Season 1

The conflict between Israel and Iran shows no sign of easing and the threat of US involvement has heightened concerns about a war that is rapidly getting out of control. How does this end? Can Iran be forced away from building a nuclear bomb? Can Israel be reassured about its security? Is there a wa...

More than a quarter of UK voters back a party that’s only got 5 MPs. Labour won a stonking majority in parliament last year with just over a third of the vote. What’s happening to our democracy? Does the system still work? Or is the social media-fuelled clamour for instant policy-fixes not suited to...

Is the Wild West of digital currency now becoming a respectable place to put your money? President Trump likes it, and his vice president, JD Vance, backs a US government digital reserve. Does that mean the crazy volatility of Bitcoin and the rest will calm down? Or is the essential ungovernability ...

Billions in new spending for the UK’s defence, but how to spend it? Does Britain need more soldiers? More shells for artillery? More tanks? Or are drones the future of warfare? What has Ukraine’s war against Russia told us about what weapons we need to stand up to Putin? Dr Bence Nemeth, co-founder ...

Keir Starmer has launched his bid to claim back migration policy from the right - talking about the UK becoming an “island of strangers” unless the number of incomers is slashed. But is he correct that this is at the top of voters’ list of concerns? Is tackling this what will win back the Red Wall? ...

The confrontation between the two south Asian neighbours this month seems to have been resolved into a ceasefire. It is almost certainly only a pause of conflict, in a toxic relationship that has lasted since 1947. And the stakes have risen - both nations now have their finger on the nuclear trigger...

The minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv is pretty opaque, but does it at least give the Trump administration a reason to stick with Ukraine? Or will the president just walk away from the whole crisis, as he has threatened? And can Kyiv keep the war going with just help from the Western Europea...

The leader of 1.4 billion Catholics is about to be decided by 132 men in red hats, locked away in a renaissance chapel beneath one of the greatest artworks in human history. The conclave of cardinals is supposed to be guided in its choice by the Holy Spirit, it will there also be some very secu...

Local elections are usually a yawn, but the results next week could overturn the political geography of the UK. Will Reform, riding high in the polls, cause a Tory meltdown, unseating Kemi Badenoch? Will it suggest it’s more than just a protest party, and one that could be a contender for government...

Anyone with money faces a dilemma right now. Where do you invest it? Historically it’s been quite simple. If you are prepared to take risks, buy shares. If you want to play it safe, buy government bonds because, although the returns can be quite slim, you know major economies, like the US, will alw...