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How Call of Duty became Britain's post-Brexit battleground
Microsoft has found itself in a bitter war of words with both its gaming rival Sony and the UK authorities, over a multi-billion dollar takeover bid of games developer Activision Blizzard. So what is the future of Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty franchise on Xbox or Playstation? And after the UK’s competition watchdog blocked the deal, what does it say for Britain’s post-Brexit business strategy?
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.
Guest: Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor, The Times.
Host: Jenny Kleeman.
Clips: CBS News, BBC Radio 5 Live, CNBC, Windows XP/Microsoft, ChatGPT/OpenAI, Xbox Series X/Microsoft, YouTube/@SpawnWave, BBC Newsnight.
Video game clips:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/ Infinity Ward/Activision, World of Warcraft/Blizzard, Spyro Reignited Trilogy/Toys For Bob/Activision, Crash Bandicoot™ N. Sane Trilogy/Vicarious Visions/Activision, Candy Crush Saga/King.
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Part 1 | Family Man: The shocking Murdaugh murders - The Saturday Story
33:37|The Murdaugh family had power, wealth, and influence until two brutal killings exposed a world of stolen millions and deadly secrets. As the lies unravelled, a once-untouchable dynasty collapsed into one of America’s darkest true crime cases. But what really happened that night, and who is to blame?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuest: James Lasdun, author of The Family Man.Host: Manveen Rana.Producers: Dave Creasey and Jesse Fox.Clips: CNN, CBS, Fox News, CourtRoomTV, WCSC, WIS News, WJCL, NBC.Image: Getty Images.Times Book Shop: The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of MurdaughWe want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com
LATEST: Why are Scotland Yard investigating Reform donations?
16:10|More revelations are coming out about donations to Reform UK. The Sunday Times Insight team have discovered that the Metropolitan Police are investigating a £500,000 donation from the mother of convicted fraudster George Cottrell. How will this affect Farage’s chances in the Clacton by-election now scheduled for August? And what does it say about the state of political donations in the UK more widely?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuests: Gabriel Pogrund, insight editor, The Sunday Times.Richard Tice, Reform UK MP.Peter Geoghegan, investigative journalist.Host: Ayesha Hazarika.Producer: Musty Aziz.We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.comRead more: Police investigate Reform donations by mother of fraudster who bankrolled FarageFurther listening: Posh George: The criminal behind FaragePhoto: Getty Images.
Why can’t Britain handle the heat?
26:39|Summer 2026 is another scorcher, with temperature records being broken across Europe. Infrastructure in the UK is creaking; with trains cancelled, schools closed and people sweltering in their homes. Why does Europe seem to be heating up more than other continents? And could outlandish ideas hold the answer to cooling us down long term?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuest: Tom Whipple, science writer and special correspondent, The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Producer: Harry Stott.We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.comRead more: Heatwave exposes flaws in Britain’s ability to supply fresh foodFurther listening: Have we stopped caring about climate change?Clips: Channel 4, BBC, Sky News. Photo: Getty Images.
On the Albanian island Ivanka Trump wants to buy
31:36|Weeks of protests in Albania show no signs of stopping. Tens of thousands have been taking to the streets to oppose the proposed purchase and development of land by Donald Trump’s daughter and son-in-law. As the country’s tourist industry booms, there is a divide over the cost of development and the country’s sense of self. Our writer went to the island at the centre of a political and national identity crisis.This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuest: Richard Assheton, features writer, The Sunday Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Producers: Taryn Siegel.We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.comRead more: Is this the Kushners’ $5bn Albania resort? 350 yachts and a water parkClips: David Senra podcast, APT, X/@IsamyzyrajAlb, IG/@thebrickobserversatire, DW News.Photo: Richard Assheton.
LATEST: Will Farage’s by-election gambit work?
12:08|It’s been a rollercoaster 24 hours for Nigel Farage and Reform – a by-election called, a major party boycott, and now the spectre of a two horse race against Count Binface. So will his high risk play pay off as he takes his case to the people? And what do the voters of Clacton really think about it?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuests: Terry Stiastny, political correspondent, Times Radio.Rosie Wright, presenter, Times Radio.Peter Kellner, pollster and former president of YouGov.Host: John Pienaar.Producers: Sandra Mitchell, Sofia Johanson.We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.comRead more: Will voters in Clacton back Nigel Farage second time around?Further listening: Nigel Farage resigns. What now?Photo: Getty Images.
Nigel Farage resigns. What now?
30:33|After a Sunday Times investigation revealed Nigel Farage’s links to a convicted fraudster, and with the spectre of a parliamentary standards investigation looming over him, Farage will now put his fate in the hands of his constituents in Clacton in a by-election. But will this gambit work? And what does the Sunday Times journalist who led the investigation think about it?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuests: Gabriel Pogrund, Insight editor, The Sunday TimesFraser Nelson, columnist, The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Producers: Sophie McNulty, Harry Stott. We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.comRead more: Will risky resignation ploy pay off for Nigel Farage? Further listening: Posh George: the criminal behind FarageClips: Reform UK / Youtube, Sky News, BBC. Photo: Getty Images.
How Putin is dividing NATO
29:30|NATO is gathering in Turkey for its annual summit, and defence spending, Iran and Ukraine are all on the agenda. But behind the scenes there are warnings that Putin is planning his next attack - on a NATO country. So what might that aggression look like? And is the alliance ready?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuest: Oliver Moody, Berlin correspondent, The Times and The Sunday Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Producers: Olivia Case and Shabnam Grewal.We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.comRead more: Putin the agent of chaos revelling in division between US and EuropeFurther listening: Defence spending: too little too late? Clips: France 24, @MaxAfterburnerusa / YouTube, @joeycontinonews / YouTube, TVP Info, BBC, Sky, The Guardian, GB News, Fox News, USA Today, CBC. Photo: Getty Images.
Introducing | Posh George: The criminal behind Farage
25:46|Today, we bring you the first episode of a new series from one of our sister podcasts, The Times Investigates. Posh George: The criminal behind Farage The Sunday Times’s Insight team investigate how the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage - who could hold the keys to Number 10 - has come to depend upon a crypto evangelist, gambler and fraudster. Both George Cottrell and Nigel Farage deny any wrongdoing.Listen to Episode 2 and the full series right now.Read more: Revealed - Nigel Farage secretly funded by convicted criminalWatch: Everything you need to know about the aristocrat funding Nigel Farage
Who still counts as Native American in 2026? - The Sunday Story
29:14|As the United States marks 250 years of modern America, a country founded on freedom, liberty, and justice, for Native Americans, that history reads very differently. After centuries of oppression, survival, and the ongoing reclamation of culture, what does it mean to be Native American today? And why does the question of who has the right to claim that identity remain so deeply contested?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuest: Louise Callaghan, senior US correspondent, The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana.Producer: Dave Creasey.We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.comRead more: Who still counts as Native American in 2026?Photo: Tailyr Irvine for the Sunday Times Magazine.