The Story

In Britain, about 2.4 million children live in families who cannot afford all the food they need. During the pandemic, up to 8.1 million Britons have struggled to pay for food. Manchester United’s star striker Marcus Rashford and former manager Sir Alex Ferguson credit their tough upbringings with inspiring them to fight childhood poverty. Rashford and Sir Alex have joined forces to support The Times Christmas Appeal which is raising money for the charity FareShare. We speak with two Times journalists who interviewed the football icons.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:Alice Thomson, columnist and interviewer for The Times.Rachel Sylvester, columnist and interviewer for The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Clips used: ITV, BBC Three, GMB, Manchester United, England. 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.

Transparency rules have been cast aside by ministers in their coronavirus panic. The result? Privileged access for friendly lobbyists and £1.5bn of contracts to Conservative-linked companies. We speak to the Sunday Times journalist who exposed much of it, and a lawyer bringing a case against the government.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:Gabriel Pogrund, Sunday Times Whitehall correspondent.Jo Maugham QC, Director of the Good Law Project.Host: Manveen Rana. Clips used: BBC News, Sky News, Channel 4 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.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court heard arguments over whether Shamima Begum should be allowed to come back to Britain to fight for her citizenship. It's a legal battle that could have enormous consequences for her future and her family.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:Mohammed Akunjee, solicitor for family of Shamima Begum.Tom Tugendhat, MP for Tonbridge, Edenbridge and Malling; Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.Anthony Loyd, Foreign Correspondent, The Times.  Fiona Hamilton, Crime and Security Editor, The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Clips used: The Supreme Court.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 UK is not alone in having to decide what to do with its citizens stuck in Syrian camps and Iraqi prisons. Thousands of European nationals travelled to the Middle East to take part in the conflict that has torn the region apart. How is the rest of Europe coping with the problem? Are they bringing foreign fighters back? And what do they do with them if they do return?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: Arthur Snell, former head of the Foreign Office counter radicalisation programme  Thomas Schmidinger, University of Vienna Political Scientist and Cultural AnthropologistPeter Conradi, The Sunday Times Europe editor. Dr Neda Richards, counterterrorism psychologist. Host: Manveen Rana. Clips used: BBC, CBC, PBS.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.

Supreme Court judges are now deliberating on whether Begum should be allowed back to Britain to fight for her citizenship. But would happen if she did return? How does deradicalisation work and when can it go wrong?All this week, Stories of our Times brings you a special series on Shamima Begum, and her fight to come home to Britain.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:Tania Joya, former jihadist, former wife of senior Islamic State leader. Usama Hasan, research consultant, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Christopher Dean, psychologist; Senior Fellow, Global Centre for Cooperative Security.Host: Manveen Rana. 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 part of our series on Shamima Begum, we explore the experience of British nationals detained in Syria. What are living conditions like inside refugee camps? And should Britain repatriate its nationals who live in them? 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: Anthony Loyd, War Correspondent for The TimesVera Miranova, Harvard research fellow.Yasmine Ahmed, director of Rights and Security International.Sir Mark Rowley, former head of Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK. Richard Barrett, director of the Global Strategy Network.Host: Manveen Rana.Clips used: BBC, 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a chance meeting in a Syrian camp. A veteran war reporter, a young mother, and an interview that polarised a nation. Shamima Begum was just 15 years old when she and two of her school friends from Bethnal Green left Britain to join Islamic State. Five years later, with her fate still hanging in the balance, the Supreme Court will this week decide whether she can return to the UK to challenge the deprivation of her citizenship. This episode of the Stories of our Times podcast will form part of a week-long series. We'll explore: what should happen to British nationals who left to join Islamic State, and do we have a responsibility to bring them back?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: Anthony Loyd, Foreign Correspondent, The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Clips used: BBC, ITV, Sky, Channel 4.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.

All next week Stories of our times will examine the effectiveness of the UK’s policy towards those detained in Syria; discuss de-radicalisation; and look at the dissenting views on the idea of repatriation as the Supreme Court decides whether Begum can return home to contest the removal of her citizenship. 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.

When Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn fled house arrest in Tokyo and turned up in Beirut in December 2019, the details read like they’d come straight from the pages of a spy thriller. Accused of financial misconduct by Nissan, and facing a long trial and prison sentence, he decided to make a break for it. What’s his side of the story?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: John Arlidge, Sunday Times senior business writer.Host: David Aaronovitch.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.

Was one of the most famous interviews in UK television history secured by underhand means? Twenty-five years on, the BBC finds itself under fresh scrutiny. 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:Valentine Low, Royal Correspondent at The Times.Rosamund Urwin, Media and Technology Correspondent at The Sunday Times. Host: David AaronovitchClips used: BBC Panorama, AP, ITN/ITVThis 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.