The Story

How do you pick a potential vice president of the USA? With less than a hundred days to go until the American elections, the Democrats still have one major decision to make: Joe Biden’s running mate. Stories of our Times presenter Manveen Rana speaks to The Times' US Editor David Charter about who might get the nod and what their choice might say about Biden's campaign.Guests: David Charter, Times US Editor.Host: Manveen Rana. Clips: CNBC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, NBC, HBO, California Assembly, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Karen Bass.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.

At the start of the pandemic, two million of the most vulnerable people in England were told to 'shield' in order to remain safe. This week, the national shielding programme is being put on pause. With hundreds of new coronavirus cases being reported every day, is it too soon? And what will happen to the people most at risk?Guests: Sean O'Neill, chief reporter, The TimesCharlotte Augst, chief executive, National VoicesJudi, shielding in NorthamptonLindsay, shielding in SheffieldHost: Manveen RanaWith thanks to Our Covid Voices: https://ourcovidvoices.co.uk/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 today's programme we take a break from the news. Anthony Loyd is The Times' foreign correspondent, and one of the most experienced and respected war reporters of his generation. When he goes off to war zones he always takes one essential tool: his fishing rod.Guest: Anthony LoydHost: David AaronovitchThis 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.

While Westminster deals with the fallout from one Russian affair, today’s Stories of our Times podcast is about the couple who blew the whistle on Russia’s state sponsored doping operation in sport. The Sunday Times’ chief sports writer David Walsh told their story to Manveen Rana.Guests: David Walsh, Sunday Times chief sports writer andVitaly and Yuliya Stepanov, Russian whistle blowing couple.Host: Manveen Rana. Clips: CBS, ARD, WADA, CGTNAdditional music: Meydan & Scott Holmes (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.

China has cracked down in Hong Kong, Britain has banned the Chinese technology giant Huawei from its 5G network, and there’s growing disquiet about human rights abuses against China’s Uighur minority. Are we heading for a cold war with China?Guest: Lucy Fisher, Defense Editor for The TimesHost: David AaronovitchClips: BBC, Talkradio, UK parliament.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.

Over the last fortnight, Scotland has recorded many fewer deaths from Covid-19 compared to the UK as a whole. Does Scotland have a strategy the rest of Britain can learn from? Guests:  Mark McLaughlin, Politics and Education Correspondent, The Times in Scotland Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh Host:  Manveen Rana Clips: BBC, Scottish Government You can hear Cathy Newman's recent interview with Nicola Sturgeon for Times Radio 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.

A spate of high profile burglaries in expensive neighbourhoods and a mountain of stolen goods lead investigators to discover hundreds of burglars, all on holiday in the UK to commit their crimes. The Times’ crime correspondent explains how these individuals operate and the Sunday Times’ Matthew Campbell tells of his trip to Chile to track down the families of those convicted in the UK.  Guests: John Simpson, Times crime correspondent.Matthew Campbell, Sunday Times foreign features editor.Host: Manveen Rana. Clips used from Global News, Fox News and the BBC.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.

David Grossman is one of America's most prolific and controversial police trainers. His courses on 'kill-ology' put violence and the act of killing at the heart of law enforcement. In the aftermath of Black Lives Matter, Grossman's methods have come under question. Host:David AaronovitchGuest:Laura PullmanClips:ABC, CBS, Warner Bros., Cannon Air Force BaseThis 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.

Dominic Cummings has promised that a ‘hard rain’ will fall on the civil service. And last month Sir Mark Sedwill, Britain’s most senior civil servant, stood down. Has the pandemic created a moment for Dom to reinvent the heart of British government? Guest:Oliver Wright, Policy Editor of The Times Host:David AaronovitchClips:BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky News, CNN, ABC, IPPR, The Ditchley Foundation.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.

At the height of the Cold War, East Germany operated an elite secret academy designed to train secret police agents in tradecraft and tactics for psychological manipulation. Now, a trove of previously classified recordings that reveal the inner workings of that Stasi training school have been published. Guests:Oliver Moody, Berlin Correspondent for the Times.Roger Boyes, Diplomatic Editor and columnist at The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.With thanks to Südwest Rundfunk (SWR), the German public broadcaster that released the recordings, and the Bundesbeauftragte für die Stasi-Unterlagen (BStU) – Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Files, in English - for the audio.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.