Do the United States and its allies really have the technology to stop incoming missiles from North Korea? In the week North Korea tested another ballistic missile - this time it flew over northern Japan - David Aaronovich asks what threat does North Korea's missile programme pose? And beyond North Korea, what are the capabilities of ICBMs? And how effective are missile defence systems? Contributors: Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at Kings College London Joseph Cirincio...
Aug 31, 2017•28 min
How will Artificial Intelligence shape our lives, and what should we do now to prepare for it? AI is all around us in our everyday lives. It's used to make decisions about employment, loans, credit cards and even what we read and listen to. So what are the implications of this revolutionary technology? David Aaronovitch hears from experts in the field including: David Baker, contributing editor to Wired magazine Cathy O'Neil, former data scientist Pippa Malmgren, founder of H Robotics Regina Bar...
Aug 24, 2017•28 min
What do the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, tell us about the strength of the far-right in America? What should the government do to combat domestic extremism? In this week's programme David Aaronovitch asks if there is a white nationalist revival in the United States and what that means for the country's politics. CONTRIBUTORS: J.M. Berger, author, analyst and consultant on extremism. Sandy Hausman, WVTF radio. Christian Picciolini, a former neo-Nazi who is now an anti-extremism campaigner...
Aug 17, 2017•28 min
How did the oil rich state of Venezuela see such a rapid economic decline? Poverty is rife, inflation is running at more than 700 per cent and protests are widespread. President Nicolás Maduro is tightening his hold on power following the appointment of a new national assembly, charged with writing a new constitution. In this week's programme David Aaronovitch asks whether former president Hugo Chavez and president Maduro played a role in compounding the crisis and asks if Venezuela might become...
Aug 10, 2017•28 min
It's been a tumultuous week in Washington - but to what extent does the chaos in Trump's West Wing matter? Anthony 'The Mooch' Scaramucci was gone in 900,000 seconds - but whoever replaces him will be President Trump's third communications director. His press secretary has resigned, he’s fired his acting attorney general, and he’s on his second chief of staff, John Kelly, a retired general who many hope will bring discipline to a leaky White House. By the standards of almost all modern American ...
Aug 04, 2017•29 min
This year almost 100,000 people have arrived in Italy by boat - and more than 2,000 have died trying. The Italians say they can’t cope, but it's a problem which has now been going on for years - so why has nobody solved it? In this week's programme David Aaronovitch asks who are the migrants, where are they coming from, how do they get to Europe and what needs to be done to stop more people dying. CONTRIBUTORS Joel Millman, UN's International Organisation for Migration Tuesday Reitano, Global In...
Jul 28, 2017•28 min
Are Tory divisions temporary or symptomatic of deeper problems? Parliament has broken up for the summer, and the last week has seen Conservative cabinet ministers engaging in open warfare. But are the divisions a temporary crisis, or are they symptomatic of deeper problems in the party? David Aaronovitch speaks to a range of experts and goes beyond the future leadership jostling to see what's really causing the current political climate. He hears from a former adviser to David Cameron who says t...
Jul 20, 2017•28 min
Labour will play a crucial role in shaping Britain's exit from the EU now the Conservative government has lost its overall majority. The vast majority of Labour MPs backed Remain ahead of the referendum - but most followed party orders to allow Article 50 to be invoked (the mechanism for leaving the EU). On the day the government publishes the Repeal Bill and the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn meets the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, David Aaronovitch asks a range of political exper...
Jul 13, 2017•28 min
The chancellor is facing widespread calls for more spending. Should he listen, or stick to his deficit reduction plan? Senior Conservatives are calling for more public spending on things like public sector pay - but Philip Hammond is committed to what he himself calls 'the long slog of austerity'. David Aaronovitch invites a range of experts into The Briefing Room to help him understand the arguments around public spending, and asks if the UK should ditch austerity? Guests include Paul Johnson f...
Jul 06, 2017•28 min
The election was supposed to be a disaster for Jeremy Corbyn - but wasn't. How did Labour turn around its fortunes? Despite coming second and falling 64 seats short of an overall majority, the Labour party increased its share of the vote by nearly ten per cent. Meanwhile, the Conservatives are in crisis and the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister is now being seriously contemplated by people who described him as un-electable just eight weeks ago. David Aaronovitch speaks to leading exper...
Jun 15, 2017•28 min
There's a compelling story unfolding in Washington. Last week, President Trump fired the director of the FBI, James Comey. It was a contentious move: Comey was investigating ties between Donald Trump's election campaign and Russia. Some are now asking whether the President's job could be at risk. On this week's Briefing Room, David Aaronovitch unpicks the relationship between Trump and the FBI, and asks where the investigation goes from here. If Trump is determined to make the investigation disa...
May 18, 2017•28 min
David Aaronovitch presents the need-to-know facts on where taxes come from and how they're spent. This edition is a politician-free zone, with non-partisan analysis on how we pay for the UK and the prospects for public services in the future. CONTRIBUTORS: Emily Andrews, senior researcher at the Institute for Government Helen Miller, associate director, Institute for Fiscal Studies Ben Page, director, IPSOS-Mori Producer: Neal Razzell Research: Sarah Shebbeare....
May 11, 2017•29 min
For the first time in over half a century, two insurgents, Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, have broken through France's traditional two party system. This week, voters will decide between two utterly different visions of France, Europe and the world. But how did France get here? What do we need to know about its state, its economy and its changing people? David Aaronovitch steps into the Briefing Room for an anatomy of France. Contributors: Jonathan Fenby: Author of The History of Modern Fran...
May 04, 2017•28 min
The US and North Korea have been flexing their military muscles in recent weeks, testing and deploying new missiles. President Trump has said North Korea is "a big big problem" that he will deal with "strongly". This week he took the extraordinary step of briefing the entire US Senate on American options to deal with the North's nuclear programme, as American troops conducted live-fire exercises near the North Korean border. Senators said the briefing was "sobering". Here, David Aaronovich gets ...
Apr 27, 2017•28 min
What are the political tribes which divide British voters today and how will June's general election shape Britain? Britain voted last year on the question of the EU - and following Theresa May's surprise announcement, we vote again on who should take us out. The nature of the result could define British political life for decades to come - so how will voters decide? And what might the impact of the campaign be on Britain's future outside the European Union? David Aaronovitch speaks to political...
Apr 20, 2017•29 min
What does Turkey's referendum mean for the UK's foreign policy? The UK has long seen Turkey as a bastion of stability in the Middle East: a Muslim-majority democracy, a NATO member and ally against so-called Islamic State; a physical and ideological bridge between east and west; and a fascinating and pleasant place to take our families on holiday. That stability is increasingly in doubt. A series of bloody terror attacks has made many holidaymakers think twice about Turkey. More fundamentally, T...
Apr 13, 2017•28 min
What are the changes needed now to ensure the NHS is sustainable in the future? The NHS is facing one of the biggest crises in its history. With an ageing population, the increasing cost of drugs and treatments, and lack of funding for social care, the service is under more pressure than ever and the cracks are already starting to show. So will the system be able to cope in future as the UK's population gets older - and can the NHS survive? David Aaronovitch hears from expert witnesses including...
Apr 06, 2017•28 min
The government says the housing market is broken and that it's holding the country back. As prices have risen, fewer people are able to get on the housing ladder, and more are now renting privately later into their lives. Many argue we're not building enough new homes. But is that the only problem? David Aaronovitch speaks to a panel of experts to find out and travels to Bristol to see what effect the housing crisis is having on the way people live there. Contributors: Dame Kate Barker, economis...
Mar 02, 2017•29 min
What will happen if the Islamic State loses its state? The so-called Islamic State is rapidly losing territory, money and fighters in both Iraq and Syria. Iraqi government troops, supported by US and British special forces, have launched an offensive to take back the city of Mosul and an assault on the group's de facto capital city - Raqqa in Syria - is expected by the end of the year. Can the group continue to attract jihadi fighters from around the world and inspire attacks in its name, or wil...
Feb 23, 2017•28 min
Bringing Britain's railways back into public ownership is a popular idea with passengers - but would it really make any improvements to service? Renationalisation of the railways is official Labour party policy. Polls suggest a majority of voters favour it too - and that was the case before the recent problems with Southern Rail. With the help of the Conservative former transport minister Michael Portillo, David Aaronovitch explores the history of British railway ownership, asks whether it's pos...
Feb 16, 2017•28 min
Can President Trump deliver on his pre-election promise to bring back outsourced manufacturing jobs, and end the 'bad deals' that have outsourced labour to countries like Mexico? This message was particularly powerful in America's Midwest - often referred to as the rust belt - where voters supported him in droves and helped him secure his narrow victory. But how can he deliver on his promise, and what does putting 'America First' mean for the rest of the world - including Britain? In the second ...
Feb 09, 2017•36 min
Will President Trump's plan to put 'America first' make the USA richer? He's promised a raft of radical economic reforms including a huge cut in tax on businesses, an income tax cut, a massive reduction in regulation, and investment in America's infrastructure. His goal is to get America's economy growing at roughly double its current rate. He also wants to create 25 million new jobs, and put 'America first' in every policy decision. But are these goals achievable and are the measures he's propo...
Feb 02, 2017•28 min
Why did India's prime minister ban the use of the country's most widely used bank notes? On 8 November, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a stunning announcement. As of midnight that day, all 500 and 1000 rupee notes would no longer be legal tender. The announcement came as a shock not only to the Indian public, but also to businesses, banks and some of Mr Modi's closest advisors. Large queues formed at banks across the country as people tried to exchange their old notes for new ones ...
Jan 26, 2017•28 min
How did British-Pakistani gangs come to dominate the drugs trade in Yorkshire? Earlier this month, police shot dead 28-year-old Mohammed Yasser Yaqub on a motorway slip road near Huddersfield. Their target was apparently armed and dangerous – a big time drug dealer, allegedly with a record of using violence to get his way. Yasser Yaqub’s death was followed by protests on the streets of Bradford and in nearby Huddersfield, hundreds turned up to a mosque for his funeral. The drugs business in West...
Jan 19, 2017•28 min
What happened after the buses left eastern Aleppo in December? After four and a half years of siege, the residents of eastern Aleppo were evacuated before Christmas. But the evacuees didn't disappear when they left the city and the Syrian Civil war didn't end with the end of the siege. Abdelkafi, an English teacher from Aleppo, relates his experience of leaving Aleppo by bus with his wife and young daughter. He describes days of hardship taking place under the eyes of the West. And as internatio...
Jan 12, 2017•28 min
Liberalism died in 2016. This bold statement has been made by both right and left wing media in recent months. But what is liberalism - and can such a broad idea really be that vulnerable? Edmund Fawcett, author of Liberalism: The Life of an Idea, charts the rise and rise of liberalism, from Gladstone's social reformers to the economic liberalism of Margaret Thatcher. Sir Oliver Letwin MP played a key role in the Conservative Party's adoption of more socially liberal policies after 2005. He tell...
Dec 22, 2016•28 min
Civil war in Yemen has become a full regional conflict, with global implications - but how did it start in the first place? This week the Disasters Emergency Committee launched a major appeal for aid, with Yemeni children dying of malnutrition following 20 months of war. But what are the causes of Yemen's civil war and who is fighting? Is it correct to describe it as a "proxy war" between Saudi Arabia and Iran? David Aaronovitch is joined by two experts with intimate knowledge of Yemen to explai...
Dec 15, 2016•28 min
What are the policies and political decisions which led to the current crisis in prisons? Prison life isn't meant to be easy but it is supposed to be safe and secure. Drugs, violence, self-harm and suicide are all increasing problems. David Aaronovitch examines what's gone wrong and hears stories from inside the prison system. He explores what over-crowding and under-staffing means for prisoners and officers alike who live with it day in, day out. The programme also looks beyond the budget and s...
Dec 08, 2016•28 min
The Investigatory Powers Act - or Snoopers' Charter to its critics - is a highly controversial new law. On one hand, it clarifies a host of vague laws which were out of date with modern technology - but it also enshrines new powers of digital observation and surveillance, which will be available to the British intelligence services, the police, and a host of government agencies. In this programme, David Aaronovitch explores the specifics of this new law, including the new safeguards which it put...
Dec 01, 2016•28 min
An independent review of police investigations into VIP sex abuse has found 43 police failings - but why did the police drop the ball with so many high-profile cases? The Henriques Review looked into the police investigations of public figures, including former Home Secretary Lord Brittan, retired army chief Lord Bramall and Harvey Proctor, a former Conservative MP. Justice Henriques criticises the police for choosing to believe uncorroborated accusations rather than approaching the investigatio...
Nov 24, 2016•28 min
