'A culture of cover-up': the NHS maternity crisis exposed

In 2011, Virginia Roberts Giuffre became known as the most outspoken victim of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Her campaigning against their abuse and trafficking helped to get justice for many women, but she was perhaps best known for a now-infamous photograph, taken when she was aged just 17, meeting with Prince Andrew. She claimed it was taken prior to one of three times she was forced to have sex with the King's brother. Encounters he vehemently denies took place but which have led to his public downfall, with Prince Andrew reportedly paying around £12 million to Roberts Giuffre, formally ending a civil case brought against him in the US without admitting liability. Earlier this year, Virginia took her own life. Before she died, she wrote a memoir, determined for the world to finally hear her story in her own words. In this episode of The Fourcast, Jackie Long speaks to Virginia’s brother and sister-in-law, Sky and Amanda Roberts, about the woman behind the headlines, the legacy she leaves, and the campaigning she wanted to be remembered for. They also express their frustration with the Metropolitan Police response - but the Met reiterated to Channel 4 News today that they do not consider themselves the appropriate authority to investigate alleged crimes in the UK related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.This episode includes conversation around suicide and abuse.

21 Okt 35min

With the IMF warning that we’re in an AI bubble that could be worse than the dot-com crash if it bursts — and even OpenAI’s Sam Altman admitting the market is “kind of bubbly” — what happens to the global economy if the AI boom implodes?Are we witnessing the next dot-com bust, or just the growing pains of a genuine technological revolution?To discuss it all on the latest episode of The Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined from Silicon Valley by entrepreneur, author and futurist Jerry Kaplan, and from the World Bank Group annual meeting in Washington by our Economics Correspondent Helia Ebrahimi.

16 Okt 31min

After two years of war, a deal has finally been struck. Hostages are coming home, Palestinian prisoners and detainees are being released, and Israel and Hamas have declared that the fighting is over. But can this really be the end?In this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy speaks to Israeli negotiator Gershon Baskin - a man who has spent nearly five decades talking to both sides of the conflict, including Hamas.From back-channel talks to the Trump administration’s surprise role, Baskin reveals how this ceasefire came together, what it means for Gaza’s future, and whether it can last.

13 Okt 49min

After two years of relentless war, devastation, and loss in Gaza — a ceasefire has finally been agreed that will see all remaining Israeli hostages freed in exchange for thousands of Palestinian detainees. It’s a stunning diplomatic breakthrough, driven by Donald Trump’s personal intervention — but can this fragile deal really end the war, or is it just another pause before the next explosion of violence? In this special episode of The Fourcast from Hostage Square in Tel Aviv Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by Palestinian filmmaker and journalist Yousef Hammash and former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy.

9 Okt 26min

As Kemi Badenoch fights for her political life at the Conservative Party conference, the Tories face a growing threat from the right. With high-profile defections to Reform UK and deep internal divisions, is this the beginning of the end for the Conservative Party?In this episode of the Fourcast, Cathy Newman speaks with former deputy prime minister and Conserative MP Baroness Therese Coffey, and Lord Daniel Finklestein, columnist for The Times and also a Tory peer. They unpack the party’s identity crisis and ask whether the Tories can survive or if British politics is undergoing a major and irreversable realignment.

7 Okt 29min

The Conservative Party Conference is underway in Manchester where the Tories are in turmoil, trailing badly in the polls and staring down electoral oblivion as they are squeezed between Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.  Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride joins Cathy Newman on this episode  of The Fourcast to explain how the Conservatives plan to regain momentum and rebuild their reputation as the party of economic competence — but is it too little, too late?

6 Okt 14min

Nadine Dorries was once a Tory loyalist and Boris Johnson’s closest ally — now she’s defected to Reform UK, the party leading the polls under Nigel Farage. She claims Farage is the only leader who can deliver the change communities need, but are Reform’s headline promises really workable? And how does Dorries reconcile joining a party whose leader launches blistering attacks on her old boss, Boris Johnson? She joins Cathy Newman for her first sit down interview since defecting.

2 Okt 33min

Labour’s deputy leadership contender and Keir Starmer ally Bridget Phillipson joins Krishnan Guru-Murthy on The Fourcast to set out her vision for the party.She talks about the threat from Reform UK and Nigel Farage, and how she would still hold Keir Starmer to account even though she’s a cabinet minister and widely believed to be the prime minister’s preferred choice. Plus - does she prefer Tony Blair or Gordon Brown?

30 Sep 15min