The Leader | Evening Standard daily

Throughout this week, schools across London are re-opening after the summer break but can they avoid the shutdowns that blighted last year? Our education editor Anna Davis takes us through what steps are being taken by teachers and pupils to keep Covid-19 at bay, even though face masks aren't mandatory and 'bubbles' are no longer in use.  There's also uncertainty about lessons themselves, with teachers saying that, despite government assurances, they don't know if there will be exams held at the end of the school year or how they will be assessed if they are.  And Anna tells us about the mental health issues that some school heads are concerned about, with warnings support services are coming under increased pressure as teenagers return to the classroom and problems from the lockdown emerge.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Evening Standard's political editor Nicholas Cecil joins the podcast following the departure of the final US soldier from Kabul airport, and the Taliban taking total control of Afghanistan. He tells us why "more speculation than usual" is surrounding the Foreign Secretary's position, as Dominic Raab faces more criticism over his handling of the crisis. And we also learn that Boris Johnson is not at Downing Street right now, but his team is insisting he's "not on holiday".   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden writes for the Evening Standard to persuade Londoners to spend money at attractions in the city, our Business Consumer Editor Jonathan Prynn tells us why. He says this weekend is the last chance tourist traps that have been shut for the last 18 months have to bring in cash before everything closes again for the winter. We also discuss the dire straits of Theatreland, which is trying to battle back with a series of blockbuster openings like Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Cinderella’. And we look ahead to the Festive season, when the city’s shops will be making the same appeal as they try to finish a horrendous 2021.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Evening Standard’s defence editor Robert Fox joins us following an explosion and gunfire at an entry gate into Kabul Airport. He tells us how the US and UK have been worried about “yet another thing” hampering efforts to get people out of the country, but warns advice to head to the border may be the wrong action to take. He also tells us about ISIS-K, an offshoot from the original Islamic State that’s been operating inside Afghanistan and may have plans to launch terrorism attacks in foreign countries.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A plea from Boris Johnson and other world leader for the US to extend its deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan has been rebuffed by Joe Biden. To explain what’s happening, the Leader podcast spoke to Dr Julie Norman, deputy director of UCL’s Centre on US politics. She tells us that the White House’s decision is the first example of Biden’s foreign policy in action, in which he wants to work with allies but “basing the tough decisions on how he views US interests”. We also discuss whether Afghanistan will become an issue in the US midterm elections next year, and how the situation is playing out in neighbouring countries.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As McDonald’s admits its run out of milkshakes across the UK, a group representing the freight industry’s warning Christmas could be hit by serious shortages. The podcast is joined by Natalie Chapman, from Logistics UK, who says a shortage of drivers has been caused by the “perfect storm” of Brexit, Covid and longer-term recruitment issues. The group’s claiming the situation is only getting worse as retailers gear up for the festive period not knowing if there’ll be enough people to man the trucks and get the goods to stores. They’re calling for the government to temporarily relax immigration laws to enable EU-based drivers to get back behind the wheel in the UK.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Journalist Sam Fishwick’s been talking to members of the Extinction Rebellion campaign group as it returns to London’s streets for a planned two week long protest. He tells us how the group once dismissed as “crusties” by Boris Johnson has made real world change, but is struggling to overcome its reputation as being loaded with white middle-class eco-warriors. He also talks about the struggles the group has with holding mass rallies, such as this week’s one in Trafalgar Square, when so many people are still working from home. Can XR make the same impact?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Marzia Babakarkhail is a former Afghan judge who fled Afghanistan when the Taliban targeted her for assassination during their first time in power in 1996. In this edition of the Leader podcast, she tells us why she was targeted for her work helping divorced women and how she hid for five hours while nine Taliban soldiers ransacked her house looking for her. In an extraordinarily powerful interview, she tells us how she fled that night in a terrifying nine hour car journey across the country and into Pakistan. She now lives in the UK and says she fears for the friends she still has in her home country, but has hope that the people of Afghanistan will overcome “the darkness of this time.”  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

US historian Christopher Phelps, associate professor at Nottingham University, tells us Joe Biden’s “visceral, personal” opinions on Afghanistan have been shaped by his feelings as a father. His son, Beau, served in Iraq in 2009. He died in 2015 from a brain tumour, and Christopher says many of President Biden’s decisions in the Oval Office appear to have been influenced his family. We also discuss the international repercussions of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, including asking if the collapse of Kabul can be compared to the fall of Saigon in 1975.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our political correspondent Sophia Sleigh joins the podcast after the Prime Minister was savaged by MPs from all sides of the house during a debate on Afghanistan. MPs were recalled to Parliament from their summer break, three days after Afghanistan’s capital Kabul fell to the Taliban. Mr. Johnson said the sacrifice in Afghanistan was “seared into our national consciousness” and that the UK looked at trying to stay longer. But he sought to justify leaving Afghanistan by outlining the “hard reality” that the West could not continue the US-led mission without American support.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Afghanistan and authoritarian regime expert Professor Natasha Lindstaedt joins the podcast to explain why it's important Western countries try to talk to the Taliban, even though attempts to moderate them will be "extremely difficult". She describes how isolating the country under the extremist group could lead to further abuses of its people. She also explains why Afghanistan has been "impossible to govern" effectively for decades, and how tribal loyalty means the Taliban regime won't "last for decades and decades".  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Evening Standard’s Defence Editor Robert Fox and Political Correspondent Sophia Sleigh join the show to breakdown what’s happening in Afghanistan and what’s next? Robert tells us how the US got “sucker punched” by a behind-the-scenes deal with the Taliban that was brokered without the Afghan government’s knowledge. Sophia says the UK was so surprised at the pace of the country’s collapse that the Prime Minister was supposed to be going on holiday this week, but has now had to change his plans and recall Parliament. Has the Taliban really “changed” like it’s promised? Will the UK and others open diplomatic relations? How are countries evacuating their own citizens from Afghanistan? And what’s next for those who live there?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, 21 firefighters from the United Kingdom volunteered to help Greece battle some of the worst wildfires the country has ever seen. They included experts from London, Merseyside, Wales, the West Midlands and Lancashire, who have been dispatched to Arcadia where the blazes remain fierce two weeks after they were ignited. Team leader Tony Brown joins the podcast to tell us how their humanitarian mission is going, and revealing some of the dangers they’re facing. He explains how they’re using chainsaws to create firebreaks, running for cover when winds whip up flames that threaten to surround them. And he talks about the incredible resilience of the Greek people, who came to their rescue when the UK team's water ran out while trying to get down from a mountain in 40c heat.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Evening Standard’s education editor, Anna Davis, is back on the show as the GCSE results are revealed. They show another record year, with 28.9 per cent graded 7/A and above, compared with 26.2 per cent last year. In 2019, the last year exams were held, the figure was 20.8 per cent. Leading the way is London, which has better results than anywhere else in the country… but why? Also, as with A-Levels, girls have done much better than boys nationwide. Is it really, as one expert claims, because “girls are cleverer than boys” or has the disruption caused by the pandemic something to do with it. In two years’ time, the current GCSE students will be taking their A-Levels but it’s expected to be the first time many of them will have ever sat a formal exam. How will that affect results in 2023?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Evening Standard’s courts correspondent Tristan Kirk joins the show as the lawyer representing the Duke of York’s accuser has warned against anyone ignoring the US courts, claiming the royal’s legal team have “stonewalled” appeals for information. Virginia Giuffre is suing the Queen’s son for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager, and has said it was “past the time for him to be held to account”. David Boies, who represents Ms Giuffre, says his client ultimately wants “vindication” from her civil suit for damages. Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations in the past, and a spokesman for the duke said there was “no comment” when asked to respond to Ms Giuffre’s legal action.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.