The Standard

Thousands of NHS consultants are striking across England, causing large-scale disruption to patient care.Senior doctors and hospital dentists in the British Medical Association walked out for 48 hours until 7am on Saturday in a pay dispute.BMA consultants, like junior doctors, are seeking a 35 per cent pay rise to correct a real terms fall - the Government’s offering six per centThousands of operations, procedures and appointments have been cancelled and are being rescheduled after the biggest consultant pickets in a decade.It comes just two days after junior doctors staged a five-day walkout, the longest in NHS history.The Leader podcast hears the latest from Evening Standard health reporter Daniel Keane. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

London Assembly member Susan Hall has won the Tory nomination to face Labour incumbent Mayor Sadiq Khan at the polls in the race for City Hall.Hall beat criminal barrister Moz Hossain KC in the ballot of around 20,000 London Conservatives, by 57 per cent to 43 per cent.But will Hall join the list of failed Conservative candidates taking on Khan?The Leader’s joined by the Standard’s City Hall editor Ross Lydall, who reports from the Battle of Britain wartime operations bunker, in Uxbridge, where the announcement was made. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tourists holidaying around the Mediterranean have been told to stay indoors as temperatures touch half the boiling point of water.The unprecedented heatwave reaching nearly 49C is enveloping tourist hotspots in Italy, Greece, Spain and Switzerland.Two wildfires, fanned by strong winds, are raging uncontrolled through coastal towns near Athens, triggering evacuations and a huge response from emergency services, including hundreds of firefighters.So, how long is the sweltering heat - fuelled by a cyclone called Charon hitting Europe - due to last, what the link with climate change - and what’s the risk to the human body from such chronically hot weather?Insight with Gareth Redmond-King, head of international programme at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been a decade since the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act received Royal Assent for England and Wales.Passing of the act came seven years after civil partnerships were legalised - but how much has actually changed? This month, the Church of England announced it's working towards drafting pastoral guidance needed to allow gay couples to receive blessings from priests.The Leader podcast’s joined by Louise Calvey, director of Safer Foundations, who this year celebrates the 12th anniversary of civil partnership to her wife.In part two, we speak with Richy Thompson, director of public affairs and policy at Humanists UK, who says humanists have been frozen out of laws to formalise couples’ legal rights, such as next-of-kin status. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a bonus episode taken from our business show How to be a CEO, click here to listen to the full episode.MLB's trying to expand the game of baseball internationally, with a major focus on breaking the UK. But in a country that hasn't paid much attention to 'America's National Pastime', how do they attract attention. MLB Europe's MD Ben Ladkin sits down with us to talk about their strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Londoners will have noticed something wonderfully odd breaking through the capital’s grey gloom - splashes of pink are appearing, but why?Barbiemania is sweeping town ahead of this summer’s feel-good film, directed by Greta Gerwig, which is coming to UK screens from Friday 21st July.It stars former Clapham resident Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, plus a host of famous cameos and retro-modern nods, from neon leg-warmers to tennis visors and flip phones.The Leader podcast’s joined by Evening Standard features journalist Maddy Mussen, who was at the Leicester Square premiere, to talk Barbiemania.We discuss Gen Z’s TikTok ‘Barbiecore’ craze, how the doll’s changed with the times, Barbie’s feminist era and unique aesthetic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The worst-kept secret on the internet is out in the wild - Huw Edwards has been named as the BBC presenter at the centre of an alleged explicit pictures scandal first published by The Sun newspaper.It took the newsreader’s wife, Vicky Flind, to go public with his name after five days of social media guess-who gossip.In a statement, she said Edwards is receiving in-patient hospital care for his mental health after a “serious episode” worsened by recent revelations.Now, fresh claims - reported by the BBC - have emerged of what’s been described as “inappropriate” messages allegedly sent by Edwards to three junior staff members.His former colleague Jon Sopel has said Edwards was “very angry” and “felt very let down” by the coverage of the allegations made about him, For the latest, the Leader podcast’s joined by Evening Standard arts correspondent Robert Dex. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Crime on London’s tube network has soared by nearly 40 per cent above its pre-Covid levels and fare-dodging has hit a record high.Transport for London data reveals a total of 10,420 crimes were recorded on the London Underground between last December and May, fuelled by a four-fold increase in robbery and a 66 per cent spike in thefts.On the bus network, victims of sexual offences on bus were overwhelmingly female, and typically aged 12 to 30 years, with schoolgirls accounting for a “substantial” number of people targeted in attacks investigated by British Transport Police.So what’s behind this post-pandemic soaring crime rate - and where are the worst station hotspots where passengers should be extra vigilant when travelling?Evening Standard transport editor Ross Lydall has been examining the data and joins the Leader podcast to discuss what’s behind the shocking figures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chancellor Jeremy’s Hunt’s claiming earners on average salaries will be over £1,000 better off every year in their retirement - but how?In his first Mansion House speech, Hunt set out his plans to reform the pension industry as part of a series of measure he reckons could bring in up to £75 billion.It came as unemployment and wage growth both unexpectedly rose on Tuesday, while two-year mortgage rates at 15-year high of 6.66 per cent.And Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey was bullish in his speech at the annual City gala dinner, reporting inflation “is set to fall markedly over the remainder of the year”.But is it - or is it all pre-election smoke and mirrors?The Leader podcast’s joined by Alfie Stirling, chief economist and associate director at The Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Joe Biden’s touched down in the UK to meet prime minister Rishi Sunak - and it’s only been three months since his last visit.Biden arrived in Air Force One at Stansted Airport on Sunday night and he met Sunak in Downing Street on Monday before taking tea with King Charles at Windsor Castle to discuss climate change.Biden and Sunak will have Ukraine’s progress against Russia’s invasion high on their agenda, plus President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hope to join Nato.The leaders will also likely discuss the highly controversial issue of Washington’s plan to arm Kyiv with cluster bombs, which are so devastating to civilians.For the latest analysis on President Biden’s visit, the Leader podcast’s joined by Evening Standard political editor Nicholas Cecil. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.