The shaky ceasefire between Iran and the US has been extended. Whether it lasts much longer or fighting resumes depends partly on Lebanon, where another fragile truce has been struck between Israel and the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah. So why is Lebanon so important to peace with Iran? And what happens if the ceasefire fails? 

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: Jack Clover, assistant foreign news editor, The Times and The Sunday Times.

Host: Luke Jones. 

Producers: Micaela Arneson, Edward Drummond. 

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

Read more: With war in its DNA, will Hezbollah ever disarm?

Further listening: Trump’s ceasefire with Iran - what’s in it and what’s next

Clips: Channel 4, The Guardian, CNN, Global News, Middle East Eye, Reuters. 

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.

Sir Olly Robbins dropped bombshell after bombshell when he spoke to MPs. Robbins, who was sacked as the Foreign Office’s chief civil servant, has accused Downing Street of placing the department under constant pressure to get Lord Mandelson through vetting. He also said the prime minister had tried to find an ambassadorial job for Matthew Doyle, another Labour peer who's been in trouble for a friendship with a paedophile. Where does it all leave Sir Keir Starmer?

Plus, we reveal when the next tranche of Mandelson files will be published.

• Steven Swinford, political editor, The Times
• Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday Times
• Lara Spirit, deputy political editor, The Sunday Times

Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson

Executive producer: Molly Guinness

Picture credit: Parliament TV

Clips: Parliament TV

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.

Yesterday evening Sir Keir Starmer defended himself in Parliament, stating ‘the facts are incredible,’ but ‘nobody’ in Number 10 knew that Peter Mandelson failed security vetting. Addressing MPs, the prime minister rejected the suggestion that the government’s desire to appoint Mandelson overrode security concerns. Immediately after, we caught up with the Times’ political editor to ask, who exactly knew what when? And how does this all end?

Mandelson denies any wrongdoing when it comes to his relationship with Epstein. 

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: Steven Swinford, political editor, The Times

Host: Rosie Wright

Producers: Sophie McNulty, Olivia Case

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

Read more: Keir Starmer ‘put Mandelson job before security’, say Labour MPs

Further listening: Can Keir Starmer survive the scandal over Mandelson and Epstein?

Clips: Sky News, The Guardian, Keir Starmer - X, The Times, BBC

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.

Jane Coates’ daughter Lucy was just 23 when she was shot and killed by her father, while visiting him in Texas. US authorities quickly ruled her death an accident and no charges were brought. But as The Sunday Times reveals holes in Lucy’s father’s account, Jane wants the case reopened.

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: 

• Katie Tarrant, news reporter for The Sunday Times
• Jane Coates, victim’s mother
• Sam Littler, victim’s boyfriend and witness

Host: Manveen Rana

Producers: Julia Webster

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

Read more: 

Britain failed family’ of girl shot dead by father in Texas

Father shot daughter dead after ‘arguing about Donald Trump

Photo: Picture provided by the family, graphic by Kathia Mestanza

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.

A strict conservatorship, control of her finances, breakdowns, nonstop media pressure and divorce. It's been one hell of a journey for the Princess of Pop, but the latest news that Britney Spears has entered rehab leaves fans asking the question, will she ever be truly free?

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

Read by: Helen Rumbelow, feature writer for the Times.

Producer: Dave Creasey.

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

Read more: Controlled, hounded, scarred. Could Britney Spears ever truly be free?

Clips: NBC, ABC, CNN, hugebritneyfan, britneyonline.

Music: Baby One More Time - Britney Spears - Sony Music Entertainment.

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.

Yesterday afternoon in Manchester, a man was found guilty of a brutal rape for which an innocent person had been wrongly jailed for more than 17 years. We bring you a special update to our groundbreaking podcast series Seventeen Years - The Andrew Malkinson Story, which first highlighted this tragic miscarriage of justice.

You can listen to the full series on The Times Investigates feed: https://pod.fo/e/3256f8

Hosts: Will Roe & Emily Dugan, Sunday Times' Special correspondent.

Producer: Will Roe.

Clips: Greater Manchester Police. 

We want to hear from you - email: [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

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Appeal - Charity and law practice

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 prime minister says he's "furious" over the latest twist in the Epstein scandal, amid revelations the child sex offender’s former friend Peter Mandelson was appointed British ambassador to the US despite failing security vetting. For months, ​​Keir Starmer insisted his ambassador was properly appointed. Today, he admitted this was not the case. So, what went wrong? And what does it mean for the future of Starmer’s government? 

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:  

• Ollie Cole, Times Radio newsroom reporter
• Leigh Turner, former Ambassador to Austria and Ukraine

Host: Carolyn Quinn

Producers: Sandra Mitchell, Sofia Johanson

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

Read more: Keir Starmer ‘furious’ over Peter Mandelson vetting failure

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 economic ripples caused by the Iran war are beginning to have an impact across the globe, from fuel rationing across South-East Asia, to fuel protests in Ireland. The IMF’s recent report on the global economy makes for grim reading – and the UK comes out as one of the worst affected of the G7. So could food and fuel shortages be coming to the UK? And how will the government try to mitigate the worst effects?

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:

• Rob Doran, director of Black Dog Crisis Management.
• Jack Barnett, economics correspondent, The Times.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Harry Stott, Micaela Arneson.

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

Read more: 

• Britain preparing for food shortages as Iran war bites 
• UK economy faces hardest hit from Iran war of G7, says IMF

Further listening: Trump's ceasefire with Iran - what’s in it and what next

Clips: BBC, ABC NEWS (Australia), RTE, Sky News.

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.

Behind the scenes of Iran’s war, China’s been forging alliances, stockpiling oil and building resilience in the form of renewable energy. So how could all of this help it attack Taiwan? When might it happen? And can anyone stop them?

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: Cindy Yu, columnist and contributing editor, The Times and The Sunday Times.

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Producer: Olivia Case.

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

Read more: Iran war latest: Ceasefire with US ‘to be extended by two weeks’

Further listening: The Pope v Trump

Clips: Fox, Bloomberg, Times of India, Hoover Institution.

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.

Over the weekend, Donald Trump posted an image of himself as a Jesus Christ like figure, which was subsequently deleted. It came after the President and the Pope exchanged a war of words over the conflict in Iran. What’s behind this latest spat, and how could it affect Trump’s standing among American’s Christians?

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: 

• Kaya Burgess, science and religious affairs correspondent, The Times, and 
• Christopher Hale, Democratic operative and author of Letters from Leo substack.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producers: Edward Drummond.

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

Read more: Trump’s row with Pope Leo could cost him dearly among Catholic voters

Clips: Times Radio, Fox News, Vatican News, 9News, BBC, Forbes, USA Today, CBS News. 

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.

Viktor Orban, the far-right prime minister of Hungary who led the country for 16 years, was ousted in a landslide electoral defeat on Sunday. He lost to his former ally turned critic, Péter Magyar, despite a strong show of support from the Trump administration. So what does Orban’s defeat mean for Trump? And for the far-right in Europe? 

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: Oliver Moody, Berlin correspondent, The Times. 

Host: Manveen Rana. 

Producers: Micaela Arneson, Julia Webster.  

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

Read more: Why Peter Magyar’s victory is a warning to Trump

Further listening: The election that could change Hungary

Clips: Al Jazeera, APT News, CSPAN, Fox, Associated Press, United 24 Media, The White House 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.