Today in Focus
The Guardian
Hosted by Michael Safi and Helen Pidd, Today in Focus brings you closer to Guardian journalism. Combining storytelling with insightful analysis and personal testimonies, the podcast takes you behind the headlines for a deeper understanding of the news, every weekday. And, in the run up to the US Election, Lucy Hough presents US Election Extra, a daily series of short updates, running alongside the regular Today in Focus podcast. Today in Focus is unmatched in both scope and depth, delivering analysis and storytelling from right across the planet. With a global network of over 900 journalists and five dedicated editions covering news in the US, UK, Australia, Europe, and beyond, the Guardian offers comprehensive reporting across every continent. Most recently we have introduced new correspondents in the Caribbean, South America and Africa.
Location:
United Kingdom
Genres:
News & Politics Podcasts
Networks:
The Guardian
Description:
Hosted by Michael Safi and Helen Pidd, Today in Focus brings you closer to Guardian journalism. Combining storytelling with insightful analysis and personal testimonies, the podcast takes you behind the headlines for a deeper understanding of the news, every weekday. And, in the run up to the US Election, Lucy Hough presents US Election Extra, a daily series of short updates, running alongside the regular Today in Focus podcast. Today in Focus is unmatched in both scope and depth, delivering analysis and storytelling from right across the planet. With a global network of over 900 journalists and five dedicated editions covering news in the US, UK, Australia, Europe, and beyond, the Guardian offers comprehensive reporting across every continent. Most recently we have introduced new correspondents in the Caribbean, South America and Africa.
Language:
English
Episodes
It was a wildlife conservation triumph, then came the corpses
1/9/2025
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 rewilding gone wrong. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:29:43
Elon Musk’s political evolution
1/8/2025
Why is Elon Musk increasingly trying to influence UK politics?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:31:40
Will Labour take on the power of private schools in the UK?
1/7/2025
Professor of sociology Sam Friedman charts the enduring influence of private schools in the making of the British elite and asks whether the Labour government is looking finally to curtail it. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:29:07
The month that changed South Korea for ever
1/6/2025
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 impeachments and the worst domestic aviation disaster in its history. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:25:56
Friendship across the parenting divide
1/5/2025
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 limit. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:36:13
How Britain fell in love with darts
1/2/2025
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 journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:32:10
How to have a perfectly imperfect 2025
1/1/2025
Instead of making grand new year’s resolutions, the smallest steps could lead to a more joyful life, says Oliver Burkeman. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:27:43
Revisited: Ten years of equal marriage – what has it changed?
12/31/2024
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 independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:34:11
Revisited: From child refugee to Guardian reporter: one journalist’s extraordinary story
12/30/2024
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 journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:34:06
Revisited: The mother who forgave her daughters’ killer – but not the police
12/29/2024
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 how she found the strength to fight back. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:38:19
Revisited: The man who fell to Earth
12/26/2024
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 body was found. Esther Addley reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:22:51
Revisited: The birdwatcher fighting racism in public spaces
12/25/2024
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 passion for nature. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:27:26
Revisited: Creating The Spark: the kids behind 2024’s surprise summer hit
12/24/2024
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 TikTok – as they perform at the Electric Picnic music festival. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:29:18
How the Guardian reported 2024
12/23/2024
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 Viner explains what it looked like from the editor’s chair. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:32:40
A radical way to teach contested history
12/22/2024
Helen Pidd visits Lancaster Royal grammar school to see the work of Parallel Histories, an education charity which helps young people make sense of contested history. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:36:10
Yasser’s story: the Syrian refugee who lived with me
12/19/2024
Helen Pidd speaks to her former lodger, Yasser, a Syrian refugee contemplating moving back home. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:28:14
Can a steel town survive if its furnaces are turned off?
12/18/2024
Port Talbot in Wales is defined by its huge steelworks. But in January Tata Steel announced it was ending primary steelmaking there. George McDonagh charts a year that could change the town for ever. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:32:29
The prince and the ‘spy’
12/17/2024
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 support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:28:38
The reformed jihadi? Al-Jolani, the new most powerful man in Syria
12/16/2024
International security correspondent Jason Burke explores the life of Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, and asks whether he has genuinely reformed from his hardline al-Qaida past. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:25:19
‘The most beautiful word in the dictionary’: Donald Trump’s tariff plan
12/15/2024
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. Senior China correspondent Amy Hawkins talks through the potential of a wider retaliatory trade war with China.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus
Duration:00:25:26