The Briefing Room

BBC Radio 4

4.8 (52)
NEWS COMMENTARY
UPDATED BIWEEKLY

David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news

6D AGO

The Trump hokey cokey is back - what happens to world trade now?

The Trump hokey cokey is back. Tariffs on, tariffs reduced - now they’re heading back up again. It really got going on April 2nd- President Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” - when he announced a swathe of punitive tariffs on trading partners across the world. The markets tanked and then there was a pause. Countries had 90 days to strike a trade deal - 90 deals in 90 days - we were told. But there weren’t. There were only 2. The deadline was this week but now it’s next month. But in the past few days the White House has been sending out a flurry of letters with higher tariffs for those without a deal - which is almost everyone. David Aaronovitch asks his guests just what is going on, what’s happening to world trade and what happens next? Guests: Soumaya Keynes, Economics Columnist The Financial Times Meredith Crowley, Professor of Economics, University of Cambridge Justin Wolfers, Professor of Economics and Public Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University of Michigan Philip Coggan, author, The Economic Consequences of Mr Trump: What the Trade War Means for the World Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Sally Abrahams, Kirsteen Knight Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound engineer: Neil Churchill and David Crackles Editor: Richard Vadon

29 min
JUL 3

Why is there a row about disability benefits?

The Government was forced into a humiliating climbdown over its controversial benefits bill this week, and any savings the Treasury had hoped to make were wiped out. The politics of this is a subject on its own, but the underlying problem the government was trying to solve, however, remains. David Aaronovitch asks his guests why the cost of disability benefits has ballooned so unexpectedly, who gets them and why and whether the system works for disabled people. Guests: Paul Lewis, Presenter Moneybox, BBC Radio 4 Tom Waters, Associate Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies Louise Murphy, Senior Economist, Resolution Foundation Ruth Patrick, Professor of Social and Public Policy, University of Glasgow Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight and Sally Abrahams Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound engineers: Sarah Hockley and Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon

29 min
JUN 26

Iran: What happens next?

President Trump says the conflict between Israel and Iran is over after 12 days. For the US and Israel the declared objective has been to destroy Iran’s capacity to make a nuclear bomb, with a side order of regime change if possible. They have damaged Iran’s capacity to build nuclear weapons but for how long? And what now is the objective for Iran? To rebuild their nuclear weapons programme? Or just for the regime to stay in power? David Aaronovitch and his guests discuss what's next for Iran. Guests: Dr Patricia Lewis, arms control and nuclear physics expert Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor at The Economist, Dr Lina Khatib, Associate Fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House Professor Ali Ansari, founding director of the Institute of Iranian Studies at St Andrews University Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight Sound Engineer: James Beard Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Editor: Richard Vadon

29 min
JUN 19

Explainer: Tensions over Kashmir

Following a deadly terrorist attack in Indian administered Kashmir in April a short military conflict broke out between India and Pakistan. For a brief history of the tensions over Kashmir Caroline Bayley spoke to former BBC India correspondent, Andrew Whitehead, who’s an expert on Kashmir and its history and author of “A mission in Kashmir”. This is part of a new mini-series called The Briefing Room Explainers. They’re short versions of previous episodes of the Briefing Room. Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Richard Vadon

7 min
JUN 12

Explainer: Putin’s motivation for war with Ukraine

As the Ukraine war grinds on with little sign of Russian president, Vladimir Putin agreeing to a ceasefire we trace the evolution of his attitude towards Ukraine. David Aaronovitch spoke to Vitaly Shevchenko who is Russia editor for BBC Monitoring and co-presenter of the BBC’s Ukrainecast. This is part of a new mini-series called the The Briefing Room Explainers. They’re short versions of previous episodes of the Briefing Room. Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Richard Vadon

7 min
JUN 5

Explainer: A history of US tariffs

Tariffs have dominated the first few months of President Trump’s second term. But where did he get the idea from? Ben Carter spoke to Douglas Irwin, professor of economics at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in the US. This is part of a new mini-series called the The Briefing Room Explainers. They’re short versions of previous episodes of the Briefing Room. Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Richard Vadon

8 min
MAY 29

Explainer: Rare earths

Rare earths and critical minerals are precious resources everyone seems to want but what are they and what are they used for? David Aaronovitch speaks to Ellie Saklatvala, head of Nonferrous Metal Pricing at Argus – a provider of market intelligence for the global commodity markets. Guest Ellie Saklatvala This is part of a new mini-series called the The Briefing Room Explainers. They’re short versions of previous episodes of the Briefing Room. Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producer: Caroline Bayley Editor: Richard Vadon

8 min
MAY 22

What is ransomware and what can be done to stop it?

In the past few weeks Marks & Spencer, the Co-op and Harrods have all been grappling with the effects of cyber attacks. The most profitable form of cyber attack at the moment is ransomware where criminals infiltrate computer systems, shut them down and then demand a ransom to restore services, or even to stop them publishing data they’ve stolen. This is now a global criminal industry which can affect the running of whole businesses. Marks & Spencer said this week that disruption to its online ordering service would continue throughout June and into July. David Aaronovitch asks his guests how ransomware works, who is responsible and what can be done to stop it. Guests: Emily Taylor, CEO of Oxford Information Labs and co-founder Global Signal Exchange Geoff White, investigative journalist and author and co-host of the BBC’s podcast series, The Lazarus Heist Susan Landau, Professor of Cyber Security and Policy at Tufts University Professor Alan Woodward, a computer security expert at the University of Surrey Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight and Nathan Gower Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Sound Engineers: James Beard and Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

29 min

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David Aaronovitch

Host

4.8

out of 5

52 Ratings

Excellent!

04/02/2021

phxroy

Terrific, quick primer on the topic, leaving you with an informed, working knowledge. I always look forward the podcast when I see it in my feed, as I know from several years consistent listening that it’s excellent! (A show on COVID in last six months left me with more nuanced information than I had learned elsewhere.)
5 stars

01/03/2021

avm1406

Outstanding. From diversity of topics to the unique format that moves from one expert providing the in-depth backstory to an engaging dialogue with a panel. Always learn something new even on widely reported stories.
Brilliant

08/22/2020

AdiKharo

You end the podcast knowing more than when you started it. And you are engrossed in the topic along the way. Brilliant. Great topics, great interviewer, great guests.
Nice podcast

02/01/2019

lalalahexd

Really cool and the guests are well informed!