Today in Focus
1,722 episodes - English - Latest episode: 11 days ago - ★★★★★ - 649 ratingsHosted by Michael Safi and Helen Pidd, Today in Focus brings you closer to Guardian journalism. Combining personal storytelling with insightful analysis, this podcast takes you behind the headlines for a deeper understanding of the news, every weekday. Today in Focus features journalists such as: Aditya Chakrabortty, Alex Hern, Alexis Petridis, Andrew Roth, Emma Graham-Harrison, George Monbiot, Jim Waterson, John Crace, John Harris, Jonathan Freedland, Kiran Stacey, Larry Elliott, Luke Harding, Marina Hyde, Nesrine Malik, Owen Jones, Peter Walker, Pippa Crerar, Polly Toynbee, Shaun Walker, Simon Hattenstone and Zoe Williams. The podcast is a topical, deep dive, explainer on a topic or story in the news, covering: current affairs, politics, investigations, leaks, scandals and interviews. It might cover topics such as: GB, Scotland, England and Ireland news, the environment, green issues, climate change, the climate emergency and global warming; American politics including: US presidential election 2024, Biden, Trump, the White House, the GOP, the Republicans and the Republican Party, the Democrats and the Democratic Party; UK politics including: UK election 24, Parliament, Labour, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer; culture; the royals and the royal family, including King Charles III and Prince Harry; HS2; the police and current affairs including: Ukraine, Russia, Bangladesh, Israel, Palestine, Gaza and AI.
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Episodes
What does Jeremy Corbyn really think about Brexit?
February 13, 2019 03:00 - 23 minutes - 27.2 MBBrexit has become a divisive issue for the Labour leader and his party. Heather Stewart charts Corbyn’s changing relationship with the EU. Plus: Lois Beckett looks at the March for our Lives movement, a year after the Parkland shootings. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
9/11 and the terrorists on trial
February 12, 2019 03:00 - 28 minutes - 33.2 MBThe Guardian’s Julian Borger recently spent a week at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility, attending the 33rd pre-trial hearing of five 9/11 suspects. He discusses why arguably the most important criminal trial in American history has still not begun. And: Damian Carrington on the catastrophic decline of insects. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
Why are homeless people still dying in the UK?
February 11, 2019 03:00 - 22 minutes - 26.2 MBAfter a spike in deaths among homeless people in the affluent city of Oxford, Robert Booth went to investigate. In a growing community of rough sleepers, there is little support for people with mental health problems and addiction. Plus: Nosheen Iqbal on the ‘white fragility’ preventing a frank national discussion about racism. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
Will the EU stop a no-deal Brexit?
February 08, 2019 03:00 - 26 minutes - 30.4 MBUnless an agreement can be reached in the coming weeks, Britain will crash out of the European Union without a deal. There have been stark warnings about the effects for the UK, but how badly would it hurt the EU? The Guardian’s Jennifer Rankin, Angelique Chrisafis and Kate Connolly dig into the detail. Plus Amelia Gentleman on the resumption of deportation flights to Jamaica after the Windrush scandal. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/supp...
Escape from Syria: the boys stranded after Isis fall
February 06, 2019 03:00 - 26 minutes - 31 MBThe young children of an Islamic State fighter were abandoned in Syria after his death. But with the help of human rights lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith and reporter Joshua Surtees, the boys have been reunited with their mother. Also today: columnist Gary Younge on the storm over Liam Neeson’s race comments. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
Is climate change way worse than we realise?
February 05, 2019 03:00 - 26 minutes - 30.5 MBDavid Wallace-Wells, the author of new book The Uninhabitable Earth, depicts a world ravaged by climate chaos. India Rakusen talks to the author about why he thinks we are underestimating the impact climate change will have on the environment. Plus: the Guardian’s Helen Pidd on the consequences that Brexit uncertainty is having on the north of England. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
Hungary, populism and my Orbán-voting father
February 04, 2019 03:00 - 27 minutes - 31.9 MBViktor Orbán, Hungary’s far-right prime minister, is at the forefront of a nationalist surge in Europe, and his anti-migrant rhetoric has brought condemnation from the EU. The Guardian’s John Domokos went to find out the attraction Orbán holds to Hungarian voters, including his own father. Plus: how one woman is campaigning to prevent her frozen eggs being destroyed. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
Disaster in the Australian outback
February 01, 2019 03:00 - 26 minutes - 30.9 MBSearing heat, severe drought and official mismanagement have allowed rivers in south-eastern Australia to run dry. The Guardian reporters Anne Davies and Lorena Allam discuss the devastating impact this has had on wildlife and residents. Plus: Zoe Williams on children’s screen time. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
Brexit and the Good Friday agreement
January 31, 2019 03:00 - 26 minutes - 31.6 MBThe landmark peace deal struck between the British and Irish governments in 1998 paved the way for power-sharing between unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland and ended a 30-year conflict. Henry McDonald reports on how the Good Friday agreement is once again under scrutiny as Britain approaches Brexit. Plus Jason Burke on the political crisis in Zimbabwe. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
Venezuela crisis: can Maduro ride out Guaidó’s challenge?
January 30, 2019 03:00 - 27 minutes - 31.4 MBThe opposition leader Juan Guaidó has declared himself Venezuela’s interim president after mass protests against Nicolás Maduro. But the military have so far stayed loyal to Maduro, who has called the attempt to remove him a coup. Virginia Lopez reports from Caracas. Plus: Jessica Elgot on what we learned from another night of Brexit votes in the House of Commons. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
Order! Order! Speaker John Bercow and Brexit
January 29, 2019 03:00 - 25 minutes - 28.9 MBToday is the day that backbench MPs in parliament could wrestle control of the Brexit process away from the government. Overseeing proceedings is the Speaker John Bercow, whose recent break with precedent infuriated Brexiters. Plus, in opinion: Jonathan Freedland on the Brexit-backing elite and how they will avoid the worst consequences of leaving the EU. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
Going viral: the victims of online conspiracy theories
January 28, 2019 03:00 - 29 minutes - 33.6 MBWhat is it like to be the focus of an online conspiracy theory that goes viral? Four people whose lives were upended by conspiracists tell the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington how they dealt with it – and why it could happen to anyone. Plus: Jamie Fullerton on the monkey gangs of Kuala Lumpur whose jungle habitat is being swallowed by the city. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
The Catholic church faces its past
January 25, 2019 03:00 - 28 minutes - 32.5 MBLast year investigations around the world showed that historical sexual abuse within the Catholic church had been covered up for decades. India Rakusen talks to two survivors and hears from the Guardian’s religion correspondent Harriet Sherwood on how the church plans to move forward. Plus: the Guardian’s Tom Phillips on Juan Guaidó’s attempted take over in Venezuela. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
Planning for no deal on the Brexit frontline
January 24, 2019 03:00 - 27 minutes - 31.5 MBWith less than 10 weeks to go until Britain leaves the EU and still no withdrawal deal agreed, businesses around the country are scrabbling to prepare for the worst-case scenario of a disorderly Brexit. Our reporters in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland discover that very few contingency plans are in place. Plus: Aditya Chakrabortty on why the Davos elite are running scared. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
Deadly air: driving a rickshaw in Delhi
January 23, 2019 03:00 - 25 minutes - 28.9 MBDelhi’s rickshaw drivers are on the frontline of the city’s most notorious problem: horrendous air pollution. The Guardian’s south Asia correspondent, Michael Safi, travels the city with Pandit, a driver whose exposure to the worsening air quality is affecting his health and his livelihood. Plus: Ana Adlerstein looks at the reality of life on the US-Mexico border in Arizona. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
How Ukip embraced the far right
January 22, 2019 03:00 - 27 minutes - 25 MBWith Brexit talks stalled and some of its supporters pushing a betrayal narrative, the Guardian’s Peter Walker charts how Ukip has begun rising in the polls again. But how did the party come to fully embrace the far right in Britain? And do its supporters know how extreme it has become? Plus: Helen Pidd on what young voters in Bolsover make of the Brexit deal paralysis. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
What can we do, right now, about climate change?
January 21, 2019 03:00 - 27 minutes - 31.2 MBCalamitous weather events and warnings from scientists that the planet is warming faster than previously believed are causing alarm. Global environment editor, Jonathan Watts, describes the shifts needed to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5C. Plus: David Conn on how football and gambling have become inseparable. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
Is there a Democrat who can oust Donald Trump?
January 18, 2019 03:00 - 24 minutes - 28.4 MBThe Democrats are already fighting for the opportunity to take on Donald Trump – but can any of them hope to unseat him? Plus: Nobel peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai on what she would like to tell the US president about building walls. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
How Brexit unravelled
January 17, 2019 03:00 - 24 minutes - 28.2 MBIn a disastrous week for Theresa May’s Brexit agreement, her former director of strategy, Chris Wilkins, and the Guardian’s Daniel Boffey chart where it all went wrong. Plus: Polly Toynbee on what Labour should do next. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
The great Brexit rebellion
January 16, 2019 03:41 - 26 minutes - 30.2 MBOn a monumental day in parliament, Anushka Asthana is with the Conservative MP Anna Soubry as she works across traditional party boundaries to defeat Theresa May’s Brexit deal. Political editor Heather Stewart explains what happens now. Plus: the Guardian’s Simon Hattenstone on his time following the Leave Means Leave campaign group. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
School segregation: a lesson from Birmingham
January 15, 2019 03:00 - 24 minutes - 27.9 MBA school in Birmingham is attempting to buck the trend of increasing ethnic and religious segregation in the city. The Guardian’s Aamna Mohdin spends a day at the University of Birmingham school that takes its students from across the diverse city. Plus: John Crace on today’s Brexit vote. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support
China's Muslim detention camps
January 14, 2019 03:00 - 23 minutes - 26.6 MBUp to a million Muslims are being held in detention camps in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. The Guardian’s Lily Kuo visits the region where authorities are expanding the camps and increasing surveillance on ethnic minorities. Plus: in opinion, the writer Bella Mackie on how running helps her cope with anxiety. To support The Guardian’s independent journalism, visit theguardian.com/todayinfocus/support