The Briefing Room

As negotiations between the UK and the EU hit choppy waters, the Briefing Room asks what does the EU want from Brexit and what would be its bottom line? David Aaronovitch is joined by expert guests including:Pascal Lamy, former EU Trade Commissioner and Director General of the World Trade OrganisationDaniela Schwarzer, Head of the German Council on Foreign RelationsJacek Rostowski, former Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of Poland

Do the United States and its allies really have the technology to stop incoming missiles from North Korea?In the week North Korea tested another ballistic missile - this time it flew over northern Japan - David Aaronovich asks what threat does North Korea's missile programme pose? And beyond North Korea, what are the capabilities of ICBMs? And how effective are missile defence systems? Contributors:Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at Kings College LondonJoseph Cirincione author of Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too LateDr Patricia Lewis, a former UN official who specialised in non-proliferationDr Laura Grego from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

How will Artificial Intelligence shape our lives, and what should we do now to prepare for it?AI is all around us in our everyday lives. It's used to make decisions about employment, loans, credit cards and even what we read and listen to. So what are the implications of this revolutionary technology?David Aaronovitch hears from experts in the field including:David Baker, contributing editor to Wired magazineCathy O'Neil, former data scientistPippa Malmgren, founder of H RoboticsRegina Barzilay, computer scientist at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory

What do the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, tell us about the strength of the far-right in America? What should the government do to combat domestic extremism? In this week's programme David Aaronovitch asks if there is a white nationalist revival in the United States and what that means for the country's politics. CONTRIBUTORS: J.M. Berger, author, analyst and consultant on extremism. Sandy Hausman, WVTF radio. Christian Picciolini, a former neo-Nazi who is now an anti-extremism campaigner. Leonard Zeskind, a researcher of the American far-right and director of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights Asha Rangappa, former special agent, FBI and now lecturer at Yale Law School.

How did the oil rich state of Venezuela see such a rapid economic decline? Poverty is rife, inflation is running at more than 700 per cent and protests are widespread. President Nicolás Maduro is tightening his hold on power following the appointment of a new national assembly, charged with writing a new constitution.In this week's programme David Aaronovitch asks whether former president Hugo Chavez and president Maduro played a role in compounding the crisis and asks if Venezuela might become a failed state. CONTRIBUTORS Dany Bahar, The Brookings InstitutionAndrea Murta, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center of the Atlantic CouncilMiguel Tinker-Salas, Pomona College, CaliforniaKaty Watson, BBCVladimir Hernandez, BBC.

It's been a tumultuous week in Washington - but to what extent does the chaos in Trump's West Wing matter?Anthony 'The Mooch' Scaramucci was gone in 900,000 seconds - but whoever replaces him will be President Trump's third communications director. His press secretary has resigned, he’s fired his acting attorney general, and he’s on his second chief of staff, John Kelly, a retired general who many hope will bring discipline to a leaky White House. By the standards of almost all modern American politics this seems bizarre, if not catastrophic. But then by the standards of almost all modern American politics Donald Trump would not be president. In this week's edition of The Briefing Room David Aaronovitch takes a step back, and tries to find out what the actual consequences of the dramas of Trump’s West Wing might be.CONTRIBUTORSJonny Dymond, BBC CorrespondentAdam Gingrich, worked on Donald Trump's campaign in PennsylvaniaStephan Halper, former foreign policy advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan and now Emeritus Senior Fellow of the Centre of International Studies Leslie Vinjamuri, Associate Fellow of the Americas programme at Chatham HouseAnthony Zurcher, BBC senior North America reporter

This year almost 100,000 people have arrived in Italy by boat - and more than 2,000 have died trying. The Italians say they can’t cope, but it's a problem which has now been going on for years - so why has nobody solved it?In this week's programme David Aaronovitch asks who are the migrants, where are they coming from, how do they get to Europe and what needs to be done to stop more people dying. CONTRIBUTORSJoel Millman, UN's International Organisation for MigrationTuesday Reitano, Global Initiative against Transnational Organised CrimeMattia Toaldo, European Council on Foreign RelationsElizabeth Collett, Migration Policy Institute Europe

Are Tory divisions temporary or symptomatic of deeper problems? Parliament has broken up for the summer, and the last week has seen Conservative cabinet ministers engaging in open warfare. But are the divisions a temporary crisis, or are they symptomatic of deeper problems in the party? David Aaronovitch speaks to a range of experts and goes beyond the future leadership jostling to see what's really causing the current political climate. He hears from a former adviser to David Cameron who says the Tories are facing an existential threat if they can't win over the under 40s. He then hears from a panel of experts on what policies are needed to lure in younger voters. CONTRIBUTORSTim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of LondonLord Andrew Cooper, former director of strategy to David Cameron Laura Gardiner, senior research and policy analyst at the think tank The Resolution FoundationDavid Skelton, director of Renewal – a campaign group to broaden the appeal of the Conservative party to working-class and ethnic minority voters

Labour will play a crucial role in shaping Britain's exit from the EU now the Conservative government has lost its overall majority. The vast majority of Labour MPs backed Remain ahead of the referendum - but most followed party orders to allow Article 50 to be invoked (the mechanism for leaving the EU). On the day the government publishes the Repeal Bill and the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn meets the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, David Aaronovitch asks a range of political experts what Labour wants. He'll look back into the party's history to see if that helps explain today's divisions and he'll be briefed on whether Labour's Brexit wishlist is realistic. CONTRIBUTORS Steven Fielding, Professor of Political History at The University of NottinghamCatherine Barnard, Professor of European Union Law, The University of CambridgeDeborah Mattinson, former advisor to Gordon Brown and founder of think tank Britain ThinksProducers: Phoebe Keane and Beth Sagar-Fenton

The chancellor is facing widespread calls for more spending. Should he listen, or stick to his deficit reduction plan?Senior Conservatives are calling for more public spending on things like public sector pay - but Philip Hammond is committed to what he himself calls 'the long slog of austerity'. David Aaronovitch invites a range of experts into The Briefing Room to help him understand the arguments around public spending, and asks if the UK should ditch austerity?Guests include Paul Johnson from the IFS and economists Ann Pettifor and Tim Besley.