Does the new Italian government really pose a danger for the Eurozone and the European Union? There has been much to-ing and fro-ing in Rome this week as the two parties which finished up ahead in Italy's election in March have tried to persuade the president to approve their coalition government. The parties are unlikely populist allies: the anti- establishment Five Star Movement and The League, which started life as a secessionist movement in the north of Italy. Both parties reject economic au...
May 24, 2018•29 min
One year into his presidency, can Emmanuel Macron succeed in reforming France where his predecessors have failed? The Briefing Room visits Paris to find out what President Macron stands for and whether his reforms are likely to take root. Does En Marche - the political movement which helped President Macron get elected - have what it takes to change the face of French politics. David Aaronovitch is joined by: Pierre Briançon, Chief Economics Correspondent at Politico Europe Adam Plowright, Franc...
May 17, 2018•29 min
Why do we get through so many Home Secretaries? It may be one of the great offices of state, but many British politicians regard the job of Home Secretary with dread. As one former holder of the post put it "there grew a view that the Home Office was a graveyard for politicians". After the resignation of its latest incumbent, Amber Rudd, what is it about the Home Office that makes it such a challenging government department to lead? For this week's programme David Aaronovitch is joined by: Micha...
May 03, 2018•28 min
Some 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year, where it can be lethal to marine life. Governments and businesses have vowed to take action to curb it. But Just how serious is the problem of plastic waste, and what can be done to tackle it? David Aaronovitch is joined by: Susan Freinkel, author of 'Plastic: A Toxic Love Story' Jan Piotrowski, environment correspondent for the Economist Rob Opsomer, researcher, Ellen Macarthur Foundation Chris Cheeseman, Professor of Materials Res...
Apr 26, 2018•28 min
After the missile strikes by the US, France and Britain on Syria, Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, condemned the attacks and warned that any more would bring chaos to world affairs. With relations between Russia and the West at their lowest ebb for decades, are we about to see the start of a new Cold War? And if so, what should the 'rules of engagement' be? David Aaronovitch is joined by: Gabriel Gatehouse - BBC Correspondent Alexander Baunov - senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center Neil...
Apr 19, 2018•29 min
London's murder rate overtook that of New York in February and March this year, and the violent crime rate seems to be rising in other parts of the UK too. There's much debate about the causes, with suggestions that austerity, gang culture, social media, drugs and family breakdown are all to blame. But what is the reality behind the headlines? David Aaronovitch is joined by expert guests to discuss why violent crime is rising and look at possible remedies. CONTRIBUTORS Professor Susan McVie - St...
Apr 12, 2018•29 min
According to US President Donald Trump "trade wars aren't so bad". Recently his government surprised the world by announcing unexpected big increases in import taxes - or tariffs - on steel and aluminium. Mr Trump believes that this is one way to do something about America's huge trade deficit, which he says stems from the nation being "taken advantage of" by other countries for decades. The US also threatened tariff increases on a huge range of other products, including many from China. The Chi...
Apr 05, 2018•29 min
Radio 4’s Bottom Line and Briefing Room will combine in a special hour-long programme examining the economic and political future of the EU once Britain has left. Evan Davis meets Jean-Claude Trichet – former president of the European Central Bank – and is joined by a panel of business leaders from across the EU. David Aaronovitch will look at the politics of the EU and its future direction. France’s President Macron has outlined a vision of a profoundly transformed and more unified EU. But do a...
Mar 29, 2018•55 min
Robert Mueller, the Special Counsel appointed to investigate possible Russian links to the Trump campaign in 2016, last week issued formal charges against three companies and thirteen named individuals. They are all Russian. The 37-page indictment provides a wealth of detail on the scale and ambition of the operation, in which ordinary Americans were manipulated into not only promoting their messages online but even organising political rallies. President Trump responded to the indictment by rep...
Feb 22, 2018•29 min
The capture of two Londoners accused of brutal crimes in Syria has again raised questions about the viability of so-called Islamic State. The two men - El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey - face an uncertain future. Britain has stripped them of their citizenship and has said it doesn't want them to come back to the UK to face trial and so it's unclear what will happen to them. Many countries are now grappling with the issue of what to do with the young men and women who return home from Syria....
Feb 15, 2018•29 min
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 financial pressure and earlier this week seven MPs from the county called for government commissioners to take over after the council announced that it would not be able to balance its budget by the end of the financial year - leading it to put a block on any new expenditure. In this programme, David Aaronov...
Feb 08, 2018•29 min
Theresa May has been in Beijing this week at the head of a large British trade delegation. China is an important partner for Britain, especially given the UK's imminent departure from the EU. In particular, Beijing is keen for Britain to support its huge infrastructure project initially dubbed the New Silk Road, but now more generally known as the Belt and Road Initiative. China is spending unprecedented sums on building physical infrastructure; roads, railways, ports and even whole cities, not ...
Feb 01, 2018•28 min
As Turkey launches a new offensive over the border into north-east Syria, David Aaronovitch and guests examine what Turkey, Russia, Iran and the US want from the war in Syria. Which country stands to gain the most? And what is President Bashar al-Assad's calculation? Guests include: Suat Kiniklioglu from the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Stockholm. Anna Borschchevskaya from the Washington Institute Seyed Ali Alavi from the London School of Oriental and African Studies Steven H...
Jan 25, 2018•29 min
How does the Parole Board decide whether to release offenders on licence? Should it be more open, especially since the decision to release serial sex offender John Worboys? Nick Hardwick, the Chair of the Parole Board for England and Wales wants its workings to be more transparent in order to boost public confidence. And he thinks we can learn from Canada. David Aaronovitch is joined by a panel of experts to discuss the Parole Board amid public anger over the release of a prominent sex offender....
Jan 18, 2018•29 min
In its 70th year the NHS is in a winter crisis again. Many people working in the NHS argue successive governments have failed to address what is arguably the biggest problem: funding. David Aaronovitch asks if the public would pay more for the NHS. Is there now a case for a hypothecated tax? Can public support for the NHS withstand a tax rise? CONTRIBUTORS: Dan Wellings, Senior Policy Fellow, The King's Fund Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research and Economics at the Health Foundation Sally Ga...
Jan 11, 2018•28 min
Twenty people have been killed and hundreds arrested after a series of protests in Iran this week - but what's behind these demonstrations? Iran is a strategically important country and so when protests happen, the world takes notice - but who are the protesters and what do they want? And how will the Iranian government and the outside world respond? CONTRIBUTORS Roham Alvandi, Associate Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science Behrang Tajdin and...
Jan 04, 2018•29 min
A group of senior BBC journalists forecast what is likely to happen in 2018 in a discussion chaired by Owen Bennett Jones. Last time they got together they were firmly predicting that Marco Rubio would become the Republican presidential candidate - and that Britain was likely to vote to stay in the EU. So, as the saying goes, making predictions is a tricky business - especially about the future. Yet our experts can at least lay out the parameters for what is likely to happen in the spheres of ge...
Dec 29, 2017•47 min
A year on from their shock defeat in the US presidential elections, David Aaronovitch asks how the US Democratic party is responding to Donald Trump's Presidency and assesses some of the challenges which lie ahead. What new policies is the party developing? Who are the potential presidential candidates waiting in the wings? And can the college-educated elite which dominate the party win back support from America's white working class who gravitated towards Donald Trump in such significant number...
Dec 28, 2017•28 min
Has President Trump delivered on the promises he made on the campaign trail? This programme cuts through the White House soap opera which has dominated headlines and asks what has the President actually achieved? David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts look back at some of the pre-election pledges made on a broad range of issues such as tax cuts, the economy, immigration, foreign policy and justice to reveal where the president has made progress - and where and why his plans have stalled. CONTR...
Dec 21, 2017•29 min
What do we really know about Russian 'meddling' in Western democracy? David Aaronovitch asks experts on Russia what the Kremlin is trying to achieve by hacking emails and spreading fake news. Guests include the Gordon Corera, the BBC's Security Correspondent, Kimberly Marten, Director of the Program on U.S.-Russia Relations at Columbia University, Andrei Soldatov, a Russian investigative journalist and Anna Nemtsova, Moscow correspondent for The Daily Beast.
Dec 14, 2017•28 min
The different factions piling Brexit pressure on Theresa May. Following the failure to reach a deal on the first stage of Brexit earlier this week, David Aaronovitch asks experts why Theresa May seems to have fallen foul of her own side. He'll examine the Brexit demands of different groups in Westminster, Brussels, Edinburgh, Belfast and Dublin and ask which of them has the most influence. Joining the discussion are: Katy Balls, Political Correspondent for The Spectator Adam Fleming, BBC Brussel...
Dec 07, 2017•29 min
Can Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince radically change the kingdom? Mohammed bin Salman is an ambitious new leader who wants to reshape his country's politics, economy and society. But he faces strong opposition both at home and abroad. David Aaronovitch examines his plans and asks whether they'll work. Joining the discussion this week: Nicolas Pelham, Middle East correspondent for The Economist and author of 'Holy Lands, A New Muslim Order' Rasha Qandeel, presenter of BBC Arabic Newsnight Safa al-Ahm...
Nov 30, 2017•28 min
Drug resistant infections cause 700,000 deaths a year and it's estimated that could rise to 10 million by 2050 unless major action is taken. David Aaronovitch asks how can an antibiotic crisis can be averted? Joining him in The Briefing Room are: Clare Wilson, medical reporter with The New Scientist Laura Piddock, professor of microbiology at Birmingham University Jeremy Knox, head of policy on drug-resistant infections at health charity The Wellcome Trust
Oct 26, 2017•29 min
President Xi Jinping is said to be China's most powerful leader since Chairman Mao Zedong - so what does he want to do with this power? The Chinese Communist Party started its congress this week, held every five years, unveiling a new generation of political leaders. It is also expected that President Xi Jinping will be accorded the rare honour of seeing his own doctrine - Xi Jinping Thought - being enshrined in China's constitution. Where will that Thought take him and his huge, strategically e...
Oct 19, 2017•28 min
Is capitalism broken, and if so, what should replace it? David Aaronovitch examines whether the free market is failing, and asks how it could be reformed. He speaks to a range of experts and leading economists including: Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Gillian Tett, US Managing Editor of the Financial Times Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University Michael Jacobs, co-editor of Rethinking Capitalism.
Oct 12, 2017•29 min
Could the crisis over Catalonia lead to the break up of Spain? With political rhetoric from both Barcelona and Madrid intensifying, David Aaronovitch asks a range of experts whether an independent Catalan state is now a possibility. He examines what lies behind the Catalan desire for independence and the impact that a split could have on Spain. Joining David in The Briefing Room: Miguel Murado, a Spanish journalist Eduardo Mendoza, one of Spain's best-known authors Dr Rebecca Richards, statehood...
Oct 06, 2017•28 min
Are big technology companies out of control, as their rapid growth and influence has made them too big to fail? David Aaronovitch asks if companies such as Facebook, Google and Amazon can be reined in and explores a range of issues including innovation, data, privacy, competition and security. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said his company will hand over to US investigators more than 3,000 advertisements bought by groups with links to Russia – and the Washington Post reported that Preside...
Sep 28, 2017•28 min
Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, says she wants to know why 400,000 Muslim Rohingyas have fled into Bangladesh. The UN says what's going on seems "a textbook case of ethnic cleansing". But why are the Rohingyas facing persecution in the first place and why aren't regional powers in Southeast Asia willing to do more to condemn it and stop it? And ultimately, could this violence develop into something bigger and more dangerous? To discuss these issues David Aaronovitch is joined by exp...
Sep 21, 2017•28 min
The public sector pay cap is being scrapped after five years - what will it mean for public finances? Prison and police officers will be the first to benefit, but unions have condemned the pay rises - which are less than inflation - as "pathetic". But could this extra money in the pocket of public servants help recruitment and retention in the public sector? To explore these issues David Aaronovitch is joined by expert guests including: Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies ...
Sep 14, 2017•28 min
As negotiations between the UK and the EU hit choppy waters, the Briefing Room asks what does the EU want from Brexit and what would be its bottom line? David Aaronovitch is joined by expert guests including: Pascal Lamy, former EU Trade Commissioner and Director General of the World Trade Organisation Daniela Schwarzer, Head of the German Council on Foreign Relations Jacek Rostowski, former Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of Poland
Sep 07, 2017•28 min
