Since mid-September, women and girls in Iran have been staging demonstrations against the regime. Social media has been full of images of female protestors cutting off their hair and removing their Islamic head-covering in open defiance of the security forces. These protests have their roots in the arrest of a young woman called Mahsa Amini for minor infractions of the Islamic Republic’s dress code and her subsequent death in custody. But there have been several waves of protest since the Irania...
Oct 06, 2022•28 min
The financial markets have been in turmoil since the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, unveiled a big package of economic measures last Friday. Traders responded to the prospect of major tax cuts by selling the pound. The Bank of England then had to intervene to protect the UK's pension system. What exactly is causing the financial instability and what might that mean for the British economy over the next few years? Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: Dharshini David, BBC Economics Cor...
Sep 29, 2022•30 min
This week the new UK government is unveiling its first major package of economic measures. They're aimed at achieving what Prime Minister Liz Truss says is her number one priority: promoting economic growth. Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he shares the same aspiration for Britain. But low growth is an entrenched problem, dating back decades. So why has the UK been performing so badly and what needs to be done to turn us into a high-growth country? Joining David Aaronovitch in The Br...
Sep 22, 2022•29 min
Ukraine's military has retaken thousands of square kilometres of territory near the north-eastern city of Kharkiv. The Russians are said to have retreated in haste and disarray, but they retaliated by shelling a large power plant, causing blackouts in Kharkiv, the country's second biggest city. Is Ukraine's successful counter-offensive a turning point in the war? Could Ukraine win? Experts say Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, won't countenance defeat, and will escalate instead of retreating o...
Sep 15, 2022•30 min
Soaring household bills have made energy the number one issue facing the government and consumers in Britain. But in addition to the cost, there may be another problem ahead as winter approaches. Experts are increasingly worried about the supply of both electricity and gas from Europe, and how that might affect the power system here. So how worried should we be about energy shortages? And what can the government do to limit their impact? Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: Kathry...
Sep 01, 2022•30 min
The NHS often appears to be in a state of permanent crisis. Recently, there've been headlines about long waiting times for ambulances and the huge backlog for routine surgery. Before that, the Health Service faced a two-year pandemic which may rear its head again this winter. But the NHS also has a big underlying problem. It has tens of thousands of vacancies for doctors, nurses and other medical workers – and that makes all the other pressures on the Health Service even harder to handle. So why...
Aug 25, 2022•29 min
Despite recent heavy rainfall, much of England is experiencing drought conditions. Both rivers and reservoirs are running low, and the water companies have told millions to stop using their hosepipes. Scientists warn that the current difficulties are only a glimpse of the much tougher challenges the UK will face in the future because of climate change. They estimate that there's a one-in-four chance of a drought which is so severe that drinking water has to be restricted. Joining David Aaronovit...
Aug 18, 2022•29 min
There are growing calls for emergency measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. Energy bills are now predicted to be hundreds of pounds higher than was expected just a few weeks ago. The Bank of England has increased interest rates, and warned of the twin threat of inflation and a recession. What policy options does the government have? How can ministers get help to the growing numbers of people forced to choose between heating and eating. Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: ...
Aug 11, 2022•29 min
Scotland has the worst figures for drug-related deaths anywhere in Europe. According to National Records for Scotland, 1,330 drug users died in 2021 - a slight improvement, but a death rate per capita which is still 4.8 times higher than England's. Why do so many Scots die from drugs? And what more can be done to prevent it? Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: James Cook, BBC Scotland Editor Kirsten Horsburgh, Director of Operations at the Scottish Drugs Forum Andrew McAuley, Gla...
Aug 04, 2022•29 min
Last week, temperatures in the UK reached a record-breaking 40.3 degrees centigrade. As Britons sweltered in their homes and offices, railway lines buckled, fires broke out in Greater London and the tarmac on Luton Airport runway began to lift. Climate Change scientists now describe this kind of heat as 'the new normal'. How well is Britain set up to cope with extreme weather events? Do we need to start heat-proofing our houses and infrastructure? And does government need to focus more on adapti...
Jul 28, 2022•30 min
The war in Ukraine is about to enter its sixth month. The cost of Russia’s invasion has been enormous: millions of refugees; thousands of dead soldiers; thousands more dead civilians; and billions of dollars’ worth of physical damage. It’s the most consequential military conflict for a generation. This week the Briefing Room investigates what’s happening now on the ground and whether either side is close to victory or collapse. Joining David Aaronovitch are: Nina Kuryata, Ukrainian journalist wi...
Jul 21, 2022•29 min
More than two years after the emergence of Covid, infection levels are high once again. The Office for National Statistics estimates that 2.7 million people, or 1 in 25 of us, have got Coronavirus. There’s concern too about new Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 – mutations which help the virus re-infect our bodies. But how worried should we actually be this time? Are the mutations normal or an alarming new development? And how much of a threat does Coronavirus still face to the NHS? Joining David A...
Jul 14, 2022•29 min
Last year spending on health and social care in the UK hit nearly £200bn. That’s roughly a fifth of total government spending. Yet the perception has been that things have got worse. Have they? If so, how much worse? How do we compare with other similar countries? And what might we do differently? Joining David Aaronovitch in the briefing room are: Siva Anandaciva, Chief Analyst at the King’s Fund Professor Carol Propper, health economist at Imperial College Mark Pearson, Deputy Director of Empl...
Jun 09, 2022•29 min
Last year the Taliban launched an offensive in Afghanistan that, within a matter of weeks succeeded beyond the West’s wildest nightmares. In August Kabul fell and life changed dramatically for the Afghan people. Since then they’ve faced food shortages, a failing economy and a bombing campaign launched by Afghanistan’s own ISIS, ISIS-K. So is it Taliban 2.0 as some people hoped? How is it dealing with its domestic challenges? And how is it managing its relationships with its neighbours and countr...
Jun 02, 2022•29 min
Last week cryptocurrency suffered it’s ‘black Wednesday’ moment. Investors raced to withdraw their funds and more than $200billion was wiped off the cryptocurrency market. One currency lost 98% of its value. Ironically it was a so-called “stablecoin”, whose value is meant to be pegged to currencies like the dollar, that collapsed. Was this a solitary - but very costly - blip or is the crypto bubble in danger of bursting? Joining David in the briefing room are: Gavin Brown, Associate Professor in...
May 19, 2022•29 min
The election in Northern Ireland saw nationalists, Sinn Fein, win the most votes. Their leader, Michelle O'Neill, becomes first minister. It has been heralded as a historic result. But what will its impact - on Stormont politics, the protocol and the union - end up being? Joining David Aaronovitch in the briefing room are: Enda McClafferty, BBC Northern Ireland's political editor Ann Watt, director of Pivotal, an independent public policy think tank Sam McBride, Northern Ireland editor, Belfast ...
May 12, 2022•30 min
In late February, German chancellor Olaf Scholz described Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a ‘Zeitenwende’ - turning point - sparking the biggest shift in German foreign policy since the Cold War. The highlights included a 100bn euro package to boost the military and meet Nato’s 2 per cent of GDP defence spending obligation, send weapons to Ukraine and end his country’s dependency on Russian energy. A surprisingly bold plan from a man many had thought was - like many of his predecessors - natural...
May 05, 2022•29 min
What will the social and economic costs be of China's full-scale lockdown of Shanghai? David Aaronovitch examines the problems with the country's vaccination programme. Joining David in the briefing room are: Robin Brant, BBC Correspondent based in Shanghai Vincent Ni, China Affairs correspondent for The Guardian Professor Nancy Qian, Northwestern University Dr Yu Jie, senior research fellow on China in the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House George Magnus, economist and research associate a...
Apr 28, 2022•29 min
The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has unveiled a plan to stop small boat crossings in the English Channel by sending asylum seekers to Rwanda. But will it work? Joining David Aaronovitch in the briefing room are: Mark Easton, BBC's Home Editor Alexander Betts, Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs at the Refugees Studies Centre Nicolas Rollason, partner and head of Business Immigration at Kingsley Napley Madeleine Sumption, Director of The Migration Observatory Producers: Rosamu...
Apr 21, 2022•30 min
It's a month now since Russian forces invaded Ukraine. The west have sanctioned Russia and provided aid packages to Ukraine but what more can it do to help Ukraine win the war? Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: Gustav Gressel, senior policy fellow with the Wider Europe Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) Berlin office. Dr Sarah Schiffling, International research fellow at the Humanitarian Logistics Institute in Helsinki, Finland and senior lecturer in ...
Mar 24, 2022•29 min
Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have been underway this week. At the same time Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities have come under savage bombardment. If some sort of peace is to be brokered what compromises might be possible and what will be required to get there? David Aaronovitch is joined by: Oleksiy Semeniy, former advisor to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Aglaya Snetkov, author of “Russia's security policy under Putin” and a lecturer at the School of Slavonic ...
Mar 17, 2022•29 min
What's the impact in Russia of painful sanctions and a war that's not going to plan? How is President Putin controlling information and what's required for that to change? David Aaronovitch is joined by: Michael Clarke, Visiting Professor of War Studies at Exeter University and former director, Royal United Services Institute Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics at Sciences Po in Paris and former Chief Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Dr. Katerina Tertytchnaya, ...
Mar 10, 2022•29 min
The war in Ukraine is a week old. What have we learned about the military strength - and tactics - on both sides? And what might that tell us about how the conflict might play out? David Aaronovitch is joined in The Briefing Room by: Vitaliy Shevchenko, Russian editor at BBC Monitoring. Colonel Liam Collins, founding director of the Modern War Institute in New York. Ed Arnold, Research Fellow in European security at RUSI and an ex British Army officer who was posted to NATOs Supreme Headquarters...
Mar 03, 2022•30 min
Russia is facing sanctions from around the world. Can they hit the country hard enough to make it change course and leave Ukraine in peace? In a live episode David Aaronovitch considers how sanctions have worked in other crises, why they are so frequently used and what circumstances are required for them to be successful. He is joined by: Lee Jones, Professor of International Politics at Queen Mary, University of London and author of the book Societies Under Siege: Exploring How International Ec...
Feb 24, 2022•29 min
A few weeks ago a rebel group without an air-force managed to attack a foreign airport 1,000 miles away....from the air using drones. And theoretically what the Yemeni insurgents did in Abu Dhabi is repeatable the world over. Indeed is being repeated. Meanwhile drones are often the weapon of choice for major powers operating a long way from home. So are drones transforming the way conflicts are fought, to what extent is that a bad thing, and what can be done about it? David Aaronovitch talks to:...
Feb 17, 2022•29 min
One of Boris Johnson’s key campaign promises in the run up to the last election was to level up the country. Now the government has published a white paper telling us how it intends to do that. So what are the plans, will they work and do they go far enough? David Aaronovitch is joined by: Jagjit Chadha, Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Jennifer Williams, social affairs editor at the Manchester Evening News Paul Swinney, director of policy and research a...
Feb 10, 2022•28 min
How well 10 Downing Street functions is under scrutiny. Following Sue Gray's report into parties during lockdown, David Aaronovitch explores who does what at the heart of government and asks if the current problems can be fixed. Contributors: Alex Thomas, Institute for Government Professor Andrew, Blick, King's College London Jill Rutter, UK in a Changing Europe Professor Patrick Diamond, Queen Mary University of London Producers: Rosamund Jones, Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight Studio manager: Rod F...
Feb 03, 2022•29 min
Plan B Covid restrictions in England have ended and the government says we must learn to live with Covid. But what does that actually mean and how sustainable is that position? In this programme we will ask how our understanding of Covid’s newest variant, Omicron, has evolved since Plan B restrictions were first imposed 7 weeks ago. To what extent might flu provide a model for how we live with Covid? And how will our hospitals cope with the strain as restrictions within wider society are eased? ...
Jan 27, 2022•29 min
With the longer term funding of the BBC under pressure, David Aaronovitch and guests explore the alternatives to the licence fee. How do other nations pay for their public service broadcasters? Contributors: Professor Jean Seaton, University of Westminster Matt Walsh, Head of school of Journalism, Media & Culture, Cardiff University Vilde Sundet, University of Oslo Professor Patrick Barwise, London Business School Claire Enders, Enders Analysis Producers: Kirsteen Knight, Ben Carter, Rosamun...
Jan 20, 2022•29 min
Inflation is at a 30 year high. David Aaronovitch looks back to the 1970s when prices - and wages - soared. Are we returning to those times and how worried should we be? Joining him in The Briefing Room are: Stephanie Flanders, Head of Bloomberg Economics. Merryn Somerset Webb, editor-in-chief, Moneyweek. Torsten Bell, chief executive, The Resolution Foundation. Duncan Weldon, economist and author of "Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through" and "The Value Added Newsletter". Producers: Kirsteen Kn...
Jan 13, 2022•29 min
