WARNING: This episode contains descriptions some listeners may find distressing.

Mia Latter was known as Alice in The Times and The Sunday Times' 2023 reporting. She had a relationship with Russell Brand in 2006 when she was 16 and he was 30.

She alleges that during that relationship Brand was emotionally abusive, cruel, controlling – and that he orally raped her. Allegations Brand denied.

Now, Mia has waived her right to anonymity to share her story with our sister podcast The Trial of Russel Brand, so she can campaign for a staggered age of consent in the UK, restricting sexual activity between teenagers and those in their 30s or older.

Read how Rosamund and Charlotte helped women expose Russell Brand.

Further listening: How The Times revealed claims against Russell Brand.

Send us your questions: [email protected]

If you, or someone you know, has been affected by the issues raised in this episode, the following organisations can help:

Rape Crisis England & Wales

NHS - Help after rape and sexual assault

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The new film You Can See Everything has taken America by storm, and next week it will sweep into cinemas across the UK. It follows the disgraced Silicon Valley entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes in the 34 days before she went to prison for fraud. We hear from Holmes’ former colleagues at Theranos – as well as the lawyer who sued her on behalf of defrauded investors– about their experience of Holmes and what they make of the film. Is she deluded, or lying?

Guest: Roisin Kelly, US correspondent, The Times and The Sunday Times

Host: Manveen Rana

Producer: Micaela Arneson

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: We knew Elizabeth Holmes. Her documentary is just another lie

Further listening: Elizabeth Holmes: The downfall of a billion dollar startup

Clips: ABC News, Reginald Kaigler via YouTube, Ari Shapiro via YouTube, CBC News, ABC News, CBS News, A24 Films LLC, CNBC, Vanity Fair

Photo: Getty Images

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the ‘lads’ culture of the Noughties, convicted rapist Russell Brand hid in plain sight. David Walliams - another performer rising to fame in that period - has been accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old schoolgirl and abusing his celebrity to groom teenage girls for sex. He denies the claims and has not been charged with any wrongdoing. In a statement he said ‘I am not a sexual predator. I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.' So how did the Noughties help shape and excuse predatory conduct? And is the fightback of women and girls finally on - are they finally being believed?

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: Sarah Ditum, contributor, The Times, and author of Toxic: Women, Fame and the Noughties

Host: Manveen Rana

Producers: Olivia Case and Robyn Simon

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: What we women felt as the verdicts came in against Russell Brand

Further listening: New Allegations | The Trial of Russell Brand Ep. 23

Clips: Channel 4 / The Russell Brand Show, TFI Friday / Channel 4, CNN, Radio Baloney / YouTube, The Oprah Winfrey Show / ABC, Entertainment Tonight, BBC, MTV, SKY, Ovo Luther / YouTube / UN Women

Photo: Getty Images

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Republicans have defeated a motion in Congress to bring impeachment hearings against US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The articles of impeachment contained serious allegations, including the ordering of extrajudicial killings. What do we know about the US operations in the Caribbean? And with the Iran war being blamed for the Republicans’ midterm defeat, will the Democrats look to prosecute him in the new year?

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

Guests:

• David Rose, assistant foreign news editor, The Times
• George Grylls, Washington correspondent, The Times

Host: Manveen Rana

Producers: Robyn Simon and Olivia Case

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: Pete Hegseth impeachment effort derailed by House Republicans

Further listening: The ultraconservative pastor behind the US Secretary of War

Clips: CBS, C-SPAN, The Guardian, PBS, Sunday Guardian

Photo: Getty Images

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is in trouble. His party failed to secure an overall majority in last month’s elections, so his former ally-turned-chief-rival Gadi Eisenkot has been invited to try and form a new government. So who is Eisenkot? And as members of the Knesset are sworn in, will he succeed in ousting Netanyahu and bringing peace to Israel?

Guests:

• Josh Glancy, associate editor, The Sunday Times
• Gabriella Weiniger, Israel correspondent, The Times

Host: Manveen Rana

Producers: Micaela Arneson and Paige Reynolds

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: What does Israel want to be? I travelled the land to find out

Further listening: Will Netanyahu win the most critical election in Israel’s history?

Clips: Middle East Eye, AFP, DW News, RoyanewsEnglish via YouTube.

Photo: Getty Images.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The comedian and children’s author David Walliams has been accused of using his power and celebrity status to exploit young women for sex. An investigation from ITV and The Guardian alleges that Walliams sexually assaulted a 15 year old girl and contacted other teenagers who he went on to have sexual relationships with when they were older – allegations he denies. The revelations come after Walliams attempted to quash the reporting through a highly publicised injunction in the High Court, before a judge dismissed the claims last week. But what do these allegations tell us about the state of the UK entertainment industry? And has anything changed today?

Our colleagues at Times Radio have the latest.

Guests:

• Ollie Cole, Times Radio reporter.
• Hadley Freeman, columnist, The Sunday Times.

Hosts: Jane Garvey and Fi Glover.

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: David Walliams accused of preying on girls as young as 15

Further listening: What the celebrity injunction means for press freedom

Photo: Getty Images.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang has admitted to having an affair with a suspected Chinese spy. The potential breach at the world’s most valuable AI company has raised huge national security concerns and taken $200 billion off their value. But what does it mean for the relationship between China and America, fierce competitors in the AI race? And how serious is this for the world's stock markets – and all of our money?

Guest: Chris Stokel-Walker, technology journalist, author and contributor, The Times

Host: Manveen Rana

Producers: Robyn Simon and Olivia Case

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: Who is Alice Huang? The Nvidia scandal explained

Further listening: How North Korea became a crypto-theft world leader

Clips: BBC, CNBC, Alaska’s News Source, Channel News Asia

Photo: Chu Yung-Chiang

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's UN climate conference follows a year in which Britain suffered extreme heatwaves while fires, droughts and flooding devastated countries around the world.

Ministers are talking about a new "electric century" - but have also just approved new fossil fuel projects. So, as delegates head to COP31 in Turkey, what will be Britain’s role on the world stage? And are the COP meetings really doing anything to help?

Guest: Adam Vaughan, environment editor, The Times

Host: Luke Jones

Producers: Robyn Simon, Harry Stott

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: Britain pushes for ‘electric century’ deal at Cop31 climate summit

Further listening: Cop30 - is climate diplomacy cracking

Clips: BBC, Channel 4, CBS, Sky News, The Independent, Vertex/ Youtube

Photo: Getty Images.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With her husband Donald left reeling after last week's US midterm elections, Melania Trump is quietly having a moment.

She helped secure a ceasefire in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky and now has her sights set on further peace in the war torn country - she’s just hosted a meeting at the White House between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

How - and why - did Melania get involved in this war, when she once seemed so keen to stay out of politics? And who’s really benefitting?

Guest: Maxim Tucker, Ukraine correspondent, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Olivia Case.

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Further listening: How North Korea became a crypto-theft world leader

Clips: First Post, CBS, NBC, SKY, Forbes, MS Now, America’s Let’s Move, The Carter Centre, YouTube, StartUp Health, Fox5 Atlanta, CNN, ABC, Kyiv Independent, BBC, MS Now, MSNBC, Nine Network, Melania / Amazon MGM Studios, The National News Desk.

Photo: Getty Images.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's conviction of Russell Brand on rape and sexual assault charges followed a joint investigation into the comedian and Hollywood actor by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches programme.

Today we're re-publishing that original investigation, led by journalists Rosamund Urwin and Charlotte Wace, as it went out in The Story in September 2023.

A warning: this episode does contain detailed allegations of rape and sexual assault.

Rosamund and Charlotte have since been covering Brand's trial in our sister podcast, The Trial of Russell Brand

Brand himself denies the allegations.

Guests:

• Rosamund Urwin, chief news correspondent, The Sunday Times
• Charlotte Wace, investigations correspondent, The Times

Host: Manveen Rana

Producers: Will Roe and Edward Drummond

Read more:

• Russell Brand accused of rape, sexual assaults and abuse
• Russell Brand told the world who he was for decades

Clips: BBC, Channel 4, Universal Pictures UK, ITV News, ITV, Endemol, Russell Brand YouTube Channel, CBS

Photo: Getty image

Helplines:

• Rape Crisis England & Wales
• Rape Crisis Scotland

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, it emerged that an unnamed celebrity had asked a court for anonymity, and an injunction to stop two news outlets airing allegations that he abused his fame to prey on young women. The request was partly made on mental health grounds - he said he’d kill himself ‘at the earliest opportunity’ if publication went ahead. It’s prompted a storm of speculation about who the man is, and sparked a debate on press freedom and responsibility. So will the claims be published and will the man - who denies the allegations - be revealed?

This podcast contains discussions around suicide.

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: Pia Sarma, editorial legal director at Times Media and deputy general counsel, News UK.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Olivia Case.

We want to hear from you - email: [email protected]

Read more: Celebrity ‘suicide’ injunction could open floodgates, warns Ian Hislop

Further listening: How the rich and powerful try to intimidate the press

Clips: TalkTV, Times Radio, Sky, Channel 4, Al Jazeera.

Photo: Getty Images.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.