The Briefing
1,298 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 days ago - ★★★★ - 80 ratingsA pacy round-up of the day’s main news stories, anchored from London by a Monocle editor. The show features informed reporting, prescient business analysis and invaluable industry reports covering everything from technology to aviation and retail to media.
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Episodes
Wednesday 8 January
January 08, 2020 12:00We have the latest as Iran attacks US military bases in Iraq. Plus: talks between the UK and the EU resume in London, Monocle’s Robert Bound on the art of the apology and do beards make our leaders more trustworthy?
Tuesday 7 January
January 07, 2020 12:00Should Donald Trump have consulted US Congress before giving the order to kill Iran’s top general? Plus: the latest on Venezuela’s political crisis, the day’s business headlines, a fashion round-up and why the French are reluctant to give up alcohol in January.
Monday 6 January
January 06, 2020 12:00How will Iran respond to the assassination of its leading military commander? Plus: Croatia’s new president, the UK’s Labour party prepares to elect a new leader and the winners and losers from the Golden Globes.
Friday 3 January
January 03, 2020 12:00We have the latest as Iran’s top general, Qassem Suleimani, is assassinated on the orders of Donald Trump. Plus: Boris Johnson’s strategist seeks “weirdos and misfits” for the UK government and designer Kestin Hare.
Thursday 2 January
January 02, 2020 12:00Andrew Mueller has the latest from Australia as wildfires devastate the country. Plus: protests at the US embassy in Iraq, the UK government’s attempts to spin Brexit and a critical year for the European Space Agency.
The best of Meet The Writers: Markus Zusak
January 01, 2020 12:00In this special edition of The Briefing we look back at the best of Meet The Writers in 2019. Georgina Godwin talks to internationally acclaimed Australian author Markus Zusak. His novel ‘The Book Thief’ has sold 16 million copies, spent more than 500 weeks on ‘The New York Times’ bestseller list and been made into a major film. After a 13-year wait, his new novel ‘Bridge of Clay’ was published in 2019.
The best of Meet The Writers: Damian Barr
December 31, 2019 12:00"In this special edition of 'The Briefing', we look back at some of the year's best episodes of 'Meet The Writers'. Georgina Godwin talks to Damian Barr. His novel Maggie and Me was named the Sunday Times Memoir of the Year and his latest novel, You Will Be Safe Here, has already received high praise. The conversation covers his abusive childhood, his mentoring of other writers, how the British intervention in South Africa laid the ground for Apartheid and... the empathy of chickens.
The best of Meet The Writers: Sarah Churchwell
December 30, 2019 12:00In this special edition of The Briefing, we revisit the best of the year on Meet The Writers. Here Georgina Godwin speaks to Sarah Churchwell, whose new book, ‘Behold America', examines the origins of the phrases ‘American Dream’ and ‘America First’ ¬– and discusses how they need to be understood afresh so that the true spirit of America can be reclaimed.
The best of Meet The Writers: Howard Jacobson
December 27, 2019 12:00We look back at some of the year's best episodes of Meet The Writers. On this episode, Georgina Godwin speaks to Howard Jacobson. He has been nominated for the Booker Prize three times, winning it once in addition to many other prizes. He’s also a broadcaster, columnist and academic. He is known for his humour that often centres on his British Jewish characters. His 16th novel 'Live a Little' explored nonagenerian love.
The best of Meet The Writers: Elif Shafak
December 26, 2019 12:00In this special edition of The Briefing, we revisit the year’s best episodes of Meet The Writers. In this edition, Georgina Godwin talks to award-winning British-Turkish novelist Elif Shafak, the most widely read female author in Turkey, about issues of identity, language and her most recent book.
"Christmas Day special "
December 25, 2019 12:00Tom Edwards is joined by Monocle’s editor in chief Tyler Brûlé and editor Andrew Tuck to swap presents, take a look at Christmas around the world and learn how the residents of Zürich do the holiday season.
"The Briefing: Christmas Eve special "
December 24, 2019 12:00Monocle’s Tom Edwards and Markus Hippi gather to prepare for the big day by comparing festive playlists, revealing the story of Sweden’s Gävle goat, conducting a Christmas quiz – and an interview with Santa Claus himself.
Edition 2118
December 23, 2019 12:00A pacy round-up of the day’s main news stories, anchored from London by a Monocle editor. The show features informed reporting, prescient business analysis and invaluable industry reports covering everything from technology to aviation and retail to media.
Friday 20 December
December 20, 2019 12:00Australia’s PM, Scott Morrison, faces the music over his handling of the country’s bushfires. Plus: Bloomberg’s Yuan Potts profiles the Bank of England’s new governor, Andrew Mueller on the week’s weird and wonderful stories and we play hits from the decade’s most popular albums.
Thursday 19 December
December 19, 2019 12:00Republican Ryan Williams tells us how his party feels about Donald Trump’s impeachment. Plus: the UK’s Labour Party seeks a new leader, Zagreb’s Christmas market and Monocle 24’s Paige Reynolds plays a Christmas belter.
Wednesday 18 December
December 18, 2019 12:00Former White House insider Amy Pope discusses today’s impeachment hearing. Plus: Australia’s Kevin Rudd on the crisis of the centre-left, libraries in LA and Monocle 24’s Bill Leuty plays his favourite festive song.
Tuesday 17 December
December 17, 2019 12:00Why is Nato facing the most ‘complex security’ environment in its history? Plus: the latest on Trump’s impeachment, a dramatic year in Latin America and Monocle 24’s Ben Rylan plays us his favourite Christmas song.
Monday 16 December
December 16, 2019 12:00Can the UK’s Labour Party recover from its crushing election defeat? Plus: China’s leadership becomes embroiled in a row with a top footballer, Vladimir Putin prepares to celebrate 20 years as Russia’s leader and a former spin doctor tells us why he’s written a children’s novel.
Friday 13 December
December 13, 2019 12:00A special programme on the UK general election examines the Conservative Party’s resounding victory, Labour’s collapse and the Liberal Democrats' loss of its leader. Plus: Andrew Mueller on the week’s quirkier stories and our pop countdown gets political.
Thursday 12 December
December 12, 2019 12:00Monocle’s Ed Stocker surmises the impeachment case against Donald Trump. Plus: the latest on Libya’s civil war, the EU’s plan to save the planet and why Vanna White has finally taken the reins on ‘Wheel of Fortune’.
Wednesday 11 December
December 11, 2019 12:00Why is China imprisoning record numbers of journalists? Plus: the last day of campaigning in the UK’s general election, Balkan nations boycott the Nobel prize for literature and how Christmas music encourages us to part with our hard-earned cash.
Tuesday 10 December
December 10, 2019 12:00Are US Democrats ready to outline the impeachment case against Donald Trump? Plus: Argentina’s Alberto Fernández takes office, the European Space Agency’s plan to clear up space junk and Monocle’s Nic Monisse talks Australian skyscrapers.
Monday 9 December
December 09, 2019 12:00Monocle’s Hong Kong team reflect on six months of mass protests in the city-state. Plus: we profile Finland’s 34-year-old prime minister, meet the man behind Miami’s Perez Art Museum and ask if tactical voting can keep Boris Johnson from Downing Street.
Friday 6 December
December 06, 2019 12:00We discuss the allegations that Russia has been posting agents in the French Alps to launch operations in the EU. Plus: why homelessness in LA is a political talking point, the latest from Design Miami and we listen to some of Iceland’s most popular current chart hits.
Thursday 5 December
December 05, 2019 12:00Could the UK’s general election deliver a shock result? Plus: pension reform in France, party politics in Brazil, the day’s main business stories and we hear from the official spokesperson for Sweden’s Gävle Goat.
Wednesday 4 December
December 04, 2019 12:00Why has Kamala Harris withdrawn from the US presidential race? Plus: Montenegro bids to join the EU, 2019’s Turner Prize is split four ways and Monocle’s Chiara Rimella reports live from Art Basel in Miami Beach.
Tuesday 3 December
December 03, 2019 12:00We have the latest from the Nato summit as Donald Trump takes aim at his allies. Plus: Finland’s prime minister quits, North Korea hails the completion of its ‘modern mountainous city’ and technology guru David Phelan.
Monday 2 December
December 02, 2019 12:00Are the UK’s leaders making ‘political capital’ out of the London Bridge terror attack? Plus: Joe Biden’s presidential campaign gets underway, Germany’s SPD shifts to the left and Monocle’s Josh Fehnert discusses the apostrophe’s demise with Robin Lustig.
Friday 29 November
November 29, 2019 12:00We discuss Donald Trump’s attempts to broker a peace agreement with the Afghan Taliban. Plus: a sideways take on the week’s news with Monocle’s Andrew Mueller, the best (and worst) of Angolan pop music and why the Danes are so fond of societies.
Thursday 28 November
November 28, 2019 12:00Will the US and China come to blows over Hong Kong? Plus: digital media in the UK’s election, leftist title *Jacobin* publishes a Brazilian edition and author Priya Basil tells us why we should all be more hospitable.
Wednesday 27 November
November 27, 2019 12:00Will Germany’s ‘grand coalition’ survive the SPD’s leadership election? Plus: the parallels between US Republicans and the UK’s Conservatives, a round-up of stories from the Balkans and why feminists think Father Christmas should get a makeover.
Tuesday 26 November
November 26, 2019 12:00Will protests in Georgia help transform the country’s political landscape? Plus, Germany’s government mounts a defence of the Nato alliance, the UK sketch writer John Crace on satirising Westminster and we discuss history’s most audacious heists.
Monday 25 November
November 25, 2019 12:00Can Michael Bloomberg win next year’s US presidential election? Plus: LVMH buys Tiffany & Co, the global shortage of halloumi cheese and Monocle’s affairs editor, Chris Cermak, reviews the day’s papers.
Friday 22 November
November 22, 2019 12:00Why has the UK refused to return control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius? Plus: the rise of Austria’s Greens, the latest from the world’s biggest tech conference and the start of Switzerland’s ski season.
Thursday 21 November
November 21, 2019 12:00Former White House insider Amy Pope has the latest on the impeachment investigation. Plus: Canada gets a new cabinet, Monocle’s executive editor, Josh Fehnert, takes us inside the pages of ‘The Winter Weekly’ and we ask what it’s like to stand in an election you know you won’t win.
Wednesday 20 November
November 20, 2019 12:00Israel launches one of its biggest raids on Syria in recent years. Plus: Shinzo Abe becomes Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, the role of fact-checking websites and the Global Countdown live from Zürich.
Tuesday 19 November
November 19, 2019 12:00What should we expect from the UK’s televised general-election debate? Plus: left-wing politics in the US, business headlines from Bloomberg and Monocle 24’s Ben Rylan discusses plans to scrap film-distribution rules.
Monday 18 November
November 18, 2019 12:00What should we know about Sri Lanka's new president? Plus: Germany’s ‘grand coalition’, Russia’s footballers refuse to wear their new Adidas kit and Vicky Pryce on her new book, ‘Women vs Capitalism’.
Friday 15 November
November 15, 2019 12:00Will Lebanon’s new government be more successful than the last? Plus: we ask whether the UK’s Liberal Democrats are in the ascendency, discuss the value of workplace meetings and hear some Ukrainian chart toppers.
Thursday 14 November
November 14, 2019 12:00Can Germany’s SPD recover from its abysmal approval rating? Plus: Why countries are wary of recognising Kosovo, Switzerland’s relationship with coffee and former US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, tells us how to diffuse a political scandal.
Wednesday 13 November
November 13, 2019 12:00What should we expect from today’s impeachment hearing? Plus: ‘Times’ columnist Matthew Parris leaves the UK’s Conservatives, Jair Bolsonaro launches a new political party and we discuss museum diplomacy in China.
Tuesday 12 November
November 12, 2019 12:00We concentrate on the escalation in tensions between Israel and Gaza, after an airstrike kills a senior commander of militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Plus: a long history of leaders in exile and why the International Space Station might be doing a few more laps than anticipated.
Monday 11 November
November 11, 2019 12:00We have the latest as Brazil’s former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is released from jail. Plus: Spain’s general election, Austria’s spy agencies, and one of the UK’s top satirists tells us why he’s excited about the country’s general election.
Friday 8 November
November 08, 2019 12:00Emmanuel Macron takes aim at Nato. Plus: the importance of radical policy in the UK’s general election, Andrew Mueller’s sideways take on the week’s best stories and we find out why scientists are sending wine to space.
Thursday 7 November
November 07, 2019 12:00What is the power balance between the US and Iran in the Middle East? Plus: we ask whether alliances in politics work and find out why Finland is debating the annual publication of residents’ tax information.
Wednesday 6 November
November 06, 2019 12:00Have Democrat state-election gains delivered a hammer blow to Donald Trump’s presidency? Plus: The UK’s general election kicks off, a diplomatic spat between Venezuela and El Salvador, and Monocle 24’s Ben Rylan on the best way to preserve film.
Tuesday 5 November
November 05, 2019 12:00Why is the UK government sitting on a report into alleged Russian meddling? Plus: Donald Trump’s relationship with the GOP, what colours tell us about our political parties and whether abolishing daylight saving would improve our health.
Monday 4 November
November 04, 2019 12:00Sir William Patey, former UK ambassador to Iraq, tells us about the protests that have engulfed the country. Plus: the world’s most profitable company prepares to go public, the UK parliament elects a new speaker and Finland anticipates a particularly cold winter.
Friday 1 November
November 01, 2019 12:00What should we know about Russia's new internet laws? Plus: the UK’s pro-European parties attempt to prevent a Conservative majority, New York City Council bans foie gras and Monocle 24's David Stevens joins us for a special edition of The Global Countdown.
Thursday 31 October
October 31, 2019 12:00Why are there new concerns over Boeing’s 737 fleet? Plus: James D Zirin, author of ‘Plaintiff in Chief: A Portrait of Donald Trump in 3500 Lawsuits’, the value of news for children and political adverts on social media.