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The Briefing Room
Description

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

Episodes
  • 2024 / 11 / 14
    European defence in the new Trump era

    All over Europe and in the corridors of Nato policy makers are discussing the implications for the continent of the Trump victory in the American presidential election. For 70 years the alliance with the USA...

  • 2024 / 11 / 7
    What does the Budget mean for the UKā€™s economy?

    Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered the first Labour Budget in 14 years. Naturally there was a flurry of instant responses to individual tax measures, but what about the big picture? Well, more than a...

  • 2024 / 9 / 23
    How do the Lebanon attacks alter the equation in the Middle East?

    David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the recent events in Lebanon. Israel has been widely blamed for a series of pager and walkie-talkie attacks targeting members of Hezbollah. Does this mark the invention of...

  • 2024 / 9 / 12
    Is Germany in trouble?

    David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the challenges facing Germany. Worries over the economy and immigration have seen the far right AfD party gain support in the former east Germany.Guests:Guy Chazan, Berlin...

  • 2024 / 9 / 5
    How much trouble is the UK economy in?

    Last month the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, warned that "things would get worse before they got better". The Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already said that there's a Ā£22 billion black hole in the...

  • 2024 / 8 / 29
    What we know (and don't know) about the new Mpox outbreak

    The first human cases of MPox were detected in 1970. But a new strain detected in Congo in 2023 has got scientists confused. How worried should we be and are we prepared for it?Dr Jonas Albarnaz, a Research...

  • 2024 / 8 / 21
    Global Tensions 3: Russia and the West

    David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the risk of escalation on Russian borders and further afield and explore what form that might take if it were to happen.Guests:Natia Seskuria, founder and executive...

  • 2024 / 8 / 14
    Global Tensions 2: China, Taiwan and the South China Sea

    David Aaronovitch and guests discuss China's desire for 'peaceful reunification' with Taiwan. Can it really be done peacefully and what happens if it can't?Guests:Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC Asia...

  • 2024 / 8 / 8
    Global Tensions 1: The Middle East

    In the first of three programmes, David Aaronovitch explores the risk of escalation and wider conflict in the Middle East. What would all out war look like and how likely is it?Guests:Shashank Joshi, The...

  • 2024 / 8 / 1
    Can planning reform really boost economic growth?

    David Aaronovitch and guests discuss Labour's plans for planning reform. This week the Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner announced a new National Planning Policy Framework. Will it boost economic growth?Sir...

  • 2024 / 7 / 11
    Health special 3: How far could artificial intelligence transform medicine?

    Machine learning has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. Bigger, more powerful computers can crunch ever more amounts of data, analysing complex information just as accurately, itā€™s claimed, as the...

  • 2024 / 7 / 11
    Health special 2. Why is anxiety and depression increasing in the UK?

    Surveys suggest that at least one in four of us will suffer from anxiety and depression during our lifetimes. The prevalence of these conditions is one of the reasons given for poor school attendance. And...

  • 2024 / 7 / 11
    Health special 1: Advances in cancer research and treatment

    Half the UK population will get cancer during their lifetime - and rates are rising. Each year, around 385,000 people in the UK are diagnosed and around 167,00 lives are lost to the disease. But scientists...

  • 2024 / 7 / 4
    South African and Indian elections: the aftermath

    2024 is the year of elections and already hundreds of millions of people around the world have been to the polls. A few months ago The Briefing Room looked ahead to elections in South Africa and India. Both...

  • 2024 / 6 / 27
    What's happening in Sudan?

    David Aaronovitch and guests dissect Sudan's ongoing civil war. This conflict is now one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. How can it be brought to an end?Guests:James Copnall - presenter of...

  • 2024 / 6 / 20
    What's the Biden ceasefire plan and will it work?

    David Aaronovitch and guests examine Joe Biden's ceasefire deal and ask whether - despite some positive noises from both sides - Israel and Hamas are interested in making it work. Guests: David Makovsky,...

  • 2024 / 6 / 13
    What does Macron's gamble mean for France?

    David Aaronovitch and guests assess the fallout from France's EU elections and President Macron's subsequent decision to call parliamentary elections later this month.Guests: Hugh Schofield, BBC Paris...

  • 2024 / 6 / 6
    Are Trump's legal cases really a problem for him?

    David Aaronovitch and guests discuss Donald Trump's conviction in the hush money case, examine the cases yet to be heard and ask whether any of this hurts his election chances?Guests:Anthony Zurcher, BBC...

  • 2024 / 5 / 30
    Ukraine: Who's winning the war?

    David Aaronovitch and guests assess the latest developments in Ukraine. In 2022, Russia was expected to win the war easily. That didn't happen. But is Russia gaining the upper hand now? Guests:James...

  • 2024 / 5 / 23
    How much trouble are UK universities in?

    David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the current financial crisis facing UK universities and ask what can be done about it.Guests:Branwen Jeffreys, BBC Education Editor Nick Hillman, Director of The Higher...

  • 2024 / 5 / 16
    Avian flu is evolving but what risk does it pose to us?

    The H5N1 strain of avian flu isn't new. It was discovered in China in 1996. But in recent years it's started passing from mammal to mammal and it's now rife on cattle farms in the United States. How much...

  • 2024 / 5 / 9
    Why is the water industry in so much trouble?

    David Aaronovitch and guests explore the troubled state of the water industry in the UK. How do companies solve the sewage problem, fix the leaks and reduce the debt mountain?Guests: Kate Bayliss, research...

  • 2024 / 5 / 2
    How does America fix its border crisis?

    Democrats and Republicans have promised to solve the border crisis in recent times but they've failed and it remains a huge election issue. How does the problem get resolved?David Aaronovitch talks to:Gustavo...

  • 2024 / 4 / 25
    Are Britain's missing workers really a problem?

    David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the reasons why millions of people in the UK aged between 16 and 64 are neither working nor looking for work and what we can do about it. Tony Wilson, Director of the...

  • 2024 / 4 / 22
    India: Is democracy under threat?

    2024 is the year of elections. According to one estimate just under 50% of all the people on earth live in countries where by December 31st there will have been a national vote. In terms of population size...

  • 2024 / 4 / 18
    What does Iran want?

    David Aaronovitch and guests explore the thinking behind Iran's decision to attack Israel and ask what the short and long term aims of the Iranian regime are. Guests: Shashank Joshi, Defence editor at The...

  • 2024 / 4 / 11
    What's happened to Hamas?

    Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to ā€œeliminateā€ Hamas but after six months of death and destruction in Gaza what do we know about their status?David Aaronovitch talks to: Jennifer Jefferis,...

  • 2024 / 4 / 4
    What's the future of the state pension?

    The state pension system relies on the workers of today paying the pensions of current retirees. But does an aging population and rising costs threaten that model continuing?David Aaronovitch talks to:Paul...

  • 2024 / 3 / 5
    Election special 2. Elections without democracy

    2024 is the year of elections. According to one estimate just under 50% of all the people on earth live in countries where by December 31st there will have been a national vote. To mark this phenomenon we are...

  • 2024 / 3 / 5
    Election special 3. Uncertain times for the ANC in South Africa

    2024 is the year of elections. According to one estimate just under 50% of all the people on earth live in countries where by December 31st there will have been a national vote. To mark this phenomenon we are...

  • 2024 / 2 / 28
    How is technology changing warfare?

    In 1964, pre-historic remains were discovered at Jabal Aį¹£-į¹¢aįø„ābah - or Mountain of the Companions - in the Nile Valley near what is now the border of northern Sudan and Egypt. That site contained evidence of...

  • 2024 / 2 / 22
    Russia: State of the Nation

    It is two years since Russia began its costly conflict against Ukraine. How does it fund its war effort, how do sanctions impact that and how tight is Putin's grip on power?Guests: Sarah Rainsford, BBC...

  • 2024 / 2 / 15
    The synthetic opioids claiming lives in the UK

    Deaths from synthetic opioids such as nitazenes and fentanyl are low in the UK but there are fears the problem could escalate and that figures don't show the true picture of the situation. David Aaronovitch...

  • 2024 / 2 / 8
    The crisis in dentistry: why is it happening and what should we do about it?

    This week a great queue of dentistless Bristolians appeared outside a new practice offering NHS treatment. That followed a report on childrenā€™s health which specifically referenced the poor and worsening...

  • 2024 / 2 / 1
    Whatā€™s the point of Ofsted?

    This week the Education Select Committee said that Ofsted and the Government must rebuild trust and make major changes to school inspections.This follows months of news coverage of the death of Ruth Perry,...

  • 2024 / 1 / 25
    Is the UK prepared for more floods?

    The UK is experiencing more rain and more floods than previously, and because of climate change this is set to get worse. More than 6 million homes are at risk of flooding in the UK. What is the state of the...

  • 2024 / 1 / 18
    Why is local government in such trouble?

    Itā€™s been another difficult week for local government. Birmingham City Council announced it needs to make up to 600 redundancies to help balance its books and Middlesbrough Council decided to apply to the...

  • 2024 / 1 / 11
    Israel-Gaza: Is it turning into a regional conflict?

    As if the conflict in Gaza wasnā€™t bad enough, the fighting has ignited old and new tensions elsewhere across the region. Since the surprise attack by Hamas on 7th October, clashes on the Lebanon-Israel border...

  • 2024 / 1 / 4
    Brexit: Could we rejoin the EU even if we wanted to?

    Itā€™s almost 4 years since the UK left the European Union. Recent polls show a majority of people want to re-join the EU. But is this a realistic option?So in this weekā€™s programme David Aaronovitch asks could...

  • 2023 / 12 / 28
    Aliens: Are we closer to finding intelligent life beyond Earth?

    Aliens are back on the radar after a US Congressional hearing in the summer that featured former intelligence officer, David Grusch. The US Air Force veteran was once part of a task force created to look...

  • 2023 / 12 / 21
    Whatā€™s behind the record homelessness figures?

    Housing charity Shelterā€™s latest figures show that homelessness has risen rapidly in the last year. In England, 279,400 people are living in temporary accommodation - an increase of 14% - most of whom are...

  • 2023 / 12 / 14
    What can the UK learn from other countries about assisted dying?

    Euthanasia is illegal in the UK. All attempts to change the law have failed. Other countries have legalised Assisted Dying and/or Euthanasia. In this weekā€™s Briefing Room with David Aaronovitch we find out...

  • 2023 / 12 / 7
    Ukraine: what's the counter-offensive latest?

    The start of Ukraineā€™s counter-offensive against occupying Russian forces was hailed as the breakthrough moment of the war so far. Now six months on, we ask what happened?The Secretary General of NATO has...

  • 2023 / 11 / 30
    Net migration: Whatā€™s happening in the UK?

    UK net migration hit a record 745,000 in 2022 according to recently revised figures from the Office for National Statistics.That means the numbers coming to live in the UK were almost three quarters of a...

  • 2023 / 11 / 23
    Israel-Gaza war: What's going on in the West Bank?

    In recent weeks, and for obvious reasons, all eyes have been on Gaza. But more Palestinians live in the West Bank, the other Palestinian territory, and the area is critical forany chances of durable peace. Or...

  • 2023 / 10 / 19
    Israel/Gaza: What happens next?

    Israel and Hamas are at war and there are no signs of a quick resolution. But what would a resolution actually look like and who's actually going to try and negotiate one?David Aaronovitch talks to: Shashank...

  • 2023 / 10 / 12
    What was Hamas thinking?

    David Aaronovitch and guests talk through the thinking behind Hamas's deadly attack on Israel, discuss what might happen next and ask what all this means politically.Guests: Jennifer Jefferis, Director of...

  • 2023 / 10 / 5
    If Trump gets re-elected what does the world do?

    David Aaronovitch and guests talk about what a second Trump presidency might mean for America's relationship with the world and discuss what countries are doing to prepare. Guests:Anthony Zurcher, BBC North...

  • 2023 / 9 / 28
    What a murder in Canada tells us about India's place in the world

    When a Canadian Sikh was murdereed in British Colombia in June few predicted the diplomatic bust up that ensued. What does this say about India's relationship with the West?David Aaronovitch speaks...

  • 2023 / 9 / 21
    The UKā€™s financial headache

    David Aaronovitch and guests discuss how Conservative and Labour preparations for the next election will be dictated by the state of the UK's public finances. Guests: Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute...