years since the first Covid lockdown. We were told that we would never be able to go back to pre-pandemic times: we could only enter a ‘new normal’. Is that what happened? How much did the pandemic change us? 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 Host: Luke Jones. Guests: Producer: Taryn Siegel. Further reading: UK’s worst night out? Costly, crime-ridden London Further listening: The death of clubbing Clips: The Telegraph. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With news this week on the ongoing attempts to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, we thought we'd bring you two interviews Manveen did on Times Radio to help make sense of it all. The first is with Anthony Loyd, who's been covering the war since it began and the second is with General Sir Richard Barron who has been working on the Defence Review and knows better than most whether the country is ready to defence itself. 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: Host: Manveen Rana. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Estonia, one of the Baltic states, sits on Europe's front line with Russia. The country that was, like Ukraine, once part of the Soviet Union is increasingly worried about the threat Putin poses, and has plans in place if there is an invasion. But, if western Europe can no longer rely on the transatlantic alliance, will it work? And what could Britain learn from 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: Oliver Moody, Berlin Correspondent, The Times and The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Producer: Olivia Case. Further reading: Could Poland and Germany acquire nuclear bombs? Further listening: ‘A lawlessness that’s deeply alarming’: William Hague on Trump’s new presidency. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's predicted that, by the end of this Parliament, four million people in Britain will receive long-term sickness benefits–that’s the equivalent of losing the working-age population of Birmingham from the workforce. Columnist Fraser Nelson thinks it’s the biggest scandal in Britain today. So how did we get here? And can Labour fix it or will they leave already-vulnerable people worse off? 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: The Times & The Sunday Times columnist Fraser Nelson Host: Luke Jones Producer: Emily Webb Further reading: From welfare to warfare can define Keir Starmer Further listening: Why are so many Gen Zers not working? Clips: Getty Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump is coming for Canada. He first raised the prospect of making America's nearest neighbour its 51st state when campaigning for the presidency in 2016. No one was listening. But Canada's new Liberal Prime Minister, Mark Carney, has heard, and he's assembling a coalition of allies to counter the threat. Could this be the beginning of a wider effort to build a Western, anti-Trump, alliance? 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 US Correspondent, The Times. Host: Luke Jones. Producers: Edith Rousselot and Olivia Case. Further reading: Mark Carney’s in-tray as PM: from tariffs to Canadian sovereignty Clips: CTV News, C-Span, CNN, BBC, ABC News, Guardian News, AP News, CPAC, Global News. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the frontline of Mexico’s drug wars, rival cartels are exploiting a decades-old dispute about indigenous land rights and turning local people against each other - with fatal consequences. To appease Trump, the government has downplayed the violence in the south to focus on the US border, but if the cartels continue undeterred, could the US launch a military operation? 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: Louise Callaghan, US Correspondent, The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana Producer: Sam Chantarasak Further reading: Watch: inside the town torn apart by Mexico’s cartel violence Further listening: At the border crossing where Trump’s migrant ban is working Clips: Al Jazeera, Firstpost, Imagen Noticias. Photo: Natalia Meneses Alís for The Sunday Times Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The word "unprecedented" is often used to describe Donald Trump's presidency. He's broken with convention repeatedly: from announcing tariffs on allies, to the suggestion that he wants to buy Greenland. But are these moves really without precedent? Or do Trump's politics echo that of 19th century US presidents, but with a more alarming twist? 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: Nick Bryant Host: Manveen Rana. Producer: Emily Webb. Clips: ABC News, CNBC, Niki Ashton Youtube, CBS News, New York Times, FOX, MSNBC, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute, NBC, Washington Post, BBC. Photo: Getty Images. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published last August. The government says it wants to make the UK a global hub for crypto firms. But with the NHS warning it’s being left to ‘pick up the pieces’ as people get addicted to crypto gambling, are Labour’s plans wise? Our reporter visits one of the first clinics in the world, near Edinburgh, that is treating people who have cryptocurrency problems. 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 If you’ve got any concerns about gambling, you can contact the national problem gambling charity GamCare's helpline on 0808 8020 133 or visit www.gamcare.org.uk for confidential support, advice and free counselling. Guest: Lily Russell-Jones, Senior Money Reporter, The Times and The Sunday Times. Host: Luke Jones. Producer: Olivia Case. Photo: Getty Images. Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.