The Briefing Room

In his election campaign President Milei set out his chainsaw approach to cutting spending and inflation. A year on, how has his presidency turned out? David Aaronovitch and guests explore - why was Argentina’s economy in such a bad state when Milei took office, what new measures has President Milei introduced, and how have things turned out so far?Guests: Monica de Bolle, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics Tyler Cowan, Professor of economics at George Mason University Pablo Castro, Professor of micro and macro economics at Buenos Aires UniversityPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Kirsteen Knight and Beth Ashmead Latham Sound engineers: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

New weight loss drugs known commercially as Wegovy and Mounjaro have been demonstrated to have a big effect in helping people to lose weight, and have recently been approved for use in obesity treatment in the NHS in England. In total, 4.1 million people would meet the criteria to be eligible to take one of these drugs. That seems fantastic - an end to obesity in our time. The problem is can we afford these drugs without bankrupting the NHS? How badly do we need them? But will this work? Should we be more ambitious? Can this help the NHS? Or bankrupt it? Guests: John Wilding, Professor of Medicine at The University of Liverpool. Alfie Slade is Government Affairs Lead at the Obesity Health Alliance Naveed Sattar, Professor of Metabolic Medicine at the University of Glasgow. Daniel Susskind, Research Professor in Economics at King's College, London. Dr Ellen Fallows, GP and Vice-President of The British Society of Lifestyle Medicine.Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Kirsteen Knight and Beth Ashmead Latham Sound engineers: Rod Farquhar, Neva Missirian Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

In under two weeks Syrian rebels have moved through the country and taken Damascus - bringing to an end 50 years of rule by the Assad family. The country borders Israel, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq, and in which Iran and Russia take the most active of interests. So why did the government of Bashar Al Assad fall so fast, who are HTS the rebels who toppled him, and what does it mean for the region and the world? Charles Lister, Senior Fellow and the Director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism programs at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC. Lina Khatib, Director of the SOAS Middle East Institute. Chris Phillips, professor of international relations at queen Mary’s university, an associate at Chatham House and author of The Battle for Syria. Shashank Joshi, defence editor at The Economist.Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Kirsteen Knight and Beth Ashmead Latham Sound engineers: Rod Farquhar, Neva Missirian Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

North Korean troops are fighting Ukrainians in Russia, while Ukraine has finally been permitted to use US missiles deep into Russian territory. It’s over 1000 days since Vladimir Putin’s full scale invasion of his neighbour and the circle of those involved in the conflict seems to widen. But though the situation changes the central question doesn’t. That question being which side can best stay the bloody course of this war? Ukraine and the West or Russia and its allies? Where do things stand now? Michael Clarke, Visiting Professor in the Department of War Studies, King’s College, London and former Director of the Royal United Services Institute Elina Ribakova, Senior Fellow at Peterson Institute of International Economics in Washington DC Defence Editor of the Economist, Shashank JoshiPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Kirsteen Knight and Beth Ashmead Latham Sound engineers: Rod Farquhar, Neva Missirian Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

Our prisons are overcrowded, the Government recently released a group of prisoners early to ease the pressure. Britain seems to incarcerate more people per head of population compared to any other Western European country. Now the Government has announced there is going to be a Review of Sentencing to see what we can do to reduce the number of people in prison.Recently an eight week consultation period began, during which members of the public can send in their thoughts on how to tackle these issues.Why have prisons have become so over-crowded, and what we can do about it?John Podmore, former prison governor and prison inspector and author of Out of Sight Out of Mind: Why Britain's Prisons Are Failing Nicola Padfield, Emeritus Professor of Criminal and Penal Justice, at the University of Cambridge Catherine Heard, Director of the World Prison Research Programme, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research, Birkbeck, University of LondonPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Kirsteen Knight and Beth Ashmead Latham Sound engineers: Rod Farquhar, Neva Missirian Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

All over Europe and in the corridors of Nato policy makers are discussing the implications for the continent of the Trump victory in the American presidential election. For 70 years the alliance with the USA has been the foundation stone of European defence. During his last term in office, it was reported that Trump wanted to take the US out of Nato. That didn’t happen but he made clear his discontent at the lack of defence spending among member states. Can that alliance can be maintained, if so on what terms and if not, what then? Guests: Heather Conley, a senior advisor to the think tank, the German Marshall Fund's (GMF) board of trustees Elisabeth Braw, who is now at the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor, of The EconomistPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Kirsteen Knight and Beth Ashmead Latham Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has delivered the first Labour Budget in 14 years. Naturally there was a flurry of instant responses to individual tax measures, but what about the big picture? Well, more than a week has passed, and the dust is settling. We thought it was time to return to a panel of experts who we spoke to in September. Is this really a once in a generation budget? What will it mean for the government’s finances and services? Will it bring much needed growth? And what might the re-election of Donald Trump mean for the British economy? Guests:Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Mehreen Khan, economics editor of The Times Chris Giles, economics commentator at The Financial Times.Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Diane Richardson and Kirsteen Knight Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar and Neva Missirian Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the recent events in Lebanon. Israel has been widely blamed for a series of pager and walkie-talkie attacks targeting members of Hezbollah. Does this mark the invention of a new kind of warfare and what might the wider consequences be for the region?Guests:Shashank Joshi, The Economist's defence editor Professor Lina Khatib, Director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS University of London Ronen Bergman, Israeli investigative journalist for The New York TimesPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Natasha Fernandes and Ben Carter Sound engineer: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the challenges facing Germany. Worries over the economy and immigration have seen the far right AfD party gain support in the former east Germany.Guests:Guy Chazan, Berlin bureau chief at the Financial Times Dr Constanze Stelzenmuller, Director of the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings Institution Marcel Fratzscher, President DIW Berlin - German Institute for Economic Research and Professor at Humboldt University Berlin Thiemo Fetzer, Professor of Economics at Warwick and Bonn UniversitiesPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight and Ben Carter Sound engineer: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

Last month the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, warned that "things would get worse before they got better". The Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already said that there's a £22 billion black hole in the government's finances left by the Conservatives. The budget at the end of October, we're told, will be "painful". But just how bad a state is the UK economy really in? And how constrained is the new government by manifesto promises it made not to raise the main taxes on working people?Guests: Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Mehreen Khan, Economics editor at The TImes Chris Giles, Economics Commentator at The Financial TImesPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Ben Carter, Caroline Bayley and Kirsteen Knight Sound engineers: Sarah Hockley and Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

The first human cases of MPox were detected in 1970. But a new strain detected in Congo in 2023 has got scientists confused. How worried should we be and are we prepared for it?Dr Jonas Albarnaz, a Research Fellow specialising in pox viruses at The Pirbright Institute Dr Lilith Whittles, lecturer and Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow in the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis Dr Josie Golding, head of epidemiology at The Wellcome Trust Trudie Lang, Professor of Global Health Research at the University of OxfordPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Drew Hyndman Sound engineers: Jonathan Glover and James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

David Aaronovitch and guests discuss the risk of escalation on Russian borders and further afield and explore what form that might take if it were to happen.Guests:Natia Seskuria, founder and executive director of the Regional Institute for Security Studies (RISS), a Tbilisi-based think tank Dr Jack Watling, Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare at the Royal United Services Institute, Michael Clarke, Professor of Defence studies and Specialist Advisor to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy Mark Galeotti, writer on Russian security affairs and director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Drew Hyndman Sound engineers: James Beard and Nigel Appleton Editor: Richard Vadon

David Aaronovitch and guests discuss China's desire for 'peaceful reunification' with Taiwan. Can it really be done peacefully and what happens if it can't?Guests:Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC Asia correspondent based in Taipei Amanda Hsiao, Crisis Group's Senior Analyst for China Dr Lauren Dickey, Taiwan analyst at the China Power Project at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies Shashank Joshi, defence editor at The EconomistPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Drew Hyndman Researcher: Ben Morris Sound engineers: Rod Farquhar Editor: Richard Vadon

In the first of three programmes, David Aaronovitch explores the risk of escalation and wider conflict in the Middle East. What would all out war look like and how likely is it?Guests:Shashank Joshi, The Economist's defence editor Professor Lina Khatib, Director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS University of London Dr Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow for Middle East Security within the International Security department at RUSI.Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Drew Hyndman Sound engineers: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

David Aaronovitch and guests discuss Labour's plans for planning reform. This week the Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner announced a new National Planning Policy Framework. Will it boost economic growth?Sir John Armitt, Chairman of the UK's National Infrastructure Commission Catriona Riddell is an independent planning consultant and commentator who advises on planning policy Anthony Breach, Associate Director at Centre for Cities Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Ben Carter and Kirsteen Knight Sound engineers: Neil Churchill and Rod Farquhar Editor: Penny Murphy

Machine learning has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. Bigger, more powerful computers can crunch ever more amounts of data, analysing complex information just as accurately, it’s claimed, as the best specialists and at speeds humans can never achieve. With the potential to make a significant difference to healthcare - helping to diagnose disease, summarise patients’ medical notes, even predict health conditions years before any symptoms appear. But how long before the potential benefits become a reality? And what are the possible pitfalls? Join David Aaronovitch and a panel of guests to find out. Guests: Madhumita Murgia, Artificial Intelligence Editor, Financial Times and author of Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI Mihaela van der Schaar, Professor of Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Medicine at Cambridge University Pearse Keane, Consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and a Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence at UCL Dr Jessica Morley, Post-doctoral researcher at the Digital Ethics Centre, Yale UniversityPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Sally Abrahams and Rosamund Jones Sound engineers: Dafydd Evans and Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

Surveys suggest that at least one in four of us will suffer from anxiety and depression during our lifetimes. The prevalence of these conditions is one of the reasons given for poor school attendance. And it's estimated that these mental health disorders account for 12.5% of all sickness leave in the UK. So what’s caused such an explosion in mental distress and what, if anything, can be done to bring down the numbers? Join David Aaronovitch and a panel of guests to find out.Guests: Professor Jennifer Wild, a consultant clinical psychologist and professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford Dr Jennifer Dykxhoorn, a psychiatric epidemiologist at University College, London Dr Sharon Neufeld from Cambridge University Medical School and Thalia Eley, professor of developmental behavioural genetics at Kings College, LondonPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Rosamund Jones and Sally Abrahams Sound engineers: Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

Half the UK population will get cancer during their lifetime - and rates are rising. Each year, around 385,000 people in the UK are diagnosed and around 167,00 lives are lost to the disease. But scientists are developing new therapies, including personalised vaccines and targeted drugs, that attack cancer cells directly and more effectively. It's hoped this pioneering work could lead to better survival rates. David Aaronovitch and guests discuss promising developments in cancer care - to find out how significant they might be. Guests: Professor Charles Swanton, chief clinician at Cancer Research UK and deputy clinical director at the Francis Crick Institute; Dr Olivia Rossanese, Director of the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery at the Institute of Cancer Research; Christian Ottensmeier, Professor of Immuno-Oncology at the University of Liverpool; Professor Alan Melcher, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation TrustPresenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Rosamund Jones and Sally Abrahams Sound engineers: Rod Farquhar and Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

2024 is the year of elections and already hundreds of millions of people around the world have been to the polls. A few months ago The Briefing Room looked ahead to elections in South Africa and India. Both have since delivered shocks to their ruling parties which failed to win parliamentary majorities. So why did the main parties in both countries do worse than expected? And what does this mean for the governments they’ve formed and the immediate future of both South Africa and India? Guests:David Everatt, Professor at the Wits School of Governance in Johannesburg Dr Ayesha Omar, British Academy international fellow at SOAS. Rohan Venkat, editor of the “India Inside Out” newsletter Louise Tillin, Professor of Politics in the India Institute at King's College London. Produced by: Kirsteen Knight and Caroline Bayley Edited by: Richard Vadon Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman

David Aaronovitch and guests dissect Sudan's ongoing civil war. This conflict is now one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. How can it be brought to an end?Guests:James Copnall - presenter of Newsday on the BBC World Service and former BBC Sudan correspondentMohanad Hashim - Sudanese journalist working on Newshour on the BBC World ServiceDame Rosalind Marsden - associate fellow of the Africa programme at Chatham House and former UK ambassador to SudanProfessor Alex De Waal - executive director of the World Peace FoundationProduced by: Kirsteen Knight, Caroline Bayley and Ben Carter Edited by: Richard Vadon and Richard Fenton-Smith Sound engineers: Rod Farquhar and Andy Fell Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman