Episodes

  • How a mobile phone brought down a cabinet minister

    How a mobile phone brought down a cabinet minister
    Nov 29 2024
    Louise Haigh has resigned as transport secretary after Sky News discovered she pleaded guilty to an offence related to incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013.

    She’s the first minister to resign from Sir Keir Starmer’s new Labour government and says she stepped down in order to prevent the story from becoming a distraction.

    Niall Paterson is joined by Sky’s political correspondent Rob Powell, and political reporter Alex Rogers to discuss their scoop.

    Podcast Producer: Rosie Gillott
    Editor: Philly Beaumont
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    17 mins
  • Life in Lebanon after the ceasefire

    Life in Lebanon after the ceasefire
    Nov 28 2024
    As the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah comes into effect, Niall Paterson speaks with Sky’s Jeehad Jneid who reports from southern Lebanon as millions attempt to return to their homes.

    The day after the 7 October attacks, Hezbollah began to launch rocket strikes into Israel in a show of support for Hamas. Israeli has carried out retaliatory strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon since then, and tensions escalated earlier this year following a strike on Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

    In this episode we ask what life has been like for Lebanese citizens in the year that followed, and whether the ceasefire can hold.

    Podcast Producer: Tom Pooley
    Editor: Philly Beaumont
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    14 mins
  • Why Elon Musk wants people to have more babies

    Why Elon Musk wants people to have more babies
    Nov 27 2024
    Elon Musk and Donald Trump have a plan for America... to get people making babies.

    The tech billionaire, Donald Trump’s soon-to-be government efficiency tsar, is a proponent of pronatalism, an emerging movement in US politics that says US citizens should be having more babies and that it’s their duty to do so.

    Niall Paterson is joined by our US correspondent Martha Kelner to deep-dive into Musk’s views and where they come from. Martha speaks to Errol Musk, Elon’s father, and one IVF doctor in America, who is expecting a boom in business.

    Producers: Soila Apparicio, Rosie Gillott
    Editor: Philly Beaumont
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    20 mins
  • Why are women’s prisons "not working"?

    Why are women’s prisons "not working"?
    Nov 26 2024
    "Prison isn't working" for women, according to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

    She told the Labour Party conference that after serving a short custodial sentence, women are more likely to reoffend than those given a non-custodial sentence. Women are also less likely to get a job after leaving jail than men.

    As the government launches an inquiry into reoffending rates, Niall is joined by Sky’s home editor Jason Farrell who has visited a women's jail to see what conditions are like, and hears from former inmate turned researcher Scarlett Roberts about her experience of rehabilitation in prison.


    In response to Jason’s reporting, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said:

    "For many women, prison isn’t working. Most women in prisons are victims themselves. Over half are mothers, with a prison sentence separating parent and child.

    “That’s why I am establishing a new Women’s Justice Board, tasked with reducing the number of women in prison by exploring alternatives to custody for female offenders.”




    Podcast Producer: Emma Rae Woodhouse
    Editor: Paul Stanworth
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    18 mins
  • Assisted Dying: What can we learn from Canada?

    Assisted Dying: What can we learn from Canada?
    Nov 25 2024
    As MPs prepare to vote on assisted dying legislation, Sky News has been to Canada where wider rules were legalised eight years ago.

    Some 4% of deaths in the country in 2022 were with the help of a doctor, under the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) law.

    In this episode, Niall Paterson is joined by Sky’s health correspondent Ashish Joshi, and hears from Canadians about MAID. Niall also talks Dr Ellen Wiebe, a doctor who has assisted in more than 400 deaths.

    If you want to learn more about the proposed legislation in this country you can read more here, and anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK.

    Podcast Producer: Rosie Gillott
    Editor: Philly Beaumont
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    27 mins
  • Gisele Pelicot and France's MeToo moment

    Gisele Pelicot and France's MeToo moment
    Nov 22 2024
    Warning: This story contains references to sexual assault and rape.

    A woman’s decision to waive her anonymity and have a public trial after her husband drugged her and invited dozens of men to rape her over a decade has reignited the MeToo movement in France.

    Gisele Pelicot has become a feminist hero after insisting that the trial be held in public to raise awareness, saying: "It’s not for us to have shame, it’s for them."

    Niall is joined by our Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins to explore how the 'trial of the century' has unfolded and speaks to writer and MeTooMedia ambassador Benedicte Martin about what it means for women in France.

    Producers: Soila Apparicio, Emma Rae Woodhouse
    Editor: Philly Beaumont
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    20 mins
  • The carer who was a fake

    The carer who was a fake
    Nov 21 2024
    What happens when the care you trust isn’t care at all?

    When Sarah Whitaker hired a live-in carer for her 89-year-old father, she thought she was securing a lifeline. What she got was a stranger who could not cook, drive, and care – because she wasn’t the carer Sarah had booked.

    This bizarre and troubling story takes us deep into the cracks of Britain’s care industry, where an unregulated system leaves families vulnerable to shocking deceptions.

    Sky’s Nick Martin investigates how one family was duped out of £2,000, how they found out, and what it says about the future of "home-first" care in the UK.

    He joins host Niall Paterson alongside Tim Wilson, board member of the Home Care Association and managing director of Assist Care Group, a regulated home care agency, to discuss what the industry needs to do to improve.

    Producer: Soila Apparicio
    Additional research: Fiona Mackie
    Editor: Philly Beaumont
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    22 mins
  • Why the inflation rise might not be as bad as you think

    Why the inflation rise might not be as bad as you think
    Nov 20 2024
    Rising energy prices pushed up inflation in October, meaning prices elsewhere will also rise.

    As businesses warn Labour's first budget could lead to further price rises and even job cuts, where does this leave Chancellor Rachel Reeves's plan for the UK to be the fastest growing economy in the G7?

    Niall Paterson is joined by Sky's economics and data editor Ed Conway, who explains what's behind last month's inflation rise and why he thinks there could be some good news on the horizon.

    Producer: Rosie Gillott
    Editor: Philly Beaumont
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    13 mins