The Story

Trump's ceasefire with Iran - what’s in it and what next

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:01:00 +0000

After mounting hostilities and Trump’s threats that ‘a whole civilization will die’ unless Iran backs down, Tehran and Washington have agreed to a two week ceasefire. Now, they’re discussing a ten-point plan to permanently end the war. But is this the end of the fighting or just a pause? What’s in the peace plan? And has this conflict taught Iran that it can hold the world to ransom?

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: Catherine Philp, World Affairs Editor, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Olivia Case and Sophie McNulty.

We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com

Further listening: The West Bank land grab no one’s watching

Clips: BBC, CNN, AP, CSPAN, NDTV, The Mary Trump Podcast.

Photo: Getty Images.

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.

The West Bank land grab no one’s watching

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:01:00 +0000

With the world’s attention fixed on the war in Iran, Israeli settler gangs are rapidly and violently expanding outposts in the West Bank – seemingly with impunity. So, what’s it like on the ground? Is the Israeli government softening to the ‘extremist’ settler movement? And will settlers ever be held accountable?

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: Richard Spencer, world affairs correspondent, The Times

Host: Manveen Rana

Producers: Sophie McNulty, Taryn Siegel

We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com

Further listening: The Board of Peace: the new UN or Trump’s vanity project?

Clips: CNN, France 24, BBC, CBS, ABC 7, Middle East Eye.

Photo: Getty Images.

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.

INVESTIGATION: Inside Britain’s biggest Ponzi scheme

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:01:00 +0000

Thousands of pensioners invested their life savings into London Capital and Finance before it was revealed to be the UK’s biggest ever Ponzi scheme. Now, new Times reporting shows how the millions in investments were lavishly spent by LCF’s founders. So how was a scheme on this scale allowed to take root in the first place?

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:

Jim Armitage, contributing editor, The Sunday Times.
Antonia Summer, investor in LCF.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Harry Stott, Callum Martin.

We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com

Clips: Rehman Chisti MP / Facebook.

Photo: Getty Images.

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.

Will voters back "the poster boy for the far-right"?

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:01:00 +0000

Hungary goes to the polls on Sunday and for the first time in sixteen years, Donald Trump’s right-wing ally Viktor Orbán might lose his iron grip on power. But who is this man who’s ruled the country for so long? What do we know about the man who could unseat him? And what would a loss for Orbán mean for the populist right and for Europe as a whole?

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:

Peter Conradi, Europe editor, The Sunday Times
Victor Sebestyen, journalist and author covering Eastern Europe & Russia

Host: Luke Jones

Producer: Sophie McNulty, Olivia Case

We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com

Clips: Bloomberg, DRM News, Péter Magyar - YouTube

Photo: Getty Images, The Times.

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.

The contract killing scandal rocking France’s MI6 - The Sunday Story

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 00:01:00 +0000

It's the trial rocking France's intelligence service. Two guards who had always dreamt of going under cover were allegedly tricked into a plot to kill a ‘Mossad agent’, who was nothing of the sort. It's an unbelievable tale of freemasons, fake missions - and real violence, where personal grudges are dressed up as matters of national security.

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: Adam Sage, Paris correspondent, The Times.

Host: Rosie Wright.

Producer: Dave Creasey.

We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com

Photo: Getty Images.

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.

Inside the world of 'Disney adults' - The Saturday Story

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:01:00 +0000

For millions of people, Disney was a huge part of their childhood. But, for a great number of people that love never went away, and today, it's those people who have become central to Disney’s bottom line. They are the so called “Disney adults”. But their world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, it's a passionate subculture marked by competition, criticism - and high costs.

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

Read by: Julia Webster and Sophie McNulty.

Producer: Dave Creasey.

We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com

Clips: Disney.

Photo: Getty Images.

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.

The descent into madness under Putin

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:01:00 +0000

When The Times foreign correspondent Marc Bennetts moved to Russia in 1997, there was hope for a new future for the country. But over the next 25 years, he witnessed the rise of Vladimir Putin and the erosion of civil liberties. In his new book, The Descent: Witnessing Russia’s Spiral into Madness Under Putin, Marc charts how one man remade Russia in his own paranoid image.

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: Marc Bennetts, foreign correspondent, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Micaela Arneson.

We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com

Further listening: ‘I took a grenade blast to escape’: Russian deserters speak to The Times

Clips: Channel One Russia, Educational Video Group, NBC News, ITN, Times Now World, Dot’s Eye.

Photo: Getty Images.

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.

INVESTIGATION: How the SNP spends billions ‘to buy loyalty from charities’

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:01:00 +0000

A Sunday Times investigation has found that, in Scotland, there are claims that the SNP has, in effect, shut down criticism from the charity and voluntary sectors because of a system that leaves them umbilically tied to its political objectives and fearing grave consequences if they step out of line.

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: Dan Sanderson, Scottish political editor, The Times and The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Taryn Siegel.

We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com

Clips: 5 News, Parliament TV.

Illustration: Tony Bell.

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.

Artemis II: NASA’s plan for the Moon and beyond

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:01:00 +0000

The countdown has begun for the launch of NASA's Artemis II mission around the Moon, the first manned mission there in more than 50 years. Their voyage around our nearest neighbour will pave the way for a lunar landing and, eventually, a Moon base. But why is there suddenly rekindled interest in moon exploration, and could this bring humans toward the ultimate goal of reaching Mars?

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:

Scott Kelly, retired NASA astronaut.
Kaya Burgess, science and religious affairs correspondent for The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana

Producer: Julia Webster

We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com

Read more: Artemis II: mission to the Moon

Further listening: The Epstein Files, AI journalism and the future of truth - The Sunday Story

Clips: NASA, John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, PBS, Space Age Archive, Associated Press, CriticalPast, Cosmosphere.

Photo: Kathia Mestanza, Getty Images.

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.