The Briefing Room

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Latest episodes

• Why does the Yemen war matter to the world?

  October 8, 2026 · 29 min

  The ceasefire between the Saudi-backed Yemen government and the Houthi rebels is over. As the fighting for control of land and sea intensifies, what are the knock on effects for the rest of the world? Guests: Nawal Al-Maghafi, BBC senior…

• Are Gen Z movements reshaping politics?

  August 27, 2026 · 28 min

  In May, the Chief Justice of India unwittingly gave a name to a generational protest. He called unemployed young people “cockroaches” and the mass youth movement that had begun in the wake of the sudden cancellation of a national exam took…

• How do we prepare for a future water shortage?

  August 20, 2026 · 29 min

  Did you step outside this morning and feel something odd on your face or neck? Its called rain. We’ve hardly had any this summer and the result was the declaration this month of drought status across two thirds of England and almost all of…

• Part 2: How do we reform social care?

  August 10, 2026 · 29 min

  Until recently Baroness Louise Casey was going to deliver her huge review of English social care by 2028. Then the PM changed and so did the date. Now the whole shebang is timed for next summer. Last week we looked at what we mean by…

• Part 1: How do we reform social care?

  August 6, 2026 · 29 min

  It’s social care time again. That moment every five years when politicians and civil servants are on the cusp of coming up with a new system to replace the perceived arbitrary and unfair way in which we in the UK pay for the care that many…

• Part 2: How's the government doing on immigration?

  July 27, 2026 · 29 min

  According to polls immigration remains near the top - or at the top - of public concerns. And now a new prime minister inherits that popular anxiety. Last week The Briefing Room examined arguably the most visible aspect of the migration…

• Part 1: How's the government doing on immigration?

  July 23, 2026 · 28 min

  New PM, old problems. When Labour took office they vowed to tackle the people smuggling gangs behind the small boats crossings, to reduce net inward migration and to act to replace cheap imported labour with better paid indigenous workers…

• Will a devolution revolution help boost the economy?

  July 16, 2026 · 29 min

  Power to the people! Or, at any rate power to the mayors! As government prepares for yet another new prime minister it is keenly aware that this one has moving power away from the centre to the English regions as his big idea. His central…