Stories of our times

From A-levels to net zero, the prime minister has new plans to bite into Labour’s poll lead. No 10 wants voters to meet the ‘real Rish’ – a decisive PM who focuses on our long-term problems. But, as Conservatives gather for their annual conference this weekend, is that enough to revive the party’s faltering popularity? 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: Tim Shipman, Chief Political Commentator, The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Clips: Channel 4 News, Sky News, The Guardian, BBC News. 

In the summer of 1979, Ruth Shaw was a student in Bradford, walking alone one night when she encountered Peter Sutcliffe – the serial killer the papers had nicknamed the Yorkshire Ripper. But her encounter wasn’t recorded by police. 44 years later, this is her untold story.This podcast contains scenes of a graphic nature. Ruth’s story was first told to Michael Bilton in his book ‘Wicked Beyond Belief: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper’ which is now being serialised on ITV on Mondays at 9pm. 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.Guests:- Michael Bilton, author and former Sunday Times Northern Correspondent.- Ruth Shaw.Host: Josh Glancy.Clips: Andy’s Archive, ITN, BBC, Granada Television / ITV.

We bring you the story of one Ukrainian command post as a patrol runs into chaos on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river, with Anthony Loyd who returned from reporting there last week. Plus, what should we make of the state of the war?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: Anthony Loyd, Senior Foreign Correspondent, The Times. Host: Manveen Rana.Articles: A firefight erupts and soldiers watch on a drone feed as their comrades fall - https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a-firefight-erupts-and-soldiers-watch-on-a-drone-feed-as-their-comrades-fall-mv9tbnw0cUkraine draft dodgers dream up extreme ways to avoid the front - https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukraine-draft-dodgers-dream-up-extreme-ways-to-avoid-the-front-p87kdjxgj

For the past four years, the former Attorney General of the US Virgin Islands has been entrenched in a battle with the estate of the financier, paedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times, Denise George reveals how she tracked down the moneymen who she says protected Epstein, and explains why she’s taking on one of America’s biggest banks.Article: Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘hell' island — and the woman who exposed its secrets: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jeffrey-epstein-island-little-st-james-us-virgin-islands-7775nq58jThis 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: Rosie Kinchen, Deputy News Review Editor and Senior Writer, The Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Clips: CNBC. 

It’s a diabetic drug that recently became a weight loss diet fad for the rich because of its ability to suppress hunger. Now, Wegovy, a drug similar to Ozempic, has been approved specifically for weight loss for the clinically obese in the UK. But is an injection our best bet at tackling obesity?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.Guests: Charlotte Ivers, Staff Writer, The Sunday Times. Dr Amir Khan, NHS GP and Broadcaster.Host: Manveen Rana. Article: How celebrities’ favourite drug Ozempic made Denmark enormously rich: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-weight-loss-drug-ozempic-made-denmark-enormously-rich-bbv80sz06Clips: Global News Canada, CBS, E News.Get in touch: storiesofourtimes@thetimes.co.uk 

This week the editors of The Times and The Sunday Times wrote to the justice secretary, calling for a crackdown on the misuse of libel laws by the super-rich. Together with more than 60 editors, reporters and lawyers, they called for a specific law to address Slapps – strategic lawsuits against public participation.In this bonus Saturday episode, we’re listening back to a conversation with Times Media’s editorial legal director Pia Sarma, first broadcast in January, in which she argues it's time to restore the balance between rich claimants and journalists pursuing the truth.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: Pia Sarma, Editorial Legal Director, Times Media.Host: Manveen Rana.Get in touch: storiesofourtimes@thetimes.co.uk Read more: 'Editors call for anti-Slapp law to protect investigative journalism' https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/editors-call-for-anti-slapp-law-to-protect-investigative-journalism-wxhjt0kfcClips: Times Radio, France 24, Parliament TV.

The high speed railway HS2 has been quietly graded ‘red’ by the government’s infrastructure watchdog, meaning successful delivery appears unachievable. The cost of the line - planned to run between London, and central and northern England - is at £71 billion so far; nearly £2,500 for every UK household. So what went wrong? Who’s got rich off this? And will it ever be finished?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: Oliver Wright, Policy Editor, The Times.Host: Luke Jones.Clips: Channel 4, HS2 Ltd, GB News, BBC, Parliament Live, The Guardian, Sky.

Last weekend The Times and The Sunday Times – together with Channel 4's Dispatches – broke the news of allegations against Russell Brand including rape and sexual assault. Russell Brand strongly denies all the allegations.So what happened next? Today we catch up with The Times’ head of investigations to answer listener questions and examine the fallout from the investigation.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: Paul Morgan-Bentley, Head of Investigations, The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Links: Decca Aitkenhead’s interview with Russell Brand, published in 2019:https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-interview-russell-brand-on-his-hedonistic-past-marriages-and-becoming-a-father-wn6gjkwzd Get in touch: If you have any information you want to share with the team behind this investigation, email investigations@news.co.uk.You can contact the Stories of Our Times team on storiesofourtimes@thetimes.co.uk. Clips: Sky News, ABC News, ABC News Australia, Russell Brand on YouTube, GB News, Times Radio, BBC Radio 2, Radio X, Mindhouse Productions/BBC Two, Love Productions/Channel 4.

From the 1970s onwards, an estimated 5,000 NHS patients were given contaminated blood products, which contained deadly diseases like hepatitis and HIV. Today, half of those infected have died. How did this happen? As her new book is published, we hear from the Sunday Times journalist who unearthed the story, and followed it for 20 years to get answers.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: Caroline Wheeler, Political Editor, The Sunday Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Clips: Infected Blood Inquiry, World in Action, Lord Mayor of Treloar.Caroline's book, Death in the Blood, is available from the Times Bookshop now: https://timesbookshop.co.uk/death-in-the-blood-the-most-shocking-scandal-in-nhs-history-from-the-journalist-who-has-followed-the-story-for-over-two-decades-9781035405244Have thoughts about this podcast? Get in touch: storiesofourtimes@thetimes.co.uk.