The Story

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.

With less than 50 days until the US presidential election, Donald Trump's relationship with the US military has become strained. But how is the fallout impacting his hopes of returning to the White House?Guests: Henry Zeffman, Washington Correspondent, The Times.Admiral James Stavridis, Retired US Navy admiral and Former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.Host: Manveen Rana. Clips used: Think Progress, Fox News, CNN, The View, Good Morning America, ITV News, Illinois Channel TV, ABC News, Twitter, NBC News, Arirang 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.

Today: the story of one French athlete with dreams of attending the Olympics. Her hopes were put in jeopardy when she was accused of doping, but everything is not as it seems. Host: David Aaronovitch. Guest: Adam Sage, Paris correspondent for 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.

How does Andrew Wakefield’s pseudoscience help us understand our modern post-truth crisis?Guest: Brian Deer, former Sunday Times investigative reporter, author of The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Andrew Wakefield's War on Vaccines.Host: David Aaronovitch. Clips used: Channel 5 and ET Canada. 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 sudden rise in coronavirus cases has sparked alarm and a strengthening of public health measures. As of today, much of the UK is living by "the rule of six". Could this be the beginning of a second wave?Guest: Tom Whipple, science editor, The Times.  Host: Manveen Rana. Clips: Times Radio, CBS News, Sky News, BBC 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.