Episoder
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered the first Labour Budget in 14 years. Naturally there was a flurry of instant responses to individual tax measures, but what about the big picture? Well, more than a week has passed, and the dust is settling. We thought it was time to return to a panel of experts who we spoke to in September. Is this really a once in a generation budget? What will it mean for the government’s finances and services? Will it bring much needed growth? And what might the re-election of Donald Trump mean for the British economy?
Guests:
Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal StudiesMehreen Khan, economics editor of The TimesChris Giles, economics commentator at The Financial Times.
Presenter: David AaronovitchProducers: Charlotte McDonald, Diane Richardson and Kirsteen KnightSound engineer: Rod Farquhar and Neva MissirianEditor: Richard VadonProduction Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
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David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the recent events in Lebanon. Israel has been widely blamed for a series of pager and walkie-talkie attacks targeting members of Hezbollah. Does this mark the invention of a new kind of warfare and what might the wider consequences be for the region?
Guests:
Shashank Joshi, The Economist's defence editorProfessor Lina Khatib, Director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS University of LondonRonen Bergman, Israeli investigative journalist for The New York Times
Presenter: David AaronovitchProducers: Natasha Fernandes and Ben CarterSound engineer: Neil ChurchillEditor: Richard Vadon
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Manglende episoder?
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David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the challenges facing Germany. Worries over the economy and immigration have seen the far right AfD party gain support in the former east Germany.
Guests:
Guy Chazan, Berlin bureau chief at the Financial TimesDr Constanze Stelzenmuller, Director of the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings InstitutionMarcel Fratzscher, President DIW Berlin - German Institute for Economic Research and Professor at Humboldt University BerlinThiemo Fetzer, Professor of Economics at Warwick and Bonn Universities
Presenter: David AaronovitchProducers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight and Ben CarterSound engineer: James BeardEditor: Richard VadonProduction Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
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Last month the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, warned that "things would get worse before they got better". The Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already said that there's a £22 billion black hole in the government's finances left by the Conservatives. The budget at the end of October, we're told, will be "painful". But just how bad a state is the UK economy really in? And how constrained is the new government by manifesto promises it made not to raise the main taxes on working people?
Guests:
Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal StudiesMehreen Khan, Economics editor at The TImesChris Giles, Economics Commentator at The Financial TImes
Presenter: David AaronovitchProducers: Ben Carter, Caroline Bayley and Kirsteen KnightSound engineers: Sarah Hockley and Gareth JonesEditor: Richard VadonProduction Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
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The first human cases of MPox were detected in 1970. But a new strain detected in Congo in 2023 has got scientists confused. How worried should we be and are we prepared for it?
Dr Jonas Albarnaz, a Research Fellow specialising in pox viruses at The Pirbright InstituteDr Lilith Whittles, lecturer and Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow in the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease AnalysisDr Josie Golding, head of epidemiology at The Wellcome TrustTrudie Lang, Professor of Global Health Research at the University of Oxford
Presenter: David AaronovitchProducers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Drew HyndmanSound engineers: Jonathan Glover and James BeardEditor: Richard VadonProduction Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
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David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the risk of escalation on Russian borders and further afield and explore what form that might take if it were to happen.
Guests:
Natia Seskuria, founder and executive director of the Regional Institute for Security Studies (RISS), a Tbilisi-based think tankDr Jack Watling, Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare at the Royal United Services Institute,Michael Clarke, Professor of Defence studies and Specialist Advisor to the Joint Committee on the National Security StrategyMark Galeotti, writer on Russian security affairs and director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence
Presenter: David AaronovitchProducers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Drew HyndmanSound engineers: James Beard and Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon
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David Aaronovitch and guests discuss China's desire for 'peaceful reunification' with Taiwan. Can it really be done peacefully and what happens if it can't?
Guests:
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC Asia correspondent based in TaipeiAmanda Hsiao, Crisis Group's Senior Analyst for China Dr Lauren Dickey, Taiwan analyst at the China Power Project at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies Shashank Joshi, defence editor at The Economist
Presenter: David AaronovitchProducers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Drew HyndmanResearcher: Ben MorrisSound engineers: Rod FarquharEditor: Richard Vadon
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In the first of three programmes, David Aaronovitch explores the risk of escalation and wider conflict in the Middle East. What would all out war look like and how likely is it?
Guests:
Shashank Joshi, The Economist's defence editor Professor Lina Khatib, Director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS University of London Dr Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow for Middle East Security within the International Security department at RUSI.
Presenter: David AaronovitchProducers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Drew HyndmanSound engineers: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon
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David Aaronovitch and guests discuss Labour's plans for planning reform. This week the Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner announced a new National Planning Policy Framework. Will it boost economic growth?
Sir John Armitt, Chairman of the UK's National Infrastructure CommissionCatriona Riddell is an independent planning consultant and commentator who advises on planning policyAnthony Breach, Associate Director at Centre for Cities
Presenter: David AaronovitchProducers: Ben Carter and Kirsteen KnightSound engineers: Neil Churchill and Rod FarquharEditor: Penny Murphy
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Machine learning has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. Bigger, more powerful computers can crunch ever more amounts of data, analysing complex information just as accurately, it’s claimed, as the best specialists and at speeds humans can never achieve. With the potential to make a significant difference to healthcare - helping to diagnose disease, summarise patients’ medical notes, even predict health conditions years before any symptoms appear. But how long before the potential benefits become a reality? And what are the possible pitfalls? Join David Aaronovitch and a panel of guests to find out.
Guests: Madhumita Murgia, Artificial Intelligence Editor, Financial Times and author of Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AIMihaela van der Schaar, Professor of Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Medicine at Cambridge UniversityPearse Keane, Consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and a Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence at UCLDr Jessica Morley, Post-doctoral researcher at the Digital Ethics Centre, Yale University
Presenter: David AaronovitchProducers: Sally Abrahams and Rosamund JonesSound engineers: Dafydd Evans and Neil ChurchillEditor: Richard Vadon
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Surveys suggest that at least one in four of us will suffer from anxiety and depression during our lifetimes. The prevalence of these conditions is one of the reasons given for poor school attendance. And it's estimated that these mental health disorders account for 12.5% of all sickness leave in the UK. So what’s caused such an explosion in mental distress and what, if anything, can be done to bring down the numbers? Join David Aaronovitch and a panel of guests to find out.
Guests:Professor Jennifer Wild, a consultant clinical psychologist and professor of experimental psychology at the University of OxfordDr Jennifer Dykxhoorn, a psychiatric epidemiologist at University College, LondonDr Sharon Neufeld from Cambridge University Medical School andThalia Eley, professor of developmental behavioural genetics at Kings College, London
Presenter: David AaronovitchProducers: Rosamund Jones and Sally AbrahamsSound engineers: Rod Farquhar and Neil ChurchillEditor: Richard Vadon
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Half the UK population will get cancer during their lifetime - and rates are rising. Each year, around 385,000 people in the UK are diagnosed and around 167,00 lives are lost to the disease. But scientists are developing new therapies, including personalised vaccines and targeted drugs, that attack cancer cells directly and more effectively. It's hoped this pioneering work could lead to better survival rates. David Aaronovitch and guests discuss promising developments in cancer care - to find out how significant they might be.
Guests: Professor Charles Swanton, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK and deputy clinical director at the Francis Crick Institute;Dr Olivia Rossanese, Director of the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery at the Institute of Cancer Research;Christian Ottensmeier, Professor of Immuno-Oncology at the University of Liverpool;Professor Alan Melcher, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Presenter: David AaronovitchProducers: Rosamund Jones and Sally AbrahamsSound engineers: Rod Farquhar and Neil ChurchillEditor: Richard Vadon
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2024 is the year of elections and already hundreds of millions of people around the world have been to the polls. A few months ago The Briefing Room looked ahead to elections in South Africa and India. Both have since delivered shocks to their ruling parties which failed to win parliamentary majorities. So why did the main parties in both countries do worse than expected? And what does this mean for the governments they’ve formed and the immediate future of both South Africa and India?
Guests:
David Everatt, Professor at the Wits School of Governance in Johannesburg
Dr Ayesha Omar, British Academy international fellow at SOAS.
Rohan Venkat, editor of the “India Inside Out” newsletter
Louise Tillin, Professor of Politics in the India Institute at King's College London.
Produced by: Kirsteen Knight and Caroline Bayley Edited by: Richard Vadon Sound engineer: Rod FarquharProduction co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
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David Aaronovitch and guests dissect Sudan's ongoing civil war. This conflict is now one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. How can it be brought to an end?
Guests:
James Copnall - presenter of Newsday on the BBC World Service and former BBC Sudan correspondent
Mohanad Hashim - Sudanese journalist working on Newshour on the BBC World Service
Dame Rosalind Marsden - associate fellow of the Africa programme at Chatham House and former UK ambassador to Sudan
Professor Alex De Waal - executive director of the World Peace Foundation
Produced by: Kirsteen Knight, Caroline Bayley and Ben CarterEdited by: Richard Vadon and Richard Fenton-SmithSound engineers: Rod Farquhar and Andy FellProduction co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman
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David Aaronovitch and guests examine Joe Biden's ceasefire deal and ask whether - despite some positive noises from both sides - Israel and Hamas are interested in making it work.
Guests:
David Makovsky, Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Koret Project on Arab-Israel RelationsAnshel Pfeffer, columnist and Israel correspondent at The EconomistLina Khatib, Director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS University of LondonHussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington
Production team: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight, Sally Abrahams and Ben CarterEditor: Richard VadonProduction Co-ordinator: Gemma AshmanSound engineer: Sarah Hockley
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David Aaronovitch and guests assess the fallout from France's EU elections and President Macron's subsequent decision to call parliamentary elections later this month.
Guests:
Hugh Schofield, BBC Paris CorrespondentSophie Pedder, Paris bureau chief at The EconomistMujtaba Rahman, Managing Director for Europe at Eurasia Group who advise investors on political riskDr Françoise Boucek, Visiting Research Fellow, Centre for European Research in the School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London
Production team: Caroline Bayley, Miriam Quayyum, Kirsteen Knight and Ben CarterEditor: Richard VadonProduction Co-ordinator: Gemma AshmanSound engineers: Sarah Hockley and Rod Farquhar
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David Aaronovitch and guests discuss Donald Trump's conviction in the hush money case, examine the cases yet to be heard and ask whether any of this hurts his election chances?
Guests:
Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America correspondentJack Chin, Professor of Criminal Law at the University of California, DavisWendy Schiller, Professor of Political Science at Brown University
Production team: Caroline Bayley, Miriam Quayyum, Kirsteen Knight and Ben CarterEditor: Richard VadonProduction Co-ordinator: Gemma AshmanSound engineers: Rod Farquhar
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David Aaronovitch and guests assess the latest developments in Ukraine. In 2022, Russia was expected to win the war easily. That didn't happen. But is Russia gaining the upper hand now?
Guests:
James Waterhouse, BBC’s Ukraine CorrespondentPolina Ivanova, FT correspondent covering Russia, Ukraine and Central AsiaMichael Clarke, Professor of Defence Studies at Kings College London and Specialist Advisor to the Joint Committee on the National Security StrategyAnn Marie Dailey, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and policy researcher at RAND
Production team: Sally Abrahams, Kirsteen Knight and Ben CarterEditor: Richard VadonProduction Co-ordinator: Gemma AshmanSound engineers: Neil Churchill
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David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the current financial crisis facing UK universities and ask what can be done about it.
Guests:
Branwen Jeffreys, BBC Education EditorNick Hillman, Director of The Higher Education Policy InstituteMadeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford and member of the Migration Advisory CommitteeAlan Manning, Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics
Production team: Sally Abrahams, Kirsteen Knight, Miriam Quayyum and Ben CarterEditors: Richard VadonProduction Co-ordinator: Gemma AshmanSound engineers: Neil Churchill
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The H5N1 strain of avian flu isn't new. It was discovered in China in 1996. But in recent years it's started passing from mammal to mammal and it's now rife on cattle farms in the United States. How much should humans worry?
David Aaronovitch speaks to:
Professor Wendy Barclay, action medical research chair in virology at Imperial College LondonKai Kupferschmidt, science journalist and molecular biologistDr Caitlin Rivers, epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.Professor Ian Brown, avian virology group at The Pirbright Institute
Production team: Sally Abrahams, Kirsteen Knight and Ben CarterEditors: Richard Vadon and Emma RipponProduction Co-ordinator: Gemma AshmanSound engineers: Rod Farquhar
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