The Times Red Box Podcast

With a bumper crop of elections across Britain on May 6, Matt Chorley speaks to Robert Hayward, the polling analyst, Ailsa Irvine from the Electoral Commission, and Jackie Weaver on parish councils.PLUS: Daniel Finkelstein and Patrick Maguire on what is annoying them this week.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley speaks to Jihyun Park who was tortured and persecuted in North Korea before coming to Britain, where she is now standing in the local elections.PLUS: Libby Purves and Rachel Sylvester on the weird obsession with violence against women in books and films.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this special bonus edition we are bringing you an episode from another Times podcast - Stories of our times.Last year, a Sunday Times investigation exposed failures at the top of government which may have cost thousands of lives. Now the team behind those revelations has written the first major book telling the inside story of Britain's battle with coronavirus.In the first of three episodes this week, we examine what went wrong between January and March 2020.This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today and get one month free at: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes.Guests: - Jonathan Calvert, Insight Editor, The Sunday Times.- George Arbuthnott, Deputy Insight Editor, The Sunday Times.Host: Manveen Rana.Links:- Failures of State: The Inside Story of Britain’s Battle with Coronavirus by Jonathan Calvert and George Arbuthnott.- Audiobook of Failures of State.- '38 days when Britain sleepwalked into disaster', The Sunday Times, April 19 2

What class are you? As a major study reveals we are becoming more middle class, Matt Chorley speaks to the Britain Thinks' Deborah Mattinson about the focus groups into social status, and comedian Russell Kane and self-styled middle class British Battleaxe Christine Hamilton talk about what their class means to them.PLUS: Esther Webber and Robert Crampton on why refurbishing parliament is more pressing than No10's makeover  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Times columnist Alice Thomson and Red Box writer John Kampfner pick over the day's news, then Matt Chorley and Sunday Times Political Editor Tim Shipman pause the action at Prime Minister's Questions to explain the Commons exchanges between Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley ventures on to the much-hyped social media app, and joins a room with Conservative MP Esther McVey and Labour's Stephen Doughty to find out how British politicians are using it, while the New Yorker's Jiayang Fan describes how young people in China used it to discuss human rights abuses - before the app was banned.PLUS: Finkelvitch - Daniel Finkelstein and David Aaronovitch give their take on the political news.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley boards a Times Radio Airways flight around the world to see how the vaccine roll-out is faring in America, China, France, Germany, Spain and Japan.PLUS: Libby Purves and Rachel Sylvester on the art of stepping back, from royals to Nigel Farage.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Forget the budget, the government wants us to lose the pounds from our waistline. Prue Leith from the Great British Bake-Off tells Matt Chorley whether it will work, and Dr Tim Lobstein, from the World Obesity Federation, explains how thousands of deaths in Britain could have been avoided if we had not been so obese.PLUS WebbCram: Esther Webber and Robert Crampton on Labour's problem with Rishi Sunak.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Matt Chorley and Red Box Reporter Patrick Maguire give their snap analysis of the budget, ahead of PMQ's Unpacked, where Matt is joined by Sunday Times Political Editor Tim Shipman to pause the action and explain the exchanges between Boris Johnson and Kier Starmer.PLUS Times Columnist Alice Thomson and Red Box writer John Kampfner pick over the day's news.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond were once close allies and friends, but then the relationship turned sour, with the battle going all the way to the courts and to the heart of the question about whether the United Kingdom will follow their friendship in being broken up. Matt Chorley is joined by Keiran Andrews, Scottish political editor of The Times, to explain the row. Professor James Mitchell from Edinburgh University and journalist Angela Haggarty assess the impact on the SNP; and Luke Graham, former head of Boris Johnson's Union Unit, on turmoil in the Tory camp.PLUS: Finkelvitch: Daniel Finkelstein and David Aaronovitch on political retreads, and Trump's comeback.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

New polling shows the public now thinks benefits are too low. Matt Chorley speaks to a mother on Universal Credit and a former MP who had to rely on benefits after losing his seat.PLUS: Libby Purves and Rachel Sylvester on why we really do hate elections.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

New polling reveals just 4 per cent of people know what the culture war is. Matt Chorley speaks to an expert panel about what this means for politics.Plus Esther Webber and Robert Crampton on why Germany now envies Britain.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Times columnist Alice Thomson and Red Box writer John Kampfner pick over the day's news, then Matt Chorley and Sunday Times Political Editor Tim Shipman pause the action at Prime Minister's Questions to explain the Commons exchanges between Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Chris Smith tells Matt Chorley about being the first MP to come out as gay, and the first to come out as HIV positive, in the latest episode marking LGBT+ History Month.PLUS: Finkelvitch - Daniel Finkelstein and David Aaronovitch on Lady Macbeth and anti-lockdowners losing the argument.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

One year out from the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, Matt Chorley speaks to Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat and the Muslim Council of Britain's Hassan Joudi about whether Britain should boycott the event over allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and to Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies and the Times' Matt Lawton about attending controversial international sporting events. PLUS: Times Columnists Rachel Sylvester and Libby Purves pick over the day's news.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Red Box reporter, Esther Webber, and Times' columnist Robert Crampton pick over the day's news; Matt Chorley is joined by Blair Jenkins who ran Yes Scotland campaign and Blair McDougall who ran the Better Together campaign on whether a second Scottish independence referendum is likely.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced sweeping reforms to the NHS, but social care plans have been delayed again. Luke Jones - sitting in for Matt Chorley - is joined by experts in the area to discuss how to fix the system. Plus: Times writers Alice Thomson and John Kampfner pick over the day's news  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The UK parliament has more LGBT members than ever before, but how did it here? As part of LGBT History Month Luke Jones - sitting in for Matt Chorley - is joined by parliamentary historian Penny McMahon and current and former MPs Chris Bryant, Justine Greening and Hannah Bardell to talk about the history of the laws surrounding LGBT rights and what it's like being an out politician today.Plus, Times columnists David Aaronovitch and Danny Finkelstein discuss the day's headlines.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Luke Jones sits in for Matt Chorley. On Rishi Sunak's first anniversary as Chancellor Luke is joined by IPSOS Mori's Head of Politics Kieran Pedley, George Osborne's former Chief of Staff Rupert Harrison and former economic advisor to John McDonnell James Meadway to discuss why the Chancellor remains so popular, and what challenges he faces in the coming year. PlusColumnists Rachel Sylvester and Libby Purves pick over the day's news.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Red Box reporter, Esther Webber, and Times' columnist Robert Crampton pick over the day's news; Matt Chorley marks International Day of Women and Girls in Science by speaking to three prominent scientists, Payal Jain, Professor Monica Grady, Professor Lorna Dawson and the science minister Amanda Solloway.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.