The 2 Best The Briefing Room Podcast Episodes
1) What is happening to the Uighurs in China?
The Chinese Communist Party is accused of locking up hundreds of thousands of Uighurs in internment camps. In the Uighurs' homeland in Xinjiang, the state operates a system of mass-surveillance and is...Show More
2) Is Your Local Council Going Bust?
Child services in Northampton are under pressure - and it's partly due to where long-distance lorry drivers choose to take a pee. In fact, Northampton County Council as a whole is under huge finan...Show More
3) UK Resilience 2: How prepared are we for cyber threats?
From councils disrupted by ransomware, leaked defence data or individuals duped by deep fakes, the UK faces increasing cyber threats. David Aaronovitch asks his guests how prepared we are - whether ...Show More
4) UK Resilience 1: How prepared are we for climate change?
The UK is getting hotter. And wetter. Extreme weather events in the UK are happening more often. And that trend won’t stop any time soon. It all means more flooding and fire risk. Enter the R word -...Show More
5) Should the government worry about debt?
In a time of sluggish economic growth, the favourite way of squaring the circle of spending more but not increasing taxes is to borrow - and we have. Keeping everybody’s lights on during the pandemic ...Show More
6) Why don't we have ID cards in the UK?
For years there has been an argument, sometimes loud, sometimes subdued, on whether Britain needs an ID card system. One big reason given for wanting them is simply to know who is here legally. With ...Show More
7) How close is the UK getting to the European Union?
'Britain is back on the world stage' said Prime Minister Keir Starmer in May following the first UK-EU summit since the UK left the EU in January 2020. Outline agreements were reached to remove red t...Show More
8) Is the tide turning in the Ukraine war?
It’s been 3 1/2 years since Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of its Ukrainian neighbour. Ukraine’s capacity to resist has depended on two things: its own will to fight and support from its alli...Show More
9) The Trump hokey cokey is back - what happens to world trade now?
The Trump hokey cokey is back. Tariffs on, tariffs reduced - now they’re heading back up again. It really got going on April 2nd- President Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” - when he announced ...Show More
10) Why is there a row about disability benefits?
The Government was forced into a humiliating climbdown over its controversial benefits bill this week, and any savings the Treasury had hoped to make were wiped out. The politics of this is a subject ...Show More