The Story

Born into an aristocratic family, Constance Marten and her unlikely partner Mark Gordon's became the target of a police manhunt launched to find them and their missing baby in January 2023. Their full story can now be told after the couple's criminal trial came to an end this week. Why did her life of privilege descend into such chaos? 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:David Brown, Chief News Correspondent, The Times.Helen Rumbelow, Feature Writer, The Times. Host: Manveen Rana.Producer: Olivia Case.Read more: Who is the real Constance Marten? A life that led to tragedyPersecuted by the state? No, Constance Marten was in thrall to conspiracy cultureClips: Sussex Police, GB News, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, On Demand News. Photo: Metropolitan Police / PA Wire.Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

Students are getting AI to write their essays and it’s hard to spot the difference. Professor Niall Ferguson says AI is bad for our brains, but he has a plan to save education.This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guest: Professor Niall Ferguson, Times Columnist.Host:  Luke Jones.Producer: Shabnam Grewal.Further reading: AI’s great brain robbery — and how universities can fight backFurther listening:  One day in the life and death of an AI chatbotClips: Photo: Getty Images.Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

Sandie Peggie vs NHS Fife, the employment tribunal that gripped the nation last February, resumed this week. It all started after nurse Sandie Peggie objected to sharing a changing room with Dr Beth Upton, who is transgender. 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: Daniel Sanderson, Scottish Political Editor, The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Producer: Taryn Siegel.Photo: Getty Images.Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

For years, the British government used a court superinjunction to conceal a data leak that could have handed the Taliban a “kill list” of innocent civilians. Times defence editor Larisa Brown describes her fight to uncover the truth.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: Larisa Brown, Defence Editor, The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Producer: Edward Drummond.Read more: I investigated the Afghan data leak. Ministers were gambling with deathRevealed: Leak that risked lives of 100,000 Afghans — and £7bn cover-upInside Operation Rubific: ‘kill list’, secrecy and a rescue missionFurther listening: 'The Taliban will kill me': The interpreter trying to flee Kabul Clips: Times Radio, LBC, Parliament.Photo: Getty Images.Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com  

The self-styled "cheeky greengrocer" and MasterChef host has been sacked by the BBC after an inquiry substantiated dozens of complaints. So how did we get here and why is the BBC in this position again?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: Alex Farber, Media Correspondent, The Times. Host: Manveen Rana.Producer: Olivia Case.Further reading: Gregg Wallace: I never set out to harm or humiliate.Clips: PBS Newshour, ITV, Sky, Channel 4, BBC, The Sun, Times Radio, Channel 5, YouTube / Visit York, Instagram / @greggwallace, Masterchef / Endemol Shine Group / Banijay.Photo: Getty Images.Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com

New figures show the beauty industry is growing four times faster than the wider economy. The fastest growth is in beauty services and non-invasive treatments. These ‘injectables’ that freeze or fill your face are becoming more and more mainstream in the UK, even among women in their early 20s. Meanwhile, more celebrities than ever are admitting to going under the knife (or needle) and breaking the long-held taboo. How did we get here, and what does it say about the changing face of beauty?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: Anna Murphy, Fashion Director, The Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Producer: Hannah Varrall.Further reading: This is how I’d look with tweakments — but I’d never freeze my face Further listening: The Rise and Rise of Botox Clips: Snow White (2025) (Disney), TikTok @RachLeary, Access Hollywood, The Kelly Clarkson show, Better Together with Maria Menounos, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Miss Me (BBC Sounds), TikTok @4ll3gr4a, TikTok @nyeatsbrown, TikTok @katiedaisyd, TikTok @JonathanJoly, TikTok @garzacrew, ABC7 News Bay Area, Gloss Angeles podcast, Vogue’s Beauty Secrets.  Photo: Getty ImagesGet in touch: thestory@thetimes.com    

When Kristie De Garis moved two male companions into her house in rural Scotland, her neighbours assumed they were a throuple. The truth was even more unusual: she was setting up home with her exes.This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times.Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory.Photo: Courtesy of Kristie De Garis.Drystone: A Life Rebuilt by Kristie De Garis (Polygon, £14.99) is published on August 7. To order, go to timesbookshop.co.uk or call 020 3176 2935. Free UK P&P on online orders over £25. Discount for Times+ members.

This week the political masterminds consider what's happening on the populist left and right, with more Tories defecting to Reform UK and talk of a new party led by Jeremy Corbyn. How small has the Conservative coalition become, do the voters expect Keir Starmer to wield a 'magic wand', and what would a new party be called?Send your comments and questions to howtowin@thetimes.co.uk

This week, the FBI investigation that Trump promised would reveal all about Jeffrey Epstein concluded there was no evidence to implicate anyone else in his abuse. But diaries from Epstein’s most prominent victim, Virginia Giuffre, released exclusively to The Times, tell a different story.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: Josie Ensor, US Correspondent, The Times.Host: Luke Jones.Producer: Anna Dowell.Further reading: Jeffrey Epstein victim’s diary ‘contradicts’ FBI blackmail claims.Clips: MSNBC, Sky News Australia, The Dan Bongino Show, The Washington Examiner, ABC News, Tucker Carlson, Breaking Points.Photo: Getty Images.Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com.