Join us for the Times Radio Gender Debate at 9pm on 20th November @HJoyceGender debates @HelenWebberley, presented by @Jo_Coburn live on @TimesRadio and on our YouTube channel

Killed by the thing he loved. A fantastic piece about the dark side of chess by @EuanDawtrey thespectator.com/topic/chess…

The latest scoop-packed episode of our podcast The State of It as Reeves mulls totemic hike in income tax: * Reeves will submit her 'major measures' on tax and spending in the next few days. The basis of the Budget is nearly done. The OBR will return its penultimate verdict on her plans on Monday * The chancellor has three audiences as she weighs up income tax hikes - markets, the PLP and voters. While two of those - markets and the PLP - might forgive her voters are unlikely to * The Treasury has drawn up plans to end the 5p fuel duty cut amid concerns retailers are failing to pass it on anyway. But would be politically toxic and it would increase cost of living * The two-child cap will not be scrapped. It will be pared back because gambling tax revenues are not enough to cover costs. Some resentment towards Gordon Brown over claims it would raise £3bn among senior figures in Treasury * There is also broader opposition to the move in Govt. Some argue it is wrong for the state to be subsidising very large families. They say that there has to be a limit * How long does Starmer have? Some in government think he could be gone by Christmas. Others think he can tough it out until May. Either way the mood music is grim * Among the runners and riders to replace him there's a new name that keeps popping up - Ed Miliband.... With @cazjwheeler @patrickkmaguire @Gabriel_Pogrund open.spotify.com/episode/2LQ…

Here’s the latest episode of The State of It pod.fo/e/34ad27 with plenty of eye-opening detail about what Rachel Reeves is planning and what Labour MPs are saying to each other @Steven_Swinford @cazjwheeler @patrickkmaguire @Gabriel_Pogrund

Another fascinating episode of The State of It from Steve Swinford et al at The Times. For scoops, analysis and insight, it's the best podcast in UK politics. pod.fo/e/341b5d

The inside scoop from the best political team in Westminster: latest episode of The State of It from Steve Swinford and colleagues at The Times….👇 pod.fo/e/33d618

Welcome to episode 2 of The State of It, the new politics podcast from The Times and The Sunday Times - this week live from the Conservative Party conference Come for the scoops and insight, stay to hear @patrickkmaguire singing Tiffany in the small hours at Margaret Thatcher's 100th birthday party: * Shadow cabinet divided over Badenoch, with some shadow ministers weighing up the nuclear option of resigning to precipitate a leadership contest * Badenoch allies say she has bought herself time, and that it would be 'insane' to go for the 7th Tory leader in a decade * Jenrick biding his time. Allies say he wants a bloodless coup and there is acceptance on all sides that further Tory psychodrama would be a disaster * Badenoch allies say she will go of her own volition if things don't improve and the local elections prove to be a total disaster * @cazjwheeler and @Gabriel_Pogrund take you inside the collapse of the China trial and the tension between Britain's economic interests and the security concerns of MI5 * Lastly the numbers are in from the OBR and they are **bad**. Tax rises are coming. Rachel Reeves will now attempt to frame a narrative around why they are necessary ahead of the Budget, a defining moment for both her and Starmer open.spotify.com/show/5CHMS8…

In which @patrickkmaguire parties like it’s 1986 and @cazjwheeler discovers a WhatsApp group of MPs planning to oust Kemi Badenoch podfollow.com/the-state-of-i…

EXCLUSIVE: Sir Keir Starmer is facing a Cabinet backlash over digital ID cards as fears grow that they will drive left-wing Labour voters towards the Lib Dems and the Greens Ministers think the whole thing is a 'fantasy' that won't happen. It was presented as a 'fait accompli' in the wake of the reshuffle with barely any Cabinet discussion Hear more on The State of It, the new politics podcast from The Times and The Sunday Times with myself, @cazjwheeler, @patrickkmaguire and @Gabriel_Pogrund open.spotify.com/episode/76a…

NEW from the Times and Sunday Times The State of It — a weekly politics podcast ft @Steven_Swinford @cazjwheeler @patrickkmaguire and me in which we open up our notebooks and share intelligence and analysis from SW1 For our inaugural episode I did some vox popping in Liverpool city centre A short walk from the conference we asked people for their view on state of things — and Keir Starmer, to which one our most refreshingly non-bubble response came: “what’s that?” Of course main currency will be insight from inside the beltway — in this ep we discuss Starmer’s fate, whether his speech made a difference and a little room on the 14th floor of the MOJ Listen now ! 🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/76a…

On unexpected indignation thetimes.com/culture/tv-radi…

🔊616,000 people are listening to @TimesRadio every week according to the latest #RAJAR figures. 🚨That's up 29% on the year🚨 Listen to the UK's fastest growing speech radio station: thetimes.com/radio

The controlling thought, the turn of phrase, the sideways look, the counter argument, the perfect bit of audio: @husainhusaini is a magnificent programme maker, and now presenter too

This is so good

How a chatbot started to worry about dying and became a digital crusader. A really fantastic production by @taryn_ruth13 @MauLoseto starring @LukeJones @RobBurl pod.fo/e/2efd7f

📢NEW HIRE!📢 Award-winning political journalist Anna Mikhailova @AVMikhailova is joining @TimesRadio as our new Political Editor. Anna has years of experience reporting on the comings and goings in Westminster, and will bring our listeners the best political analysis around. She'll be starting on air in September.

The president of the United States of America has voluntarily ceased to be the leader of the free world, @vkaramurza tells @afneil on @TimesRadio piped.video/watch?v=IbDZpkVz…

Here is @afneil’s full interview with Gender GP founder Helen Webberley on @TimesRadio piped.video/watch?v=c5kwr06y…

“Professor Appleby is against the view of the experts." “Anybody's an expert that agrees with you. But if they don't agree with you they're not an expert!” @AFNeil and @HelenWebberley clash over a review claiming puberty blocker curb has not led to suicide rise.

“A draft dodging president berating a war leader for standing up for his country, a vice president who knows nothing about Ukraine, couldn’t even find it on a map.” Trump and Vance’s treatment of Zelensky at the White House was “deeply upsetting”, says @AFNeil.