Shows / The Briefing Room
The Briefing Room
David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news
Episodes
- The Briefing Room
Labour's Election Result: A Successful Failure?
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…
- The Briefing Room
Trump, Russia and the FBI
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…
- The Briefing Room
How Do We Pay for the UK?
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…
- The Briefing Room
How Does France Work?
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…
- The Briefing Room
The Problem of North Korea
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…
- The Briefing Room
Snap General Election
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 Briefing Room
Should we worry about Turkey?
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…
- The Briefing Room
Can the NHS Survive?
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…
- The Briefing Room
Britain's Broken Housing Market
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…
- The Briefing Room
Does IS Need a State?
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…
- The Briefing Room
Is It Time to Renationalise the Railways?
Bringing Britain's railways back into public ownership is a popular idea with passengers - but would it really make any improvements to service?…
- The Briefing Room
Trump and Trade
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…
- The Briefing Room
Trump and the Economy
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…
- The Briefing Room
India's Bonfire of the Bank Notes
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…
- The Briefing Room
Drugs in West Yorkshire
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…
- The Briefing Room
Aleppo: After the Evacuation
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…
- The Briefing Room
Liberalism's Horrible Year
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…
- The Briefing Room
Yemen: A Global Conflict
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…
- The Briefing Room
The Prison Problem
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…
- The Briefing Room
The Investigatory Powers Act a.k.a The Snoopers' Charter
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…
- The Briefing Room
VIP Sex Abuse Allegations
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…
- The Briefing Room
Infrastructure: The Roads to Recovery?
Theresa May has promised new trains, faster broadband and improved infrastructure. Critics accused her of adopting Labour Party politics. But is it left-wing…
- The Briefing Room
Black Lives Matter UK
What does Black Lives Matter stand for in the UK? In the United States it is a protest movement formed in reaction to the killing of black people by police…
- The Briefing Room
Europe's Illiberal Democracies
Illiberal democracy is gaining traction across Europe - a political philosophy which in part draws support from the far right, championing anti-migrant and…
- The Briefing Room
Quantitative Easing
As part of its response to the Brexit vote, the Bank of England will buy an extra £70 billion of bonds and will create new money to do so. The aim is to…
- The Briefing Room
A Ceasefire in Syria?
Why has it been so difficult to find peace in Syria, and what are the complicating factors which are getting in the way of a deal? In early September the US…
- The Briefing Room
Trump and Putin
It's one of the strangest developments in a very strange election campaign. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, says Donald Trump is "colourful and…
- The Briefing Room
Trotsky, Trotskyism and Trotskyites
The Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has warned that his party could be taken over by old Trots - Trotskyist entryists, who have no interest in winning…
- The Briefing Room
Jesse Morton: The Jihadi Who Changed His Mind
Jesse Morton was once a radical jihadi involved in the American offshoot of the banned British extremist group Al-Muhajiroun. Al-Muhajiroun's leader, Anjem…
- The Briefing Room
Milo Yiannopoulos and the Alt-Right
David Aaronovitch speaks to Milo Yiannopoulos about Donald Trump's new political base - the 'alt-right'. It's a mostly young, disparate movement which…
- The Briefing Room
Grammar Schools
Grammar schools are back on the agenda courtesy of Theresa May. Why has the Conservative party's love affair with an almost extinct system of educational…
- The Briefing Room
Who are the Special Forces?
When the BBC obtained exclusive pictures of Special Air Service soldiers fighting Islamic State militants in Syria, the Ministry of Defence refused to comment…
- The Briefing Room
Britain's Nuclear Dream
Britain faces big decisions when it comes to generating electricity - and ones we will all end up paying for. So what's the right choice? Theresa May surprised…
- The Briefing Room
What Do Remainers Feel Now?
There was jubilation among many who were on the winning side of last month's EU referendum. But the vote, more than any in recent memory, laid bare the UK's…
- The Briefing Room
Fethullah Gulen and Turkey's Failed Coup
Turkey's president put the blame on the Gulen movement for an attempted coup - but what is it? The Briefing Room explores the roots and influence of this…
The Briefing RoomThe Truth About BHS
BHS was one of the biggest names on the high street, but it is now in administration and faces an uncertain future. What exactly happened, and who is…
- The Briefing Room
Why Did People Vote Leave?
Why did so many people in the UK vote to Leave the EU? David Aaronovitch talks to residents in the pro-Leave city of Wakefield and finds out from experts why…
- The Briefing Room
The Chilcot Report: The Source Who Lied
The Chilcot Report revealed that a key source of flawed intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war was a man known as Curveball. How did this obscure figure…
- The Briefing Room
Immigration: Why Did it Rise?
Immigration to the United Kingdom remains at a near-record high - but what are the political decisions and global trends which led to its rise in the first…
- The Briefing Room
The New IRA
Northern Ireland-related terrorism now represents a “substantial” threat to Great Britain, according to MI5 - the security service. It believes that a…
- The Briefing Room
Anti-Semitism on the Left
Labour activists, councillors, an MP and a former Mayor of London have all been suspended for comments which many regard as anti-Jewish. But why might a left…