Today in Focus

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Hosted by Anushka Asthana, Today in Focus brings you closer to Guardian journalism. Combining personal storytelling with insightful analysis, Today in Focus is The Guardian's daily podcast that takes you behind the headlines for a deeper understanding of the news, every weekday. 

The Guardian


    • Sep 22, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 29m AVG DURATION
    • 1,080 EPISODES

    4.7 from 502 ratings Listeners of Today in Focus that love the show mention: guardian, royals, iran, violence, favourite, porn, usa, journalism, varied, reporting, trump, presentation, media, white, including, offers, analysis, daily, intelligent, listener.



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    Latest episodes from Today in Focus

    Looking for alternatives: a tale of two German towns

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2023 45:11


    As Germany heads into a recession, tensions over its migration policy and its national identity are throwing up unusual results in local elections. Michael Safi reports View the front page of the Guardian's newly launched Europe edition. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Rishi Sunak's net zero U-turn

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2023 22:35


    The PM has torn up his ambitious plans for Britain to achieve its commitments on net zero emissions, saying they were ‘unrealistic and punitive'. Kiran Stacey reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The destruction of Derna

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2023 27:40


    What left the city of Derna vulnerable to such a devastating flood? The Libyan freelance journalist Johr Ali reports on the city in which he grew up. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The horrifying allegations against Russell Brand

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2023 30:03


    The comedian, presenter and actor has been accused of sexual assault, emotional abuse and rape between 2006 and 2013 – allegations Brand denies. Alexandra Topping explains why such stories can be particularly difficult to investigate. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Naomi Klein's doppelganger

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2023 29:35


    When the author Naomi Klein began being mistaken for Naomi Wolf it set her off on a quest to examine the slippery nature of truth in the post-pandemic world. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    What have a year of protests really changed in Iran?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2023 30:17


    Twelve months after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the regime's ‘morality police', we look at her legacy. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Ukraine's counteroffensive: breaking the Russian lines

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2023 23:55


    Ukraine's much-anticipated summer offensive has been slow to the point of stalling. But a recent breakthrough of the Russian lines has provided new hope for the country's leaders – and its partners. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    A day in the ruins of Morocco's earthquake

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2023 26:12


    Peter Beaumont reports from the High Atlas mountains in Morocco, where residents deal with the huge loss of life and destruction of their villages. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The concrete crisis: is Britain falling apart?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2023 27:47


    Last-minute safety worries about the structural soundness of school buildings threw the new term into chaos for many children and their parents. Could the episode spell disaster for Rishi Sunak's government?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Has the plant-based food revolution lost its sizzle?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2023 29:51


    There has been a boom in the market for plant-based foods and products that mimic meat in recent years. But that boom has hit a blip amid a cost of living crisis and increasing consumer worries about ultra-processed food, says Bee Wilson. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The scandal of Bangladesh's missing children – part three

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2023 35:44


    What would you do if everything you believed about your childhood was wrong? Rosie Swash and Thaslima Begum investigate an international adoption scandal that is still shattering lives today. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The scandal of Bangladesh's missing children – part two

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2023 40:01


    What would you do if everything you believed about your childhood was wrong? Rosie Swash and Thaslima Begum investigate an international adoption scandal that is still shattering lives today. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The scandal of Bangladesh's missing children – part one

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2023 33:30


    What would you do if everything you believed about your childhood was wrong? Rosie Swash and Thaslima Begum investigate an international adoption scandal that is still shattering lives today. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    How safe are the priceless treasures in our museums?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2023 27:24


    As many as 2,000 historic items are thought to have gone missing from the British Museum's collections in the past decade. How could it have happened, and how easily can museums get stolen artefacts back?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The chilling rise of AI scams

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2023 23:33


    Criminals are cloning voices and making calls to trick victims into sending them money. How can they be stopped?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The curious world of the Guardian's Experience column

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2023 34:21


    Rebecca Liu discusses her role as a commissioning editor at the Guardian's Experience column and we hear three stories from those who have been featured in the column. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Why wasn't Lucy Letby stopped sooner?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2023 35:14


    The nurse is the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history. Could the NHS have prevented her committing so many crimes?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Rats, fires and floods: why Parliament is falling down

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2023 34:32


    It is the symbol of Britain's democracy and it is falling into decay. The Palace of Westminster needs extensive – and expensive – repairs. But are MPs ready to do what it takes to save it?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The final weeks of Yevgeny Prigozhin

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2023 25:22


    The Wagner leader seemed to have achieved the unthinkable: humiliating Putin and getting away with it. But had he really been forgiven – or was the Kremlin playing for time?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Revisited: Trafficked: Marta – part four – podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2023 33:44


    The story of a Ukrainian woman who escaped modern slavery in the UK. Annie Kelly reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Revisited: Trafficked: the operation – part three – podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2023 42:18


    The story of a Ukrainian woman who escaped modern slavery in the UK. Annie Kelly reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Revisited: Trafficked: the closed door – part two

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2023 34:24


    Julia, a Ukrainian woman who escaped modern slavery in the UK, tells the journalist Annie Kelly about the years she was shipped between brothels. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Revisited: Trafficked: the trap – part one

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2023 30:14


    The story of a Ukrainian woman who escaped modern slavery in the UK. Annie Kelly reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Cotton Capital: Reparations – episode 6

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2023 49:33


    Revisited: In the final episode of the series, Cotton Capital editor and Guardian journalist Maya Wolfe-Robinson looks at the subject of reparations. What do they mean for communities and descendants of transatlantic enslavement – and what is the Guardian planning to do in its own programme of measures?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Cotton Capital: Resistance – episode 5

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2023 41:06


    Revisited: In the fifth episode in the series, Guardian journalist and Cotton Capital special correspondent Lanre Bakare examines Black Mancunian history, beginning with the 1945 Pan-African Congress that took place in the city and shaped independence movements across Africa. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Cotton Capital: The Brazilian connection – episode 4

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2023 37:30


    Revisited: The fourth episode in the Cotton Capital series explores how during the transatlantic slave trade, more enslaved African people were taken to Brazil than any other country. Today, more than half of Brazil's population identify as Black and there are more Black people in Brazil than any other country except Nigeria. But the country is still grappling with deep structural racism. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Cotton Capital: The Sea Islands – episode 3

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2023 48:21


    Revisited: In the third episode in the series, journalist DeNeen L Brown travels to the Sea Islands in the US and meets the Gullah Geechee people – direct descendants of enslaved Africans who picked the distinctive Sea Island cotton prized by traders in Manchester. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Cotton Capital: The meaning of Success – episode 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2023 50:58


    Revisited: The second episode in the series follows journalist Maya Wolfe-Robinson as she travels to Jamaica in search of the site of the former sugar plantation Success, once co-owned by the Guardian funder Sir George Philips. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Cotton Capital: The bee and the ship – episode 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2023 46:41


    Revisited: The first episode in the Cotton Capital series explores the revelations that the Guardian's founding editor, John Edward Taylor, and at least nine of his 11 backers had links to slavery, principally through the textile industry. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The wellness-to-conspiracy pipeline

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2023 33:15


    For many people, alternative therapies and wellness routines provide comfort and pleasure. For others, they can be a pathway to far-right conspiracies, says author and journalist James Ball. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Why were the wildfires in Hawaii so deadly?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2023 26:16


    Last week fires tore through the Hawaiian island of Maui, causing devastating destruction in the ancient capital of Lahaina. What happened?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The mystery of the Crooked House fire

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2023 25:00


    When Britain's wonkiest pub was destroyed in a fire and the ruins demolished, it sparked protests and made headlines around the world – but why?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The Bibby Stockholm saga

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2023 31:10


    After removing asylum seekers from the Bibby Stockholm barge on Friday, the government says they will be returned ‘as soon as possible'. Daniel Trilling and Sammy Gecsoyler report. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    saga stockholm uk news daniel trilling immigration and asylum
    Uncovering the truth of the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2023 32:29


    In 1940 the German army took over the Channel Islands and built concentration camps on Alderney where hundreds, possibly thousands, of people died. Now a UK government review will attempt to get to the truth of what really happened. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    How the search for UFOs reached the US Congress

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2023 33:28


    The quest to discover whether or not we're alone in the universe has become an obsession for many Americans. Some of them are elected officials, reports Adam Gabbatt in Washington DC. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The Qur'an burnings in Sweden: who is fanning the flames? – podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2023 23:33


    The act of burning a holy book in Sweden is not of itself illegal. But a spate of burnings has resulted in outrage at home and abroad – and potentially far-reaching consequences. Miranda Bryant reports from Stockholm. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Why the rest of the world can't afford to ignore the coup in Niger

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2023 28:53


    The Sahel region, sometimes called Africa's ‘coup belt', has just seen another government ousted. Peter Beaumont and Nesrine Malik on what it means for African – and global – security. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    The legacy of Sinéad O'Connor

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2023 36:55


    Film-maker Kathryn Ferguson and journalist Simon Hattenstone share their memories of Sinéad O'Connor and reflect on her impact on music and society. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    How can we escape burnout? | Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2023 25:51


    Burnout is a serious issue in workplaces across the UK. What can we do to change our working culture in order to prevent it?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Donald Trump's January 6 indictment

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2023 35:03


    The former US president appeared in court on Wednesday charged on four counts related to his efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election. Hugo Lowell reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Rishi Sunak's anti-green gamble

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2023 28:48


    The prime minister's announcement of new oil and gas licences in the North Sea this week is a sign he sees electoral advantage in being anti-green. Kiran Stacey reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

    Life in the UK for one of China's most wanted

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2023 32:09


    Hong Kong activist Finn Lau has vowed to continue his fight for democracy despite the Chinese bounty on his head. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

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