The Briefing Room

Last week cryptocurrency suffered it’s ‘black Wednesday’ moment. Investors raced to withdraw their funds and more than $200billion was wiped off the cryptocurrency market. One currency lost 98% of its value. Ironically it was a so-called “stablecoin”, whose value is meant to be pegged to currencies like the dollar, that collapsed.Was this a solitary - but very costly - blip or is the crypto bubble in danger of bursting?Joining David in the briefing room are:Gavin Brown, Associate Professor in Financial Technology at The University of Liverpool Jemima Kelly, columnist at the Financial Times Dominic Frisby, MoneyWeek columnist and author of Bitcoin: The Future of Money? David Shrier, Professor of Practice, AI & Innovation with Imperial College Business School Stephen Diehl, a software engineer and crypto writer. Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Richard Vadon Studio manager: Neil Churchill Production co-ordinators: Siobhan Reed & Sophie Hill

The election in Northern Ireland saw nationalists, Sinn Fein, win the most votes. Their leader, Michelle O'Neill, becomes first minister. It has been heralded as a historic result. But what will its impact - on Stormont politics, the protocol and the union - end up being? Joining David Aaronovitch in the briefing room are: Enda McClafferty, BBC Northern Ireland's political editor Ann Watt, director of Pivotal, an independent public policy think tank Sam McBride, Northern Ireland editor, Belfast Telegraph & Sunday Independent Etain Tannam, associate professor of international peace studies, Trinity College DublinProducers: Rosamund Jones, Kirsteen Knight & Ben Carter Studio manager: James Beard Production co-ordinators: Siobhan Reed & Sophie Hill Editor: Richard Vadon

In late February, German chancellor Olaf Scholz described Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a ‘Zeitenwende’ - turning point - sparking the biggest shift in German foreign policy since the Cold War. The highlights included a 100bn euro package to boost the military and meet Nato’s 2 per cent of GDP defence spending obligation, send weapons to Ukraine and end his country’s dependency on Russian energy. A surprisingly bold plan from a man many had thought was - like many of his predecessors - naturally cautious. He drew applause at home and abroad, but two months on there is sense that Scholz is wavering. Can he, and will he, see his plan through?Joining David Aaronovitch in the briefing room are:Sir Paul Lever, former British Ambassador to Germany and author of Berlin Rules: Europe and the German WayProfessor Markus Ziener, Helmut Schmidt Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United StatesDaniela Schwarzer, Director of the German Council on Foreign RelationsSophia Besch, senior research fellow at the Centre for European ReformProducers: Octavia Woodward, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter Production Co-ordinators: Siobhan Reed and Sophie Hill Studio Manager: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

What will the social and economic costs be of China's full-scale lockdown of Shanghai? David Aaronovitch examines the problems with the country's vaccination programme. Joining David in the briefing room are:Robin Brant, BBC Correspondent based in Shanghai Vincent Ni, China Affairs correspondent for The Guardian Professor Nancy Qian, Northwestern University Dr Yu Jie, senior research fellow on China in the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House George Magnus, economist and research associate at Oxford University’s China Centre.Producers: Rosamund Jones, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter Production Co-ordinator: Siobhan Reed Studio Manager: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has unveiled a plan to stop small boat crossings in the English Channel by sending asylum seekers to Rwanda. But will it work?Joining David Aaronovitch in the briefing room are:Mark Easton, BBC's Home Editor Alexander Betts, Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs at the Refugees Studies Centre Nicolas Rollason, partner and head of Business Immigration at Kingsley Napley Madeleine Sumption, Director of The Migration ObservatoryProducers: Rosamund Jones, Ben Carter and Kirsteen Knight Production Co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed Studio Manager: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon

It's a month now since Russian forces invaded Ukraine. The west have sanctioned Russia and provided aid packages to Ukraine but what more can it do to help Ukraine win the war?Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are:Gustav Gressel, senior policy fellow with the Wider Europe Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) Berlin office. Dr Sarah Schiffling, International research fellow at the Humanitarian Logistics Institute in Helsinki, Finland and senior lecturer in supply chain management at Liverpool John Moores University.Javier Blas, energy and commodities columnist at Bloomberg and co-author of the 'The World for Sale’.Algirde Pipikaite, cybersecurity and digital transformation policy expert at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.Producers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight, Octavia Woodward and Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Production Co-ordinators: Iona Hammond and Siobhan Reed Studio Manager: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have been underway this week. At the same time Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities have come under savage bombardment. If some sort of peace is to be brokered what compromises might be possible and what will be required to get there? David Aaronovitch is joined by:Oleksiy Semeniy, former advisor to the National Security and Defense Council of UkraineAglaya Snetkov, author of “Russia's security policy under Putin” and a lecturer at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London. Anatol Lieven, senior research fellow on Russia and Europe at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and a visiting professor at King’s College, London.Dr Julie Norman, lecturer in politics and international relations at University College London and co-director of its US politics centre. Producers: Rosamund Jones, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter Production Co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed Studio Manager: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

What's the impact in Russia of painful sanctions and a war that's not going to plan? How is President Putin controlling information and what's required for that to change? David Aaronovitch is joined by: Michael Clarke, Visiting Professor of War Studies at Exeter University and former director, Royal United Services Institute Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics at Sciences Po in Paris and former Chief Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Dr. Katerina Tertytchnaya, Assistant Professor in Comparative Politics, University College London Izabella Tabarovsky, Senior Program Associate at the Kennan Institute, Wilson Center (US) Dr Maxim Alyukov, fellow Kings College London Producers: Rosamund Jones, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Henderson Production Co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed Studio Manager: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

The war in Ukraine is a week old. What have we learned about the military strength - and tactics - on both sides? And what might that tell us about how the conflict might play out? David Aaronovitch is joined in The Briefing Room by:Vitaliy Shevchenko, Russian editor at BBC Monitoring.Colonel Liam Collins, founding director of the Modern War Institute in New York.Ed Arnold, Research Fellow in European security at RUSI and an ex British Army officer who was posted to NATOs Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in 2014 during the Russian annexation of Crimea.Kataryna Wolczuk, Professor of East European Politics at the University of Birmingham.Bettina Renz, Professor of International Security at the University of Nottingham. Producers: Rosamund Jones, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter Production co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed Studio manager: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

Russia is facing sanctions from around the world. Can they hit the country hard enough to make it change course and leave Ukraine in peace? In a live episode David Aaronovitch considers how sanctions have worked in other crises, why they are so frequently used and what circumstances are required for them to be successful.He is joined by: Lee Jones, Professor of International Politics at Queen Mary, University of London and author of the book Societies Under Siege: Exploring How International Economic Sanctions (Do Not) WorkTom Keatinge, Director of the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies at RUSIDr Maria Shagina, Fellow at the Center for Eastern European Studies at the University of Zurich Tyler Kustra, Assistant Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham Producers: Rosamund Jones, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter Production co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed Studio manager: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon